"Good morning," I greet Nate and Emily as they enter my shop moments after I open it for the day. "How are you?"

"Doing awesome, Dungeon Baby!" Emily exclaims as she nearly skips her way over to me. "Since we don't have Dungeons to do, Nate and I are going to head out of town and hunt some monsters outside!"

"Be careful," I tell them. "You're much more likely to run into monsters of varying strengths outside since that's wilderness rather than a System-generated combat zone."

"We will," Nate tells me. "We wanted to stock up on potions, if you've got them. And Emily, stop calling him that."

"But it's what he is!" She protests as Ryan enters the shop. "Oh! It's the trainer! Hi, Trainer!"

It seems they've met Ryan before, though I don't think they ran a Dungeon together based on what I've been told about their separate Dungeon runs. I'm a bit surprised that he's here right now as it's even earlier than when I expected him to show up to purchase stuff for training, if he were going to do that again today.

"It's Ryan," Ryan corrects her, then looks at Nate. "You two heading out of town?"

"Yeah," Nate answers. "Came to stock up on potions."

"I'd recommend having a party," Ryan says. "Most of the monsters nearest to the city are weaker, but they can be more numerous in Dungeons and you can run into some stronger ones. A party will make things safer in general. You'll want a degree of balancing similar to what your initial Dungeon run with a guide had – two close-range fighters who deal damage, two ranged fighters for damage-dealing, two supporters, and two people who can draw monster attention and tank damage while others recover and regroup and get into better strike positions, but also to protect the ranged fighters and supporters. If you can, join a group with some stronger members just in case something goes wrong. You can ask at the bureau for recommendations and they'll list some trusted parties."

Even off-duty as a trainer, he still wants to make sure people are preparing properly for their hunts. I kind of want to kiss him right now but refrain from doing so. Not in front of customers.

"Thanks," Nate says. "We'll keep that in mind. You buy from here? Isn't this a beginner's shop?"

"I've known Evan since before he opened the shop," Ryan explains. "Came to check how it's doing with the decreases in materials."

A lie, since he knows from our discussions this past weekend I'm not affected yet and probably won't be for at least another week or so. It's probably to avoid mentioning the higher stock I carry.

"I can help you if you're ready," I tell Nate and Emily.

They purchase some health and mana potions, then leave, and once they've left, Ryan looks at me.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I answer. "Why? Did something happen?"

"Your goodnight pic last night and good morning pic this morning," he says. "And now. You look a little bit dazed and out of it. Those two probably wouldn't have noticed it, but I've known you for about eight years now. Something's wrong."

He picked up on something being off when I was sure I wasn't showing it. That's kind of impressive.

"Is it really that obvious?" I ask.

"Maybe not to others," he says. "But I'm sure any of your close friends would know. Half of our mutual acquaintances asked if our date went badly and wanted to know what I did."

I'd uploaded my wake-up picture with Aster this morning to my profile rather than only sending it to Ryan. Nothing too low down was visible so I felt it was safe, and my feeling about becoming a substitute dad for Aster seems to be proving true. The pup's even currently curled up at my feet rather than being off doing whatever it is he does.

Glad to hear everyone has my back, but they needn't have worried.

"I'll tell you later," I tell him. "It's… a bit much to handle. I can give you a short version, though. You know I was found in a Dungeon, right?"

"Yeah," he answers. "The one and only Dungeon baby to never have any trace of their family found."

"I have a decent memory," I say. "And can remember being found in the Dungeon. Nothing from before that, though, including who my parents were."

"Did you learn something?" He asks. "Or remember?"

"Remember," I answer. "Specifically… I remembered meeting the King of the Celestials. He was there. Before I was found."

Which also implies there's a chance that he erased my memory of meeting him for some reason. I don't want to say that out loud right now, though. That's really something for a discussion when we have more time and I'm not running my shop. Also for after I've processed it some more.

"Oh…"

"Yeah."

Ryan's quiet for a few moments as he tries to process that.

"Evan?" He says.

"Yeah?"

"Your shop might be rather dead this week," he tells me. "And you've basically done nonstop work since before we met. This might be the perfect time to give yourself a break."

Where is this coming from?

"If I give myself a break," I tell him. "I'll want to get lazy. It's why I fill my days with stuff to do. Just having the shop open, even on days where no customers come in, gives me something to counter that. It's why I spend the shifts reading if no one's here."

"There have been zero new Awakened in the last three days."

Silence hangs in the air for several long moments as I process that.

"What?"

"Awakening Quests are still there," he tells me. "But Level 1 Awakening Quests aren't happening. There hasn't been a single report of a new Awakened in three days. Coupled with the lack of any Dungeons, and a starter shop will probably lose money by being open. Taking the week off might give you the break you need to process what you remembered last night. You really do seem out of it, Evs."

Processing that I've met the King of the Celestials and that he's potentially erased my memories from before I was found shouldn't interfere with my work. That's something I can focus on after work.

"It's not that bad," I tell him. "I'll be fine, Ry, don't worry."

"Evan," Ryan says. "When you served Nate and Emily, it was less like you were working and more like you were going through the motions."

"I'm-"

The door opens and in walks Nick.

"Oh, hey, Ryan!" He says. "You here to check on Evan, too?"

"Yeah," Ryan says.

"You doing okay?" He asks me. "You looked a bit dazed in your most recent picture and I can see you look it a bit in real life."

"He's not," Ryan says before I can respond. "He remembered something from before he was found in that Dungeon as a baby and it's shaken him up a bit. I'm trying to convince him to take a break for the week, especially considering that the shop will basically be dead for it, but he's resistant."

"He's that way," Nick nods, then looks at me again. "You got a familiar? Who's the pup from the pics? His fur looks pretty neat."

"Not a familiar," I tell him. "An ancient cosmic beast with the ability to use aether as he pleases but who also has the mind of a pup. I ended up in a Mythic Forest on Saturday and found him in there. He was all sticky, so I cleaned him up and he's decided to hang around me. And he's down here."

I reach down and pick up Aster to set on the counter, the pup shifting into a seated position once he's on it.

"His name's Aster."

"Have you ever heard of the Celestials?" Ryan asks Nick.

"Celestials?" Nick frowns. "The word rings a bell, but only a small one. I think I heard about them a year or so ago? I'd gotten a reward that let me enter a Mythic Forest and I wanted to look up what those were. I think Celestials were mentioned in some obscure text I came across as possibly being inhabitants of the Mythic Forest. I dunno. The one I entered was just dead. Dirt and nothing else. Not even water in the dirt. Also fog."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

That's two Rank 5s I know of who went into a Mythic Forest and found it dead. One is chance, two is coincidence, three is a pattern. Since I have met two who have and there are plenty of Rank 5s in the world, then, I'm sure of it: it's still been used as a reward, its dead state just hasn't been noted in the records for some reason.

"First I'm hearing of it," Ryan says. "And we talk a lot."

"Well, yeah," Nick says. "It's so different from…" he glances at me. "Ah."

"Ah?" I ask.

Nick and Ryan look at each other, then shrug before looking at me again.

"What Adam noticed the other day that made him so amused," Ryan points at his eyes. "Is the eye color of the three people he'd learned you'd had romantic relations or interest in. We've all got orange eyes."

"You seem to have an attraction for demigods," Nick says. "Exclusively romantically interested in us."

There being demigods is news to me. I know about the gods from tales but not as facts. This isn't something these two would lie about, either.

Well, Nick might use it as a joke, but I can tell from his tone and expression that he's serious.

"Demigods?" I ask as Aster lies back down, apparently not interested in this discussion. "You're children of gods?"

"No," Nick says. "Demigods are a bit different in reality from stories and such. Actual demigods are reincarnated gods. We're technically immortal, but we can reincarnate ourselves as we please."

"To make sure you don't get the wrong idea," Ryan says. "When we reincarnate, we initially lack our memories and personality from our past lives. We know we're something more, but that's it. When we're around fifteen or sixteen, we start regaining our memories."

"However," Nick says. "We don't gain the minds of our past lives. That's not until we return to full godhood. So think of us as just normal people, but with a little bit extra knowledge. Ryan and I are just a pair of twenty-two-year-old guys."

"Including mentally," Ryan adds. "So you're not dating someone who's thousands upon thousands of years old, or anything like that."

"You don't have your godly powers, then?" I ask.

"We do but don't," Ryan says. "We do in the sense that we could use them if we wanted to. However, that comes with the caveat that the moment we tap into them, we return to our godly states."

So treat them no differently than I did before.

"What were you gods of?" I ask. "Or do you have god names I might know?"

"Gods aren't really gods of things," Nick tells him. "Some people might attribute us to certain things or aspects, but that's a mortal thing. Gods are people who ascended past mortalhood. We learned how to harness mana in its truest state and developed the ability to wield it in an unlimited amount."

"Mana, not aether?" I ask, which causes Aster to sit up and puff out his chest.

"Not really heard of beings who can wield aether itself," Ryan tells me. "Not as their own fuel, at least. We can at least tap into it a little bit in our godly states, but that actually damages us."

Aster now looks really smug.

"Stop that," Ryan rolls his eyes at the pup.

"What?" Nick asks as Aster snickers. "Wait. He can use aether?"

I guess he already forgot that I mentioned the pup's abilities.

"All Celestials can," I inform him. "At least, according to a tome Ryan bought during our date. It's their native energy source. Ryan, if you knew reincarnation was a thing, how come you didn't suggest that maybe the reason his king is missing is because he's been reincarnating himself over and over? Didn't think of it?"

Since I met the King of the Celestials as a baby and Aster has acquired a bundle of the big boy's fur more recently, he's probably back to his normal form now. However, reincarnation might explain why he's gone "missing" and can't be found. They're looking for a Celestial but he was a mortal.

"His king?" Nick asks, and we fill him in on what we learned from the tome and Aster. "Huh. Yeah… I don't have any memories relating to the Celestials apart from what I learned as a mortal."

"Me neither," Ryan tells him. "I asked a couple of others already, and none of them know of Celestials. It's the only thing we've learned of that's consistently missing between us. Might not be the only thing, but it's the only one we've confirmed. Their king might have made sure we don't remember for some reason."

For what reason would he do that, though?

"As to your question," Ryan looks at me. "The reason I didn't mention it is because it hadn't crossed my mind. Aster doesn't have a soul, so I just assumed all Celestials don't. You need a soul to reincarnate."

"No soul?" I look at Aster. "You don't have a soul?"

Aster shakes his head.

"Now that I'm thinking about it," Ryan says. "It explains why the tome claims the ones from the same clan are all the same in personality. It could be that they're all the same beast, just in different forms."

Rather than explaining why it would make sense for that, he just raises an eyebrow at me, probably wondering if I know about whether or not Aster can shapeshift.

"He can shapeshift," I tell them. "He was a mouse last night so he could watch me make scrolls without shaking the table and I've seen him as an otter as well."

"Right then," Ryan says. "Souls are what enable people to change. It's where the core of our personality is located. Without one, your personality remains the same. Eternally. And no, Aster isn't the first soulless beast I've met. Elementals lack souls as well. That's part of why I didn't think anything of him lacking a soul."

Aster sends me a message which I'm pretty sure translates into "elementals are yummy". I give him a light flick on the nose, causing him to huff and plop himself onto the counter, legs and tail spread out.

"Do I want to know?" Ryan asks.

"He likes how elementals taste."

"You have [Animal Communication]?" Nick asks.

"Yeah," I answer.

"That's another thing," Ryan says. "[Animal Communication] might be required for their own communication attempts to work. It's probably designed to facilitate communication between all beings and so bypasses the differences in minds between souled beasts and soulless beasts. That's why I was pained when he sent me a message – my mind is too incompatible with his because mine has soul aspects in it."

"Huh," I look at the pup. "Aster, do all Celestials lack souls?" He sends me a response. "That's a 'yes'. Aster, does this include your king?"

Aster turns his head to me and nods.

"So he can't have reincarnated?" I ask, and he nods again. "So he's just really good at playing hide-and-seek?"

"Arf!" His tail starts wagging, then he stands up and vanishes.

"I think he went to go play with some friends."

Ryan frowns for a moment, then glances at Nick before looking at me again.

"You know," he says. "I wonder… Wyatt mentioned the reason he broke up with you was because he felt a little bit inferior to you."

"I'm no god," I hold up my hands. "I've never even felt as if I'm something more than a person. And my eyes are purple, not orange."

"Maybe," Ryan says. "But Nick, do you get that feeling?"

"Yeah," Nick says. "It's why us dating didn't work out. And I know he wanted to go from bennies with Cole to boyfriends, but Cole felt he wasn't worthy. I was curious about you after realizing his romantic inclination toward gods."

"Same here," Ryan says. "But I'm willing to give it a try," he looks at me. "You're always so calm and peaceful, and your presence often calms down those who rage. The only times I've seen it not is when they were infected by the Dark Infection. Even then, prolonged exposure does seem to calm them down."

"Er… are you suggesting I'm a Celestial?" I ask. "Or the big boy himself? Didn't we just establish that's not possible? Besides, I've met the big boy – and Aster's confirmed to me that there's only one of each coat pattern."

Nick looks like he wants to say something, but Ryan beats him to speaking.

"Not that," Ryan says. "You have a soul, anyway. Just a thought I had because of the topic, but not actually related to it. Godhood is a state of transcendence. We transcend via magical ability and become capable of using mana in an unlimited amount. Your general calmness… I'm now curious if maybe you've transcended via the mind."

"I've not heard of such a way before," Nick says. "But… that's actually a good point. You're still mortal, but maybe your mind is advanced beyond ours. That would explain why we have an inferiority complex when it comes to you."

"It can't be that bad," I say. "And I've always been on the calmer side. It's probably more just laziness than anything. I can't be bothered to deal with more bothersome emotions."

Snickering draws our attention. While Ryan and Nick seem confused, I look down at Aster. He's curled up as if asleepbut his entire body is vibrating from his snickers. I nudge him with my foot and the pup stops snickering as he opens his eyes and looks up at me, then he closes his eyes and rests his head back on his tail.

I noticed the pup returning a few moments after he left but didn't comment about it. That was probably just him imitating hide-and-seek for whatever reason he had.

"Aster?" Ryan asks.

"Aster," I confirm. "Not sure what that was about. Back to the topic, though. As I said, my calmness stems more from laziness than anything. The whole reason I fill my day with things to do is due to my laziness as well. I'd quite literally just relax and sleep all day if I didn't busy myself."

My napping with the azulvitt wolves and foxes the other day was me forgetting to push back against that nature. I quite often wish to just lie down and relax or sleep and that setting was far too good to pass up. As the Mythic Forest is restored more and more, I might have more of those occurrences.

"Another thing," I say. "You said that godhood is a state of transcendence. Would that not make me a god if I transcended via the mind?"

"No," Ryan answers. "Godhood comes from transcendence of magical ability and power. I've not heard of transcendence via other methods as reality, but it's possible that doing so might yield other results."

"It's just laziness on my part," I tell him.

"Probably too lazy to transcend," Nick snorts, causing us to chuckle a little.

"The reason you're resistant to taking a break," Ryan says. "It's because you feel you'd struggle to return to this if you did?"

"A bit, yes," I answer.

"What do you think friends are for?" Nick asks. "If you need help getting your ass back in gear after a break," he punches his left palm. "We'll kick it for you!"

"Adding to that," Ryan does his best not to snort. "You sort of just 'went through the motions' with the transaction you already had. It was a lot different from how you normally serve customers. You probably do need to take some time off. You've never taken a vacation before, anyway."

"I'll be fine," I tell them. "I promise."

Aster jumps up onto the counter, sits down, and stares at me. I rub his head.

"Peer pressure doesn't work on me," I tell him. "All of you, I promise. I'm fine. No customers simply means more time to read, that's all. Having the expanded stock and having the income from what Daily Dungeons I've done has built up extra funds to ensure the shop doesn't go broke during this drought even if I keep my normal hours throughout."

"You think it'll end?" Ryan asks.

"I do," a thought comes to me. "I think I'll be taking that break. Not for processing last night's discovery, however. You're right that there likely won't be many customers now, especially considering how things have been the last few weeks. There's something else I can do to take up time as well."

"Alright," Ryan snorts.

"Let us know if you need help with anything," Nick says. "And if this place isn't open again next week when there's no good reason not to, you can bet we'll be at your door to drag you out of bed."

"Arf!" Aster jumps to his feet.

Ryan chuckles.

"If Aster doesn't do it for us."