Capítulo 1: God?
It was morning—or at least he thought so. A blinding light pierced through his sleep, forcing him awake. He sat up, his eyes still half-closed, his mouth dry. His head throbbed, as if someone were pounding the inside of his skull with a hammer. He stretched his arms, trying to shake off the lingering drowsiness, then placed a hand on his head, as if the gesture could somehow quell the relentless headache.
Once his headache had subsided slightly, he slowly lifted his body, moving carefully to avoid a resurgence of pain, and sat on the edge of the bed. He glanced around the room, his eyes curious. He didn't recognize the place.
"Am I in a hotel?" he murmured, staring at the unfamiliar surroundings. "But I don't remember booking a room last night. I was just with some friends… We had a few drinks…" he mused, scratching his head. "Maybe my friends booked this room for me on the way back. The drive was long, and they were probably too tired to continue," he reasoned aloud.
He looked down, picked up the pants lying at his feet, and quickly put them on, making sure he still had his phone and wallet. He sighed in relief when he found them in his pockets.
"At least I have some money and my phone. Worst case, I can call someone," he thought.
He pulled out his phone and checked the date. It was May 9th. A chill ran down his spine as his hands grew clammy. He was certain that his last memory—the party—was from May 2nd. Panic gripped him, and his body began to tremble. Sweat beaded on his forehead, the hairs on his neck stood on end, and his breathing quickened.
He tried to calm himself by taking deep breaths. After a few minutes, his heartbeat returned to normal, though his forehead was still slick with sweat. He reassured himself that if anyone had meant him harm, they would have done so long ago.
With that thought, he decided to leave the room. He stepped into a long, white corridor, at the end of which was a staircase leading down. Sensing that the answer to why he was here lay below, he headed there with determined steps. As he walked, he tried to send messages to his family and close friends, but none of them went through. This worried him even more, but there was nothing he could do about it for now.
He passed a few doors but decided to ignore them and began descending the staircase. At the bottom, he found himself in a vast room with a single couch in the center. To his great surprise, a stunning woman was seated on it—perhaps the most beautiful he had ever seen.
She had blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Her turquoise dress clung to her form, accentuating her eyes. She held a cup, probably filled with tea, which she sipped leisurely, a small smile playing on her lips as she watched him approach. When he sat on the couch facing her, she immediately exclaimed:
"Finally awake! How are you feeling? Has your headache passed?"
Confused, he looked at her for a moment, trying to recall if he had ever met her. Surely, he couldn't have forgotten a woman this beautiful? But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't place her. The woman, on the other hand, seemed amused, as if she could read his thoughts and found them entertaining.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't know who you are…" he finally managed to say, after a few minutes of awkward silence, feeling deeply embarrassed.
"No, you wouldn't," she replied, smiling even more.
"Then how do you know me?" he asked, perplexed. "Oh, and would you happen to have some water? My mouth's been dry since I woke up."
She continued smiling as she handed him a bottle of water, which he took without even noticing. It wasn't until he opened the cap that he realized he hadn't seen her take the bottle from anywhere—it had just appeared out of nowhere.
"That's strange," he thought, before taking a gulp of water. "So, how do you know me?" he pressed, as he continued drinking to soothe his dry throat.
"It's simple. I'm God," the woman declared.
At those words, he nearly choked on the water he was about to swallow, coughing violently before asking:
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"You're questioning my sanity, aren't you?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know, it's not very wise to doubt a god…" she continued, her tone playful yet firm. "But to prove it to you, I'll grant you one wish," she added, her smile returning.
He frowned, deep in thought. After a moment, his eyes lit up with a mischievous glint. He said firmly:
"I wish for a Hawaiian pizza with olives, along with a table, chairs, and utensils."
A look of disbelief crossed the woman's face, but it was soon replaced by a burst of laughter. As she doubled over in mirth, he scowled, offended that she was mocking him.
"Forgive me," she said, still chuckling. "That was just so unexpected. You're the first to ask me for something like that… But I like it," she admitted, her eyes sparkling, as she straightened up.
With a wave of her hand, a table covered with a red cloth appeared, along with two plates, each holding a Hawaiian pizza. He rushed to the table, grabbed the knife, and quickly cut into the pizza, shoveling it into his mouth to calm his growling stomach.
The goddess followed him and sat across from him, beginning to eat as well. Every movement she made was elegant and graceful, from the way she cut her pizza to the way she brought it to her lips. Now, he had no doubt that she was indeed God. How else could she make things appear out of thin air? It was physically and scientifically impossible! The goddess watched him with a smile, as if she could read his thoughts.
"Can I ask you some questions?" he asked once he finished his pizza.
She nodded, giving him permission to proceed.
"You said you were a god. Does that mean there are others? And if so, which one are you?" he asked cautiously.
"Good question. Yes, there are several gods. As for me, I'm the god of the Christians. That's why you ended up here."
"But I'm not religious! How could I end up with you?" the man exclaimed.
"Oh, it has nothing to do with belief. Actually, people are sent to different gods upon their death based on where they died. Since Europe is predominantly Christian, everyone who dies in Europe is sent to me. It's like a zone of influence, if you will," she explained.
"But then, even Muslims end up with you? Aren't they angry about that?" he asked, scratching his head.
"Don't get me started," the goddess replied, grimacing. "Usually, we make an exchange with Allah. So, imagine my reaction during the Crusades…"
The man didn't understand at first, but then the realization hit him, and he was stunned by the implications.
"Yes," the goddess said. "I had to exchange tens of thousands of fools with Allah. Since all those idiots went to get themselves killed in the Holy Land, as they call it, they all ended up with Allah. I even had to trade some valuable resources with him to get them back, because I didn't have any Muslims with me at the time. You can't imagine the mess those idiots caused," she said, exasperated.
Being naturally curious, the man continued to ask her various questions. When he had finished, he briefly summarized what he had learned.
As long as someone prays to a god, that god receives a certain amount of power. The goddess even compared prayer to eating. Eating provides energy, and similarly, a god gains power from prayer. She also mentioned that she had never interfered in human affairs, except for once when she sent a man to be reincarnated on Earth while retaining his memories of the heavens. In the end, he was quickly killed, crucified on a cross. She explained that all the gods humans have believed in throughout history actually exist. Some, like the Greek gods, form alliances or are married (like Zeus and Hera).
She also explained that when certain religions die out, the gods associated with them die too, due to the lack of believers to sustain their power. She compared it to a human body. If the believers are its cells, then if suddenly no one believes in her anymore, it's as if all the cells in her body die. But the goddess added that unlike a human, gods only die if all their believers disappear. So as long as they have even one believer, gods cannot die.
Others, like those of Greek mythology, who have believers on other worlds, just lose a bit of their strength, but it doesn't affect them too much. Apparently, gods can also be influenced by their believers. Let's take a simple example. If believers think of a god as the god of war, that god will tend to be more violent and aggressive than a god who is represented as one of wisdom and knowledge.
As for the birth of religions, there can be two causes. Either it's instinctive, created by humans, or a god from another world can influence people to create a new religion where they will be the god to gain more power. Apparently, the goddess and Allah were both born from Earth. They haven't yet extended their religion to another world.
The man found it fascinating to talk with the goddess because through her explanations, he was learning much more than he ever imagined possible. He was discovering a reality he hadn't even dared to imagine, not even in his wildest dreams. After a while, silence fell. She was looking at him with a very curious gaze, but still maintaining a serious expression. Then she asked:
"Do you want to be one of my players?"
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