2 Earth 394 or 72?

The two collapsed on the cold floor on the other end of the portal, side by side.

The strange young man quickly moved into a sitting position and his endearing features shifted into a look of blissful relief. "We're... Oh my gosh, we're safe! I did it!" He looked at Tai Yang with sparkling eyes filled with wonder.

If one looked closer, the gleam was partly because of the sheen of tears in those bright orbs. Suddenly letting out a happy squeal, he hauled Tai Yang in for a tight hug, then drew back with a contented sigh.

"I didn't think I could do it! You died in literally every alternate universe except Earth of Universe 72! Can you believe it, a mortal version of you outlived all your other versions! Even the immortals!" The man was especially giddy as he sprang to his feet and trotted quickly to a cupboard, pulling out a few containers.

Feeling saliva starting to collect in his mouth, Tai Yang jumped to his feet too, knowing what was to come in a matter of seconds. Splaying his now dreadfully pale fingers over his mouth, he darted about in search of a container.

When he finally came across one, without thought or hesitation he unleashed the beast from his belly.

"Ah! Tai Yang!" The man ran after him as he threw up in what he then recognized as an old, traditional clay pot. The man gasped. "Tai Yang!" He was letting out a low, dog-like whine as he spoke. "You vomited on yourself!"

Tai Yang blinked a few times and then looked down at his slightly trembling body. There was no vomit on his clothing at all. He glanced at the man, slightly dizzy and confused.

What was this man talking about? Swallowing the revolting taste in his mouth, he tried to speak.

"I-I d-d-d-d-didn't-" He started, but the man had grabbed the pot and started to look into it. "Ah, noooo Tai Yaaaaang, I was going to scatter your ashes later after I found the last living you. But you've gone ahead and vomited on your ashes." He whined. Then he paused as if an idea was starting to form under those pointed, fluffy ears. "I suppose I could dehydrate this..." He mused, using a finger to scratch underneath the black collar that Tai Yang had only then noticed around the man's slender neck.

Tai Yang blinked rapidly and looked at the pot and then at the man. "I'm s-sorry, b-b-b-b-but-t who a-are you?" He asked in a timid voice.

The man stopped whining into the pot then turned his head to Tai Yang with wide eyes. He abruptly put the pot down and picked up the tiny containers he'd placed on the counter. "Oh! Oh, I have to explain, yes I do have to do that! Don't I?"

He grabbed Tai Yang's hand and led him through the room. Taking the opportunity that presented itself when he wasn't dashing off to throw up his churning guts, Tai Yang observed the enormous space with awe.

There were several long tables, and what looked like workstations, many strange devices, and sterilized, neatly organized equipment. "T-This... Is it some sort of laboratory?"

"Yes! You're exactly right! In this world, you're an Alchemist." The man said, opening a door and pulling him into a cozy seating area.

"I don't suppose you know anyone who looks like me where you're from, right?" The man asked, leading Tai Yang to a comfortable-looking seat. Tai Yang considered his question. The answer was, "N-No... I have n-n-never seen an-n-nyone who looks like y-you in m-my entire life."

"Ah! Not unexpected at all. I was only curious; I already knew you wouldn't. Just like you, I died in every alternate universe, except I stayed alive on this one; and before I could die here too I became a familiar! See, I have ears now. Puppy Pawer! Get it, like 'power'? Hehehehe!" The man said the words in English and giggled like the pun was the most comical joke in the universe... Universes?

Reaching his hand to himself, he pulled out a hankie from his exquisite white Hanfu. He looked at it, then handed it to Tai Yang who looked like he'd wanted to wipe his mouth (but didn't want to touch the acidic bile on his lips).

"Don't mind me, it's getting a little stuffy in my pants." The man said, fiddling with his butt region before a huge, fluffy black tail was pulled out and fed through a hole at the back of the man's robes (that Tai Yang had only just noticed).

"Oh, yeah! You asked who I was. My name is Ji Ru, and I'm your best friend in this world! We've been studying the Universe and everything in it together for 273 years, so we came to know each other very well. Seven years ago, you were murdered in this realm by a bunch of miscreants, and ever since, I've been sneaking into the Alternate universes trying to find one that you were still alive in. But you kept dying before I could get to you! Since the alternate universes have alternate timelines with completely different worlds, and events more often than not, it was really difficult! I saw some really strange things, and it was really hard because I had to get the timing just right and transmigrate at the exact moment of the day where our universes temporarily touched! And I also had to come to get you while my master was asleep, and also I couldn't let the prince know, although since time here is faster than on Earth 72, I've probably been gone for days and-"

Tai Yang's eyes were the size of two bright white golf balls and the hankie was stiff in his fingers hovering at his lips.

Firstly because the speed at which Ji Ru was talking was enough to give someone a brain-freeze, and secondly, because Ji Ru was suggesting that he'd pulled him into an alternate universe.

"W-Wait. What p-p-p-planet are we on? And-" Tai yang asked suddenly. "Earth 394, it's the Earth of Universe 394. It's the same as your Earth geographically, only ours is an Immortal alternate universe, so we have fun things like magic and monsters and a very different way of life. Oh, but we don't have the same names of places as you do, or the same historical events because the immortals lived too long to do the same things as the mortals of Earth 72 where the mortals made mistakes and just died and died and died and -" Ji Ru said quickly before Tai Ying could fully finish his sentence. The way Ji Ru spoke reminded him completely of a hyperactive puppy, and now seeing the tail and ears, he was sure his suspicion wasn't too far off.

"W-W-What year is it?"

"XX34. It's the equivalent of the year 2052 on Earth 72." Ji Ru said. "You must be wondering why you're here." He scratched the fluffy ear atop his head.

"Yes..." Tai Yang replied. 'He... He doesn't have human ears.' Tai Yang thought as he watched him scratch.

"So, when you die in one immortal realm... universe... whatever you'd like to call it, it causes a ripple effect. Every you in every alternate universe will begin to die. Since the timelines differ, you could die at different points in your life... But usually, you die around a similar age and in a similar way even if the events of your life were different. If you're confused; there are Immortal alternate universes where most people cultivate and have varying degrees of immortality; that means people can live for centuries even if they don't reach complete immortality. Then there are Mortal alternate Universes, where you live approximately 80 years, then die and reincarnate repetitively." Ji Ru lifted a finger up, wagging it at Tai Yang.

"However, unfortunately since this is an Immortal alternate universe and you died here, in the mortal alternate universes, you will no longer reincarnate, but you'd live up to the physical age you were at the first world you died in. Here, you were centuries old, but your body was the equivalent of your Earth's '27-year-old'. You turned 27 this year. I was so worried I wouldn't make it to you in time." Ji Ru sighed in relief, bringing his feet up onto the sofa.

"In this realm, you were murdered by miscreants breaking into your quarters, so I knew someone would come for you. Though the ways of life and events usually differ from universe to universe, as I've said, the manner of death is more or less similar. Who would have thought they entered right after I came to save you! I got so lucky." He said, clasping his hands together. Turning to Tai Yang, he smiled brightly.

"Thank goodness, I got to you before they did. I hope you aren't angry with me for not asking you first... I couldn't let you stay there knowing you'd die. Here, at least we have a chance of finding a way to make you immortal -A full immortal this time. Last time you were only a semi-immortal because you hadn't mastered 12 kinds of cultivation yet and... Back there, I couldn't help you at all." Ji Ru said, his ears drooping and his fluffy, wagging tail falling with a light thud.

Tai Yang looked at him uneasily. "I-Is this a joke?"

Ji Ru shook his head with wide eyes.

"We're r-really n-not on my Ea-Earth?"

"No, we aren't."

"Then... If the Universe needs me to die across the a-alternative universes, w-wouldn't I simply d-die here t-t-t-t-too?"

"Oh dear, I forgot how bad you stutter without your pills." Ji Ru said, picking up a container he'd brought from the cupboard. He opened it and popped out a round, yellow pill.

"Eat this." He said, smacking the pill into Tai Yang's mouth without a second thought. Tai Yang gagged as the pill flew down his throat without water.

"You should be fine for now, but you've gotta take all your pills every day, otherwise you'll stutter all day and his majesty will hit you mercilessly, again. Thankfully the previous you wrote the methods and materials down!"

Tai Yang swallowed.

"You didn't answer my question... Aren't I going to die here too?" His eyes widened. 'I didn't stutter at all?'

"Well... Yeahhhh, but if we can keep you alive until you become a fully-fledged immortal, you won't die here. Before, you were semi-immortal. You wouldn't die unless you were actually killed, but you were stabbed to death and left to die, so you did. By the time I got to you, you were long gone."

"If I wasn't truly a full immortal, why would the mortal versions of me have to die too? And me staying alive right now, would that not affect the rest of the universe?"

"Nope! Funnily enough, Earth 394 is known for housing anomalies. It's part of a magical universe after all, which is a rarity, even for an Immortal alternative universe. I'm one of them. Technically, I should be dead too, and I am everywhere else, but not here, because my master forced me into a contract before I died, making me an immortal. Also, while you weren't a full immortal, the fact remains that this is an immortal universe." Ji Ru said.

"If it houses anomalies, why did my death here not simply end at my death here?" Tai Yang asked.

"Because this is an immortal universe, if you die as someone from a place that gives you the chance of becoming immortal, how could you possibly continue to survive as a mortal anywhere else? If you did live elsewhere, it would mean that the other universes would be housing an anomaly, and that simply doesn't happen in many other universes. If you had died in a mortal universe, even if unnaturally, you would have simply reincarnated. But you didn't. You died here. Sadly, immortal universes can't permit mortals outliving the immortals."

"But it would allow me, as a mortal, to come here and try to become immortal?"

"I'm not really sure... I mean it's never been done before..." Ji Ru scratched his head sheepishly. "But I was technically a mortal in this immortal universe. I was about to die here and then I became an immortal familiar so I think it could work...Yeah! We'll see!"

Tai Yang looked at him in horror. "We'll see?"

Suddenly, there was a loud siren and the lights on the ceiling started to blink red. Ji Ru whined. "Ugh! Ow! Tai Yang, come on, we have to get you dressed! The prince is calling an urgent meeting! We have to be there in the next ten minutes, or he'll sell us as concubines if my master isn't here to protect us!" Ji Ru said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the Laboratory.