21: It’s a small world

Inside a hidden chamber full of treasures, Mellanie makes an appearance:

“How did you get in here? The entryway should’ve dumped you outside!”

“It was a pretty clever design. An inherently unstable connection, to prevent too much interference and limit access. Plus the instability ensures people can’t stay grouped up, even if they enter in a group. Everyone just randomly gets sent somewhere.”

“Except you ended up in here where all my treasures are. These are supposed to be handed out in small amounts as bait, not all raided!” 

“Don’t worry, I won’t steal your treasures. I just wanted to examine this space, and thought the center of it all was the best place to do so. Riding the primal waves to get to the center wasn’t too hard. This place just draws power to it after all.”

“It has to, to remain stable. This world is too small to survive without siphoning power from another realm.”

“Yet you’ve managed to separate the dao of this world from the world it connected to.”

“That’s why it is so important to limit access. If the portal stayed open too long, the other world’s dao would overwrite what I’ve made.”

“It’s better than anything in the world I knew in my past life. The dao of that world was too strong.” 

“Were you working in the Immortal realm?”

“Of course!”

“Well, that’s why. If you want to create an independent world, start from the mortal realm. The mortal realm is weaker.”

“I see. I hadn’t thought to go back to the mortal realm. It’s so unpleasant to return after becoming a true immortal.”

“It is. I’d not have done it if I hadn’t been forced to by my enemies. Now all that’s left of me is this bit of divine sense.”

“You’re quite hearty for a ghost.”

“I specifically set up this realm to help me stay as long as possible. Sadly, I don’t think I can gain power fast enough to escape and revive myself.”

“Pretty sure there’s not enough left of you for a proper revival. It’d be more like reincarnation at best.”

“True. Still, it’d be better than losing all I have. You should know what I mean; you mentioned your past life!”

“That’s right, I did recover memories of a past life somehow. I guess it is a lot like revival. Hmmm… Perhaps I could help you if you just want a reincarnation.”

“If you’re thinking of transferring me to a corpse, don’t bother. I have no desire to deal with that unpleasantness. Being in the wrong body is seriously stressful.”

“No, I was thinking of making a new one. I am a woman, and making a new life isn’t that complicated.”

“Are you offering to be my mother?”

“Heaven’s no! I have no interest in raising a child. I’ve done it before, and would rather not do it again. Just think of me like a donor. I can give you a new life, but you’ll be on your own.”

“You’ll give birth to me and abandon me?”

“Oh no, birthing isn’t needed. I can do everything with tools here. Just need to make an artificial womb. I could even have you emerge fully grown. Though it might take a while.”

“What? Are you planning to put me in a clone of you?”

“No, I just need two of my eggs, and some genetic rewriting. The end result won’t be a clone. I’ll make sure it’s a good match for you. Nice and manly, like you want.”

“... are you reading my mind?”

“Don’t need to, I can tell who you really are from what’s left of you here. Quite the gullible fool, eh?”

“Don’t remind me. I never should have trusted him.”

“Now, do you like my offer? What age do you prefer to emerge at? The older you wish to be, the more time will be taken, unless you want to sacrifice a bunch of your treasures to accelerate it.” 

“I’d be willing to sacrifice it all if I can be revived as a full adult right now.” 

“Um… alright, though it’ll still take about a day or two.”

…

Outside the small realm, where the portal had vanished a few hours earlier:

“Lane? You’re back already?”

“Yeah, Smitt, I’m back. I expect, in another day or two everyone else will return as well.”

“Really? That’s odd. Normally this venture takes at least a week before people get kicked out.” 

“Well, I had a conversation with the owner and creator. They should have what they seek soon.”

“Oh… is the realm going to disappear?”

“I don’t think he’d destroy it, but he’ll probably stop opening it and luring people in with treasures.”

“Lane, you do realize you’ve just ruined a great asset?”

“I helped an old man.”

“...”

“This is why you can only read the first few chapters of my book. Your first thought is always about what you gain or lose from something.”

…

Mellanie’s view

Well, that trip was useful. I think I have an idea: If I can make an independent realm with it’s own dao, and then make it strong enough, perhaps it can overwrite this world’s dao instead of the other way around. I doubt it’s really that simple though. I tried to overpower the dao of the world in my past life before. Power alone isn’t enough. There’s something else involved. Something not within the world itself. Something related to the void. I never did figure out the secrets of the void.