Noah took two hours to settle down and revert to his usual state though his height seemed stuck at seven and a half feet. As sideburns and a mane of brown hair extended past his shoulders. His expression was contemplative, as he eyed the bones piled around him.

“What just happened?”

“You had one of those Beast Blood parasites attached to your lion spirit's core. It was sapping your strength and leading you towards an early grave as the creature inside used you as a vessel.” Kyrion didn’t mince his words, he’d read up on the nature of those parasites during his studies with Exac. He was currently sitting on a wall that had risen around his territory.

“Leon found my lion core, while another teacher found the molten ore I’m currently still refining in my core. He was a hero.”

“That’s because Leon was the wolf, while the human was the spirit. Kind of backward, but it seems the human was infected with a parasite at one point.”

“That sounds backward.”

“Magic is like that young one.” Kyrion rolled his eyes and hopped down.

“So. Why did you fake your death?”

“To be fair. I created plant clones that would appear dead if taken far from their location and treated harshly. They would also decompose if a parasite was put inside of them and enter a dormant state. I did break out with Atimin in a sense and we discovered a dungeon. While down there we discovered a few things and I sent him on his way to you guys.”

“What’s with you and finding talented sword uses.”

“You found Damian, I trained with Tiffany back when she could barely hold a sharpened stick properly and Atamin found a magic sword that tried to possess him.”

“And that other girl?”

“Ander found his wife. I had nothing to do with that.”

“What about the guy who wielded Brion.”

“He’s trained all his life and has an ability that lets him rely on more than just that at a cost..”

“And Nicole?”

Kyrion turned around and opened up his senses, finding that his special trackers were somewhat near each other but quite far away.

“She can use a sword? Didn’t know that. Thought she was the fireball type.”

“She’s decent but wouldn’t beat anyone on that list in a pure sword fight.”

“Can we move on? I sense eyes on me and I can’t tell where they originate.” Kyrion noticed something sparkle in the distance and then fled immediately.

“That's a lure if I’ve ever seen one. Outside of the fortress is just desert though. Why would it try?”

Kyrion grabbed Noah under his arm and jumped straight up.

A worm with a head with an eighty-foot diameter and a body that didn’t have a visible end launched itself out of the ground towards the duo who had strayed away from the fortress wall. It had expected a quick and delicious meal.

“Not here!” Kyion created a portal using quite a bit of Divine Essence and focused on an ocean his expression panicked. The creature was huge for something only in the practitioner tier of power which meant that there could be more somewhere. Nothing this big should be that weak, and yet the creature seemed to be expanding as it left the ground.

The expansion continued as it flew into the portal and the creature just continued.

“Dude. Just what is this thing.”

“Not a spawn of the betrayer. If I hazard a guess this is a somewhat common enemy that lives underground.” Kyrion stopped talking as he felt a tug as something powerful began to latch onto the worm.

Blood flowed from Kyrion’s nose as he tried to force the portal close. The power refused him as a red pincer shot out of the portal and sniped the worm in two. Then Kyrion’s portal began to widen against his will as a crab the size of a neighborhood scuttled its way through the portal and landed in the desert sands.

The next few minutes were silent save for the sounds of crunching as the large word was consumed by a creature that made it look tiny.

Kyrion tried to close his portal and winced as it felt as though both of his arms were cramping as the lanes where power flowed naturally were burned out. He couldn’t access his D.E. and his arms were proving to be useless as he lost feeling in both of the limbs.

Noah, who had been carried was currently holding on for dear life as the grip nearly let him fall to his inconvenience.

“Ello der hooman. I hav de proposition for you. You give, me more of dey worms and I give power and protection.”

Kyrion eyed the creature who surpassed him in every way and sighed. “I believe that they live underground. Getting them to come out will be difficult. You can go home now.”

“You would die when da space tears. One-way trip.”

“I’ve put an island into my domain and you tell me that a town-sized crab is too much?”

“I was half a world away, distance incurs de exponential cost. I had intended to kill you for doing da dumb.”

“Shouldn’t you be collapsing due to your own weight?”

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“I am de Maister of De Crustaceans. I am de Maister Tier entity that has existed since de first rains on de world.”

Kyrion wiped the blood off his face and then looked at Noah. The duo softly landed and Kyrion sighed. “If you can’t leave, what will it take for you not to attack my people?”

“A lake big enough for me to nap in from time to time would be de good. Yes.” The crab seemingly shrunk to the size of the palm-sized crab.

“So do you prefer saltwater or fresh?” Kyrion asked.

“I have high blood pressure. So please don’t salt my water. De oceans aren't salty in dis world. Icaron loves his acidic sea dat melts de shell. While Almira’s sea is disturbingly savory. Like swimming through gravy. Imala’s is bland and tasteless in comparison. But bland is good for de body.”

Kyion bent down. “Hop on my shoulder, I intend to turn this continent into my personal territory. So I need some powerful defenders. If you agree to leave my people alone, I’ll build you a home you can live in freely.”

“Not even going to ask for de power contract?”

“You aren’t suitable for me. Though if someone called Volain finds you. He may be more fitting. As he’s mostly water while I'm all versatility.”

“So, for one big worm a year, I will protect your people. How does that sound?”

Noah shook his head. “You’ll have better luck going down there yourself. These creatures are quick and sneaky.”

“I won’t kill any near my city aside from that, I’ll see if we can make an arrangement. I don’t know if there are even more giant worms though I expect it to be likely. There are other monsters around here that you can consume.” Kyrion told the truth.

“I understand. Which is why you get a year.”

Kyrion turned to Noah. “I’ll leave the next one to you.”

“Next what?” Noah turned to see a black-furred smilodon pouncing towards him.

The large cat spun in mid-air as its eyes met his and it seemed worried as its sneak attack had been detected.

Noah summoned a great axe into his hands and engaged the creature.

The cat dodged a vertical swing and retaliated with a scratch aimed at Noah’s eyes.

The claws made contact with a clang as they sizzled then bounced off a molten helmet.

“Raaaahhh!” The smilodon screeched before vanishing into the darkness.

“Don’t you need light for shadows?”

“This is darkness melding. A stealth-based ability trusts your instincts and you’ll be fine.”

“Trust m–” Noah was cut off as a set of claws attacked his unarmored back. The attack hit and caused him to bleed as armor appeared to protect him from any more strikes.

Noah spun in an arcing slash the area around him getting cut as bloodlust began to build.

Kyrion took two steps back and eyed the creature that was invisible to Noah. This was an important step to his future growth so he wouldn’t interfere.

The smilodon appeared low to the ground near Noah’s blind spot with the intent of reducing its target's mobility.

Noah felt his leg tingle and covered his legs in molten armor before the attack could hit.

The smilodon was ready, circling a little, and slammed its body into Noah’s torso.

The attack appeared to catch the warrior off guard as the creature disappeared again.

“Little help?”

“Do. Not. Think. Just do.” Kyrion stated unhelpfully.

Noah’s eyes sharpened and glowed yellow as he scowled. Then swung his ax in an uppercut. Clearing the creature in two as the ax easily passed through it. It was an early practitioner-tier monster and would have been simple to slay during the day.

“Right. Keep training and you should unlock a roar. Not sure what type of Lion you fused with, but there will be some changes you will need to get used to.”

“Hey, man. Where do I know ye from?” The crab said to Kyrion’s scarf.

“This is my meal ticket. I was here first you damned crustacean.” The scarf moved and engaged the crab, the two eyeing each other in irritation.

“You do know that you can go now? Our deal was until you got back to this world. You are here. You can go wherever.”

“Did you forget? I’m to be the spirit that helps your space affinity evolve. You can’t get rid of me.”

“I don’t remember such a deal. But fine, if we made such a deal in the past. I will honor it. But you will need to go into my domain. Too many of my memories seem hazy when you’re around and I don’t like it..”

If looks could kill the crab would be broiled. The crab pinched the air as the stoat jumped through a portal into Kyrion’s domain. Which was odd as Kyrion couldn’t open his portals at the moment.

Kyrion looked at Noah and sighed. “We have two more hours of watch. I'll tell you an abridged version of what happened after I vanished, you tell me how you all have been progressing.”

“Why are you acting like some old and experienced master? We’re practically the same age.”

“I found myself, and my emotions are no longer being controlled by secretions of chemicals to create ideal circumstances.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll start from the beginning then. I don’t sense anything close enough to approach.”

“Start from your sight. Why are you acting omnipotent?”

“Omniscient and that isn’t exactly right. I’m connected with my plants and the land they grow from. I’m linked to these plants and mostly get a signal when someone trips my sensors. Tied with dragon eyes and you get a nasty combination.” Kyrion tapped his current prosthetic eye and the iris bloomed like a purple three petal flower before closing.

“You changed out your prosthetic?”

“The second one disintegrated recently though thats something else. It didn’t work well as an eye and I’ve been adapting to its lack of functionality for a while. It let me see the flows of mana in people and objects without focusing. Which was something I figured out for myself during my time away. ” Kyrion sighed as he looked towards the cannons and watched them fire at a person in the distance.

“Who is that?” Noah asked.

“Ash,” Kyion said bluntly as the light faded and nothing seemed to remain.

“Kyrion. Do you not feel bad for killing someone? The wards didn’t activate." Noah asked with a concerned expression on his face. His lion-like features stuck out naturally as his golden brown mane flowed in the night air.

Kyrion sighed and looked up at the two moons. Something about the sky felt false tonight and he would find out why, one day. He raised a hand to the sky and clenched his fist. “Whatever that was, it wasn't alive, or human. If the wards didn’t trigger then we’re either stuck with golems or undead scouts.”

"I think I understand then. The group alliance held a powerful necromancer, should we get back?"

Kyrion turned and pointed to where the cannon fired and snapped his fingers before collapsing as a massive stomach cramp hit him and his space affinity failed to work.

"Oh no." Kyrion tried to teleport and the pain was worse as though his body was splitting at the seams.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't teleport but I should still have mana left. And my stomach is in so much pain. I feel like a porcupine is poking out of my core."

The next hour passed mostly peacefully as the undead scouts were erased by periodic cannon fire. No other monsters arrived, though it was quite clear that someone was testing the distance.

“Go rest,” Cecil said as he arrived and looked at the sky, noting that two waxing gibbous moons could be seen, and based on his observation there would be trouble tomorrow around this time. Bella could usually maintain her sanity when out in a normal full moon, but two could force her to go feral.

Kyrion looked at Cecil with tired eyes as he and Noah headed back inside. Hopefully, he will be back to normal in the morning.

“What’s wrong with him?” Cecil asked.

“He can’t teleport. I think not being able to zip about without walking has made him crabby.”

Kyrion shot Noah an intimidating glare.

It was ineffective. “Would you prefer I refer to you as a shrimp?

Kyrion grumbled but he didn’t protest. He deserved a little ribbing. That and he couldn't access his bag of tricks.

“Noah? Just in case he gives you anything to drink at any point in the future, light a spark over it and see if it catches fire.”

“Why is that?”

Cecil looked at Noah’s general height and build, then sighed. “You should be fine. You look like you have a steel liver.”

“Thank you?” Noah didn’t understand the compliment.