THE MOMENT
"What are your orders, Lady Rhapsody?" Osmond felt rather silly kneeling in front of the teenage girl; but, he knew it was something he would have to get used to. She completed her end of their bargain; his son was alive and with more vigor than ever. Not only that, it helped that her appearance made it clear she wasn't an ordinary teen. She had straight, snow-white hair that reached the middle of her back and her eyes glowed red with power. She wore a crisp white suit that looked cleaner than anything Osmond had ever seen in his 44 years of life. A red pair of scissors was stitched on the front of her blazer that matched her eyes.
"What?" She looked down at him with an amused expression. "I'm busy, why did you call me back here?" she asked. "Your son should still be in perfect health...,"
"He is, my Lady," Osmond nodded while staring at the ground. "I thank you for keeping your word and I am ready to serve you with my sword and shield. What is your command?"
"My command?" Rhapsody giggled and shook her head. "My command is don't ever bother me with 'nothing' again. I've got real work to do," she said. A black portal appeared next to her and Osmond realized she was about to leave.
"My lady, my honor requires me to serve as your champion! Is there nothing? No task is too trivial...,"
"What are you going on about?" she asked. Her voice began to carry more annoyance than amusement.
"You own my soul...," he said.
"Sharp Development owns your soul," she clarified, then nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"
"I am...," Osmond hesitated. A part of him realized he was already not in the situation he expected to be and he decided to rephrase what he was about to say; just in case. "Am I... not bound to serve you?"
"Not especially," Rhapsody shrugged. "If I ever need a favor from you, I'll call it in. Other than that you're living your own life. Sharp Development owns far too many souls to try and micromanage each one."
"My Lady...," some habits were impossible for an old paladin to break. "...forgive my failure to understand; but, if that's true, what do you gain?"
"We gained your soul," she answered.
"...to what end?" Osmond was desperate to uphold his honor; it was the only thing that kept him going through his son's illness. Rhapsody wasn't making it easy; but, worthwhile things never were. "If I'm free to live... what value is there in owning my soul?"
"It's another point for us," Rhapsody replied; then, she shook her head. "Look, I'm already here so I'll give you a quick summary. If you have more questions after that, use your node to find a Mundo instead of summoning me again. Clear?"
"As you wish, my Lady," Osmond nodded.
"And stand up," she added. "You're being ridiculous." Osmond followed orders and rose to his feet; but, her words still stung. She considered his honor to be 'ridiculous'.
"Okay, here's the deal," she said. "The universe is a game and souls are the points. Anyone can play the game; but, as you can imagine, God and the Devil have the highest numbers." Osmond's head was spinning with just that first explanation but Rhapsody continued.
"The whole 'owning your soul' thing...," Rhapsody made an odd gesture that Osmond wasn't familiar with. She bent the two main fingers on each hand, twice, as if to highlight the phrase. "...is only used to keep a tally," she said. "You're already a point for our side, no matter what you do."
"You have no commands?" Osmond asked. "I'm.... free to return to my faith??"
"Uhhh, not quite..." Rhapsody shrugged. "You can only change teams once," she said.
"Oh...," Osmond's shoulders fell slack.
"Don't get me wrong," Rhapsody added. "You can still worship and pray all you want to whomever you want. Sharp Development is quite a progressive corporation," she grinned. "There just won't be anyone up there listening; your soul is already claimed."
"But... it's no betrayal to do so??" he asked.
"Nah, go wild," Rhapsody said. "So, can I get back to work now?" she tilted her head at the open portal waiting for her.
"Thank you, My Lady!" Osmond bowed his head. "Please do!"
"Alright, well, nothing personal; but, don't bother me again, 'kay?" she asked.
"As you wish, my lady!" Osmond was willing to say anything to rush her out now. He was eager to begin proper daily prayer again now that he knew he could. Each day he skipped praying to the one God that guided his faith wore on him and he was determined to make up for lost time. Rhapsody had said that no one would be listening; but, he knew his God would hear his prayer. He had faith.
"By the way," Rhapsody paused with one foot into the black hole and she turned to Osmond. "Sharp Development doesn't care who you worship. But, from a business perspective, it would reflect poorly on us if you ran back to whoever else you were praying to first. Again, I'm not telling you that you can't; I'm not even suggesting not to," she said.
"But, I do want you to keep something in mind...," she paused for a moment and smirked just to be sure she had his attention. "...assuming you did pray to any others at all. Sharp Development would like to remind you...," Rhapsody walked into the portal as she spoke. Osmond heard one final line before she was gone and the portal vanished. "....that we are the ones that actually saved your son."