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You open your eyes to a harsh, unpleasant light. After a moment of adjustment, you look around to find yourself in a vast and empty void - a white plane of nonexistence stretching infinitely in every direction.
What is this? Where am I? I was ...
Impossibly, you can't recall what you'd just been doing. It's all … hazy. Your entire life feels like a half-remembered dream.
Greetings, little one.
A dark and featureless humanoid shape appears before you. Standing at nearly twice your height, its shadowy form flickers like a guttering flame.
W-Who's there?
I am known by many names, most of which would mean nothing to you. I suppose you could consider me … a kind of god. Or perhaps a demon.
The shadow's voice is not one you hear - its words seem to bypass your senses entirely by carving themselves directly into your brain. Every instinct in your body screams at you to run, to flee from this place and this presence ... but there is nowhere to go.
Am I dead? Is this … is this the afterlife?
All of you ask that. A pity. I had expected more from someone like you.
Like me?
You are interesting. To be frank, individual humans don't tend to stand out, and most of those who do have already been chosen. There is something about you, though. I cannot place it.
The shadow circles you, slowly. Malevolently.
There are eyes on you, little one. And not just my own. Destiny watches you closely.
None of this makes any sense. You get the distinct impression that you're being toyed with.
What do you want from me?
An inhuman smile splits the shadow's featureless face.
I thought you would never ask.
The void is plunged into total darkness, as if someone, somewhere had flipped a light-switch. You raise a hand to your face but cannot see it.
We are in the great game now, little one. You are one of my pieces. Perhaps you will even be the Decider.
Game? Pieces? The Decider? You hate to admit it, but ...
… I don't understand.
Your understanding is not necessary. It will come in time, or perhaps not at all. It matters not. Now, you must choose.
Choose what?
From among my gifts.
Close to half a dozen colored spheres suddenly populate the void, each glowing with welcome light. They bob gently in the darkness, like buoys in a black sea.
These gifts … what are they?
They are power. Power that your race has scarcely begun to know. You may take whichever you want, but only one.
The glow of the spheres is warm and inviting. You find yourself inexplicably drawn to them, like a moth to candlelight. You have to stop yourself from reaching out unconsciously.
I … I don't ...
I have neither the time nor the inclination to indulge any dawdling. Choose, human. The game awaits.
Drawing a shaky breath, you focus your full attention on the spheres, seeking to understand each as best you can before making your decision.
You ultimately reach for ...
[] The red sphere. It pulsates with a strange energy and radiates distorted waves of light. You observe that accidental contact with its neighbors causes the sphere's surface to ripple and glow.
[] The clear sphere. It is colorless, emitting only a pale, almost ghostly light. You observe that it will sometimes latch onto other spheres, draining them of all their color and activity whilst becoming colorful itself. The effect is only temporary, though - it ceases upon release, after which the clear sphere wanders in search of other prey.
[] The multi-colored sphere. It is constantly changing colors. Its composition is in permanent flux - you watch as it shifts from hard granite to smooth, reflective silver, before changing again just as quickly.
[] The white sphere. It appears ordinary at first, but when wandering close to the other spheres it extends a collection of tiny nodes to probe their surfaces. The sphere produces a blindingly bright light whenever contact is made.
[] The blue sphere. Moderately bright and of average size, it occasionally vanishes and reappears in different locations. These locations tend to be only short distances apart, but infrequently they will be father from each other.
[] The green sphere. It appears as if it is continually transitioning between a solid state and a looser, even gaseous form. When in the latter state, it seems to pass through the other spheres rather than collide with them.
[] The black sphere. Trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of destruction and restoration, it disintegrates into a cloud of dust before reconstituting itself to begin the process anew.
[] The purple sphere. It is fairly dim and thus difficult to make out as it drifts lazily about the room. You don't notice it immediately, but the sphere will routinely disappear into thin, nearly imperceptible portals which open in its path. The sphere always emerges from another portal, but only after varying amounts of time have passed.
Your chosen sphere abruptly dissolves at your touch. You watch, transfixed, as it becomes a bright, swirling mist before disappearing entirely. The others vanish as well - as does their light. Soon you are blind and alone in the darkness once more.
An interesting choice, little one. I think you shall prove most entertaining.
With a sickening lurch, you realize that you are falling. Faster and faster, you hurtle through dark, empty space. This place seems without end - perhaps you will fall forever?
You open your mouth to scream, but you can't hear it over the rushing sound in your ears.
Before you wake, the shadow offers a parting farewell.
Do not disappoint me.
Time to vote on your power! Yes, the choices are deliberately vague. Just like Alex, there will be no handy guide available to you. It'll be up to you to discover the exact nature and extent of your abilities through old-fashioned experimentation.
Voting will close either tomorrow evening or the next morning.
