Jay watched Ruby step off the stage, then turned towards the place he assumed the front desk was at-the giant building in the center of the courtyard. It looked like a castle keep, and he walked towards it while everyone else looked confused, milling around. The girl caught on to his confident strides and ran to catch up to him. "Hi! I'm Millie! What's your name?"

  Jay turned to her, smiling. "I'm Jay. Are you okay after that fireball?"

  She nodded. "You somehow broke the spell just in time."

  He nodded. "I'm not going to give up my secrets that easily."

  Millie waved her hands in front of her, as if trying to ward off bad luck. "No, no... Tha-that's not what I meant at all-I mean sorry for asking but I-"

  Jay interrupted her with a grin. "That was a joke. No need to freak out," he said, patting her on the back perhaps a little too hard. She stumbled, squeaking adorably. "Hey!," Millie said, glaring at Jay.

  "Sorry, sorry. Now, why is no one going towards that giant building right there?," Jay asked, pointing towards the building.

  Millie looked towards it, and through it, not seeming to see anything. "What building?," she asked as they sauntered towards it.

  Jay frowned. "You can't see through illusion?"

  Millie shook her head. "Well, I'd better teach you, then," Jay said. "So, it's more a state of mind than using any magic. If anything is a bit off, look at it and ask yourself whether it's real. For example, none of the grass in the illusionary area is getting blown around, even though it's windy today."

  Millie looked closely at the grass. It was true. A breeze was blowing, but the grass was completely stationary, without an inch of movement. Suddenly she jumped. Jay turned, concerned. His fears were unfounded, however. "It's just there now!," Millie whispered, looking at what Jay assumed was the castle keep.

  "There, you see it now. Illusions are still powerful, however. If the illusion is powerful enough, we may not be able to see through it even if there's something off in the area."

  Millie nodded. "What's your Gift?," She asked Jay.

  Jay raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that supposed to be an incredibly invasive question?"

  Millie blushed, and Jay decided to temporarily stop his teasing. "I don't have a Gift," he said. "What's yours?"

  Millie answered reflexively. "My gift is of Dominion. I'm attuned to Water." Then she realized what Jay had said. "Wait, how do you not have a Gift? You moved so quickly, and utterly demolished that army of monsters, to say nothing about that fireball!"

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  Jay shrugged. "It may be because I have no attunement to any element."

  Millie nodded. "That's a theory, I guess."

  They reached the keep, walking to the wooden double doors. Jay opened them, walking into the building. Tables were set in neat rows, filling most of the stone floor. At the far end, there was a counter, manned by a man mixing some drinks. "Hey, can I get a soul key?," Jay asked, walking towards the man.

  Millie followed behind him as the man looked up, seeing both of them. "Sure. You get the best rooms, because you're first."

  Jay shook his head. "I just need an average ro-"

  "Too late. You were here first. You get the best rooms and I'm too lazy to go find some decent room keys."

  The barkeep thrust a pair of keys at Millie and Jay, giving them no choice but to accept. "Bind them to your soul by wrapping it around a key."

  As the barkeep returned to his mixing, the key disappeared from Jay's grasp. The barkeep looked up again. "No one's done it that quickly before. Hm."

  Millie turned to Jay, whispering, "How do I do that?"

  Jay walked away from the counter with her. "Do you know how to manipulate your soul?"

  Millie shook her head. "Isn't that the domain of the Soulshapers, the evil guys?"

  Jay shook his head. "Not the minute applications. Anyone can manipulate their soul to a degree. Soulshapers are the only people who can manifest their soul outside their body, or strike someone else's soul, or-"

  Millie looked into Jay's eyes, and he nodded. "I was rambling there, wasn't I? Okay, so you find your soul first."

  She closed her eyes, evidently concentrating. She suddenly opened them. "It has a brand on it," she said, looking at him for an explanation.

  "That's your Gift," Jay answered, and she dove back into her body. She quickly came back out, probably having located her soul. "Now, you grab it. Also, grab the soul key. You can pull it into your body, because it's not really a physical thing. Bring the two together and wrap your soul around the key."

  Millie nodded, and Jay watched the soul key disappear. Soon, she resurfaced, smiling. "I did it!," she happily told him, and he smiled.

  Jay gave her one last instruction. "Find your soul key. It should be attached to your soul now."

  Millie nodded, closing her eyes and appearing to find it relatively quickly. "Just note you can remove it at any time. Now, grab it and feel where your room is."

  Millie opened her eyes. She pointed up. "That way."

  Jay nodded. He walked over to a set of stair, conveniently cloaked by another illusion. He started walking up, and Millie followed. They passed many floors, the doors to the rooms looking better and better, till they reached the top. Five doors led out of the hallway on the top floor, all with gilded doorframes and golden handles. The wood the doors were made of looked to be magically treated as well. Jay walked to his room, at the end of the hallway. Millie opened a door leading off to the side, close to his. "See you tomorrow, then," he said, waving to her.

  Quickly, he stepped into his room, looking through everything. A palatial bedroom sat through a hallway to his left, and a portal which seemed to be for housekeepers, servants, and deliveries sat, carefully concealed, right next to the door. Jay stepped into the rest of his room, finding a massive living room directly in the center of the suite, with many assorted rooms attached to it. The roof was also magically enchanted to show him the night sky, if he so wished. Jay stepped through the room. There was also a training room, directly to the right of the sauna. It should take up the same area as the sauna was in, but it didn't. This was undoubtedly spatial magic.

  Jay strode back to the bedroom. After confirming the lack of traps, there was nothing else to do. Time to sleep. He got into bed, sinking into the mattress. This was great, but he couldn't become used to it. There was always work to do.