Chapter 21: Dubious thoughts
"He was a what?!" came the shocked reply. Zora never expected this outcome. He was as much in shock as in disbelief. This... has never happened before. He never even had the thought that someone other than him could be out there somewhere, reincarnating the same way he does. What are the chances, really? If all those theories are true, if there are an infinite amount of different worlds, in which Zora, or someone like him is jumping from reality to reality, what are the chances that he meets someone that has the same 'ailment'?
Well, it may be more common than he thought, its just 'normal' people have never heard of these, as this phenomenon seems to defy all logic and natural laws. Even if someone claims to reincarnate when they die, whoever heard it would dismiss them as mad people. Maybe the infinite cosmos is filled with travelers, such as him, hopping from one place to another. Maybe this is just the materialization of a higher way of life, where living and dying in a world is no more than just a simple step in an infinite journey.
His chaotic thoughts kept rippling, not caring for the other, once again silent party of the conversation. He unconsciously took a step back, while his turmoil ridden mind kept thinking of the possibilities. He has heard of a theory, back on Earth, which stated that everyone lived in a huge simulation. Nobody can tell if what they see is real or if the other people around them are real and not just artificial intelligence or simple simulations. He might be the only real person, going from simulation to simulation, while everything else is just an illusion.
No, that is too much. He suddenly slapped his own face, with as much force as his feeble body could muster. He wanted to snap out of it, there is no point in making assumptions or pondering about stuff like this. Its impossible to know for sure. He must only work with facts.
"Wow... I see you have a lot to think about. Well... I'm sorry for my previous rude behavior. This changes everything..." the book said in a low tone. Hearing him Zora was able to focus his mind a little, clearing up his thoughts bit by bit he was soon able to reply.
"I've been alive for so long, and I've never heard of anyone that was similar to me at all. Do you have anything to prove your claim?" he forced out in the end, choosing to doubt the book's words instead of blindly believing. After all, who knows, it might just be an evil entity that is trying to undermine his mind.
"To be honest, I don't really know much. But my sole existence is the proof. I was created to help my master research this world's magic and how it connects to death. I believe you said you see me as the "Necronomicon", or the "Book of the Dead". That is what I am, a book that contains all the knowledge of my creator and the two others who inherited me."
"Two others?! You mean to say there are even more?!" Zora asked quickly, focusing on the most important part right away. He was starting to get anxious.
"Yes, there were two other people that I accepted as my masters, but neither of them were reincarnators, just some people that found me and had a servicable amount of magical power. My point is to help with research and store knowledge, even though my original master is dead, I still want to fulfill my only duty, the only reason I was created. They were disappointingly underwhelming though."
"I see, so the reincarnator died, you stayed behind and having nothing better to do, you keep the research going when you find a suitable host. How did your first master die?" Zora asked, after a bit of pondering. At this point he started to believe the book, for some reason. He wanted to know more, though.
"He was known as the God of Death in his time. He amassed all the knowledge at that time related to death in pursuit of his goals. His peers felt threatened by that though, so every person capable of using magic at that time rose up and united against my master and overpowered him in the end. He had a lot of strength, but he was far from completing his research, so he was unable to fight the whole world at once. He was forced to move onto another world, possibly having to start the whole process from scratch. According to his experiences, magic, if there is something like that where he ended up, is different everywhere. But I stayed behind with most of his research still intact."
"What do you mean, 'most'?"
"My master was a genius, both at magic and at research. But he wasn't as good as to make me impervious to the hundreds, or maybe even thousands of years that had passed since his... departure. Sadly my magic erodes over time. This is another reason why I accepted new 'hosts'. They feed me magical energy, in exchange I provide them with great benefits and some of the knowledge I have in store."
"You are starting to sound like a leech with extra steps..." Zora said with some glee and definite edge in his voice. He was also smirking a bit. Revenge is best served cold, as they always say.
"By the gods, you are quite harsh on me... I don't deny I will require your magical energy to survive and function, but I can assure you, it is a symbiotic relationship with benefits you will surely welcome..." the book said with a meek voice, which was in huge contrast to the way he first spoke. Back when he thought he had to deal with another nobody again.
Zora was actually quite surprised by how much the book's attitude changed. He was kinda believing the story. Also, there is no harm in seeing if its the truth. He just has to feed some energy to the book, in exchange he gets exactly what he needs. Information about death and magic, and their combination.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone