collision → atla, reader insert

chapter eighteen

        Heat immediately filled her body as she said, "You!"

        Their expression dropped and the tea disappeared. "If I were mistaken, I'd say you're happy to see me."

        [Y/N] didn't know if she was too blinded by her frustration, but they seemed kind of nervous. "I'm not! I mean, I am. I'm just—You brought me here! Ugh!" She said, exasperated. She took a second to calm herself down a little before saying, "You've got to help me. How fast can I get all these memories back?"

        They hummed. "I'm afraid I have no control over that."

        "You're kidding! You're this all-powerful being—"

        "Powerful? Yes. All-powerful? Now that's where you lose me."

        "Just why couldn't I have woken up with all my memories?"

        They paused, wistfully looking up at the sky. "You know, the most beautiful thing about human souls is how malleable they are."

        "Can you stop speaking in riddles for once?!" [Y/N] almost shouted. 

        Unfazed by her outburst, they look back at her and say, "Come with me."

        [Y/N] felt her face grow hot and childishly huffed before following them. The two walked in silence for however long and it's enough for her to calm down almost completely. Her frustration turned into confusion and curiosity as Universe led her past a creek where she caught sight of her reflection. 

        Her hair was styled—not as fancy as the last time she was here, but definitely nicer than the styles she'd been throwing her hair up in lately. Her robes were night robes of a finer material reminiscent of the robes she'd first woken up in. There were intricate burgundy designs to accompany the brighter red of the fabric. 

        Universe stopped in the middle of a poppy field.

        "Why did you take me here?" [Y/N] asked. 

        They shrugged. "I like the smell of poppies," before she could respond, they said, "Take a seat." And just like that, she was on a rather comfortable sofa. "Now, you ask me 'why couldn't I have woken up with my memories?'" They repeat her question in a super high-pitched voice.

        "I don't sound like that!"

        Ignoring her, they continued and gestured out to the field where a projection appeared with the shape of a generic, genderless person. "Well, the most fascinating thing about the human soul is that it can be split," several cracks run through the diagram like a puzzle.

        "And those can be split." 

        More appear. 

        "And again." 

        And more. 

        "And again."

        And more. Until there are probably hundreds upon hundreds of pieces within that one person. 

        "Different versions of the same soul exist in different universes living different lives," they explain as the pieces disperse into several dots reminiscent of the stars in the sky above them. "As it is my job to monitor the universes, sometimes they can get a bit wonky."

        "Wonky?" [Y/N] asked. "What do you mean by 'wonky'?"

        "Oh, you know, sometimes things happen that disrupt the balance of the universe, no biggie," they wave her off, but she is horrified by their nonchalance, "and that's where I come in to keep things steady. As I said before, if one universe collapses, it's only a matter of time before the others collapse, too."

        Confused, she tried to wrap her head around everything but she felt like she just couldn't. "But what does this mean? Why don't I have any memories then?"

        Universe hesitated. "There's a version of you that existed in this universe that sort of had an . . . accident with unfinished business."

        [Y/N]'s heart dropped through the ground. "I died?!"

        "No!" Universe quickly said. "And yes. But luckily, I took a piece of the soul from another universe and placed it into this one. Human bodies are just like vessels—take one out and plop another one in."

        Chills ran up her spine at the thought of that. Not only was the thought mortifying, it kind of creeped her out that she was essentially living in the body of someone else. That was her. But not her at the same time. 

        "Your memories are coming back to you as you move throughout the world because your soul is adapting to the preconceived notion of you that already exists in this universe." They continue to explain. "And it will continue to do so."

        "I . . ." [Y/N] started,  but couldn't find any words that felt right. "I have a headache."

        Her head fell into her hands and Universe materialized next to her. 

        They placed a hand on their shoulder, "It's all right. Hey, on the bright side, you're starting to wake up."

        Her head shot up. "How is that a good thing? We can't leave it there!"

        "We'll see each other again soon."

        "When?"

        "Whenever the stars align again."

        [Y/N] didn't get a chance to say anything else to Universe, but she could only think of one thing. She hated their stupid riddles.