Reiss rocketed over the Aurelian vista. He smirked as he imagined his image from those who momentarily gazed up to see a human fly overhead. They would see a blurred streak that broke the sound barrier, a white-tailed comet careening through the night sky. Maybe some would make a wish as he passed.

Unfortunately, that was an old Earth custom and wasn't practiced in Aurelia except by a few blasphemous individuals. It was terrible luck to make a wish upon a falling star. Since it would be like praying for good fortune after witnessing the death of your diety, it was more likely the populace would duck for cover to avoid any fallout. Even if it weren't a falling god, anything flying that fast would cause damage. No matter if it was inanimate, a monster, or a high-leveled Aurelian. Each would be worst than the last.

Reiss chuckled.

"Eck."

Choking and coughing, he made loops and twirls as he barreled out of the slipstream.

No one ever mentioned the bugs when flying.

Normally bugs would stay lower to the ground. This was Aurelia, though. It ranked number three on the "Worst World With Insects" chart. Aurelian insects could grow in a way no others could. Some of them could level.

They would never level up past double digits. Their lifespans didn't last that long enough. But there was a particular variety that somehow registered as having levels in the Ones and Twos. The skills they had were mostly mundane.

Gnollish insects were worse because of the pure variety of parasites. They are so numerous that it is absurd. Latching onto Gnolls, migrating, developing an entire culture on their own.

Earthbound insects were merely annoying in comparison.

No, it was Elden insects that scared Reiss. They were barely any at all. Incredibly few. Elden's eliminated all of them, developing their own special bug-resistant auras and spells. Constant magical lightning zappers. The Eldens created Super Bugs.

Resistant to spells, magic, plague, pesticide, blunt force trauma... They turn into killing machines who hunger for the blood of animals. And they grew to be huge.

Reiss coughed and shivered. Pulling out a sports bottle, he swished some CleerWater, trying to get rid of the taste and feel of a bug splattering the back of his throat.

Earth vehicles and Orilisi crafts had windshields to protect themselves. But since Reiss was using the mana in the air to propel himself forward, there was no buffer. Instead, Reiss charged the air around him with electricity. Making himself the center of a lightning bolt that streaked across a clear sky.

"I don't want to wear silly goggles. Those masks look ridiculous. I should look like a hero while flying. Like Super Man."

...

"I know I'm not him, but you could at least pretend like I'm your Super Man."

...

"Oh? Well then... Let's find a quiet place where I can show you-"

Reiss broke out of the hallucination. Frowning.

Now angry and upset, Reiss continued his journey while keeping his mouth shut.

I did it again, Nell...

Now and then, he could feel himself going insane. Or rather, returning to his insanity. It was called being senile in older folk. Grandparents develop Alzheimer's. A terrible condition where one forgets their own lives, their own children. They relive specific memories over and over, usually from early in life. Certain stimuli could bring them back for a time, triggering them to recall something they have forgotten.

It happened around Iteration 150. Where he forgot who he was. Death and repeat. Death and repeat.

His anchors were too few. In the first iterations, it was Yerali who comforted him after he had nightmares of dying. He lost a part of his sanity when she died. He didn't gain it back until meeting Nell.

Lizzy helped when he was losing hope; she helped focus him on a certain task. Reiss found Krom after getting tired of being misunderstood, someone to listen to his woes. They serve as his connection to the present, bringing him out of his crashing memories.

Others helped as well. Cray and Gideon actually helped him a lot before he met Lizzy. In the later Iterations, Reiss found comfort in Nelson's youth. Having a chat with Marcine about her many siblings always made him laugh.

There were a few others too. Here and there. A [Royal Gardener]. A wise gnoll with knowledge beyond his years. A strange succubus who listened. An adorable pink/purple Luddle running up to him, holding a handful of flowers. Breakdowns in front of strangers. More often than not, people gave him a wide berth instead of getting involved—a smart choice in the long run.

Reiss knew he was unstable. That was why he went to Krom so early. Maybe reliving a past life with Yerali also helped him. And now, he was running to Lizzy.

What he wanted to do was run to Nell. But he couldn't see her. Not yet. Not now. He wanted to run into her arms and carry her off into the sunset. Forget the warring worlds. Forget the deaths. She was all that mattered.

The problem was that she would turn him away if he showed up. She would say: "Why are you standing outside my door when you are supposed to be saving the world?"

But things are never stable, Nell. I miss you.

"I know. But you have to try. Always try."

When can I see you? When is it okay for me to come to you?

Nell would flutter her eyelashes and cup his cheek with a hand. A loving and wistful look would enter her eyes, cutting at him. She would speak as if speaking to a child.

"Come when your presence here doesn't mean the death of others elsewhere."

Her image was always hazy in his mind. A figure made of mist, threatening to disperse. He couldn't remember the color of her hair or skin. Her eyes were grey and elusive. An outline of who she should be.

I'll save them. I'll save them all. I will make sure no one dies. Then I can come back, right? I can see you? I won't forget you. I won't. I promise I won't. Just... Don't leave.

Reiss clutched at his head.

Remembering hurt. He couldn't remember what she looked like. Once he saw her, it would be like he never forgot. In her absence, though...

"I know where to find her. That is all that matters."

Reiss straightened his back and picked up his speed.

You would want me to help Lizzy first, wouldn't you?

A bright smile and warm touch just out of reach.

=

Reiss landed in a marsh, his Water Walk spell keeping his feet dry. The air was filled with buzzing insects and strange bird calls. It was a wet and humid place where many battles passed. He could hear the cries as men and women died around him—blood catching in his mouth from a fallen Elden. Screams of mortar shells as Earthbound joined a pitched battle. The howls of millions of Gnolls invading and being blown apart. The smell of Ozone from magically charged air.

Reiss stood in a daze. Unable to take a step forward.

Time passed.

Two hours.

Three.

Ten.

Daylight.

Reliving the memories of each battle triggered another and then another. Fighting. Crying. Dying. Living and doing it all again.

"Ah."

Reiss winced and kicked the crocodile off his leg. It flew off to impact a dead tree. Looking around in confusion, he examined his surroundings.

"...Where?"

Lucid thoughts came back.

"I need to hurry."

Trudging around in the mud and kicking another slow crocodile, Reiss traversed through muck and yuck. Leeches tried to latch onto his legs but couldn't sink their teeth in. The crocs finally learned their lesson and searched for easier prey. A strange three-legged bird cawed at him as he passed. It was a sign he went in the right direction—a preamble to a gate between worlds.

"Here?"

Reiss checked his memories. This should be it. A dead willow tree. Gnarled and black.

The Elden world is Green. Too much green. They have no seas and have little need for water. They are allergic and don't consume it. Their Water Mages actually use it as a contagion when fighting wars.

The Elden people, and practically all other Elden life, all live off mana. Breathing it in, growing, refining. Trees that sucked up more mana would grow taller and larger. Plants grew more vicious. Animals became larger and deadlier. Elden homes were the same. They imbued their own mana, shaping and nurturing wood. It grew over time, both tree and home scaling with the power of the individual, magically pushing away its neighbors.

They would find the Aurelian marsh annoying yet tolerable. Dead things had purpose too. In fact, in previous iterations, some worshiped the dead tree as the divine being that allowed access to another world.

However, when traveling farther east and reaching the Heresy Sea, they would declare Aurelia a Death World. It didn't help that the Heresy Sea was literally one of Aurelia's Seven Hells.

Extremists would burn the dead bark in hopes of cutting off access to Aurelia. All for naught, since a tree was just a tree.

Reiss pressed a hand to the bark and whispered a silent prayer. He didn't believe in gods or diving beings. Strong creatures beyond his understanding, yes. But omnipotence? Omniscient? Reiss, a person who knew more about the next few years than the entirety of ten worlds, would scoff at the idea of something or someone being all-knowing.

Still, Lizzy liked this tree before it burned. It even showed up in her picture book.

Removing his hand, he glanced at the necklace-turned-bracelet.

If this all works out, this trinket, er, artifact, should get me into Elden.

It was a one-way trip until the gate opened completely. He would be stuck for four months. It wouldn't be a huge loss if he can convert the entirety of Elden to his side. To help a cherished friend.

Taking a deep breath, Reiss clapped his hands together.

The echo resounded for miles. A wave of power. Posing his hands into a foreign prayer, he closed his eyes and focused.

Space is connection and absence. The void that separates and joins two wholes. It is infinitely vast. Infinitely small. Able to squeeze between atoms and electrons. Separating planets and galaxies. Dimensions and Time. You cannot create space. Only move it. A step to the left moves the space on your left to your right. The space between his hands moved to the outside.

Horrors inhabited the space in-between and without. Creatures who lurked and waited. Hermits who enjoyed meddling with those who knew not the depth of Space.

Vibration from a bone. The canine tooth cracked and split, falling to dust.

A horrid scream bounced between his closed palms.

An unknown mountain three worlds away collapsed as a molar incinerated. Shrills cries and pounding from inside. Shuddering earthquakes threatened to break free of prison.

Encased in melting ice, the last tooth froze Reiss' skin with permafrost. It burned as the frigid cold imprinted a mark on his arm. Pounding between his palms. One drop at a time, water melted off the incased tooth. Each drop fell into the murky swamp, rippling outward, chiming a melodious tune. The tainted water glowed. Death and absence became a place of power. The defeated willow tree thrummed with power, creaking under enormous pressure.

The last drop.

A god's tooth shattered.

Death throes. Heavily burdened, Reiss struggled to keep his palms closed. The abyss trying to break free and wreak havoc upon Aurelia. Unwilling to grant passage through the void.

Something was trying to break out.

The attack continued. Reiss could feel something shredding his flesh. Tearing gouges off his palms like sliced ham.

A whimpering cry of a pained animal.

Then all was silent. The banging stopped. The thrum of magic and miracle faded. Reiss achingly separated his hands, creating a portal. The glow of bright blue water and a lush willow tree swaying in a cool breeze backdropped the hole in space.

Reiss took a step back and beheld the wonder. Never in all his lives had he experienced this.

The portal. It was not black.

No abyss. No absence. No biting cold. The oval doorway was solid and present, a window into Elden. Fresh, lush green. Rich soil and vibrant wood. Eldens were walking around, going about their day. A child ran through the wide streets, chasing his parents flying overhead. Some people turned to see him, standing there. Curious.

The moment elapsed, and Reiss instinctively knew that the portal would close momentarily.

Quickly, he stepped through to the other side, leaving an empty string to float down into consecrated water.