Temperance jogged down the last stretch of ruined concrete roads before arriving at the foot of the large cathedral-like archway with a glassy membrane energy thing inside of it. Aside from Skull, Temperance and Co tilted their heads at the membrane energy door thing in the towering archway.

"You know you can just walk through, right?" Skull uttered. Temperance looked at Skull before back at the archway.

"You'd think there'd be someone to act as gate guards," Crystal remarked.

"But the scanner does those gate guard things and scans for anything dangerous," Skull explained while smugly grinning. Temperance shrugged and walked through the archway's scanner before a blaring siren activated. Everyone aside from Temperance covered their ears, while Skull disapointedly frowned.

"This happens every time," Skull sulked as a platoon of androids (which looked like cyan and white, and slightly less armoured versions of Neo Xero) shot out from Lumios City's boundary wall and landed around the group. A separate female-looking android (which looked like a tall adult version of the Hikas with rainbow-striped hair and rainbow-changing eyes; which sported a bulky swat-coloured mech-like armour) landed in front of the group.

Neo Hika inspected the group while walking around them like a tyger before she spotted Skull sinking into Temperance's kitsune tails from sheer embarrassment. Neo Hika waved her index finger in the air, and the Xero Drones flew away whilst the siren's alarm seized.

"Lady Skullnaia, you really need to refrain from eating aether beast," Neo Hika uttered. Skull sunk even further into Temperance's kitsune tails whilst she sulked.

"But I made sure not to eat any for the past three days...," Skull muttered stroppily.

"However, clearly, you still consumed something made of aether recently, correct?". Skull was silent before quietly whining like a kitten.

"I knew it tasted familiar...," Skull uttered to herself. Neo Hika sighed as she rubbed the side of her head.

"Just try not to inconvenience your... friends with your weird food cravings," Neo Hika stated before she flew into the air and back into the Lumios City's boundary wall. Temperance looked down and gazed at his raised left palm while the others comforted a defeated Skull.

"So it really was fighting fire with fire," Temperance uttered before he lowered his hand, and looked at the contemporary city a little off in the distance past the marble Greek town the group were currently in. Temperance asked the others if they were ready to continue, and once the others confirmed his question Temperance continued on his way through the Greek-looking town made of white and blue marble.

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Temperance continually walked down the surprisingly well-paved marble-tiled path as Teach slowly walked past Temperance. For a brief moment, Temperance didn't notice Teach until he began to speak.

"Pretty impressive how many people are here given the circumstances," Teach remarked, causing Temperance to flinch. Temperance glanced over at Teach as he had a more see-through appearance compared to how he was when inside Temperance's Azurescape.

"What's the matter?" Teach asked calmly.

"Aren't you worried someone might see you?" Temperance said mentally.

"What's there to see?" Teach remarked boldly as he manoeuvred around a guy walking in the opposite direction who didn't even register Teach's presence or voice.

"Right... only I can see you," Temperance uttered in his head.

"Correction, you're hallucinating me being here, I'm still in your Azurescape.".

"Yet you knew to walk around that guy earlier," Temperance uttered, causing Teach to snicker.

"Anyway, do you intend on participating in that tournament to win that recommendation?" Teach inquired.

"Maybe... but I'm still not sure," Temperance thought. Teach sighed disappointedly while placing his hands on his hips.

"Such indecisiveness... besides, wouldn't your friends miss you?". Temperance looked to his side contemplatively, causing Teach to sigh again.

"How about this... you participate, and I'll allow you to use the Gods' Plightful Shackles outside of life-threatening situations, and I'll also teach (heh) you more divine marks for your Dotoma Mark, deal," Teach stated boldly, causing Temperance to freeze on the spot for a split second before he quickly walked on again.

"You're being uncharacteristically pushy...," Temperance uttered.

"Nakamai's fed up with your lone wolf phase, and she wants you to make friends for her once she eventually manifests, so you know my hands are tied," Teach stated while he shrugged. Temperance unamusedly rolled his eyes.

"I swear whenever it comes to kids, you become a complete pushover," Temperance uttered aloud as Teach faded away, knowing Temperance's mind was made up now.

"Who's a pushover!" Kannachi asked as she rested her head on Temperance's shoulder.

"I- I was talking to someone else," Temperance uttered.

"Ooh~ mental talking, cool," Kannachi murmured as her eyes slowly shut and she conked out.

"Geez... big sis always falls asleep at the weirdest of times," Merrybel stated as Crystal rolled her eyes.

"More like she turns into a sleepy capybara when she's in contact with Temtem," Crystal remarked snarkily. Temperance continued to walk down the marble path leading him to the contemporary city centre while muttering to himself about when the recommendation tournament thing was. Temperance groaned as he remembered it was today.

"I better get a move on. I won't hear the end of it from Nakamai if I don't at least participate," Temperance uttered. After he rubbed his forehead, Temperance picked up his pace and jogged towards the city centre of Lumios City.