Chapter 867: The Responsibility of Making it Possible
Added 2024-02-12 22:00:04 +0000 UTCThe presence of avatars made sense immediately to Rufus. Someone as powerful as Velius was a danger to Earth’s fragile dimensional boundary, just as Dawn had been. Avatars allowed him and the others like him to operate on Earth not just with less power but while leaving their true selves free to be elsewhere.
Knowing that their real bodies were off doing more important work put Rufus’ mind at ease. Important cosmic figures spending this much time on Earth suggested an agenda beyond what Velius had told Rufus. Avatars treating Earth as a side job meant it was less likely that some Jason-style cosmic nonsense was about to break out.
That did not stop Rufus from being anxious when a request arrived from Velius for a meeting. Especially when the meeting was in the maternity ward of the clan medical centre in the middle of the night. His arrival left the medical centre receptionist, a typically attractive elf woman, suspicious of him. Her call to Velius had her let Rufus through, but she had a man from security escort him.
Dennis the security guard was visibly uneasy as he escorted Rufus, knowing who he was. Rufus had taken on the role of not just teaching Emi but instituting a top-to-bottom revision of the Asano Clan’s essence user training. Farrah and Jason had done a decent enough job during their time on Earth, but they were ultimately amateurs. Rufus’ family ran a school.
“I’m sorry about this, Mr Remore,” Dennis said. “I’m well aware that if you wanted to get in here, there’s nothing I could do to stop you.”
“Don’t apologise for being diligent in your work,” Rufus assured him. “For all you know, I could be a shape-changer.”
“Are you?” he asked nervously and Rufus just laughed.
***
“Thank you, Dennis,” Velius said. “You can leave us, now.”
“Of course, Dr Velius,” Dennis said, already retreating down the hall.
That left Rufus and Velius standing together in front of a large window. On the other side were newborn babies, although fewer cribs were occupied than left empty. Velius turned to look through the window as the air shimmered around them.
“A privacy screen?” Rufus asked.
“An aura manipulation technique, not a magical device. Hard to learn when you can’t physically manipulate sound waves. I do envy the messengers and your friend Jason having that.”
“And why do we need privacy?”
“You just passed the nurse station. This is not a conversation I can allow to be overheard. Even discussing this with you is probably a mistake.”
“Discussing what?”
“Your friend Gareth was an admirable man.”
Rufus scowled.
“I know that far better than you,” he said, almost growling the words.
“I suppose you do. But I admire the way he chose to end things. He could have clung to his last gasp of life, getting by on borrowed power that weighed him down like an anchor. Instead, he chose to face his fate and accept death, not knowing what it would mean for him.”
“Why are you telling me things I already know?”
“Because I’m also going to tell you something that you don’t. That you probably shouldn’t. When we met, I told you that rules would be bent. Now it’s time to show you.”
“Show me what?”
Velius nodded at the window.
“What do you think of these children?”
“They’re newborns; there’s not much to think about. I’m glad they’re healthy.”
“You see the leonid one? The one that looks like a kitten.”
“I know what a leonid baby looks like.”
“Did you know his parents rather unfortunately named it Gary?”
Rufus turned to Velius.
“Why would they choose that name?” he asked.
“Really?” Velius said. “The man who won’t stop telling people stories about his friend the heroic leonid can’t figure it out? There aren’t a lot of leonid role models on Earth, Mr Remore. They’ve been hearing all about the one you know for months, so is it all that surprising?”
“You said it was an unfortunate name,” Rufus said. “Why?”
“Look at the child’s aura.”
Rufus stared at the baby as he extended his perception.
“That aura,” Rufus said. “It almost feels like Gary. Not the same, but it does feel like him.”
“Of course it doesn’t feel the same. You can’t just shove a soul into a child without taking it through a renewal process. Especially when the soul itself needs to be reformed after dying as a gestalt entity.”
“You’re talking about Reincarnation? Are you saying... are you saying that child really is Gary?”
“If you mean your friend Gary, then no. I am very emphatically saying this child is not your friend. He is a different person who happens to have inherited your friend's soul, which is part of what makes the name so unfortunate.”
“How can he have Gary's soul and not be him?”
Velius let out a groan.
“Conversations like this are why we don't normally let this happen. Yes, that boy has the reincarnated soul of your friend. But reincarnation is not the resurrection or rebirth of the person who came before. It is the arrival of someone new who just happens to have an old soul. They are shaped by that soul, but they are not the people they were in their past lives. Not anymore. This Gary will be his own man, not the one you knew.”
“Then why? What's the point of reincarnation if the person doesn't come back?”
“If you want the why of what happens after death, you’ll have to ask the Reaper. The most he ever gives me is the what, and that's more than most mortals get. I can tell you that reincarnation is only one path of many. When it does happen, the soul is normally reincarnated far off in the cosmos. Somewhere so removed from the origin point that most transcendents couldn’t find it, and no small few of them have tried. But that’s not a rule, strictly speaking. It’s something the Reaper does to avoid problems. Problems like you.”
“How am I a problem?”
“This boy is not the friend you lost, Mr Remore. He never will be. He will never have a memory of you, or of anything from any of his past lives. He will not have the same personality or follow the same life path. You will see echoes of the man he was because yes, that was your friend's soul. Now it is this boy's soul. He will grow up to be his own person. To make his own choices and his own mistakes. This boy is not your friend but your friend's legacy. He is the gift that your friend has left to the cosmos. Gareth Xandier is gone, and he’s never coming back.”
Velius bowed his head.
“I'm sorry to be so blunt about your loss,” he said. “But it's critical that you understand what I am trying to tell you. As I said, there is a reason that reincarnated souls are sent where no one they knew will ever find them.”
“How did this happen? Becoming a demigod made him like Jason and the messengers. He wasn’t meant to be able to come back.”
“He hasn't come back. This is a new person. That's what I'm repeating over and over, and will keep doing so until this sinks in.”
“But his soul wasn’t able to enter a new body.”
“Reincarnation is not simply a matter of grabbing a soul and shoving it in the first available meat sack. The soul absorbs the changes that come from a lifetime of experiences and undergoes a metamorphosis. A renewal. Only then it is ready to be the genesis of a new person.”
“His soul was altered?”
“No. His soul changed by itself; that's what reincarnation is. It was not altered by an external force. Not even the Reaper can do that. Change is a natural part of the reincarnation process. Your friend changed himself. I said this boy was your friend's legacy and I meant it literally. Your friend prepared his soul to gift a new life to the cosmos.”
“He did seem accepting,” Rufus said. “So, that's what happens to people when they die?”
“Some people. There are other possibilities, but we're definitely not talking about that. It's one thing to speculate on the afterlife and another to get confirmation, and you've already learned more than a living person should.”
“You want me to keep quiet, then.”
“I want far more from you than that. Or, perhaps, less. You will teach these children as they grow. Even if you leave this world before they're of an age for you to do so directly, what you leave behind will guide a generation. You can be a mentor to this boy, if that's how it plays out, but if you cross the line, there will be repercussions.”
“What line?”
“There is a reason I have been so emphatic that this boy is not your friend. That they share a name will be an unfortunate and constant reminder, making it harder to stay objective. The line is that you must always treat the boy as who he is, not who he was. And if I ever catch you trying to turn him into your lost friend, then no one can save you from me. I am the first guide of the dead in the cosmos. If you make it necessary, I will start guiding you earlier than expected.”
“Then why tell me at all? Why not just leave me ignorant?”
“Because you would start to suspect, over time. An expression you recognise. A look in his eyes. His aura will not be the same, but the root is the same soul. It’s close enough to recognise.”
“And the damage I could do in my ignorance would be worse than if I know what’s happening.”
“Yes. This is why souls are not normally sent to places where they might be recognised. We are showing you considerable trust in this, Mr Remore. Watching the man who was your friend grow up will require discipline. The temptation to introduce aspects of his past life will be great. It is easy to convince yourself that you see an aptitude he once held and push him in that direction.”
“It sounds like you speak from experience.”
“I was not always as I am now. Once, I was just a man. A man convinced that he found the soul of a lost love in the body of another.”
“Were you right?”
“I was. And the damage I did ruined us both. That was how I first came into the Reaper’s service. To make amends.”
“If there are so many risks, why do this? Why reincarnate him here?”
“Because for all that he is a new person, the man he was is still inside him. And he was an exceptional man indeed.”
“Yes, he was.”
“That legacy I talked about? This is where it plays out. That's what the Reaper is gifting this planet. They say, on this world, that all people are born equal. Even if you disregard reincarnation, that's laughable. This boy has a hero's soul and what I imagine will be a highly motivated mentor. He's born for greatness, in a place where greatness will be sorely needed.”
“And if he doesn’t live up to that greatness?”
“Then guide him to happiness. I suggest that be the priority, in fact, and fit in greatness if you can. A life doesn’t have to be exceptional to be worthwhile.”
“But isn't the whole point of sending him here to be great?”
“Well, sure, but no one asked you about it, so who said you have to follow the plan? The great astral beings are the ones who set in motion the events that sent this world off-kilter. They're helping things along on Earth out of a sense of responsibility. That's what great astral beings are, in the end. Responsibility on a cosmic scale. They tried to change that and messed it up to the point of relying on Jason Asano to fix it. That's bad. This world, and to a lesser extent, yours, have gone wrong because of what they did. That cosmic consequence is what they care about, not the people. To them, the people are just a means to an end.”
“But you care.”
“Yes. That's literally my job, in fact. I'm still mortal enough to care about something as tiny as a person. Did you know that's why the World-Phoenix sent Dawn here? Her perspective was getting too cosmic to be of use to the World-Phoenix and she needed someone to ground her in mortality. I think it underestimated just how grounded Jason Asano is, and Dawn's replacement had to be called up early anyway. That man is a disruptive presence.”
“He is that,” Rufus agreed with a chuckle.
“Look, Mr Remore. I’ve worked for a great astral being for longer than most who end up in my position. Something I’ve learned in that time is that as long as I fulfil the Reaper’s directives to its satisfaction, I get to manage the details however I like. And the Reaper does not care about the living. Happy or sad; great or insignificant. It doesn’t care what they are and it doesn’t care what they do. Not until someone like your friend Jason starts resurrecting over and over, anyway.”
“So, the great astral beings won’t intervene if I end up guiding these people to just live fulfilling lives? No path to greatness?”
“I can’t speak for the others sent here like me, but I can tell you what I was told to do. I was sent here to accelerate the development of non-human medical knowledge and make sure a few reincarnations went smoothly. That’s as far as my orders go.”
He gestured to the window and the newborns on the other side.
“If you want to turn these kids into a gaggle of blissfully content, perfectly ordinary people, Mr Remore, then I am more than happy to help.”
“Is ordinary even possible, given what they’re being born into?”
“I guess the responsibility of making it possible falls to people like you and me.”
Comments
Well, im just catching up and read about Gary dieing literally an hour ago, and posted something about Gary coming back on earth, im happy Shirt had the same idea.
Havics Child
2024-03-24 19:26:38 +0000 UTCGlad there was confirmation that Gary’s not coming back. Thx for the chapter
Kconraw
2024-02-29 20:01:13 +0000 UTCWe also still have the mysterious fate sense affinityb thing as well, which could possibly answer to the probabilities involved
Joshua Stevens
2024-02-16 14:23:27 +0000 UTCThey probably will be, but almost certainly in the way Velius says basically every other soul is. In a way in which they will NEVER EVER encounter someone that knew them in a previous life. While Kaito, Greg, and Asya were awesome, they were not awesome on the level of Gary. Also, the purpose behind Veliius' visit is to help lift up the new races on Earth. While I'm sure people reincarnate into new races all the time, I'm pretty sure Gary reincarnating into a new Leonid is a clue all these newborns of the new races will have old souls that were from the same race they are reincarnating into.
MrCynical
2024-02-16 02:29:07 +0000 UTCPowerful people (and powerful beings) do NOT like being humbled like that. In fact, the chance they do something stupid out of spite increases drastically.
Marshall Kelloway
2024-02-15 21:33:12 +0000 UTCI asked Shirt, and he told me the one trapped as Elizabeth's blood clone was Jack Girling.
ShowBizGAL 1996
2024-02-14 23:28:15 +0000 UTCI hope for all the tear jerking being done shirt follows thru but he's left hisself a door on a subject that should be a brick wall
ItWasIDIO!!
2024-02-14 22:54:41 +0000 UTCHuh?
Laura H
2024-02-14 22:51:32 +0000 UTCThey mention jan michael vincent at least once.... so he's somewhat Canon
JonO
2024-02-14 06:20:01 +0000 UTCSome years until Jason sees her again. I’m curious to see a mature Emi, too.
Keith Richmond
2024-02-14 05:30:01 +0000 UTCI want a Danielle Geller perspective chapter of being part of the diplomatic delegation to Earth (or the other way around) after Jason repairs the bridge with Earths representatives for sure… “I see why Jason nearly went mad and killed all these people” “what do you mean that’s not how Diamond rankers will work here?” “You want people to be able to vote on a mortal being in control of a Diamond ranker?”
gray matter
2024-02-14 03:11:04 +0000 UTCI don't think he should. Imagine the gift Gary has been given..a new beginning; a fresh start. A New way to become better and stronger. Old memories could maybe help some, but also hinder. Idk...learn from the past, but look to the future is a good mindset.
Kraede Epoch
2024-02-14 02:46:27 +0000 UTCYep. Have been re-listening to the first 3 books recently. SO MUCH FORESHADOWING. Even the giant head shaped fortress!!😂
Kraede Epoch
2024-02-14 02:35:35 +0000 UTCYES.
Kraede Epoch
2024-02-14 02:30:52 +0000 UTCI love that book and the movie.
Kraede Epoch
2024-02-14 02:30:12 +0000 UTCMe too! Best lunch break ever!
Kraede Epoch
2024-02-14 02:26:42 +0000 UTCI wonder if reincarnated souls eventually gain authority to become gods of a world.
Alex Schellenberg
2024-02-14 02:17:17 +0000 UTCHe is in an entirely new universe. I'd say that's pretty far for beings that can't zip around the cosmos like Boris.
Alex Schellenberg
2024-02-14 02:14:28 +0000 UTCThe biggest Chekhov's medium hammer.
Alex Schellenberg
2024-02-14 02:11:42 +0000 UTCFire, Iron, skewer, BBQ
Alex Schellenberg
2024-02-14 02:09:03 +0000 UTCThats because Landmere Vane screwed up his summoning ritual when he was trying to summon a clockwork king, Jason was summoned instead because Vane was an idiot
Dreyzer
2024-02-14 00:49:53 +0000 UTCJust got my card pack in the mail 🙌
Steven Miller
2024-02-13 21:55:32 +0000 UTC& so it was written gary is dead & now written so author man has the hairs of an ass pull to grip with tweezers
ItWasIDIO!!
2024-02-13 21:11:59 +0000 UTCSorry, isn't that Chekov's Medium Hammer?
2024-02-13 20:02:52 +0000 UTCWhat do you think severe spiritual trauma means to an astral king ?
John goode
2024-02-13 17:22:45 +0000 UTCIn reality, Jason will skip Gold rank and Diamond rank becoming a universe unto himself, any avatar he creates will be only that an avatar he projects into another reality a placeholder fixed to specific timeliness, destroy the avatar, Jason isn't dead but may not find it easy to rejoin a specific time period in another universe. His sacred realms do align him to specific universes though. At minimum.
Stephen E Wilson Jr.
2024-02-13 16:54:14 +0000 UTCAs a Michael, ain't no Michaels in this story 😭
Michael Alpert-Appell
2024-02-13 16:00:04 +0000 UTCI was thinking about Kaito Greg Asya and all the other people who have been killed in Jason’s journey. They might be reincarnated too
mhaj58
2024-02-13 15:20:18 +0000 UTCIt's like, the BIGGEST chekovs hammer ever.
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-13 13:12:44 +0000 UTCReincarnation isn't about getting to live again, it's about renewal and old souls are more predictable in inclination tha than new ones. The new Gary, has the soul of a hero. In moral challenges that would break a lesser man he will be stronger 💪 at a base level, but Gary has passed on. Long live Gary.
Stephen E Wilson Jr.
2024-02-13 11:38:09 +0000 UTCFemale elf.
Jordan Rogers
2024-02-13 11:07:17 +0000 UTCSorry, I have to say it, because I've I've been right in the past... here's your biscuit
Joseph Nicholson
2024-02-13 10:09:24 +0000 UTC“… because my family runs a school!”
Damaddino
2024-02-13 09:22:06 +0000 UTCI wonder if the Reaper has a special place where he stashes souls like Jason’s. Like Pandoras box for souls. And these souls don’t get released but they sneak out to get their reincarnation.
Jana
2024-02-13 08:51:41 +0000 UTCHonestly I think it would cheapen Garry's sacrifice, and his choice if he was allowed to just pop back into existence. Even this feels.. borderline to me
Tempitheadem
2024-02-13 07:50:19 +0000 UTCProbably
Joanna
2024-02-13 07:25:19 +0000 UTCGary IS dead. This little Leonid might become a painter, for all we know. Also, people outside of the Main cast are dropping like flies, regularly. I still miss Korinne
Lars-Fabian Goll
2024-02-13 06:28:53 +0000 UTCFrom what i remember, Jason received a notice from his old quest ability that He eliminated fhe Rune spider Noreth
Lars-Fabian Goll
2024-02-13 06:19:36 +0000 UTCOf course not, but he will probably close in personality (if the external influence on earth doesn’t change it to much). I do not expect Gary to be relevant for the next volume anyway.
Typhen
2024-02-13 06:15:43 +0000 UTCI missed the window, sadly. Hopefully, they will be available again in the future
Lars-Fabian Goll
2024-02-13 06:12:43 +0000 UTCDon’t see how, soul signature different even if similar
Russell Bennett
2024-02-13 05:54:00 +0000 UTC😂😂😂😂
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-13 05:51:51 +0000 UTCGreg is totally showing up as an elf. Lbh
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-13 05:48:40 +0000 UTCGary getting his groove back CONFIRMED
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-13 05:44:17 +0000 UTCI love how, even in thought, Rufus cant resist mentioning that his family runs a school
Lars-Fabian Goll
2024-02-13 05:39:45 +0000 UTCI wonder if Earth will get Robin Williams back, too...
Laura H
2024-02-13 05:13:53 +0000 UTCSo did I. I love them!
Laura H
2024-02-13 05:12:36 +0000 UTCI really liked this chapter. It makes a lot of sense doing it this way. Gary's soul was both a physical being and extraordinarily worn thin from the power, so just casually bringing him back to life didn't make the most sense. Gary was ready to move on, so letting him wash out his soul and start a new adventure is really the best way to do it.
Joshua Batts
2024-02-13 05:11:45 +0000 UTCWe don't need to. We're reminding you that Shirt already did, specifically and explicitly, in words of one syllable. You surely can find something else to dream about!
Laura H
2024-02-13 05:08:39 +0000 UTCYeah it felt short though. Just one conversation. There's been a few like that but usually its more than two people. Would have been nice to have a cut away to what's going on with EMI or what's ump with the hump.
Kaladorph
2024-02-13 04:55:10 +0000 UTCI believe hero said he was going to try to make a new miracle where he allows the use of powerful relics, so... yes?
Joshua Batts
2024-02-13 04:51:35 +0000 UTCThat’s one of the things that I’ve really enjoyed the most about this series. Every time I decide to do a re-listen, I end up finding more cool little details that were foreshadowed WAY before they come into play.
Duskysan
2024-02-13 04:43:06 +0000 UTCTurns out the end of the book is Reincarnation Thadwick the Hero of Earth vs the Soul Vampire Thadwick the Scourge of Pallimustus.
2024-02-13 04:38:52 +0000 UTCI assumed that's gerhling but I suppose it could be noreth. I assumed that Elizabeth somehow got him to do the crystal thing. When did they get out of Jason's aura field to do it is the question though.
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-13 04:38:12 +0000 UTCI wonder, would this new Gary be able to use old Gary's relic?
Anthony Sebastian
2024-02-13 04:15:43 +0000 UTCI need HWFWM merch but it's a shot glass that says "My family runs a school."
Anthony Sebastian
2024-02-13 04:13:11 +0000 UTCIt also has to do with, I think, Rufus' connection to Gary. Logically, he may understand that this child is distinct from his old friend, but emotionally? This man had such a hard time letting Gary go in the first place. To be so close to him, yet so far -- I can't imagine this is (or will be) easy for him.
Anthony Sebastian
2024-02-13 04:11:59 +0000 UTCThadwick for sure
Greg Lambert
2024-02-13 04:02:00 +0000 UTCI feel this is the usual experience with somebody as smart as Clive, throw Jason in the mix and you get an eel bath instead of an explaination.
Alex Cox
2024-02-13 03:59:56 +0000 UTCRufus doesn't use cores at all. Never has
Kalanaere
2024-02-13 03:46:28 +0000 UTCIt made you pay attention though didn't it. That's what he wanted from Rufus
Kalanaere
2024-02-13 03:44:06 +0000 UTCIt would be nice but they would not listen. Ffs Emi is the only one that seems to have read the memo on just how the rankings work
Kalanaere
2024-02-13 03:43:02 +0000 UTCmmmm maybe
Paul Boros
2024-02-13 03:16:25 +0000 UTCThat's the point Gary isn't Gary but rather we get to see the beginning of the next iteration. There is a Robin Williams movie called What Dreams May Come that illustrates this point in a way.
Paul Boros
2024-02-13 03:15:44 +0000 UTCIt felt realistic to me. I think only Clive would understand the first time. 😅
Konnect
2024-02-13 03:09:48 +0000 UTCHonestly, I have wondered a few times if Jason was already on the reincarnation track, which is why they have guided him towards the sundered throne. The fact that just his apartment got cosmicaly blasted to Pallimistus hasn't ever sat right with me, because I don't recall mention of any similar incidents during the proto space bubble period on earth. If forcefully deposing the previous occupant of that throne set things off kilter, I wouldn't be shocked if they wanted him to claim and surrender it to fix things.
Philip Pleiss
2024-02-13 03:04:09 +0000 UTCGary never wanted to be a hero but he understands the necessity of having the tools to do so when the moment is necessary. I'm sure Gary prepared GaryV2 for happiness while also providing the drive to protect. people.
DeviantSalivations
2024-02-13 03:00:41 +0000 UTCNot gonna lie, I still wish Vellus and the other avatars would sit the other world powers down and firmly educate them on just how insignificant they are. Just out of spite.
Philip Pleiss
2024-02-13 02:58:41 +0000 UTCIf souls are more or less sanctioned before reincarnating, and that still counts as dying, does that mean that the immortality of transcendent beings is more or less a technicality? The GABs said that if Jason lost the battle, he would wake up a few million years later with no idea who or what he had been, same as a reincarnated soul. Is the critical distinction then just that the reaper/death gods don't get to guide him, and that he can't be taken off the reincarnation track?
Morgan Amacosmos
2024-02-13 02:42:42 +0000 UTCIf people get reincarnated "normally far off in the cosmos" from where they died, I guess Greg is not in that bunch of babies.
Other Tan
2024-02-13 02:42:14 +0000 UTCRufus: "...I'm gonna parent the shit outta those kids."
Liesmith
2024-02-13 02:21:14 +0000 UTCCorrect me if I'm wrong, but I think Noreth might still be alive. Boris hinted at it a few chapters back about some vampiric slave taken from the earth transformation zone by Elizabeth.
Morgan Amacosmos
2024-02-13 02:18:23 +0000 UTCI get it. That someone would react the same way Rufus did. But constantly repeating the same thing over & over was getting irritating. I almost didn’t finish the chapter
BloodStorm
2024-02-13 01:47:43 +0000 UTCRufus did not. Gary did
Aaron
2024-02-13 01:35:39 +0000 UTCI mean, it's been hinted for a while since it has been made abundantly clear NOTHING can change a soul without the soul's acceptance, whether willingly or coerced. The final puzzle piece was the info on sanctioning. Now I'm curious about the souls that don't prepare themselves for a new life.
MrCynical
2024-02-13 01:15:08 +0000 UTCI love chapters like this even tho I just wanna see what Jason is doing.
Pipe
2024-02-13 01:07:36 +0000 UTCalright, Jason just got cheated. With all he's doing for the Reaper we don't get Gary back...really, we get a stand in.
Ray
2024-02-13 00:42:42 +0000 UTCWhere is that said? Do you mean when the gabs have their rules restored? That's an interesting point. How much will the primes be controlled is a great question.
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-13 00:10:46 +0000 UTCFUCKS SAKE I WAS WRONG
Aubrey Listi
2024-02-13 00:10:08 +0000 UTCA few reincarnation?
2024-02-13 00:07:05 +0000 UTCIt sounds like once jason finishes up with the sundered throne the avatars won't be able to act on earth so Rufus will have to be the one to pass on the info
Mike Zebill
2024-02-13 00:04:55 +0000 UTCgary used cores not rufus
Autumn Dowdy
2024-02-13 00:03:07 +0000 UTCMy guess is that we won't find out about her abilities till jason returns to earth and then we will get them all with his interface.
Mike Zebill
2024-02-13 00:00:53 +0000 UTCI think Rufus might be close to gold rank through all the fighting that took place in the transformation zone. He was in there fighting monsters for months.
Greg Danes
2024-02-12 23:54:39 +0000 UTCWhen was this stated?
Coolafman
2024-02-12 23:46:50 +0000 UTCI'm like 95% certain he did. When Farah and Jason were on Earth. When he gave Gary the monster Cores to get over into Silver
Aubrey Listi
2024-02-12 23:43:31 +0000 UTCRufus doesn’t use Monster cores.
Jean L. Philippe Jr.
2024-02-12 23:41:23 +0000 UTCDid he? I know that Gary did as he wanted to blacksmith but I don't think Rufus did.
Aaron
2024-02-12 23:36:30 +0000 UTCDawn said even enemies become a kind of friend because so few share the half transcendent experience.
2024-02-12 23:34:50 +0000 UTCHad to take a shot when Shirtaloon wrote, "Rufus' family ran a school."
Rowdy Robby
2024-02-12 23:34:46 +0000 UTCI don't care what any of you or shirt think I'm calling him Gary jr in my head
Valhazstromoz
2024-02-12 23:30:09 +0000 UTCI wonder if his essences will be different.
Alex Schellenberg
2024-02-12 23:23:19 +0000 UTCRufus used Monster Cores to get to silver from Bronze.
Aubrey Listi
2024-02-12 23:20:37 +0000 UTCGot my Collector Cards today. They are a beaut.
Firinen
2024-02-12 23:20:22 +0000 UTCBooo! HISS!!
Alex Schellenberg
2024-02-12 23:19:57 +0000 UTCThere are silver and gold ranked monsters in the higher magic parts of the world but also in the Astral spaces. He wouldn't have to travel far to gain the experience he needs to rank up.
Alex Schellenberg
2024-02-12 23:19:06 +0000 UTCHonestly not sure what I think of the reincarnation. Was sort of obvious that it was going to happen. Buts it’s not the same as having Gary back. But would be interested to see if the brother the friend or the lover got the same deal
mockery jones
2024-02-12 23:17:16 +0000 UTCUnless I’m mistaken, it was said that when Jason had gone back to pallimustus that earth now had the same level of magic. As magic builds we’ll see golds start to spawn in high magic areas, and eventually diamonds. Plan B…..Jason when he becomes an astral king, and my assumption based on the story is he’ll be gold rank at that point, will be able to take people between the two worlds. So he can always go back and advance some more.
Michael Nix
2024-02-12 23:14:43 +0000 UTCAnd as a Chadwick, I was almost a Thadwick. I'd rather be a rabbit, honestly
2024-02-12 23:13:16 +0000 UTCAs a Nick, I was almost a rabbit!
2024-02-12 23:12:39 +0000 UTCDo they?? I wonder why he never brings it up
2024-02-12 23:10:23 +0000 UTCHe's inside Jason's domains. Jason will notice immediately. Maybe even before he sends an avatar back to earth. You could have a point about Farah, but she was a teacher on earth, she likely will show an interest when she shows up on earth.
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-12 23:09:08 +0000 UTCIt does but we knew it was going to happen in some form. Still don't like it. Nobody stays dead.
Sena
2024-02-12 23:06:04 +0000 UTCHonestly, its quite possible they will never notice. Rufus is part of the training team and is involved with the kids in a way those two aren't. By the time that kid is out and about those two will be gold rank, maybe diamond in Jason's case, what reason would they have to interact extensively with the trainees?
Alexandra Whalen
2024-02-12 23:05:11 +0000 UTCFrankly, I hope there isn’t a lot of Emi. She has always been annoying to me. In the same vein of this chapter, Emi has always come across as the reincarnation of Wesley Crusher.
Michael Nix
2024-02-12 22:58:30 +0000 UTCNo no. Not who else is going to come back. Who already has. We know lots of extraordinary characters.
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-12 22:56:07 +0000 UTCCan we talk about how Rufus, whose grandfather is a Diamond ranker who established a world renowned school, is now doing the same thing in an alternate reality, after already making a global name for himself as a teacher in the world his Grandfather established his school. Rufus has already surpassed his grandfather. And he's done so at Silver Rank, and the only hope he has of reaching Gold Rank is through Monster Cores or through the as of yet located Purity Artifact.
Aubrey Listi
2024-02-12 22:56:01 +0000 UTCOf course they did, it's called misdirection. Even if that isn't the case though that's fine. Don't poop on my hopes and dreams.
Steven Ramey
2024-02-12 22:51:00 +0000 UTCThis was a beautiful epilogue to the Epic of Gareth Xandier, friend of an Astral King and an Interdeminsional Teacher of Magic Kung-fu.
Aubrey Listi
2024-02-12 22:50:48 +0000 UTCHe loved his adopted world
Jordan Rogers
2024-02-12 22:50:14 +0000 UTCI can already see Rufus has found his class pet since his family runs a school & every real teacher has a model student they can always count on.
Ender419
2024-02-12 22:49:22 +0000 UTCUnlikely to see any from earth, norith would be cool though
Jordan Rogers
2024-02-12 22:49:16 +0000 UTCVelius and Shako may have just been friendly since there are so few in their position. Sometimes if there's only a few people who know what your life is like, you get along with them in the areas where your interests coincide without ever becoming friends.
Laura H
2024-02-12 22:48:35 +0000 UTCPart of me read the chapter as Velius repeating himself to Rufus, and the other part of me read this as Shirt repeating himself to us readers: "He has Gary's soul, but he's not Gary"
Blayne Allsen
2024-02-12 22:45:09 +0000 UTCI love how Gary will get to be Gary again. I'm getting a little emotional about it. I hope Gary will get to live a happier life. And who knows he might choose to be aSmith again all on his own. He is not going to be the Gary we know and love but baby Gary is already my favorite hero. I don't know if I would have the discipline to not look for or see the old Gary in baby Gary. Shirt you are an evil man. I kinda feel like baby Gary should end up making Emi's adventuring kit.
Zachary Ross
2024-02-12 22:42:42 +0000 UTCAs a Jason I just want to say, I can't describe how happy I am that this is my favourite series. I wonder if it makes me feel more emersion than if the names were different.
PURPL3_DR4G0N
2024-02-12 22:41:50 +0000 UTCHe won’t. That’s made very clear. They are gone.
David Fletcher
2024-02-12 22:41:21 +0000 UTCVelius just told Rufus -- and Shirt told us -- that that is just not going to happen. Don't hope for Shirt to break his own rules in this case!
Laura H
2024-02-12 22:41:05 +0000 UTCWhat’ll we do if he turns out to be a thadwick this time?😱
Jordan Rogers
2024-02-12 22:40:38 +0000 UTCActually, after thinking about it a bit longer, I'm glad that we're getting a brand-new person, even though he has an old soul. Getting Gary's soul will give him a terrific foundation in being a good person while not forcing Shirt to have to write Gary as a baby and a toddler and all. This way we aren't going to expect Gary as we knew him, while still finding out what happened to him after he died -- which is more than we've done with any other character who died except for Jason and Farah, with their coming back from the dead.
Laura H
2024-02-12 22:39:41 +0000 UTCI respect Velius so much for his patience here, just constantly repeating himself over and over. He also seems like he's just a nice guy too. I knew Gary would get isekaid, I'm sad it's not really Gary tho.
Connor
2024-02-12 22:38:59 +0000 UTCThis chapter sets up consequences and ramifications for past chapters and books we never even thought about
The Hyperbolic Cookout
2024-02-12 22:38:59 +0000 UTCProbably the best quote from the books so far, right before some choice sandwich related nonsense…
Jordan Rogers
2024-02-12 22:38:42 +0000 UTCI laughed
Crystal Donak
2024-02-12 22:38:22 +0000 UTCWith Uncle Rufus to help Guide him love it
Crystal Donak
2024-02-12 22:36:58 +0000 UTCI think the Reaper knows Earth needs all the help it can get, but this begs the question: will we get a new Greg? Or someone else we know
The Hyperbolic Cookout
2024-02-12 22:36:49 +0000 UTCSo who is going to set up the betting pool on which characters we know are also old souls.....
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-12 22:36:44 +0000 UTCThink it’s cool we get to see his afterlife in a way, without some metaphysical mumbo jumbo nonsense that we as mortals shouldn’t get to see. Think it’s wise on shirts’ part.
Jordan Rogers
2024-02-12 22:35:50 +0000 UTCI think he has to live life again as a baby and grow up with no memories or powers to guide him. It doesn't lessen the sacrifice because we have no idea what happens after people die. He starts as a new person. He has the foundation of greatness to build upon
The Hyperbolic Cookout
2024-02-12 22:35:18 +0000 UTCI kind of figured something like this would happen and I'm kind of hoping that the kid gets his memories back eventually.
Steven Ramey
2024-02-12 22:35:00 +0000 UTCKid needs a hammer named Gary’s second first hammer but written in the other worlds language so it wouldn’t disturb the development of the child.
Jordan Rogers
2024-02-12 22:33:17 +0000 UTCBiscuit!
RGrocks
2024-02-12 22:31:23 +0000 UTCSo in a way, Gary kind of sanctioned himself to prepare for reincarnation? I wonder if he personally asked to be sent to earth, to Rufus.
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-12 22:28:47 +0000 UTCSeriously. It’s like they skipped the “and I will repeat this until it sinks in” part.
David Fletcher
2024-02-12 22:27:51 +0000 UTCTYFTC!!! This was a good one!
Hemlock
2024-02-12 22:27:23 +0000 UTCThat's one for the bingo card. I figured a reincarnation for Gary was on the table. I'm going to bet he will get the BBQ confluence.
Alex Schellenberg
2024-02-12 22:27:16 +0000 UTCOooo, good point. Or, dare I speculate, emis future familiar?
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-12 22:26:57 +0000 UTCI know it is different but does anyone else feel like this lessons Gary’s passing? Even I little I know he’s a different person and all that but still. But as always a great ch
John goode
2024-02-12 22:26:46 +0000 UTCI wonder if moving away from Emi so quick means we won't be getting any specifics of her kit till some time in the next book or later. I'll be sad if so, because I'm very curious, but that's the cost of living on the edge of the story
Joanna
2024-02-12 22:26:38 +0000 UTCHow he and shako were friends is interesting.
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-12 22:25:48 +0000 UTCI love this
Bobby Baxter
2024-02-12 22:25:05 +0000 UTCAs a Dennis I just want say it's always weird to see my name used.
Dennis Bell
2024-02-12 22:24:54 +0000 UTCSo...Basically what you're saying here is that Gary's soul sanctioned itself, in order to be reborn as a different person. Certainly fits in with Clive's thought that souls are themselves a form of authority
Joanna
2024-02-12 22:24:27 +0000 UTCNo.... We specifically did NOT get Gary back... We got Gary's soul
James
2024-02-12 22:24:26 +0000 UTCOr shade
Scott McCarthy
2024-02-12 22:23:40 +0000 UTCI love being right.
Julia
2024-02-12 22:23:31 +0000 UTCI'm choosing to look at it a bit like Gary's surrogate son. Not him but definitely a scoop of them if you're looking close.
ReadingObsessed
2024-02-12 22:23:05 +0000 UTCBummer. Really wanted more of a Gary reborn less of a kinda Gareth but not really him
Samael Seadh
2024-02-12 22:22:55 +0000 UTCI figured that part/paragraph was Rufus's internal thoughts
Scott McCarthy
2024-02-12 22:22:42 +0000 UTCNew Gary reading the blueprints of Garath and doing with them what he wills. I see a chef in his future
Tyler S.
2024-02-12 22:22:23 +0000 UTCGuide them to happiness as greatness has its own way of taking more then its share of one's life.
John Durrett
2024-02-12 22:22:13 +0000 UTCThats a good twist I find the explaination on reincarnation nice!! Which route will they take bliss or greatest
Ken Sevier
2024-02-12 22:21:52 +0000 UTC*A* Gary...
Tyler S.
2024-02-12 22:20:28 +0000 UTCI know we just got a whole chapter explaining why this isn't true but.... Guess who's back, back again, Gary's back tell a friend, guess who's back, guess who's back. Guess who's back. Yeah Gary!!!
Gb
2024-02-12 22:20:15 +0000 UTCWhat's going to happen when others notice his aura that knows Gary. Jason and Farah at least will notice without question. What can Rufus do in that situation? I'm assuming he'll be forced to acknowledge, and give them the same speech velius did. Or more likely velius will make sure to be there to give the same speech....
Kevin Anderson
2024-02-12 22:19:27 +0000 UTCI like Velius more and more as we get to know him, I hope he and Jason can be friends.
Allformsoflight
2024-02-12 22:18:51 +0000 UTCI think we all thought about reincarnation in the last chapter. But we didn’t consider that those people would never be the same. It’s incredible how Shirt went out of his way in this chapter to tell us that the Gary we know is gone, but there will be flashes. It’s like the steel of a sword being melted and reforged into a dagger or a spear: the same materials mostly but a new purpose.
The Hyperbolic Cookout
2024-02-12 22:18:43 +0000 UTCI'd have never guessed!
Chuck Haeberle
2024-02-12 22:18:40 +0000 UTCIt's gotten so pervasive that the chapters themselves are pointing out that Rufus' family runs a school. He doesn't even have to mention it personally anymore.
Chuck Haeberle
2024-02-12 22:18:21 +0000 UTCIt was only fair that Rufus takes over all the training. Did you know that his family ran a school?
David Harr
2024-02-12 22:16:28 +0000 UTC"A life doesn't have to be exceptional to be worthwhile" ❤️❤️
Maz Drapier
2024-02-12 22:16:26 +0000 UTCIt was inevitable i guess. 😍🤗🥰
René Blaser
2024-02-12 22:15:51 +0000 UTCI just hope Rufus can live up to what Velius has told him. That's going to be tough for him. Even if his family does run a school...
Laura H
2024-02-12 22:15:28 +0000 UTCI want to see shade interacting with his dad! 🤣
Crysus
2024-02-12 22:14:05 +0000 UTCNice
Keith Richmond
2024-02-12 22:13:19 +0000 UTCSo reincarnation is a thing in the cosmos. Good to know
mhaj58
2024-02-12 22:12:23 +0000 UTCWow. That's... a really nice compromise. If important people kept dodging death, the plot armor would be too thick and it would start to feel like there weren't stakes. For all intents and purposes, we've lost Gary. Except... not quite. I like it.
Michael Alpert-Appell
2024-02-12 22:11:58 +0000 UTCGreat we got Gary back.
Typhen
2024-02-12 22:11:30 +0000 UTCMan! Rufus being established as such a vital presence on earth and its development. Could ultimately have a greater impact than Jason over the long run - Jason was really a catalyst. Rufus setting the foundation for generations
Pierce
2024-02-12 22:11:13 +0000 UTCOmg gary 2.0
JonO
2024-02-12 22:10:47 +0000 UTCI love how this sidesteps any possibility of Gary coming back -- while ensuring he kind of did in a way. Thank you for the chapter.
Jarrett Glass
2024-02-12 22:09:04 +0000 UTCThat was a great chapter
Michael McMahon
2024-02-12 22:07:25 +0000 UTC👏🏼👏🏼
2024-02-12 22:02:32 +0000 UTCBiscuits
Darkdragon
2024-02-12 22:01:04 +0000 UTCBiscuits please!
Abigail Hale
2024-02-12 22:00:31 +0000 UTC❤️
Fabienne Bedry
2024-02-12 22:00:26 +0000 UTC
