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When chained deities die from a lack of faith, they send out a blessing into the universe they're chained to. This is often done to try and be revived if the blessed becomes a believer.The blessing usually depends on what deity sends it. The more powerful the deity, the better the boon given. Whoever gets the blessing can instinctually tell what boon they have.Well apparently whoever blessed Leo sent out a manual too for some reason, since that's the only reason he knows all of this. He's been reading it on his bed for the past hour, which is difficult because it's all written in a mix of old English, modern slang, and some slang that he's never heard before.He unconsciously checks his phone, seeing the 9:36 AM showing up on the screen before going back to reading. It talks about deities and an omniverse, so much new information.This manual would be unbelievable if he hadn't felt the boon get absorbed into him, before the manual slapped him in the face. He'd never believed in multiple universes before, but now there are deities chained to specific universes? It's weird.He thinks about what ability he might have, and it feels like a time based one, so he was probably blessed by some sort of time deity. That explains the weird way the manual was written then. He can't figure out how to activate it though.Maybe it's a thing that activates automatically? It still doesn't feel real, it still feels like fantasy. But it's not like it's helpful when he can't activate it, so he can still go about his day.Leo hears a yell outside, making him peek his head out the window. When he looks out, he's shocked to see a whole car flying towards his room. He runs for the doorknob, trying desperately to open it. When he realizes that it's locked he's too late, and the car breaks through his room.A falling piece of rubble knocks him out on impact, and the car finishes him off.…He gasps awake on his bed, turning and screaming into his pillow. He just died, right? That might've been a dream though. He quickly checks his phone. 9:30 AM? Six minutes beforehand.Maybe his boon is that he can't die? The manual is still there, after all. He's not looking to test it though. He rushes to take all the important stuff from his room into the hallway, then he moves it all into the living room. He might just be acting paranoid, but there's no one home to judge him. It'll be easy to move everything back if necessary, but he just doesn't want things demolished.That took five minutes of his time. Leo still thinks it was worth the time. He sneaks out the front door, sitting on the grass. He doesn't know how to stop whatever happened, so he'll just watch.Some sort of crack with multicolored edges opens up in the air, sometimes falling out of it before it closes. He scoots forwards, trying to get a better look.It's a person, though their outfit is… the kind way to say it would be exotic, the honest way is that it looks weird. They stand up, giving him a better look. A black cloak with yellow accents shaping into symbols along with a top hat that had the same colors, along with a red eyeball protruding out of it.They look weird, but also powerful. Probably best to avoid them. "Hello people of this world! I'm your new leader, as my old world got boring." He frowns as people just ignore him. "A show of power should help then!"Like he expected, a car gets thrown at his house by the stranger. The car explodes after a second, lighting most of the house on fire. "...Well shit, now my stuff is going to burn anyways!" Leo stands up, running to the stranger. "Who the hell are you?" He feels himself get held in place by an invisible force. "Quite rude, don't you think? I'll give you a name to remember before you die. Call me Ambrose."The force lifts him off the ground, a decent height in the air as he starts to panic, his heart pounding. Leo gets slammed back down, yelling out in pain as he feels his bones crack audibly. "Hm, that scream wasn't loud enough, let's try this."He's lifted up faster, not having time to think before he's slammed down chest first. His ribcage shatters, the bones piercing the organs they were meant to protect and making his vision swim. His scream of agony is longer and louder, hurting his throat."Delightful, you're a fun toy! Unfortunately I can't play with you anymore." His expression turns from cheerful to bored. "Now die." He's thrown up high, moving the ribcage fragments enough for the pain to make him see stars. His screaming is cut off when his skull shatters against the pavement.…He falls forward, gasping for air. He's in the living room with all his stuff already moved in there, but he can't focus on that. Leo just feels the phantom pain of death, that time he was actually conscious during it.It's impossible to ignore it, but It's wasting his time. If he stays in here he'll burn with everything else. He shoves his problems down into the deepest parts of his mind. They're for future Leo to decipher.When he opens the door Ambrose is already out there, lifting up the car. But then he pauses, him and Leo making direct eye contact. "Oh, I remember you! I was wondering why time kept resetting, I thought I did it by accident. Is that your fault?"He steps back, silent. Ambrose just sighs. "I guess I shouldn't expect an answer. Luckily I can test it!" The car gets thrown at him, making him dive away and sprint to the side of his house. Shrapnel flew out from the explosion, but he was out of its range.That was terrifying though, his heart is pounding out of his chest and he has goosebumps along his skin. Despite his body's shaking, he still comes out of hiding to stare down his attacker.Ambrose was floating off the ground, his cloak open and flowing from non-existent wind. "A challenge would be nice, but you haven't attacked me once. Like this you're just a pest. Die so I can see how you work."A beam of energy gets shot straight at Leo. There's a sharp pain, but it pulverizes his nerves so he dies numb.…He wakes up again, though with less immediate trauma. Sure he's still trembling, but now there's more of a problem. Ambrose can remember the resets, and he's just as weak as before.It's not like he could fight him, but now he's gotten his interest. Now Leo is just a plaything, but he can still try his best to escape. He sneaks out the backdoor, only to find Ambrose waiting."So each time you die you reset time… how interesting. You really are a fun toy!" He starts backing away from him, only to get grabbed by the shirt. "No no, you're staying. I want to see how much you can endure."An invisible force holds him up again while Ambrose lets go. "Amputation is a good starting point!" He doesn't have time to comprehend that before he feels something tear through his limbs, the pure pain shooting up his nerves like fire on gasoline. He screams when he sees his four limbs hit the ground. His torturer pouts. "You look like you're going to die too fast! I guess I'll have to be more careful next time, blood loss is annoying. Bye!" Two hands grasp his skull, and his head is turned fast enough to snap his neck. He welcomes death.…He wakes up, punching into a wall. His hand goes through it, some drywall stabbing into his hand. His limbs still feel numb, and he feels a bit queasy. "I'm tired of this! I hate this pain, but I'm helpless."The manual is on the couch. He sighs, grabbing a lighter and his dad's gun before sitting down to read it. Some information would be nice, he'll look for something about time deities.He manages to find a section. "Time deities are rare, often dying quickly. They usually provide time loops to prevent unnatural death, though their extra powers can be used with a pocket watch or hourglass."That's enough for him, right on time as he hears a door open. Leo lights the manual on fire before sliding it under the couch, watching Ambrose enter the room."Smart trick, really! I thought you had snuck out, but you were just in here. How silly!" He eyes the gun. "You don't think those will work on me, right?"Leo shakes his head. "No, I know they won't. Me on the other hand…" He shoves it into his mouth, pointing it at the roof of his mouth. Ambrose steps forward. "Oh no you don't, stop that!" The invisible force grabs him, but he still can pull the trigger. It was a quick death.…He stretches, feeling something in his mouth tasting like iron. He spits out a bit of blood. "Not the most concerning thing that's happened today." He heads down into the basement, looking for something.His parents never had a pocket watch, but they had bought a novelty hourglass with real sand. It's black sand, but apparently there is a real beach like that, so it isn't just dyed sand.It's easy to spot, letting him bring it up in less than a minute. He follows some of the extra instructions the manual held, using rope to tie it to his back as Ambrose enters again."You're becoming more of a pest than I expected. I thought you'd get less annoying with each death, not the opposite." He can't stop the natural shaking from fear, but he can glare at Ambrose. The hat atop his head looks down at Leo. "Oh! Looks like Tip wants a taste. Go on, have some fun."The hat hops off, the yellow ribbon opening up to reveal a set of teeth as it chases towards him. He tries to run, but the same invisible force knocks him back, sending him crashing into the coffee table. The glass cutting him makes his nerves flare with pain, but he's more focused on the hat.He tries to crawl away, but he feels the teeth sink deep into the meat of his leg, biting off a chunk. His limbs are still mostly numb, but he can still feel the tingle of pain that managed to get through his nerves.Leo sits up, reeling his fist back. He slams his fist into the eye of the hat, sending it flying across the room. He stands up, ignoring how his leg spurts out more blood with each movement."How do you like that? I hurt your hat, take that asshole." He grins, seeing Ambrose float closer. "So you want to be a nuisance? Now I have to kill you so I don't have to heal Tip, the reset will. Die."His attacker holds out his hand towards Leo. It's pointed at his hand, so he waits for the energy to charge up. When he sees it's about to fire he crouches down, jumping up as high as he can.The beam of energy pierces his chest, shattering the hourglass. Leo falls to the ground, laying in the black sand. Ambrose looks down at him. "Why are your pupils now hourglass symbols? Ah well, probably nothing." Another beam of energy pierces his skull. He grins as the cold bite of death turns to the grip of time.…Leo lurches forward to a trash can, puking up a mix of blood and stomach acid. He wipes what's left off his face with a tissue, ignoring the foul iron taste in his mouth. "Clearly there's a punishment for resetting too much. Shitty power for a god's blessing, but hey, what do I know?"The basement is his next destination. He feels dizzy while he heads down, but he's still able to find the hourglass. He grabs the middle, feeling energy flow into him.Time suddenly paused around him. There's no visible indicator, but he knows it. He heads upstairs without the hourglass, seeing Ambrose frozen up there like everything else.Before unpausing time he takes a moment to look in the mirror. His pupils are hourglass symbols, and they're light blue. Similarly colored light comes from his veins as well.Time resumes its normal flow. Ambrose quickly turns to him, floating forward. "Something was different… you're quite an interesting toy, aren't you?"Leo slams his hand into the air, cracking reality like Ambrose did when he arrived. "You said you wanted a challenge, right? I'll try my best to provide one."Ambrose chuckles. "I'd love to see you try, I didn't think a civilian could do that. You'll still fall easily though." Leo pulls his hand out, letting black sand flow through. It moves unnaturally, shaping into floating lumps above him.He sends them towards his opponent, having them turn into dense blades. Ambrose tries to dodge, but Leo is able to slow down his movements, letting the blades still graze him."That was a good hit, I'll give you that. But you lack defense." Ambrose slices the air, creating a crescent of energy that flies at him. He pauses time to step out of the way, also turning one of the sand blades and stabbing it into Ambrose's arm.Although he wants to do more, he can feel the strain from pausing time, forcing him to let it flow normally again. "How do you like that, asshole?" Ambrose turns to him."You're quite interesting, I'll give you that. But you'll still need to try again." Ambrose lunges at him, and Leo can't move before he feels a hand grasp his neck. The hand begins to heat up, and before long he feels his neck burning. There's still a floating sand blade, which he controls and uses to stab himself through the head. This death is much faster than burning alive would've been.…Leo stumbles forward, puking blood and bile into a trashcan again. It has more blood in it this time, which is worrying for obvious reasons. This is probably the last reset before he starts coughing up organs.He slides down the stairs because it's faster than walking would be, he's too dizzy for that. He quickly gets to the hourglass, touching the same spot and watching time freeze around him.Ambrose is definitely upstate, so he opens his hole in the air early, making it wider and dragging out sand. He has it carry him up the stairs, spotting a frozen Ambrose and pulling him outside with the sand before unfreezing time."Oh, trying to get an early start on me I see! Well-" Leo cuts him off. "Nope, just taking us to a better fighting spot." He drops them both down on the road, letting him stare at Ambrose.The sand is hovering above them, a large mass of black grains. It looks awesome, at least in his opinion. "Ready to die again, hourglass?" Leo sits down. "No, but I think you are."Controlling all of this is straining, standing would be difficult like this. He slams a car sized chunk of dense sand down, though Ambrose dodges it like expected. Leo whips that sand around to block an energy attack, exploding it into a cloud of black grain. It's a perfect distraction. He forms a section of the overhead sand into hundreds of razor sharp blades, sending them down into the cloud to spin around. The sound echoing out is like a knife slicing meat, so he assumes it's working.A blast of energy scatters the cloud and makes him lose control over the blades, turning into piles of sand. Ambrose is covered in cuts, looking frustrated instead of his usual amused expression. "That was a cheap trick, y'know? You deserve some punishment for it, hourglass."The light moves too fast for Leo to block, feeling a familiar pain at his elbow. The pain of amputation. White hot pain shoots through him as his arm falls to the ground. Blood starts to gush out, but he's able to block the wound with sand.It still hurts with every movement, but he won't die by blood loss. The sand is too dense for that. Part of him is sad, but he's mainly pissed. "You just cut my arm off, asshole! Alright then…" Leo glares at Ambrose. "My turn."He pauses time, quickly moving all the free sand to surround and press into Ambrose until he has a solid hill of black grains. Time unpauses, and he begins pushing the hill inwards.Shockwaves from inside make it difficult, but he's still able to overpower him, slowly but surely smothering him. He keeps going for a good minute after the attacks stop, knowing this bastard would definitely try to trick him.But eventually Leo loses his strength, using his last bit of energy to toss the body out of the sand and as far away as it'll go. He breaks open a hole in reality, letting the sand flow in before standing up.Interestingly enough, the sand on his arm seems fused to it now. But that's the only distraction he has left. He just died, several times. And clearly it left a toll on his body.Tears start to flow down his face, but he still tries to stumble forward. Each step makes his vision blurrier and makes his stomach lurch. "Can someone… call a doctor…?" He collapses onto the street, taking the embrace of unconsciousness instead of death.