“I expected to see the Oracle during my visit after you told me she basically sent you to find me,” I said to Master Kairos as we waited for our portal to the capital. For some unknown reason, he’d decided to accompany me and my family to Aspirant City, the home of the Epikairos Sect’s Hadier branch.

“Unfortunately, she had other obligations. However, she did want to express her sincere congratulations for your successes.” He held out a hand. On it was a thin silver band cradling a small amethyst. “It’s a [Fate Obscuration] ring that blocks all but her eyes. She felt it may benefit you as you travel.”

He wore a similar ring on the pinkie of his left hand, though his was far thicker.

I hesitantly slipped the ring onto my right ring finger and nodded in thanks.

“Is there an immediate threat?” I asked before glancing around. I didn’t know what any of my potential watchers might look like, but I was already on alert for anyone paying too much attention to me.

Unfortunately, my tri-colored belt drew more than a little unwanted interest. The small icon on the corner of my interface was almost constantly blinking now that I was in public. I’d probably have to change the settings soon.

“Probably not, but it’s better to be prepared,” my mentor replied. “That’s part of the reason I’m accompanying you.”

“Thank you.”

Master Kairos nodded. “It is no great difficulty,” he said before tensing slightly. “I’ve cleared much of my schedule for the foreseeable future. I thought it might be beneficial to… travel together… for a while.”

I blinked in surprise and turned to face my normally confident mentor. “How long is a while?” I asked. “I’m not sure you’ll be very interested in most of my plans.”

The blonde man raised his hands in a gesture similar to a shrug. “I don’t mind,” he replied.

He didn’t mind, but did I? It probably wasn’t a bad thing to have him around for a while, aside from the obvious awkwardness. But I wasn’t quite sure why he wanted to follow along.

Was the threat really that serious?

“Are you… worried that something might happen?”

“Not particularly. I have faith you can handle anyone at your tier.”

My brows furrowed. “So… you just… want to hang out for a while?” I asked uncertainly.

“Essentially,” he answered with a nervous smile. “I thought it would be beneficial for us to get to know each other as more than just Master-Disciple or Patriarch-Elder now that there’s a possibility we’ll be ascending together. I’m not—”

“Hey, Emie. Our portal is coming up,” Justin said, interrupting us. He shot Master Kairos an odd look before glancing back at the display on the wall.

Master Kairos and I shared a glance and stood up. I fully expected we’d finish the conversation another time, though I wasn’t sure when that might be.

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

“I’m surprised he didn’t follow us inside,” Dad grumbled under his breath as we entered Justin’s modest residence, leaving Master Kairos to travel the rest of the way to the local sect alone.

The neighborhood wasn’t all that dissimilar to any neighborhood on Earth – aside from some architectural differences and the lack of driveways or cars. Mostly self-driving vehicles came and went to drop off passengers, but it wasn’t quite the same thing.

“Don’t grumble,” Mom said playfully as she patted his arm. “As Patriarch Kairos rightfully pointed out, Emie is an adult. She can make decisions for herself. If she wants to get involved with someone old enough to have lived during the Renaissance, that’s her choice.”

She looked over her shoulder and chuckled. I shook my head in response.

“It really isn’t like that. I think he just wants to change the dynamic of our relationship now that I’ve made it this far.”

“I’m sure he does,” Dad muttered.

“Not like that,” I said, rolling my eyes as I closed the door behind me.

“I’m sure it’s exactly like that,” he replied.

“Your dad is probably right, you know,” Mom agreed.

I huffed in exasperation. “Not everyone thinks like the two of you.”

“Ehhh,” Mom said, shifting her hand in a ‘so-so’ motion. “Maybe if he was obviously not interested. But I didn’t get that feeling from him.”

“It’s a little creepy, given his age,” Dad said with an expression of distaste. “It gives a whole new meaning to the concept of robbing the cradle.”

“So you’re saying I should find someone more my age?” I asked with a touch of mirth. “Some sixty-something-year-old, perhaps? I don’t suppose you have any young-looking friends around my age? Preferably someone who is at least Tier Seven, else I’d have to worry about hurting them.”

I could barely keep from snickering at the expressions on their faces. Justin had already ducked away from the conversation, not that I blamed him.

“Not funny, Emie,” Mom chided. “Besides, you’ll be heading back into the dungeon in ten years. I doubt you’d want to leave someone else behind.”

Her words were said jokingly, but the impact hit harder than I expected. She had to have seen it on my face because her eyes immediately widened.

“That’s not what I meant. We understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. I didn’t mean it to come out that way.”

“It’s fine.”

It wasn’t, really. But there was no reason to make a big deal about it. Mom was right, anyway.

Thankfully, I was spared from the topic going any further by the sound of Bell’s voice coming from the door behind me.

“Look who’s here!” she exclaimed while holding an infant in one arm and the hand of a toddler in another as she stepped across the threshold. “Mommy and Daddy are back!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

My eyes widened as I took in my younger sisters for the first time. Kaylee, the toddler, immediately ran to Mom, launching herself into her arms with a squeal as Bell kicked off her shoes near the front door.

With a small gasp, I reached toward Ashlynn, the six-month-old in Bell’s arms. “Can I hold you? Do you want to come to your big sister?”

I worried that my youngest sister might be wary – infants were like that sometimes. But thankfully, Ashlynn seemed devoid of any shyness or caution toward what amounted to a virtual stranger.

Kaylee, the older of the two girls, did not share her younger sibling’s instant acceptance and eyed me suspiciously from Mom’s arms. I tried not to take it personally since she’d probably only seen a few video messages from me, but it was hard not to feel a little hurt by the implied rejection.

My twin nephews were much less nervous about interacting with me when they arrived from school a short while later.

“You’re an Adventurer, right?” Lucas asked excitedly as he jumped onto the couch next to me.

“Dad says you make magic weapons that you use to kill monsters,” his twin, Daniel, chimed in with a look of excitement. “Can you make me a wand so I can kill monsters, too?”

“Adventurers kill monsters. That’s how they get stronger,” Lucas added with a nod. “I want to be an Adventurer when I grow up.”

I forced myself to smile as the boys chattered. They hardly bothered waiting for an answer before moving on to a new topic. Sometimes, they ignored my responses altogether in favor of launching into a new line of questioning or arguing between themselves.

As much as I wanted to enjoy interacting with my young nephews, I found their exuberance a bit overwhelming, especially after being forced to socialize for an entire day.

Had I not just spent an extended period in quasi-solitude, I probably wouldn’t have had such a difficult time with their energy. I certainly couldn’t remember ever being bothered by energetic children in the past.

Though I felt guilty doing it, I found myself making an excuse to leave shortly after Amie got home from school. She remembered me, though our time apart had created a chasm. It seemed that even our mostly regular communication wasn’t enough to maintain the relationship we’d had before I left.

I was almost relieved to escape to the privacy and solitude of my temporary penthouse apartment. I promised to return in time for dinner, but I needed a bit of time alone to reset after so much social interaction.

Getting there was easy enough since one of the disciples guarding the gates was willing to escort me once the wards authenticated my identity.

I knew that Master Kairos was staying in the building next to mine, and I could see into his living room from my modest patio. Both apartments were furnished in neutral colors, though there were several accent pieces in dark purple in my apartment that were not present in his.

It was a nice touch of personalization, I thought.

I was happy to find that the apartment included enough empty space for a workstation. There were also existing [Time Dilation] formations throughout the residence. It was an extravagance for a visitor’s quarters, but one I appreciated since it saved me the effort of needing to set one up.

The formation allowed me to expand my hour-long break to four hours, and I used that time to Meditate and recenter myself. By the time I returned to Justin’s home, I felt much more ready to engage with the important people in my life.

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

“You’re really back!” Deni said with a huge grin when I returned to Justin’s house. His residence was larger than my parents’, so it was the natural choice for such a gathering.

“I am,” I said with a grin before being wrapped in a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” she said, still holding onto me. After another squeeze, she released me and stepped back. “What are your plans now? Are you going to go back home to visit?”

I bobbed my head. “I planned on it. I want to see how much has changed since I left.”

“It’s pretty different,” Bell said as she entered the foyer. “Hey, Deni. Long time no see.”

“Hey yourself, Bell!” the tall, dark-haired woman said with a grin before enveloping the shorter woman in a hug. “Ahhh, all the girls are back together.”

“Speaking of, how are the boys?” I asked as I headed toward the living room, where the rest of my immediate family members were gathered. “I haven’t heard anything about Ger or Kevin in a few years.”

And I really didn’t care all that much about Blaze.

“The last I heard, Ger was getting married to some girl who visited from one of the higher-tier Alliance worlds,” Deni replied, her expression shifting to something more complicated before returning to a smile. “Kevin was still working at the hospital in Dallas when I visited Earth last time. He probably won’t ever leave.”

I’d known that Deni and Ger had broken up. It had happened years ago. While unfortunate, it seemed to be for the best since they’d both had different goals.

“Is your family still doing well?” I asked.

Deni’s family had decided to stay on Earth, much like my parents had initially. But unlike Mom and Dad, her parents and siblings had remained there.

“They’re doing good,” Deni said. “The apocalypse was hard on them, but things have mostly settled at this point. The area where my parents live is a lot safer now that a bunch of low-tier adventurers spent the last several years clearing out all the rift breaks, and the Bounty Hunters took care of all the trash.”

I nodded and listened as Deni spent the next few minutes catching us up on her family’s progress on Earth. Like my extended family, the majority of hers hadn’t been very keen on delving and killing rift creatures. Consequently, most of them were still Tier One or Low-Tier Two.

It wasn’t unusual, all things considered.

Dinner was Mom’s spaghetti tacos – something I’d missed eating with family while I was away. They were never as good when eaten alone.

Transmuted food was also never quite as good as the real thing. It was good, excellent, even. But there was something the enchantments couldn’t quite replicate compared to a homecooked meal.

“I can’t believe I never tried these,” Deni said as she layered her fifth taco with spaghetti, kimchi, cheese, sour cream, and lettuce.

The kimchi was a new addition from the last time I’d had them, but I certainly wasn’t complaining about the added flavor. After one bite, I’d scanned the new version into the MealMaker and happily continued crunching alongside Deni.

“I saw a show that had spaghetti tacos one time, but it was just spaghetti in a taco shell. This is so much better than that!” she exclaimed before practically inhaling number six.

I grinned. A lot of people who tried the dish said the same thing when I was growing up.

“So, when are you heading to Earth?” Deni asked.

I glanced around the table. The kids were eating at the kitchen island because the dining table wasn’t large enough to fit everyone. Thankfully, Amie was old enough to keep them from getting too out of control.

“I’ll probably head that way in a couple of months,” I said. “I want to spend some time hanging out here, then do some traveling within the Alliance first.”

“How long until you have to start teaching?” Justin asked between bites.

I shrugged. “There is no real deadline. Master Kairos made it sound like I can take as much time as I want.”

“That’s nice of him,” Mom said, causing a frown to appear on Dad’s face.

Ignoring the expression, I said, “It is. I think he’s just as interested in taking a vacation as I am.”

“So he’s really going to follow you around?” Bell asked with wide eyes. “Doesn’t he have important sect stuff to do?”

“Wait,” Deni said, holding out a hand. “The Tier Ten Time Mage guy that made you his disciple is following you around?” She glanced around. “Where is he now?”

“He’s at the local sect,” I replied, motioning in the vague direction of the sect. “He’s not… I mean, I guess he is kinda following me around, but it isn’t like that. He just wants us to get to know each other as people and not as whatever roles we have.”

Knowing what kind of comments that was likely to cause, I added, “Please don’t make a big deal out of it.” I glanced pointedly at my Dad and Justin before focusing back on Deni. “He’s hoping I’ll ascend with him in, like, ninety years. Even if I don’t, it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him on a personal level.”

“Ninety years…” Deni said, trailing off. “It’s pretty crazy to think we should all still be alive by then.” Her faraway look focused back on me. “Do you think you’ll do it?”

My gaze shifted between my assembled family members before drifting to the kitchen where the kids were gathered.

“I don’t know. I’m not inclined to right now, but who knows how I’ll feel after going back to the dungeon for what’ll feel like a couple hundred years? It’s not easy being away like that.”

I was sure some part of them understood. Just moving to a new state often caused families and friends to drift apart. As much as I didn’t want to grow more distant from my family, I had already felt it starting while I was in the dungeon.

I had little doubt that I’d get over it soon enough, at least with my immediate family. But what about the next time?

This was only a taste of the distance that would likely develop during my final stint in the dungeon. If I was already feeling the effects of time and distance now, how bad would it be by the time I reached Peak Tier Ten?