Ted woke from a restless sleep as the sun fully crested the horizon. He rose and made a simple breakfast of Wyrm Flesh, eating the meat and doing his best not to dwell on the things that haunted his nightmares. As he ate, his gaze drifted to the corner of the chest that was visible through the door to his bedroom. Inside it rested the {Bloom of Birth and Rebirth}. Ted chewed slowly, his mind working through what the text said once more.
He stopped chewing, "It can't be."
Ted almost flipped the table over as he rushed to the chest, opening it to pull the bloom out. He quickly used
"...creates a new life, selecting the attributes of their creation, soul attributes, and other things such as personality."
Ted felt tears run down his face. "I could bring her back. I could undo... Everything. I could..."
Ted trailed off. He fell deep into thought as he walked to the door, looking out to a distant hill where a stone mausoleum stood proudly. Ted took a deep breath, walked back to the chest, and closed the bloom inside the chest once more. He steeled his emotions, straightened his back, and slammed shut the door in his mind that brought on the thought of undoing anything.
"What's done is done," Ted growled to himself, "and I did nothing wrong."
Ted quickly picked up after himself and then went out and set the fire he had laid in the previous night to light. Ted watched the red glow of heat slowly climb up the smelter as he mindlessly made some sand molds. Then, when the smelting crucible glowed hot enough, Ted placed the first portion of Magic Ore into the crucible and watched the impurities burn off. When the molten metal in the crucible glowed with a strange cyan light, Ted used tongs to pour the molten liquid into the first mold. After a gentle shake to make sure the liquid had filled every bit of the mold, Ted picked up the mold and stood holding the mold with molten metal in it. Ted took a deep breath and then let his power course through the mold and the metal. This one was supposed to be a shovel, so Ted used his power to ensure the shape and strength of the metal as it cooled.
The entire completion of the shovel took an hour and a half and expenditure of his
MAGIC SHOVEL OF TUNNELING + 7 to digging and tunneling.
17691 / 17691 Durability
"A simple farm implement made
from the finest materials."
Bound to "Ted"
105G 17S 33C
Ted smiled at the results. He would use the remaining Tooth of Tunnler on the pickaxe. He would also make an axe, scythe, and hammer. Ted nodded to himself and got to work setting up the next batch of Magic Ore to go into the smelter.
Hours later, Ted was dousing the flame and allowing the crucible to cool as the sunset. He looked over the fruits of his labor.
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MAGIC SHOVEL OF TUNNELING MAGIC PICK OF TUNNELING MAGIC AXE MAGIC SCYTHE MAGIC HAMMER + 7 to digging and tunneling.
17691 / 17691 Durability
"A simple farm implement made
from the finest materials."
Bound to "Ted"
106G 14S 60C + 7 to digging and tunneling.
18023 / 18023 Durability
"A simple mining implement made
from the finest materials."
Bound to "Ted"
108G 13S 80C 15589 / 15589Durability
"A simple tool made
from the finest materials."
Bound to "Ted"
93G 53S 40C 17001 / 17001Durability
"A simple farm implement made
from the finest materials."
Bound to "Ted"
102G 00S 66C 22378 / 22378 Durability
"A simple tool made
from the finest materials."
Bound to "Ted"
134G 26S 80C
Ted was satisfied. The tools would serve him well and for a long time. He looked at his work area and shrugged, deciding it could wait until the morning, and went inside to eat another meal of Wyrm Flesh. Then he sat for an hour staring at the chest at the foot of his bed before he stood, shaking his head and thinking to himself. "I can't do that. I can't replace her, so that is simply not an option. So let's go the other route."
Ted walked to the chest and pulled the Bloom from within. He sat down and sent a pulse of power coursing through the item. The system prompted him:
Would you like to create a life or rebirth a random life?
Before he could hesitate and do something he would regret, Ted selected 'rebirth' and quickly went about filling in several questions.
Race?: Ted shrugged. He had always liked the way the elves looked, even if they were easy to kill.
Gender?: Ted selected female. He had never gotten along with other men. They wanted to test themselves against him.
Other Characteristics?: Ted shrugged and simply entered 'none.'
Does the creation have free will?: Ted selected yes.
Does creation share in your power?: Teds shrugged and selected yes, deciding to reassign some things later.
Is creation bound to you in slavery?: Ted was curious as to why this would be an option, but no, it was not what he wanted. Ted selected no.
Ted selected submit at the bottom of the dialog box, and the bloom began to glow, seeming to spin slightly. Strange messages began to pop up.
Searching for viable soul.
10,789,649,239,888,234,124 viable souls were found in range.
Estimating maximum power to be granted.
Number of viable souls that are in range and capable of handling potential maximum power: 176
Soul selected.
Retrieving soul.
Initiate rebirth.
In his hand, the {Bloom of Birth and Rebirth} transformed shape, changing from a flower to a token with an infinity sign on it.
Ted examined the new item and found that it had an eighteen-hour countdown attached and that the name had changed with the shape.
The new item was called {Sigil of Rebirth}, and Ted found that for the first time in many, many years, he was nervous and worried about what he did not know,
All that Ted knew was that he really wanted that countdown to come to an end.