A chill shot down my spine. Cal's eyes bulged as he tightened his grip.

I didn't dare to breathe, or even blink.

The silence carried on for what felt like eternity before a sharp laugh cut through the storm.

"Really? Resorting to mind games now?" Ysanna said.

Aurelion chuckled and there was a spark of ether from somewhere above. "It was a good try. After all, what a better place to hide than under our noses."

"Leave. Last warning," Zolnja threatened.

"I will, for now. The others will demand their answer and more than a few are ready for blood. I'll order them to stand down, and ease their concerns. But return the core and its fairy untouched, and soon. If you don't..."

His voice trailed off, and he sounded genuinely unsure. The arrogance and cockieness was absent, replaced by a tone filled with resolution and stone.

"I understand. The core will be put into place, unharmed. Now go. Or I'll let her eat your arm."

The ether popped and then faded away. A dozen minutes passed before the sea opened up and we rose to the surface. As we touched upon the platform of hardened air, Cal's flames flashed and I was dry.

"That bastard. I'm more than tempted to steal a bite," Cal growled.

"Please don't," Eraztis begged. "There's enough problems as it is."

"It was a fleeting thought, little more."

"Uhuh. Just focus on your kid. And for the love of all, stay out of rifts. No more gods, no more fragments of divinity. Please."

As I was still being carried like a princess in Cal's arms, I waved with my free hand and kicked my feet.

"No promises! I mean it's not exactly in my control."

The squid god's eye twitched and with a pop he was gone.

Cal's couch reappeared and Ysanna collapsed as Cal set me on my own.

"That was all bluff. I'm nowhere near recovered enough to fight him let alone the rest of the pantheon," she groaned.

"There'll be no fighting. Eraztis will see to that. And Aurelion, despite his faults, is true to his word. It's the one thing we can rely on in regards to him."

"Good. Can you even fight? One day we might have to, it'd be nice to know if my ally isn't a cripple."

"Do you need me to devour the realm in flames? I can, it won't be pleasant."

Zolnja lowered her head till it was just above Cal's. Her eye's narrowed as licked the air. "And how is it you've regained so much power in such a short time? You shouldn't even be able to overpower us the way you have."

Cal pointed to me.

Huh?

"Him."

"Me?" I interjected.

"Yes. You."

"What did he do?" Ysanna protested.

Cal shrugged. "He tiered up. A Reborn tiered up, and drew the attention of the Weave. Some of its power flooded through our connection as scion and divinity. I'm not recovered by any means, but I can eat a couple of misbehaving kits."

It was at that moment that movement drew my attention. Cal's bushy tail swished from side to side but as he caught my staring he winked and a new outline revealed itself.

"Wait. You have three tails? What the fuck?" I yelled.

As quick as they appeared, the tails were gone and Cal laughed.

"Keep that a secret if you don't mind."

My eyes narrowed. There was something in the furthest corners of my memory. Something specifically about foxes.

I growled. There just wasn't enough to remember, and even when Galarion tried to work his magic, he deflated into a puddle in defeat.

"Cyrus?" Cal asked, worry coloring his voice.

I stuck out my tongue and leaned back. "Memory issues, that's all."

"Cyrus..."

"I know. I know. Deal with my trauma. Start being careful with subjecting myself to intense moments of agony and deep traumatic moments before death."

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"Cyrus.”

"And yes I'll talk to someone. I'm dealing with it, I promise."

Cal stood up and wrapped me in a proper hug. I wanted to resist but I gave in and pushed my head into his chest.

"Just try, that's all that matters. No magic in the world is worth destroying your mind over. And believe me, I know what it's like to hold things in till they implode."

I huffed and pushed him away with a gentle shove. "I'm fine. And I should be celebrating. All my familiars have a new form, I got new magic to play with. And I finally got a tail!"

He chuckled. "You did. Congrats. Some would say you're a real felkin now. A little disappointed it's not fluffy."

"Yeah well, I tried. I'm not sure why it's transparent though. And why the stereotypical devil's tail. What about my skills influenced that particular evolution choice?"

"It may not be your skills."

"What do you mean? I can guess the rainbow flames are from my mana being so diverse."

Cal's tail came into view and he deliberately turned to show it off. Like his hair, the fur was crimson, but with a white tip toward the end.

"None of my skills have anything to do with my tail's evolution. It was solely based off my bloodline and some other factors. Your tail might be the same."

Oh. That makes sense.

"Well, I like it. And it's strangely natural to walk with it. Almost like having extra balance in my step."

"You're a Reborn and your instincts are hardwired into your soul. Not surprising."

I stood up and splayed my arms. "Well? What do you think?"

Cal patted my head and ruffled my hair. "I think I'm proud of you. And the prismatic colors are a good look, especially your eyes."

There was a brief flight of sadness, so quick that I almost thought I was seeing things until Galarion replayed the memory.

But he smiled and raised his arms. He clapped once, twice, and then a third time.

Confetti rockets shot into the air and exploded in a rain of candy. He turned to reveal a grand table with a veritable mountain of food piled high. The dishes varied but were obviously divided by different cuisines. Italian to the north, French to the south, asian-american fusion to the right and so on.

And there was a seperate table just for cakes.

"Cal?" I asked, standing up.

"Am I not allowed to celebrate your ascension? Come now."

I laughed and dragged Áine from my hood. She flew off and landed atop a massive bowl of lemonade and sank to her legs, leaving her arms just above the rim.

"Oh, that reminds me." Cal snapped his fingers and a mind-bending array of light shrunk into a glowing orb shaped like ice cream. "Memories for Galarion."

He continued to snap his fingers and one by one, something for all my familiars appeared. A giant snake skeleton in a bowl, a big juicy blob of blood mixed with snake venom, rock candy lollipops, A miniature sun, and crystalized lightning surrounded by thunder clouds.

"Go ahead and summon them all. Ysanna will help you deal with the mana toll."

Ysanna crossed her arms. "I will?"

"Yes. You will," he threatened.

She grumbled but glided over and touched my chest. As she did, a lightness filled my soul and I breathed in fresh air mixed with ozone.

Let's give this a try.

Galarion oozed out of my forehead and shot into the floating ice cream cone with a hungry fervor.

He kept shouting 'delicious' before he sank into the cone and engulfed it like a slime.

One by one I summoned my familiars, leaving Zagreus for last. They each took the time to show off to their Grandpa, before diving into their respective cuisine.

I knew of their forms, on an intimate level as I helped in their creation during the evolution and they were bound to me. But seeing them in person was a special kind of joy.

Still, I wept a little at the fact that they were not so tiny and cute. Zagreus and Sturmrorex especially, as the danger-noodle scarf could now easily cover my head between his scales. And his face lost some of its chibi-like youth with more refined ridges and impressive horns.

"They're growing nicely. Good job, Cyrus."

"Can't claim credit for it, they simply earned what I promised them."

Cal smiled and motioned for me to continue. He knew Zagreus from my memories but my familiar only had a vague idea of Cal from my other familiars sharing their impressions.

Felblood Sanguinarch.

Blood formed above and dripped into a growing lizard's body. He was already twice as wide as before, more like a giant tortoise in width. His paws were even larger, and far meatier as he slammed his tail through the waves.

Four necks extended from the base and grew into serpent heads that tasted the air before lowering in fear.

"Hello little one. It's nice to meet you," Cal said warmly.

Zagreus's first head bobbed and raised to meet Cal's eyes. In turn, Cal crouched so he was easier to reach, even if Zagreus's neck pushed past a average man's chest.

"Hello! Hello. Hi! Scratches?" Zagreus asked, all heads hissing simultaneously.

The brief moment of hesitation wore off, and before long Zagreus had Cal pinned and pushing his heads into his hands faster than he could scratch. Eventually, Cal added his tail into the mix to satisfy my needy familiar.

I turned to see Sturmrorex having a conversation with Zolnja as the two partook in the lightning crystal. Whatever they were discussing seemed heated, but Ysanna walked casually and with a smile on her face.

"You've a good family. They are adorable. Although, the bone spider hissed eldritch death calls at me, that was surprising."

"They're good kids. But my family isn't all here."

"Oh? Oooh. Right, forgot about them."

I glared and she laughed as the bubble containing Broken Tower and Sereza breached the surface.

They froze at the sight of the goddess but it wasn't long before Celenae pressed herself against the bubble, smashing her face as close as physically possible to try and get a better look at my familiars.

Ysanna approached the bubble and light crackled in the sky as a strong breeze lifted her hair.

"You will behave in my realm. Do not damage it, and remember that you are guests. Am I clear?"

They all nodded like scared children before Ysanna tapped her foot and the bubble popped, depositing the mortals onto the platform.

Celenae shot to her feet but she stopped and bowed to the goddess. "It is an honor to meet you, goddess. Thank you for rescuing and welcoming us into your abode."

Ysanna smiled and floated away, joining Cal as he wrestled Zagreus into his lap.

I waved and munched on a sugar cookie. "Are you just going to stand there or do you want food you'll never have again because it comes from my world?"

"You! I'm going to murder you in your dreams, and again in your sleep!" Isaac threatened.

"Seems like overkill. Have some pepperoni pizza instead."

The others patted me on the shoulder before rushing off to try the smorgasbord of food. Only Celenae took the time to invade my familiars' space and begin quizzing them on anything and everything as she sketched them into her journal.

I tossed Sereza a cookie and jerked my thumb away from the crowd.

Once we were far enough away the mortal wouldn't be able to hear our conversation did I exhale and closed my eyes.

One... Two... Three...

"Did you say from your world?" Sereza blurted out.

And here we go.

I turned around and met the intense stare of the felkin before me.

"Yes. Yes I did."