As Stefan watched Sam run towards him, everything suddenly seemed to grind to a halt. In an instant, the world became motionless and mute, as if replaced by a still image of itself. No longer were there the chirping of birds or the excited chattering of school children. Even the very colors of the world seemed to fade into a reserved grey. Stefan, gaze still on Sam, saw that the boy was likewise motionless, frozen midstep with outstretched arms and a smile on his face.

Stefan felt himself panic. He had no idea what was happening. Was there something wrong with his brain? Was he hallucinating? Was he suffering a stroke?

“Neither,” a voice said.

The intrusion of a foreign voice directly into his thoughts would have made Stefan jump out of his very skin, had he not been frozen stiff of course. But seeing as he was frozen stiff, Stefan settled for a jumble of word salad instead. “W-what’s going-? Who in the-? How-?” Stefan said, or rather, thought.

“Peace, Stefan Olsen,” the voice said.

“Y-you know my name?” Stefan asked, “What’s going on? What’s happened to Sam?”

“Your son is unharmed, Stefan Olsen. I have merely paused time for the moment,” the voice replied in a tone so nonchalant that it might as well have been talking about a video instead of reality itself.

Stefan was stunned. “Paused time? Just who are you?” he asked. Even as the words left his mouth, however, Stefan had an inkling of what the answer would be.

“I am closest to that which you humans call God,” the voice replied.

Though he had suspected as much when he posed the question, Stefan was still at a loss upon hearing the response. If he had been able to, his jaw would have dropped open and remained that way. While he wouldn’t have characterized himself as a believer of any of the major denominations, Stefan felt he had never precluded the existence of a god of some kind. In that regard, Stefan would characterize himself as an agnostic more so than an atheist. But even so, he had never imagined that he would in his lifetime face concrete evidence of God’s existence, if in fact the voice was that of God. Stefan tried to gather himself and managed to say, “L-lord, I apologize that I’ve never gone to church on Sundays. Please, if you just return things to normal, I promise in the future that I’ll-” A chuckle from the voice caused Stefan to stop. “Lord?” Stefan asked hesitantly.

“Stefan Olsen,” the voice said, “I am not the god which you are thinking of, the petty god of the Abrahamic religions, or even the god of humans. I do not care if you wish to attend church or provide me offerings.”

“P-please forgive my ignorance, but I don’t understand what you mean,” Stefan replied.

“I am the god of this universe, but also the god of every universe, what I believe you humans call the multiverse,” the voice replied, “I am the god of all that was, is and will be, of every space and every dimension. That is who I am.”

Stefan was silent for a moment, and he was surprised when the voice continued.

“Stefan Olsen, I can see you have doubts. You are a man of logic, and my abrupt appearance has been anything but,” the voice said as if reading his mind, “Still, it is of little consequence to me where your state of belief lies. I am not here to convince you of the existence of god or of the multiverse. Nor it is my obligation.”

“Forgive me if this is impertinent, Lord, but then why are you here?” Stefan asked.

“Rejoice, Stefan Olsen!” the voice proclaimed, “For at this moment, I have chosen you as the savior who will unite the world.”

“Savior? That will unite Earth? I’m ashamed for being so exceptionally slow, but I still don’t understand what you mean,” Stefan said.

“Not Earth. Not here, in this world as you know it. But the savior of another world, in a parallel universe,” the voice replied.

“I see,” Stefan said slowly, though the explanation did not do much to ease his confusion. Pausing time, voice of god, parallel universe, it all sounded so fictional to him that he couldn’t help but think that he was still hallucinating, that he had eaten some bad takeout laced with, he didn’t know what.

“You have much on your mind,” the voice said.

“My sincere apologies, Lord. I was just wondering how this would all work,” Stefan replied.

“Stefan Olsen, there is no need to lie to me. I can see your thoughts, as clearly as you see the sky overhead,” the voice said. By reflex, Stefan nearly retorted that the sky was in fact invisible and that the the thing people called sky was really just refracted light as it passed through the atmosphere. But he held his tongue and stayed silent, figuring such a remark would be rude towards the god of the multiverse. In the ensuing silence, the voice let out a laugh. “You are an amusing creature, Stefan Olsen,” the voice said, “But to answer your question as it stands, it is well within my power to move your soul this very instant from your universe to a physical body in a different universe. A kind of reincarnation, if you will.”

“W-wait, reincarnation?” Stefan asked, “Isn’t that something that happens when you die?”

“You are indeed a quick one, Stefan Olsen,” the voice said.

Stefan wasn’t sure, but he thought he detected a tone of sarcasm from the voice. He didn’t dwell on it though, instead asking, “If I am, at this instant, to be reincarnated in this other world, this parallel universe, what will happen to the me here?”

“What do you mean?” the voice asked.

Stefan paused a moment, trying to think of the best way to express himself. “Well,” he said, “What will happen to my life here? My family? My friends?”

“Nothing happens to them,” the voice replied in a tone that suggested it did not quite understand the question Stefan was getting at. Stefan did not interrupt, however, and the voice continued, “They will be as they are, living as they would have lived. But as for your life with them, because your soul is gone, your physical body here will decay and-”

“You mean I’ll die,” Stefan interrupted, unable to hold it in any longer.

“Yes, your physical body here will die,” the voice replied. There was a tinge of annoyance, as if it were upset at being interrupted, but it continued nonetheless, “Your body here will die, and you will be reborn with a new body in a different universe. Think of this as a great honor, Stefan Olsen. Few in the lifespan of the multiverse have had the opportunity to expand their horizons to such a degree.”

“Just so I’m clear, my life here, the ‘me’ in this universe, will end. Which means I will never see my coworkers again. My friends. My wife, Jeanne. My son, Sam. My unbo-. Basically, everything I know will be gone. Does that follow, Lord?”

“Yes, yes, Stefan Olsen, that would follow,” the voice replied impatiently as if answering the same question for the umpteenth time.

“May I ask you another question, Lord?” Stefan asked hesitantly.

The voice let out a sigh. “What is it, Stefan Olsen?” it asked.

“I know I haven’t believed in god my entire life, heck, I didn’t even know there was a god of the multiverse to believe in, but I have tried to live my life in a way that those around me could be proud of, as a good friend, a good husband, a good father-” Stefan said.

The voice interrupted, “What is your question, Stefan Olsen? I grow tired of your rambling.”

“Then I shall get to the point, Lord. Have I sinned in some way? Have I acted in some manner that deserves divine punishment?” Stefan asked.

The voice was silent for a moment. For the first time in their conversation, it seemed a bit unsure as to how to respond. Finally, it said, “I have no precept of ‘sin’ for which to judge you by. Nor would I, as a being of non-intervention. But if I were to evaluate your life thus far according to your own societies’ moral norms, I’d say that you have been a good man, Stefan Olsen.”

“Then why, Lord? Why punish me by toying with my life and taking away from me everything that I hold dear?” Stefan asked. He tried to remain calm, but it was clear that strong emotions were starting to seep into his tone.

“Punish you?” the voice replied, “Stefan Olsen, I believe you are confused. This is a great honor I am bestowing upon you. If it makes you feel at ease, just think of it as a gift for the life you have lived thus far. An opportunity to become a savior of billions of creatures, to be worshipped and remembered for eons to come.”

“I am honored by your words, Lord, that you would think so highly of me. But I am a simple man. I don’t fantasize about adventure or glory. I don’t think I have much of the qualities of a savior either. Please, I implore you to reconsider. Please, give this amazing gift to someone else. Someone more deserving. And if my simple request alone is not enough, I promise I will do anything else you ask, pray, worship, heck, even found a new religion in your name. But let me stay on Earth. Don’t force me to-”

“Silence, Stefan Olsen!” the voice boomed, “You are behaving like a petulant child. I did not appear before you to bargain or to discuss or to compromise. I came merely to state my will, and as I found you amusing, deemed it worthwhile to entertain your questions. But do not mistake my whimsy as companionship or equivalency. We are not on the level of friends. We are not equals. I am the god of the multiverse. If I so choose, I can will your universe out of existence with a simple thought. That is the extent of my power.”

Whether it was the voice calling him a petulant child, or the extremely condescending tone with which the voice spoke, Stefan momentarily forgot that he had been speaking with the god of the multiverse. He lashed out and said, “If you’re so powerful, why don’t you just leave me be and save this parallel universe by yourself?”

“Insolence!” the voice roared, for the first time sounding truly angry, “Another word, and I will smite your son where he stands!”

Upon hearing those words, Stefan finally snapped. The emotions that had been building inside him exploded out as hot venom, capable of melting steel. “Don’t you dare!” he yelled, “I don’t care if you are the god of the multiverse or whatever! No one threatens my family! And if you so much as touch a hair on my son’s head, I don’t care if I need to topple heaven itself, I’ll find you, and I’ll-!” Stefan was so enraged that he couldn’t even finish.

“You’ll what-?” the voice asked calmly. Then to his utter surprise, the voice suddenly started laughing. It was a deep, hearty laugh that caught Stefan completely off guard.

“W-what-?” Stefan stuttered out.

“Stefan Olsen, it seems I was right in choosing you after all,” the voice said once it finally stopped laughing, “You see, I have found that the best humans are those with the right, what’s the word. Motivation, I suppose. But I won’t bore you now with a philosophical debate. Another time perhaps. I will just leave it at this. In appreciation of our rather amusing conversation, just this once, I will overlook your momentary lapse in judgement. But do see to it that it never happens again.” There was distinctive threat underlying the voice’s tone that sent a chill down Stefan’s spine. For the first time in their conversation, Stefan genuinely felt at his core that he was speaking to a higher being, be it truly a god or otherwise. The voice let its words sink in before continuing, “That being said, you will still be reincarnated into the parallel universe as I have willed. That part is non-negotiable. But seeing as you are so reluctant to do so, I will offer you this compromise instead, a carrot, if you will. If or when you manage to succeed in uniting the world, I will return you back here. To this very spot, at this very time. Until then, I shall hold this world still for you, so that when you return, to those around you, it will be as if you never left.”

“Y-you can do that?” Stefan asked. The voice let out a noise somewhere before a scoff and a snort. “Oh right, god of the multiverse and all,” Stefan said.

The voice did not respond to his snide remark but offered him a warning instead. In a stern voice, it said, “But be warned of this, Stefan Olsen. Should you die before completing your task, well, let’s just say that even I cannot bring the dead back to life. Now, I believe everything has been settled. Until we speak again, I bid you farewell. Enjoy the trip.”

“W-wait, what do you mean-?” Stefan began to say. Before he could finish his question, however, a bright flash of light exploded before his eyes, coating his surrounding in white. Then just as quickly, the light became complete, impenetrable darkness. And then he was gone.