156 Chapter 156: Fourth Gacha.
[General POV]
Afterlife. A place where souls converge after the physical body experiences death. So what does it mean when an Agent enters the Afterlife realm?
What would happen to the agent's body when they conducted their gacha session?
The answer is: Their body will enter a suspended animation state, until the time when the session is over, and their soul returns to their physical body.
…
[Edward POV]
"Umm…Hi?"
I walked warily towards the shaman-like existence in the middle of the grassy field. The shaman was wearing a cloak made of straws, and her face was hidden by a viking-style helmet with giant horns.
However, the smell of grass and the gentle crashing of the waves soon made me relax a little. This place reminds me of the MCU's place where Odin passed away besides Loki and Thor.
"Is this Valhalla?" I asked her jokingly. She grunted and didn't answer my question while giving me a blank sheet of paper.
"Your Karmic Point. Beware." She muttered.
Edward Newgate
Affiliation: Official member of the Afterlife Corps.
Current status: Singer/Game Maker/ Inventor/App Developer/ Chef
Positive Karma: 142, 000, 022 (5 million in storage)
Negative Karma: -11 000 111.05
"Holy shit that's a lot of bad karma. What the hell did I do?" I scowled as I read my data sheet. "Also, why am I being summoned here today? What special day is this?"
The shaman whom I could only see her mouth scowled at the question, "You talk too much." She bonked my head with her wooden staff, causing me to whimper in pain.
"Ahhh!" I groaned as I rubbed my sore temple. "Alright. I won't ask. It's not like there's any rule that needs to be followed for me to come here…Right?" I muttered sarcastically.
She was silent for a while, and then she said, "Today…your summon still follows the rule of life and death day. However, I don't think that there is a person alive on your earth that knows the significance of today."
"Huh?" I looked at the mournful shaman as she reminisced about something. I was confused so I asked politely, "What day's significance is today…if I may know…ma'am."
"Do you want to test your luck or do you want to know a boring story?" She asked with slight dissatisfaction. I was upset so I confronted her, "Why are you so angry? You're the one who brought me here."
"No. I wasn't the one who brought you. And I already told the people at afterlife corps to stop sending people to my session." She growled in dissatisfaction before she took out multiple small bone pieces, and a worn out mat.
"Is this…Bone divination? Isn't this an ancient Chinese tradition? What does it have to do with Nordic religion?" I asked curiously. The shaman scowled and said, "You really talk too much."
"Well I will shut up when you tell me about the 'boring story'." I asked with a teasing smirk. She was stunned for a while before she asked in disbelief, "You don't want to get your power ups? I can only do one thing. If you want to hear my story, then you'll have to give up the karmic gacha for today. So which one will you choose-"
"Well I choose the story." I interrupted her, and she was stunned by my reply. She paused for a while. "What?" She exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yeah. I think your story will be more interesting than the gacha." I muttered in a sincere tone. "To be honest with you, I'm not looking forward to the gacha right now. My life is quite perfect as it is." I smiled as I laid down sideways on the grassy land, propping my head up with my hand as I leisurely looked in her direction.
"So. Tell me. What day is it today?" I asked her again. She was silent for a while, before she bonked my head angrily again and said, "Sit upright if you want to listen to it. Don't be disrespectful!"
"Ouch." I exclaimed with a smile as I noticed that she had put down her guard. "I'm sorry. Please. Enlighten me." I asked in a mischievous demeanor, which made her frown again.
…
[General POV]
The door to the hospital emergency ward was pushed open. The EMT medical officer was sitting on top of Edward's body, pushing his chest to make sure that his heart would keep beating using CPR.
Ted, Camila and Haley followed the gurney from behind, but was stopped by the medical officer as they wanted to follow Edward to the ICU.
Haley and Camila broke down crying. Ted gritted his teeth and blood was dripping from his clenched fist.
"Ed! Don't Die!" Haley wailed as she could see the doctor trying hard to resuscitate Edward from behind the glass wall.
"Clear!" The doctor pressed the defibrillator on Edward's bare chest before giving him an electric shock to revive his heart function.
"It's not working!" The intern doctor said. "Increase the voltage and try again!" The resident doctor yelled.
[Edward's POV]
"Oww… Why does my chest suddenly hurt." I muttered as I rubbed my sore chest while listening to the shaman's story.
"So Sage. All of the people who know about the 'Old Gods' have disappeared from my world?" I asked her, ignoring the pain.
I found out that her name was Sage after insistent badgering, and two times getting bonked in the head. However, it was hard for me to have a bad feeling for the woman. She had basically been alone here for hundreds of years. She's an old grandmother. I have a soft spot for this kind of lonely person.
"Yes. I am now puzzled as to why you're here. No one is supposed to be here anymore." Sage muttered with a concerned voice. "I wonder if this has something to do with Gong Shin. That old guy loves to interfere afterall." Sage mumbled.
"What was that?" I asked her. "Nothing. Now that you've listened to my story, you only have time for only one gacha roll."
"Oh. The strength of my soul right?" I guessed. Sage nodded and said, "Your soul is still too weak. You can only support being here for 45 minutes to an hour."
"It's okay. Then, roll it for me. Ah, what about the grim reaper dude-"
"Stop talking and ruining my concentration." Sage growled before she shook the bone pieces in her hand. The sky suddenly turned cloudy, thunder and lighting appeared on the sky.
I stood up quickly, "Uhh…What's happening?" My mind was racing and my breathing became rapid.
"That's the background effect." Sage said casually. I almost fell down after hearing it, "That's it? I really thought that something would descend from the sky."
Sage snickered, "As if something will descend from the sky because of you."
I was shocked, "So…things CAN fall out of the sky?"
"..."
Sage was silent, and then she threw the bone pieces on top of the worn out mat with a circle akin to a compass on it. Suddenly, an illusionary scroll popped out from the mat, almost making me fall on my ass from the shock.
"The guy who designed the background effect is really sinister." I grumbled as I sat down cross-legged in front of Sage.
She opened the scroll and then sighed, "I don't expect this to come out. Seriously, why don't you try to scheme better? Doing this kind of thing will only expose you more easily."
"Who who who?" I urged her for an answer, but she just threw the scroll at me. I read it and widened my eyes from the shock.
[Black-Gold Quality Enhancement- Soul Upgrade (One time use)]
"What the-" Before I could react, a golden glow appeared on my body, and the suction force that I had been feeling to get me back to my world disappeared.
"Congratulations. Your soul strength has been tripled. You can stay here for 2 more hours." Sage said in a tired manner. I laughed as I realized that someone was pitting against Sage in this session, and she lost… badly too.
Sage thought for a while before she said, "Well. There is another way for me to chase you quickly – I mean, for you to end the session. That is… for you to empty out all of your karmic points."
I rubbed the back of my head and said, "That's true. But… It's impossible for me to roll all of my 130 million points, even if I applied the high quality roll every time."
"Edward, don't you feel it?" Sage suddenly becomes mysterious. "What?" I asked, intrigued.
"When did a gacha roll with a session master become an ordinary one?" Sage said with a smirk. I was surprised and said, "Wait…You have a special characteristic? Like the casino?"
"Yes. I am the Sage after all. You can make me an offer. And if I accept it, then I will conduct a 'Divinition Roll' for you."
"What's that?"
"Unlike the randomness of the gacha, my Divination Roll will give you something beneficial, that you will definitely need in the future. However, once you object to my divination, or you tried to question me about the future, the session will be over, and I could not use a Divination Roll for you again no matter how hard you beg of me."
"It's fine. I trust you Sage." I mumbled. "So how much I need to offer?"
Sage was silent for a while, "I cannot interfere, but let's just say that you cannot afford my service for less than 50 million karmic points. The subsequent gacha roll will cost you 10 million points each, and this is not negotiable."
"Oh yeah? Lucky for you, I'm a rich man." I laughed before I shrugged and said, "I leave my fate to you Sage. Help me"
She snorted and said, "That's natural." She took a deep breath before shaking the bone pieces in her hand again while muttering some ancient mantra. The background effect appeared again, which made me mutter, "The dedication of these people."
Sage then dropped the bone pieces on the mat, and another scroll popped out. She reached towards the scroll and read it, " [Purple Quality Consumable – Fire Immunity – Natsu Dragnell. One time Use]
"Wait. Fire?" I furrowed my eyebrows as Sage threw the scroll to me. I placed it on the floor as I thought about the implication, 'This…the prize is something that was 'predicted' by Sage, and I was sure to need it in the future…So I suffer from a fiery incident? If so, will I be the only one there?'
"Sage. I-"
"Remember the Rules, Edward Newgate." Sage said quickly. I shut my mouth quickly and nodded, "I'm sorry. Continue."
Sage paused for a while and said, "Alright. I'll let you off with a warning."
She then shook the bone pieces again, and the gacha session continued.
…
[General POV]
"We have to put him on life support. I'm afraid… he won't have much longer." The doctor shook his head in sympathy as he broke the news to Ted and Camila. Ted staggered and fell down on the chair while Camila broke down in tears.
"How long does he have?" Ted asked lifelessly.
"Less than a day." The doctor replied. "If his condition doesn't improve, then the best choice we have is to let him go."
Haley was comforted by Claire and Phil who came to the hospital as soon as their daughter called them. Outside of the hospital, the paparazzi was held back by the security before they could break into the ICU ward.
Pepper wiped his tears as he entered the hospital, trying to keep himself steady to support Ted and Camila at the critical moment. Harvey asked the doctor, "Do you know what happened to him?"
The doctor shook his head and said, "We don't know. The Toxicology report came back clean. He is not on any substance, nor was he poisoned. His body just…stopped. I am not clear on how to explain it. I have called a few specialists, and they are rushing over right now to take a look."
Harvey was confused by the treatment so she gave the scruffy looking doctor a weird look. The doctor understood her apprehension and said, "Well…the director's daughter…is the fan club president for the boy."
"Lily?" Harvey was shocked when she heard it. After talking to the doctor, Harvey quickly went to do some damage control to protect Edwards reputation as some party had leaked his condition to the press.
"Assholes. All of them." Harvey gritted her teeth, and her eyes turned red. She read the accusations that Edward had overdosed on drugs, and was 'already dead' on the article's claims, and vowed to destroy each and every single one of the bastards that profits from others misery.
-In Cuba-
Miranda, the woman in a floral dress and large white hat, received a call from her sister from America. Her eyes turned red and she walked towards the bloodied man tied up to the chair before holding a gun right in front of his face.
"(In Spanish: Donde va a ir estar cargamento de armas) Where's that weapon shipment going to be?"
The man replied, "(In Spanish púdrete traidor los Castro-) Fuck you traitor. The Castro-"
Miranda suddenly took out 5 bullets from the revolver, leaving only 1 bullet inside the gun chamber. She then pulled the trigger, shocking the man in front of her, "You have 4 more chances…sort of. Unless you spill the information, I won't stop."
"I won't tell you."
Miranda pulled the trigger again.
"You won't," The man shouted, visibly shaken.
Miranda pulled the trigger again.
"Wait. Stop-"
Miranda pulled the trigger again coldly.
The man was nervous, "Do you know who I am?"
Miranda was still silent and she pulled the trigger once more. Then, she pressed the muzzle of the gun right on top of the man's forehead, "Goodbye." She muttered.
"THE SHIPMENT IS AT XX PIER! 10 O'CLOCK TOMORROW!" The man shouted quickly. Miranda lowered the gun slowly. The man smiled as he thought that he was safe. But then, another woman in a floral dress put her gun behind his back, and blew up his head.
"Mercy is not for these vermin Miranda." The woman said.
"I'm going to America." Miranda suddenly said. The woman was shocked, "Did you forget your deal?"
"I didn't. But, my son is on the death bed right now. And if you tried to stop me again," Miranda slowly aimed her gun at the woman's head. "Then you will die."
…
[Edward POV]
[Purple Quality Gacha – 'Charisma of Wicked Wisdom' Talent –James Moriarty ]
[Purple Quality Gacha – Detective Skill – Shinichi Kudo (Detective Conan)]
[Black-Gold Quality Gacha – Kotoamatsukami (Distinguishing Heavenly God Illusion) – Uchiha Shisui (One time use)]
"Call me, Edward Uchiha from now on." I said in an arrogant demeanor. Then, Sage bonked my head with her staff again.
"Sit down. I need you to focus. There is something that you desperately need. And the rareness of the prize is incomparable to everything that you'd gotten before." Sage muttered.
"Wait. Really? What is it?" I asked her. "Also, will my eye change into a Mangekyou Sharingan- Alright, I'll focus." I shut up quickly as she picked up her staff again.
Currently, I have spent over 80 million karmic points in this gacha session, making it the most expensive session yet. And the prizes that I'd gotten were extremely precious.
"Hmm…I can only store some luck before I vie for that 'item'." She muttered incomprehensibly before she looked me straight in the eye, "I can guarantee that I can get out that item if I roll 3 random gacha for you. Of course, the price won't change."
"This item…Wait… No question right. I don't feel that you're trying to trick me Sage. So I believe in you. You can do whatever you want, but just leave enough points for me to cut off my negative karma yeah?"
Sage flashed a tiny smile and said, "Okay. I won't disappoint you."
[Green Quality Gacha– Piloting Skill – Maverick]
[Purple Quality Gacha– Dance Skill – Robert Alexander III / Moose (Step Up Movie)]
[White Quality Gacha – AI Creation Memory – Tony Stark]
"Ohh…I got Jarvis…Or Maybe Friday…But it's a white quality one so the memory will be short." I mumbled to myself.
Sage then took a deep breath and then she muttered, "Well…I need another random one."
From expecting, to suddenly feeling that she wasn't reliable, I narrowed my eyes at her before I sighed and said, "Sure."
She nodded and continued, "Last one. I promise."
[White Quality Gacha– Hairspray Hand – Aizen Sosuke]
I laughed out loud when I read the prize, and while I was tearing up, Sage was shaking her bone pieces in a solemn manner while mumbling the ancient mantra. Lightning and thunder danced together in the sky, before a lightning bolt suddenly struck at the center of the mat as Sage threw her bone pieces.
"Oh damn! What is it?" I calmed myself down after getting shocked, and waited for Sage to finish reading. She smiled as she threw the scroll at me, "You got it. The Rare Item."
[Black-Gold Quality Gacha – Talent Shredder – Afterlife Corp]
"Wait. This is a Corporation item." I muttered in confusion, "Why do I need this- Oh! This must be it." I snapped my finger as I thought about the danger of having 'that' skill with me.
Sage paused for a while before she said, "Before you continue joking, I'll remind you that [Special Ability – God Usopp – Lie to Truth] is only a white quality gacha prize. It only works on dumbasses… and won't actually influence the fabric of reality like you're thinking of…Dumbass."
I was stunned for a while before I laughed to cover up my embarrassment. "So. What do you want me to use this on?"
"Use it on your [Prodigy's Fate – Kousei Arima] talent that you got during your first birthday." Sage muttered.
"Heh? I rolled the gacha on my first birthday?" I asked her in shock. She stared at me for a while before she was astonished, "You didn't know? How could you NOT KNOW? This is not in line with the rules!"
Sage was restless for a while before she asked, "So you don't know about your [Elderly Lady Killer] Talent too?"
"I have a talent like that?" I shrieked.
"I…I'll tell the guys back at the HQ about this so that they will rectify the situation." Sage muttered after thinking for a while. I nodded at her remark before using the consumable talent that she mentioned.
"Good. Last time, your guardian intervened so that the talent activation would fail. Now, you can have a normal relationship with the people around you and it won't turn into a 'creative tragedy'."
"Huh? Guardian? Wait-...Did the accident involving Desiree.." I widened my eyes in realization.
Sage nodded, but she didn't explain as it wasn't part of her responsibility. It was enough that she helped me understand what had happened, and I was thankful for that.
"Okay. Let's continue." I muttered. Sage looked at me weirdly and said, "That's it..Your points are finished."
"Ahh…Hahaha." I laughed to cover up my embarrassment again before I felt a suction force pulling me away to my real world.
"Thank you Sage. Even if my world has forgotten about you, I will never forget you. I'll do a wikipedia entry about the old god's existence as tribute when I get back." I smiled as I waved at her.
"Hey Edward." Sage suddenly shouted.
"What is it?"
"Make a last roll. A normal one this time." She suggested while handing over the bone pieces in my hand.
"Really?" My eyes lit up before I threw it happily, "Alright, one high quality-"
"Do a normal quality." She quickly said.
"Alright. One normal quality, 66 karmic point gacha roll." I announced. A white quality gacha scroll popped out, and Sage quickly handed it over to me. I opened the gacha quickly as my soul was dissipating, and widened my eyes when I saw it. I hugged Sage without warning, making her freeze in place.
"Oh my god. You're the best session master ever! Thank you Sage!" I almost kissed her cheek, but my soul dissipated before I could do that.
I got a nice treasure at my last gacha roll. [White Quality Gacha – One Piece Anime (Until Ending of Wano Arc) Memory – Inaki Godoy]
…
[General POV]
Haley couldn't accept reality. "Why? Why is this all happening? He was fine just a few hours ago!" She cried at the edge of Edward's bed after the doctor let the people come and visit him to say their final words before the doctor pulled over the life support equipment.
"Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi." Suddenly, all of the depressed and crying people in the room heard a strange laugh coming from the bed. Ted, Camila, Claire, Phil, Harvey, Pepper and Haley looked at Edward's face, only to realize that the man was laughing.
Edward suddenly laughed out loud, and the EKG machine's reading suddenly spiked.
"Edward?" Haley muttered in confusion, and all of them took a step back in surprise as Edward suddenly sat up and laughed while saying, "GEARRRR FIFTHHHHHH!"
"Wait. Where the hell am I?" Edward was shocked when he saw the white surroundings and the people around him. Only then did he realize that he was wearing the oxygen mask, and was wearing a patient's gown.
"Um…How long was I asleep?" Edward asked amidst the people's shock. The doctor's were shocked. The nurses were shocked. His family and friends were shocked. The squirrel who's stalking him was shocked. And even his fans were shocked.
"ED!" Haley rushed to hug Edward after he woke up from his sleep. Edward was looking at his dad with an expression asking, 'What's going on?'
"This…This is not possible. I was sure…" The doctor shivered as he checked Edward's pupil dilation. "IT'S A MIRACLE!" He shouted.
