My left eye twitched as I blankly stared at my grandfather. Each individual gear in my skull ground to a halt, attempting to process the current situation. He sat in a brown rocking chair; it looked the exact same as the one he had on his porch back on Earth. And to his left sat an empty one. And that was it, just an old man and two chairs in the empty, pale void of whatever this afterlife dimension was.

  But old man might be the wrong description for my grandfather. He no longer had the snowy white hair and beard. It was darker, fuller, some white hairs poking out around his temples. Many of his wrinkles were simply gone. He looked a full forty years younger, maybe even more. Our family grayed early.

  He wore some interesting clothes to say the least; some worn, dirty brown pants, dark leather boots that folded down at the top, and a loose white top with a large collar and strings tied together at the chest. It had a vague pirate-like quality to the whole get up.

  I wondered if I wore something similar. I looked down, only to sigh at my nakedness. I stood up and covered myself.

  “And why the hell do you get clothes?” I said, waving a free hand at Gramps.

  He only broke into one of his laughing fits. He puffed on an old-timey pipe, making a few rings of smoke. Though it was different from the one I remembered. Whimsical is the only word that came to mind to describe it. It was shaped like a ship’s bow, a little dragon's head at the front. He waved the pipe at me.

  “Boy, quit trying to cover it. Ain’t nothing I haven’t seen time and again. Besides, ain't much to hide now, is there?” He burst into another fit of laughter.

  “Oh, shove it, you old bastard. Can I have some pants now?”

  Once he calmed down a bit, he put his hand behind his chair and threw something at me. I caught it and unrolled the cloth. It was a pair of pants much like his own. I threw them on while he took another drag on the pipe. While he enjoyed the mouthful, he extended the pipe towards me.

  I screwed up my face. “The hell, weren’t you the one who said they’d, and I quote, ‘beat me so hard my lungs would be the least of my worries,’ if you ever found me smoking. You damn near chewed my head off when you found Gary’s vape pen in my college dorm.” I rubbed the back of my head. “I can still feel the lump back there.”

  He grinned, taking in a huge breath of the smoke this time. He blew it out right at my face as I was wrestling with the slightly too big pants. I covered my face on instinct, though not in time to stop inhaling some of the smoke. I coughed on reflex before realizing it didn’t taste like tobacco. No, the smoke had a sweet, even fruity quality to it. It was actually delicious.

  “Of course I did back then. That shit on Earth was basically poison. Literally no benefits from the junk. A slight buzz at the cost of lung and heart disease. Bah, capitalist pigs pouring poison down your throat, so the insurance companies could tie a leash around your neck when you hit your golden years. A racket through and through.” He said with a flourish before patting the chair next to his. “Nah, this stuff is pure, healthy even.”

  With my new and worryingly warm pants on, I sat in the chair. Nostalgia slammed into my heart as I wiggled into the slightly tattered cushion. I closed my eyes, recalling that old porch. Sunlight filtering through the oak leaves, a gentle breeze keeping us at the perfect temperature. I swore I could even smell a batch of Gran’s chocolate chip cookies tickling my nose.

  A pang of pain came with the memory. I twisted my nose.

  “I know boy, I miss her too.”

  I opened my eyes back up, finding the endless void again. I tilted my head and looked over at Gramps. “How—?”

  He chuckled. “Even in your new body, you made the same grin you always made when you smelled those blessed baked goods. And you made the same face at her funeral. So yeah, I knew you were thinking of her.”

  I smiled, then remembered something. “Not sure if I should be hearing this from a two-timing bastard.”

  He spat out a rough cough, choking on his latest puff. “Damn it. Who told you? Was it one of those damned Rebirthers? Give me their name. I know what I’m doing next time around.”

  I shook my head. “No, no, no, you’re not getting off that easy Bucko. How the hell could you do that to Gran? That woman would have died for you, damn near did a few times.” I was about to rant further, then his words clicked in my head.

  “Wait, Rebirther? Do you mean God of Reincarnation?”

  “Bah, jackasses and their holier-than-thou crap.” He waved the pipe hand around, wafting some of that delectable smoke my way. “I swear they change the title too often. Well, it's better than the last one. Shinigami Soul Rebuilder. Pfft, way too much.”

  Now thoroughly bamboozled by the conversation, my jaw fell to the ground. How much about this all, the rebirthing, the other worlds, did he know? Just who is my grandfather?

  Gramps leaned back into his chair, taking another drag before speaking once more. “I know you have no less than a thousand questions bouncing around in that thick head of yours, but we need to keep this train a moving. Firstly, I want you to know one thing.” He leaned towards me. “Your Gran knew about the other families.”

  “Excuse me, did you say families, like with an ‘s’? Like as in plural. What the hell Gramps?”

  “Unimportant. Just know I would never, ever, have done anything that would have hurt your grandmother like that. She was the apple of my eye, the most gorgeous creature that walked that planet.” He closed his eyes. “But I had to, and she understood. Hell, it was her idea.”

  “What? Why? And of everything going on right now, why is this the most important? I’m pretty sure I just died. That’s why I’m back here.” I gestured around the empty space. “Ready to move on to the next part of the cycle, or whatever Terrence called it.”

  Gramps raised a finger as I said Terrence’s name, pulling out a notebook from behind his chair and writing something down. “Terrence, got it. Look, I know it doesn’t sound important, but trust me it will make sense one day. Once you complete—”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The white void flashed red as a siren went off. It lasted for maybe three seconds before calming down and returning to its typical, bleak landscape.

  I pointed up. “Um, what was that?”

  Gramps scratched his head. “That was me getting off track and nearly breaching the contract.” He looked up, “Sorry,” apologizing to who knows what before returning focus to me. He shook his head. “Don’t ask, we don’t have the time for that explanation.”

  “What do you mean time? We’re dead right, it feels like time is the one thing we have in ample stock.”

  “Nah, kid, you ain't dead. Should be after that blunder. Seriously, why would you let yourself be in the same room as that green plant witch, bodacious as she may be. You were practically begging for her to kill you. All the signs were there. And not only that, you let her steal the credit for the boss kill. Complete amateur mistake. But we’ll come round to that in a bit. Gods, I forgot how easy conversations with you spiral out of control.” He smiled softly. “Kind of missed it.”

  “Don’t know who I get it from?”

  “Shove it, back to what I was saying. As you have probably surmised, I know a lot about the afterlife.”

  “Yep.”

  “We’ll suffice it to say, this isn’t my first rodeo. Hell, it ain't my fifth rodeo.”

  My mind whirled at his words. “Wait, what do you mean? Have you been reincarnated before?”

  “Couple of times, but that’s not important. You see, during my last life, the one before Earth, I did something monumental. Universe defining really. I—”

  The void flashed red again, only once. No siren this time. “Really, you all won’t even let me gloat to my favorite grandson. Cheap pricks.” He blustered under his breath.

  “Fine. Well that event that-shall-not-be-named,” he shook his head, “jerks, I was rewarded. I was sent to Earth, a world of relaxation and reward for those who strive, to live out a peaceful life in luxury.”

  “How? You said Great grandpa was a shoemaker. That you built up your wealth with years of hard work. Are you telling me that’s just another lie? Damn it Gramps, what haven’t you lied about?”

  “Well, that one is not a lie per se. My father kind of owned four of the largest fashion brands in the country. So he was a shoemaker, of sorts.”

  I rubbed my forehead. “Unbelievable.”

  “But I gave it all up early in life. Changed my name to Foster. I did earn everything I had, no help from the Chambers. Well except when your Gran got really sick. Not that it did a fat load of good anyhow.” He looked off into the distance, a longing took over his expression. “What I would have given to take her to another world, to a world I could have healed her. To show her how vast a universe we live in. The wonders of magic, alchemy, spirits and souls,” he nodded at me, “and of monster genes too. She’d have loved the dog people. Fennel would have stolen her heart. Those damned floppy ears would have melted her.”

  I reeled. It seemed he knew a lot about my goings-on in Kniyas.

  He looked down and shook his head. “Never mind all that. There was a second reward to go along with my triumph. The firstborn male in my line would receive a reincarnation. You see, well I’m sure this Terrence, mouthy fucker that he apparently is, explained that you usually need to be a cut above the rest to deserve a Reincarnation. And that souls birthed on Earth hardly ever make said cut. So getting a free ticket is more valuable than just about anything.”

  “Right, but what does this have to do with cheating on Gran.”

  “It wasn’t cheating, dang it. The issue was, your Gran had some complications after your mother’s birth. Couldn’t have any other kids after it. So that meant the reward was going to go to waste. And I was fine with it. But your Gran, on the other hand wasn’t.”

  I leaned back in my chair. “She knew about it? Reincarnation and all this jazz.”

  “Yep, well, it helped that I kept a few tricks from my previous lives. You think I survived those wars without a little help. Boy, I was on the frontline for nearly fifteen years. Had to make a few miracles of my own. But yet again, stop derailing the conversation, we’re running low on time, your ride’s just about here.”

  “My ride?”

  The void flashed red again.

  My gramps just waved his hands at the red color.

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it, can’t answer that one. You just get to explain why cheating on the love of your life is okay.”

  “Ignoring that. But the ever loving and kind woman that your Gran felt that giving up such a priceless gift would be unforgivable, so she told me to try again with someone other than her. We fought like cats and dogs on the subject, until one day I got home, and she was in bed, with a friend of hers and well…” A nasty grin grew on his face.

  “Oh, gross, you pervy bastard.”

  “Ah, good times.”

  “Wait, then why did I reincarnate? Surely your son from this other woman would have gotten the prize.”

  He snorted. “Well, that's the thing, apparently my swimmers got too much estrogen in them.” He paused. “That came out wrong. Whatever. I only had girls. Three beautiful and wonderful women, who are doing great, by the way.” He winked. I got it, it was his way of saying mom was doing well.

  “I gave up after the third, heart just wasn’t in it. I couldn’t keep doing that to my darling Betty. So she let it lie. I’d all but given up, until the day you were born. And then I got the sign that you received the reward.” He sighed. “If only you were born just a few years earlier. I could have taught you so much more.”

  “So wait, the wilderness trips, the death defying stunts you threw me into, they were all just to prepare me?”

  “Bingo, got it in one. It looks like you’ve been using a lot of what I taught you well. You just need to stop trusting people so easily, bad habit you picked up from Earth. That and you need to grind harder. Go kill more actual monsters, stop bothering with all the training. You’ll level up faster.”

  I ignored the advice, as I was still focusing on the fact that he knew I was going to reincarnate. “Then why didn’t you tell me before you passed. Would have been a great heads up.”

  “And would have broken the agreement too. I just didn’t think they’d throw you on a death world like Kniyas. They are putting you through the wringer, that's for damn sure. Not like the world I’m in now. If you ever get a chance at a swashbuckling world, take it, tons of fun on the high seas.”

  “I think I’ll just focus on surviving Kniyas for now. You’re sure I’m not dead?”

  “Yep, you’ll wake up in a little while. Though I bet they’ll wipe a lot of this conversation from your memory. Unfair advantage and all that.”

  As he took another drag on his pipe, the eggshell void dimmed around us. Gramps sighed. “Looks like you're waking up soon.” He grabbed my arm. “One thing I will impart to you. And this will stick no matter what they try to do to your head. It's a hint of sorts, call it a reward for killing the boss. Good job, by the way.”

  The room darkened further, to the point where all I could see was Gramps’ serious expression. He said his final words.

  “Find the Source and fix it. Only you can.” his face softened, as he put a hand on my cheek. “Goodbye Liam. I’m so proud of you.”

  Then the world turned black.

  ——

  My eyes fluttered open, but I couldn’t make anything out. My head was pounding, and my body was still tied up. Wind buffed against my head. Was I still falling? No, I was in the air and moving, just not down. I raised my head up. Treetops sped on by underneath me. I was flying?

  Yet before I could even panic, dizziness took over my head again. And with a crack of thunder in the air, I passed out.