World Walker Park [Magical Amusement Park Base-Building]

Luka rocked on his heels in the corner of the penthouse watching Ren slobber-cry into his mother's skirt. She was, as expected, shocked, simply standing there, patting her son on the back and distantly looking around. Seconds passed as she slowly understood—well, understood enough for the moment. She fell to her knees, wrapping Ren as tightly as she could possibly muster, her arms shaking and her muscles weak.

There was a pop and whirl of wind, and another parent appeared, this time a man made of sticks. He blinked, the bark around his eyes moist with damp moss. Nicole tackled him a second later, just as another dryad appeared, this time a woman. She stood stiffly, then lurched forward like a tree broken at the base of its trunk. She fell, but a swirl of magic caught her and eased her down.

Luka turned to the source, Goddess Tippy. Neb was gone, returned to the heavens after soul-binding Princess Alexandra and Blomfum. Tippy remained, wishing to watch the reincarnations for supervisor reasons. Luka thought she simply wanted to be here for the kids—not that they realized she was still around. They had their families to rebuild, and a mountain of candy to devour.

"Thank you," Luka quietly said.

"There is nothing to thank me for," Tippy said, standing next to him. They both watched as more and more parents appeared, and more and more tears were shed.

"There is. The artifact ring, the favoritism, simply choosing me to reincarnate."

The goddess, in her mortal form, turned to him. "You forget what we talked about some time ago. I stole you from oblivion and trusted you with an impossible task. It should be I who thanks you, you've exceeded my expectations several thousand times over."

It was true. Most World Walkers simply arrived in this world, created something from their previous world as means for easy money, then lived out their new lives in wealthy comfort. There were, of course, the outliers—heroes, visionaries, those who adapted to this new world like fish to water. Those were the ones talked about in bard songs and whispered about by mischievous kids, dreaming of what the future might hold for them.

And yet, it was this World Walker who taught the world about second chances and how to never stop imagining, inventing, and innovating that Goddess Tippy was standing beside.

Luka turned his attention back to the orphans—or rather, not orphans anymore. Village kids. Crying. Happy. Confused. Raw emotions flooded the penthouse like fog in a bog. Alex and Blomfum stood off to the side, both crying as they watched. Tram and Ben spoke to the parents who were demanding answers, easing their worries and rerouting their focus on their children.

The kids were a few years older now, bigger, closer to an adult than the last time their parents saw them. They had a lot of missing time to make up for.

"Are they able to change their appearances?" Luka asked, thinking of Vlad and how he was now an elf, not a human.

"No," Tippy said. Then her expression turned mixed. "That is reserved for World Walkers. Reincarnating people from this world does not—"

Luka held up a hand. "I get it."

"Good. The less we must involve others into the worries of the gods, the less Eve will have to keep her brother in line. If you have questions, please ask in private this time."

"Don't blame Franky. He's just a country boy wrapped around the finger of a city girl."

Tippy frowned and looked at him. "What?"

"I don't know, I saw it in a movie once, I think."

An idea came to the goddess. "You should make a movie theater, a different World Walker on the other side of the world is recreating 'Hollywood' from your planet. Maybe you can send her a letter."

Luka waved his finger. "Now, now, Goddess Tippy. I thought you weren't supposed to show favoritism anymore. Handing me good ideas seems like that is skirting the line, in my book."

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When she turned to glare at him, he met her with an unabashed sarcastic smirk. She sighed. "You are the leader of a minority of people who would dare talk to me like this, you know that?"

"That's what makes it fun. Not every day a goddess steals two smashburgers—"

"That was one time!"

All heads in the penthouse turned, finding Goddess Tippy flustered and red with embarrassment. The freshly reincarnated gawked, finally realizing who was in the room with them. The kids, however, nodded knowingly, pointing and explaining to their parents about the mound of candy.

"I should go," Tippy mumbled.

"You don't have to. They all love you—so."

"That's why I must leave. I've overseen what I wanted, and must leave before I ruin this reunion with my presence."

Luka nodded along like her words made perfect sense. In a way, they did. In another, who cared. She was the patron that made this event even possible. Still, Luka understood.

Before she faded from reality, he asked, "Why can't I get a haircut?"

Tippy froze, then slowly, carefully, looked at him. She seemed to loom, a ghostly apparition teetering on mortality and immortality. She had a job to do, reasons to be discreet, secrets to hold, rules to follow. And it was that last one that caused so much trouble. She had already told him too much—and the other gods were not going to allow her to say anymore.

She faded from this mortal plane, exiting into the heavenly realm. Luka pursed his lips, "Goodbye to you as well," he muttered.

Luka leaned back and tried to stay out of the way. A lot of new faces were suddenly in the penthouse and well—to them, he was the outsider. He spotted Eve, Franky, and Sol, each with tears in their eyes, and talking to two older orcs. Sol used magic to look far younger than she actually was, but even so, Luka recognized her sister—Franky and Eve's mom—right away. Beside her was their father, a bald orc, just like his son.

Franky held his hand firmly on their father's shoulder like the moment he let go, death would return. They talked quietly, Franky doing most of the speaking. Eve, meanwhile, held their mother in a hug, stretching the moment while crying into her nape. Sol stood a step away, eyes locked with her sister, and shifting uneasily on her feet. The moment Eve parted; Sol rushed her sister into a hug.

Luka walked over to Tram and Ben. They were elderly. Their families had long, long moved on and they had no children. Still, they stood proud today, watching the scene like kindly family members at the back of a wedding ceremony. In a way, they were parents to these kids—they'd raised them for years—but they were fine with their new roles. Anything for them.

"Anyone you two want to reincarnate?" Luka asked.

"Thank you, but no," Tram said quietly. "My parents are long gone, and I don't think they would want to be reincarnated just to see the end of my long life."

"We could always reincarnate you right after."

That gave the elder pause. "We'll think about it."

Luka supposed that was true. There was no rush, and only time to think about second lives. Judge Ben remained silent on the matter, but he held his wife with hope and love. Whatever they decided to do, they would do together.

"I'm going to do a few hours of work then bring lunch," Luka said. "Something familiar, I think. Any suggestions?"

"Grilled ribblet."

A few minutes later, Luka exited the penthouse with Princess Alexandra and giant Blomfum in tow. They silently rode down the elevator, walked outside World Tree Inn, and rounded Ressen's base to the employee's only section. Once there, surrounded by nature and serenity, they sat, taking a moment to themselves.

"That was something," Blomfum said, breaking the silence after a minute. "Never in my life…"

Alex, on the other hand, nervously looked around. "Should I have stayed up there? I didn't want to intrude on Franky and his family."

Luka gave a gentle nod. "Give them some time. I'm sure Franky will love to introduce you to them later."

In the end, Luka felt similar to Tippy. She left to not overshadow or stress the newly living, and he practically did the same. Oh, that's Luka, the man who revitalized the park and is the reason you are breathing! Want to meet him!? He just didn't see the interaction going well, not until people could adjust to things.

"Besides," Luka said, "we've got a park to run in the meantime."

Luckily, this round of reincarnations was mostly for the kids. Luka pulled out an employee scheduling sheet and got to work. Recently, World Walker Park put out a notice for mass-hiring since they were soon to open a new expansion. And while most of the new hires were new, it wasn't long ago that all the villagers were also new.

Luka didn't think there was going to be any trouble—that was, if he made the schedule right. He made a mental note to hire an office manager beside him and Tram, someone else to oversee the management of the park exactly like Annie… He paused.

Where were Annie and Vlad?

Luka didn't notice Snake slowly uncoiling himself from Ressen and silently slithering into the forest.