Like the pop of a newly opened champagne bottle, the words built up in the back of Marina’s throat released.

“What does being a God even mean? What can I do? Why are there rules? Why me?”

“You may do whatever you wish so long as you follow the rules. There is no longer anything controlling your fate – only yourself. As God, you control the fates of everyone in this world. The rules exist to keep the universe stable. Without rules, there would be chaos even gods cannot contain. As for your last question…it is a simple answer. Because you found the Tower.”

The answers weren’t good enough for Marina. She pressed further, the unease that had been sitting in her chest now transformed into anxiety burrowing in her lungs.

“What is the Tower? What is this place?”

Marina’s eyes darted left and right, scanning the room she was now standing in as she hugged herself, as if protecting herself from the air around her. It’s alive. She felt a life in this cold tower. A life with a thousand beating hearts. She stumbled backwards, her eyes growing more and more frantic as they shifted their focus around the room.

“The Tower is one of two things. An opportunity, or…”

A heartbeat passed and in this moment, Marina knew she had not been alone after all. The one voice that could have only been her mother’s turned into a thousand chiming echoes.

“Your grave.”