CHAPTER 2: MEETING TENUK

  They walked to the edge of the parking lot, where a small patch of grass separated the apartment complex from a strip mall that housed a nail salon, a tax preparation service, and a store that sold nothing but different varieties of beef jerky. Tenuk moved with a grace that seemed almost inhuman—which, Charley supposed, made sense if he were actually an interdimensional deity and not just a very committed method actor.

  "So," Charley said. "God of Universe 2. That's quite a resume. Do you have a LinkedIn?"

  Tenuk glanced at him. "You're taking this remarkably well."

  "Am I? Because internally, I'm screaming. But externally, I cope with existential crises through humor and pop culture references. My therapist calls it 'maladaptive,' but she also charges $150 an hour, so who's really winning?"

  "You're nervous."

  "I'm terrified. You're a glowing man who claims to be a god. That's either divine intervention or very elaborate stalking. I'm hoping for the former."

  Tenuk stopped walking and turned to face Charley fully. Up close, the glow was even more pronounced, casting strange shadows across his features. He looked to be in his forties, with sharp cheekbones and dark hair that seemed to move of its own accord, as if responding to a breeze that only he could feel.

  "I understand your skepticism," Tenuk said. "In your position, I would feel the same. But I assure you, I am exactly what I claim to be. I am Tenuk, God and Protector of Universe 2, and I have been watching over my domain for the past three thousand years."

  "Three thousand years? Do you get vacation days? Dental?"

  "I do not require vacations or dental care."

  "That's a shame. Dental care is really important."

  Tenuk's expression remained serious, but Charley detected the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth. "You use humor to deflect when you're uncomfortable."

  "You use stating the obvious to deflect when you're uncomfortable with my humor."

  "I am not uncomfortable."

  "You're a little uncomfortable. I can tell. Very rigid. Very 'I am a serious god and I will not be mocked.' But here's the thing about humans—we mock everything. It's kind of our whole deal. We looked at the vastness of space and said, 'Yeah, but what if we made jokes about it?'"

  For the first time, Tenuk's formal demeanor cracked slightly. "You are... not what I expected."

  "I get that a lot. My mom says I'm 'an acquired taste,' which is polite code for 'weird but mostly harmless.' So, Universe 2. Tell me about it. Is it like this one? Do you guys have Buy -Less Groceries? Because if so, I have some feedback about the management structure."

  Tenuk gestured to a nearby bench and sat with ceremonial grace. Charley joined him, keeping a respectful distance in case the glowing was contagious.

  "Universe 2 is similar to yours in many ways," Tenuk began. "Same fundamental physics, but the timeline diverged fourteen billion years ago. Think of it less as a branch and more as a separate tree growing alongside yours."

  Charley leaned forward, curiosity overriding skepticism. "So what's different? Do you guys have dinosaurs?"

  "No. They went extinct sixty-five million years ago, same as here."

  "Damn."

  "However, we do have dragons."

  Charley's eyes widened. "You're messing with me."

  "I am not. They're rare, mostly keeping to remote mountains, but I am very real."

  "Okay, now you're just pandering because you know I'm a Game of Thrones fan. Next you're going to tell me Emilia Clarke is the queen of Universe 2."

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  "I do not know who Emilia Clarke is."

  "She's only the most talented, beautiful, and perfect human being ever to exist. If your universe has dragons, I'm already more interested in it than this one."

  Tenuk studied him. "Your enthusiasm is... endearing."

  "That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me all day, and you're a potentially imaginary god, so that tells you something."

  "I am not imaginary."

  "Prove it."

  Tenuk stood and held out his hand, palm up. The glow intensified, and suddenly a perfect miniature galaxy hovered above his palm. Stars swirled in spiral arms, nebulae glowed with vibrant colors, and planets orbited their suns in real-time.

  "Holy shit," Charley whispered, standing. "Is that real?"

  "A representation of Universe 2. What you're seeing is happening right now across billions of light-years."

  Charley reached out tentatively. Tenuk nodded permission. The moment his finger touched the galaxy's edge, sensation rushed through him—the heat of stars being born, the cold of deep space, the pull of gravity, the expansion of space-time itself. Overwhelming and beautiful and terrifying.

  He pulled back, breathing hard. "Okay. I believe you. You're either a god or the world's most elaborate magician, and that was way too expensive for a magic trick."

  The galaxy disappeared. They sat back down, and Charley shoved his shaking hands in his pockets. "You said something about recruiting me. For what? Because I should warn you, my management experience is limited to being a shift lead for three months before I got demoted for 'attitude problems.'"

  "I am recruiting you to be my successor."

  Charley laughed. Then realized Tenuk wasn't laughing. "Wait, you're serious?"

  "Completely."

  "You want me—Charley Novak, grocery store employee, professional disappointment, owner of an embarrassing number of Game of Thrones collectibles—to be the God of Universe 2?"

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  Tenuk looked up at the barely visible stars, his expression profoundly weary.

  "Because I am tired," he said finally. "I have been the Protector of Universe 2 for three thousand years. I have watched civilizations rise and fall, prevented cosmic catastrophes, maintained the delicate balance that keeps my universe functioning. And I am... exhausted."

  "So you're retiring?"

  "Ascending to the Creator's Realm, to meet with The 1 Being. It is the next stage of my existence, but I cannot leave Universe 2 unprotected. It needs a guardian."

  "And you think that's me? A guy who can barely manage his own life?"

  "I think it's you because you have the capacity. Intelligence, genuine curiosity, a fundamental kindness you hide behind sarcasm. You understand the universe in ways most humans don't. And you can see me, which means you have the potential to perceive and interact with the cosmic forces that govern reality."

  Charley ran his hands through his hair. "This is insane. I can't be a god. I don't even know how to be a functional adult. I eat cereal for dinner three times a week. I once cried during a commercial for dog food. I'm not god material."

  "What is 'god material'?" Tenuk asked. "Do you think I was always like this? I was once mortal, like you. I was chosen by my predecessor, just as I am choosing you. And I was terrified. But I learned, and I grew, and I became what my universe needed."

  "How long do I have to decide?"

  "Three days."

  "Three days? That's it? I need more time than that to decide what to order at a restaurant."

  "The ascension ceremony is in two weeks. If I don't have a successor in place, Universe 2 will be left vulnerable to chaos and entropy."

  "No pressure, though."

  "Immense pressure, actually."

  Charley stood and started pacing. "Okay, hypothetically—what does being a god actually entail? Do I have to smite people? Because I'm not really a smiting kind of guy."

  "Smiting is rarely necessary. Your primary role would be to maintain balance. Think of yourself as a gardener for an entire universe. You would nurture growth, prevent catastrophic events, occasionally intervene when necessary."

  "Do I get powers?"

  "Extensive powers. You would be able to manipulate matter and energy, travel instantaneously, perceive multiple timelines, communicate with any sentient being in Universe 2."

  "Can I create dragons?"

  "Technically, yes, though I would advise against it. Dragons are complicated."

  "Everything cool is complicated." Charley stopped pacing. "What happens to my life here? My job, my friends, my... whatever Lyla and I are?"

  "You would exist in both universes simultaneously. Time moves differently between them. You could spend years in Universe 2 and return to find only moments have passed here."

  "That sounds like a loophole."

  "The catch is that you would carry an enormous responsibility. The weight of an entire universe would rest on your shoulders. It would change you, fundamentally. You would make decisions that affect billions of lives."

  Charley sat back down, suddenly exhausted. "Why me, though? Really. There have to be better candidates. People who don't make Game of Thrones references in serious conversations."

  Tenuk smiled, genuinely warm for the first time. "Because you ask questions. Because you use humor to cope with fear rather than letting fear control you. Because you care about things deeply, even when you pretend not to. And because when I showed you a galaxy, your first instinct was to reach out and touch it. That curiosity, that willingness to engage with the unknown—that is what makes you suitable."

  "That's a very nice speech, but I'm still not convinced I'm not having a psychotic break."

  "Would you like me to demonstrate more of my abilities?"

  "Honestly? Yes."

  Tenuk stood. "What would you like to see?"

  "Can you show me Universe 2? Like, actually take me there?"

  "I can do better than that. I can show you what you would become."

  Before Charley could ask what that meant, Tenuk placed a hand on his shoulder. The world dissolved.

  Suddenly, Charley was standing in space—actual space—but he could breathe, and he wasn't cold, and he could see everything. Galaxies stretched out in all directions. He could feel the pull of gravity from distant stars, could sense the expansion of the universe itself, could perceive the intricate web of cause and effect that connected every particle of matter.

  And he could feel power. It thrummed through him like electricity, like music, like the universe itself was singing and he was part of the song. He raised his hand and watched as stars responded, their light bending toward him. He thought about creating something, and suddenly there was a small planet forming in front of him, rock and ice coalescing from cosmic dust.

  "This is what you would be capable of," Tenuk's voice said. "This is the power of a Protector."

  Then they were back in the parking lot. Charley stumbled, and Tenuk steadied him.

  "That was..." Charley couldn't find words. "That was the most incredible thing I've ever experienced."

  "That was a fraction of what you would have access to."

  Part of him wanted to say yes immediately. But another part—the part that had been hurt and disappointed too many times—was screaming at him to be cautious.

  "I need time to think," he said finally. "I know you said three days, but I need at least tonight to process this."

  Tenuk nodded. "Of course. But Charley, I need you to understand something: this opportunity will not come again. If you decline, I will find another candidate, and you will return to your normal life. But you will always know what you turned down."

  "That's a pretty manipulative thing to say."

  "It is also true."

  "Fair enough." Charley extended his hand. "Thank you for showing me all this. Even if I decide not to do it, tonight has been... well, it's been the most interesting night of my life, and I once accidentally walked into a furry convention."

  Tenuk shook his hand, and Charley felt that same jolt of cosmic energy. "I will return tomorrow evening for your answer. Until then, think carefully about what you truly want from your life."

  "What I want is to not work at Buy Less Groceries anymore. Beyond that, I'm pretty flexible."

  "Then perhaps this is your opportunity to change that."

  Tenuk began to fade, his glow intensifying until it was almost blinding, and then he was gone. Charley stood alone in the parking lot, the night suddenly feeling very ordinary and very quiet.

  He looked up at the stars and felt something he hadn't felt in a long time: possibility.

  Then his phone buzzed. A text from Sam: "Dude, you alive? You never told me how it went with Lyla."

  Charley laughed, a slightly hysterical sound. Right. His normal life. The one where he had relationship problems and a dead-end job and no glowing gods offering him cosmic responsibilities.

  He texted back: "Alive. It went... complicated. Tell you tomorrow. Also, hypothetically, if a god offered you a job, would you take it?"

  Sam's response came immediately: "Is this a metaphor or did you hit your head?"

  "TBD. Night, man."

  Charley walked back to his apartment, his mind spinning. He knew he wouldn't sleep tonight. How could he, when he'd just been offered the chance to become something more than human?

  He unlocked his door and looked around at his small, cluttered apartment. At the posters on the walls, the dishes in the sink, the life he'd built that felt simultaneously comfortable and suffocating.

  Tomorrow, he would have to make a decision. But tonight, he would let himself imagine what it would be like to be a god.

  Even if that god still had to work at Buy Less Groceries.