Chapter 24

(Too Many Puns)

Jarow's eyes widened as an orange glow emanated from the end of the gun-like device Shayri had pointed at them. They could feel their forehead warming, beads of sweat forming rapidly along their skin and running into their eyes. They attempted to move or squirm in any way, but while they could technically move their arms and feet, the back of their body, the part which touched the chair, felt glued to its surface. Additionally, the movement in their appendages felt tethered; they couldn’t reach up to block the incoming attack, because their arms wouldn’t lift any higher than their chest.

Shayri kept the beam locked on Jarow’s forehead for several moments while they squirmed and attempted to defend themselves. Finally, the blue-scaled turtle-person relented and moved the end of the device away from Jarow’s head, the light abruptly shutting off as they placed it back in the desk drawer from which they had withdrawn it.

Shayri then picked up their tablet and manipulated the screen with their short, thick, yet flexible digits. Jarow was still in a state of shock and simply sat motionless in a stupor while attempting to figure out what had just happened.

"That is odd," Shayri finally said. "It appears you were drafted rather than enlisted. The Fliningashabt found no data pertaining to your acceptance."

Almost the entire sentence Shayri had just said made no sense to Jarow. They understood most of the words, but had no idea what this being was speaking about.

“This just doesn’t make any sense. Who would have authorized such an unusual situation and why?” Shayri began speaking animatedly, at least what could be constituted as animated for a turtle-person.

The floating translucent tentacles, which sprouted from their head, began quivering and gyrating erratically. The motion of them moving in such jumpy and irregular ways brought Jarow’s eyes upward to watch them. They had stayed in motion the entire time Jarow had been sitting here, but their soft undulations acted more soothingly to Jarow’s psyche than the sporadic jerky movements displayed now. These movements spoke of agitation and frustration.

Shayri stood up, which was a strange motion unto itself, and Jarow saw the lower torso of this hybrid being in which they were interacting with, for the first time. Short, stumpy legs emerged from behind the desk, their scales the same blue as their face but with darker scales on their feet. A short pointed tail stuck out from behind. It was also colored a deeper blue like unto this being’s feet. The backside was more translucent and looked less solid, similar to the body of a jellyfish from which the tentacles sprouted. Although Jarow could now see that a small line of wispy tentacles also followed what Jarow would have thought of as a spine on a normal humanoid creature. The line began at the top of the individual's head and moved all the way down the middle of their back to where the small tail exited the unusually fluidic body.

Shayri wore no clothing, but their gender was still impossible to discern due to no visible cues being located between their legs as most bipedal individuals were. The turtle-person began to pace, their movements much more fluid and graceful than Jarow would have thought from someone with such stumpy legs and arms. The tentacles streamed behind, swirling and floating as if in water, small vibrations twitched through them as if the tentacles were searching or reacting to unseen things.

The small room they were in, an office of sorts apparently, was cramped and small, but Shayri managed to find a path around the sides of the desk and the chair in which Jarow was apparently mounted to. They moved in a circuit around the room several times, muttering to themselves as they went. Thick fingers were constantly sliding along the screen of the tablet, their brain clearly working through the situation and what to do next.

After their fourth trip around the room, Shayri collapsed back into the chair-like piece of furniture behind the desk.

“What do you think? Do you want to know why these others are here, the choices they were given?” Shayri waved their stubby arms wide to gesture toward the people in the surrounding rooms.

“Or would you prefer to remain ignorant and just go with the flow? There's a saying on your world, isn't there?” Shayri brought a finger up to their beak and tapped. “Ignorance is bliss? Is that right?” Shayri asked.

The curious part of Jarow's mind definitely wanted to know what was going on. However, the tone Shayri had taken implied that there would be consequences to gaining that knowledge.

Jarow contemplated the question. “What could be so bad that knowing would have consequences? Would it change the way I see things? Would it cause me fear? Would knowing somehow alter my perception? It's not like I could make a different choice since I wasn't given the question in the first place.”

Jarow did know the saying Shayri spoke of; "Ignorance is bliss." However, they didn't fully grasp all the ways it could be applied in this situation. The fear of knowledge wasn't something they really understood.

“Shouldn't I want to know everything I possibly can?” Jarow mentally asked themselves.

“I would like to know. I understand that I can't change why I am here, but it would be helpful for me to know some background.” Jarow told Sharyi after his mental deliberations.

The turtle-person sighed and looked Jarow in the eyes before explaining. “This is not something I know much about. I was given a vague description during training, but I don’t know all the details.”

“The first thing you should know is that the other recruits are all criminals. To the best of my knowledge they are given the choice to enter the Liminal Divide and try to survive and make it to this point, or they can face swift and final punishment for their crimes. I don't know what the punishment is, but I imagine it's not pleasant."

Shayri continued, "The choice they are offered isn't just a set choice. If they choose to come here and are able to make it to this area, then they are bound to limited, yet continual service. I don't know what all that entails, or precisely where people go from here, but I have heard that very few make it much farther, or last much longer."

"There is indeed a large war going on. In order to fight in the war, recruits must first gain immense power by completing quests and fighting enemies. Few make it past the training grounds, and more are lost in the next stage of powering up, and I know nothing about what happens after that."

A question entered Jarow's mind then, one that they had to have answered. "So once I leave here, I no longer have the ability to come back in different bodies? The body I receive next is the last? Is it this body?"

The tone of the question became much more worried as the thought of having to use this body as their final body entered Jarow’s mind. They didn't want to be a ‘they’ forever, a genderless doll of a person. They'd much rather be a he or she. Not that there was anything wrong with being a they, but they missed the fun bits between their legs, even if up until now they hadn’t had much of a chance to use them.

Shayri made the same look as before that Jarow took as being curious and speculative, but there was a slight upturn to the corner of their mouth which Jarow could see poking out from under their beak.

“No, this is only a temporary receptacle. You occupy this doll only long enough to have the system change explained. As for the next life being the last life, yes. Circumstances may be different for you due to your unique enlistment though. I have never encountered anyone who has the ability to occupy multiple bodies, but I’ve seen enough here to not question things like that too much. This is a big universe after all.”

"The rules change drastically from here on out, however. Since you have shown such a profound ability for change and adaptation, I might not be able to say for certain that you will never be able to continue your metempsychosis, but that is far beyond my pay-grade to worry about." Shayri gave a strange wink-like gesture at the end of the sentence which Jarow took as a gesture of humorous intent.

Shayri took a breath and continued explaining the roles of the others who arrived here. "For those given the choice of punishment or service, the service ends with their eventual death. It is possible to die of old age, but since they are going to be mercenaries in the war, that outcome is highly unlikely. However, since they are given such overpowered classes, when they leave here, they are forced to perform in ways that are aligned with the strict morals of their classes. If they deviate from these morals, they are not simply removed, but suffer a reciprocal punishment. So, if the original crime was murder, and they perform the same act in their new body and class, they will be killed repeatedly, feeling the pain of death a million times over for each crime they commit."

Jarow took a moment to process what Shayri had said. Their new doll body had finally relaxed, and their mind was racing. They spoke out loud, thinking through the implications of what Shayri had told them.

"So, if you can't find where I came from, and you mentioned that I was drafted rather than being recruited, then there's a good chance I didn't commit a crime in my previous life, correct? In fact, my original body was handicapped, so it's very unlikely that I committed a serious crime. That means I wasn't given the choice of punishment or service. But I ended up in the Liminal Divide, and now here somehow anyway?"

After a moment of thought, Shayri replied in the affirmative without adding any further explanation, "Yes."

"So, the rules about punishment and service shouldn’t apply to me, right? But is there a way to know for sure?"

Shayri’s face tilted, and her eyes focused on the ceiling for a moment. Jarow took this gesture to be similar to a person speculating on a deep subject. She finally returned her gaze and said, “Not that I can think of.”

Jarow felt that the looking away and pondering was a bit dramatic for such a small and simple response, so they shook their head rapidly as if shaking off the entire situation. There was a word they had heard this being say which they hadn’t quite understood.

"What was that, meta, madam, sy, psychosis?" Jarow fumbled with the word. "Is that what you are calling my changing of bodies?” Jarow asked.

“Would that still continue, since the other rules about the punishment might not apply?" They followed up before Shayri could respond.

"Perhaps. I am by no means an expert. I only started here thirty-four years ago. I'm practically a new hire. And the word is metempsychosis," Shayri answered.

“Thirty-four years is new?” Jarow thought to themselves. Then spoke once again to Shayri, "So until we are finished here and I move on, there's no way of finding anything else out? And only when I do something bad or I die will I find out if I am different than the other’s who come here?" Jarow asked, some frustration tinting his words.

Shayri nodded their head, which had the effect of making the jellyfish tentacles shake in a repetitive wave-like motion. Jarow still didn't understand how they could float in the way they did, as though they were in a submerged environment.

Both individuals paused for a moment. Jarow had questions, but knew Shayri wouldn’t have the answers. Shayri was gauging Jarow’s mental state to the best of her ability.

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Shayri knew that while a person was in the doll, their facial expressions were difficult to notice. In fact, it wasn’t until they used the camera in the Fliningashabt that they could see the actual face of the person they were talking to.

The dolls were made to fit standard bipeds, since it was generally those species which had tendencies to commit violent crimes. The lack of legs, or having more than two, for a sentient mind generally produced a more docile type of creature. Shayri wasn’t sure why that was the case, but it generally held true for most species.

Of course, there were exceptions, but most of them fell under the other jurisdictions, that of the long-term employees who stayed in the deeper regions.

They pushed those thoughts to the side; this was a normal person they were dealing with, not a criminal like the others, a young human from the looks of the picture they had taken earlier. This individual was wrapped up in something much bigger than what they could know, but by the rules of the job, Shayri couldn’t over-divulge.

What they had told this person already bordered on what was allowable, but once they saw the innocent human face of the person they were dealing with, they couldn’t just rush them off without giving the individual some added information and warning.

This was the war between the universe after all. Shayri was a representative and citizen of the Light, so couldn’t help but feel for the mercenaries who came through here, but Jarow in particular seemed out of place and in need of all the assistance they could provide.

The creatures of darkness lived and fought by much different rules, and if this Jarow was sent away without knowing at least the basics, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Although as they had mentioned before, the odds of living out a normal long life were slim to none in the best of cases.

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“I guess we should get on with it. No point in wasting your time. Whatever comes next, I’ll face it like I have the rest of this strange existence,” Jarow said, breaking the silence which had settled between them as they both looked inward.

“Very well. Let’s see… Classes, yes,” Shayri said, flicking through several screens until coming upon the page of available classes. “Ok, it looks like you did very well in both physical and magical abilities. You did have more physical skills used than spells though, so your class options will generally favor those.”

Shayri looked up at Jarow and winked. The motion was different from what Jarow was used to; the lid of the eye came up from the bottom rather than the top of the eye. They wondered why they hadn’t noticed the unusual direction of the eyelid before when Shayri had winked at them, but now Jarow’s brain registered the peculiarity and took note, registering just another way that this individual was so much different than what they were used to.

“Very few recruits actually go for a more magical approach. You did well to get as many as you did; your options should be interesting to look through.”

Jarow realized the wink from earlier was a signal of congratulations from Shayri. They weren't sure how to take the strange motion. They were glad this turtle-person seemed to like them and most likely found them interesting and out of the norm.

Having another ally was always a benefit, especially when placed in such extreme and unusual circumstances as what Jarow found themselves in. While they wouldn’t go as far as saying Shayri was looking out for their best welfare, it was somewhat reassuring that the blue turtle-jellyfish-hybrid person seemed to be on their side.

“Ahh… here we are,” Shayri said after several more flicks of her thick digits. “I will name off the available classes; if one sounds interesting, ask me to stop, and I will further elaborate. Agreed?”

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Jarow nodded, and Shayri proceeded.

“Acrimonious Apostle, Apocalyptic Rider, Avenging Angel, Baleful Assassin, Battle Mage.”

Jarow stopped her at that class. “Battle Mage? That sounds interesting.”

Shayri nodded and pressed her finger to the screen. She read the description to Jarow.

“Battle Mage: Forged in fire and steel, the battle mage was once a master weaponsmith but felt the call of Energy flowing through their blood. This class has an even distribution of skills between weapon damage and spell power. Battle Mages are fierce warriors which leverage their skills in close combat.

Pros: Evenly distributed. powerful at melee combat, strong elemental affinity.

Cons: Non-specialized, limited skill and spell choice, non-defensive.”

Shayri stopped and looked at Jarow. “Shall I read on, or would you like to choose this class?”

Not for the first time, Jarow wished Xinpo were here to help them with such difficult choices. The description, while limited, sounded a lot like what Jarow had been working towards already. It wasn’t the staff-wielding wizard fighting a dragon which Jarow had envisioned before, but the more they thought about it, the less they felt a true magical class was their real calling.

“Let’s hear what else there is,” Jarow said after a moment. They could always come back to this class, but they would at least like to hear what else was offered. Just because they had been pointing in one direction before, it didn’t mean they had to continue on that way.

Shayri looked back down at their tablet and continued. “Berserker, Berserking Bastard, Blademaster, Bladesong, Bladesinger, Blade Spellsinger.”

“Can I hear about that one?” Jarow interrupted the list that Shayri was working through.

“Of course,” Shayri answered with a pleasant tone. Apparently being interrupted didn’t bother them.

“Blade Spellsinger: Slicing through enemies and burning their insides while singing a merry tune. The Blade Spellsinger is a highly trained swordmaster with a healthy dose of magic to enhance their blades.

Pros: Evenly distributed. powerful at melee combat, strong elemental affinity.

Cons: Must use dual blades, non-defensive, limited skill and spell choice.”

Shayri finished the brief description and asked, “It seems you may have a type in mind, would you like to hear more?”

Jarow hadn’t thought about it before, but these classes were very similar. The idea of combining melee with magic appealed to them. The restrictions and having no defense was a problem though.

“No, let’s move on. Although I think you may be right about having a type in mind,” Jarow said with a casual nod.

“Very well, this list is much more extensive than most. I am usually only able to offer two to three options,” Shayri said before they continued listing the different classes. “Brawler, Calliope’s Warden, Construct Coordinator, Draconic Maelstrom, Dragon’s Claw.”

Shayri stopped and turned to Jarow. “Dragon’s Claw is also a blade and magic type class. Would you like me to expand on it?”

“Yes, thank you Shayri,” Jarow responded.

The small lips of Shayri’s hidden mouth turned up on the sides. Jarow was sure the being in front of them was smiling.

“Dragon’s Claw: This is a rare class. They rip and stab and bring death from any angle. The Dragon’s Claw is more than a master of a blade, it is a blade unto itself. Every move cuts, every touch burns.

Pros: focused distribution of attributes, rare class (specialized), high defense.

Cons: extremely limited access to abilities, cannot be upgraded.”

Jarow heard the description and had some questions. “Some classes can be upgraded?” they asked Shayri.

“Yes, I am unsure of the requirements and believe the conditions vary greatly by class, but upgrades are always available, even on rare classes.” Shayri answered.

“Ok, I can understand that. From what you've said, you don’t have much information once people leave here, right?” Jarow stated, then continued. “This is a rare class, is that unusual? Are there any specific bonuses to a rare class?” Jarow asked.

“It’s basically like the class has already been upgraded. The abilities will usually be more specific and more difficult to master, but the strength of the abilities is stronger to begin with as well,” Shayri answered.

Jarow thought for a moment. Having an upgraded class right off the bat would be useful. It would most likely help them stay alive longer. That was always a plus. Jarow wasn’t sure about the lack of information given though.

They thought about having Shayri expand on the class more, but had noticed the classes were going in alphabetical order and they were only on D, so they knew there would be more. In the end, they decided to move on and circle back around if they didn’t find something better.

“Let’s continue, shall we?” Jarow asked.

“Certainly,” Shayri responded. “Next is; Dragon Soul, Erudite Cleric, Ferocious Volcano, Firestarter, Gladiator, Gunslinger, Heretical Healer, Icequeen, Jack of all Trades…”

Congratulations you have gained the class: Catalystic Converger

“What’s this?” Shayri spoke suddenly, looking up at Jarow, who was busy reading the window that had manifested in their view, their eyes unfocused and staring off into the distance.

Your Catalystic Converger class is: Deific

You will be assigned the following powers: Molecular Fusion - Essence Transposition - Spatial Exchange - Temporal Inversion

"How did you? Wait, Deific? And… What?" Shayri spluttered as the tablet they held started to ding repeatedly and show the changes being made without their client's consent.

Molecular Fusion: You can fuse any two molecules together, even if they are opposing. Examples include: flesh and stone, blood and acid, bone and steel. (I’m sure you get the idea) This power is also known as “Blood from a stone”.

Essence Transposition: You can cause the essence or soul of any two individuals to exchange physical bodies. This power is also known as “Body Swap” or “Freaky Friday”.

Spatial Exchange: This power will immediately cause two individuals to physically exchange positions. Example: You are kicked off a cliff, you use this power so that the person who kicked you is now the one falling from said cliff and you are safe to watch the kiscker fall. This power is also known as “Whoopsie Daisy”.

Temporal Inversion: This power allows you to quickly alter the flow of a person or item’s life. Examples: Make an opponent revert to a toddler. Make a piece of coal age until it crystallizes. This power is also known as “Benjamin Buttoning”.

Jarow stared at the messages. They heard Shayri losing their shit as the turtle-being also read through the class Jarow was just apparently assigned, but Jarow was too drawn into reading the descriptions of the new powers they’d received. The alternate names made them smile as though they should understand a reference from their past, but their current brain couldn’t quite make the connection. A final window appeared. Once they read through this new window, they moved it aside and looked at Shayri for clarification.

You need to allocate attribute points. Please see your advisor to ensure proper allocation. You have 92 available attribute points.

Shayri frantically swiped from one screen to another, attempting to understand what had just happened as Jarow stared at her and smiled.

Jarow had looked forward to hearing about the different classes and choosing for themselves, but now that their classes had already been chosen, they simply accepted it and moved on. Jarow was getting used to these types of personalized interventions and was getting good at rolling with the changes.

The messages indicated that something or someone was watching and guiding them. Being "drafted," as Shayri put it, hinted at the unique nature of their journey so far, especially considering their ability to use different bodies upon death, which they now knew as metempsychosis.

After waiting for several minutes for Shayri to notice and catch up to where she was supposed to assist in the allocation of attribute points, Jarow cleared their throat. “Ahem. Would you mind assisting me to allocate these attribute points?” Shayri finally looked up from her screen.

“Do you know what just happened? Aren’t you worried or curious?” she asked, her voice quickening.

While Jarow was indeed curious, they doubted they’d find the answers here. “Yes, I would like to know what’s going on with my life, but unless you think the answer is going to be in your tablet there, then I think we should just move on before something else weird happens to me.”

Shayri blinked, her unusual eyelids closing from the bottom up. She actually blinked several times before her eyes came back into focus. "I don't know how you're so calm," she said. "This is all very strange. This is not how these interactions are supposed to go."

Shayri's panic escalated. "First, you arrive and aren’t who you're supposed to be. Then you aren’t supposed to be here at all? Now you get a Deific class? I've never even heard of a class at that level. You're only supposed to have maybe three class choices," the blue turtle-person continued, exasperated. "The usual process is for you to choose a class, we allocate points, then I tell you about your new powers before you're transported to the battlefield."

Shayri knew they had made a mistake by letting that last tidbit slip out, so they quickly continued. "Now you expect me to just act like nothing unusual is happening here and just move on to allocation?"

Jarow was unsure how to respond. Ever since they could remember their life had been a series of unusual changes. If they hadn’t been able to just go with the flow they would have given up and probably still be curled up staring at their corpse and watching the beetle scurry in and out of it.

“Yes?” Jarow squeaked and shrugged their shoulders.

All of Shayri's tentacles began to quiver and spike out.

The turtle-person took a deep breath, closed their eyes, and calmed their quavering nerves. In a whispered voice, most likely one they didn’t wish to be heard, Shayri spoke to herself, "Just do what you need to do, you can have an entire bottle of Zbirak when you get home."

After another moment passed, Shayri opened her eyes and spoke to Jarow in a more audible voice, “Yes, uh… Let’s see here. This class is more magic oriented, so you should place most of your attributes in… AHHH!”

A silver key appeared in the air in between the two of them. It fell from a small blue and green portal that had popped into existence with a small whooshing sound. It clattered on the desk as it hit and knocked over what Jarow only now noticed was a picture frame. The material of the frame was made from the same stuff as the rest of the furnishings and walls, so he hadn’t noticed it until now. The tumbling frame caused Shayri to scream again.

“Xinpo!” Jarow yelled and scooped up the familiar key.

“Well met, suzerain.” Xinpo’s now familiar voice rang through Jarow’s head. “I am glad to see you are well, although this new form is very unimpressive.”

“You have no idea. I am so glad you chose to continue on with me.”

“I was not informed of a choice, suzerain, regardless I would certainly have chosen to continue to serve you.” Xinpo replied, his voice an incredible balm to Jarow’s still frayed emotions.

Jarow was also a little confused now. He remembered the last message about Xinpo was about him being eliminated, then Shayri told him that Xinpo would get a choice on whether to continue with them. Now Xinpo said he wasn’t given a choice. What was eliminated then?

“I take it this is your associate?” Shayri asked in a shaky voice.

Jarow shook their head to bring themselves back to the moment. “Yes. This is Xinpo. He says he didn’t have a choice though.”

Shayri rolled her eyes, “Of course not, because that would mean something went normal with you. I don’t have an answer for why, if you are asking.”

It seemed to Jarow that Shayri’s mindset was moving from upset and startled to annoyed.

“No. I guess I’m not asking. I just thought you might want to know.” Jarow replied.

“Oh, well, good. Then if we can get through this without any other interruptions,” Shayri said, her frustrations seeming to disappear. “Your attribute points should go mostly into your mental stats. I suggest you bring your physical attributes to ten, that will unlock some bonuses. The rest can be evenly distributed between Willpower and Judgement with the remaining two in Perception.”

Jarow mentally asked Xinpo if that sounded good to him and he agreed.

“Ok, do I do that or do you?” Jarow asked.

Shayri stared at Jarow in disbelief. “You mean you don’t even have your character sheet open?”

Jarow hadn’t seen the need to open it, and also wasn’t sure that they’d even be able to open it in this strange body and place. Since Shayri’s tablet seemed to be the best interface here, they hadn’t bothered to check.

“I guess that means I do that then,” Jarow said more than asked.

Shayri slowly nodded and took one of her infrequent breaths.

Jarow mentally commanded his character sheet to open. As it appeared, Jarow could see it was still placed in a Cyber Techno style window, but that was about the only thing that remained the same.

Jarow Holloman Catalystic Converger

Level [- -]

Race [- -]

XP [- -]

HP [- -]

MP [- -]

SP [- -]

Physical

Power [- -]

Durability [- -]

Mobility [- -]

Mental

Perception [- -]

Willpower [- -]

Judgment [- -]

Unquantifiable

Charisma 5

Luck 6

Powers

Molecular Fusion

Essence Transposition

Spatial Exchange

Temporal Inversion

Along with the new setup and additional information, Jarow could access a second page. On the second page, their skills were listed as well as the definitions and consumption rates of their powers, although they were all blank for now.

They also still had the Combat Systems and advanced swordsmanship listed there, as well as the Oonja seed. While in his key form, the rainbow wood wasn’t present, but Jarow could tell if Xinpo transformed he would still have his new rainbow colored wooden hilt or grip.

Xinpo’s character sheet occupied a third page now. His character sheet read differently as well.

Xinpo

Dimensional Blade

Oonja Seed Bearer

Level [- 10 -]

Absorption [- 554 -]

Damage [- 50 -] (amplified)

Forms

Dagger

Quarterstaff

Sword

Abilities

Passe-partout (Upgraded)

Complete Cleanse

Frozen moment

Telepathy

Dispel

Energy Shield

Weightlessness

Elemental Strike

Decrease Friction

While all his abilities were still visible, as well as three new abilities, Xinpo’s character sheet lacked some of the redundant information his old character sheet held. The design was much more streamlined.

Jarow was impressed at the new changes and took a moment to look everything over before flipping back to the first page of his character sheet screen and allocating the attribute points as had been discussed.

Jarow had totally forgotten about the Charisma attribute since it hadn’t been a big part of his life thus far, benefitting his heal ability is all. At the moment, it sat at five. They wondered if that would change when they got a new body. They had been subject to similar racial bonuses in the past, and couldn’t imagine this nondescript doll body could have much Charisma in the first place, in fact five seemed high in their opinion.

Jarow wasn’t sure why, but they still felt like they would have the ability to switch bodies when they died. It was an unusual feeling to have, but it partially came from their new powers. They each involved some kind of switch or fusion. If their class was built around them being able to switch people’s bodies around, then shouldn’t their original power of metempsychosis, as Shayri had called it, still be in effect? It felt like the entire class was built around this aspect of change and rebirth.

There was no way they’d be able to know for sure until they died, unfortunately. The truth of their life was that they’d been getting good at dying, but it wasn’t something they particularly enjoyed.

Once they finished allocating their points, Jaorw looked at Shayri wondering what happened next.

“Are you satisfied with your class, allocation, and abilities?” Shayri asked, a touch of sarcasm in their voice.

Jarow smiled. They actually kind of liked this turtle-jellyfish-person. They had dealt with Jarow’s uniqueness well and had been very hospitable, more so than Jarow had expected, he doubted he would have been so adaptable had their roles been reversed.

“Yeah, I think so. Not like I could change much if I wasn’t. Am I right?” Jarow replied in a joking tone.

The corners of Shayri’s hidden mouth curled up slightly. “Good luck, Jarow. From what I can tell, you’ve had a very strange existence, and I doubt that’s going to change from here on out.”

Jarow nodded. They knew they were different. They didn’t know much else, especially why they were so unique and were being treated so strangely.

That thought was the last exchange they had in this doll body. Jarow watched as Shayri touched one last button on her tablet and looked up with an expression of relief.

Before they could respond, an unknown force dragged them out of the doll body.

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“Either that kid will meet a swift end or achieve something remarkable,” Shayri mused once Jarow's soul had been extracted from the receptacle. Despite feeling a twinge of guilt for hurrying them away, her frayed nerves couldn't handle any more strangeness. How Jarow coped with such strangeness on a daily basis was beyond her comprehension.

Fortunately, the key he held vanished along with his soul when Shayri pressed the eject button. She hadn’t been entirely certain if that would happen. Typically, she would have bid her client a safe journey, but a nagging feeling told her that Jarow was different, a harbinger of chaos disrupting her orderly existence.

With a belated whispered wish of "Good luck, Jarow," Shayri opened her office door and swam to the cafeteria for some much-needed lunch.