As soon as he stepped into the room, a little boy, two years of age, who had been playing with flying essence constructs made from wind energy, immediately ran towards Damien, his tiny legs carrying him far faster than even the fastest creatures on the planet.

Damien bent, swooping the boy up in one smooth hug. "Haa, how're you doing, Adrian?"

The boy babbled something incomprehensible and then giggled, his tiny hands stretching towards Damien's shoulder-length hair.

"That good, huh?"

Gray then manifested on Damien's other shoulder, taking on his tiny form. Seeing this, Adrian immediately switched his attention to Gray, his tiny grabbers leaving Damien to go after Gray.

[No! Shoo! Shoo! Don't do that. I am not a toy!]

Gray's avoidance only made the boy try harder.

"Welcome back," someone said, coming out from a door to the left.

Damien turned toward Keilan, a big smile on his face. "Hey, Kei, how're you doing?"

Keilan shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I made breakfast. Fried eggs placed into the sliced open middle of a big loaf of bread, just how you like it."

Damien's eyes narrowed. "You fried the bread a little?"

"There's brown crust on it."

A big smile immediately bloomed on Damien's face. "You're the best, Kei!"

"Wow, such praise. Gray, are you sure this is my brother?" Keilan murmured.

"Ohh, don't be like that. Guess who just gave birth?"

Keilan raised an eyebrow. "You know better than to make me play a guessing game, Dame."

"Ahh, alright. Ceila."

Keilan frowned, stepping forward. "Ceila? Wife to your drinking buddy?"

"Yup, the one and only. Twin bouncing babies."

"Wow, talk about double blessings. Hersk must be psyched."

"Ohh, definitely. You should have seen his face, he couldn't get that big goofy smile off of it."

[Am I the only one who's surprised that Damien hangs out with people other than you, and in a casual manner?]

Keilan snorted. "You should see the shenanigans they pull off whenever they manage to get drunk."

[What?!]

"Hey! It's not that bad," Damien defended.

"At least one thing's for sure: Hersk will not be visiting the bar anytime soon; Ceila would dunk him alive in an active volcano."

Damien smiled mischievously, tickling Adrian as the boy giggled. "I wouldn't bet on that."

Keilan sighed, changing the topic. "So, how was the battle?"

Gently, Damien put Aiden down, leaving him to the futile endeavor of trying to catch Gray. "Well, as all battles go; unpredictable. I fought the six clan chiefs today."

"Wow, that serious?"

"Yeah, and I met this lady. She had a huge resemblance to our late mutual friend, Elora."

"Seriously?"

"Yep, said she was Elora's sister, Elair."

"Wow, they seem to like the letter E."

"Tell me about it," Damien sighed.

"How do you plan on handling it then?"

"I don't have the will to go active, I'll just wait for her to come to me."

"The same way her sister did?" Keilan asked.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Yup."

[Don't forget the bet you lost] Gray annoyingly chirped in.

"Bet?" Keilan looked between them.

Damien dragged out a groan. "I bet Gray that I could take out all the clan chiefs without his help."

"And you lost?" Keilan smiled.

[Yes! He couldn't even take out half.]

"That was not my fault! If the—" His mouth immediately slammed shut.

"If what?" Keilan asked.

"Nothing," Damien said.

[Shadow Hall intervened.]

Damien groaned, why did Gray have to open his big, fat mouth?

Sure enough, Keilan immediately leaned forward, narrowing his eyes in that way that always preludes yelling. "Shadow Hall?"

[Yes. Apparently, someone put a contract on your brother's head and they sent a full cadre to collect.]

"Gray, shut up," Damien groaned.

Keilan slowly turned his head toward Damien. "Care to explain?"

Damien sighed. "It's likely that Solaris was the one who put out the contract."

Keilan sat back, resting his back fully on the sofa. He took a deep breath, slowly expelling it, and then he said to Damien. "We'll figure this out."

Damien sat up, confused. "Wait, you aren't going to yell at me?"

"Why would I yell at you?"

"You know, for purposely putting myself in danger, making too many enemies that they had to employ Shadow Hall just to off me, all those things."

Keilan visibly breathed in. "Damien, you aren't a child anymore, so I can't yell at you."

"That didn't stop you the last time," Damien murmured.

Keilan narrowed his eyes. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Anyway, yelling won't solve anything. More likely, it would just leave us confused and disorganized. Easy pickings for the enemy."

Damien nodded. "Hmm, wise words."

Keilan scowled. "Don't tempt me."

Damien chuckled. "Anyway, if you aren't going to yell at me, I might as well put something delicious in my stomach." He stood up, making his way toward the kitchen.

The kitchen was a bluish-styled room, with more than a dozen ingenious cooking constructs placed all around the inside. Damien walked up to the kitchen table, his eyes already set on the flat plate with the huge loaf of bread sitting majestically on it. A piece of egg peeked out from the middle where the sliced open bread had been pressed back together. Damien couldn't sniff enough, the mouth-watering aroma of skillfully fried eggs overwhelming even his vastly upgraded sense of smell.

A large jug of freshly pressed orange juice sat beside it, looking enticing in its nigh golden radiance.

Damien smiled. Due to his advanced stage and his body fortification, he didn't need food or water for sustenance anymore, but that didn't mean he'd stop eating. In his opinion, a good meal was paradise served on a plate.

Keilan walked into the kitchen, Gray following and Adrian not far behind.

"So, what's your penalty for losing to Gray?"

Damien quickly stuffed his mouth full of the unending bread so he didn't have to answer. He turned his face away as Gray spoke instead.

[Oh, he has to sing my praises for a month!] Damien shivered at the creepy way Gray spoke.

"Your praises? Wow, I should bet more often if it means getting him to appreciate me more."

"Hey!" Damien swallowed all the food in his mouth in one full gulp and then raised his hands in protest, a large loaf of bread in one hand and a jug of orange juice in the other. "I appreciate you! It's just an unspoken appreciation, that's all."

"Well, you better start doing the opposite or I'm going to have to resort to drastic measures."

[Oh. Oh.] Gray raised his tiny hands. [How about you make him work for it every time he doesn't show appreciation?]

"Traitor!"

"That's a good idea, Gray," Keilan rubbed his chin, contemplatively. "I could make him help out at Alchemist Gol's shop anytime he acts unappreciative."

Dread swept through Damien. "No," he whispered. "Please no."

Gray looked confused. [Wow, you really put the fear in him. What's in the alchemist's shop that's got Damien shivering?]

"Cockroaches," Keilan smiled.

[Cockroaches?]

"Those things aren't just simple cockroaches! They're mutants!" Damien said, his face grouchy.

Seeing Gray's confusion. Keilan explained, ignoring Damien's pleading eyes.

"You see, Alchemist Gol's shop, due to some of the mixologies he does in there, attracts a large, let's say, immigration of cockroaches and other insects.

Damien is terrified of cockroaches, and the cockroaches in the alchemist's shop have all been exposed to some of the weird alchemical fumes spewing from whatever Gol's cooking. Due to this, they became, let's just say, more than they originally were, if you get what I mean."

Gray nodded in understanding. [But I don't get one thing.] He pointed at Damien. [How can you, a Spirit lord, be terrified of cockroaches? I'm confused.]

"Those things are abominations," He shivered. "What evil being would create such things?"

[The Celestial of Life,] Gray casually replied.

"What?" Keilan and Damien both turned toward Gray.

[The Celestial of Life,] he repeated. [The creation of life falls under its purview.]

"Wait. I thought that was the celestial of Nature?" Damien questioned.

[The Celestial of Life and Nature are the same. Nature is just the physical manifestation of life, that's all.]

"Hold on," Keilan said, realization hitting him. "If there's a Celestial of Life, that means there's also that of Death?"

[Yes.]

"How many Celestials are there?"

Gray shook his head. [We're treading on dangerous topics here. Unless you are ready to deal with the attention that brings, I suggest you take a step back.]

"What does that mean?"

[I meant, there is a knowledge threshold you could reach that will definitely draw eyes down on us. Unwanted eyes.]

"Why does everything have to draw unwanted eyes?" Damien grumbled.

[The intricacies of Karma also baffles me, too.]

Damien dearly wanted to ask what that meant, but held his tongue.

Annoyed, he put down the half-finished meal.

"Want me to finish that for you?" Keilan pointed at the meal.

"No," he shifted the plate away, hiding it from Keilan's view.

"I'll just make mine, then."

That perked Damien up. "Can you make me another one?" He made googly eyes at Keilan. "Pleaseeee."

Keilan looked at him. "You haven't finished the one on your plate."

"Hey, two is better than one." And in three swift bites, he devoured what remained of the meal. "See. Now we're back to one."

[Ahhh!!!! Put me down!] Gray suddenly screamed.

A big smile blossomed on Damien's face as he turned to see Gray trying to squirm out of the tightly squeezed hand of Adrian.

"Justice."