Turning Lizzy we ride south quickly leaving the drakes behind until they are dots once again. I am fairly sure that I started off somewhere to the south of the forest. Hopefully, I can find the spot where I arrived, since that is my best bet for getting home.

After riding for a few hours the baby suddenly appears on top of my head with his wings hanging down. His body is laying across my head so that he looks like a weird hat, while his wings look like ear muffs. He lifts his head up and looks around for a while before talking to me.

Baby says "Mama, where?"

"We are south of where we met the drakes, they are back that way. We are searching for where I arrived on this plane. I am trying to get back to my home."

Baby says "No, mama, don't leave!"

"It's okay, you are coming with me."

Baby says "Really?"

"Yep! You are going to stay with me from now on. Until you decide you are ready to leave."

Baby yells "Yay!!" and hugs my head.

Lizzy 'He is adorable! So what are you going to name him?'

'I don't know, I hadn't thought about it yet.'

Lizzy 'If you dare try and name him shadow or blacky I will bite you!'

'Alright, sorry! I will put more thought into it! I am not good with names!'

Lizzy 'I know!'

'I'm sorry!'

Lizzy 'I forgive you, but don't make the same mistake with the baby!'

Looking around I try to find something to use as a distraction before the conversation gets any worse. To my surprise the area looks somewhat familiar, we are actually close to where I first appeared. Slowing Lizzy and changing directions slightly I try to find the exact spot, but everything looks the same.

'I think we are close to the right spot, can you use your senses to try and find it?'

Lizzy 'Alright, but we are not done talking about this!'

As Lizzy starts moving around sniffing at the ground I let out a sigh of disappointment. It seems the distraction only delayed things, unless she forgets about it. If I can keep her from thinking about it for a while I might stand a chance of escaping.

Lizzy 'This is the spot where your smell starts and there is a slight smell of burning.'

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'Alright, thank you!'

Getting down from Lizzy's back I can spot a burn mark on the ground. That should be the exact point that I arrived, so I need to build the gate there. If I can successfully build a gate then hopefully it will connect with my world.

"Little one, this is Lizzy. I want you to stay on her back while I try to cast a spell, okay?"

Baby says "Kay!"

The baby sniffs at Lizzy, who cranes her neck around to look at the baby. Then the baby licks Lizzy's nose and completely wraps her around his little finger. Which means I really need to come up with a good name for him or she is going to bite me.

Before that, I turn and face the spot that I appeared and focus on it. To start I build the framework of the gate in my mind until I can almost see its outline in front of me. Then once it is perfect I slowly add sacred power to it, as I do a glowing outline appears.

*DING*

Congratulations! You have gained the ability Gate!

At the same time the notification pops up all my sacred and divine power is sucked out of me. Luckily, even though it leaves me completely drained, the gate opens. Lizzy had moved closer to see what I was doing so I simply grab her saddle and order her to drag me through.

Going through a gate turns out to be a lot less unpleasant than using a portal or teleporter. Which is good since the gate returns me to the place I left from, the center of the capital. Although, when I look around I don't recognize it, we arrive at the bottom of a large crater.

'I'm drained, guard me for a minute while I recover.'

Lizzy 'Of course!'

"Krenocia, I'm back. I could really use a recharge."

Krenocia says "Welcome back! I am glad you made it! Recharge in progress. Wait, is that a baby shadow drake?!"

"Yes, he is. I hope there is no problem?"

Krenocia says "He's adorable!"

Before I can even think to respond I feel a surge of pressure and then I see Krenocia standing before me. She ignores me completely and approaches Lizzy while holding out her hand. She is smart and moves slowly so as not to scare the baby and lets him smell her first.

Once he has smelled her and accepted her presence Krenocia starts petting him. One cute little noise of happiness and I suspect that he now has a goddess wrapped around his finger. Luckily, being close to Krenocia quickly recharges my divine power making me feel a lot better.

Krenocia says "What's his name?"

"I haven't thought of one yet."

Krenocia says "You didn't steal him did you? The shadow drakes will cross planes to recover a stolen baby."

"No, I didn't steal him! What do you take me for? The little guy chose me."

Baby says "Mama!"

As soon as she realizes the baby was talking to me Krenocia busts up laughing. She laughs so hard tears start running down her face and the baby opens his mouth. Before I can think of anything to do the tears start streaming from Krenocia's face and into the baby's mouth.

Krenocia takes a step away but that doesn't change anything, just like the crystals the tears move on their own. The sight finally ends Krenocia's laughter and tears, once the last tear is gone the baby acts like nothing happened. I am disappointed, I wanted at least one of her tears to experiment with.

Krenocia says "He sure is precocious! Don't worry, my tears won't hurt him."

"Are you sure? He only hatched a few hours ago."

Krenocia says "Yes, I am sure. They are nothing but energy, he just won't get hungry for a while."

"Alright. So can you tell me the situation here? Also, how long was I gone?"

Krenocia says "A little over a day. As for here, this is the crater you made when you destroyed the ritual. Most of the shadow demons were sacrificed for the ritual, those that weren't mostly died in the blast. Those that survived are in the palace."

"Oh, good. That means I can finish this business quickly."

Krenocia says "You might want to be careful when you see Mercy."

"Why?"

Krenocia says "Because you destroyed most of her city!"

"Oh, right."