I was surrounded by darkness again. He was there. Sat in his stupid little armchair, loosely worn kimono and all. I stood and walked towards him. The void around us swallowed the light. He grinned and snapped his fingers, and a bed appeared – the kind that a therapist would get you to lay on during a session

“I’m not lying on that.”

“Humour me.”

I sighed and sat on it, my legs dangling above the blackness. “Why are you here? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me.”

“I’m afraid that you have the wrong impression of me. I come and go as I please. I may open my ears or close my heart. I did neither – I heard every word.”

I considered him for a moment, “Did I not say the right things? Not enough flattery perhaps?”

“While you are a beautiful young woman, I’m far beyond enjoying the company of them. Your first answer was the correct one.”

“Is this just a joke to you?”

His jovial attitude contrasted with his words, “No. This is no joke. You are projecting your ideas onto me. Do you feel that you cannot take this game seriously?”

“Is a game not inherently un-serious?”

“No. Wargames are serious. Games that toy with people’s lives are serious.” My eyes narrowed as he quoted me during one of my prayers, “The only life being played with here is yours. And I do so with your consent.”

“Is this about Shinsuke?”

“No, this is about you.” He pointed at me, before turning his hand and holding his palm open. A light blue flame flourished out of thin air. “It is always about you. It is always about your actions. Shinsuke is only as much a part of this as everybody else who surrounds you is.”

I blinked and suddenly we were in my Grandmother’s kitchen. “Do not assume that everything I do is malicious.” I walked around the table and saw her laying there, just like she was on the day she died. He followed me and looked past my shoulder, “Tragedy is a natural part of life. There are things that we cannot avoid, inner turmoil, depression, loss.”

I blinked again, and we were inside the clubroom. “When someone learns of the gods and their power, there’s a terror in their hearts. The notion that they have lost their individuality, that their lives have been interfered with in some way. That is not the case. You can only afflict great change that is in line with what they feel and believe.”

I sat down in my chair, “What’s the point in living if you can just wipe it all away? Hideki never existed.”

“Hideki did exist. He is inside of your heart and your mind. But the will of the gods is as natural as the existence of yourself. There is no ‘interference,’ the gods have affected change in your world since the very beginning. The things you see can be changed, the only objective measure of what is and isn’t real is the way you feel.”

“I feel like this is complete bullshit.”

“You are allowed to have that opinion. Let me put it another way for you, this ‘game’ I speak off is merely a hint, a push in the right direction. There is no prize, and there are no rules. The only player is you, and I am the referee.”

We left the music room and arrived at the shrine. But this wasn’t the shrine I knew. It was covered in a thin layer of freshly poured snow. The peeling paint and crooked planks were gone. The brushes and trees that hung over it like clouds in the sky were trimmed back, allowing sunlight to pour in. The god sat on the stone steps and opened his arms.

“This is not about Shinsuke, or even Reina, it is about you.”

“If it’s only about me why did you change everyone’s memories of me too?”

“If I ask a stranger to forget you, they will do so gladly. If I ask your friends if they want you to be happy, even if you change, they will do so gladly. There was nothing stopping me from doing so.”

He seemed evasive on this point. I already knew how it worked, I wanted to know why. “If I asked you to give them back, would you?”

He closed his eyes and smiled, “Maybe in the future. If you asked me now, I would say no.”

“Is it part of the game?”

“I will not say.”

“I don’t get it. How am I meant to know what to do?”

“I know you will know what to do eventually. The fate of man changes by the second – but you are on the right path. It is not a matter of knowing. You will inevitably discover the meaning behind my effort, and when you do you will come forth to me with an earnest wish.”

“And how do you determine whether it’s earnest or not?”

He smirked, “It’s very simple. You ask me for a good reason.” He snapped his fingers. Before I could say more. I found myself staring at the ceiling of my bedroom. What the hell? He decides to only talk at me while I’m asleep!

That didn’t help at all. And I couldn’t just place faith into his words, I was doubtful that he had the power to see the future. How could he say in confidence that I’d fulfil his idiotic and arbitrary criteria? If helping Shinsuke wasn’t the point, then what was? I pulled myself out of the covers and poked around my room for something to occupy my attention.

It was a Sunday – my day off. I had no idea what to do with it. That is until I heard a knocking on my door. It slid open to reveal Reina, who was already dressed for the day. “Is this a bad time?” she asked.

“No, I just woke up.” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I walked over to the vanity and grabbed a comb, brushing my messy hair with a sigh. “That god was poking around in my dreams, or something.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t just your imagination, sister?”

“No. I’m sure. It was weird. Why are you in here anyway?”

“I was hoping you’d come with me.”

“For?”

Reina blushed, “Some of the other council members… forced me to agree to attend karaoke with them.”

I dropped the brush, “It’s the end of the world.”

She pouted, “Don’t make fun of me! I’d feel more comfortable if you were there.”

“Won’t they think it’s weird if I show up uninvited?”

“No, I already asked them if it would be okay. Some of them would like to meet you.”

“Ugh fine. Give me a minute and I’ll clean up.”

“Shouldn’t it take an hour…”

“I don’t work on your timescale Reina.”