Albion says "Thank you, father. Are we heading back now? I am really hungry!"

"No, not yet. I want to check and make sure I didn't miss anything. Here, have some food while I look around."

Albion starts eating as soon as I take out some food for him, he eats like he is starving. His rapid growth probably used up all of his body's energy, so it isn't surprising. I take out enough food for at least five meals and then start looking around.

In one of the piles of dust I notice a glint and quickly head over to see what it is. When I brush the dust away, I find a light purple crystal that has been shaped. When I pick it up to have a better look at it, my feet suddenly leave the floor.

Albion says "Father, how are you flying without using your wings?"

"It's this crystal. As soon as I picked it up I started floating."

Albion says "Why would a crystal make you float? And why would a crystal like that be in a ship?"

"I'm not sure why the crystal makes me float, but it is absorbing a tiny bit of my mana each second. As to why it was in the ship, maybe a crew member had it, or it was used to lighten the ship."

Albion says "Could it have been a flying ship?"

"It's possible, but I think it would have taken more than one crystal. Keep eating, I am going to see if there are any more crystals."

I put the crystal in my pouch and as soon as I am not touching it anymore I drop to the ground. As Albion goes back to eating, I start sifting through all the piles of dust. It takes me a while, but in the end I find another nine crystals.

"Ten crystals in total. It looks like you were right, it was probably a flying ship. These will make it easier for me to turn our ship into a flying ship."

Albion says "That's going to be so cool! I can't wait to see it!"

"Well, it won't be until we get back to the peninsula, but you will see it eventually."

Albion says "Find anything else? Are we heading back now?"

"Yes, we can return to the castle now. Did you have enough to eat?"

Albion says "I'm still hungry, but I can wait till we get back to eat more."

"Alright. Let's go."

I open a gate back to the castle and let Albion go through first, then I follow. When I step through, I find Lin standing there waiting for me and she hugs me as soon as she sees me. I hug her back, but it is a little awkward since I am still in my normal form.

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Lin says "Are you alright? No injuries?"

"Of course not. I didn't even fight anything. I'm not sure what time it is for you, but let's have some dinner. Albion and I are both hungry. I will tell you the story while we eat."

Lin says "Alright. Wait, when did Albion get so big?!"

"A few minutes ago. Go get the rest of the kids."

Lin walks away muttering under her breath and I lay out a full table of food. By the time Lin comes back with the kids, Albion and I are already eating. Mulan, Mushu, and Nala instantly notice the change in Albion and they mob him.

The time it takes for them to calm down gives me a chance to eat some food. Once they calm down I start telling them what happened while I was gone. Honestly, it isn't much of a story since there was no fighting involved.

The kids aren't all that interested, but Lin is a different story, she wants to know more. Unfortunately, I can't answer most of her questions since they are all about the First Ones. She is rather disappointed that no matter what she asks, I can't answer her.

Lin says "How could you not have learned anything?"

"In a bit I will talk to Krenocia again. Hopefully she will have learned something from talking to the ghosts."

Lin says "You had better be taking me with you!"

"Of course I am."

Lin says "Good. I have a lot of questions for her."

With that settled, Lin finally starts eating and I am able to eat some as well. The kids, after pestering Albion, also eat their fill, but even once they are done, they don't leave. They just stare intently at me with pitiful looks on their faces until I am done eating.

Mulan says "Dad, are we still grounded?"

"Well, since Albion helped me out, I guess you can have your cartoons back. But, no going into the shadow plane unless you are with one of Brightfire's groups. Understood?"

Mulan says "Yes, dad. I promise!"

The kids, including Albion, quickly run off to watch cartoons before I can change my mind. I was half expecting Lin to be mad about it, but she actually seems relieved. She has probably had more than enough of trying to make them sit and read.

With the kids distracted, I ask Jarvis to disable the time dilation and open a soulscape. Inside, I invite Lin, Krenocia, and Seronia and then I create a table, some comfy chairs, and tea and treats. Lin arrives almost instantly, and then we just have to wait a bit for the goddesses.

Seronia arrives and says "Hello! Ash, congratulations on having an adventure without getting into trouble!"

Lin laughs and says "Don't speak too soon, he could still get into trouble!"

"I'm guessing that means that Krenocia already told you everything?"

Krenocia appears and says "Of course I did. I had to explain the sudden increase in power. Even if it wasn't huge, it was still noticeable."

Seronia says "Of course I noticed it. As soon as I did I knew Ash had to be up to something."

Lin says "Ash is always up to something."

Krenocia says "True enough. So, I'm guessing you summoned us to ask me about what I learned from the ghosts?"

"Yep. I am especially curious as to what happened to them. Did they tell you how their ship ended up there?"

Krenocia says "Yes, they did. They were just a normal trade ship, or at least normal for them. It was a flying ship, but they were traveling underwater to avoid a fierce storm. They encountered a massive beast that damaged their ship. To escape, they took shelter under the ocean floor, but they became trapped."

"So, flying ships were common? Did they say anything about the strange energy that we found on the shipwreck? Is that what turned all of them into ghosts?"

Krenocia says "Yes, flying ships were extremely common. They didn't even use normal ships at all. As I said, their ship was damaged and they were attempting to make repairs. Failing that, they attempted to rig up something to allow them to escape the cavern. It didn't work and eventually they all starved to death. After dying, they woke up as ghosts and had no idea why."