Make A Wish

"There you go, keep going. You've got this!" I scream out encouragement, as I can see one of my newer students-in waiting, fulfilling their goals.

Yes, they just sat in the entire time, didn't even make the qualifiers for my "Tough Masochistic Tests" to get into Spiritlight Valhalla College, or SVC for short. But this was different. This was someone knowing that they had failed, knowing that they didn't make the first cut, and still trying to improve afterwards.

Of course, this student wouldn't have been able to make it into my Qi Manipulation program, they didn't even have a Qi core developed. But they wanted it.

They wanted it so badly that they came to my classes and watched, practiced, and did everything I told my actual students to do.

Some would get jealous, trying to shoo out such students, but me, I purposefully moved my body so he could see me better. Not in the creepy way, but in a way that showed the best motion of what I wanted him to do.

Honestly, I don't even know his name. Had this been before the merger of the Midnight Hunters, living breathing individuals, and the Delorian citizens who were comprised of deceased high elves many would have assumed my school was haunted.

From my understanding, most first-time travelers and tourists here do in fact get frightened at the fact that I do have actual deceased spirits roaming around and learning. Yes, SVC has somehow become a tourist destination, no clue how nor why.

That said, I make it a point that so long as these tourists or spectators want to watch, then go for it. So long as they do not ask questions, talk, or otherwise impede me or my students I could care less if they gather to watch. In the future, this might become a bigger problem, but right now my mentality is that we are fighting and training for the future of our planet. Thus, if I can train, or work with one more warrior wishing to compete, or heck, even if they just train with those that go out to protect our planet in these upcoming rankings, then my time spent training them will be a worthwhile investment.

Also, I'd be lying if I didn't feel a bit of joy watching others reach goals and achievements that they might have thought were previously unobtainable. That is why I push people, with words of encouragement.

I'm watching, my third eye is open as I am actively watching progress. This is the hard part, seeing what is happening, knowing that they are right next to their new limit. Knowing that with just one subtle push in an easier direction they would be done, but they still choose to do it the hard way. That hard way will likely give more future gains, but it is still painful to watch, and if the grunting of this possible future student is any indication, painful to perform.

Gahh.

Yeah, glowing ghost guy sitting on my floor in the lotus position letting out otherwise unintelligible groans of pain. People will either think I am haunted or am somehow binding a spirit to haunt my school.

Obviously, like I'd want someone constantly watching over me.

"Just push, come on, you've got this!" I scream out, not even saying push down to the left, as that would probably confuse them as I mean their left, not mine. No, in these cases going with your own instincts is the best way.

"I, I can't . . ." he stammers out, nameless ghost Qi stalker guy. It's sad really, as I have no clue what he wants, well other than this chance to get a Qi core. He's been working hard this entire time, every class he shows up early, taking a vaunted spot in the waiting wings and just waiting for my other students to come in.

"You can, and you will! Now do this, stop arguing with me, and listen to the inevitability of my words. You will can do this, and you will, for nothing is going to stop you, once you get out of your own way!"

Sizzle.

That's when the miracle happens, the mote of Qi that had been looking around like it was lost at a questionable pit station, looking around trying to find directions stopped. Then it started to glow brighter as it knew the direction it was supposed to go, not to the left, which would have been easier, but it focused and charged straight forward, through organs that likely had nothing to do with helping his future cultivation, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was, the mote of Qi burned with a blazing intensity and began to charge forward.

"Yes, yes! That's it, now push!" I yell out, my excitement filling both him and those that are no doubt watching. By now I've gotten used to the fact that I will be watched by multiple people daily.

Seemingly by my orders, or perhaps by their own volition, the mote continues its now made pace forward and finally connects to the Qi core, creating a first stable channel and ensuring that the newly developed Qi core would not collapse in on itself.

Phew.

"Oh that goodness," I cry out as I feel about as relieved as this ghost looks.

Pausing to take them in, I nod my head in satisfaction. I want to tell him that I think he will make a fine competitor for the future Planetary Positioning tournaments. That at the very least with this level of dedication, that in two years he can be at the top spot, or one of the spots in any competition. He would also be a shoo-in for the mixed martial battles, and other tasks. If he continued to practice.

These are the thoughts that are racing through my head, for I am already looking to the future, at a time when I can put this ghost's drive and personal talents to the limit and see what type of future warrior he would become.

Of course, the world is not as straightforward as we all would like and hope. Yes, I wanted this person to want to get their wish of being a fully functional Qi Fusion Fighter class, or maybe something better. I was already imagining the possible futures that this student of mine would achieve, that I apparently failed to recognize one important thing, namely I failed to realize where this student was currently in their own development.

Chime.

I could all but feel the awards and personal accolades going off for the student before me. This closeness, this level of resonance, of ability to feel the accomplishments of another firsthand is something truly magical, and something only teachers or parents could properly understand.

Yet here I was, so proud that we had taken the first step in the long road of cultivation, that I failed to realize it would also be the last step.

Yes, our trip of a thousand miles began and ended with a single accomplishment.

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Rising to his feet, the student looked excited at first. Jumping up, punching their fists into the air with jubilation at their actions. Then they seemed to calm down.

The Qi that had been a silvery mixture solution, as is customary with spiritual Qi, suddenly turned a bright golden color. For a moment he grew to be as bright as the sun.

"I did it," he cried out excitedly, then pausing he turned to me and shook his head. "No, we did it, thank you Master for letting me achieve my lifelong dream!"

At that, I heard and felt the power of those very words course through me and echo within my very soul. Hearing them, I paused as my mind tried to catch up to the facts that my spirit somehow already knew and expected.

"What?" That was all I managed to eloquently reply with, as I stared on in confusion at the glowingly bright light that seemed to fill this ghost with an extraordinary amount of energy for a moment. Then just before I was about to respond with shielding, or ways to contain the Qi and other volatile energies that were now coursing through this one-time student's body, that's when the impossible happened.

Poof.

One second the ghost warrior was there, the next they are gone in puff of smoke and golden light. As they left, all I could see was a bright glowing smile in my mind. I imagine this would be similar to one of those creepy silhouettes people would find after a nuclear blast, but rather than being burned on the sidewalk, this smile was burned into my mind. Into my very psyche as a means of the ghost telling me thanks for helping it achieve a lifelong goal it had.

Only now that he is gone, in a brilliant plume of golden smoke and energy do I feel it, the momentary state of nirvana. That perfect second of bliss and perfection that can only be achieved through hard work, dedication, and chance. Yet, here I was a complete interloper piggy backing off of the experience of another. Then as if time suddenly realized its fully functioning ability for destruction, time awoke, found this moment and began to grind away the edges slowly, ruining its peaceful beauty. Like a loud kid crying on an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning. Then slowly time sped up, as more and more parts of the perfect moment were torn and shredded away, each second taking me further and further away from the state of nirvana that I had just felt and experienced.

This all happens for me, at the same time that time slowly shreds away the residual essence of the ghost warrior's shell. Everything of who they were, their goals, their personality, their relentless drive to achieve one overarching goal dissolved into flakes of nothingness, like a broken snow globe, one that caused multiple light fragments to shatter and flutter around me.

I watched as each and every spark of who this person was, what their goals were, all fluttered and began to be lost to the ether of the world. That's when I reacted, and angrily clawed at these fragmented memories, I didn't know him, this otherwise driven stranger. But seeing what was left of his life, I can't help but want to hold his memories tighter, not for who he was, but for what he meant to me. By his very actions he proved to me two things. First, I could teach, I was fairly certain as magic and Qi were easy, but clearly under my guidance and tutelage, he had managed to achieve a goal that had remained absent from his life for over a millennium. Second, that the power of our own want to succeed can produce moments of masterful inspiration that we were never meant to achieve. Yet, when we do, we can apparently rest our lives knowing that we did what we set out to do, even if we only did it once. There was more to this, and I was probably bungling the interpretation of what this warrior did, what his passion and dedication to awakening a Qi core within a spirit body meant.

There is a part of me that realizes how absurd such conditions would have been a year or two ago. First a person cultivating enough to get a Qi core was thought to be impossible, until someone was too stubborn to stop trying. Then people thought that ghosts and spirits couldn't cultivate, as they would no be able to use the same life sealing energies that mortals did. Not until someone broke down the differences between mortal and spiritual Qi. These thoughts and more race through my mind, but fortunately it is the system that pulls me back to reality.

Chime.

Spiritual Doppelganger (Updated): Your body and soul have been forever marked by the bodies and lives you have touched on a deeply personal level. With this, trait you can take on the form of any spirit you have helped move onto the afterlife. Maximum number of personalities you can duplicate (14/100).

Yes, for the first time in quite some time, I achieved the unthinkable. I caused someone to die.

No, that's not the correct way to think about this, for yes, this warrior ghost did die, but they did so on their terms. I didn't know the spirit other than seeing his actions and who he became, so I could not judge him based on what came before our time together.

All I can say is that he was dedicated. He had a goal that he clung to even in death, even after millennia of being told he would never be good enough. Yet, he didn't stop believing in himself, even after he failed at every opportunity he was presented with to succeed. That's when he did the most courageous thing possible, rather than being guided by the words and expectations of others, he doubled down and bet on himself.

I can get behind that type of mentality.

The sad part, I don't know his name. To me he will forever be known as the Self Driven Qi Ghost. Which in a way is sort of freeing as it means I don't need to stick with a name for this new persona. Instead, when I take on his form thanks to my Spiritual Doppelganger power, I can be whomever I want him to be at that moment. While I have the feeling that naming him will give him selective power, much like naming a Simulacrum for a specific task would allow them to be even more capable at one task, I think this is different. Well not different, a named Qi Ghost would be more powerful, but that name would not be necessary now.

Maybe I'd give him a cool name like Arctic Wolf?

Silence.

Yeah, the system never reads my mind and accepts the cool names, I see you server. That said, I do realize that this is an important opportunity.

Not just having this one new spirit form that is hopefully unknown, but it is a reminder that I have a purpose here. As a Spiritlight, I am now trusted by both the regressors and those that are one step away from the end, the spirits of this world. My job, no part of my purpose here is that I can make the world better, not just by allowing others to meet out their unaccomplished goals that force them to linger on in this life. But I am also here to help keep their memories as an inspiration for others.

With their shells, I can always remember what they did and what legacies they left behind. For some of the book nerds that just wanted to hear me read out steamy smut, that is the stories of Rahul and the Maiden, I might have to embellish their story, or maybe just improve my understanding of what it was that was driving them to continue.

Maybe I could come up with more of their legacies based on what I am able to do while wearing their personas. Slight tightening of karmic cords.

Yes, that is the thought I apparently needed to get to when it comes to these spirt shells that I can manifest.

I also realize that I likely need to continue helping spirits move on. Not only will I show changes to this world, but it seems like this was an overlooked aspect that was always needed, for some reason. For a moment, I think about my parents, about what they would want to do.

That's when I also make a plan of things I will do, both before the Planetary Positioning quest, and what we will do after.

Before:

Learn perfect casting thanks to my Apprentice Valeria Spray-Healer

, I'm pretty sure I already know the secret, but have not had time to verify.

Get naturally made Tier III metals for steam punk mechanoid suits,

one that will wipe the floor with advanced space tech suits.

Get divorced

, this is a must if I am ever going to have any type of respect for myself in the future.

Help my Simulacrums continue their plan.

Train my students to succeed in the competitions that I cannot compete in.

After:

Get to floor 1,000 of the Arcanarus tower and reunite Zero with his mother.

Here is where I should also be able to meet my own parents, or at least find out some clue on what happened to them.

Find out how to hatch dragon eggs that have been moved to floor 200 of the Arcanarus Tower

. Apparently, the Simulacrums have all taken turns at trying to hatch them, but to no avail, and they are now gathering dust in Fae-Ulacrum's floor.

Finish healing Yggdraspirit, and get one of its eggs for that place.

I'm pretty sure there was a purpose for that whole thing. If the way my Simulacrum are now acting, there was definitely a purpose to it, but I don't know what exactly, though I am beginning to suspect a few things.

Finally have Spiritlight Valhalla College achieve its accreditation, so I can assign others to do my work for me.

Once the Arcanarus Tower is complete, focus on exploring 1,000 floors of my own retirement library.

CHIME!

With those thoughts complete, I feel the locking of a future quests made specifically for me. For a moment I pause, thinking that the world is going to try to kill me by making me perform all of them in one day again.

Fortunately, the world is slightly more magnanimous than I originally thought, but only marginally.

New Personal Quest Accepted: Cassie's Two-Year Plan For Planetary Domination: You have identified five tasks to help you allow your world succeed in its Planetary Positioning quest. Granted only two directly impact the Planetary Positioning questline, with the others being along the lines of extravagant personal wants, but sure, the world can wait.

Okay, I can tell that one was a bit snarky, are they mad I came up with Arctic Wolf for my new avatar's name?

Chime.

New Spiritual Doppelganger Avatar Name Acquired: Arctic Wolf, an elf who never saw the cold is now and forever known as Arctic Wolf. Effect: +20% Bonus to Ice based Qi manipulation, cultivation, and effects.

Seeing the notification and feeling the clear animosity from the system, I can't help but go for broke. With a smile cresting my lips, I can't help but state the first comment that comes to mind, "I have to say, that is pretty cool."

Groan. . .

Apparently, when the world gets angry, the entire world begins to grind to a halt, as I realize I might have somehow annoyed the system. Realizing I am apparently able to now directly impact the world, I smile brightly, as I can't help myself.

"Just chill," I continue.

"Just chill for what?" Penelope asks, hearing me talk to myself. Well, what she likely considers me talking to myself, but I'm talking to the server and winning. At least winning is what I tell myself when she asks, "what is happening?"

That's when I realize, I might have gone a bit too far, for there outside of my periphery, I can feel the emergence of something unthinkable.

"Oh no," is all I manage to state in reply to this new development, one that had absolutely nothing to do with me, whatsoever.

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