Rather than answer Cyrus's question, Lyda got up and walked to the door, answering it.

"Hello," she greeted Jared.

"Good morning, Lyda," he greeted her, then looked at Cyrus. "Good morning, Cyrus."

"Morning," Cyrus responded.

"Hey," Lyda told Jared. "Sorry to spring this on you, but I'm going to have to cancel. Cyrus and I decided to try having a relationship, and while he says it's okay for me to keep doing the nude modeling, I know he doesn't like it."

"Well," Jared responded. "While I'm a little disappointed to not be able to do more paintings of you, Lyda, I'm glad you've entered a relationship. Cyrus seems like a nice enough guy, so I wish you luck in it."

"Thanks," she told him. "Anyway, sorry."

"It's alright," he said. "I was lucky to get to do the other two in the first place. Well, I'm going to head out, then. You enjoy yourself now, and congratulations."

"Thanks," she said. "Have a good day."

Jared left, and Lyda closed the door, then approached Cyrus.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yes," he answered. "Are you sure about that?"

"As I told Jared," she told him. "I'd rather respect your wishes, since we're in a relationship. I didn't mind doing nude modeling, but the sort I was doing is best left for if I'm single or if it's by or for the person I'm with."

"Okay," Cyrus said softly. "Sorry if I'm making you unhappy."

"You aren't," she sat beside him. "So. Is there anything you want to do today?"

"The usual routine," he answered.

"Fair enough!" She laughed.

The two of them returned to their usual pattern, adding in a two-day trip to the Dungeon ten days after their last visit to it, making a total of three trip. They deviated from their pattern almost none, with Cyrus reading or using his tablet most of the time that he and Lyda were at the lodge and not skiing or mixing potions, and Lyda swimming in the pool, using the spa, or simply socializing in that time.

After Lyda used the last potion from the third batch they mixed up, she trained as usual, feeling the difference in her magic from two months before. She possessed a stronger sense for her fire while using it, and had increased her level of power several times over.

Though she was still weak, it wasn't insignificantly weak, and her mana pool had increased enough for her to use magic for nearly ten minutes continuously without a potion increasing the cost, as long as she only tried small spells.

"So," Lyda said as Cyrus sent the candles and tray back to his warehouse. "Are we making another trip to the Dungeon? Or are you going to contact the Blessed Ones so that I can undergo their trial? Am I at the… whatever it is standard?"

"You are," he told her as she began to stretch. "But there's no need for me to contact them. They've had an earth elemental on the other side of the wall, watching your progress."

Cyrus indicated the outside facing wall of the suite.

"It let them know you were at the standard a couple of days ago," he informed her. "Though I had it make sure to tell them to wait until we used up the last potion today."

"So they're coming?" She asked.

"They're here," he said right before someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get that," Lyda told him.

She walked over to the door and opened it, finding the pair of Blessed Ones standing on the other side.

"Hello, Colin, Emily," she greeted them.

"Hello, Lyda," Colin greeted her. "May we come in?"

"Of course," she stepped to the side, allowing the Blessed Ones to enter. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

The three of them sat down, Lyda beside Cyrus, the Blessed Ones across from them. Cyrus himself continued using his tablet, having decided to arrange several meetings while Lyda was undergoing the Trial.

"So," Colin said to Lyda. "You meet the standard necessary to undergo our trial. It will take you a week to perform. Do you feel ready to undergo it?"

"Can I ask what it involves first?" She asked.

"No," Emily answered. "A rule our father set is that we cannot tell others the contents of the trial before they are undergoing it. We're bound by a geas to not. Cyrus isn't, but he won't tell out of respect for Rynovar."

"I also won't be there," Cyrus reminded her. "My presence might influence the result, so I'll stay away while you're undergoing it."

There was also the reason he had told her before, about how he didn't want to ask to come to their mansion only to find out they didn't want him there, just like his brothers, but he wasn't going to say that in front of them. Saying it out loud, he felt, would be rude and insulting to them, even if he outranked them by being a god.

"How far away are you going to be?" Colin asked.

"I'm arranging for them to come here," Cyrus answered. "So that if she fails it, I'll be here to meet her when she returns early. That way, we can set her to training again so she can try again in another month, and hopefully pass then."

"Huh," Emily said. "We expected you to go on a flight somewhere. It's not like you to not travel far for more than two weeks, and it's been two months."

"We'll be traveling again after Lyda finishes the trial," Cyrus said. "We'll undergo plenty of traveling then."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Alright," Emily said, then looked at Lyda. "So, Lyda. Are you ready to undergo it? If so, pack some clothes, then come with us."

Lyda nodded, then went to her shared room with Cyrus to pack, and the Blessed Ones looked at Cyrus.

"We had to ask Rynovar," Colin said. "After your brothers' presences disappeared. You made a truly frightening prison, Cyrus."

"It's serving as a punishment," Cyrus shrugged. "They deserved it, destroying a Dungeon like that. Mother is still trying to deal with the aftermath. While it was made public that a Dungeon was destroyed by some rogue gods, Rynovar and the Divine Enforcers have ensured the full extent of the damage hasn't been leaked."

Magic flooded the area surrounding it, warping space and mutating the plants and animals in the region. Even humans were affected, the flood of magic weakening most and killing the rest. Storms and tornadoes manifested regularly, the ground shifted and buckled randomly, and the elements manifested in the air or random objects without warning.

Only a god could survive such an experience, and Cyrus planned on visiting there after Lyda finished the trial to help fix things if his mother hadn't managed to get enough of it under control. She was doing a decent job, but her powers weren't sufficient for manipulating things on the scale necessary.

Cyrus was expecting a formal request from Rynovar asking him to intervene as the god of reality to come soon.

"It's still frightening," Emily told him. "But we can understand why your mother activated it. Have you spoken to your father since she did?"

"No," Cyrus scoffed. "I haven't had reason to. If he wanted to contact me about my brothers being in there, he'd have done so already. He doesn't actually care about us, that's why he harasses me."

"Alright," Lyda came back out, interrupting the conversation, dressed for the day and wearing a pack on her back. "I'm ready to go."

"Okay," Colin said as he and his sister stood. "Let us be off, then. And Cyrus, we've never held you responsible for the actions of your brothers. You might be their brother, but you aren't them, and you aren't responsible for their actions, even if you do try to shoulder that."

"So yes, you're allowed on our property," Emily told him. "Visit sometime, would you?"

"Yeah," Cyrus told her. "I'll visit sometime, I guess. After Lyda finishes her quest, when I have time."

"Okay," Emily said. "Enjoy your day, Cyrus, and we'll see you again soon."

Cyrus nodded, then the Blessed Ones left with Lyda, leaving Cyrus alone. He returned to using his tablet, looking for sellers and buyers, until lunch. After lunch, he went downstairs for a session at the spa.

As he was showering off, he felt a familiar presence enter the showers as well.

"Mind undoing this?" Kylnar asked as he stepped under a shower, fox tail swishing from side to side.

"I don't feel comfortable touching you while you're naked," Cyrus muttered.

"It's just my back," Kylnar said.

"Let me guess, you rendered yourself invisible to the human mind to get in here?" Cyrus asked.

"Just the wolf traits," Kylnar told him. "So, could you?"

"Fine," Cyrus sighed. "Turn so your back is towards me."

Kylnar obeyed, then Cyrus placed his hands on the older god's back, making sure to keep at arm's length as he did. He reverted Kylnar back to his original self, then pulled his hands away and resumed his shower.

"What was Rynovar's reaction to it?" Cyrus asked.

"At first, he just stared at me," Kylnar answered. "Then, he charged me, tackled me to the ground, and started playing with my ears and tail, feeling them to see how soft and fluffy they were. He convinced Selar to join in."

Cyrus snorted at the mental image of the godking and his wife sitting on Kylnar, playing with his tail and ears.

"Then when he finished, he told me I had become adorable and he wanted to keep me in a cage forever," Kylnar added. "Before setting Ra on me."

"Ra?" Cyrus asked. "He-okay. I'm guessing that's the one formerly known as Neptune?"

"Yeah," Kylnar nodded. "He changed its name to Ra a few months before you met Lyda and started this."

Neptune, now Ra, was one of Cyrus's earliest creations with aether. He had taken a wolf, a fox, and a mountain lion, pulled attributes and genetics from each, then merged them together, creating a new creature. One that was a mix of all three, but much stronger and possessing mana veins for all six elements, as well as possessing the intelligence of a human child.

The young god had decided it wasn't something he should let loose and was preparing to destroy it when Kylnar showed up, saying that Rynovar had wanted it for his collection of exotic animals. The godking changed its name to a random god of the ancient tales every eight or nine months, and no one was certain as to why.

"Rynovar is a nut," Cyrus muttered.

"He's an interesting one," Kylnar said. "When we first met, he had just killed a dragon by incinerating its brain. Without opening a path into it. That elemental sensory spell he came up with is frightening to think about."

"Yeah," Cyrus nodded. "At least it's something beyond human ability. So. Did you only come down here to get that undone? Why come into the shower with me? Perving again?"

"No," Kylnar said. "If I were perving, I'd do it anytime you were naked, not while you were in the shower. Actually, I come here regularly for a massage. Every couple of months, and I book well in advance. I've had this session booked for the last year. You just happened to chose to book a session at the same time as me."

"Oh," Cyrus said.

They finished their showers in silence, then moved on to the massage rooms, receiving their massages. Cyrus had decided to observe the previous masseuse's advice and receive a massage every two or three months. She had a point back then, when she told him that he was stiff. Dealing with his brothers and stressing over their actions did cause him to tense often.

Even without worrying about them over the past month, Cyrus still found himself craving another massage. While he didn't like the contact that occurred during it, he did enjoy the relaxed feeling his body had after.

After the massage, Cyrus went to the relaxing pools, while Kylnar went off somewhere else, coming to the pools after another hour. When their block ended, they returned to the showers and washed off, then dressed, Cyrus pulling on sweats and a hoodie before slipping his feet into sneakers.

"Cyrus," Kylnar said, dressed in shorts, a sleeveless, and sandals. "I heard that you had a question for Rynovar."

"Yeah," Cyrus answered. "I've had it for a long time. I wasn't going to ask it, but since I'm helping Lyda with this, I figured I'll ask when we go up to the island."

"You could go now, you know," Kylnar told him. "Rynovar will answer the question. You've done enough for Earth, especially regarding your brothers, that he'd probably do anything for you."

"I'll wait," Cyrus shook his head. "The question can wait."

Kylnar gave him a knowing look.

"It's about your father, isn't it."

"As if!" Cyrus scoffed, and Kylnar raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe."

"I figured," Kylnar told him. "It's the only thing I could think of that would make you delay asking Rynovar. You know you can just ask your father directly whatever it is you want to know, right?"

"I doubt he'd give me a straight answer," Cyrus scoffed again. "My father likes his games."

"Alright," Kylnar said. "Suit yourself, then. Anyway, I should be heading back. Rynovar wants to play chess again. He says that this is the time he'll beat me."

"Yeah!" Cyrus laughed. "And I'm a purple dinosaur!"

Kylnar laughed, then walked out, and Cyrus returned up to the suite. He remained in the suite other than to go shopping or meet up with buyers or sellers for the next week, waiting for Lyda to return without incident.

When an elemental told him that Lyda had passed the trial and would be returning with the Blessed Ones in a few hours, Cyrus found himself preparing a cake for her.

"Why am I doing this?" He asked the earth elemental outside his room.

"Because you want to celebrate with her," it responded. "Humans often celebrate achievements with sweets such as deserts. At least, that is my understanding of it. Because you care for her, you have decided to make her a cake to honor that tradition of theirs."

"Okay," Cyrus wasn't sure of that explanation, but decided that a celebratory cake wasn't out of the question.

He mixed up chocolate frosting for the cake, then applied it before using blue frosting to write "CONGRATULATIONS" on the cake. Having never done much with cakes before, Cyrus wasn't sure what else to do with it. He knew that some cakes had candles put on them, though wasn't sure if this kind of cake was among them. He contemplated putting strawberries on the cake, but before he could start slicing them, Lyda returned.