World Walker Park [Magical Amusement Park Base-Building]

The march to World Walker Park finally ended just before dawn. The park would open in a few hours, and until then, the pilgrims rested. Some took naps, others got off their feet. Breakfast was cooked, eaten, and forgotten about, chores were done, children played.

Sneerhome was the closest city to the park—and with the influx of tourists, the royal highways leading to and from the city were completely blocked. Today, and likely the rest of the week, were for the pilgrims. What that meant for the city was yet to be seen, but one could infer the leadership were drawing up plans to expand the road and add detours around the park.

The gods smiled at the sun as it peaked over the horizon, finding their priests and faithful among the march. High Priest Nyssi was one such faithful, and God Neb appeared before him.

"Time is short, so I'll be brief," Neb said, tiredly like he was declaring war among the stars. "We're about to cast some magic. Tell everyone not to freak out."

Nyssi blinked rapidly, his lower horse body standing proud. "Of course, my Lord."

Neb's face twisted. "Yeah, all right." With that, he disappeared.

A few steps away, and also inside the high priest tent, High Priestess Sable mumbled, "He seemed stressed."

High Priest Thorn opened his mouth and said, "That's Blasph—"

"Blasphemy," Sable interrupted. "I know. And I don't think God Neb cares."

"That's blas—"

"Shut up, man! The gods are about to cast wide-scale magic on everyone and you're whining about—"

Nyssi slammed his hoof into the dirt. The sound created wasn't ear piercing or surprising, but it was a powerful slap—horses had powerful legs. He drew their attention from the motion and said, "Let's focus and not argue, please. Please?"

Sable and Thorn begrudgingly nodded along. Together, the trio exited the tent and began to spread the word of the gods. "Don't panic." "Magic incoming!" "I can't begin to assume what God Neb was implying. That would be blasphemy." Some of the high priests were better at inspiring the faithful than others.

***

Luka looked through the park gates and at the crowd. There were a lot of people. And they were all expecting a spectacle. Mentally, he went over the plan one last time. For the last week and a half, park leadership—and Princess Alexandra and giant Blomfum—discussed the day's opening ceremony. It was a big day for everyone involved, and well—it would be awkward if it sucked.

Swallowing his anxiety, Luka thought, Spectacle is what they want, and they'll get it.

He turned around and walked back into the park, cutting across the central themed area—the newly minted Gearbox Garden. Steam, bronze, gears, flowers. It was a multi-meta reference, as Luka understood, and boy did it look good!

The area wasn't finished, not yet at least, but now there was flooring! No longer did guests have to walk across dirt and gravel! Their feet would soon know the firmness of patterned brick! Luka couldn't believe he hadn't done it earlier!

Past that, the area was steampunk—and also not important at this moment. Luka rushed across the area, stepping over a barrier that led out of the park and into the forest. He circled the illusionary and real walls, skirting the outside periphery until he came across a set of railroad tracks.

Eventually the tracks would lead somewhere, but for right now, they ended just over yonder. Luka followed them until he found people, an entire group of them waiting for the call to action.

It was the entire village, everyone currently living here and the former villagers who received an invitation to come back and reunite with their lost loved ones. Most of the village had been reincarnated, with only a few outliers remaining. Mayor Tram was hopeful that would be fixed soon.

"Everything ready?" Luka asked, stepping closer.

Leo barked at him, wagging his tail wildly. Sebby then barked as well, followed by whatever sound emus make from Olive the emu.

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Eve's face melted, stress suddenly gone. "There you are! How are you almost late to this?"

It was the park's first big event, a trial run for when the park was fully built and the full capacity could hold thousands more than the number of faithful waiting to enter. There was also some divine investment—and no one wanted to mess with that.

Luka smiled and placed his hands on both of her shoulders. "Everything's a go, Eve. We're fine. We're just waiting on the call."

Before she could respond, Goddess Tippy materialized beside them. "Ten more minutes," she said before disappearing.

Eve frowned heavily, but Luka quirked a nice old smile at her. "We've got this."

With that, he stepped past her and started addressing everyone. Annie and Vlad were at the front, then Eve and Franky with their family, followed by Mayor Tram, Judge Ben, all the kids and their families, then the village adults and their reincarnated family members.

What were they lining up for?

A shrill whistle sounded, followed by a chuggachug. A train slowly crept down the railroad tracks. It was golden, polished until shimmering, and a marvel of engineering. It slowed to a stop, brakes screeching like divine song. The villagers climbed in, and Luka only wished he could've been the one to create it.

It was a gift from the gods, a thank you for adopting today as a global holy day and hosting a global holiday at the park. It was also a replica from Earth.

Luka remembered studying this train back in college, specifically the oscillation piston and drive wheels. It was a work of art, a tender reminder of progress, human will, and the pursuit of technology. It was a design worthy of the gods, replicated and brought to a new world. It was timeless. It was majestic. It was…

Luka's thoughts trailed off when he spotted Franky reaching for a lever. "Hey! Don't touch that—"

The train started to roll forward.

"Uh."

Goddess Tippy appeared in the engine room, smacking Franky's hand away, and releasing the lever. She leveled a glare at the bald orc before disappearing. Franky then silently exited the engine room and found the cabin he was supposed to be sitting in. Luka, Eve, Annie, everyone really, watched him go.

Only when he was situated in his seat, did he say, "No one tell Alex, okay?"

Princess Alexandra and Blomfum decided this event was not theirs to commandeer and chose to wait for the park to open. They were in the crowd and would be proudly watching.

Luka sighed.

How would they ever pull this off?

***

The moon eclipsed the sun precisely seven minutes before the park officially opened. Shadows drew long, the world went silent, the faithful watched in awe. Somebody started a rhythmic leg stomp, then another joined, then another. Soon, the heartbeat of the faithful filled the air.

Boom, boom, boom.

Tens of thousands chanted, their stomps a backdrop to a hymn.

It started smoothly. It started powerfully. It started with a whistle in the distance; a shrill one meant for warning—something was incoming. The stars brightened, the sun deepened, the moon danced.

Boom, boom, boom.

Dotted within the crowd, the gods appeared, each descending to the world for the third time in recent months. They stood at the center of their followers, their churches, their faithful. Today was a holiday in their honor, but that didn't mean they couldn't be involved.

God Neb appeared beside Nyssi.

Goddess Nomad appeared beside Sable.

God Foundation appeared beside Thorn.

They joined the chant, the hymn, the welcoming song for the World Walker. The whistle shrieked again, and from out of nowhere, a hulking metal contraption appeared. It was a train, but unlike any gnomish ones found in this world. It chugged along, people and beasts leaning from the windows, waving to the faithful.

Soon the park would open, and soon the guests would enter the park. Well, multiple parks. But that was divine magic and confusing, so the high priests didn't think about it.

The train screeched to a stop, and the people departed.

A man, the leader, stepped forward. The park's gate was situated under the train station, a glorious entrance for a glorious place. The man, World Walker Luka, placed his hands on the guardrail overlooking the faithful. He smiled tightly, both nervous and fearfully excited. With a deep breath, he stepped over the rail.

Some watching gasped, others cheered.

World Walker Luka did not fall. He augmented the air below his feet, freezing it in place like a spatial brick. He scaled over the crowd, standing tall and high until he was in line with the eclipsed sun and moon. His shadow darkened the faithful, and even the gods in the crowd held their breath.

"Ladies and gentlemen, mystics and mages, adventurers and explorers, welcome to our humble slice of the extraordinary—World Walker Park!"

The faithful cheered.

The gods then added special effects causing reality to bend. Soon, eight copies of World Walker Luka stood beside him, each holding his smile. At the same time, everything behind the park's gates multiplied eight times. Eight the WHEELS, eight Whirlpool Plunges, eight churro shops, eight Constellation Kingdoms, eight gift shops that sell odd forest-y "keychains."

There were too many faithful for the park right now.

So the gods made more.