“What was that?” Mom exclaimed from the shore.

I quickly stored the bulk of the carcass before answering, not bothering with the small pieces nearby.

“Some kind of shark or something,” I answered before cringing as I considered the now-bloody water I was treading. Realizing the effects of my spell might not have been fully contained, I groaned. “Ugh, I should probably dive down and make sure none of the coral was damaged. I’ll be right back.”

Before she could reply, I dove under the blood-tinged waves. Part of the bloody cloud had drifted from the demolished remnants of the sea creature to the now engorged corals below.

There were a few signs of damage, but less than I expected. Then again, I was still thinking of corals as something so fragile that a mere bump might kill them.

The mostly stationary creatures had become excited and had entered a feeding frenzy from the blood in the water. I hung back and observed the reaction for a few seconds before focusing on the damaged areas of the reef.

There were only a few obvious signs of damage, but I figured it was better to target the entire area with an undirected Restore instead of potentially overlooking something. I’d been tempted to use Heal instead, but ultimately felt that it was better to return things to how they were before instead of changing anything.

I noticed a few streams of crimson liquid condensing and flowing toward one of the larger clusters of polyps, all of which had long feelers extended, reminding me of anemones. The grasping tentacles reached eagerly for the life-giving substance, though I was uncertain how they were going to absorb it.

My attention shifted to a fight between an actual anemone and a small fish that strayed a little too close in its hunt for nourishment. It wasn’t much of a fight since the fish seemed to have locked up once the tentacles made contact. Even so, it was interesting to watch.

A few of the more aggressive corals made similar attacks on nearby fish, but only one other managed to catch their prey.

While mana had not changed these particular underwater creatures as much as many of Earth’s inhabitants, there was still a definite difference between the corals from before and the ones before me.

A few moments later, I swam back to the surface and called out, “It’s safe if you want to see the corals feeding. They’re really active right now.”

Mom looked uncertain. “Are you sure it’s safe? What if another shark attacks?”

I tried not to smirk as I replied, “I’m Tier Eight. No natural creature of Earth is going to be able to hurt me. I’ll keep you safe, just like I did last time. I can even give you a barrier if you want.”

She frowned a little before nodding and hesitantly stepping forward. Not wanting the spectacle to end before she got a chance to see it, I teleported Mom next to me, causing her to yelp as she suddenly found herself surrounded by water.

“Emie! A little warning next time would be nice!” she admonished.

I grinned and handed her a [Water Breathing] talisman, feeling a little bad that I hadn’t gotten it to her earlier. “Here. Now, you won’t have to surface as often.”

Once she put it on, I motioned for her to follow and dove underwater. Most of the blood had already dissipated, but the hungry corals were still actively trying to feed.

We watched the increasingly colorful polyps and anemones stretch their tentacles in search of more food. Even the plant-looking corals had swollen and extended small strands in search of sustenance.

Unfortunately, the excitement didn’t last very long, and the tiny creatures slowly started shrinking back to their normal size.

“That was really neat,” Mom said when we returned to our chairs on the beach. “But we should probably warn the others not to swim here unless you’re with them.”

“Eh, I doubt it will be an issue since we’re a couple of islands away.”

“Still, you should warn them, just in case,” she said before frowning and looking around. “There really should be warning signs if sharks are in the water nearby.”

“There might be,” I said with a shrug. “I didn’t really check. I just made sure the area wasn’t listed as private property.”

The admission resulted in a short lecture about safety. I nodded along and tried to look properly chastised, but I doubt she bought it.

We eventually returned to the villa and found Dad, Aunt Mindy, and Uncle Anthony hanging out in the living room while Kaylee and Ashlynn napped in one of the small guest rooms. Given the time change, they’d probably be asleep for a while.

I felt a little bad for my parents, knowing they’d likely wake up in the middle of the night. Maybe a little controlled Time magic would help everyone adjust.

“Where’d y’all end up going?” Aunt Mindy asked after she stopped cussing from the shock of our sudden reappearance.

“Emie found a deserted beach on one of the islands. Aside from the shark attack, it was nice,” Mom answered.

“Shark attack?” Dad asked, suddenly far more interested.

“It wasn’t a big deal. It didn’t even get close,” I said with an exaggerated sigh. “I teleported Mom to the beach and took care of it.”

Dad frowned. “I thought you weren’t supposed to get involved with killing things on Earth.”

“It was self-defense,” I said with a shrug. “Even if it couldn’t actually hurt me, it attacked. That should be more than enough for me to act. On top of that, the shark could have hurt Mom, so that’s a factor, too.”

“Couldn’t you have just teleported away?” he asked.

“Sure. But I didn’t.”

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“So, you only follow the rules when it suits you?” Aunt Mindy asked with a haughty tsk. “Is that what that sect of yours taught you?”

I looked at my aunt like she was stupid. “Would you rather I let the shark attack others? Is that the stance you’re taking on this?”

Uncle Anthony sat silently beside his wife, seemingly uninterested in the conversation. He hadn’t been one to talk much before the reintegration, and he’d only grown quieter since.

He’d been a pastor before, and the revelations about Earth’s true place in the wider universe had severely shaken him. He’d stopped preaching and largely withdrawn after the system arrived. Now, he was merely a shell of the man he once was.

In fact, I was a little surprised that Aunt Mindy got him to interact as much as she did.

“That’s not what I said. Don’t twist my words!” Aunt Mindy snapped. Her voice had shifted to something more grating than normal. “Don’t you have any respect for your elders? You think a little power makes you better than us?”

“You do know that I’m older than you, right?” I said deadpan. “I’ve pointed it out at least once.”

“That… doesn’t count,” she said with a condescending expression.

“How does it not count?” I asked without changing my inflection. As if discussing the weather, I said, “I’ve experienced more years of life than you. Just because I look younger doesn’t mean that I am. You should be careful about making assumptions.”

Dad tried to say something, but Aunt Mindy raised her hand to cut him off.

“Now you’re going to tell me what I should do?” she sneered as she rose to her feet and pointed at me. “I changed your diaper when you were a baby.” She took a step forward. “Who are you to tell me—”

I encased Aunt Mindy in a Barrier made of Space mana. I’d specifically designed it to contain sound, and my disagreeable aunt’s words were abruptly cut off.

“That was rude, Emie,” Mom admonished me.

I shrugged. “Sorry, but I find it hard to care at the moment. I’m on vacation, and listening to Aunt Mindy complain about being called out isn’t on my list of things to do.”

Realizing we weren’t listening to her, Aunt Mindy tried to take another step forward and bounced off the Barrier. Her eyes widened before narrowing. She immediately started yelling, but the noise was blessedly contained.

“You can’t just—” Dad made a motion toward his sister-in-law. “You can’t do stuff like this. You can’t silence someone just because you don’t like listening to what they have to say.”

“Can’t I?” I replied.

Dad’s eyes narrowed. A moment later, his expression shifted to one of resignation. “You’re only making it worse. You have to let her out eventually, and you know your aunt holds grudges.”

My shoulders slumped as I looked from my dad to my aunt. Her face was getting redder as she yelled from within her soundproof containment.

Looking back, I said, “Dad… It’s hard enough being around people when they aren’t trying to be annoying.”

I cast Pause on my aunt, freezing her in time before canceling the Barrier.

“Honey, that’s not any better,” he said as he covered his eyes with one hand. “I know Mindy can be a bit much, but she’s your aunt,” he added almost pleadingly.

“I know,” I said tiredly. I hesitated before sighing. “But that doesn’t mean as much as it used to. Like, I love you guys a lot, even with the distance. You, Dad, Bell, Justin, and the kids… you all are important, even if I don’t know the younger ones very well. But everybody else…” I trailed off.

“What about your grandparents?” Mom asked quietly. “What about Gabby?”

“Sure, they’re important too, and I love them… conceptually. But I’ve been gone for a really long time, and I haven’t interacted with them hardly at all during that time. Even before I left, it wasn’t like I spent much time with any of them. I’d see them maybe once a year?” I shook my head. “That’s hardly enough for a real relationship.”

“But they’re your family,” Mom insisted.

“I know,” I said. “And I want to care more. They are important because they’re my family. But they hardly know me. They’re all practically strangers at this point.”

I looked at my still-frozen aunt before shifting my attention back to my parents. “Honestly, strangers would be more polite than some of our family members. It’s like they simply cannot comprehend the gap between us.”

“Emie. You shouldn’t think like that,” Dad said with a tone that oozed disappointment. “You used to hate it when people thought they were better than others.”

I let out a bark of mirthless laughter. “There’s a difference between thinking you’re better than someone because you were born into a certain family and objectively being superior. Like it or not, people are not equal. Even at awakening, some people have better affinities and more attributes than others. Pretending that people are the same doesn’t make it true.”

“Besides,” I continued, “that’s not even what I’m talking about. I meant the obvious gap between someone who is barely Tier Two and someone who has reached Tier Eight. Like it or not, there is a very clear difference between the two.”

“You still shouldn’t look down on others like that,” he insisted. Mom nodded in agreement beside him.

I looked between the two of them. “We’re not going to agree on this,” I said. “Maybe in the future, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”

I could tell neither of my parents liked my response. But just because they were my parents, it didn’t automatically make them right.

Not wanting to be around when Aunt Mindy was released from the spell, I said, “I’m going to go see what Justin and the others are up to. I have a feeling a crowded beach will be more comfortable than being here soon.”

----------------------------------------

Gabby fell into the sand as she laughed. It took several seconds for her to catch her breath enough to comment.

“You-you did not!” Gabby held her stomach as she wheezed out the words. “Oh, she’s never going to let that go! You know Mom holds grudges like nobody else!”

“Emie Lynn, why would you antagonize your aunt like that?” Grandma Katherine asked from nearby.

Amie and the boys were still in the water, along with Bell and Justin. But my grandparents and Gabby had been taking a break from the water when I arrived.

Knowing they’d hear about my actions as soon as they made it back to the villa, I felt it better to tell them now instead of allowing Aunt Mindy to twist things.

“Grandma, she told me to respect my elders and criticized me for killing a shark that attacked me and Mom.” I threw up my hands in exasperation. “Everyone knows how long I was in the dungeon. The elder card isn’t going to fly with me.”

Grandma and Grandpa exchanged a look of amusement.

“It’s not, huh?” Grandpa asked with a grin.

I rolled my eyes playfully. “It’s a little different with you guys and my parents. But even then,” I insisted, growing a touch more serious, “relying solely on age in an argument isn’t going to get you very far. Heck, Master Kairos is way older than all of us put together, and he never uses age as a justification for his opinions.”

“Still,” Grandpa Paul insisted, “you should give your aunt a break. She’s had a hard time of things.”

I barely suppressed a scoff. “I’m sure she has. But she’s had it a lot easier than people without an Enchanter or two in the family,” I reminded them. “I know she got at least a few items before I left.”

“Items and things are not all there is to life,” Grandma Katherine chided me. “Not everyone has adapted so easily to this new world of magic.”

“Oh! Speaking of magic!” Gabby interjected. “There are mermaids in the cove over there,” she said as she pointed toward a clearly artificial cove near the edge of the public beach. “You can pay to swim with them, and there’s even a mermaid luau every Thirday!”

My eyes immediately drifted to Amie as she played tag with her brothers in the water. A mermaid luau sounded like something she’d love to see.

Heck, it was something I’d love to see.

“It’s almost dinnertime,” Grandma said as she checked her phone. “We should probably get the kids out of the water and get everyone dried off.

Most of my extended family had passed on the upgraded interface, so they relied on manatech for things that Lisa was easily able to handle for me.

Now that I was there with my family, I realized the crowded beach wasn’t that bad. I wasn’t sure if people were just avoiding identification spells, or if I’d somehow been overlooked in the group.

It was also entirely possible that the people around me hadn’t advanced their identification spells sufficiently enough to get a read on my affinities. The most basic version of the spell didn’t provide that information, after all, and I’d adjusted my notifications to only show when my affinities were read to cut down on some of the extraneous notices.

Either way, I was grateful for the relative anonymity, especially since I’d forgotten to activate my [Disguise] talisman before leaving the villa.