Chapter 310: Return - Markets and Multiverses
When I turned fifty-seven, Felix died. I had been expecting him to live a little longer, with our Market stats supporting us. However, the year he turned fifty-four, he started having organ problems. One after another, his organs tried to shut down. I healed them, of course - but the problems kept returning. I couldn't find any reason for his organs to shut down. After investigating, I began to suspect that this was due to his nature as an artificial baby. The technology that created Felix had been experintal. It wouldn't be odd if there was so sort of flaw with his body. It also explained why the sa problems kept reappearing, no matter how many tis I healed them. I could fix the symptoms, but I had no way to fix the core problem. When I told Felix about my guesses, he shrugged, and said it wasn't a big deal either way. It seed more like a relief to him when he finally died.
To my and Anise's amusent, Felix sounded relieved when we spoke to him next. He said that life was better, now that he wasn't constantly in pain. He did complain about being unable to do anything but chat and watch TV, but he said it was still an overall win, as long as he wasn’t stuck for too long.
A year later, Vance died. Vance had never gotten married, so he didn’t have any children or family mbers to see him off. Anise and I buried him without another soul to see him off. We spent the rest of the day in silence, to commorate our friend and wish him well on his journey back to the Ocean of Souls. Felix and Sallia managed to wake up and say their own goodbyes a few hours after we finished burying him. Sallia only had a little bit to say about the subject. She had never actually t Vance, after all. Felix sounded quite a bit more sad about Vance's death.
I could tell that Sallia felt a weird mix of emotions, based on what she projected through the communication bracelets. Part of what she felt was sadness, especially after Felix died… but there was also a big part of her that seed excited. Sallia knew that the end was coming for us, and while she seed to feel bad about it, she was also excited. I didn’t bla her. Being stuck in the void and only waking up for an hour or two every day must have sucked. Especially after living that way for fifty years. It sounded bizarre for one of my friends to hope I would die, but I could understand where Sallia was coming from. That next day, I told her not to feel bad about whatever she felt. In any case, we would all be together again soon.
Iselde and Maela were the next ones to go. Maela had never married, but Iselde had married one of the forr custors of Felix’s alchemy shop. She died surrounded by grandchildren. Both of them died on the sa day. I watched both of them return to the ocean of souls, and hoped that they would have a safe journey to their next lives.
I wondered if there was anything I could do for the souls of the departed, but couldn’t think of anything I could do. I had no idea how to help souls move through the ocean of souls, or how to help people reincarnate. It was sothing I decided to look into it next ti we were in the Market. With any luck, it might even give inspiration for how to improve my own alteration abilities further. I had spent a lot of ti this life researching how to enhance my shaping, but had run into a wall after we moved to Zanna. I suspected that the Market had ideas to help us improve - if we could find them. I also thought that helping my dead friends would be nice. Maybe in the future, I could ‘bless’ people I cared about, giving them better births in future worlds?
It was sothing to think about, and I found it occupying my thoughts more and more as I grew older.
When I turned sixty-one, I got the final Achievent rewards I had been expecting.
Influence: Restore 5,000 Permanent, debilitating injuries.
Achievent 3,000
That reward brought from 20,119 Achievent to 23,119 Achievent. And along with that reward, I got one final, unexpected reward.
Influence: Play a [Very Minor] role in strengthening Zanna and improving its position in global politics.
Achievent 213.
This reward brought from 23,119 Achievent to 23,332 Achievent. It was a surprise Achievent reward, so any amount was welco.
With those two rewards, I felt that I had exhausted my final bits of potential in this world. There was almost nothing left for to do. I intended to wait for Dr. Trish and Markus to die, so that I could spend the last bits of ti I could with them. However, my intentions started to wane as ti passed. They were unusually healthy. Dr. Trish was a doctor, and had always taken excellent care of herself. Markus was a forr soldier, and had an excellent level of physical health for his age. Everyone else I knew was already dead, and Felix and Sallia were waiting. I didn't want to say goodbye to them... but I also felt pressured to move on.
A year later, Anise got a final reward for strengthening Zanna, putting her at about 16,000 Achievent.
Finally, I made my decision. I had enjoyed every mont of ti with Dr. Trish and Markus in this world. I had cared about all of my friends. But everyone else had passed on. There were only two people still tying to this world. I felt lonely and tired. I was ready to move on. Anise and I decided to end our lives in this world and return to the Market.
Besides, Felix and Sallia weren’t the only ones who were getting impatient as ti passed by. At sixty-two years old, I felt like my body was a cracked clay jar. It was full of holes and tiny fractures. Every single day, my body creaked and groaned in pain. Even with my healing magic, it was a miserable experience. I couldn't do half of the things I found fun anymore. Even singing, my only hobby, started to get difficult. My voice just couldn't keep up with my needs anymore. I couldn't play board gas or get a drink with Felix or Sallia, because they were dead. I couldn't do anything I loved. Age had seeped into my life, taking away everything that made happy. If I was being honest with myself... I was looking forward to being young again. When we returned to the Market, we would get bodies that matched our 'perceived' age... and I was ready to be in my early twenties, and have a strong, athletic body and voice. I was ready to move on.
As one final blessing to the town that had sheltered us for decades, I healed every single person in the town over the course of a month. I had zero expectation that I would get a reward for this - either monetary or Achievent related. I just wanted to leave a final gift behind before I died. This town had sheltered us for years, and I felt a final 'thank-you' was in order.
Then, Anise and I told Markus and Dr. Trish that I felt my ti was coming. We spent a final day together, just the four of us. We had a little picnic in the park in the middle of town. We spent the day laughing, reminiscing, and talking about everything we had been through together. It was a lovely day. That evening, I bid them farewell. The two had been good to , and I hoped that they would live happily for the rest of their lives. They had earned it. I double checked my will, where I had left Trish and Markus most of my things and donated the rest to charity.
Then, I asked Anise if she was also ready to go. After getting her confirmation, I used Extinguish on both of us. We passed away that night.
It was ti to return to the Market.
Death Statistics Report:
Power:
[Basic] Grade attunent
50 Achievent
[Interdiate] Grade attunent
100 Achievent
[Advanced] Grade Attunent
150 Achievent
[Expert] Grade Attunent
200 Achievent
First Rune:
70 Achievent
Second Rune:
140 Achievent
Third Rune:
210 Achievent
Fourth Rune:
280 Achievent
Fifth Rune:
350 Achievent
Sixth Rune:
420 Achievent
Seventh Rune:
490 Achievent
Eighth Rune:
560 Achievent
Skill
[Basic] dicine
30 Achievent
[Basic] Eldritch Soul
400 Achievent
[Interdiate] Eldritch Soul
1,000 Achievent
Slaughter
Kill an Ordinary Human for the first ti
60 Achievent
Kill an Ordinary Human for the fifth ti
100 Achievent
Kill a Worldstrider for the First ti
80 Achievent
Kill a Worldstrider for the Third ti
150 Achievent
Kill a Worldstrider for the Ninth ti
210 Achievent
Kill a Worldstrider for the Twenty-Seventh ti
240 Achievent
Assist in killing a Worldstrider for the First ti
30 Achievent
Assist in killing a Worldstrider for the Third ti
60 Achievent
Assist in killing a Worldstrider for the Ninth ti
90 Achievent
Kill Aplos
450 Achievent
Kill a Human with an Ability for the first ti
300 Achievent
Influence
Hamstring Vernese attempts to study Artificial Humans
2,400 Achievent
Restore 2 permanent injuries
90 Achievent
Restore 10 permanent injuries
300 Achievent
Restore 25 permanent injuries
450 Achievent
Restore 100 permanent injuries
700 Achievent
Restore 1,000 Permanent injuries
2,000 Achievent
Restore 5,000 Permanent injuries
3,000 Achievent
Have a [Minor] impact on the war between Worldstriders and Humans
6,120 Achievent
Have a [Major] impact on saving several refugees from the Zelyrian continent
540 Achievent
Have a [Minor] impact on the civil war in Zanna
17 Achievent
Have a [Minor] role in Strengthening Zanna
213 Achievent
Wealth
Own 5 Ancient Lightning Bolts
250 Achievent
Own 1 Kg of Alkulsteel
100 Achievent
Crafting
Exploration
Explore the Heart of the Zelyrian Pocket Dinsion and return alive
500 Achievent
Family/Disciples
Misc:
First ti Achievents:
(Market-Produced Achievents cannot be repeated in subsequent lives. They are paid for by Eluxia and the Market, as a ans to encourage new Transmigrators, and not linked to the dinsional laws of any world besides the market).
Total at start of the world: 542.08
Equipnt Maintenance Costs: 89.1
Taxes: N/A (Error - no tax skill detected. Please consult with your local city administrator for further details. Tax evasion is a capital offense, and trying to avoid paying may result in execution!)
Final Total: 23,349.98
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