After my sudden encounter with the Shade followed by the Chronicle, my mood was ruined. It felt like I was in the middle of something huge, but I was still unable to see the entire picture.

I did not like that. I did not like this feeling. It made me feel nervous, It may kes de me feel anxious.

The Chronicle's quiet appearance and disappearance didn't help. If anything, it felt like a threat as well.

I wasn't even thinking of joining the Shades or anything, but this— just what is going on?

Are we truly just living inside the King's soul space? I sighed and raised my head to glance at the distant sky. The stars seemed to beckon me.

The image where I saw the King's massive eye swimming amongst a sea of celestial planets was still firmly engraved in my mind.

Was that real?

Was that the true outside world? Or was it simply his soul space?

Another sigh escaped my mouth as I raised my hand to ruffle my hair. The sensation was strange compared to my Dragon form. High up in the sky, Essie was still dancing amongst the clouds. Her laughs and giggles echoed through the mountain peak, bringing an unintentional smile out of me.

"Cute," I mumbled.

Standing up, I stretched my limbs and scanned my surroundings. There were no signs of the Shade, nor the Chronicle, but I was sure they were still watching me.

'It doesn't matter, as long as my family is still safe, I don't care what happens,' I inwardly noted.

This entire situation was too big for me to decide on by myself. Shaking my head, I instantly teleported to the sky next to Essie. My cosmic mana swirled around my legs in ways that were previously impossible to me and allowed me to stand in the air as if it were solid ground.

My sudden appearance caught Essie off guard. A surprised gasp escaped her mouth as she instantly readied a wind blade to launch against me before she finally realized who it was.

"Brother! You scared me!" She said with a pout.

I walked over to her, the cosmic mana forming intangible steps in the air, and gently ruffled her hair.

"Are you ready to leave?" I asked.

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Already?"

"It's about time, besides, I don't want to be outside when Syra comes back," I replied with a nod.

"But I still wanted to stay a bit longer," She mumbled, "The house is nice, but I miss flying more!"

"I know, I know. And we'll go out later again, just like old times."

Her eyes seemed to light up as she asked, "A-And you'll let me sit on your head?"

"Hahaha, yes I will, if that's what you want," I replied with a chuckle.

"Okay, promise!"

"Promise."

With the little one satisfied, I held her hand and teleported us to the mountain below before we started our walk back home. As we walked back, I was once more mesmerized by the sights of the celestial peaks.

"Truly, the mortals have some very beautiful sights," I spoke.

Essie who was by my side perked and answered, "I think the Gods' land is way prettier!"

"Oh, you went there with Grandma, right?"

"Yes! I met one tree auntie, one angry yellow auntie, one nice pretty auntie, and the food! The food was amazing!"

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I raised my brow as I listened to her recount her experience.

"Angry yellow auntie?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Yes! I forgot what grandma called her, Goddess of something. And she got very angry, and they fought before she gave me a very tasty piece of meat."

"Is that so?"

'Did grandma bully another Goddess to give up something? She definitely did, didn't she?'

"So, did you like the realm of the Gods and the time you spent with Grandma?" I asked.

Essie put a finger on her mouth and seemed to be thinking very hard before she answered, "I liked it, it was nice—" she hesitated for a bit before she replied "but I liked it better when all of us were together!" she said, flashing me a wide innocent grin.

"Look at you being all cute and all," I replied and couldn't help but pull her cheeks out.

"Oww, what is that for?" she protested.

"That's for being too adorable. Come on, let's go."

*****

By the time we reached the village again, it was close to late evening, the sun was getting ready to set in the horizon. The village guard gave us a nod, but otherwise said nothing as we walked past him.

A lot of the shops were already closed as we passed through the streets, and the ones that were still open insisted on treating little Essie with all manners of snacks and food, which brought a joyful grin to her face.

By the time we reached home, her hands and mouth were already full from all the food. Sidus was the one to open the door, and when he caught sight of her, he sent me a puzzled glance.

"Don't even ask."

He shrugged and moved out of the way, allowing us inside.

"Syra still didn't come yet?" I asked as I walked past him.

Sidus shook his head and answered, "No, not yet."

"Anything happened while we were out?"

"You were barely out a day, nothing happened," Breta's voice came from the kitchen.

"You never know. Where are the others?" I asked.

"Ynos is where you left him, still sleeping. Immy went out to take a walk around the village."

"Oh?" I noticed his voice had a tinge of annoyance to it as he mentioned Immy.

"Did you lose?" I asked with a small smile.

"I didn't! She ran away the second she had a small advantage! I would have won if she didn't!" He immediately argued causing me to raise my hands up.

"Whoah, okay! I believe you!" I laughed before I sent him a telepathic message.

'We are being watched, continue acting normal.'

His face barely had any reaction to my message, and instead, he seemed more annoyed by the fact that he lost to Immy.

"Who?" he asked, his voice reverberating in my mind.

"I'm not sure, but should be both Shades and Chronicles."

"Did you meet them?"

"Yes, both."

"What do you want to do?"

"I think it's best if we stay together from now on."

"I'll get Immy back, I can sense her better than anyone."

"Don't be late," I said and cut off our telepathic link.

Sidus's annoyed expression remained on his face as he replied to me normally, "You know what, I'll show you both! She can't continue running away from me, I'll bring her back for a rematch!" He declared and angrily took off.

"There he goes," I mumbled with a smile and shook my head.