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He was so stupid. How could he have not known sooner? If he had, would things maybe have been different?
Gods experience time differently than their mortal counterparts. Gods are a sliver of the infinite; they are meant to live forever. For such beings to live and not go insane, their perception of time is warped; even something like a decade could pass them by without them noticing. This was a fact that the new Parkour God, Evbo, was rudely made aware of when his best friend, his love, told him that he was nearing the end of his life.
He was so stupid. How could he have not noticed sooner?
But it's okay; once he knew his internal clock was a little wonky, he would do better; things would be okay, or at least that’s what he thought. His friend, however, knew better; with age comes wisdom. He knew that his love would only bring about more suffering for the man who sacrificed so much for the world that didn’t deserve him.
No matter how much time they had, if it ever ended, it would have never been enough.
Evbo would live forever without ever aging; he would live without ever needing to eat, sleep, or drink; he would live. Why couldn’t he share this gift with the only one in the whole world who mattered? He had sacrificed everything for everyone else. Everyone he had ever known and cared about died in front of him, so why couldn’t he save this one person?
Evbo knew that he could bring the dead back; he just didn’t know how. The god that came before him brought the Old Man back even if it was just for a moment, so it must be possible for him to bring EMF back, right?
Even if just to see him one more time—to see his eyes that pulsed like the stars his skin reflected. It had to be possible. He needed it to be possible.
Why couldn’t EMF have said something sooner? Why didn’t Evbo notice? It’s his fault. It’s his fault they couldn’t have spent longer together than, and it’s his fault they can’t be together now.
How did his predecessor do it? How did he bring back the dead? There must be a trick to it. Maybe a specific type of jump, or maybe he needs to visualize it while exerting his power? When he had first became a god, he was happy at the lack of instructions. Without instructions, there was nothing he needed to do. There were no responsibilities he had to complete, or everything would fall apart. But now all it meant was he had no clue what to do.
Though the god that came before him didn’t leave much, he did still leave marks on this world. Even if Evbo didn’t know how to use his power’s to their fullest extent, there was a tool he could use to channel them; he’s used them before: the command blocks.
The command blocks allowed the champion to reshape reality as long as the one jumping could imagine it. Maybe all he needed to do was make the jump and picture EMF, his most devoted companion, coming back, and it would work.
Evbo appeared on top of the temple, where he used to spend time with his only friend as they shaped the world they saved together. This place meant so much to the two of them, even though Evbo was absent more than he had thought.
He paid no mind to the champion, who currently wore the diamond boots. He wasn’t the one Evbo wanted; it didn’t matter who sat on that throne; if it wasn’t EMF, then it was wrong. He jumped onto the first block and gathered an image in his mind like he had done before; instead of a city, it was the one that mattered most to him. The only one who actually cared about him, so much so he was willing to hide his feelings for decades, all because he didn’t want his god to suffer after he was gone.
He jumped and pleaded to the universe, which he shepard, to please for once do what he wanted. But nothing happened. Why did nothing happen? What had he done wrong? Nothing. This just simply wasn’t possible.
Evbo’s attempts didn’t end there, but the outcome never changed; no matter what he did, it seemed like reuniting with his friend was impossible. However, he couldn’t stop trying. If he ever stopped, then that would mean it really was impossible, and if that were true, it would break him.
On one of the days where he couldn’t bring himself to face more disappointment, he found himself just falling in the void; its not like it would kill him after all. While in this depressed spiral brought about by the loss of his love, Evbo started to reflect on all of the people who have touched his life.
At first there was no one, then came the Old Man, who gave him both the barrier block and ticket to rank up. After the Old Man was his Master Friend, EMF, who gave him the totem he needed to see how impossible the next trial was. He also had a friendly neighbor who helped him discover the invisible jumps. Finally came Seawatt, the one who betrayed him so many times, but because of his actions he became the Parkour God; he didn’t deserve dying like that. None of them deserved to die, and yet they were gone.
Evbo wondered what Seawatt would say to him now if he saw him like this. He wondered if he would berate him for being so weak. He wondered if he would try and manipulate him into doing more of his bidding. He wondered if they could have been friends. He wondered what it would be like if he wasn’t dead.
For the first time since he started falling, he opened his eyes, and in front of him was Seawatt. It couldn’t be possible; he was meant to be dead; trial and error had proven to him he couldn’t bring the dead back; even if he didn’t want to accept it, he knew it was true.
Seawatt didn’t say anything; all he did was give Evbo a look of pity. Evbo couldn’t help but glare and yell, “What nothing witty to say, this time? No backhanded phrase you want to throw at me? I’m sure you have lots of material to work with.”
Seawatt just sighed and replied rather calmly, “No Evbo I’m not going to insult you. You may have forgotten since it was so long ago, but near the end, I did actually like you. Hell, given more time, maybe we could have been friends.”
"Yeah, I doubt it. Betraying someone and imprisoning their partner for weeks doesn’t really make people want to be friends. Also, how are you even here right now?”
Seawatt laughed. "Yeah, fair enough, I definitely deserved what I got. However, I hope you know I only ever did what I thought I had to. Also, I didn’t know you and that master were dating; I just thought he was a friend of yours. This is the first I’m learning of it, so you can’t exactly hold it against me, bud. Also, you’re the god; you tell me, it wasn’t like I appeared here myself.”
"Oh, what do you guys not talk in where all the dead people are? Shocker. Also for your information, we didn’t get together until much later, and I’d like it if you didn’t bring it up.”
“Ah, touchy subject, I see. Not surprised knowing you; you seem like the oblivious type; it did make it easier to trick you. But to answer your question now, we don’t talk. He’s actually the only person apart of our whole song and dance that I haven't seen; I mean, I’m not complaining; I’m sure it would be rather awkward. You’d be surprised how many people hold a grudge after they die.”
Evbo replied rather gloomily, "Yeah, I’m sure that’s just the effect you have on people—you and your glowing personality.” He then quickly added after everything clicked for him. “Wait! What do you mean you haven’t seen him? Is he not there?”
“I mean, I don’t know? How long has he been dead? While it’s not a huge place, it’s not like I was on the lookout for all the people I wronged. I mean, once you’re dead, you kind of don’t have to worry about what will happen to you anymore.”
“I–I,” Evbo realized he didn’t know how long it’s been since EMF had died. “I don’t know how long its been, but it wasn’t recent; I know that. You should have had enough time.”
“Wow. Kind of cold of you to not know how long its been since whatever the two of you were died.”
"Okay, if you aren’t going to say anything helpful, why don’t you just leave?” After saying that the apparition of Seawatt disappeared, fading like smoke. But how had he appeared. Unless, Evbo was going crazy, which was possible, he must have done something to bring Seawatt back. Back when the Old Man was brought back, Evbo had to jump into the void, and now he was again in the void, allowing Seawatt to appear.
This still didn’t answer where EMF was, though. There was a chance that it was, as Seawatt said, and they just hadn’t happened to cross paths with each other. Maybe there was really a way they could be with each other again; even if it was in this diminished state, it would be enough.
Evbo repeated what he had done to make Seawatt appear, but with his love in mind instead. However, when he opened his eyes, there was still nothing. He tried again a few times for good measure, but the results stayed the same; he was alone.
What was different than before? He had done everything the same, but just swapped the point of focus. He tried thinking about Seawatt and the Old Man to see if he could bring them back; both appeared. He quickly sent them away so he could think; while Seawatt faded away, he wore a look that screamed, “You rude bitch.”
Evbo tried again and again and again. He had gotten a small taste of hope, and he couldn’t bear to let it go. But no matter what he tried, it seemed like the only one that he couldn’t bring back was EMF. He once again fell into despair. However, now he was less alone; he would occasionally bring back Seawatt, even if it was just to complain. On one of these days there was a breakthrough.
“You know Evbo I had a thought on why you can’t bring EMF back if you want to hear it.”
“If you are just going to say it’s because I suck, then I don’t want to hear it.”
Seawatt rolled his eyes. "No, I have an actual idea. I noticed that everyone I’ve seen in the afterlife died from parkour. There’s me, the Old Man, the clown, and all of the pros you tricked into jumping into the void.”
“That wasn’t my fault, and what’s your point?”
“Okay, I guess I’ll spell it out for you if you aren’t going to pay attention. Your, love, I guess, didn’t die from parkour like the rest of us. Also, you are only the god of parkour. While you might have some discretion when it comes to things surrounding this, you aren’t absolute. Maybe EMF just fell under someone else’s jurisdiction. Maybe if you want to see him again, you’ll have to die.”
“Are you telling me to kill myself?”
“Hey, it was just an observation. But if you did, I wouldn’t mind taking your place as god.”
“Ugh, you’re the worst. Also, it wouldn’t even work. I already tried that, but nothing hurts me anymore since I put on these boots. Also, before you suggest it, I’ve tried taking them off, but now that I have the power's, they just seem more symbolic of my status and not the cause.”
"Well, still, maybe if you can find a way to stop being a god, then you’ll have your solution. Anyway, can you send me back now? I’m having dinner with my parents.”
“Yeah.” When Evbo was still a noob, he never thought he’d be jealous of a dead person. However, now it was the dead who got to be with their loved ones, while the god had to be alone.
While it didn’t give him much hope, he still tried to follow through on Seawatt’s solution. However, he couldn’t find a way to separate himself from his powers. It must be possible since he was given them from someone else, but it just didn’t feel possible, and nothing he tried worked. Evbo laughed dryly and said to himself. “At least when I don’t have any real hope, my expectations stay low. I bet EMF would be disgusted if he saw me now; I’m nothing like what he once believed I was. No, he would still love me. He would love me no matter what; it’s just the type of person he is.”
Evbo didn’t talk to Seawatt for a long time after their conversation. Every time he did it always made him expect that somehow things would be different, that maybe just maybe he would find a way to bring EMF back. However, he couldn’t stay away for long; even if their conversations were infuriating at times, he needed the hope if he was going to keep going.
“Geez, I was wondering when you were going to talk to be next. It feels like its been ages; maybe it has. Anyway, you remember our last conversation, right?”
“The one where you told me to kill myself, yes.” Evbo said bitterly.
“Okay, no need to be so rude; I was trying to help. Anyway, I might have found a solution. So there is this old woman; I think you met her before in a library. I was telling her about our talk, and she mentioned that she had once read a book that talked about how there was once a lot of gods, but as time went on, a lot of them died.”
“WHAT! Why did you wait until now to tell me?”
Sewatt sighed and replied blankly, “Need I remind you, you decide when we get to have our chats.”
Evbo looked at the nonexistent ground. “Oh yeah. Go one.”
“As I was saying, in this book it mentioned how gods only exist for as long as they have people worshipping or believing in them. If a god loses enough support, then it’s possible for them to die and their powers to be stolen According to the book, there is a lot of power in one’s story. ”
“That would be great, but I can’t exactly make people stop believing in me. I am the Parkour God; I’m kind of the god of everything in this world.”
"Well, you aren’t the parkour god. Well you are now but you didn’t start out as him. Meaning you’re story and it’s story are two different things that became one. You aren’t the Parkour God; you are Evbo, the noob who defied what was possible and obtained godhood. Now that is a rather intriguing story, and it’s yours. Evbo, your story is the journey, not the outcome. Maybe if the story of Evbo was to end, you’d be able to separate from your godhood. Maybe thats how the god before you did it. After all, no one knew what his real name was.” Seawatt said all of this very proudly, like he was happy that he had come up with something like this.
Evbo sent Seawatt away after he finished talking. He needed to think about what he had just learned, and what he could do with it.
According to what Seawatt learned from the book, a god can never truly die until their name is spoken for the last time, until their story is forgotten. The belief, the stories, and the legends compel them to keep going, to never cease existing. Even if Evbo gave up his title now, that won’t be enough. People would still remember the him that existed outside the godhood. The him that had been tainted with this never-ending story, and as long as he was remembered, he wouldn’t be able to escape. Even if he hands over the boots to another, nothing would be accomplished; it wouldn’t kill him. If he wanted to die, Evbo would need to be forgotten.
At the top of the world, where he once spent a mortal’s precious time, Evbo stood. “Of the two of us, you were the one that better encapsulated divinity. You were a better champion than me and a better friend. You sparkled like the night sky, while I was just some guy. If what Seawatt says is true, and I’ll never truly die until I’m forgotten, then for however long it takes for the name Evbo to be spoken for the last time, I’ll remember you, my object of worship and love. I can only hope that when everything is done and no one knows who I am, I’ll find you, and you’ll be the last one to remember me. I love you; please wait a little longer.”