His beginning and the universe’s were one and the same. There was nothing, and then life was breathed into it. Maybe by a god, and maybe by nothing at all. Even he didn’t know for sure. The entity born alongside reality itself only realized he could open his eyes, or whatever he had instead of eyes, centuries later, having had no evolutionary ancestors to dictate basic instinct. And when he did so, he saw all of creation. He saw not just what was in front of him, but all of life. Every experience of every living thing in the entire universe coursed through him all at once, and for a few brief moments he thought he might die. And then he realized what he had just thought, or more appropriately, that he had just thought at all. Ray Mint realized this must mean he had a brain. Wait… Ray Mint? He wasn’t sure how, but he knew that this was his name now. Or had it always been, only for him to realize it now? There was no time for Ray Mint to consider the implications before he felt the harsh burning sensation of his organs beginning to form underneath him.
His intestines shot into reality from nothing before quickly raveling up into a kind of shape that no human would ever see, but that felt perfect for him. His hearts came next, and once they were created, he knew that he had exactly the number his body needed. Strings of organic matter shot out from each of them in different directions, attaching methodically to one another and to new organs that hadn’t been there a moment before. Ray Mint sensed for a moment that some of these parts would never be given a proper name, but the thought left his mind just as quickly as it had entered, for everything that had been added to his complex organic system suddenly began to writhe and squirm and pump various fluids to one another with an intensity that Ray Mint had not yet encountered. Every pump of every heart and every fluctuation of every lung sent unbearable pain throughout what had formed of his body, but he knew it was necessary to begin his existence.
After far too long, though Ray Mint had no way to tell exactly how long, his blood, along with all of the liquids that he knew would only ever exist within him, had finally formed the shape they had been moving towards all along. Four long extensions sprouted from a larger collection of liquid, on top of which Ray Mint’s mind rested peacefully. Contained within it were the organs that had formed before, twisted over and around each other in a beautifully chaotic pattern that seemed to nonetheless be easily contained within the green liquid it had just helped create. And for a brief moment, everything felt still.
Ray Mint felt that the stillness was not another inherent circumstance of his creation, but rather a moment of peace that had been graciously awarded to him. The pain was necessary for him to exist, but this moment of quiet tranquility was merely a sign that someone, or something, loved him.
He allowed himself to soak in what peace he could before his bones began to form one at a time, each painfully and harshly connecting to the last to create various trails and patterns that seemed to intentionally pass through and shield the organs that had already found their places. Once again after his skeleton had finished forming, Ray Mint was met with a moment of peace. He knew now that it was almost done, but before the thought had finished processing in his head, a thick layer of muscle violently sprouted all at once from every exposed surface of the bones that had just formed, seeming to immediately soak in the liquid that had remained relatively stagnant up to that point. Ray Mint suddenly realized that he felt unprotected, as if he were a giant open wound, and just as soon as he had that thought, a layer of skin burst out from the muscle behind him and wrapped tightly around his entire form, leaving space only for his eyes and other various orifices, somehow melding together to leave no seams in the process.
Once it was done, Ray Mint took no time to consider what had just happened, instead slowly turning his head to see the light that he had only just realized he had known was there all along. He felt something burning deep within him again, but this time the pain was replaced with… something else. Something that inspired Ray Mint to slowly extend an open palm towards the light, hoping… hoping for what? And then, in an instant, it was gone. Everything was gone. Or, rather, Ray Mint was gone. The feeling in his head that had pushed him to endure the full process of his creation told him that his life was beginning now, and then it faded away entirely. Ray Mint felt as though an important connection had been severed almost as soon as he was sent away. He looked up at the night sky from where he was now standing, wondering if he would ever see that light again.
