“Can you feel it,

son of Leotas and Jyne?”

the Goddess asked He-Thing,

in a soft but fierce voice,

“The river...

beneath the river?”

He-Thing,

shaking in fear,

his voice in tatters,

replied,

“What are you?”

The Goddess

did not turn.

“I am both at once —

morning star...

and evening star,

soil...

and seed,

Love...

and Conquest.”

He-Thing tried to bellow,

but instead only squawked,

“My faith

in the divine white light

of the All-or-Nothing

will protect me from you,

Proto-god!”

The Goddess laughed,

but still did not turn.

“Nothing

will protect you

from the likes of me,

Champion of Time.

I am older

and stronger

than your selfish faith.”

“What do you want from me?”

He-Thing asked.

The Goddess spoke,

“I have summoned you here

to offer you a choice,

He-Thing.

And you must choose.

But be warned —

no one can know

the ultimate ends

of their choices —

not ever.”

“Not even a Goddess?”

He-Thing asked,

amazed by his courage.

“No, Champion,”

she laughed sadly,

“Not even a Goddess.”

He-Thing,

still trembling

in arousal and horror,

asked,

“What is the choice,

Goddess?”

She was silent for a moment,

as though

a sad thought

passed across her sun.

“The choice is simple...

but complex —

Lies...and Happiness;

or

Truth...and Suffering.”

He-Thing knew

what he wanted to choose;

but was it

what he needed to choose?

“You know what my choice is,

Goddess,”

He-Thing spoke,

“What it can only be.”

The Goddess

replied in amusement,

“Do not be so certain,

Champion of Time.

The Cosmos

is always open

to possibility.”

He-Thing shook his head,

unable to help himself.

“I choose Truth,

Goddess.”

“So be it,”

spoke the Goddess.

“We will be watching.

But know this, Champion —

it is not only you who will suffer

in your quest

for what you seek.”

The Goddess

and her palace

faded.

He-Thing felt weightless,

and torrents of wind

battered his body once more.

But before the Goddess

disappeared completely,

He-Thing sensed her turning,

and her voice rang out

one final time —

“He-Thing...beware...

...Skullatroid....”

to be continued...