and the weight of his exhale consumed the room. A moment later, the god looked into Sam’s chest and literally stared at the heart of the fighter as he watched it beat. “What I’m about to tell you will upset you, but I swear it’s the truth.”
“Finally, we’re getting somewhere,” Sam jeered.
Bassorine did not acknowledge Sam’s demeanor. Instead, he pushed forward. “There have been many stories created for the people to believe in. Most aren’t true.”
“ No shocker there,” Sam added. “I can’t say that I’m surprised.”
A half-hearted grin appeared on Bassorine’s face. “If I could send you back to your homeworld, I would. But unfortunately, the planet you called Earth is gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?” Sam asked incredulously.
Compassion filled Bassorine’s expression. “I’m sorry, Sam, but a man with your intellect understands what gone means. I’m saying your Earth has perished. Please ... allow me to finish what I have to say, then you may ask questions.”
The god waited for Sam to nod. “When the God Wars started more than 14,000 seasons ago, the battle for power extended to every galaxy and solar system. The story the Collective created to tell the people on the worlds … the story that I was the one who brought home the Crystal Moon to the Collective, isn’t true. I have always been a god, since the beginning of what you called ‘time.’ The story claiming I was given god-like power was conjured to give the beings of the new worlds something to believe in. It gave them something to be thankful for and hope. This is similar to the way your gods of Earth gave their creations their own sense of hope, faith and a way to worship, some rewarding their faithful with Heaven and others, Hell.”
Sheathing his long sword with hardly a sound, Bassorine continued. “The truth is … all gods back then, no matter what world they governed, used Heaven and Hell as a place to send the souls of their dead. Even the gods who ruled worlds who didn’t believe in free will, simply sent their followers straight to Hell. They were kept in this place of torture until the moment came to be reborn, thus beginning the same vicious cycle.
“All gods allowed the souls of the dead to be reborn. This is where the idea of reincarnation came from. The gods who didn’t believe in free will toyed with the souls they governed, allowing many of them to be reborn as mere maggots. They would live for a matter of Peaks before they returned to Hell, thus repeating the cycle.”
Sam opened his mouth to speak, a thousand questions resting behind his eyes, but Bassorine held up his hand.
“Make no mistake, the gods are strong. We are the beginning and the end, but we can be destroyed and have weaknesses. During The Great Destruction of Everything Known, thousands of deities perished, and those of us who survived elected to be governed by a set of rules. We did this voluntarily, but the laws we voted into existence are imperfect, and many details were overlooked. We can vote to fix these discrepancies, but not until the events that have been set in motion are resolved.”
Bassorine walked to the pitcher of water and took a drink from it. “The Book of Immortality was created to govern our laws. I now regret its creation. I have the power to stop Lasidious, but our laws bind my resolve. I can’t stop him without risking retribution and my own destruction.”
Moving back to the window, the god continued. “Allow me to explain the Book of Immortality further. As I’ve said, those of us who survived the God Wars decided to create the Book. Each of us poured part of our power into its many pages and made it strong enough to legislate our actions. Its purpose would be to keep the Collective from warring against one another for the rest of eternity and hold our new laws on its pages. If a problem arises, it is for the Book to determine a solution.
“We are no longer able to directly control the will of gods, men, or beasts. Instead, we give them the freedom to make choices of their own. The Book also allows us free will, as long as we don’t break the laws on its pages.”
Bassorine turned away from the window, walked to the table and sat opposite of Sam. He then looked into Sam’s eyes. “It was the concept of free will that