World Walker Park [Magical Amusement Park Base-Building]

"There were several things an amusement park needs to be what the kids might call 'epic.' The first, awesome rides. The second, junk food. The third, themed things. The fourth, a main gate THAT IS ACTUALLY MORE THAN JUST A GATE! Seriously, Luka? Make it better!"

Luka read the note again and again. It was from a god. But boy, did it not feel like it. He sighed and stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket… Although, whichever god it was, was likely right. The park entrance was lacking, significantly. It wasn't themed, it wasn't paved, it was hardly a gate. If someone wanted into the park, they could simply walk around the gate.

He could do without the sass, however.

Holding a piece of concept art from Mrs. Leafsong, Luka roughly marked out the changes around the gate and entrance. A better ticket booth needed to be built, along with a more substantial guest services and information building. If there was one thing to say about Earth, the internet really made entry into an amusement park easy. Online tickets, maps at the click of a button, phone numbers to call if something happens.

So, Luka got to work, drawing the eyes of countless guests… and Vale. She stood in the shadows, arms crossed and frowning. The gate was her domain, and Luka was infringing on it… or something. He wasn't fully sure.

Regardless, guests watched like he was a solo performer singing a musical on a stage. Material and theming flew around the area, building up and breaking down. Could he do this at night when the park was closed? Yes, very easily in fact. But there were two reasons he didn't hold off.

First was Annie. It had been a few days since the gods descended after her almost kidnapping. Father and daughter, and Vlad, had taken the next day off to reset and adjust. Coming to terms with what had happened was an important thing they both desperately needed, and particularly for Luka, throwing themselves into work wasn't healthy. So, working nights were now only for crunch time.Day time building was a spectacle in and of itself, which worked out for the guests.

Second was the reincarnated families. At this point, everyone who died in the mine was alive again. They were stuck up in Ressen's penthouses, taking a few floors to themselves. And while there wasn't much Luka could do for them during the day, at night he could quietly meet everyone.

Third were the divine notes. The gods had a very particular vision for the park, which was best explored during the day. Nighttime detailing left little room for error. Painting something too dark a shade of paint when the moon was high? Well, it looked terrible in the morning. Stuff like that.

In a week and a half, the park would host the faithful as well as reintroduce the world to the miracle of reincarnation. It was going to be a big event, and things needed to get done. Right now, Luka worked on the entrance. After, he would redo the theming on the park's first few rides. It was a lot to do, and he had to do it by sundown because he had a meeting with a god scheduled and a dinner after with friends.

Princess Alexandra was finally back in town. Apparently—and this was news to Luka—the gods descending was a big event, especially a second time. The princess and her uncle returned to their homes for a few days to meet with their respective organizations and finalize a game plan to always be in World Walker Park's good graces. What that meant was up in the air, as far as Luka was concerned.

But they were back and were finally going to meet Franky and Eve's parents. And Luka was invited. And Annie. And Vlad. And Jear. And any of the gods who wished to come. And the Gilded Beasts.

Now that Luka thought about it, why didn't they just do something casual in the employee's only firepit? They met Princess Alexandra there, and it was outside for the beasts…

Luka hovered a giant gear up and over the new gate. No, no, no. He refocused. Whatever meal, dinner, black tie event, or anything else Franky and Eve wanted to do was up to them. This was for them and Luka knew he had no right to inject his own wishes into such an important family moment. After all, it wasn't everyday that a reincarnated pair of parents met the girlfriend of their son, who was also the kingdom's princess.

…It was a strange life Luka led, he knew. But he wouldn't change it for the world.

Back on track, Luka eyed the concept art again, adding the final touches to the rough draft of the gate. Essentially, World Walker Park's oldest attractions and entrance were getting remade in the theme of Gearbox Gardens—steampunk multiplied by the beauty of flowers.

To be honest, Luka did not understand the reference. But apparently "Gearbox Gardens" touched upon two separate cultural monoliths when it came to this world. The Gearbox was a… town or something made entirely of machines. It was said the God of Machinery ascended there… or something. The Gardens was much easier to understand—it was the forest surrounding World Tree Tannin, Ressen's father and husband of Elven Consort Jear.

In essence—and from Luka's understanding of the situation—the new theming of the Gearbox Gardens touched on Ressen's unofficial role of mascot for the park, and the fact that Luka was from Earth, a world of machines. He didn't get it, but Mrs. Leafsong, Mayor Tram, Judge Ben, and literally every other villager he asked about it all said it was a good idea.

So, here Luka was, adding glyphs to gears, making them spin, and planting thousands of unique flowers that Jear and Ressen grew for him. Apparently World Trees and their mothers could create magical, unique flowers from regular flower seeds. Whatever that meant. Luka did not particularly care, only that they were, as the kids would say, epically beautiful.

Luka took a moment to peruse the notes list from the gods, checking for anything that caught his eye. And yep—there in the "Things to add" section, line nine hundred and one, was a single word: "Trains."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Luka looked around at the entrance. It was… not his best work if he was honest. He understood what Gearbox Gardens meant conceptually, but until now, he did not know what it meant literally. On Earth, steampunk was after his time… or was it before? Luka did not know. But all of a sudden, a single word changed that.

Trains. Steam trains. Train stations. Trains.

Trains.

It was perfect. A word so steeped in Earthen culture and history. They were beautiful creatures, such metal, such coal. An engineering marvel and a gateway into new eras. Industrial revolutions, raw metal foundries, black smog, hardworking men and women there to just get the job done. Maybe Earth actually was the world of machines. Maybe steampunk was a perfect mix between the two worlds.

And flowers. Couldn't forget about the flowers.

Luka studied the concept art and got back to work. The park entrance turned into a train station, one rife with steam pipes, brass, and enough rivets to reach the moon. Brick. Yes. Brick. A perfect material, red, brown, strong. He built foundations from stone, towered them high and stapled on clockwork towers. Gas lamps for lighting, the flickering glyph kind, not real gas. Wrought iron trusses, large I-beam supports.

It needed more copper here. More pneumatic tubes there. Gears ground against gears, railways stretching into the forest and curved around the park. He'd need to connect these to something later, but that was later when he actually built the trains. Chains! How could he forget about adding chains. They tied tin cans to the ground, deterring teenage guests who liked to steal them. Boilers as well!

Steam puffed, hissed, and screamed! Pinwheels spun, adding to the movement like bellows, powering the contraptions of metal and tension. Wires too! They draped across rooftops and occasionally sparked—a rather niche glyph, if Luka was honest. Couldn't forget about oil stains! He added those like shadows.

Suddenly, a hand clasped Luka's shoulder. How long had he been creating? How long had he been working on the train station entrance—

Luka froze. He wasn't at the entrance any longer. He had moved, shuffled down the path leading from the outlying village into the main hub within the park. The WHEEL was off to the side, the spinning swing ride right along with it. Booths and shops filled the grassy land, and branching paths split from the outer edge, leading into the Stormcorsair Harbor and Constellation Kingdom.

But that wasn't surprising. Luka had walked through this area countless times. It was the central hub, the area with the most room and things to do.

It was also suddenly themed.

The Gearbox Gardens was no longer a concept. In Luka's focus, he built the skeleton of what the area would become. The forest was no longer front and center, and now brick buildings flanked the paths and roads, each bursting with character, spinning gears, and countless flowers. It was mostly illusory work, but everything guests could interact with was physical. First floors, doors, windows.

Luka wobbled on his feet and blinked his bloodshot eyes. Just how long had he been doing this?

He blamed whichever god wrote "trains."

Luka turned toward the hand clamping his shoulder—it was Crime Lord Lanni. The, previously, sick man was smiling brightly, like a falcon circling dinner. His posse stood behind and around, each wearing wide hats and dress suits. They hid their faces, meandering in the shadows and smoking cigs.

"Woah there," Lanni said, holding Luka firmly. "You alright?"

Luka blinked away the fatigue. It was then he noticed a napping Leo sunning himself nearby—the little guy had been watching his rider work for so long he fell asleep!

"I'm fine, thanks. Just worked too long without stopping."

Lanni nodded understandably. "Been there. Drink some hornet whiskey, always gives me a second wind."

Luka grimaced. Hornet whiskey was a drink he was familiar with despite not drinking a single drop. Mr. Todd sold the drink at his bar, and whenever someone ordered it, the whole bar groaned. In essence, the drink was magical—though Luka doubted it. The drink smelled like ammonia, like smelling salts. He wouldn't be surprised if it was smelling salts in drink form.

"Jrum is good enough for me," Luka muttered darkly.

The crime lord laughed. "That works too!" His smile faded. "World Walker Luka, I came to speak with you for one simple reason."

Luka lowered his chin and asked, "And what is that?"

"I wanted to offer you a position in my life. Godfather."

Luka blinked. A crime lord was asking him to be a godfather. What had his life become? If he said no, would he be wacked? If he said yes, would he—

"The potion worked," Lanni said, interrupting Luka's internal thoughts. "My wife is pregnant."

Luka stood up straighter. Internally, he said, Ohhhh, he meant—of course.

Outwardly, he said, "Congratulations."

"It wouldn't be possible without you."

"That's not true. You would've found a way."

Lanni chuckled. "I suppose a father's will is iron, huh. Maybe you're right. Either way, thank you." Realization blasted across his face. "Oh, and you have an amazing amusement park here. I'm glad my former employees departed my services to join yours. Who knew how long it would've taken me to finally go on vacation."

Luka simply said, "Thank you. That means a lot from you."

"Of course it does. I'm a powerful man… and you didn't answer my question. Would you like me to name you godfather for my child?"

On Earth, the role of godparents had long phased out. With the accessibility of the world, an orphaned child was always a plane ride away from a distant relative. A godparent wasn't needed as much as they used to be and were closer to an honorary uncle or aunt. What "godfather" meant on this world, Luka did not know. But it couldn't be that different than on Earth, right?

"Sure, Lanni. It'd be an honor."

The crime lord's face split into a wide smile. At the same time, God Neb and Goddess Tippy were suddenly standing in Luka's line of sight in their mortal bodies. They had their faces glued to their palms, heads shaking.

Luka blinked, and the gods were gone. Uh oh.

"Um," he quietly said. "Remind me what a godfather does on this world again?"

Lanni practically sang the words. "They ensure a child becomes a god! And with your connections, I don't think that will be an issue!"

He patted Luka on the shoulder and started to walk away. "I'll send my child over to the park when they are of age. Can you believe it!" He skipped along the path, grabbing his underboss with a hooked arm around the neck and pulling him close. "My little baby, a God or Goddess of Crime! I can't wait!"

Luka watched him and his crime family leave the park, their vacation over.

Eh, he thought, Future Luka's problem.