After a delicious dinner and a heart wrenching movie, chosen by Maria, everyone retired to their bedrooms.

Kailan had a lot on his mind as he laid down. After several minutes of tossing and turning he got up and opened his window. Grabbing onto the top rim he pulled himself out and onto the roof. He sat there staring out at the stars. The sky was very clear and the air was brisk.

“Hello Eva. Bit late for a stroll isn’t it?” Kailan turned with a smile, having long since noticed Eva sneaking her way across the rooftop.

“Should have known I couldn’t fool your senses.” She laughed lightly.

“What are you doing here so late?” Kailan asked as he gestured for her to join him.

“Douglas and I were doing rounds around the neighborhood, when I noticed someone sneaking around on your roof. Didn’t think it was you.” She replied, sitting down next to Kailan.

Kailan lightly grunted in understanding. Before turning back to stare at the stars. His gaze wasn’t fixated but darted around looking at every shining light he could find.

“What are you looking for?” Eva asked curiously as she observed him.

“I’ve been staring at the stars and constellations of Asgard for the past thousand years. I guess I’m just comparing the differences. Everything here seems so alien to me. It’s unnerving but exciting at the same time.” Kailan explained.

“It seems alien to you even though it’s your home?” Eva asked.

“Is it my home? I was born here and lived here for 14 years. But I lived in Asgard for more than a millennium. I have friends and family there. If you were to ask me a thousand years ago if this was my home, I’d probably say yes. But now…” Kailan trailed off as his smile faded.

His heart felt heavy as he thought back to Asgard. So many memories, they began to flood into his mind as he continued to stare out into the night sky.

“I get it.” Eva stated.

Kailan turned to Eva questioningly.

“A decade ago, before the Merger, I lived with my parents and my baby brother. We weren’t wealthy and my parents worked all their life to support us, things got even worse later on. I basically raised my baby brother.” She started as she turned to stare out at the stars. Her eyes glimmered as she sank into her story.

“When the Merger came about, it was a big disaster. Panic everywhere, people looting and fighting. And then the first dungeon gates opened. Gaia warned us but not many people listened. They didn’t want to listen, especially when many people believed it was Gaia’s fault. The ones who did, fought, but they weren’t very strong. And eventually, a dungeon break happened. No one had seen anything like it.” Eva reached out with her hand as if trying to grasp the stars in the sky.

“The dungeon break was in Chicago, where we lived. My home was completely destroyed, turned into a field. My parents… They didn’t make it out. And my baby brother, he survived the initial shockwave, but was caught in the madness that followed. I heard that some random passerby found him crying and brought him along with them. I wasn’t home that day though. I had come here to Indianapolis looking for work.” Eva continued as tears began to roll down her cheek silently.

“I’m sorry.” Kailan didn’t know what else to say. Eva’s eyes became puffy as she rubbed them.

“My brother was taken to a hospital, he was badly injured and there was nothing they could do. They had him hooked up to all these wires and tubes. Half his body was gone, they said it was a miracle he was still breathing. He was only 3.” Eva looked down as she clasped her hands, trying to stop them from shaking.

Kailan could sense the heartache that Eva was feeling. Her words carried her strong emotions.

“After everyone adapted to the dungeons and Hunters became a thing, one particular Hunter was found to have an incredible ability. She could cryogenically freeze people, safely. It was a bizarre ability, but the Bureau recruited her and had her go out to the cities that experienced dungeon breaks. She froze anyone who agreed. They believed that eventually there would be a Hunter with healing abilities powerful enough to help them. It was a part of their ‘recovery plan’.” Eva chuckled derisively.

“They had this big think tank of people coming up with everything they possibly could. Every scenario that might help. I thought the idea was crazy. But when they asked me for permission to freeze my brother, I said yes. I couldn’t bear to lose him and I knew that if I didn’t say yes, he would die.”

Kailan wore a solemn look as he stared at Eva. She had been through a lot and bottled up too much.

“Anyway, afterwards I moved here to get away. It took a while but I made a lot of friends and people I care about here. This place became my new home. If I were to go back, I don’t think that I would recognize anything anymore. But at the same time, I dream of returning to that home where my family once lived.” She continued as she turned to look back at Kailan.

“So I get it. Wanting to go back to that place you felt was home. But you know, this was your home once too. And you're back now, so it could be again.”

Kailan fell into contemplation as he looked at Eva. He was glad that she would share her story with him, and what she said made a lot of sense. He felt a little less lonely knowing there was someone here who truly understood what he felt. “Misery truly loves company.” He thought.

“Anyway, cute panda pajamas. You should totally go hunting in those.” Eva changed the subject as she forced a smile and a laugh.

Kailan chuckled as he looked down at the panda pajamas he had put on earlier. “Only if it’s a dungeon with panda monsters, then I can be Camo Panda.” He joked.

They both laughed. Both of their hearts felt lighter and more calm now.

“Want to know a secret?” Eva asked mysteriously.

“Hmm?” Kailan replied simply.

“The reason I like you is because you remind me of my little brother.” Eva replied.

Kailan was a little confused. “I remind you of a 3 year old?” He asked curiously.

Eva laughed as she responded. “No silly. He was always smiling and laughing. He was a tough little kid and he always seemed to care about everyone. If you were feeling upset he would infectiously spread his laughter. If you were feeling sad he would give you a big hug. He was a very mature 3 year old. You’re like that too, that’s what you remind me of.”

Kailan turned back to the stars as he contemplated Eva’s words. “I’ve just always been like that.” He thought.

“I should get going. Don’t stay up too late, we have a big day tomorrow.” Eva got up and patted herself off as she warned. Jumping down from the roof she ran off into the night.

Kailan continued to stare at the stars for a little while longer before he climbed down to his window and back into his room. He had one more thing to do before bed.

“Time to go dungeon raiding.” He thought as he willed himself to enter his Heart Dungeon.

Kailan didn’t stay long in his palace, just enough time to put on his equipment. He timed himself again to try and get the right ratio, and then leapt into the first floor. He went from floor to floor again, all the way down to the 8th floor where he had some trouble last time.

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This time however, he was prepared and only managed to obtain a few small injuries. He had learned and adapted well from his previous fights. The training he had in Asgard showed. After he finished off the boss creature, Kailan returned to his palace and took another bath, then exited. “1:15 AM. Closer.”

Before he went to bed, he noted his experience. “2118 out of 7K. Already a third of the way there.”

Kailan didn’t have any trouble falling asleep now. As soon as he laid down and closed his eyes, he fell into a deep slumber.

The next morning played out like all the others. As the family munched on bacon and drank their coffee, Kailan’s cell phone rang. “Good morning Eva.” He answered it, noting that it was Eva calling.

“Good morning Kailan. I’m just calling to remind you of the press conference at 11 today. You’ll need to be here by 10 to prep for it. If you need a ride let me know and I’ll come pick you up.” Eva quickly stated.

“Sure. I’ll get back to you on that.” Kailan responded.

“Alright. Let me know by 8:30. See you then.” Eva hung up after leaving this last line.

“Who was that Kai?” Rebecca asked.

“It was Eva. She was just calling to remind me about the press conference today and that I need to be there by 10.” Kailan responded.

“In that case we should leave around 9:15. It’ll probably be packed downtown because of the conference.” Maria noted as she sipped her coffee.

“Are you taking me mom? I thought you had to work today.” Kailan asked curiously.

“I took the day off. So did your father. Rebecca and Elias will also be going.” Maria replied with a loving smile. They would all be there to support him.

“We convinced our guilds that it was in their best interests to let your siblings be present. Didn’t take much convincing of course. Chances are there will be quite a few people from the major guilds present as well. Maybe not the highest level but some of the board members at the very least.” Elias explained.

“Sounds like I’ve drawn a lot of attention to myself…” Kailan grinned mockingly at himself.

“Yes you have. With your ability to boss Gaia around it’s made a lot of people interested in you. Just wait until they release your talent rank.” Rebecca replied to him with a teasing grin as if in schadenfreude.

Kailan rolled his eyes as he focused on his breakfast. He pulled his cell phone back out and texted Eva that his family would be attending and driving him. She almost immediately replied and said they would set out a place for them.

Everyone finished up and then hurried to get ready. It was 8 by the time they finished so they had an hour to prepare. This gave them a buffer of 15 minutes, which was more than enough time. Kailan, Elias and Edward were the first to be ready. They all wore suits making them look professional.

Kailan wore a white button up shirt with a blue tie, black slacks and dress shoes. He had on a matching black and blue vest. Maria and Rebecca tried to get him to wear a suit jacket but he refused. He didn’t like how restrictive it felt. So they picked out this outfit for when he had to go to dress functions. It brought out his eyes and made him look sharp.

Rebecca and Maria were girls so they took a bit longer than boys to get dressed. In fact they took the entire hour. Rebecca went through about 20 outfits before she was satisfied, while Maria only went through 4. Then they had to put on makeup.

“It must be tough being a human girl…” Kailan commented from his seat on the couch as he watched his mother and sister rush in and out of rooms. He hadn’t really thought about when he was younger and the girls in Asgard were either Goddesses who didn’t need to put on makeup and other products or warriors who simply didn’t care.

“Human girl?” Elias looked at his brother questioningly.

Kailan cleared his throat as he quickly thought of some reply. “Well I mean, you don’t see the females of species in dungeons running around in makeup and dresses.” He grinned weakly.

Elias thought it was a strange line of thinking but then again the world is focused around the dungeons now. His brother was also a Returnee who went to a realm with other sapient species. They probably didn’t have the same routines as humans.

Just after 9 rolled around, Maria and Rebecca rushed into the living room. Rebecca was wearing a black dress that came down to her knees, with straps and blue and white patterns. The patterns appeared to be in the shape of octopus tentacles as they climbed up the dress. She had on black laced heels to match. Maria was wearing a white blouse underneath a black long suit jacket that came down to her ankles. It buttoned at the center showing off the blouse. She also had on blank suit pants and black heeled boots.

The boys were stunned. Maria and Rebecca were stunning in their outfits. Especially Maria who was already in her early 50s. She looked more like she was in her early 30s at most. Edward looked to be around his mid 40s due to the effects of being connected to Gaia, but Maria wasn’t connected. Yet somehow she had retained her youth extremely well, and it was made apparent at this moment.

“Dad, sorry to tell you this, but you look like an old rich man driving a Ferrari who picked up a hot young woman to be his girlfriend during his midlife crisis. Mom is way too beautiful for you.” Elias slowly stated as he wondered how his father managed to catch his mother.

Edward wanted to be offended by this but he had to admit, his wife definitely made him look too old to be with her.

“Just think, if she connects to Gaia and levels up a bit she may look younger than us.” Kailan added.

Kailan and Elias imagined what their mother would look like then. They were both depressed when they realised that their own mother would probably look closer to a younger sibling.

“Ehem…” Rebecca interrupted their thoughts as she showed off her dress.

Elias and Kailan wore big grins as they thought of the best way to put it. “I want calamari…” Kailan stated.

Elias almost fell out of the chair he was sitting in as he started laughing. “Good one Kai.” He eked out between his laughs. Kailan wore a big silly grin as he looked up and down at Rebecca’s dress.

Rebecca let out a high pitched grunt in annoyance, as she glared at the two of them, crossing her arms in a huff. Maria giggled a little as she calmed them all down.

“It’s almost 9:15, so out to the car. We don’t want to be stuck in traffic.” She implored.

Everyone seated got up and followed Maria and Rebecca out to the car. Edward got in the driver’s seat and adjusted the radio before pulling out of the driveway. He had set it to one of the news channels. The best way to know where all of the media was heading was to watch their channels. It was better than a GPS app since it would be live.

As expected, traffic was a nightmare. Nevermind the fact that it was a weekday, the press conference for the world's first Returnee in 5 years, a literal miracle, was about to start. Everyone wanted to see the spectacle.

Regardless, Kailan and his family were able to make it to the Bureau by 9:55. They pulled into the North side garage and got out before rushing towards the office. As they got close to the stairs, they noticed Eva and Douglas on the lookout. They were standing in front of the fake wall where the hidden elevator was.

“Over here.” Eva called out.

Eva took a small remote out of her pocket and pressed one of the buttons opening the hidden elevator’s doors. They all piled in as Douglas took up the rear watching for any interlopers. Because of the high volume of visitors the North side garage had been opened up to accommodate all of the Bureau staff. So the reporters and other special visitors could all park in the larger West garage. But there was still a chance that someone might be snooping around the North side parking for a scoop.

After the doors closed, Eva let out a sigh. The elevator went down to the first floor and opened to the North hallway. Douglas moved to block the doorway that led to the East side lobby just in case. While Eva led everyone out and into her office.

“Douglas, have Suzie get everyone a hot chocolate.” Eva called out as she sat back in her chair looking anxious.

“Why do I…” Douglas was about to question Eva with an aggrieved expression, when she cut him off.

“Hot chocolate, now. Or should I start on the story of what happened when you tried to ask Suzie out. I’m sure we could all relax to that one.” Eva grinned at Douglas teasingly as she threatened.

“Fine!” Douglas quickly turned and walked out of the office. He didn’t return until he had a cup of hot chocolate for everyone. Kailan made a mental note to get the full story of this later. While Douglas was away, Eva had turned on the TV to watch the madness presently going on in the arena.

“They’re all in the arena downstairs?” Kailan asked curiously.

“Yes. Because there were so many people we had to move the conference down there. We’ve set up screens along the back wall and cordoned off a section of the gallery for seating.” Eva replied.

As they watched the TV hanging in the corner of the office, it began to pan around the arena. The arena itself was U shaped, with seating along the edges. Nearly three quarters had been flagged off and was filled with people. The reporters were given the forward seats while spectators were sitting towards the back.

“Here’s how this will work. We will head to the arena shortly before 11. You’ll have a full escort. The chairs on the right are for your family. Once we make it to the stage, they will take their seats and you will sit in the chair next to Director Morris. He will start by speaking of a few details and announcing your ranking. After that will be the swarm of questions. You aren’t obligated to answer every question but you do need to answer some questions. I’m sure you can figure out which ones are best to answer.” Eva explained as she looked at the crowd through the television.

“Let’s go over some questions that might arise while we wait.” She continued.