(Gavin)

"Gavin," Tristan says, and I glance over to him. "I have finished my assessment of the floors."

We split up several hours ago to investigate the Tower individually. Ryan's already finished his own assessment, mostly because he couldn't read too much of the tomes, so he's… I'm not sure.

If Tristan noticed the same things I did, then that is a positive. If he noticed something new, that could be a positive or a negative.

"And?" I ask.

"Same as during our initial investigation," he answers. "Everything here has been preserved – all food, grimoires, tomes, scrolls, regents, and such. Their magics also use runes properly, from what I can tell, instead of the bad versions we all have."

"Nothing different from what I discovered," I state. "Exempting that I found more."

"You did?"

"Indeed," I hand him a scroll. "Read that."

He reads through it, his expression turning to shock as he does. When the ancient magician finishes, he looks at me.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"It is, indeed," I state. "That scroll is concrete proof the Sages tampered with the magical knowledge across the universe, to butcher magic and make it more difficult to learn and wield. They wanted things their way or no way.

"It is also," I state. "Concrete proof that the Sages were not, in fact, of this world."

"Indeed," he says. "But who were they?"

"My best guess?" I ask, and he nods. "The people who use the name of Dekami, despite not being the true Dekami."

He looks confused.

"The beings we know as the Dekami," I state. "Are not the true Dekami. They are a Species with an attitude problem. The five runic languages are named after five higher Species – beings above even the Dekami. From the scrolls and tomes I found, the beings calling themselves Dekami made their home here after the true Dekami abandoned it, and took on that name themselves, believing themselves to be the next-best thing. They are arrogant, boastful, and wicked.

"I have deciphered," I indicate two journals resting on the table beside me. "These two journals already. According to the Language Skill I acquired, it was written by the Mnarians. They are the people of Mnaria, an ancient realm of pure magic, according to the language Skill. When I acquired it, the description for Dekami Runic Language changed. I am unsure of what the true Dekami Species is, but I do know what two others are."

"You do?" He asks.

"Yes," I answer. "The Kurew are the Dragons, and the Dirsoor are the Rift Wolves. Beings that merge many things together – the many Resources that exist merged together to form these powerful beings akin to mortal gods. The Dragons. Beings that are masters of manipulating magic and existence, using that to seal up the Rifts caused naturally and by Divine issues, as well as passing between various existences without limitation. The Rift Wolves.

"The languages," I say. "Or rather, the Skills for them, have adjusted their wording for me to reflect this knowledge. However, my Bloodline hasn't changed."

"What does that mean?" He asks.

Other than that the Divine Beings were lying to me about a certain little thing? Letting me believe one thing when they knew it wasn't true? I already gave Nies an earful about that.

"That my Bloodline," I state. "Does not stem from the false Dekami, the Mnarians, but rather, from the true Dekami. What I want to know, now, is what the true Dekami are. They receive massive bonuses to Experience while in Dungeons, to learning and Leveling all Skills, as well as to magics and Languages."

"What will we do now?" He asks, then looks around. "Where is your apprentice?"

"I Teleported him back to the training hall," I answer. "So that he can practice his Magic Bolt some more."

Which is why I'm not sure what he's actually doing.

"Ah."

"I will be visiting my Patron," I inform him. "Would you like me to return you to the village?"

"No," he answers. "I will look through the texts and see what I can glean. There may be more to this place than we know."

"Very well, then," I state, then focus my magical energies.

"Wait, did you say-"

His voice cuts off as I find myself standing in a tiger's den, the twenty-six tigers resting within looking startled at my sudden appearance.

"Sorry," I apologize to them. "It appears I Teleported into the wrong location. Would one of you kindly guide me to my Patron's home? The jungle makes it a bit obscure, and the Divine Energies permeating the air blocks me from being able to sense things properly."

One of the tigers snorts, then stands, stretches, and exits the cave. I follow him through the jungle, the two of us walking at a leisurely pace, arriving at a rather large temple around thirty minutes later.

It stands probably two hundred yards tall, with dozens of spires, and covers probably two miles of land across, and likely as much back. The entrance to the temple is massive as well, standing over a hundred feet in height and eighty in width.

The only reason I can think of for Nies to have that in his temple is if his true form is that fucking massive. That, or if he used to invite Dragons into it on a regular basis, and is just too lazy to change the size to match its current entrants.

Knowing Nies, it could be either.

The tiger stops outside of the building, at the base of the steps. I rub its head for a moment, then walk up the stairs and push open the massive doors. They open quickly and with ease, though judging by their weight, they probably weigh as much as a Dragon, each.

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

I walk into the temple, which is illuminated, yet without any clear source of light. Divine Power at work, no doubt.

I walk through the wide, tall halls for several minutes, up until I come across a boy who looks around ten, with pitch-black hair and crimson eyes. He's dressed in all-black, though his tunic does seem to have slightly-lighter swirls on it. He looks at me in shock, a spoon in his mouth, hand frozen gripping it. He's holding a bowl of some sort of cold item that looks… interesting.

"You must be Nies's son," I say.

He pulls the spoon out of his mouth, then frowns.

"You must be Gavin," he says. "How in the fuck did you get here?"

"Weren't you ten several years ago?"

"Dad's weird existence stopped me from physically aging once I reached this point," he says. "But yes, I was ten when he sent you the projection of me sleeping. How the fuck did you get into his Divine Realm?"

"I Teleported in using my magic," I state. "I'm looking for him. Is he here? Or did he sneak off to Ekre's realm?"

"He's napping," the kid shrugs. "Or at least, he was six hours ago, when I popped into Earth to get more ice cream."

"Is that what you are eating?"

"Yes."

"So are you half-god or whole-god?"

"I'm just a Divine Being," he shrugs. "Wanna see my sjkuldra?"

"I have no idea what that is."

He thinks for several minutes, then decides on the explanation.

"It's a really big sword."

"Um… sure?"

"Okay!" He looks happy with that, then grabs my hand and leads me through the temple until we reach a bedroom.

It's decorated with blacks and reds, with a massive bed in the middle of the back wall, the bath left open here, instead of in a separate room. No bathroom, but I doubt Divine Beings actually need that.

A quartet of tigers nap on the floor near his bed, and I have no doubt that they're used for sleeping more than the bed is, based on the vision Nies sent me of how proud he was of his son, who hasn't stopped babbling since we met, his ice cream forgotten in his hands.

The young Divine Being whose mind may not have aged, either, sets the ice cream down on a table on his way over to a chest, then opens the chest up. He reaches inside the chest, pulling out a variety of toys and stuffed creatures that look quite soft, unlike normal trophies.

What is the purpose of those?

"Found it!" He exclaims after pulling out the thirty-fourth sword in that chest.

That's excluding the four battle axes, six warhammers, nine maces, seventeen whips, twelve shields, and more.

This kid really loves his weapons.

The sword he pulls out now is unlike the others in that it really is massive. The handle itself makes it look like a six-hand sword in his kid-hands, a bloodred stone set into the claw-gripped pommel, another in the crosspiece shaped like horns. A pair of massive horns.

The kid continues to pull it out, revealing a black blade patterned akin to his shirt, until the twenty-three foot blade is entirely out of the chest. It's at least a foot and a half in width, and if I'm not mistaken, its 'edges' actually consist of hundreds of tiny little razors.

And considering my significant SGT and PER attributes, I'm not mistaken.

"That… really is a huge sword," I say. "Your father lets you swing it around?"

"No," he shrugs. "But I still do it anyway."

"So is this your true form?" I ask. "Or do you just prefer it?"

"Oh, it's similar to my real form," he answers. "Hold on."

A moment later, a dark blue monkey's tail comes out from under his shirt.

"There we go," he grins at me. "Now I'm in my real form. Dad had me with some monkey goddess."

Who has a blue tail.

"You only have one tail?" I ask. "Your father always has three, when I see him in other forms."

"Yeah," he shrugs. "Dad's always got three tails if he's got tails. Don't ask me why. Not sure if he does it on purpose or not, and I don't know if his real form has three tails or not."

"You don't know his real form?" I ask.

"Nope."

I'm not sure what to say next. I should probably locate my patron.

"Are you just going to hold the sword?"

"Do you want to hold it?" He offers me the handle.

This kid is a Divine Being. I want to reject holding such a ridiculous sword, but doing so could be problematic, especially since his father is my patron, as well as one of the Original Divine Beings.

"Oh, right!" He exclaims. "You're mortal! Only Divine Beings can hold it! I put that in when I made it."

He shoves it back into the chest, then starts packing everything else back into it, stopping at a stuffed bear around a foot and a half in height. He frowns at it for a moment, then looks at me.

"Want the teddy bear?"

"The… what?"

"Teddy bear!" He exclaims, a light in his eyes. "You see, in some worlds and cultures, they make stuffed animals from fabric and some sort of stuffing material. Lots of kids love them. Little kids often fall asleep cuddling them. They're a comfort thing. They're awesome! Dad told me about them a few years ago, and I started collecting them. Every time I go somewhere that sells one, I buy it! Dad makes me use money, 'cause it's not nice to steal from mortals, even if I'm above them and most Divine Beings."

Judging by your 'nickname Title', that's probably true. Nies mentioned previously that you're unable to change it, and unless you've become an 'adult', that hasn't changed. And I don't think you have, or Nies probably wouldn't still coddle you.

Or maybe he would. Still, though. That Title.

Princely Divinity of Pure Chaotic Princehood

Pretty sure Nies set that.

"Are you sure?"

"Feel it!" He exclaims. "You don't come from a world with stuffed animals! It's so soft and plushy and comfy!"

I accept the teddy bear. He's right, it is soft and 'plushy'. It squeezes easily, and it feels nice to hold.

"You don't show much emotion, do you?" The Divine Being asks, and I look at him, raising an eyebrow. "That eyebrow raise is probably the most you've done. Why don't you show much emotion? What do you think of my plushie? Do you like it? How does it feel?"

"I have a high Acting Skill," I say. "I tend to subconsciously mask my emotions through it. It's a force of habit. It feels interesting. I might share the knowledge of this with my people. There are people from Earth there, so the knowledge of it was bound to come out eventually."

There's more to my lack of expressions than that. I feel… distant, lately. Distracted. Separated from my normal emotions, apart from my care for others and my wrath. And pride. But for most mortal things, I feel… aloof, I suppose.

I suppose too much has happened for me to feel otherwise.

"Okay!" The princely being grins.

Let's not muse on my lack of emotions, shall we?

"Shall we go find your father, now?" I ask.

"Sure!" He says, then takes off.

I follow him, until we reach another sleeping chamber. Nies is sleeping on a massive bed in the middle of the room, wearing a long tunic that reaches halfway down to his knees. It's dark red in color, though it has my Order's insignia patterned on it in violet.

The same violet of my magic.

The Origin of Adventures is lying on his back, his right arm hanging over the edge of the bed, along with his head, which is turned towards us. His legs are spread out, and his other arm is stretched straight out to the side, his palm facing up.

He's also lying on top of the dark red blankets, ignoring the matching pillows at the head of the bed and instead lying halfway down it.

"DAD!" My patron's son runs onto the bed, jumping onto his father, landing square on my patron's back with that single jump from the ground.

I'm starting to see why Nies naps in other realms… and why he might be so tired so much. He's not really lazy, just exhausted from dealing with his son. Though that would probably be only the last decade and a half or so, yet he's been doing that much longer than that.

So maybe he is just lazy and likes sleeping around other Divine Beings. But it's a more frequent thing now because of his son.

"What?" Nies mumbles, shifting and dumping his son onto the floor.

"Your Hero warped himself into your realm."

"Stop trying to prank me and let me get back sleep," Nies mumbles.

"Actually," I say, and my patron snaps his gaze to me. "I did."

"You're as bad as Soren," he mutters.