"Hoooo…" the middle figure found amusement in the soul's declaration. "Turn time back?"
The right figure also spoke as if it held a smile. "That's some gutsy wish indeed."
Only the left figure was audibly agitated. "Yeah this is not a fun theme park ride that you two are enjoying this. You do realize the gravity and stupidity of the wish, right? I won't even call it a wish. It's pure foolishness."
"You are always so uptight," the right figure let out a troubled sigh as if dealing with a petulant child. "Learn to have some fun. That's why humans are so interesting."
The left figure clearly wasn't thrilled by the remark. "You want me to loosen up? Then how about you carry the burden of EVERYONE's fates? I am sure you will like my job, God of Death."
"It's much better than my gloomy job of greeting everyone for the first time which also happens to be the last," it seemed to fan its face as if feeling a deep sense of melancholy and regret. "I just wish to give a friendly greeting to the humans, but they tend to run away from me. Do you realize how lonely that is, God of Fate?"
"As if you need any human companionship," it scoffed.
"It proves to be quite entertaining in the underworld."
The middle figure intervened, scolding them with a stern voice. "You shouldn't be arguing in front of a troubled soul."
"You have it the easiest, don't you God of Time!" The left figure expressed its heartfelt grievances, unable to bear this injustice. "Time always flows the way it always has. It's constant in a sense that you have the least work to do! You just have to oversee the passage of time, that lazy Death God only has to appear when the human's time on the earth is over whereas there is me! I have to painstakingly write everybody's destinies taking into account all of their previous actions. I am the most overworked here!"
So even Gods argue, Jin thought.
"Shut up, you insolent brat!" A heavy, gusty wind violently stormed in the time space, manifesting in the form of the God of Fate's frustration.
Jin could literally feel the strong currents tearing through his soul. But the winds halted abruptly as the God of Time raised its hand. The deafening noise from the storm and its deadly force took the form of pleasant silence. Everything seemed to freeze in its place, right down to the concept of motion itself.
The God of Time took charge of the conversation because God of Fate was too riled up to hold any meaningful dialogue whereas God of Death was simply bored.
"You wish for time to be turned back?"
Jin steadied himself after being almost blown away by the storm. He remained equally firm in his wish. "Yes!"
"Why do you think we should entertain your wishes?" It asked with a voice that was neither cynical nor friendly.
"Bro-"
"Your brother is not the only human living on the earth. We are responsible for everybody, not just a particular human. He might be 'The' Liu Jun in the mortal world but here, he is beyond that title. To us, his existence is one of the many billion people living on the planet. He doesn't become more special than anybody else to give him a special treatment."
Jin felt irked. It was true that before the Gods, they were simply humans. To them, they might even be similar to ants crawling on the ground. Nevertheless, he couldn't bear for Jun's existence to turn into something very common.
"Do you realize how much of a pandemonium will arise if every soul could ask for time to be turned back or if everyone wished for a do-over? Time and fate don't work like that, dear. There is only one chance and one has to make the most of it in that life blessed to him or her."
The deep-seated anguish made Jin tremble. "Bro didn't get the chance to make the most of his life! He devoted himself entirely to a woman who he had dreamed his future with. That long dream, that long wait since childhood amounted into nothing when Bro was rejected! How was he supposed to live his life when the person who made him breathe walked away just like that…?"
The God of Fate fluttered its fan near its face and sneered. "Your brother is not the first nor will be the last human to get rejected in love. Among the billions, how many people's first love do you think gets realized? Hardly. It's because I know what destiny should lie ahead of them. I am the bearer of fate. When something isn't fulfilled, when something doesn't become fruitful, it simply means that the event was never supposed to happen. It's because your fate takes you where you are supposed to be."
Jin clenched his fist. "And Bro's fate took him to his death? To a life of misery and loneliness? Was that the horrendous fate you wrote for him?"
"I didn't write that fate for him as much as he chose that for himself. Losing love is devastating but when the night is the darkest, it is a sign that dawn is very near…"
The God of Fate took a glance at Jun's soul and then at Ai's. Its gaze paused at her as it said, "If he had decided to emerge victorious through that darkest despair, he might have been embraced by the light he was always searching for."
Jin failed to understand God of Fate's cryptic words.
The God of Time stared deeply at Jin's soul. "It's not just a matter of chaos. Your brother chose to end his life, which is a great sin. Hardships are a part of life. That's how the whole system is designed. If you give up on your life, there can be nothing more insulting than that to nature. Life is precious. You are not allowed to treat it as something expendable. The reasons don't matter. Guilt, regret, shame, failure - nothing must urge a human to take their own life. Even if we could, we cannot grant a second chance to such a human."
He froze.
"The other thing you don't understand about your wish is fate. Turning time back inevitably grants the human to change their destiny. And it's a power humans are not allowed to possess. It's like a cheat code with one having their past life's memories and changing the past outcomes of the decisions that they chose in the first place. How could it be fair to the other mortals who simply pass on to their next birth? Turning time back and changing fates with it is a wish that has greater repercussions. It simply cannot be granted to you."
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶