The Proposal for Infinity

That familiar, all-consuming warmth wrapped around Conrad's being. Lying there in the haze, somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, he was again left to the guidance and mercy of Nana. Meanwhile, Nana was pulling him elsewhere, outside the reaches of anything Conrad had ever experienced. Conrad was no stranger to being forced into a new setting at this point, but this would set itself apart from even those events.

Suddenly, Conrad experienced the process of his full range of senses being reconstructed. His human brain being generated returned sharp clarity of thought, as well as his memories. His vision returning to him snapped the sight of stars into focus. An entire human body, generated out of Nana's will, formed like a shell around Conrad's soul.

Conrad gasped, jerking up and trying to find his foundation. His limbs flailed underneath him for a movement, before he realized he was floating. He scanned his environment rapidly, trying to make sense of his setting, but was treated to a field of beautiful, blinking lights instead. Conrad was convinced that he was not back in a different body again, but rather, now dreaming.

"Look below you."

Conrad glanced back, confirming Nana's presence, and marveling at the sight of what seemed to be the sun at her back. He followed her finger, taking in the sight below the two of them. Shock and awe worked their way through Conrad's mind. Sure enough, he and Nana were floating in the upper limits of Earth's atmosphere, the curvature of the beautiful blue sphere stretching out across Conrad's vision.

Conrad glanced up, alarmed. "Nana, why have you taken me into space?!"

"It's a nice setting for a chat. Do you like the body I've lent you? I didn't take it from someone else this time. You'll be off experiencing someone else's trials again soon, but for now, I figured you'd like to see this face again."

Nana snapped her finger, and a mirror materialized for her yet again. Conrad stared into it, eyes wide, and his face slowly broke out into a childlike grin.

His own, original body stared back at him. After almost a full year of trial and heartbreak, Conrad Walters looked upon his physical body from his world. He was even wearing the exact same clothing that he had on at the time that he was pulled into the book. He turned to Nana, smiling sincerely.

"I only mentioned this to Cassandra...but the truth is, I had started forgetting some details about what I looked like. It's been so long."

"Well, you certainly have been off on this journey for quite some time with me. It's to be expected."

Conrad's eyes misted over. "Thank you, Nana."

"You're quite welcome, my boy."

Shaking his head, Conrad snapped back to attention. "Nana, what's going to happen to Galen?"

"I didn't knock out Penelope, Conrad. She'll get help from the university, and they'll make sure everyone returns home safe and sound. He'll be missing all of his memories from the last half a year, but it will likely be attributed to shock. I'm sure Penelope, Jared and Edward will vouch for the fact that they all fought a higher-dimensional entity of unknowable power. They have no way of understanding what happened between our souls when you linked us at the end there. Besides, his affinity is for nature magic as well, so worst-case scenario, they'll just attribute his memory loss and shift in personality to his encounter with me."

Nana frowned at Conrad, her eyes narrowing. "NEVER try to pull that again, by the way."

Conrad was floored. "I was locked in a fight with you, of all people! Which you sprung on us without warning! Attacking you physically wasn't getting me anywhere!"

"So you figured trying to subjugate my soul would do the trick?"

"What other options did I have left to me?"

Nana let out a short and bitter laugh. "I suppose."

Conrad's expression slowly softened. "Seriously though, what were those sensations coming from you at the end there? I would have expected your soul to feel more...dominant. And confident. You're a goddess, right?"

In place of a standard response, Nana merely glanced down upon Earth, her expression somber. She stared in silence for several moments before deciding to address Conrad.

"Conrad, I have a hypothetical for you. Let's say you had all of my power. Planet Earth is your domain, and you knew it so well inside and out that there is nothing left for you to explore, no new adventures left upon it. Furthermore, you have witnessed every conceivable deed human beings were capable of, a staggering number of times. Every act of admirable heroism, every act of unspeakable evil, and everything in between. You're driven to watching the helpless human beings crawl through the mud, all in an attempt to try to understand their weaknesses and appreciate their struggles."

Nana glanced at him. "What would you do next, Conrad Walters? What would you do in your attempt to feel something again? To feel just an ounce of stimulation?"

Conrad simply looked into Nana's eyes, truly dumbfounded. He looked up, pondering, taking an entire minute to attempt to start wrapping his head around such a situation.

"I suppose that I would focus on my responsibility to the planet."

"Your responsibility?"

"Of course I'd be bored eventually too. Committing yourself to anything eventually involves some fatigue, right? That's going to happen when you do the same thing every day. But having a responsibility, to yourself, to a company, even to a world, is just something we know will have boring patches. Shouldn't we just accept that as reality?"

Conrad smiled widely. "Besides, even if you've been at this for longer than I can imagine, interesting new human beings keep popping up, right? Maybe I'm just saying this because I'm speaking from a lack of experience, but isn't there still a lot to love about human beings?"

Nana let a giggle slip out. "Accepting your role with stoicism and duty, and even trying to focus on how much you love the men and women of the world. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised." She smiled at Conrad fondly, her expression growing sincerely tender. "Yes, I know that love you speak of is still in me too. I just wish it still gave me that same spark of joy and fascination when I looked upon the citizens of the world."

Conrad looked upon Nana, disheartened. "None of this does anything for you anymore? The entire human experience, and there's nothing left to gratify you? After all the time you've spent looking after us?"

"I'm afraid not, my boy. Your advice is pure and heartfelt, but I am afraid it is incompatible with my billions of years of experience."

Nana closed her eyes, sighing, before collecting herself and smiling at Conrad.

"Well, enough of that. Thank you for your answer."

Conrad nodded. "You're welcome. By the way...how much effort were you putting into fighting my team and I?"

"I was using an outrageously tiny fraction of my power. I don't want to tell you exactly how little, out of fear of humiliating you."

Conrad grumbled. "Of course."

Nana laughed sincerely again, winking at Conrad. "Anyways...you spoke of your love and appreciation for your fellow human being. Brace yourself. My next test for you will show me how much of your compassion is bluster, and how much is true."

Before Conrad could question her, she merely pointed at him, and his physical body was stripped away. Taking Conrad's soul in her hand, Nana vanished.