Eisen kept looking at the scenery around him as he was flying toward the huge town in front of him. There really were a lot of beautiful places to see, and many different ones quite literally scattered around each other.
The old man could see a snow-covered area when he was looking in one direction, and a blazing hot desert when he was looking into the other direction. Most likely, this was just the case so that every single believer of Trygan could actually find a good place to spend their afterlife. After all, it wouldn't be good if they were unhappy here, especially those that dedicated their life to the Crystal Dragon God.
Soon, Eisen was flying above the actual town, and the moment that he did so, he was able to see some quite interesting things. There were people actually going out of their way running shops here in this heaven. They were making things, selling them to whoever was interested, and seemingly even trading for actual money. Did you really have to work even during your afterlife so that you could survive?
Eisen turned his head and looked over at Ambriel, but he was just blankly looking at Eisen, seemingly not planning on commenting on this in the slightest. With a deep sigh, Eisen chose to descent down into the town so that he could get a closer look. It's not like he was short on time, after all.
And since Trygan was a god of justice, nobody would randomly attack him, at least that's what Eisen figured. Luckily, all that happened was that Eisen got a few surprised looks when he landed there. It was probably because they noticed that Eisen was different from them, that he was still alive. A few people here looked at him with jealousy for that, but most of them just went about their business without even fully acknowledging him all the way through. They glanced at him, and then continued.
Eisen figured that that was a good thing, he didn't want to cause a ruckus, after all. But either way, the old man figured that he should make his way over toward one of the shops, and in particular chose one that was somewhat empty right now. Even though there were bound to be millions over millions of people here, probably far more than Eisen expected, this place actually wasn't all that busy right now.
Probably because the town was so large, and it wasn't actually the only place where people could be in this realm. The old man walked up to the shop and looked at the one that seemed to be the shopkeeper, a human man in his physical peak, young and strong like a warrior that seemed like he could destroy a boulder with his bare hands. His skin was covered in intricate tattoos belonging to one of the ancient tribes of people that would pray to Trygan as their god. And despite his physical appearance that many may see as intimidating, he was just sitting there, calmly painting something onto the canvas propped up on his easel.
"Excuse me, could you answer a question or two of mine?" Eisen asked at a moment where it seemed like he wouldn't disturb this man's actions too much, and he slowly turned around and looked at him, "Of course, how can I help you? It's rare to see the living here. Well, 'rare' is a bit of an understatement, the only one who I could call 'Living' that I see every once in a while otherwise is our Lord Trygan." The man laughed in a gentle, calm tone.
Satisfied to see that it seemed like Eisen would be able to speak to this man properly, he slowly looked at the Canvas and at the other things at this open stall-like storefront, "Is there a specific reason to why you're doing this? Why are you painting or selling things while you could spend your afterlife simply relaxing?"
With a slight laugh, the man just looked back at Eisen, "'Simply relaxing' soon gets rather unnerving, you see? It is much more fun to spend my time like this. I have been here for five thousand years, you know?" The man pointed out, and the corners of Eisen's mouth slightly curled up.
"I see, so that was the reason after all. But just wondering, you don't actually have to work, right? I saw someone trading with money before, is that really a thing here?"
Slowly, the man in front of Eisen grabbed something at the side of his body and held it forward toward the old man, "Here, you can take a look. We have different coins here, but we don't really need them. Everyone simply receives the home of their dreams to live in for all eternity, and if you get bored of that house, it shifts depending on what you want at that moment. We don't need to eat, sleep, or work, but we do so because we wish to. We indulge in gluttony and sloth, just because it's fun to us and calms us down. But it is often unsatisfying to just get whatever you wish for. So, if you wish to have something special for yourself, you can work for it in any way that you think you can. You can have duels and bet on them, you can make art and sell it, you can do whatever you wish without consequences."
Eisen slowly started to smile and took a slight look at the brush that the man was using. It was simple, there was truly nothing special about it, but it was nice. And weirdly enough, it showed signs of being used but didn't deteriorate. You could use this brush forever, but it wouldn't break, but would still show signs of all that you went through with it.
That was surely satisfying, but Eisen still was wondering about something, "And what of those that wish to reincarnate rather than spend their life here?"
"Ah!" The man excliamed, "Lord Trygan chooses those that are worthy of reincarnating himself. Amongst those that actually wish to reincarnate, Lord Trygan gives priority to those that have died unfairly, or who did great things while they were alive. Of course, most of the time, you can simply reincarnate the moment you voice to Lord Trygan that you wish to do so, and he will send you along to the goddess of reincarnation, but in rare cases some souls had to wait to be reincarnated."
"And nobody ever regrets their choices?"
"I would imagine not. Ever since I have died, I have become my truest self. Everything that I wish for is clear to me, there is nothing tainted about my emotions. And only those that wish to reincarnate with their whole being, who have no other wish, are allowed to do so. So no, I don't think anybody regrets their choice."
Eisen looked at the kind, gentle man in front of him, before the man slowly looked down at the brush in his hand as well, "For example, one of the things that I wish for is a new brush. I currently only have this one, but it's not made for thin lines or complex patterns. I love this brush, but there are things that it cannot do." He explained, and Eisen slowly started to smirk. And the moment the man finished speaking, some notifications appeared right in front of Eisen.
[New Quest – Trygan's Acknowledgement]
[Description] You are seeking to be acknowledged by the gods of heaven and made your way into the realm of the Crystal Dragon King Trygan. He has given you the task to assist in the happiness of the people of his realm.
[Condition] Fulfill a wish of 10 Souls in Trygan's realm (0/10)
[Reward] Trygan's Acknowledgement
[Penalty] None
[New Sub-Quest – A Painter's Brush]
[Description] A soul wishing to paint has asked for a new brush. A brush that can be used to draw thin lines and intricate patterns.
[Condition] Create a brush to the liking of this soul
[Reward] Advance in the Quest <Trygan's Acknowledgement>, 1 Heavenly Gold Coin
[Penalty] The soul will be disappointed
Eisen raised his brows in surprise before just starting to smile, and then waved his hand to the side to get rid of the notifications.
"Well then, if you want to have a brush, how about I make you one? In exchange for telling me all of this." The old man suggested, and the man slowly looked at Eisen in surprise, "You are a craftsman?" He asked, and Eisen quietly laughed and nodded, "You could say that, yes. Would you be able to describe to me what you want the brush to look like?"
With a slight smile, the man turned a bit more toward Eisen, "I don't think there is much that I need in a brush. The only thing that I could mention may be simple crystal bristles. I would like to leave the rest up to you." The man explained in a simple tone, and Eisen immediately nodded his head.
"Alright, I can do that. Just give me a second. This is actually a pretty good chance." Without hesitation, Eisen opened up his item storage right in the ground underneath him and left just a small space open that he could drop through, and when he was inside, just started to grab whatever materials he might need. And in the end, those boiled down to a special type of gem that Eisen created a while ago with the help of Evalia, a type that was perfect for artists, as well as a simple piece of oak wood that was infused with enough mana to be close to turning into Wizard's Oak, but didn't actually turn into Wizard's Oak yet.
And then, the old man came back out of his item storage and with his element quickly made a small seat out of rock for him.
The next moment, Eisen waved his hand forward and let Bai out of his soul storage, and the ego-multitool just stood right in front of Eisen before looking around, "Where we?" It asked, and Eisen quickly looked at it, "In heaven. I'll explain while we're working, but turn into your tool form for now."
"Okay!" It exclaimed, and immediately turned into its other form and switched around to become a carving knife that Eisen immediately used to carve the oak into shape. It wouldn't be a complex shape of course, it was just a brush that had to sit in this soul's hand properly. Eisen would add a few more special parts, but he didn't want to make the brush uncomfortable to hold.
With that mindset, Eisen started working on his first item in heaven!
