Chapter 171: Epilogue

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The Head Judge of the River of Souls felt a shiver down his back, and as he looked up, he found the cause immediately. The last time She had been here, She’d only been a soul. In fact, She’d visited the place as just a soul many times. He placed his quill down and closed the large book he’d been writing in with a heavy thud. “You’ve returned.”

“I have. Imagine my surprise when I was granted knowledge on…well, everything, and I remembered the last time we spoke. I don’t think a person in your position is supposed to lie.” The very living looking being in front of him spoke.

“I’m not. But then, you should also know that I wasn’t given much choice.” He had prepared for meeting his end when this discussion came to an end, so he was calm about it.

“You always have a choice, but I suppose for once you could argue yours wasn’t really a true choice. My predecessor and mother put quite a bit of pressure on you to have me reincarnated in that damn universe.” The being admitted. “I still don’t like being lied to. Especially by those that I don’t expect it from. There were very few beings in the multiverse I truly believed would not lie to me.”

“Things did turn in your favor though.” He pointed out.

“You could say that the jury is still out on that one. Interesting concept. Since I’m no longer bound by time, the moment I became what I am, it also meant that I’ve always existed as I am now. So, in a way, I was always going to end up here.” She stopped to consider the concept for a moment before continuing. “I’m not here to debate philosophy though. You have something for me.” That wasn’t a question.

The Head Judge pulled out two souls frozen in time to prevent their memories and personalities from being eroded by the River of Souls. “I suppose this could be considered a peace offering.” He suggested as he handed them over.

“I suppose it could. I could always just reach back in time and nab them in the moment they died, or even prevent their deaths, but I get the distinct feeling that messing too much with time would produce a headache.” She sat on the edge of his table and tapped Her fingers on it for a moment. “I suppose I’ll also offer a peace offering of my own. A way to avoid future trouble. I’ll add a feature to the River to allow older souls to discard parts of the memories and souls to avoid problem like my soul caused.”

“I…appreciate it.” The Head Judge was caught by surprise.

“Don’t be. I’m also doing it for myself. I’ll have to keep an eye open for my eventual replacement as well, and any that would qualify would also probably need that service.” She waved her hand towards the window before suddenly vanishing with the two souls.

Not feeling if he really should, the Head Judge walked to the window and found something reminiscent of a hot spring outside. The difference was that he could feel this spring was for souls and would do more than give a good bath. Of course, there was no user manual. That would’ve been too easy.

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“Well. I see you’re having fun.” Envy commented with a definite smirk on her face. Not something you’d expect when facing the largest living being she’d ever seen. Even the smallest scale of the being in front of her was larger than her.

“You found me quickly.” The being laughed in a familiar voice. “And you’re alone.”

“Well, I mean, when the seers detect a giant galaxy-sized pillow with an equally large and lazy dragon on top of it, the number of explanations is limited. I see you’re taking your newfound power in stride.” The smirk never left Envy’s face.

“Well, you can’t expect me to not enjoy the perks a bit at least. And you can’t say you didn’t expect this.” Karna defended herself.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“No, I totally expected this. I expected it so much in fact, that I’m surprised it came true. Although I did expect you to spend a bit of time, how do I say this…making improvements to the multiverse?” Her smirk morphed into curiosity. For Envy, Karna had only been gone for a couple of days.

“What makes you think I’m not currently doing exactly that?” It was impressive to see something so large do something as simple as lifting a scaly eyebrow.

“Ah. Right. Omnipotent. Of course you can be in multiple places at the same time.” Her expression got serious. “Do you think I could have one of you to myself?” She finally asked straight out.

“I was wondering if you would ask. Or I did until one of my copies got too curious and peeked into the future. Spoiled the suspense. Anyway. Yes. For one life. While It would be no problem for me to always be with you, and I suppose part of me always will be, it won’t benefit you to have all your future lives dedicated to me. So, to makes things simple, you get one. And then you need to move on.” She made sure to set the boundaries clearly.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m immortal and my future girlfriend is literally the supreme being. If I only get one, better make the most of it. We’re also not going to stick around in this universe. Let’s go see some of the old sights. I think you can facilitate that, right?”

“Of course.” Karna smiled, shifted into her normal form, stored the galaxy sized pillow, and then they both vanished.

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“And there we go.” Another copy of Karna spoke to Hope and Valor while looking towards the ceiling, vaguely in the direction Envy had left towards some hours ago.

“Is Envy ever going to come back?” Hope asked a little wistfully.

“Ever? Yes. But not for a very long time. The perks of traveling with someone that can cause you to arrive anywhere you want instantly is that you’re not in a hurry to get anywhere. And we do have a lot of places to visit.” She explained.

“So, you’re going to still become the empress?” Valor asked instead. He wasn’t too fussed about Envy going away, unlike Hope.

“Well, ironically the emperor is supposed to be my mouthpiece to this universe. It takes a toll on the person doing the job, which is why they rule for a limited time. I think it makes sense for me to be my own mouthpiece in the beginning at least. Besides, I did fight to get the position. Would be a little rude of me to just leave everyone hanging. It’s only a blink of an eye for me. Besides, I have some promises to fulfil. And some of those are easier to do when ruling openly. Such as, I believe I did promise to do something about your people.” She recalled Valor’s mission to help the exiled Lycan race.

“Fair enough. I might have a couple more ideas if you’re open for suggestions. Wisdom as well.” Valor slung an arm around her shoulders and started leading her away.

“Good, the two of you can help me workshop some of my own ideas for the multiverse as a whole.” She replied, while another copy of her appeared next to Hope.

“That’s going to be weird.” Hope smiled a bit.

“Only if I go too far with it.” Karna retorted. “I’m still getting used to it, so I won’t go totally overboard. What about you? What do you want to do now?”

Hope had to genuinely think about that. “You know, now that you have shown the ability to be in multiple places…”

“Yeeeeees?” Karna asked with an expectant look.

“I’d like nothing more than to go back to the first life we lived together. Just us, a simple house, and a simple life.” She finally revealed her hope.

“That should be easy to arrange.” Karna smiled and snapped her fingers, both of them vanishing.

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“So? How does it feel?” Karna pushed up comically large, almost steampunky goggles from her eyes. The goggles were fake of course, and there was no need for them. They were just there for effect.

“It feels…strange. Real.” The newborn being spoke with a hesitant voice while taking weak, almost fawn-like steps.

“I can already sense it worked. Congratulations on your new body Croestia.” Dee went to gently embrace the former amulet and now a new living being that had been with her for so long.

“I think we better leave them to it.” Selendil suggested as she led the way by hovering out of the medbay.

“It did seem like a bit of a private moment.” Karna nodded while the Dhar led her to a chamber with a small fairy dragon inside.

“Karma! Can you finally get my Crossroads back together?” The tiny dragon asked eagerly.

“I suppose I should inquire about my ship as well.” Selendil stated, without actually asking.

“Of course. Selendil’s ship is simple so let’s deal with it first. Just tell me when and where you want to end up.” Karna urged. She could just create a real planet to take this ship’s place. Or a giant magical pillow. Either worked really.

“Hmm, well, Dee did mention she wanted to visit her old universe, but that the place couldn’t handle her power before. You think you could…” The Dhar Keeper just waved her fingers a bit.

“Done. Aaand we’re here. Don’t worry, I made sure to bring everyone and everything along. I know you had ships and people out.” Karna’s new powers were quite handy, as she could allow those people to finish their errands and they still arrived to the destination at the same time.

With slight surprise Selendil brought up the outer sensors and noticed a giant planet the size of several stars nearby. “Is that the place she called Pantheon?”

“Yes, I thought this might be the best spot to arrive for now. I also gave the gods of this place a sternly worded warning about getting hissy about the visit.” She turned to Ysendra. “Now about the Crossroads. That one is a little more complicated. Mainly because not everyone wants to leave.”

“I’d say fair enough, but if only pieces of the Crossroads arrive back at the originals spot, the whole thing might fall apart. We’re going to need those pieces at least. Or copies of them. Also the ones that were not found or didn’t arrive.” Ysendra was listing off eagerly, knowing that Karna could accommodate.

“That can be arranged. Want me to add something while I’m at it. A giant pillow fort for instance?” Karna suggested, completely neutrally.

“Well, I do have some ideas now that you’re here…” Ysendra’s grin got evil.

“Before that.” Selendil interrupted. “I have a question. You suggested you now understand pretty much everything. Well, there is something both Dee and I have been struggling with for a while. We have this Living Mountain…”

“Nope. Not going there. That way lies only madness. That portion of my knowledge is locked down tighter than anything. You do not want to know. Nope.” Karna shook her head in vehement denial.

“I figured…the mountain continues to elude everyone…” Selendil finally gave up entirely on understanding her weirdest ‘companion’.