“How is your vacation going so far?” Master Kairos asked with a knowing smile.

Now that the culling was over, we had standing plans to meet nightly while my family was sleeping. Neither of us required much sleep to function, so it made sense to spend that time together instead of cutting into the time I had with my family.

I’d been tempted to leave early to get away from Aunt Mindy, but she basically ignored me after I got back. It was a small blessing.

“It’s fine,” I replied neutrally. “My aunt is a bit much, but other than that…”

“Is she giving you a hard time?” he asked as the waiter began placing several dishes on the table between us. Master Kairos had picked the restaurant, and I was interested to see how good his selection was.

“She’s trying to,” I said after a moment.

“Don’t let her get to you,” Master Kairos advised. “There will always be detractors and those who seek to tear down others to make themselves feel better. I’m not sure if she falls into one of those categories, but regardless, her opinion only holds as much weight as you allow.”

He leaned forward and began selecting a few choice morsels from each plate, transferring them onto the plate in front of him. I sighed and followed his lead. There was a much larger variety of options than I expected, but since I’d left ordering to my former Master, the volume of food delivered shouldn’t have been a surprise.

“To be honest, I find myself struggling to care at all about her opinion,” I replied after trying a bite. It was very good, though the mana was a bit lighter than I was accustomed to. “I feel like I should care more than I do, if that makes any sense.”

“That’s not all that unusual,” he said comfortingly. “You’ve been away for a long time, and I get the feeling that you weren’t very close to her before.”

“I wasn’t,” I agreed before shifting the topic slightly. “You know, I don’t even remember checking on my extended family the other time,” I said, trying to keep my comments somewhat vague.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. It felt comfortable, not strained like I imagined such silences would be.

I still wasn’t all that comfortable in social settings with Master Kairos, especially when he wasn’t wearing a disguise. I’d eventually get there, I felt. It would just take a little while.

Realizing that I knew remarkably little about my former Master, I asked, “What is your family like?”

Master Kairos seemed a little surprised by the question and took several bites of food as he considered his response.

“Well, you’ve met Anya. She’s my sister, though she’s quite a bit younger than I am. She was actually born while I was in the dungeon, so we didn’t really grow up together the same way that you and your brother did.”

His eyes took on a faraway look. “Our parents… Anya takes after our dad. He was a Fate Mage, too. Mom had an Arcane affinity and worked as an Enchanter. It’s how I got into the field even though my passion lies in Alchemy.”

“Was?” I asked, picking up on the tense he used for his parents.

Master Kairos smiled and nodded. “Yes. They ascended a couple hundred years ago. From what Fate Mages have been able to discern, you lose your affinities when you ascend. I’m not sure exactly how it works – nobody really is. But by all accounts, it is a fundamental change. I believe we’ve discussed this before?”

I nodded. “You mentioned having multiple affinities was a good thing, but I don’t recall anything about losing affinities. I guess it makes sense that the magic system would be a little different if you went to a new realm.” I paused for a moment before asking, “Are you hoping to meet up with your parents in the next realm?”

Master Kairos shook his head. “No. Time doesn’t flow consistently between the realms. When they ascended, it was with the expectation that they’d never see me or Anya again. That’s part of the reason why I want a companion to join me when I ascend. It’s the only way to be sure I’ll know someone when I get there.”

I could understand that perspective. It would be a lot easier to embark on a new journey if you had someone to rely on.

“Is it common for parents to ascend without their children?” I asked, finding that part of his history a bit harder to reconcile.

I couldn’t imagine having a child and leaving them behind, no matter how old they were. It was why I was not inclined to start a family until I was certain about my path forward.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Of course!” Master Kairos said with an amused smile. “If every parent waited on their children to ascend, hardly anyone would ever get there since subsequent generations would anchor the entire family to this realm.”

From there, our conversation shifted to Master Kairos’s experiences in the Realm Dungeon. From what he described, every floor had changed since his time, though the general layout seemed to be roughly the same.

“I’m a little surprised you didn’t tell me more about what to expect before I left.”

“I considered it,” he admitted. “Ultimately, I decided it was better to let you experience things for yourself since my knowledge was far too outdated to be reliable.”

I tilted my head in acknowledgment. Bad information was often worse than no information.

“I was thinking about writing a new primer for the Earthborn entering the Realm Dungeon,” I said hesitantly. “You know, basically providing an overview of the first eight floors. For those undecided, the knowledge may help them make a choice. And for those planning to enter, the information might help them prepare better.”

I didn’t ask his opinion outright, but the implication was there.

I hadn’t put a lot of thought into the primer, but it was something I’d been toying with in the back of my mind ever since I learned that Earthborn basically had an open invitation to enter the dungeon.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Master Kairos said. “If it’s anything like your last primer, I’m sure it will be very helpful.”

Eventually, the plates were cleared, and our meal was over.

“Where do you want to go next?” Master Kairos asked as we casually strolled down the sidewalk of the city he’d guided me to. “Have you checked out the moon or Mars colonies yet?”

I glanced at the sky, though the moon was not visible since it was still daylight in the part of the world we were currently in.

“I heard about the colonies, but I haven’t visited either of them. They’re supposed to be terraforming projects, right?”

Master Kairos nodded. “Yes. Mars is coming along quite nicely. Once the siphons were turned off, the atmosphere started regenerating on its own. In another decade or so, the real work will begin.”

“Why bother with siphons on Mars?” I asked curiously. “It’s uninhabitable.”

“It wasn’t before.”

My steps faltered. “What do you mean? Did aliens really live on Mars?”

Master Kairos chuckled. “If by aliens you mean Alliance members, then yes. It was originally a mining outpost, but when Earth was selected as a location for the mana study, it was abandoned. Siphoning the entire solar system is standard for such an important study.”

“That seems a bit extreme,” I commented.

Master Kairos shrugged but said nothing.

“So, Mars and the moon are open to visitors?” I asked after a bit.

“Sure,” Master Kairos said. “Why wouldn’t they be?”

Now, it was my turn to shrug. “How would we get there?”

“You could teleport us,” he suggested. “I’m certain with your affinity and tier, you could manage it.”

My eyes widened at the comment. Stella had mentioned teleporting to the moon before I entered the dungeon, but she made it sound like something I wouldn’t be capable of for a long time.

Then again, Tier Eight was a long way from where I was back then.

I closed my eyes and metaphysically reached into the distance, focusing on the moon. After a moment of concentration, I Phased, extending my sensory range by a huge margin.

Similar to how I’d initially learned to teleport over long distances, I examined the teleportation beacons and rifts from within the weave.

I don’t know why I was surprised to find rifts on the moon, but I was.

After verifying my reach extended to the moon, I reached farther. Since I was specifically looking for teleportation beacons and rifts, finding Mars was fairly simple.

“I can teleport us to both locations,” I said when I exited the weave. “I can also sense a couple of ships and rifts on more distant planets. How does that work, anyway?”

“How does what work? The rifts?”

I nodded.

“It works just like any other planet, I suppose,” Master Kairos replied. “Now that we’ve turned off all of the siphons, mana has returned to your solar system. Rifts are a natural byproduct of mana building up.”

“But none of those planets are inhabitable.”

“Not for humans,” Master Kairos agreed. “The rifts will eventually be influenced by the environment, making it far more likely that rift beasts within will be capable of adapting. That doesn’t mean every planet will be capable of sustaining life, but the range will be far wider than your current ‘Goldilocks Zone.’”

My mind was a little blown by the news. It amazed me that there was still so much to learn about the wider universe, even after learning for several decades across two timelines.

“Did you want to visit one of the colonies now, or should we save the trip for another time?” I asked.

I was more than a little curious about the possibility of visiting another planet within my native solar system. I’d grown up learning about Mars and looking at pictures from the rover. Being able to personally walk on the red planet was a little surreal.

“How much time do you have before you need to return to your family?” Master Kairos asked.

“You are unlikely to be missed for another six hours,” Lisa replied. I repeated her answer.

“That’s more than enough time to explore a little bit,” the Time Mage said with a playful smile. “I forget how long low-tiers need to sleep sometimes. It’s good for us, though. It’ll be fun seeing you experience new things for the first time.”

“I feel like I’ve had a lot of new experiences lately,” I said quietly, though I knew he could hear me. Raising my voice, I asked, “To the moon or Mars?”

“Teleporter’s choice,” he replied glibly. “Do you need me to stand closer? I’ve been told physical contact also helps for big jumps as well, especially when transporting someone at a higher tier.”

Master Kairos held out a hand.

He wasn’t wrong, especially when it came to teleporting people stronger than me. I hadn’t bothered when we were teleporting before since distance wasn’t a big deal within a planetary barrier. But going between celestial objects… it felt much safer to remove the additional burden.

I tried not to think too much about it as I took his hand. His palm was warm and firm against mine, and I suppressed a flutter of nerves as our eyes met.

“Ready?” I hesitantly asked.

“Absolutely. I’m ready whenever you are.”