(My original novel is here! You can read 5 chapter on Royal Road. The title is My 10th Transmigration.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/129193/my-10th-transmigration
You can also read up to chapter 12 on my patreon for free. It's open for Public.
Pat.reon.com/relifewithkarmicgacha Search for the 10th Transmigration collection)
[Edward POV]
"Ahh, I already missed him," I muttered in the Quinjet as we flew back home.
My wounds had closed up quickly, and I had regained most of my energy.
Sage glanced over. "You knew him for three whole days."
"To true friendship, how long you've known each other means nothing," I said, pointing a smug finger at her.
"Bon-Clay," Sage nodded, catching the reference.
I told her everything—what I saw, what I remembered. She said I'd done a brave thing, trying to reach someone that stubborn.
"Do you know anything about the ring?" I asked as I showed her the blue ring.
She nodded and said, "Yes." But she didn't explain, which was a dick move.
"Any chance you can tell me about it?" I asked after rolling my eyes in disbelief.
She shrugged, not saying anything.
"How do I explain the ring to my girlfriend? She's going to think I disappeared for three days to cheat on her," I said, concerned.
Sage replied, "Don't worry. Normal people can't see the ring."
"That's better, then," I said, sighing in relief.
When we landed, my dad and Frankie hugged me tightly. They looked shaken by my sudden disappearance. My girlfriend rushed over as soon as she heard I was back.
I had already thrown away the bloodied shirt, so no one noticed I'd been injured.
"Wait. Something happened," Vanessa said, stepping back after hugging me.
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You look... gaunt. Did you get injured again?" Her eyes narrowed.
I scoffed, hesitating. "Uh... no?"
"But my friend did die," I added honestly.
Her eyes widened, and her chin quivered before she pulled me into another hug and started crying.
A few days passed. It felt surreal—not the meeting with the sea spirit, but his life story.
I kept wondering if he met his wife in the afterlife, just to see her one last time.
And to be honest, I found myself yearning for a love like that.
While processing and trying to move forward from the experience, I released the prosthetics to the market. It shocked the country—again. But by now, people had begun adjusting to all these changes.
Then the AIDS breakthrough dropped. The country was stunned. I open-sourced the formula, allowing anyone in the world to produce the medicine without restrictions.
Unlike the diabetes cure—which required precision in stem cell cultivation and coordination with certified labs—the AIDS treatment was simpler. It could be produced quickly and hit the market faster.
The diabetes cure itself was already tearing across borders. Labs from Tokyo to Cape Town had begun coordinating production. Insurance companies froze. Lobbyists panicked. But ordinary people? They called it a miracle.
My image, which was already sky-high, broke the ceiling—and I became a sort of godly figure on the internet.
People memed a lot, using the grim reaper knocking-on-doors format—labeling the reaper as me, and the two bloody doors as AIDS and Diabetes—while I knocked on the Cancer door.
I threw myself into work for the next few weeks.
I received a few offers to visit children's hospitals and unveil the prosthetics myself. It was a good PR move—but instead, I let RDJ and the Avengers cast do it.
Even Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Maggie took part, spreading the word and positivity to kids everywhere.
A lot of politicians wanted me to endorse them—some even asked me to show up at their rallies. I ignored them.
As for Now You See Me, I figured it was the perfect time to release it. The supersoldier incident was still fresh in people's minds.
Many tried to talk me out of it, pushing for marketing campaigns first. But in the end, I vetoed every one of their suggestions and released the film straight to market a week after principal photography wrapped—and I edited everything.
Opening weekend? Three hundred million dollars.
Everyone shut up after that.
RDJ and the rest of the cast were thrilled. Kate Upton, Lyndsy Fonseca, and Willa Holland jumped from D- and C-list status to solid B-list fame.
Lyndsy became a household name almost overnight thanks to her role. She was almost at A-level. If another one of her movies succeeded, she'd pass the barrier.
For some reason, Britney hired Fonseca to act as her character in a self-produced movie. The film had already started shooting and would be filmed mostly in Italy.
It was now mid-September. I'd been coasting for about three weeks since the Davy Jones incident. My flow had been interrupted, and I'd become slightly depressed—I think.
My girlfriend did everything she could to cheer me up—even wore cat ears once. But it didn't work.
With everything going on, I laid low at the Dunphys' house, playing Halo with Phil like none of it mattered.
Claire walked in during her lunch break and froze when she saw me lounging in the den.
"Edward! There you are! So many people are trying to find you!" she scolded, storming toward the couch, slightly off-balance from how fast she moved.
I turned and raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're mad at me? Your husband canceled a house showing just to play Halo, and I'm the one you're coming after?"
Phil gasped. "Traitor!"
"He's fine. His job is more of a hobby nowadays," Claire waved it off, then turned to me. "You could've at least texted us."
I took out my phone and held it flat in my hand. A holographic projection of my chats popped up to show Claire the thousands of messages I'd received—just today.
Claire was stunned for a moment and said, "Well, that can be a little unnerving. I guess it makes sense you wanted to hide out here."
"People are trying to get him here and there," Phil said with frustration. "We can't even play Halo in peace."
I snickered. "Because of that, Phil managed to kill me twice."
Phil said seriously, "I won that kill fair and square!"
Well, I had won 36 times to his two, so I wouldn't hold it against him.
"Why are you back, hon?" Phil asked Claire, wondering why she had returned home during lunch when she usually spent it with Frankie and the other office workers.
Claire replied excitedly, "I'm taking a half-day. Alex is going to drive by. She's back from college, so I think she'll probably bring some laundry with her, and I want to cook something special for her visit."
She turned to me and asked, "So boss, can I work only a half-day today?"
I smiled and asked jokingly, "Wait, are you going to play hooky if I didn't respond to your texts? You have no prior confirmation. This behavior can be reported to HR."
"I think I'll be fine since Frankie is handling HR," Claire joked. "You know, your pregnant mother who happens to be my best friend—and I'm her maid of honor at the wedding."
"Fine." I rolled my eyes in defeat.
She grinned and said formally, "I've turned over my work to SunHee, so don't worry about it. Also, she wants you to call her about Mythic Quest. She wants to fire Max because he keeps annoying her."
"I'll give her a call later," I replied, turning back to Halo. Phil suddenly said, "AFK!" then ran to Claire after taking off his headphones.
"I'm playing alone then," I said, creating a new game.
"Go ahead!" Phil agreed, and as he got to the kitchen, he pulled Claire aside and whispered, "He asked me some really deep questions before. I think something is happening to him, but I can't get it out of his mouth."
Claire widened her eyes slightly, intrigued by the promise of gossip. "What did he ask you?"
"He asked me the difference between reverence—or worship—and love. He also asked if love felt different when you were married—"
"EDWARD! YOU'RE TOO YOUNG TO GET MARRIED!" Claire suddenly snapped, stomping toward me again.
I was startled and almost missed my shot. "Wait, I'm pausing!" I said, turning to her. By that time, both Claire and Phil were already beside me.
"What— I'm not getting married?" I looked at her, confused. "Where did you get that idea?"
"Then what's this about asking if love feels different after you get married?" Claire asked while Phil held her by the shoulders.
"Get off—I'm not going to lunge at him," Claire shook Phil's hands away.
"But you seem like you might," Phil added.
"This honestly feels threatening," I said jokingly, but with a straight face.
Claire rolled her eyes and sat on the ottoman beside the couch. "Happy now?" she asked.
"There's not much of a difference. Maybe it's the eyes," Phil commented.
Claire squinted, flabbergasted. "What?!"
I chuckled slightly. "Ahh, I miss seeing this."
Claire and Phil exchanged a quick glance.
[Claire and Phil's Commentary]
"There's something wrong. He doesn't feel like he has his usual energy," Phil said, gesturing vaguely with his hand, confused by his own choice of words.
"No—not in the physical sense. He plays around like usual, but it's like he's afraid of something, so he's not putting all of his energy into it," Claire said, making the same circling motion Phil did.
Phil snapped his fingers, agreeing instantly. "That's it. That's what I was going to say."
[Commentary ended]
"So what happened?" Claire asked. "Why do you want to know if love changes after marriage?"
Phil suddenly gasped. I turned to him slightly and said, "No. My dad isn't cheating on my stepmom."
"Oh. Okay." Phil looked awkward as I caught his train of thought.
"Edward. Focus," Claire said firmly, pulling my attention back. "What happened?"
I sighed and said, "Well, I'm new at this, so I'm not really sure how it works. Ness and I—well, she's my longest relationship. Like, ever."
(Counting all of the lives.)
"So since it's not the same feelings you had at the beginning, you don't know if you two are just staying together for the sake of the relationship, or if you don't really have feelings for each other," Claire guessed.
I nodded slightly and said, "Well, there are feelings. 'Like'... 'Lust'"
"Stop!" Phil said with an uncomfortable expression, pulling his face away.
Before I could continue, the doorbell rang.
"It must be Alex!" Claire said excitedly, standing up. "Ed—hold on for five minutes."
"Sure." I shrugged casually.
Phil and Claire went to open the door, but instead of Alex, another daughter had returned home.
"Surprise!" Haley said, arms wide in celebration.
Claire was astonished. "Haley?! What are you doing here?!"
"Class is canceled tomorrow. Something about Pika virus on campus, so everyone had to go back home," Haley said as she dragged a huge bag behind her.
It was a laundry bag half her size, and she really struggled with carrying it.
"Some help?" she asked her dad.
Phil grabbed the bag but nearly stumbled under the weight. "Did you carry your entire wardrobe home?"
"Don't be silly. This is just a week's laundry," Haley replied as she waltzed inside—and froze when she saw me leaning against the wall, smiling at her.
"Pika virus? Really, no one caught that?" I muttered with a teasing smirk.
"Why are you posing?" Phil whispered to himself as he looked at me in disbelief.
Claire raised an eyebrow, trying to figure it out, and asked, "Did you mean Zika virus?"
"Y-Yeah, t-that," Haley stammered, then turned to me. "W-Why are you here?"
Phil blurted out, "He's here to ask what happens when you get married—"
"Married?! Are you going to propose?!" Haley gasped.
I squinted. "How did you react the exact same way as your mother?"
It didn't take long for the other daughter to show up. Alex walked in through the open door and immediately confronted Claire.
"Mom, did you seriously pack a box of condoms in my bag when you sent me to college?!" Alex fumed.
Haley and I gasped in unison at the topic, while Phil looked at Claire, wide-eyed. "You did what?!"
Claire turned flustered and tried to change the subject. "Alex, honey! How's college treating you?!"
"Don't change the subject. Do you know how embarrassed I was when the box fell out of my luggage while I was unpacking this morning?! My roommate wouldn't stop giggling!" Alex said, her face bright red as she pulled the box from her purse.
"Honey, I just didn't want you to get caught unprepared. You're a college student now," Claire said, frantically apologizing while reaching for Alex's shoulders.
"So you celebrated my college life by giving me twenty-four condoms?" Alex shot back, mockingly.
"Twenty-four?! What are you preparing her for? All four years of college?" Phil asked, pulling Alex protectively to his side. "This is my daughter you're giving that stuff to!"
"Four years? That lasted me like a long weekend with—" I started, then trailed off as all eyes turned to me.
Alex suddenly noticed I was there and turned beet red. "Hey! How long have you been standing there?!"
"Long enough. Also, Claire—seriously?" I gave Claire a disapproving look.
"Thank you!" Alex said, thinking I was on her side.
"It's Alex. Nothing will happen," I added mockingly.
Alex whipped around, furious, lunging at me as if she were going to hit me, but Phil stopped her.
"Now that both you and your sis have gone to college, your mom must've felt pretty lonely, huh?" I said to Alex as we sat in the den.
"Do you think she has empty nester syndrome yet?" Alex questioned cheekily as she watched her mom talk to Haley and Phil in the kitchen.
Haley sat next to us and said to me, "Mom is going to pick up Lily from daycare first. Then she'll come back to finish the talk."
"Ah, so she had already replaced you girls." I teased. Haley and Alex rolled their eyes simultaneously.
"What are you guys talking about?" Alex asked.
"Nothing much. How about you—how's college?" I asked Alex.
Haley furrowed her eyebrows and grumbled, "Wait, you're asking her first?"
"You've been in college for a year. There's not much to talk about anymore," Alex joked.
Haley spat out, "Well, I can talk to him about something else."
"Do you want to? 'Cause I can give you guys some privacy," Alex said mockingly.
I felt uncomfortable with their gazes and jumped from the couch immediately, jogging to Claire who was going out of the house. "Claire. Why don't I go and pick up Lily? I promised her I'd stop by sometime. I can do that now."
"Really? O–Okay. Sure. I can get started on lunch then," Claire replied, a little taken aback.
"I thought we were ordering pizzas?" Phil was depressed.
"Or—we can both go there together," Claire said and pulled me away.
"That works too." I shrugged.
"Hey! Are you guys going to have a secret talk in the car without any of us breaching your privacy? You coward," Alex said sarcastically.
"I don't know. Also Alex, I thought you were going to be an advocate for respecting people's privacy. I didn't ask why there are three condoms missing from the box, so why don't you let me and your mother go pick up Lily in peace?"
Phil turned to Alex, his eyes widening in shock and horror. "Alex?" he asked, voice shaking slightly.
Alex was flabbergasted. "No! He's lying. I didn't even open the box!"
Phil immediately went to check it, and Alex followed him quickly after spewing, "I hate you," to me.
Claire asked while we walked to the car, "The box was open?"
"No, I did it and I hid the packets in several places in your den," I said with a mischievous grin.
Claire rolled her eyes before laughing.
It was a short drive to go and pick up Lily. During the drive, Claire asked, "So when did it change?"
"After the AIDS thing," I replied. "When it finally clicked in her that it was my blood and cells that the cure was based on, she had some sort of reverence in her eyes whenever she looked at me."
"Maybe she's just crushing on you again. It happens sometimes. You can still have a crush on the person you're dating."
I nodded in understanding, then said, "Maybe that's it."
"There's another possibility. You're just trying to find an excuse to end things with her."
I wasn't going to comment on that.
"Have you talked to her about this?" Claire asked.
I shook my head and said, "It's hard to. Since we were already on the rocks once. I don't think the relationship can afford another late-night talk."
"You just have to go through with it," Claire said confidently. "Believe me, it's better to just rip off the band-aid rather than let the wound fester."
I turned to her and said, "The band-aid is to stop the wound from festering. Why are you ripping it off?"
She was taken aback. "It's a metaphor!"
I chuckled. "Yeah. I'll follow your advice. I guess you have a lot of experience with this since you used to be a hot girl."
"Aww— Wait, what do you mean used to?" She looked flabbergasted.
"I mean, used to be a hot girl, now you're a hot mom?" I replied hesitantly.
Thank goodness she accepted that.
The kids stampeded toward me when I entered Lily's daycare. I was 'held hostage' by a 4-year-old boy's toy gun and had to sing a song with them before I could take Lily away.
I sang some children's songs such as Bubbles, Who Took the Cookie, and more.
"You shouldn't come pick me up again," Lily said as we walked to the car together.
"Why?" I asked, slightly hurt.
"Because then you'll have to sing again," Lily added.
"You don't like my singing?" I pretended to be hurt.
Lily answered dryly, "No. Because you cannot charge them. Don't sing unless people pay for a ticket. Otherwise, you will be broke."
Claire and I laughed at her response.
Luke came back from school at 3. The family was finally together again after a few weeks, and I could watch the chaos ensue there.
With a reluctant heart, I went back to my place at night.
"Ness, I have to talk to you about something," I said after calling her over.
"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" Ness guessed with a stoic face, then she seemed quite relieved.
"I wasn't going to, but... are you hoping that I would?" I asked, confused by her expression.
Ness sighed and said, "Well, since you brought it up… maybe I do?"
"Why?" I asked calmly.
"I'm too anxious when I'm with you," she said, her eyes a little teary. "I can't relax at all when I can't see where you're at. And I hate the controlling bitch that I'm turning into."
She added, "You dated me just because you felt lonely. Not because you're in love with me."
Her words stabbed deeply into my heart. That was the truth I'd been avoiding all along.
"I was happy at first, but I can't ignore all of my other—more sickening—feelings that I have when I'm with you."
"You're sick of me?" I was startled.
"No—no!" she clarified quickly. "I'm sick of feeling jealous all the time! When I saw you with your exes, I wanted to tear their hair out. Although I'd probably get kicked in the ass since most of them are taller than me."
"It's not a breakup because of someone's mistake. We've just reached the end point of the relationship," she said, forcing a smile. "And for the first time ever, I don't feel that's a bad thing."
I pulled her into a hug. We talked for quite some time before I ended things.
We're still friends, and we're still going to hang out together. We're just not going to be each other's partners anymore.
It felt bittersweet. The longest relationship I had—it ended just like that.
We ended it on good terms, I guess. I really hope she didn't turn into a resentful or vengeful ex somewhere down the road.