Nathan glanced over at Keith, who was busy preparing to move out by finishing up whatever enchanting he was working on. The warrior wasn't sure, he was confident that he had probably misunderstood something the previous night. That, and that he was glad Keith had told him he would have just rejected Plan B and asked for some of his gummies and chocolate instead.

Oh, Nathan realized. He wasn't asking for them.

It was only a couple of cards, he had plenty more stocked up, and the enchanter seemed happy. And sore.

"We can wait a few more hours," Nathan told Keith.

"I'll be fine," Keith said. "I don't run around like you do. Are you seriously doing that?"

"Yes," Nathan answered before looking at Evala, whose tail he was playing with by stroking and rubbing against his face, neck, and torso. "Your tail feels very nice."

"Thank you," she smiled, her eyes closed as he toyed with it. "I am glad you're not hesitant to do such things. I have heard that a few who've come from other worlds are often hesitant to do such things, afraid of us being upset at being compared to our animal base."

"But if you enjoy it, why would that be an issue?" Nathan asked before scratching behind her ears, causing her to sigh softly at the enjoyable feeling.

"Because people in some cultures would probably be offended by that," Keith said. "And so would expect the beastkin to be as well, despite it not just being another culture, but another world entirely. It's like with her thinking it's okay to tell someone they need sex to have something that could be quite vital in a Dungeon. Different cultures, different mindsets."

"I do apologize for that," Evala told the enchanter, frowning lightly. "It was Nathan's idea, why are you not upset at him?"

"He only suggested I drink your nectar," Keith said. "And a way that I might enjoy your requirement. You were the one who required me to sleep with you to drink it. I know Nathan's thought process, how he thinks. In addition, he gave me a genuine apology and tried to make it up to me."

"When did he do that?" She asked. "Only you and I were awake last night."

"Before I woke you for your turn taking watch," Keith answered.

"I apologized," she said.

"Nathan's idea," Keith put the pieces of his work into his pack and pulled it on as he stood. "Was for me to drink your nectar. You said I could only if I had sex with you. Nathan suggested that we use your tail for stimulant for me so that I might have some enjoyment. He thought about what I liked and wanted. Had I actually said I didn't want to fuck you or voiced my dislike at your selfish desire, he would have said something in my defense. He didn't just apologize to me to keep things friendly between us-"

"We aren't friends."

"Keep telling yourself that, Nathan, but the point is, you weren't just apologizing to keep things friendly between us while we're in the Dungeon, as much as you tell yourself that's the reason. You felt genuine guilt, and that became evident with your five attempts at apologizing and constant asking that we were okay."

"There were five attempts?" Nathan frowned. "I only remember three."

"Pretty sure you went with Plan C, too!" Keith said. "How did you get those in my backpack? You were definitely out after you laid back down!"

"I told Breezy to do it when you weren't looking," Nathan frowned as he released Evala's tail. "Oh. Four."

"And never mind five!" Keith said as Nathan walked over to his backpack. "The point is, Evala, Nathan did it for more than just 'keeping things friendly', even if he won't admit he felt guilty or wants to stay actual friends. Your apology was just to try to keep things 'okay' between us while we were here in the Dungeon, which is for selfish reasons. We already know you don't have Player-Striker or Player Killer, which means that neither of us would give a damn if you died."

Without those, they knew she couldn't do too much to try and sabotage them if they got upset with her or shut her out. Nearly anything she could do would count as violations of the rules against harming or causing harm to players.

"We might be stuck here until ten Dungeons and Side Dungeons are completed, but Nathan and I are both stronger than we seem, and we did qualify for this Dungeon. Now that Ichtvar's awake again, any risk to our lives is minimal. You didn't actually feel guilt-"

"How do you know I don't have those Skills?" She folded her arms across her chest.

"Any windows you can see," Nathan held up a card. "We can see. If we touch this to another Player and push mana into it, we can see whatever Skills they have. They're not on the list when we use it on you."

Another card they had worked on in the Survival Challenges, though Keith had apparently continued worked on it during the night they were at Nathan's house and had finished it while Nathan was going back to sleep.

Oh, Nathan realized. Number five.

He had stayed up a little bit later after realizing that Keith was working on the cards for the reads again. They weren't able to view things without a window with them, but knew it was only a matter of time. Nathan's help mostly consisted of summoning up his windows and letting Keith test the card on him. The enchanter already knew all of Nathan's Skills, so he didn't have an issue with it.

Evala was a suitable test target for them, since she came from another world, and so they used it on her to confirm it worked before Nathan returned to sleep. Something they discovered with the card was that the Skills window and the Skill Shop window were linked. They could see any Skills that were available to someone, and the catkin demigod had two in her shop.

"Anyway," Keith said as Nathan put the card away. "You didn't actually feel guilt, you just wanted to make sure things were peaceful between us to minimize problems. We're grateful to you for saving Nathan's life, and that's the only reason we're not ignoring you. But if push comes to shove here in the Dungeon, and I had to pick between you and Nathan, I would pick Nathan, without a doubt."

"I would pick Keith," Nathan pulled on his backpack. "You are an unknown. I trust him. I don't trust you. Sorry, Keith."

"I told you," Keith sighed. "You're forgiven, Nathan. You can stop apologizing."

"Okay."

"Now," Keith looked back to Evala. "Let's get moving. Thank you for saving Nathan's life, and for letting us use your brother's enchanting notes. Consider things made up, but don't consider us friends. We're simply allies until either we die or we get out of here."

Evala looked at Nathan, who had already begun walking, the heavenly storm elemental following.

"Thanks," he told her. "I'll still fuck you if you want."

Keith snorted and followed, then Evala hurried to stay with them as she looked at the lantern.

"That works different than the ones on my world," she commented as they began to navigate the maze of cliffs of the sirens' lair. "No magic at all."

"Our world doesn't have that much magic," Keith explained. "So science became a bigger thing. Magic's there, and so are magical creatures, but for the most part, the government placates them with tributes and offerings to keep them from revealing the truth to the world. That's how it's been for a long time, and no one really knows when it started. It's only been in the last few decades where more people began learning magic. A kid teaches it to their friend, who gets pulled into the local clan. A guild of magicians forcibly recruits anyone who has a decent spark of magical talent who they find, even those who haven't awakened. Stuff like that."

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"You?" She asked.

"I'm considered an outlier," Keith explained. "Almost every magician on our world belongs to a guild because of how rare magicians are and guilds fighting over them. Even the various governments in our world end up working with guilds, and those that don't, well, they're essentially over their own guilds. Our government both works with guilds and has its own magicians, so the ones within it are considered part of their guild.

"I've avoided becoming a part of a guild," Keith continued. "For several reasons, though a few have tried to recruit me. I nearly had to become part of one to work on a project last summer, but managed to get away without that. Nathan and the rest of our usual team are all awakened, but no guild has come after them yet. Part of that's because we're technically in the government's custody, and part of it's because they're seen as my apprentices.

"So right now," he said. "The various guilds are waiting to see what happens. Since I helped them awaken and am the primary point of their magical leadership, the guilds are wary of crossing them."

"You do not seem that powerful," Evala said.

"How powerful," he looked at her. "Is a normal magician, before they go through the Tutorial? On your world, I mean?"

"Hm," she thought for a few moments. "Unlikely to be higher than ten to twenty Mana, and probably around the same Magic, based on our estimates of their values. Someone who trained might be closer to fifty in magical power."

"That's the same for our world," Keith told her. "And the System is new."

"Your magical power is strong," she said. "You would be average for my world."

"I haven't put a single Stat Point into Magic or Mana Stat," he informed her. "And I haven't gained much from Levels, either, considering I'm not even Level 200 yet."

"You're… that low?" She froze, and Keith looked at her. "But you have access to such a Dungeon? Just the two of you?"

"Yes," Nathan responded, turning around to face her. "Neither of us are Level 200 yet."

Her eyes widened further in her shock.

"But-but-no one under Level 400 should even be able to see such a Dungeon!" She exclaimed. "Even with such high natural magical abilities! This Dungeon is too hard! It's ranked at Advanced! Even factoring in that you two seem to have decent stats if you can complete one of its Main Dungeons and kill a boss in a Secondary Dungeon, you shouldn't have been able to see it! Not with just the two of you!"

"Nathan did nearly die twice," Keith said. "But we think the game also looks for the familiars. I have a heavenly storm elemental that's probably a few years from ascending to the divine realm, and Nathan has a phoenix and a young wind elemental. That makes for two Elementals and one of the Ultimate Trinity. Alone, either of us can handle between one and three of a normal monster for this place.

"I learn magics easily enough," he continued. "That since arriving here, I have relearned fire magics, learned lightning magics, and learned light magics. By the time we leave here, I will likely be able to summon not just one or two bolts of lightning at full mana, but ten to fifteen. Since he was three, Nathan has trained extensively in martial arts and other combat techniques. His reflexes are built around not having the System enhancing his strength and speed or awakened power nor expectation of it coming. Of a weaker, slower body with duller senses. With his mana pool, he is capable of using the few combat Skills he has many times over, as well as a unique fighting style that incorporates force magic into his attacks for an even more devastating effect than what the System's Impact Skill creates.

"Alone," Keith told her. "Nathan and I are equivalent of people much higher in Level than we actually are. Together, we are a dangerous duo. With our familiars, we are nearly unstoppable. The only reason there was any issue at all is because Ichtvar burned himself out doing something, resulting in my familiar having to overwork."

"There are variants to everything," they heard, and Nathan turned so the others could see Ichtvar, whose head was poking out through the gap created by the backpack's zippers. "And that is true even of the Ultimate Trinity.

"I am a standard phoenix," he said. "Which means my powers are of life and healing as their primary focus. A dark phoenix, they are of disease and death. Dragons are offensive creatures, but the inverse version of dragons, also called 'dark dragons', are of defense.

"Unicorns," he shook his head. "Are supporters and defenders. Their inverse, the dark unicorn, is also called a 'nightmare'. They are vicious beasts, capable of infiltrating your minds and seeing your darkest fears. They can sow unease and discord, all without being seen. They don't attack directly, but instead, make you attack others. If they do get involved, you will find yourself facing a beast with the same offensive power as a dragon.

"What I chased off," he continued. "Was a dark unicorn. A nightmare. It is among the few creatures capable of making Nathan feel nervous about danger because of the forged nature of his soul and status as a demigod. I had to tap into deeper powers in order to do that, and once I recover, all should be fine again."

"Deeper powers?" Nathan asked. "How did you do that? Keith and I agree that you used far more power than you have."

Icthvar was silent, and the trio knew he was contemplating telling them something.

"A phoenix is a phoenix in all universes," he said.

Evala looked at him in confusion, Nathan frowned as he understood the implication, and Keith took a step forward.

"Are you saying that you remember your past lives?" He asked.

"Yes," Ichtvar answered, and the eyes of the two Earthen teens widened. "A phoenix retains its memories across all universes, and is always a phoenix. There is a special storage space in the Well of Souls for us. We are released periodically into each universe, to space us out in both location and arrival time. A phoenix lives until the end of the universe, the only creatures that can do that no matter what. When I said I was two hundred million years old…"

"You were referring to your past lives," Nathan said, and the phoenix nodded.

"Some of my knowledge of enchanting," Ichtvar says. "Comes from past universes with similar methods. There are phoenixes far more knowledgeable, however. I am rather young, for one of us. The youngest, actually. As a result, I am released last of all the phoenixes."

"How do phoenix souls form?" Keith asked.

"That is a story for another time," Ichtvar shook his head. "To answer the question Nathan asked, do you remember how phoenixes gain power?"

"By dying," Keith nodded. "As you go through birdy puberty, you receive the growth spurts to your magic again."

"That is correct," Ichtvar nodded, and Nathan's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Those growths," Keith said. "That's giving your access to more of the power you had in previous lives, isn't it?"

"It is," Ichtvar nodded. "Our cycle of life and death is to allow us to use more of our true power."

"But why can't you from the start?" Nathan asked.

"None of us are quite sure," Ichtvar shrugged, resulting in the backpack's top lifting a little, the zippers parting just a small amount more. The phoenix used his beak to pull the zippers back to him before continuing. "But one thing is universal in all universes, in addition to us and a couple of other things."

"What's that?" Nathan asked.

"As someone's power grows stronger," the phoenix answered. "Their body adjusts to contain that power. Rare are the universes where a body can simply hold all that power on its own. It's part of why humans need to have a familiar to help them harness their magical power – their bodies aren't meant to handle a lot of magical power, and it takes a long time for it to adjust to the magical power. I'd say that a magician who barely reaches the magical power where humans need a familiar would be okay if they stretched that out from a five to twenty years to maybe sixty or seventy. Possibly eighty."

"But Keith and I-"

"You are a demigod," Ichtvar said. "Your body is naturally attuned to having high levels of mana and magical power. You'd need at least two or three times as much mana before needing a familiar, but a demigod's body also adjusts pretty decently. As long as it took you five years to reach that point, you'd be perfectly fine, your body already adjusting."

The phoenix's gaze narrowed at Nathan.

"If you were a normal demigod," he corrected. "You and Keith both have forged souls, which as you both know, has an effect on your bodies as well. Your bodies, your minds, your powers… all of those are affected by it. And those with souls forged by the Well of Souls also have higher capacity for mana and a higher rate of adjustment. It's simply a side-effect of your soul being touched by magic at formation, since magic is linked to the soul, even if it's stripped away when you return to the Well of Souls. Truthfully, at the rate your mana pool increases and your body adjusts, you probably wouldn't need a familiar until it was ten to fifteen times as high as it is.

"The downsides to having a familiar," the phoenix continued. "Is that it also decreases how slowly your body adjusts. At least, in this universe. Forged souls are generally an exemption when this happens, from what I know."

"Okay," Nathan said. "So that vast power you used was you what, using power you have, but don't have access to?"

"Yes," the phoenix nodded. "Which is tiring and risky to do. By the way, only phoenixes are born this way and continue through universes. Dragons and unicorns are just dragons and unicorns. They're ordinary souls. That, and I think there's only one forged soul running through dragons, and none through unicorns."

"Um," Keith said, the shook his head. "Are phoenixes shapeshifters?"

"No," Ichtvar responded. "We are simply phoenixes. We are the same in all universes, and we do not change our forms."

"Then why was I having those funky dreams?" Nathan asked.

"Not my fault you had dreams of me preening."

"Not that," Nathan rolled his eyes, then explained about the strange ones with the slave.

"I have no idea what could be causing that," the phoenix said with a neutral tone and a poker face.

The trio were impressed by the poker face, having never before believed a phoenix could have one. It was, after all, just a bird, even if a very special one.

"Thank you for that cosmic, meta information," Nathan told Ichtvar. "But please don't lie, it doesn't suit you."

"Theoretically," Icthvar said. "If I did know why you had that dreams, I would say that it probably has to do with the nightmare."

"And if they continue, even after we leave here?"

"Nightmares can have lasting effects on your mind," Ichtvar said. "Any other random questions that you probably won't get answers to?"

"What's this talk about other universes and a soul well and forged souls?" Evala asked.

"Oh, that?" Keith asked. "I guess we can answer that. As we walk, though. I'd rather not be here longer than necessary. The darkness kind of… disturbs me. And I'm pretty sure that I sometimes I see things in it."