Chapter 2: 1. Worldless Arc – I

Year 11, First Eon — Nowhere

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It came like an electric current running through my body, from head to toe, inside-out. My lungs were filled with air for the first time in ages. It was strangely tiring, but rewarding…Being alive.

“Woah! That was trippy! What the heck, woo! That was a long fall, damn…Where am I? God?” But what I saw wasn’t the most charming of vicinities. Skies were iron-white and heavy, a thick fog covered everything in warm transparent sheets, and the naked rock was coarse against the skin. “Eeh…Nope! Definitely hell.”

That warmth quickly built in a hot atmosphere, it felt like being in an intense sauna, weirdly enough in the open.

I was revigorated, finally being able to feel my body again, and move it even. I remembered it being much heavier, but probably transcendent travels change a lot of our perception. Tiny jumps and shaking arms helped me assess the precision of my touch sense. It indeed felt easier to move, and my stamina was at its peak, as if I finally compensated all lost hours of sleep in my life.

Something, however, was off.

“What in hell…” I jumped once more. Tried a second time. “What is so strange?”

Everything felt nice, light and smooth, a perfect sensation of health. But still, it felt like something was missing, something like…!

“AAH! AAAAAAH!” Panic hit me harder than infamous truck-kun. “Where’s it?! Its missing, its missing! Where’s it! Where, where?!”

My hands were shaking. I scurried around looking for it, full throttle engine, fueled by the deepest worries of a young man.

“Did it fell off when I landed? No, I’ve not actually fallen anywhere.…Wait, why am I naked? Where’s the devil? Is this an isekai or something worse? What religion was correct?! Am I tensei’d? IN WHAT TAG AM I!”    

“Noisy.”

“I’m not noisy! I’ve lost something importa— wait.” My eyes widened. “A voice! Who are you, the devil?”

The hot wind blew, humid and steamy, condensing water in my skin and making me sweat. I couldn’t see much farther, but giant silhouettes seemed like mountains, and they tunneled the air in sinister howls.

No answer.

“…hello?” I darted my eyes around. Did I fend off Satan?

“You are quite similar to how I remember, and yet it is somehow disappointing.”

“Eh.” Rude, very rude. But rudeness aside, the voice came out of literally nowhere. It seemed to come from the skies, but afterwards it felt like it simply came from all directions, speaking directly in my mind. “So…are you the de—”

“I am you.”

“What?”

“A predictable reaction, but a welcomed one. You are sane and perceptive. Good.”

“I…Double my what.” Okay this leans more towards being isekai’d, that must be the tutorial or that part a stupid goddess offers you something, but… no cool place or white transitional dimension, just a sketchy voice, so I folded my arms, ready to debunk anything the voice said. “Prov—"

“You are a 30-year old nerd, failed at writing novels and drawing comics. Has an exceptional liking to dinosaurs, but classifies it as a childish taste, throwing away your most precious toys that were kept since were 4. You also have a strikingly weakness towards bespectacled women, cannot understand foot fetish and has an unhealthy relationship with chocolate milk.”

“The amount of chocolate milk I consume is no business for strangers to talk, ‘kay? Tsc.”

“It was technically my business, since as aforementioned: I am you.”

"Prove it."

“I just exposed your most intimate traits. I can say more, but those are truths we don’t even speak out loud for ourselves.”

“Or maybe you’re just an Isekai God with a very good knack for researching your victims?”

“You are r-worded.”

“Hah! So, you’re r-worded too!” I pointed towards the fume-filled sky. “Wait, which r-word are we speaking of? Are you beyond such words now?”

An especially strong gust of wind came, now carrying droplets of water that were chilling cold. Not far away I could hear waves in sync with those breezes. I could almost feel like it was a really, really big sigh.

“So, why am I naked? And devoid of any manhood. Have you forgotten how it was when bringing me here?”

“No. I simply thought we were beyond such petty details. Gender is but a biological notion, and now we are far beyond that, I even managed to give you a much more ambiguous and desired appearance.”

I contemplated their words for a second.

Man…that was deep. And I do say some strange things like that buuut…

“Yeah. So, can I have it back?” I let it out as grumpy as possible. They did not respond immediately. “Are you rolling your eyes?”

“How did you know?” They seemed unimpressed, but curious.

“I would be rolling my eyes, if I became some kind of god and an idiot was making a ruckus about a meat stick.” It was my time to let out a sigh and sit down in a round-shaped stone nearby. “And your voice does sounds like mine in huhhm…My ‘previous’ life, if that’s right.”

“You are adapting fast to your current reality, which is good. Your wish will be granted.”

“And give me clothes too.”

“Will be granted.”

“…Why was I naked?”

“I wanted to look at my creation with full contempt.”

I shivered.

“Woah, no shame at all. Yeah, now I believe that we are indeed the same person…creep.” I don’t want to hurt my own feelings, so I whispered this last part.

"Good."

Suddenly the entire world rotated around me, a pillar of light rose at my feet and disintegrated in fancy sparking particles that sticked to my body as glitter. One part at a time, pieces of clothing materialized: A white and cozy tracksuit with a dignified hoodie, light-brown cargo pants, and a pair of thick and resistant shoes; they covered my now more streamlined, and faintly well-defined body, that gained some smoothness and favoring angles. My surprisingly long hair was arranged into a single and thick braid.

I resisted, with difficulties, the urge to end all this transformation with a peace sign and a wink.

“W-What was that…” Woah. “Do you think I’m a magical girl or something!?”

“You liked it.”

“Tsc.”  My only means of defense was sulking. I took a moment to appreciate my clothes, and check if the content inside my pants was there and right. “Phew! Now that is much better.”

The very instant I finished my sentence, something exploded, a thunder so loud it pierced and hurt, shaking even my bones. Everything went red, blue and white. Something that roared akin to a supersonic jet crossed the skies, above the clouds just a monstrous trace that tried to lit the world ablaze.

As it progressed, the thin winds raged, pushed by an impact that was yet to occur.

And death could not rid me of fear.

“Hey! What’s happening now, I did nothing wrong!” I covered my eyes that were quickly drying with all that heat and wind, making my tears thankfully unseen.

“That is not my making.” The godly voice pondered quietly. “An out of season phenomena surely, but not truly uncommon.” They tried to sound confident, but their tone couldn't fake it enough to me. “Your body is made to withstood such punishment, but still…This seems highly unpleasant, and potentially damaging. I will provide a safe hideout. Head north, around thirty steps.”

“North? Where’s north!” My voice was being carried away, and a rising gust almost had me in my knees. A strange noise, similar to a smartphone notification, rang in my ears.

“An arrow will indicate the way, haste.” They were telling the truth, two meters away from me was a pointy and shining golden arrow, alongside a faint circle that lit slightly my surroundings. I glanced back, trying to see if there weren’t any other safe places, but the arrow quickly moved to always be kept in sight and pointed onwards.

You are reading story I am the World! at novel35.com

As I tested such feature, the meteor crashed somewhere.

The horizon turned so bright that it could very much be daybreak, but that…that was the calm before the storm.

The route wasn’t really the best, but all I could do was trust in metaphorical god me. I tried to ran, and the moment I lifted one leg too much, the winds were strong enough to toss me around like a little plastic doll. I tripped around for a couple of seconds, hitting ribs and covering my head with my hands, until a body of boiling water was my final stop.

Desperate, I stood up amidst the fuming streamlet, its soft currents so evilly hot that they bubbled in contact with me; but it didn’t hurt.

“What?” I asked for the third time, but now wasn’t the appropriate time.

The distance between me and the hideout increased. I kicked the ground and ran as fast as I could, which was incredibly fast, but I wasn’t the only one accumulating momentum.

From the edge of the world came a shockwave, carrying debris from all over the place, tumbling rocks, demolishing anything in its way.

And approaching the so-called hideout, it didn’t seem to be more than a plain and simple three-pointed monolith, softened by wind and rain. It didn’t feel like a safe place, just another damned rock! But what else could I do, but trust the metaphorical god me!

“Jump.”

I gathered strength and simply followed their orders, leaping forward and foremost, catapulting myself towards that rock.

“FU——”

The shockwave came.

But the sudden materialization of a door let me slip to that ‘hideout’.

Surprisingly enough, the first thing I ever did after being isekai’d, was escape a deadly meteor crash. And that’s neat, no matter what you say.

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I had very few reasons to doubt that another version of myself was some kind of pseudo-omnipotent god, but seeing their power in action put all that suspicions down. My strongest argument was that this isekai’s ruler wanted, for some reason, to trick me into helping them. But I see very few reasons to pretend being me, make my new appearance as an androgenous and cute version of myself, and even satisfying internal desires like having a magical girl transformation segment. That led me to enter that cave with a clear mind, and although absurd, I was truly convinced that somehow…I was this isekai’s god.

The place was crude. It indeed looked really like a rocky den made in a hurry. Some nice features just showed how I could very well understand myself. A bench was also made, accompanied by a stone table. The room was shaped like a circle, and was very wide compared to where it was constructed. Probably some spatial magic was in work, which was actually an amazing power to have, further consolidating that my metaphorical god version was very resourceful.

“This place is crazy.” I sighed and had my tracksuit off; it was wet and heavy. “I won’t judge you on it, but couldn’t you make a better safehouse? It is not bad, just…”

“With given time, probably.” Now their voice came accoustic, the walls echoing each word. “But wouldn’t be much different from this.”

“You suck.” After checking, everything was also obviously drenched. I stripped completely, just leaving my underwear on. “We should’ve taken that discounted 3D modeler course, it would’ve helped to make hidden grottos in alternate worlds.”

“We should have, indeed. Now it is too late to bother.”

“Mmm, yeah. So, will you reveal some of the plot, pretty please? It’s been a couple of minutes that we are just here, chatting, and whatnot. Ah, also, can you dry my clothes?”

“No.” I muttered slanders to myself. “That is part of the plot, if you want to know.”

I took a good minute to fully analyze my new body. It differed from the original quite a lot, but kept many resemblances. My former body-shape was taller with longer limbs that me awkward, with a long neck and a structure that made me always look skinnier than I really was. Now there was some softness to it. Considering that Metaphorical God Me seems to be in some kind of…higher ascended mood, I was made to look genderless. I’m cute, and that is enough. Hair is definitely longer, retaining a certain fluffiness, and I couldn’t really see my face, but it was rounder. Eyelashes were kept the same size, which was already insanely long, so I’ll continue to struggle with tangling lashes. Most importantly: no bruise or cut to be seen. No damage was received, to neither me or my clothes.

“So, let’s go by parts, as said Jack the Ripper.” I sat down. “I, or rather, we fell into our favorite lake, were captured by some external force that kept us falling for an eternity, and now we’re isekai’d, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then, somehow, you are this place’s god or something like it, and I was remade as an Astolfo-Type genderless demigod?”

“Almost.” They cleared their throat, unnecessarily, but that’s a very me thing to do. “As I fell and had my entire being deconstructed, I reached this place. No entity was here to welcome me.  I—, We are the first to land here. And as a matter of fact, there is no world to be inhabited here, yet.”

“Aaand that makes three…What?”

“As you saw out there, no living organism could be found. This isn’t an idiosyncrasy of this biome you spawned, it is the planetary arrange of our situation.”

“What?!” And a fourth. Enough with that joke. “A lifeless world! Why would I— We, whatever, be sent here? If I remember the rules right, the more your life sucks, the better is the isekai.

“Correct. Not about theoretical rules on being transported to another world, but that this world is lifeless. With the basic knowledge in geology we dispose, I have reached a conclusion: this planet seems to be in its Hadean Eon. We are still in the formatting days of a planet, much prior to conditions that could led to a stable biosphere.”

“Hadean…shit, that’s…way too early…” There wouldn’t be much to explore, or even remote chances of seeing something more than magma, active and catastrophic vulcanism, and biblical deluges. And that’s not stepping on the meteor thing.

“There’s plenty of water…And I don’t know how stable is atmosphere, but the planet as a whole seems to have already cooled off, right? Wouldn’t that put us between Hadean and Archean?”

“Also correct.”

“Damn…” If we were heading to an archean period, then we were much closer to first signs of life than going back to hellish landscapes that should’ve been the hadean era. Yet, what an eerie sensation. That would mean that as of now, I was the sole dweller of this entire world, unless that this world’s ocean depths already housed microbiological life…Yeah, but those would still need billions of years to evolve into complex organisms, if that happened.

“I understand your shock, and time will be provided so that you can digest such information. And although there might be some kind of excitement, it won’t last long. The foreboding promise of eon-length solitude…It takes the best of it.” Their monotonic speech wavered.

“What chances do we have on hosting complex life-forms, such as primitive animals, sponges and etc.?”

“Unpredictable. Collisions between celestial bodies receded considerably in the last few centuries, if I certainly recall, but there are a multitude of factors that could let to absence or extinction of unicellular life, as of now. Even the composition of oceans and soil.”

“Thought so…Man, that’s brutal.” Being surrounded by life in my days easily made me took for granted how hard it was to even exist. “And so…You made me to escape loneliness? Haha, cute.”

The air around me started to become suffocated with an ominous sentiment. Forcing things to light a bit up would help me to continue that conversation, but that cold feeling in my chest would not go away.

“Yes, but not solely for such purpose. That is the ‘plot’ I have mentioned earlier.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. It’s true. If I’m your creation, or whatnot, then it must’ve been some kind of motivator behind my existence. C’mon, infodump me.” I leaned towards the stone table.

“First things first. As of now our communication is being held by a more or less mystical means, only possible through manipulation of a certain type of energy. The reasoning behind this, is that my actual speech capabilities is nigh, since I am this planet itself.”

I swallowed my fifth what.

“Our soul, during that timeless period of profound spiritual journey, has been fused with the very core of this planet. My body is now this world, through and through.  My touching sense has been linked with tectonic plates; I can feel the crawling oceans cooling slowly, the sting of every meteor just like that of an ant. The mantle layer with its magmatic flows are like my blood, and beating deep in my uncommon physiology there as the outer and inner core, where my kernel is located.”

I stared a million yards away.

“W-Wait…Lets…Parts, Jack, Ripper.” A sigh helped put things in order. Not by much. “Tags? What tags are we inside?”

“Transmigration, Overpowered Protagonist, Isekai, and personally there is some type of Existential Dread going on. My plan is to add some others, to our liking.”

“So…We’re reincarnated, transmigrated, whatever it is all the same and people just complicate it. As a planet? Who exactly is the ‘we’ in your sentences? How separate are you and I?”

“Entirely, but we part from the same roots.” My dumbstruck expression made they continue. “Since my conscience was restored, I desperately tried to find comfort in this void setting. I have attempted, multiple times, terraforming these landscapes. However, even if my body is capable of responding in the form of natural phenomena, it is impossible to reach a point where I could attain a balance, one that could set in motion accelerated life progress. The dynamics of a world is extremely delicate.”

As they spoke, the shadows grew thicker, turning the air stagnant and chilling. Imagery seeped into my minds. Days, months, decades spent in absolute seclusion…No, there wasn’t a world to be secluded off…

“You mean…Its like your hands are too big for this job?”

“Yes.” The bitterness of being unable to accomplish…You hide it in your voice, but is that how you feel, isn’t it? “It is for this same reason that this hideout, or safehouse as you called it, is no more than a room crudely carved in stone.”

“This means that…we’re trapped here? Alone?” Fear reigned over thought.

“This is why I have constructed you.” Their voice came out as grinning. “I have spent an entire decade, honing my meager dexterity, designing in six long attempts not only you, but a whole system; skills, abilities, nomenclatures…All dedicated, basilar, to a final and foremost function:

Channel and use this planet’s energy to conceive, nurture and design a world of our own.”

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Worldless Arc — Chapter 1: Dream of a Thousand Lifetimes