Gods on Overtime
Exactly four presences registered. Only one was approaching. The other three lingered far off, merely observing.
Just their gaze carried weight. Not on the body, but pressing into the core of the self.
The approaching presence was surprisingly light. Heavy yet light. A new kind altogether.
Its form coalesced vaguely. Human-like, but not quite—hard to pin down as purely human. Like an outline woven from light, or a shadow too sharply defined. The facial lines were soft.
It spoke first.
"Whoa."
"..."
"It's real."
"...Real what."
"Child from another world."
Its tone was so casual that I lagged a beat behind.
"...Do gods talk like that?"
"Why? Gotta be all stern?"
"Not necessarily."
"Good. That gets tiring fast."
A voice jumped in from afar.
"Hey! Don't hog the conversation!"
"We wanna talk too—switch!"
"It's still my turn."
"What? You already held on forever last time!"
The being before me let out something like a sigh.
"Those three are noisy."
"...Gods do shift work?"
"Yeah. Total of four. Three on duty, one off. We rotate guarding the dimensions."
"Dimension repair."
"Sewing tears, closing gaps, plugging leaks. That sort of thing."
Simple words, impossible job.
I glanced down at the stark white floor beneath us. No shadows, no scents, no breeze. Yet it spoke like it was griping about overtime.
"So right now, three working, one resting?"
"Supposed to be."
Voices piped up from afar again.
"Talking to you is work!"
"Intel gathering!"
"Hand it over quick!"
The being shrugged.
"Today's half slacking, all eyes on you."
"...Didn't look bored."
"We're not."
The air grew subtly heavier with those words. The playful lilt sobered.
"We don't know why the dimensions are like this either."
"...You don't know?"
"If we did, it'd be fixed by now."
I furrowed my brow.
"So you're just chasing symptoms without knowing the cause."
"More like plugging breaks as we spot them."
The god traced a hand through the empty air. A thin crack flickered over the white expanse—like a hairline fracture in glass, but dark inside. Alive, not empty.
"Started as a tiny gap. Then it widened, cracking everything around it."
Its fingertip traced the edge slowly.
"It's not just one dimension damaged. When boundaries tear and collapse, adjacent ones shake too. Weak spots crumple, strong ones warp, leaks form."
One of the distant gods picked up.
"We're holding the boundary where unknowns push in from outside our world."
"Keeping the unknowables from crossing."
"Sewing so ours doesn't tear further."
"And grabbing what leaks out to your side."
I narrowed my eyes.
"So Earth's gates are leaks from your world shaking."
"Yeah."
"What reaches you now are the dribbles we can't fully stop."
"Our ecosystem and creatures slipping through cracks."
"No big collapse yet because we're holding it."
I eyed the crack and asked.
"Then just cross over and end it."
The three afar reacted in sync.
"There it is—that question."
"Knew the type."
"Like it."
The one before me seemed to smile, then shook its head.
"For high beings like us to cross, the gap needs to gape way wider."
"Why?"
"Vessel mismatch."
The explanation lengthened.
"Current gaps let scraps and lowlies seep. Shoving us through means ripping the boundary—not opening a door."
"...Then."
"Yeah. Their side floods in easier."
"Not just us going—they come too."
"Higher grades than now."
Words halted. The god lowered its hand; the crack vanished.
"Worst case: we lose to their high ones."
A distant voice continued.
"Even winning's bad."
"Fight contaminates our world."
"Door wide open? Too late already."
Four voices, one message.
I scraped my palate with my tongue.
"Fucking no-win."
"Tells you how pissed we are."
"Big time."
"Overtime every day."
"...Gods saying 'overtime' feels off."
"You thought we didn't seem godly?"
"A bit."
"Common reaction."
"One more thing."
"Yeah?"
"Our side's linked to another world too."
The mood shifted instantly.
"What?"
"What we call a wuxia world."
All four went silent. Brief pause.
Then.
"What?"
"...What'd you say?"
"Linked to another world?"
"Hold up—that changes the math."
Voices overlapped; the bickering vanished.
I spoke low.
"Not confirmed. Gut says so. Inflows don't match one source. Not just yours."
The distant gazes sharpened, space tautening.
"...Bigger than we thought."
"Off-script."
"Wait—your world's boundaries shaking on both sides?"
The near one sobered fully.
"Any repair beings over there?"
I answered quick.
"None. As far as I know."
It stared long.
"Serious then."
The three chimed in near unison.
"Other side open, no repairs?"
"Your world's been breaking longer, deeper."
"Not just our side's issue."
"You've been taking the full hit."
I stayed quiet. Long exhale.
"Makes sense now."
"Does it?"
"You held one side; ours might've been open opposite. Explains the weird shit."
"Yeah, that's it."
"...Honest. Nice."
"No point sugarcoating—you'd see through it."
True.
I asked low.
"So."
"What now."
Its form raised a hand slowly.
"First, leave a mark."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Mark?"
"Yeah."
"So if something happens to you or big anomaly hits your side, we notice fast."
The three jumped in.
"Necessary."
"Can't risk delays."
"Prime alert for big shakes."
"Plus you deserve one anyway."
The near one glanced back.
"Quiet."
"You're hogging!"
"We wanna talk!"
"Monopolizing fun questions is cheating!"
Watching gods squabble felt less transcendent, more like coworkers fighting shifts. Weirder.
"...Gods always this chatty?"
"Busiest ones are."
"Humans too."
"True."
It smiled, extending a hand. Stopped a palm's breadth short.
A thin light beam pierced the white void's center. Thread-fine at first, it traced a slow circle over my hand's back.
No heat, no cold—just vivid presence.
Light touched skin. No pain.
Heart thudded hard instead. Mana stirred on its own. Inner flows clarified briefly, like filtering murk—whole body cleared.
I looked down. Faint gold pattern emerged—not red, not blue. Near-circular, lines layered like vines or constellations.
"...A seal?"
"Yeah. Holy Seal in your terms."
A distant voice added.
"Divine-aligned mark."
"Not a big weapon."
"But useful."
I flipped my hand.
The gold hovered on skin, or embedded within.
"What does it do."
"We sense your status quicker."
"Big dimensional anomaly on your end? It reacts first."
"You'll sense irregularities before most."
The near one continued.
"Layer on a thin blessing too."
"Healing."
"Purification."
"Strips corrosion, contamination—suits that best."
I looked up.
"People too?"
"Not resurrection."
"Not full heals."
"But clears filth, halts rot, purifies taint."
"And you'll get a bit prettier."
"...Wanna die?"
Laughter erupted from afar.
"Great reaction."
"Told you—love it."
"Wanna recruit this one."
"No—your world's too holey."
Playful tone, but the last bit landed heavy.
I smoothed my hand, met its gaze.
"Boils down to one thing."
"What."
"You don't know the cause, crisis is bigger than thought, our world's riskier than we knew."
Brief silence.
The nearest nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
"Brutally honest."
"Hide it, you'd sniff it out."
I exhaled low.
"Got it."
"Not scared?"
"Fear now won't close gates."
"Solid."
"One thing—make sure."
"Say it."
"Our world falls, I get pissed."
The three chuckled softly—not rowdy.
"Deal. Same here."
"...What."
"Don't wanna watch it crumble either."
Air quivered faintly. White expanse rippled at the edges.
Body sensed return first.
"Already?"
"Shift change."
"Aw, more talk!"
"Hey! My turn now!"
"Earth kid! Come back!"
"I'll chat first next time!"
I huffed an incredulous breath.
"You guys are really gods."
"Probably?"
"That's my line."
Vision bleached white.
Eyes opened to the prayer room. Carpet texture returned under knees.
Candle smoke, stale air, distant bells—all rushed back.
Hand back warmed first.
Looked down. Faint gold seal lingered. Not a dream.
Then.
Prayer room door opened.
The old priest who'd brought me entered cautiously.
Face calm at first, then froze on seeing me—my hand specifically.
And the faint light aura around me.
"...Ah."
The elder's mouth gaped slowly. Eye wrinkles deepened—shock, awe, both?
Trembling hand pressed his silver pectoral.
"Divine power..."
I raised my hand.
"This?"
He murmured near a whisper.
"Even the seal."
Stepped back, knelt slowly before me.
"You've become the Saintess..."
Words cut off.
I blinked.
"Sai..."
The word slipped off my tongue.
"Saintess?"