Garrett awoke with a breathless gasp as he gazed around a white void. Quickly, he looked down at his right hand, relieved to see that it was there. He leaned back into his chair and turned his attention to Otris, who was calmly sitting on the other side of the desk.
"Welcome back," Otris said, sliding a cup of math to Garrett. Garrett nodded and began to take a few sips, allowing it to cool down first. "You last quite long this time around."
"I was a lot closer to the treasure," Garrett said after taking a gulp. He set the cup down and relaxed in his chair. Then, he sat upright, then leaned forward, fidgeting with his thumbs. "Otris, am I allowed to tell other people about you?"
Otris looked at Garrett, then stared upwards into the void before smiling and chuckling. "I don't see any reason that you need to keep me a secret. The only problem that I could see is that quite a tale is ridiculous." He sat more upright and gestured to his white void. "After all, you hardly believed it yourself when it was in front of you to witness. Imagine telling someone who hadn't."
"But, I'm not, like, in trouble or anything if I tell someone?" Garrett asked again for clarification.
"No, no trouble from our end," Otris said, "Though I cannot protect you if someone in Asuria decides to try and punish you for saying such things."
Garrett chuckled a little before his mood shifted to something more serious. "Otris, I know that I come back here after I die. What about the people in Asuria?" Otris gave an inquisitive look, caught off guard by Garrett's question. "Do they come to wherever or whatever here is?"
Otris gave Garrett a gentle smile. "It is understandable that you would have such questions, being as that you have died now several times. In truth, their souls never quite leave Asuria." Otris brought out the world and placed it on the table, still glitchy and still sporadic.
"Normally when a person in a world dies, the Duken in charge governs how their afterlives are handles. Some decide on reincarnation, others punish those they judge to be bad, and some simply give a rewarding life for those well earned." Otris gave the world a gentle pat. "But, with Asuria the mess that it is, their souls never truly leave the world. It's more as though their souls are washed of their memories, then returned to a cosmic soup to later be scooped out and put back into the world."
"So, there's no chance that anyone would remember me?" Garrett asked, staring at the glitching world.
"No, that is not true," Otris said, waggling a finger. "They are washed of their memories, yes, but just as you there cannot make sure to get every last bit of math out of that cup, not every memory can fully be wiped out. They perhaps are not aware of it, but the effect is there."
This made Garrett smile a little. He leaned back into his chair and let the tension in him fade. "Oh, right. Here you go," Garrett said, reaching into his bag and handing Otris the Helioxene. Otris poured the Helioxene out and absorbed them, glowing slightly. "So, what tools can you give me for my next run?"
Otris closed his eyes and stretched. "Well, you still have the previous options," Otris said, pulling out the boxes that contained the Sword Bow and the Ring of Identification. "As for a third option, I can provide you with this." Otris waved his hand and on the table appeared a bottle with a red liquid inside.
"What's this?" Garrett asked, possibly recognizing it but wanting to make sure.
"It's a potion of healing," Otris said, picking it up and swirling it a little. "It won't heal things too drastic, but in a pinch, it can help heal up some more nasty wounds."
Garrett looked down at his right hand and flexed it a few times to reassure himself that it was there. "What about dismemberment? Could it heal that up?"
"Hmm," Otris said, looking at the bottle, "It is quite possible if you ingest the whole thing. But this is only strong enough to perhaps fix up one limb, not multiple."
"I'll take the potion," Garrett said, holding his hand out. Otris placed the bottle on his hand and Garrett tucked it away. As he did, a thought came to him. "Otris, do you think that you'd be able to make me something that would help me determine what is in the timeline I'm in?"
"What do you mean by that?" Otris asked, scratching his chin.
"I mean, something that would be able to tell me, like, what companions that I'd meet, or who the Big Terror is," Garrett said.
"Well, not with the current amount of Helioxene, but it would theoretically be possible to do so."
"How much Helioxene would you need?" Garrett asked.
"For something minor, you would need about, say, 45 more orbs of Helioxene. If you wanted something on a much larger scale, you would need somewhere more like 300 orbs."
"Alright, then I'll get you those 45 orbs of Helioxene," Garret said enthusiastically. "It shouldn't be that hard to get them after all. I'll just slay a bunch of monsters for that then." He gripped his sword and adjusted his magic bracelet with his other.
Otris waved his hand and a portal opened up behind Garrett. As Garrett turned, ready to walk in, another thought came to him. He turned his head and faced Otris. "Otris, what will happen after I defeat the Big Terror whoever that's threatening the stability of Asuria?"
"Well, after you defeat them, Asuria should stabilize and finalize itself into its coherent state, thus ending the threat to the world," Otris said.
"What about the people who aren't in that timeline? What will happen to them?" Garrett looked down at his chest where he last held Iadre. The words she said in anguish and confusion when she learned of the world echoed in his head. "Will they just be gone forever?"
Otris calmly stood up and walked over to Garrett, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Truthfully Garrett, I have no idea. None of us Duken have ever had to face a world such as this. We're in entirely uncharted territory. It may be possible in the future to bring them into the solidified timeline, but we don't know right now. All I do know is that Asuria needs you, Garrett. They need you. I will work on a way to protect and save those who aren't in the current timeline. For now, focus on saving Asuria."
Garrett looked at Otris and nodded. Otris gave him a pat on the shoulder. Then, Garrett turned and walked through the portal.