I slowly began the process once more.

The sleeping rabbit lay in the center of my rather elaborate runic array.

108 circles. Each intertwined with the next to focus, to harness, to contain the essence of death. A force of the universe itself.

The outer ring began to slowly power up. The cosmic power of the black star was filtered through the thick layers of my ship.

The first ring lit up. The pale green energy leaked from the carved runes, giving everything a misty look like the raw magic dissipated into the air once more.

Then the next ring woke up.

Then the next.

I smiled. My eyes dancing with the joys of one seeing the fruition of decades of research and labor.

So many failures.

So many incorrect theories.

The rabbit twitched once.

Once.

Then it floated out.

A single mote. No larger than a grain of sand.

It was moved up and into a marble, I had carved from dragon glass.

There.

The marble lit up. The smoky darkness of the sphere immediately lit up.

It was dull. Which was a little disappointing. I was hoping for something brighter.

Yet the energy was there. It danced among the imperfections of the glass. Imperfections formed during the moment the dragon breath melted something like stone.

The Mordite essence was important. I could feel its purity even from here.

This Mordite was enough to do many things. It was a key to untold locks.

I could cause death. Direct injection into the body would cause an immediate cascade of apoptosis.

The body would have every cell dead within seconds.

I could cause undeath. Direct injection into a once-living being would reanimate it.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The body would be functional in seconds.

On a more low key scale, it could also assist the living. Longer lives. Specific targeting of death.

It could be focused on only killing certain diseases.

I hummed as I moved the marble over to my growing collection. There were only a dozen so far.

Yet this one was unique. I succeeded in the intentional creation of the object.

I moved another rabbit over to the runic array.

This rabbit twitched once.

Another filled marble.

I smiled.

I hollered at the top of my lungs.

After a century of research!

I had sacrificed every coin, every colleague's support, and every favor I had accrued over my long life.

All for this.

With this, I had a true chance of immortality.

No lich ritual required.

Though I would never be in tune with the undead realms like a lich. Neither would I be as flawed as one either.

I played with the marble. I rolled it around my fingers before setting it down into my secured collection. Each marble was locked into a soft jar.

Enchanted jelly jars. Much like the simple slime monsters, it did require mana to feed them.

Yet whatever you placed into it would have protections unlike any other.

If you placed a fresh egg into one, it would take much misfortune to break.

These jars could fall from a mountainside, and they would simply bounce and roll down. Egg undisturbed.

For a Mordite Marble. Jelly jars were very important.

I sighed as I made my way over to the navigation wheel.

It was time to return home.

From there, I could showcase my findings, and fund the next section of my research.

While I had found the Mordite. I still did not fully understand its interactions with all life. Could I create something that was truly able to resist death?

I hummed as my mythril ship turned around.

The sleeping chamber was regrettable as I slid in. Travel across the ether was time-consuming. Yet it always left me feeling so stiff afterward.

Even with my mastery of the necromantic arts, I was not immune to death… yet.

With a grin, I fell into a deep sleep.

—

The magic weakened, allowing me to awaken.

I moved to the wheel.

There, the mirror of clairvoyance showed that the planet was rapidly approaching.

I settled down and buckled into. The various straps looped and I grabbed onto the seat’s armrests.

The ship rumbled and shook as I reentered the air.

The clairvoyance spell held, which was great as my previous designs didn’t work as well, and a blind landing was always rough.

The levistones were released as the outer temperatures reached the correct level, and my ship, the Mythril Basilica, leveled off.

She stabilized enough that I could get my bearings and stand up.

I stared at the world and frowned.

The ambient magic was weaker. Was it thinner? Where the Ley Lines clogged again?

Odd.

Then I flew over my home town.

The capital of the Solace Kingdom. Sun City.

Yet…

I blinked as I saw the buildings reach into the skies. The horseless carriages were plenty as they quickly sped about.

I set my ship to hover, and then made my way over to the side room.

From there, I opened the door.

Fresh air gushed in, and I saw the world below.

My mirror was not wrong. The world was changed.

I watched the world below. Fascinated at the architect and the growth I could never have predicted.

The sounds of sirens caught my ear.

I watched as a Griffin flew up. Blinking lights of red and blue. It even made unnatural screeches as it glided through my open door.

It landed, and a lightly armored soldier slid off.

“This is Suntopia P.D.” the woman said as she pulled out a thin brick. “License and registration please.”

I blinked at her.

What?