Tenira had told me not to duck out for too long, and of course I’d listen to her, today of all days. But I needed at least a small breather. Finding myself alone for the first time in what seemed like ages, I already felt myself relax as some of my tension left.

I smiled as I looked out at the spectacular view spread out before me. I’d just landed on a small outcropping of the Central Mountains to the east. It was outside the palace grounds, though not by much, but it offered a spectacular view of the palace, the city and even the Central Plains stretching out to the horizon. And when I turned around, I got an equally spectacular view of the mountains themselves.

Despite all the stress and bustle, I had rarely kept the smile off my face all day. Even now, it widened as I looked down at my hand, although we hadn’t actually exchanged rings, and thought about the ceremony.

There’d been a mixture of old Sea People and classical Imperial traditions, with a few touches from our respective soul journey lives. I still wore the red wedding dress. A different one than the dress from my wedding to Kajare, not that there would have been anything wrong with that, but Tenira had arranged for it. The banquet after Mior pronounced us wife and wife had lasted for hours, and was probably still ongoing.

I started walking, just to stretch my legs a little, and breathed the cool mountain air in deeply. Spring had already come to the valley, though up here the winter still lingered, and the caps of snow on the mountain tops still extended pretty far down. But I saw fresh grass and the occasional flower poking out of the ground here. Maybe I should pick a few wildflowers and bring them back to Tenira? Then again, she’d have to find it very romantic to make up for me leaving her alone with the guests for that long.

The palace was probably the busiest I’d ever seen it. Dignitaries had arrived from many neighboring countries, as well as all sorts of nobility and important people from the Empire itself. Kariva had been so busy in the last few days that I barely got to see her.

The whole situation with me and Tenira’s parents had been a little awkward. After all, I was the head of the clan and thus their superior. I also got the feeling they didn’t entirely approve of their daughter marrying another woman, though they were thrilled it was the heir to the throne.

I really needed to invite Yarani’s parents one of these days. At least I didn’t need to worry about Kajare’s family. Still, even with all of that, I felt more at peace and even elated than I had in years. Small points of friction notwithstanding, it was a happy day.

I glanced up at the mountain and thought back to the wedding ceremony, my smile fading. After we’d lit incense sticks and honored our ancestors and families, and Mior had bound our right hands together with a length of sailcloth, had come the wedding vows. Unbidden, my memory replayed a part of it, Tenira’s voice swearing “… to cherish, honor, and obey her … as my spouse before spirits and men”.

I sighed to myself and shook my head, glancing up at the mountain peaks again. I’d disliked the idea from the beginning, but Tenira had insisted on using the traditional formulation. I couldn’t have argued it. She was the one with the better instincts and skill regarding how things would be received, and how best to play to the people. Not that I thought that was all there was to it. If she’d been uncomfortable with that, she wouldn’t have made such a vow. I knew she took it seriously.

Well, I was still being a little ridiculous. I chuckled to myself and turned around. I’d finally married the woman I loved, we were both also with the other woman I loved, and I still had the man I loved. Could life get any better?

But instead of heading back right away, I still paused, simply looking down at the buildings spread out below. It was already evening, and the sun must have almost sunk beneath the horizon by now. The capital was alive with thousands of lights, more than earning its name. It was a breathtaking sight from up here. Millions of people and their livelihoods, their aspirations and setbacks.

These were the people I’d fought the war for. Won the war for. Very few of them had been directly touched by it. Even on the Zarian side, civilian casualties were far below a modern war, far less something like World War Two. Societies dominated by cultivators did have some side benefits. But they’d all been touched by it regardless. Now the factories were converting themselves to turn out different products, and people started new ventures. There were still more factory buildings close to the city than the last time I’d seen it, although less of them were pumping smog into the atmosphere.

I sensed a familiar presence approaching. Folding my arms, I waited and kept looking down at the city until he was close enough.

“Admiring your domain?”

“You know very well it’s not that, Al,” I replied, also in English, turning to look at him and seeing his grin.

Al was hovering in the air on a flying sword, which he handled remarkably well considering he wasn’t yet in the fourth stage. Our guards were farther away, almost on the edge of my senses, giving us privacy. I still felt the presence of Rijoko in the back of my mind, distantly, not giving me much of his attention.

“I decided to take a break and get myself a moment to clear my head,” Al said as he set down. He walked up to stand beside me, sharing the view of the palace and city. “And lo and behold, Tenira grabbed me to pass you a message.” He grinned. “She says you can stay away for a little while longer, if you want.”

I raised an eyebrow, but smiled. They both knew me pretty well. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Apparently she wants you to be relaxed and not grumpy for the closing festivities. If you ask me, I think she actually just wants you out of the spotlight for a while to get people to back off. It’s not been that bad,” he hastened to add, “but you know how it is.”

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I nodded. People had swarmed me like hungry piranhas with a little less bloodlust. This was the first opportunity many had had since the war, of course. “I know every royal wants to be popular, but I can’t help but think I may have gotten too much of a good thing.”

Al laughed. “First world problems, right? Except in this case, clearly second world problems. Don’t you just love it when people love you?”

I gave an exaggerated groan. “I’ve always said excessive idolization of anything or anyone is dangerous.”

“Well, it’s not just the nationalists who’re getting in on it. I just heard a few servants using your new epithet. Inaris the Conqueror, I mean. Metal, right?”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, deciding not to respond to his teasing.

“I mean, I think it’s cool”, Al continued. He was still grinning. “They’ll call you Inaris the Great eventually, just you watch. You’d prefer that, right? Although I guess you wouldn’t like that while you’re still alive.”

“It would be a little gauche while I’m still alive,” I agreed, shaking my head. “I think I prefer the old names. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep a straight face for this one. It sounds like some wannabe viking.”

“You’re just uncomfortable because good little Western humanists aren’t supposed to conquer anyone,” he countered.

I pulled a face, but I didn’t have a good retort. He wasn’t wrong, after all.

“I did the right thing, didn’t I, Al?” I asked quietly.

It startled me that I hadn’t asked that question sooner, and yet felt his answer was extremely important. It was probably because, of anyone else I might ask for their opinion, he was the one with a similar background, the one familiar with Earth takes on ethics.

“Absolutely,” he answered, a serious look on his face now. “And I know that you’ll keep doing that, too.”

I smiled gratefully. It warmed my heart to see him this supportive. Although I didn’t really need it, in the end. I still was and would always be Tori, but now I was living the life of Inaris of the Leri, and it was this world my focus belonged to.

“Now, I’m off, before this gets any more sappy.” He hopped back onto his flying sword and gave me another grin. “Try not to stay away for too long, Nari. I know you don’t have a normal wedding night to look forward to, but I wouldn’t start a centuries-long marriage off with being late.”

I waved at him as he took off, looking after him for a moment. Something about what he’d said stuck with me. I had centuries with Tenira. With all of them, really. The thought was still a little odd, but less so than before. I’d marry Yarani, too, in good time, maybe in a year or two. And then, maybe a few years later, we might start having children. I could help Kajare get the success and recognition he deserved. And, of course, once Al started to bring someone home, I could pay back all of this teasing.

The thought made me grin. I stayed there, glancing at the palace. I was still in a contemplate mood and didn’t really want to go home yet. Instead, I sat down and tilted my head back, staring up at the stars. It was a nice night.

A half-moon hung in the sky, sending its light down. This close to the city, I didn’t see as many stars as sometimes on the campaign trail in the south, but I was still far enough from the palace to get a good view. I breathed in deeply and pulled in some qi. It came easily, light and darkness swirling into me and joining the spiraling rush in my core.

I closed my eyes, letting the night lull me into a calmer state and following the qi I was cultivating. After a while, I took my focus from that, too, and instead took a step deeper into my own mind.

I wasn’t entirely sure what I was looking for here, if anything, but I found the changes I discovered interesting. I hadn’t had much time to examine my defenses after the battle, but Jideia’s visit had clearly left the visualization changed. Of course, our struggle had damaged them, and while it seemed it had repaired itself some on its own - or maybe it would be better to say my subconscious mind had repaired it - that didn’t restore everything to how it had been.

It knew trying to recreate that would be a fool’s errand, if not impossible. Instead, I focused on the idea of it, what I wanted to accomplish. It took an effort of will, but I was used to that by now. I sensed and saw in my mind how the surreal labyrinth around my thoughts expanded and filled itself with more material. It ended up pretty nice, even a little more labyrinthine than before.

After that, I dived a bit deeper into my mind. After a moment of consideration, I tried to recreate the place I’d taken Stormy to. It wasn’t a normal part of my defenses that I needed to rebuild, but I was still curious. There was something I’d found here, a hint of something else, something I suspected might be buried in my mind. Or maybe not my mind, actually, but … something. Maybe it had taken a Greater Spirit’s presence to bring it out.

I focused on my visualization and put myself into a form in the middle of it. A quick check showed that I looked the same as last time.

This time, I kept the scene around me nebulous. No details stood out, and they would only become clear if I focused on them. I strolled around for a few meters, but it didn’t really change anything.

Then I took another step into a stone-paved yard beside a garden that resembled the one I’d sort of been to earlier. I stared around myself for a moment, then sat down. All this was only set dressing, really. I didn’t see what I had before.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Then I thought back to it, trying to remember every detail I could. What I’d seen didn’t really matter, so much as what I’d sensed. I dived deep into not just my qi, but my mind. Which was a little strange considering I was currently sitting in the middle of it, but whatever. It helped that I still felt my connection to Rijoko clearly. That gave me the equivalent of a navigation beacon.

Darkness and light swirled around me. Dim and blurred shapes twisted, low sounds faded into discordant, far-off music, and I felt hot and cold shivers. All of that was overlayed by a sensation even harder to describe, something I just couldn’t quite put my fingers on.

But eventually, after falling through myself for a second that stretched out uncomfortably into a timeless instant, I felt something. It was markedly different from the hint I’d caught before. Not just stronger, but like the difference between feeling out the paint brushed on a canvas in a dark cave and laying eyes on the painting in the sunlight outside.

I opened my eyes. Before me, close and yet so far away, stood a figure. An entity in a human shape.

For another timeless yet short moment, we faced each other. My visualization shattered around me, and a cold shiver gripped me.

I gasped and rolled over. I saw little more than a silhouette in gray, a hood pulled over their head. I shivered violently, only realizing after a moment that I was lying on the grass. It took a few moments until the swirling light and darkness around me resolved into a proper view of the mountainside.

An entity beyond Aran. It has to be. I suspected before, but this … Was that who cursed Inera? The source of the soul journeys? I stood up and pulled my flying sword from my storage ring. While I climbed on it, I clenched my fingers into the sleeves of my robes. I pushed some qi into it and rose into the air, moving off back towards the palace and my wedding party.

I blinked, glancing at the sky one more time. I had trouble coming to grips with the realization. There was one thing I had seen. One detail that had sprung out for me. Beneath the hood, in the shadowed face I hadn’t managed to make out, there’d been a pair of eyes.

Gray eyes, eyes I saw in the mirror every day.