Redo! Last Chance for a Dying World!

Chapter 156: Stars

Geth spent the rest of the night outside the Dungeon. He gazed up at the stars in silence from his position amongst the highest branches.

Albus had pulled his self back into the Grimoire. It had taken a toll on him to transfer his memories to Geth.

'Strangely, he can't remember his name, only that it starts with the letter A,' Geth pondered. 'I wonder precisely how much of that is coincidence.'

His thoughts turned to the other potential timelines.

'Just how many timelines could there be? I wonder if my family sur-'

Geth's thoughts trailed off as he heard rustling from the limbs below. A stunning young woman climbed clumsily onto the branch next to him.

"Sindri."

"What are... you doing... way up here?" Sindri asked as she struggled to pull herself up.

Geth rolled his eyes and assisted the woman onto the platform. While she struggled to catch her breath, he laid back in his original position and stared at the stars.

Sindri eventually caught her breath and walked over to him. She watched him for a moment before glancing into the sky.

"You really couldn't see the stars like this back on Earth," Geth explained. He gestured that it was okay for her to lay next to him.

Without hesitation, she laid down and made herself comfortable. She wasn't touching him, but she was close enough for Geth to feel the warmth coming off of her.

They lay in silence for many minutes before it was finally broken.

"Do you think that these are the same stars that were in our world?" She whispered.

Geth pointed to a specific area, "Do you see this grouping of stars here?"

He used his control over the Mana to make it look like the stars were connected in front of them. With a little more concentration, he drew a man holding a club and shield around the connected lines.

"This is Orion. It's one of the most known amongst the constellations that can be seen from Earth."

He then dispersed the magic and began drawing in the air to their north. A ladle appeared in the air before them.

"This is the Big Dipper. Another common group of stars that can be seen all year-round."

Geth waved his hand and dispersed the magic.

"To answer your question, yes. I believe that these are the same stars that we could see from Earth."

The two fell silent again as they looked into the night sky. After almost twenty minutes of quiet, Geth looked over at Sindri.

'I didn't think she would stay quiet for this long,' He thought while shaking his head.

The girl wasn't wearing her armor, sporting a robe and cloak around her shoulders at the moment. Her body would shiver any time there was a light breeze.

Geth pulled a blanket from his storage and placed it over her. He sat his back against the trunk of the tree while snacking on some jerky.

'She's way too trusting,' Geth sighed. This world wouldn't always be kind to the naive.

He continued staring at the sky. He didn't mention to the girl that many more stars were visible than he believed should be.

'Maybe they were the stars that could be seen from the other Earths?' He wondered.

'But if that's the case... where were the other pieces of the mother planet?'

He allowed his mind to wander around the infinite potentials while he waited for daylight. His thoughts always ended on one possibility, the Redo Formation.

'My Lord, how are things coming on your end?' Larz's voice resounded in his mind.

One of his selves answered the call, 'I've found all of the young men and women that attended the high school. Their survival rate was less than forty percent.'

'Will you be returning soon? Both parties are ready to take the last two Dungeons.'

Sigh 

'I plan to have returned within the week. How are Zolis and the kids doing?' Geth asked.

Larz responded quickly, 'She is starting to get bored sitting around the city. The children are advancing quickly in their training, particularly Peter.'

'Ahh, tell him that I've found a guy who actually named himself Peter. Maybe he would like to be called with something else?' Geth wondered.

'I'll mention it to him. The other citizens are getting on quite nicely as well. 

The craftsmen have taken on a few apprentices, as you asked. Everyone is waiting patiently for the Tower to be completed.'

'That's good to hear. Tell Zolis and the kids that I'll see them soon.'

The mental connection was broken just as the sun peaked over the trees. Geth hadn't realized how much time had passed.

'Time seems to move so quickly when I have so many of my selves running about. Still better than the alternative...'

He couldn't help but remember waking from his unconscious state and being too weak to summon his other selves. 

With his current level of Wisdom, every second felt like minutes. Every movement that he made seemed agonizingly slow.

Geth stood and shook off the morning dew that had formed on his armor. He gently shook Sindri awake.

The young woman slowly opened her eyes against the glare of the morning sun. She propped herself up and looked questioningly at the blanket wrapped around her.

"Good morning," Geth said as he stored the blanket again. "Don't plan on sleeping all day, do you?"

"So what if I do?"

"I guess we would just have to leave you up here once the voting was over," He shrugged.

She jumped to her feet almost immediately. Her sudden movement landed her too close to the edge of the branch.

Geth caught her by her waist just before she toppled backward. He looked at her with a bit of a scolding expression while shaking his head.

"You really plan on making my morning difficult, don't you?" He accused jokingly.

Geth picked her up in both arms and leapt from branch to branch. The two landed softly on the ground before she even had the chance to answer.

"Don't expect me to carry you back to the colosseum," Geth chuckled.

She gave him a fake pleading look, "Not even if I ask nicely?"

He dropped her on the ground without any hesitation. She looked up at him, stunned.

"Is that really how you treat your women?"

"My women?"

Sindri blushed a deep red and stood up faster than she had on the branch. Her back was soon the only thing Geth could see as she rushed into the Dungeon.

'It seems like trouble always comes looking for me.' Geth rolled his eyes and headed into the Dungeon himself.

He quickly approached the colosseum to find that almost everyone from the previous day had already arrived. Many of them waved to him as he passed and reclaimed his seat in the back.

A few acted neutral towards him, but no one seemed to be unfriendly. Even Slim gave him a slight nod as he passed by.

The voting process didn't take very long. Everyone lined up in front of the stands and wrote one or two on a small strip of bark.

The bark was then thrown into a chest that looked like it had been taken from a Dungeon clear reward. The process took less than an hour.

Many of the younger students had entered the place to watch the process. The stands were filled with hundreds of people at the moment.

After the last person voted, Blade stepped forward. He placed his own piece of bark into the chest and then began to speak.

"We will now tally the votes," He beckoned to two young men that were standing beside the table. Each pulled out another chest to sit beside the first.

Blade opened up each chest and turned them towards the crowd, showing that they were both empty.

"All right, does anyone have anything to say before the count begins?" He waited a few moments, but no one responded.

"Very well," He pulled out one of the ballots, "One."

He placed the vote into the left-hand box. The man standing at the box scratched a mark on the side for everyone to see.

"Two... One... One..."

The counting of ballots only took around twenty minutes. In the end, forty-two had voted to go to Valhalla.

"All right, that's settled then," He looked around at the students, "Everyone, begin gathering your things. Share storage items if need be. Just make sure to return them once we arrive."

Geth stood up before anyone could move.

"To those eight that voted against coming to Valhalla. I'll be waiting outside. I would like to speak to you directly.

Don't reveal who you are to anyone else if you don't mind." Geth left the area with those few words.

Everyone looked at his back, confused, as he walked out of the colosseum.. It didn't take long for eight figures to disappear from the crowd after everyone began moving again.