"It was never real."
Here, at the shattered mountain that had at one time been the northernmost Waystone, was an open portal to the so-called "Realm of Chaos." Only now you saw the truth: This world was just an illusion; a game, a story, an amusement for beings greater than yourself. Outside there was the
real world. The polar gate was their opening to your bottled planet where monsters and magic and more were thrown in to spice up the periodic wars and suffering. You were a mere plaything, only given thought and purpose as a 'character' while nearly all others you'd ever met were merely mindless puppets. Even the so-called Gods of your world were just more chess pieces on the game board.
"What even is a burrito?" you asked, fearful of what kind of terrible weapon it must be.
Your grinning friend gently patted you on the shoulder with a tentacle, while His other hand pulled a strange hand pie out your pocket. After a brief inspection, you bit into it.
It was-
-delicious.
"Is this what real food tastes like?"
Your friend nodded. Tear floated off your face, as you realized just how
fake your world was. How flat. Like the words in a storybook.
"Is anyone else... like me? Anyone who has thoughts of their own, who isn't just a phantom puppet?"
A list appeared in the portal. On it were hundreds of names. Many of them long dead. But death wouldn't be the end of them, not truly. No "character" could sleep peacefully in the Gardens of Morr, not when there was fun to be had from them. They would be back, over and over and over again for more stories, more games, more amusement,
MORR.
"Why are you showing me all this? What is it I'm supposed to 'Try it and find out'?"
And your Friend told you. This was a world of rules, and even the things beyond the world had to abide by them. But the rules could be bent, and they could be broken. And you had all the tools you needed to use those broken rules to break the world itself. The Liber Mortis. Tongs. Airships.
Memes. Break the world, and you could escape it. Kill a friend, and you could bring them back under
your domain, giving them the freedom they never had in life. And when the gates were cracked open, you, your Friend, and all your loved ones would forge a weapon to kill the Old Ones who had trapped you on this small little planet.
"I'll do it. I'll do anything for my friends.
Anything."
Your oldest Friend, grin stretching ever wider, reached out to pat you on the head. But when He removed His hand, He left something on you. You reached up to feel two furry, fuzzy, twitchy things stuck to your head. Of course. There were still some rules you should follow. (For now.) As a follower of "Chaos", it was only fitting you have a mutation to mark you.
Source.
Your new set of ears are so
cute! You wonder if Panoramia will think so, too?
From the portal, your Friend conjured books. Whole shelves flew out and built a little mini library, just for you. You had a
lot of reading to do, after all. You had the favor of Ranald the Gambler, but you still needed to court the favors of the Ranald the Night Prowler, Ranald the Deceiver, and Ranald the Protector before you were ready to go back down south. So you curled up in your dragon-skull chair, cracked open a book, and began reading, as your Friend's hand gently stroked your scalp.
A/N: Inspired by
this preview post from Boney.