The sun was beginning to set by the time we finished processing the bodies and clearing the mess. The blood was the most difficult part, as we'd needed to use several water arrays to wash the muck out of the door and off into the grass. Thankfully, the water array spell was a basic spell, and it was something that even Nova could manage. As it was, the floor and walls of the main hall had been scrubbed until the wood was clean and the stone was free of gore. With the clean-up completed, we moved on to securing the central courtyard.

"Why didn't we think of this before?" Nova grumbled as she ignited a fireball array and sent it careening towards a thick section of vine. The plants erupted into a ball of flame, burning brightly. "We could have used the fire to clear the vegetation rather than trying to chop our way through."

"And what if we had set the temple ablaze while Kadia was away?" Aeon inquired as he doused a section of burning vines with a water array. "How would you explain that to her?"

"Good point," Nova sighed, sending another ball of fire towards the wall. The plant matter sizzled and burned, filling the air with the acrid scent of burnt leaves and sap.

"It would take a significant amount of effort to burn the temple down due to its construction," I pointed out. "The walls are constructed using a mix of stone and mortar, and as for most of the buildings, while the interior walls are wood, the exterior is stone. As a result, the fire would be limited in its ability to spread, and it would take a lot more fuel than what we can gather to ignite it." I built it that way for exactly that reason, to prevent accidental fires from destroying the buildings. Based on my track record, having the entire complex go up in flames because of one of my experiments would not be a surprising occurrence.

"Still, the point remains," Aeon said, dousing the last patch of flames. "While we could have cleared the vines without destroying the temple, if Kadia returned to find the buildings aflame, she would not be pleased."

"He's right," I said, watching the last of the flames die. "While it would be an interesting experiment and a test of the structure, I'd rather not risk burning the place down."

"Right," Nova agreed, stepping back and brushing off her hands with a happy smile. "Well, that's the last of the vines. Do you want us to head out and check the perimeter again?"

"Zosimos has it covered," I replied, motioning to the crow perched on the wall above. The bird gave a loud squawk and fluffed his feathers, unhappy that he was being made to actually do something aside from preening in front of a mirror.

"Oh," Nova's face fell, and she looked a little crestfallen. "I guess we don't need Leo, then?"

I smiled, knowing what she wanted wasn't to check the perimeter but to ride around on Leo's back like he was a horse. I'd offered to let her ride Arion, but she didn't want a real horse, no, she wanted to ride the Leosaur, who was twice her size and didn't have a saddle. The guild had sent a saddle for Arion, but Leosaur's were not built to have riders.

"You can patrol with Leo in the central corridor," I offered, in a bid to placate her. "That is going to be our main defensive perimeter, as I don't think we can defend over three kilometers of wall." I was regretting building such a massive compound now. It would take a large group of people to patrol the walls, and while that would have been feasible if my guild were here, it was not a possibility with just the three of us. The inner corridor, which encircled the main temple, was much easier to defend as it was fifteen meters wide and could be looked down on from the balcony that circled the main building's upper level. The walls of the inner courtyard were also a good forty meters tall, and now that we'd burned away all the vines, it would be almost impossible for anything to scale them.

"Alright," she agreed, perking up a little. "I'll go patrol the corridor."

"Do not run Leo ragged," I warned, giving her a pointed look, "he's not a mount and he's not a warhorse."

"I know," she pouted a little, "but he's faster than walking and a lot more fun."

"He's not a toy," I reminded her, "and if you wear him out, then he's going to be of no use to anyone."

"Kay," she sighed, looking downcast.

"Just keep him close," I advised, "and if you see anything, let him take care of it."

"I will," she promised, perking up a little. She was always happier when she was doing something, and now that we'd finished cleaning up and secured the area, she was starting to get antsy.

"Alright, then off you go. Be safe and listen for Zosimos. He'll be in the sky flying patrols."

"Caw-ah," the bird complained, but at a look from me, snapped his beak shut and took to the air.

"I will," Nova said happily and turned to Leo, giving him a grin. "Leo! Let's go, buddy!"

Leo, who was sprawled out on his back in a very undignified position, gave a small grumble and rolled onto his stomach. He then slowly got to his feet, shook himself, and stretched before padding over to Nova.

"Okay, then we're off!" Nova said, grabbing Leo's frill and using it to pull him down so she could hop up onto his back. Once she was situated, she nudged him, and the Leosaur began to slowly move forward, each step slow and measured as if he were dragging his paws through mud.

I had to bite back a laugh, as the Leosaur continued in this manner for several steps, his tail hanging low, and his head drooping, the picture of a creature who would rather be anywhere else than acting as Nova's beast of burden.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Aeon asked, watching Nova and Leo as they made their way across the courtyard, the Leosaur still moving at a sluggish pace despite Nova's pleas for him to move faster.

If Leo really didn't want to have her on his back, then she wouldn't be. My bond with Leo wasn't a dominance bond, it was a partnership. If Leo decided he didn't want her riding him, then he wouldn't have let her climb up. I also knew my cub well enough to know when he was putting on the sad kitten act in order to get something. As expected, the moment Nova mentioned giving him food in exchange for carrying her, the Leosaur perked up, and the speed he moved increased.

I smiled and shook my head. He might have grown a lot since I last saw him, but he was still the same old Leo.

"Yes," I replied, glancing up at the crow as he flew overhead, his dark shape a silhouette against the dusky sky. "They will be fine. Zosimos will keep an eye on them, and they are only patrolling the corridor. We haven't seen any signs of other dangerous creatures or Kobolds, so it should be safe."

As the last word left my lips, a bright golden light lit up the sky, and the sound of a deafening crack split the air. The light was followed by a high-pitched keening noise, and the air grew heavy with mana. The light, or perhaps beam, as it was now more appropriately described, appeared to be coming from a point above the temple. It was a solid column of pure energy that reached all the way up into the sky above the island.

"Well," I muttered, my eyes fixed on the pillar of light. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. The column of energy was so dense with mana that I could feel it from where I stood. It was a mix of mana, electricity, and... something else. Something primal and old- something which had my tails fluffing out and my ears pinning themselves back against my head. "I guess... that's our answer."

"Indeed," Aeon said, his voice quiet. His eyes were fixed on the beam of light.

I had been wondering what would happen when night came. Aither told me that I would need to spend the 'night' on Earth, which would be daytime there. I had assumed that meant he would send me there in much the same manner he had the first time, however, this was an entirely different method. Ah, right, hadn't he shown me a beam of light during the conversation? It looked more like a gold thread at the time, but then again, that had been from the perspective of it connecting two worlds through the solar system. So of course, it would look different from this angle.

"Kadia," Aeon's voice broke through my thoughts, and I glanced over at him, "I believe that phenomena is located at the aerie."

I gave a low laugh, "We should probably stop calling it that, considering it's been taken over as some kind of portal." Poor Zosimos, he'd put so much effort into claiming the space, and now it had been stolen from him.

"Kaadia!" Nova shouted, and I looked up, seeing her and Leo running across the courtyard towards me. "What is that?"

"It would appear to be the means by which I will be... logging out." Saying those words, 'logging out,' was a little surreal. When I was here, and when I'd been in Kaledon, it didn't feel like a game. It felt like reality. But now, the fact that I would be logging out reminded me that none of this was real. Not truly. The thought of that made my chest tighten.

She looked at me, then back at the beam of light. "Does that mean you have to climb up the mountain every night?"

I wrinkled my nose, looking up at the pillar of light. For Zosimos, who could fly, the journey was swift. As for me, well, the trek up the mountain would require climbing up all those stairs. The mountain range wasn't high, the highest peak was only around six hundred meters, but it was still a significant climb.

"Perhaps," I replied, my eyes on the beam of light, "or maybe he’ll take pity on me and move the location to somewhere more central, so I don't have to walk so far." I paused, then added, "that is if he wants me to log out. Then he should move it to somewhere like, oh, let's say"—where would be a good spot for a portal?—"the arcane tower."

I waited, watching the beam of light. When nothing happened and it continued shining brightly, I frowned. Well, I guess he wasn't going to be so accommodating.

"Kreee," Zosimos cawed loudly as he landed on the wall above us.

"I know, Zosi, it's not fair, is it?" Nova cooed. "That mean god stole your home."

"Well," I glanced over at Zosimos, "it's your own fault."

Zosimos puffed up his feathers, his indignation clear. "Caw-wah."

"If you'd made a normal nest or something less conspicuous, maybe you could have kept your roost. All you did was make it a tempting target for theft." The shrine-like appearance of the aerie was just asking to be used as a focal point for a summoning circle or some other arcane magic.

"Caw," Zosimos complained, then went on a rant about how he had a vision of how it was going to look and how he'd been promised a grand gift if he built it to the specified requirements.

"Krreaaaaah," the bird cawed loudly, hopping back and forth on the wall, flapping his wings as he went on a long rant about the injustice of it all, how he'd done everything the god had asked, and it wasn't fair. He'd been promised he'd be my guardian, my tutelar. He wasn't stupid. He knew what a tutelar was. They were minor deities, so how could he be a tutelar when stuck in this tiny body? How was he supposed to look after his weak and stupid Kadia? She was a fool and was always getting herself into trouble, and if he was going to protect her, he needed to be strong and powerful, not some weak little crow.

"Caw-caw! Krre-aah!"

I listened as the bird ranted and raved, his words growing more and more indignant as he explained how, even if he followed the evolution of his current form and became a phoenix, he wouldn't be special or powerful! Every crow in Kaledon had the potential to become a Phoenix! It was one of the great works an alchemist must complete, and once phoenixes became common, their prestige would wane, and they would be reduced to that of a simple, common animal. He didn't want that. He was a guardian! A tutelar! He was supposed to be special, unique! Why couldn't he have been born a dragon? Something impressive and powerful, not some weak and pathetic crow! He couldn't even protect himself from the bigger birds who attacked him when he flew in the skies, and it was humiliating to have to hide in the temple.

"Krreeeeeaaah." The crow's voice was full of anger and resentment as he spoke of the birds who bullied him in Kaledon's skies. They were just regular birds, but they were larger and could fly farther and higher than he could. And the ones who lived in the mountains were even bigger, and would chase him and harass him whenever he went to gather materials for his Kadia. It was even worse when he became a swan, because he'd been confined to the ground, not only that, but he'd been mute!

"Oh, Zos," I sighed, listening to Zosimos' tirade.

All of this was news to me. Well, aside from that last part. I'd known his intended role and his evolution path. Though the fact that all crows had the potential to evolve into a phoenix was news to me. I knew Zosimos hadn't wanted to be a phoenix, but I thought his protest was because of the Avis Pyrthirío, or Firebirds, which now populated the skies of Kaledon.

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Also new to me was the fact that Zosimos received instructions from Tris. It seemed like everyone had been in contact with the god, except me.

I frowned, trying to recall what it was Aither said Trismegistus was being punished for. Much of my conversation with the mad god was fuzzy. It wasn't that I couldn't remember, but more that the details were lost in the haze of memories, which were all a jumbled mess. It was an odd feeling, as generally, my recall was excellent, to the point where I could recite entire passages from books that I'd read years ago.

I could remember Aither telling me that Tris had been punished and showing me a vision of Trismegistus chained in his fox form and 'chilling,' as the god put it. And aside from the whole being tied up thing, Tris hadn't seemed hurt or even particularly bothered by the situation. He'd looked bored, annoyed, and like he'd rather be anywhere else, but not like he was being tortured.

'He got himself caught by the wifey when he tried to connect your little island to Kaledon so your friends could visit you.' That is what Aither had said, though I'd not had time to think about it at the time, because the conversation had been moving at a rapid pace. Now, though, I was putting things together.

Aither's words, paired with the letters and Zosimos' vision, suggested that Tris had been planning to allow the guild access to the island. Or at least, he'd tried to do so.

Aither also said I could invite others to the island, didn't he? I rubbed at my temples, trying to drown out Zosimos' cawing.

'Khēmeia is officially part of the Kaledonian universe, one of the hidden pocket dimensions we incorporated into this system. Don't worry, no one will be able to access it unless you allow them.' That implied I could invite the guild to the island.

"Cawah!" Zosimos cawed angrily, drawing my attention back to him.

He was still ranting about how he was the victim of injustice, and how it was his divine duty to watch over his Kadia and guide her, but he couldn't do that while trapped in such a weak and pathetic form.

"I think you make a wonderful crow, Zosimos," Nova cooed, interrupting the bird's tirade, "and I think you're the perfect bird for Kadia, and she's lucky to have you as her companion. She loves you and thinks you're the handsomest and smartest bird ever."

"Kre-ah," the bird protested, but his tone was a little calmer now.

"Yes," I agreed, shaking off my thoughts about the god and his machinations, "she is right. You are an excellent bird, Zosimos, and I would not trade you for all the Phoenixes in Kaledon. In fact, I prefer you as a crow rather than a Phoenix or any other creature."

"Caw-rah?" He cawed, cocking his head to the side.

I nodded. "Yes, I do. Crows are clever, they are cunning and quick-witted, and you are the most clever and crafty bird I know."

"Kah," the bird preened, his head held high, and his tone full of smugness.

I smiled and gave a small laugh, "yes, you are very clever."

"He's not wrong, though," Aeon mused. "If he were to have a more powerful form, it would be far easier for him to protect you. A phoenix, or some other larger and stronger bird, would have an easier time defending against a threat."

Nova looked up at the crow, "What do you want to be, Zosi? If not a crow or phoenix?"

Zosimos tilted his beak up in the air. "Caw-ah caw." He would be the best dragon ever, and everyone would adore him and bow down to him. He would be the most powerful beast in the kingdom, no, in the universe, and all the dragons of Kaledon would come to him in search of wisdom and guidance. And he would be a good ruler, of course, the best. He would be the king of dragons and would rule with an iron fist, and his subjects would tremble in awe and fear.

I looked at Zosimos and shook my head. "You really are a megalomaniac, aren't you?" Although, that would explain why he kept trying to hoard shiny things and why he wanted a big nest.

"A dragon..." Nova whispered, her eyes wide.

"Is even more common than a phoenix," I finished, wrinkling my nose. "A dragon is big and cumbersome. Yes, I know they are worshipped by the Draekin race as deities, but they're so overdone, Zos. Everyone wants to have a dragon for a companion, it's so cliché."

"Kreee-caw," the bird protested, his feathers ruffling up in indignation.

"And what makes you think that Tris will turn you into a dragon, Zos? He wouldn't even let me keep Pyr as an alchemical fire wisp, so why would he let me have a dragon familiar?" I was still a little bitter about that.

I much preferred my little wisp as a fiery ball of goo rather than the Pyrthirío it had become. Pyr's new, more solid form turned it from a very powerful wisp who could consume an enemy with flames into a much weaker fire rabbit. Pyr could still burn foes, and the rabbit form was a lot cuter, but it was a serious reduction in the wisp's ability to defend me. I knew why it had been done. Tris had explained it to me when I'd complained about the changes. But that didn't mean I liked it.

It hated that I lost my wisp simply because some of the gods thought it was unfair for one person to have such a powerful and unique wisp, especially after Pyr took out a several Quetzalcoatlus on his own. The wisp was a force to be reckoned with, and the other deities had felt the need to level the playing field, and in doing so, they'd changed my poor little Pyr.

The whole thing was ridiculous. I knew Kaledon was still in the 'beta' stage, despite how realistic it was, and that the game was still a work in progress with the various gods tweaking and adjusting things as needed, but I was still not pleased at the decision. Sure, I'd made Pyr due to a 'glitch' in the alchemy crafting system, which resulted in Tris having to create a variant species to account for the existence of Pyr, but that didn't mean he could just take my wisp. He could have lowered Pyr's power, and that would have fixed the issue. But no, he'd decided that it would be better to change the wisp into a 'cute' fire rabbit. Yes, the wisp was adorable, but now I couldn't toss Pyr around like a ball or squeeze the little wisp like my personal stress toy, which I used to do quite often.

"Kree-ah," Zosimos insisted, his head bobbing as he argued that he'd earned his reward.

"Zosimos, knowing Tris, he would have turned you into a Salamander or something similar, which would perhaps 'one day' have the potential to become a dragon. That is how our patron works. He will never simply hand you a powerful form; you must earn it." The bird huffed, looking a little put out. "Caw-caw, kreeeee-aah."

"Come now, Zosimos, you know Tris almost as well as I do. Take your current form and its potential evolution, for example. In order for a crow to evolve into a phoenix, the crow needs to become a swan, peacock, and pelican, with phoenix being the final stage. It would not surprise me if you had a similar roadmap for becoming a dragon. Even kitsune have an evolutionary path, albeit one with a few different branching paths." I shook my head, smiling up at the crow, "Tris isn't going to turn you into a dragon, Zos, and that is a fact. Though if he had, you'd still have had to work towards it. You know our god has a penchant for making people work for what they want."

"Krreeee," the bird cawed sadly, looking down at me with his sad little bird eyes.

"Kitsune can evolve? Like, into what?" Nova asked, her eyes wide and full of curiosity.

"It isn't quite an evolution, more of a progression in power." I explained, turning my attention away from Zosimos, who had gone back to his grumbling. "I am a second rank kitsune, which is known as a Chiko. I am also a Zenko Kitsune, which is a 'Divine Fox' and as such, I can process in rank to become a Kiko when I attain my fifth tail and will ascend to become a Tenko when I attain my seventh tail, but the highest rank, the Kūko require not only nine tails, but also for the kitsune to undergo the Rite of Ascension. Which is basically a reset, requiring them to gain their tails all over again, but at much higher ranks. An ascending Kūko, even without their tails is still more powerful than a non-ascended Tenko. Which is why you should never, ever, underestimate a kitsune." I smiled down at her, repeating the warning Brodel gave me when he taught me about the kitsune ranks,"a kitsune might look like it only has one or two tails, but you can't know for sure until it's too late if that weak looking kitsune is actually a Kūko on their path to ascension."

"If there are 'Divine foxes', then it stands to reason that there must be normal ones, right?" Nova asked, looking at the two tails swishing behind me.

"There are," I confirmed, nodding. "They are the 'wild foxes', and depending on how polite you wish to be, they known as either Nogitsune or Yako, if you want to be rude. They have the potential to gain nine tails but will never have the same power or abilities as a Zenko, but they can still be quite formidable. It also takes more effort to gain tails as a Nogitsune once the fifth tail has been attained, and the process becomes increasingly difficult with each successive tail. A Nogitsune can become a Zenko, though it will require the Nogitsune to a trial and sacrifice their tails in order to follow the path of a Zenko. It is one of the reasons so many give up on the Kitsune race, because most end up becoming Nogitsune rather than Zenko. The first five tails are comparatively easier for Nogitsune than the latter four, so people tend to follow the Nogitsune path for faster advancement in the beginning."

"But it isn't the same, right?" Nova asked, her expression thoughtful. "So, a Kūko Zenko would be the strongest kind of kitsune?"

"In terms of power, yes. However, in terms of rank, Tenko is seen as the highest rank, or rather, it is the only rank that is recognized by the majority of society."

"Why's that?" Nova tilted her head, her eyes studying my tails. "If a Kūko Zenko is so powerful, why would people not see them as the highest rank?"

"Because they aren't seen," Aeon mused, his tone thoughtful. "Or, at least, not in the way most would recognize them. Ascending Kūko have lost their tails in order to go through the ascension ritual, they no longer have a visible indicator of their power and rank. And ascended Kūko, those with all their tails, would not reveal their true nature unless it was absolutely necessary. They would be mistaken as Tenko."

"Exactly," I nodded, my smile growing a little wry. "The Kūko are secretive, and they rarely reveal themselves. Most of the stories that exist about them are simply rumors and hearsay. Or at least that is what I have been told."

"What is the first rank?" Aeon asked. "If Chiko is the second rank, what is the first rank?"

"Ah," I replied, "that would be the Ashirei, or Ashireiko. They are foxes, who have yet to achieve human form but who have passed a threshold of power that puts them on the path to becoming Chiko. The lore in Kaledon is that Kitsune born to a human parent are born as Chiko. Thus, all players and digital citizens who enter Kaledon start at the second rank because they are born with a human parent. However, we can drop to that rank if we were to lose our tails or damage our mana core."

"So, if someone cut off your tails..." Nova began.

"Then my power would drop, and I'd lose any benefits that my tails offered me," I finished. "My tails also represent the amount of mana that I can hold, so if someone were to damage them, it would have the same effect. I can also sacrifice one or more tails to perform an act of great magic, but I would lose the mana which was contained within that tail, and the physical manifestation would also be lost."

"Wouldn't that be like cutting off your fingers?" Aeon asked, "and why would you need to give up your tails?"

"Yes, it would be the same," I replied, "but I have the potential to regain my tails. My tails can regrow as long as I survive long enough for the mana to return. It would take time and it would hurt, but they can regenerate. If all my tails were cut off, I would revert to Ashirei rank and would be unable to access any of the magic I had been able to prior to my tails being cut off. So yes, in a sense, it is like losing your fingers. You can still move and function without them, but your life will be more difficult. I would need to rank myself back up, and that would be difficult and take a significant amount of time."

"Oh," Nova's expression became pensive, "that doesn't sound fun."

"No," I agreed, "it wouldn't be." And I had no intention of allowing anyone to cut off my tails, not after hearing Yuki tell me about the week she'd spent trapped in her fox form after her tails were severed during a fight.

Trismegistus and I had spent several nights during our star gazing sessions debating the merits and disadvantages of this system. The gods of Kaledon had not wanted to follow the 'real world' lore too closely because it would tie their hands. So instead, the Kaledonian lore was a mix of things the gods pulled from various sources, and retold in a way which worked within the framework of the world. The result was a complicated, convoluted mess, which was hard to keep track of. Or at least, that's how I saw it.

"Interesting," Aeon mused. "And what of the other races, are their rankings and paths so defined?"

"Yes," I confirmed, "though their ranks and paths are different from kitsune, the idea is the same. Humans have the most diverse evolutionary path as they can take any number of paths. Most, though, follow a fairly set route. Although there are ways to deviate, such as becoming a vampire through the necromantic curse or gaining demonic powers by entering into a pact with a demon."

"Can you become a vampire too?" Nova asked, her eyes wide.

"No," I shook my head. "I am immune to necromantic taint." Something I found out while experimenting with said taint and attempting to create a more potent form of it, mostly out of curiosity really. "My ties to Trismegistus grant me certain protections."

"Ah, that's too bad." Nova looked disappointed.

"Not really. Vampires are a pain in the neck," I replied, with a smirk.

"Was that a pun?" Aeon asked, giving me a curious look.

I grinned, "Maybe."

Aeon looked like he was going to say something, but Nova spoke up before he could. "Kadia!" Nova shouted, "the light, it's moving!" She pointed upwards at the golden beam of light.

I frowned as I looked at the beam, which was indeed moving. Even worse, it was moving towards us.

"Well, that's interesting."

"Should we... do something?" Nova asked, her eyes glued to the slowly moving light.

"I'm tempted to run," I admitted, watching the golden light draw closer, "but I think it would be a pointless endeavor."

"Yes," Aeon agreed, "whatever the light is, it is clearly controlled by the god and as he knows our location, I doubt we could escape him."

"So... we just stand here and wait?" Nova asked, her gaze never leaving the beam that was inching its way towards us.

"I see no reason not to," I replied, crossing my arms and waiting for the beam to reach us. I wondered what would happen when the light touched me. Would it hurt? "What else is there to do? I cannot outrun it and hiding is a pointless effort."

Nova looked a little dejected, "well, I don't like standing around and doing nothing."

"It's okay Nova," I assured her, despite the fact that I wasn't pleased with the situation either, "it will be fine."

"But what if you're gone for weeks again? Or months?" She did have a point. What if I was stuck on Earth for a long period of time? What would happen to her and Aeon?

"It's alright, Nova," Aeon reassured her. "Kadia will come back. Aither told her that she can come back here when it is night on Earth, didn't he?"

"He did," I confirmed.

Nova didn't bit her bottom lip, looking worried. "But she was only gone for an Earth day last time," she pointed out. "Our time moves differently."

"It might not," I replied. "If Aither has connected us to the Kaledon system as he said, then there is a chance that the time flow is equal, as it is for Kaledon. If that is not the case, then when I return, I will attempt to contact him and request the time flow be equalized or even lessened, so that no time passes here while I am gone."

"You can do that?" Nova asked, looking surprised.

"I don't know," I admitted, "but it's worth a try. It would be better than having you both sitting around, waiting for me."

"I would prefer it be equalized," Aeon said, his voice thoughtful. "I do not wish to be frozen in place while you are gone."

The beam of light was drawing closer and was now just a few meters away from where we stood. The thrum of mana in the air was palpable, and I could feel the static on my skin.

"I think it's time to go."

"Good luck," Nova whispered.

"Take care," Aeon said, giving me a small nod.

"Both of you, take care and stay safe."

With those parting words, I stepped forward and allowed the golden beam of light to wash over me.