Another Dream

Swirling flames. You can feel the heat on your body. The black entity, which you can't describe -- you can't even look directly at it because of the brightness of the flames -- begins to speak.

"I am very disappointed in you," says the growling, piercing voice you remember from the dream you had -- wow, was it really only 24 hours ago?

"What? I didn't --"

"Silence!" screams the voice. You wince and put your hands to your ears.

The voice continues at a lower volume. "You are not the first person to whom I gave this power. The first one was about two thousand years ago. At first, he used it as I expected he would. But then he developed what you might call a Messiah complex, and I took the powers away at a most inopportune time for him. But you -- one day, one day you have had this power, and you do the unthinkable."

There's a palpable pause. You dare not speak.

"You fall in love!" You have to cover your ears again.

"I'm taking the power away from you," the voice says, once your eardrums recover and you drop your hands. "I will need to think seriously before gifting it to another young man. But as for you -- you will spend the rest of your life in -- in the world that you created!"

Darkness.