Who is Viren Eclipse? Many people wouldn’t know. Few people would only vaguely recall that it was the name of the son of a movie producer within the only kingdom in the world that had the technology for movies. Fewer people knew him as Viren Eclipse, owner of Viren’s Coincidentials.

  The current employer of the store’s one and only employee. A girl in her late teens stood around in that very store. She glanced over to where the sign on the door still said closed and she waited… and waited…

  She waited for around two hours before finally storming off towards the stairs.

  “Mr. Eclipse!” A series of knocking and shouting came from Viren’s bedroom door. “Mr. Eclipse, it's two hours past opening time! Mr. Eclipse! Are you dead?”

  Dead. Viren jerked and grimaced. He had forgotten about the vomit that had dried all over his bedsheets. The young man had been lost in a trance for so long now…

  “Mr. Eclipse!”

  “I’m coming!” He finally got out of bed and stumbled across the room. He opened the door and put on a smile. “Just cleaning up-”

  “Ewww!” The teenager recoiled and gagged. “Ugh- oh my god- oh my god- I’m gonna puke!”

  “What- hey no- no more puke! My store doesn’t need any more vomit in it today! Mary no!”

  “Euugh- uuuugh-”

  Viren’s Coincidentials. Mary didn’t really like the name. Viren thought it was fitting though. It was a store focused around coincidences. There was magic in the store. Very few people ever noticed the magic of the place though. To many customers it was just a place that was convenient at the moment.

  A man walked by with an empty stomach wanting to eat at a restaurant. A diner called Viren’s Fine Dining would be right there for him. A woman needed a place to shop for some baby clothes. Viren’s Infant Clothing Paradise would be right there. Some kids wanted a place to play. Viren’s Playhouse would be there. A couple young adults wanted to have a little fun. Viren’s Escape Rooms would be right there…

  For most people they would enter the store and it would be what they would need. They would see the other customers and not realize what it was for everyone else. It was magic like that.

  The store was also magic in the fact that it had multiple locations all over the world. At least one in nearly every kingdom in the largest cities. The magic never let the store grow too crowded unless that’s what a specific customer was wishing for. It was a store that fit everyone’s needs and wishes. It was… a place of coincidences.

  Coincidentally one of the greatest secrets of the store was that it also existed outside of this world. No, not just in space. Outside of space. Outside of reality itself.

  A version of Viren Eclipse stood in a version of his store that was linked across different realities. A version of his store that existed outside of reality. He stood in front of a doorway that showed the entire destruction of another universe.

  “You’ve been watching that for hours now you know?” A goblin chuckled from where he sat at a table chewing on a french fry.

  “You know as well as I do that time is only an idea here. As are we, Guang.”

  “Then why are you worried? Not even the gods can reach us here~” The goblin giggled and then lifted the plate of french fries up, he opened his mouth, then proceeded to slide the rest of the fries right into his awaiting mouth.

  “...this is more than just a god.” Viren sighed before finally closing the door. He opened it again and a different reality began to play out. The destruction of another universe. “If it were a mere god then there would be no issue here.” He watched as the most attractive woman in many universes destroyed everything with a blank and bored expression upon her face.

  “Isn’t it funny?”

  “I don’t see what’s so funny you mischievous goblin.”

  “No? Maybe you will.” He chuckled. “Time will tell. Time will tell. The observer keeps on observing. He observes. Oh he observes. Time isn’t real but he thinks it does. Doesn’t that make it so?”

  Viren closed his eyes and shut the door again. “Do you enjoy being like this? …I can see why she could never stand you in any reality.”

  “None? None at all? None where she marries the first goblin?”

  Guang was a special case. Many goblins existed across many dimensions and worlds. However Guang was the first goblin. The first goblin to ever be created. The first goblin to exist. The start of his species.

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  Viren also considered the first goblin to be the first and only annoying person that Viren Eclipse had ever met. “I’m afraid not… it seems like some things are just too improbable to happen.”

  “And what makes this end of the universe so improbable~” The first goblin hopped off the chair and walked over to stand beside Viren.

  Viren watched as goblins took over the world. Dragons, goblins, naga, extinct species, humans blowing each other up… “So many realities where everything could go so wrong.”

  “And so many where things could go so right~” Guang grinned up at Viren. “Try to find me married to her. I want to see it. I want it~”

  Viren sighed and closed the door again before opening it up to see…

  A wedding ceremony. The king of the desert kingdom with angel blood in his dna was allowed to kiss the bride. A bride that was the most powerful witch in many universes and realities…

  The first goblin pouted. “I don’t get it. In most realities she ends up with that goblin. Why not me too? Even the king of kings can get her…”

  Viren shook his head and closed the door. “...that goblin is the ultimate version of the lich in another reality.” It was fitting really. In many realities the goblin’s wife would be the strongest being… sometimes even stronger than the gods. However… what happened in a reality where she didn’t exist? A reality where he was allowed to become a truly unstoppable and disastrous force of death. The ultimate vessel for the lich. The final vessel. A well and truly doomed timeline.

  “Just throw a God Wife at him.” Guang shrugged. “Let them fight it out for eternity.”

  Viren shook his head yet again. “We can’t. Because it would fail. I… feel like it would fail. And it would create more… and the end would come sooner.”

  The first goblin whistled. “Oh it's really bad then huh?”

  “...it’s really bad. The fate of every universe… everything is at stake here.”

  That got a laugh out of the first goblin. Guang grinned. "The great observer Viren Eclipse wants to save all of reality from the greatest evil then huh?"

  Viren closed his eyes. "It's not just about saving all of reality... its... he'll even kill us here out of reality."

  "He can try~"

  "...you know, with a legend such as yourself here... I would think you would be trying to do something to change fate too. How did someone like you manage to steal a god?"

  “Who knows~ Dead. Dead. Dead. We are all going to die~” The first goblin twirled around and skipped back over to the table. “And I haven’t even finished my burger~ Oh- wait- I’m already dead~ Dead. Dead. Dead. Doom and doom~ Doom~ Doom~”

  Viren sighed and then he blinked. “Guang quiet- someone’s at the door.”

  Guang paused with one foot up in the air, caught in the middle of a dance. Then he just giggled. “Another guest~”

  Viren opened the door again and blinked in surprise as this time rather than peer into a reality, someone came through the door. Well more like someone tumbled through the door.

  An old goblin fell forwards and hit the wooden floor with a thud.

  Guang glanced back over and blinked in his own surprise. “Even I didn’t see that one coming. And I got pretty good at reading fate.”

  Viren knelt down and cautiously helped the old goblin up. “Are you alright sir?”

  The old goblin said not a word… he just lay limply in Viren’s arms.

  “Is he dead~” Guang asked with a giggle.

  Viren sighed. “No. Just unconscious.”

  And then nothing happened. Nothing happened most of the time outside of all realities. There was a whole lot of nothing there to begin with.

  The only thing the first goblin who avoided fate and the magically multi-universally linked store owner could do was wait.

  In one universe, a fated doomed universe, a Viren Eclipse that had woken up terribly had just finished cleaning up his only employee’s vomit. The link between Viren’s was a strange one. The Viren outside of reality had access to all the others. But they had no access to one another. Yet they were all connected in a strange way. In every reality and even outside of reality, they all had the same dreams.

  This was not the Viren Eclipse who worried about the end of everything. This was a Viren Eclipse that had the most realest nightmare he’d ever had in his life up until now. Something in his bones told him there was some truth to the dream.

  Death was coming.

  It was only a matter of time…

  Another link between them all was that sometimes information leaked through somehow. Somehow they knew things they shouldn’t. Somehow they knew things that they could only possibly know if they could just see everything. Sometimes. Not always.

  Like how when Viren Eclipse thought of death… the idea of necromancy came to mind. Viren had never studied necromancy. But he knew about it… he knew basic concepts. And he knew about the forgotten idea of a lich. But nothing more than that. He would have to do some studying.

  Death was coming and Viren Eclipse had to prepare. He just had no idea on how to prepare for it.

  “Come on Milo! We have to prepare!” A cheerful young woman dragged her boyfriend into the store.

  “Lyra- wait-” The boyfriend tried to protest in vain.

  “Oh this is going to be so much fun.” She giggled and pulled him down an aisle. It was rather convenient for Viren’s Traveling Supply Store to be so close by. “We’ll see all sorts of new and exciting places I’m sure.”

  “Just how far do we plan on traveling dear?”

  “Oh I don’t know…” Lyra hummed as she began to pick through different tent options. “We should at least see some forests, climb some mountains, maybe cross the ocean… see another kingdom.”

  That drew her boyfriend up short. “Another kingdom? Which one?” His eyes widened. “We’ll need- we don’t even have passports Lyra.”

  “Who says we need passports? We’ll just sneak in. And that one desert kingdom to the south of us.”

  “Sneak it- Lyra that’s illegal-”

  Lyra quickly put a hand over Milo’s mouth and muffled his words. “Shhh. Shush you. Nothing is illegal so long as we aren’t caught-”

  “Greetings!” Viren beamed at the couple from behind. “Welcome to Viren’s! I am Viren-”

  “Oh my god!” Lyra spun and nearly punched Viren in the face.

  The man ducked backwards and chuckled. “Did I scare you? Sorry about that miss.”

  “You- you heard nothing!” Lyra threw up her hands and looked at her boyfriend fearfully and then to Viren. “Nothing!”

  Viren Eclipse blinked at the strange customers. “Nothing? But I am quite certain that I heard-”

  “Nothing. You heard nothing.” Lyra told the storeowner with more confidence. “Nothing at all.”

  “Riiight.” Viren’s gaze slid over to the other male.

  Milo sighed. “She’s… she’s just really excited to go on this trip sir. I’m sorry if we’re causing a disturbance in your store.”

  Viren smiled slightly. “Disturbance? Not at all. I just came to help my newest customers find whatever it is that they need.”

  Lyra turned a glare onto her boyfriend. “I’m not just excited.” She pouted. “I’m thrilled.”

  “...I’ve noticed honey.”

  Viren chuckled and ran a hand through his brown hair. “Well if you two need any assistance. Just know that I’m here to assist and ensure you have the best customer experience.”

  Lyra blinked and then hesitated. “Oh um… then for the best experience can you stand in a different aisle? It's a little weird with you standing there and being over our shoulder… being all helpful and everything. …don't you have shelves to stock or inventory to check or… cash to… cashier?”

  “Right… the customer is always right.” Viren smiled politely and thoughts of the end began to fade away from his mind. Before death, came life.