(Place of Power, ???)

I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world when I noticed a presence at the foot of my bed. I opened my eyes to find Adaline standing there looking at me.

“Adam, do you have any idea how long you’ve been sleeping?” she asked.

I checked my internal clock, taped it with a mental finger then said, “Not a clue, my clock doesn’t seem to be working.”

“It’s not, Your Place of Power is in a proverbial time out”

“Why?” I asked.

“Simple really, you have a choice to make.”

“What kind of choice?”

“The Earth-shattering, you could become a Divine, kind of choice?

“Can we go sit down at the dining table like we used to, maybe drink some coffee?”

“Sure, there isn’t a rush”

I stood, allowing my nanites to automatically freshen me up then started walking toward the door.

“Adam,” Adaline called in her ultra-seductive voice she’d used so many years ago.

As I turned back to her my eyes went wide as I realized she was nude. “More than a year has passed," she said as the sudden realization froze me in shock as I tried to utter something,

“I will take from your response that you just realized that more than a year has passed for you. I should also let you know that about the same amount of time that you have just lived through has passed for me as well. Gloves off?” she asked.

We crashed into each with a longing that had lasted far longer than a single year. Sometime much later we both woke up on my broken bed. We’d broken it, then I’d fixed it a couple of times until Adaline had said, “Leave it until after…” before she attacked me again. Funny thing, I think if we’d been as rough as we’d just been with each other we definitely would have broken our vow. I looked over at her and once again realized how beautiful she was. This time though I waited for her to talk. There was a lot going on and I didn’t want to ruin this moment.

Adaline bent over, gave me a gentle kiss on the lips, then backed off the broken bed to stand. As she did so the purple robe she’d been wearing reappeared around on her as she said, “Thank you.”

“You are most welcome. My first and most important question is, will we be able to see each other after today?” I asked.

She looked thoughtful for a moment then said, “No matter what you chose, yes”

“That’s all I needed to know,” I said as I stood and had Monk robes created on me by the nanites.

“Let’s go downstairs and get some coffee while we take care of a couple of things,” Adaline said as she walked out of my room with a definite strut to her gait.

I followed, taking my seat as she summoned up two cups of coffee for us then sat down as she handed me one. “So first things first, I have been instructed to let you know that your actions were most appreciated but I need to let you know the Soulstone containing Nox is not yours to keep

“But that evil…”

“In her divinity that Goddess served her purpose far more than any divine has in a very long time. She served her purpose so well in fact that while you were sleeping changes had to be made to incorporate and limit certain magics and technologies so it could never happen again. More on that in a minute, will you hand over the soul gem?

I summoned the gem to my hand and handed it to her, “All you need do is ask, you know that. Not because of your boss. If you didn’t believe the course of action was just you wouldn’t be asking for it, no matter who your boss is.”

“You’re right about that. She really did serve her purpose and do everything she was supposed to, she just reached too far. The Divines are not meant to have power over universes or multiverses.

“So, what’s next?”

“You have two choices, the first is that you accept Divinity and continue along your path as a divine. The second is to remain mortal.”

“What’s the catch?” I asked.

“The catch as you call it is that if you remain mortal your life must adjust to the new changes and the new timelines that have been created.”

“What does that mean exactly?”

“My Boss as you call him will make some adjustments to your abilities and skills. Character Levels and Classes are undergoing a fundamental change, so you’ll need to figure that out after the fact.”

“Will I have ever found the Adamantium Ring?”

“That’s a big one, and the answer is no. In this change, the ability to siphon experience from another being is, and I was told to use this word for you, ‘nerfed’”

“Will I have to start at level 0 in whatever leveling system has been created?” I asked.

“Yes and no. I am permitted to tell you some aspects of your abilities have been consolidated and redefined. Also, you will no longer have a Place of Power, though you will receive some unique Fundamental Abilities as part of your reward.”

“What about my nanites, Abi, and the copies I’ve made of my mom and dad?”

“Whether you chose to become a divine or mortal, nanites have been heavily restricted in form and function. You will not start with them. If you recreate them they will be limited to microscopic, not subatomic. As for your mom, dad, and Abi. They will be reincorporated and allowed to live out their lives just as they would have if you hadn’t changed the timeline. Abi is a special case that will be given special treatment. The simple answer is that you will not see them again for a very long time, if ever.”

“What does that mean?”

“When you gained the ability “I have always been I will always be” a copy of your Cosmos sprang into existence that is inviolate. You exist in that Cosmos and this one. Not linked but shadows of each other. No matter what action anyone takes to mess up time here, you are unaffected because your shadow is unaffected. Any action taken there is unaffected because you exist here. As long as either of you exists the other cannot be destroyed by paradox. You can be killed, your soul can move on, but paradox does not destroy, nor can it affect you.”

“You know some of that doesn’t make sense right?”

“Yes, and this is where I tell you, the parts that would make it make sense are none of your business.” Beings more powerful than you or I sent me here to talk to you about a choice. Not to teach you how reality really works or what it’s really for or why they’re changing how it works.

“Okay, but what happens to them?”

“They will live out pseudo normal lives, even Abi. As for the other two people you have soul gems for; Belarous and Serpahine, you will probably never see them again..

“That doesn’t sound ominous?” I said

“Even if you chose to become a divine they will not be anywhere that you would be. Nor would you remember them?”

“Remember them?” I asked. “Now what are you talking about?”

“Whether you chose to be a Divine or remain mortal the fundamental structure of the Cosmos has been changed as have all of your connection points to the previous timelines. This means that you will not have memories of your previous life.”

“Not even of you?”

“Not even of me.”

“Will you remember me?”

“No, as a Harbinger of Change I will note that a change has occurred, check in with my boss after, and continue with duties. We may meet again. Someday we may even find one another again but in the immediate future neither you nor I will remember anything we’ve done together.”

“Will anyone remember what came before?”

"Some will. Those with certain abilities and of course there will be echoes."

“Echoes?” I asked

“You sometimes refer to the phenomenon as ‘Déjà vu’ A feeling that something isn’t quite right or something repeated itself. I can’t explain it better than that I’m afraid.”

I looked at Adaline, noted her confidence even in her ignorance and smiled, “We had some good times didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did.” She said

I walked over to her gently cupped her face and whispered, “If there is a way, I will remember you, then I will find you, and we will break as many beds as we can together.” I said as I kissed her gently and turned it into a hug

As we pulled apart she wiped away a tear and a bell went off, resounding through the Tower. “Let me guess, we don’t have much time.”

“Yes and no, but definitely better not to piss off the beings that are giving you gifts.”

“Speaking of gifts, do I get to know what they are before I chose?”

“No, your choice is to become a Divine, or remain mortal. You don’t open your presents until later. Also, you will not remember anything from this timeline or from this visit so there’s no point going over them now. You’ll figure it out on the other side I’m sure. I am permitted to tell you that the changes that have been made have already created problems and variations that, while not unexpected, will need correcting before they grow out of hand. As a Divine, your ability to intervene would be limited. As a mortal, you may be able to accomplish more.”

“So same as before, we need another mortal to save the universe, or whatever else is wrong now. Well, the powers that be probably already knew what I was going to say so here your go, “I said as I pulled out the two soul gems and handed them to her as I transferred the copies of mom, dad, and Abi I had in my personal storage into the data storage points in the Vault. I also made a copy of myself and made a few small adjustments to the place of power while I looked at Adaline.

“I chose to remain mortal.”

Adaline took the soul stones and held them up. Each flared purple, then disappeared as she said, “Your choice has been made, please stand on the seal of this place of power. It is going to act as a focal point.”

As I stepped on the seal I looked around one more time, then in my best Terminator voice said, “I’ll be back!”

Adaline smiled as she replied, “I hope so.”

Energy flared from the seal into my body. It didn’t hurt. I felt the Adventurer’s Mark and my Place of Power mark fade from my body as a purple haze caused the room to fade from view. The last I saw of Adaline was a wistful smile as she turned and vanished, teleporting away. It was the last information my nanites gave me as I felt them all unlink from me. The Purple haze grew brighter and brighter As I felt every link I had fail. The last to go was my Link to the Labyrinth. As the brightness suddenly became dark and I started to lose consciousness I wondered what changes had been made. That’s when at the limits of my hearing I thought I heard that unknown voice from before say,

“Just a minor tweak”