“Raijin is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology.

His name is derived from the Japanese words rai ("thunder") and "god" or "kami" (shin). He is typically depicted as a demon-looking spirit beating drums to create thunder, usually with the symbol tomoe drawn on the drums.”

- The Journey to the Afterlife

***Dedessia***

***Seria***

“Oh, this is so exciting! Just think about it. You were just married and now you go on a honeymoon to a distant realm.” Elona claps her hands together and smiles at us as if it is the most natural thing to do. “Make sure to send us a message. Shade said that the pathways should be strong enough for communication after he sends you two back.”

“Ah... yeah,” Marcus answers. It's clear that the whole situation feels awkward to him. Then he bends down and whispers into my ear. “Why is she acting as if we already had a big party and a ceremony?”

I roll my eyes. “It's the rings. In Dedessian culture two people are legally married once they place a wedding bond on themselves. There is no party or ceremony involved. It's a remnant of the old days when resources were so sparse that people had to account for every bit. Parties are only held in times of abundance.”

“So in other words: Never!” Shade comments from the sideline, surprising Marcus. My lover looks up and inspects Shade with raised eyebrows.

Dad shrugs and points at his ears. “It comes with being a shade. I can hear you whispering from across the room as if you were screaming at me.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Marcus answers.

Shade looks down at a sheet of paper with a lot of arcane calculations on it. Then he makes a few last adjustments with his instruments. “We really didn’t have a party, even though times are better now. I would feel bad to send my daughter off without a proper party! Why haven't we organized a party, Sugar? Even though the two of us had one.” He turns to Elona.

The queen dismisses the question with a wave of her hand. “The only reason why we had a party was because our clans merged and we had to show everyone that we stand united from then on. It wasn't so much a wedding party, as a public event to make a statement.”

The king tilts his head in deep contemplation. “I suppose that makes sense. We should try to have a little feast nonetheless, once Marcus and Seria saves the chocolate realm. That has priority right now.”

Marcus almost doubles over. “Chocolate realm!?”

“It's the only noteworthy aspect about your realm... now... stand still. I've to adjust the machinery. You don't want to arrive in pieces, do you?” Shade returns his attention to the console in front of him. “I wonder what would happen if I crank up the power even more… I might just do that when I don’t transport immediate family.”

I reach for my temple. “I feel the headache returning. Why can't we just wait until the mana storm enters an active phase? This apparatus gives off a bad vibe.” I let my eyes wander through Shade’s laboratory.The walls are in white and the machinery in grey. That’s surely the work of my mother. She has certain expectations of what a laboratory should look like. Totally unlike my father, who is fine with working in a cellar if the conditions don’t harm the equipment.

Marcus and I got to spend another night with each other since we got tricked by Mother. Of course we used it to shamelessly explore the functions of our wedding rings. It's interesting to share feelings while we are doing it. I think that it wasn’t enough. Not by far. But for some reason we were chosen to save the day. Well, maybe we will just grab Adea and make a run for it. It depends on what waits on the other side. Things were in chaos when we left.

But right now I feel more like a labrat.

Both of us are standing on a white platform with Shade and his instruments in front of us. Elona is supervising the 'experiment' from behind him. They even called it an experiment! No joke!

Though that isn't the disturbing thing about our situation. There are eight large, metal spikes pointing directly at us. They protrude from the walls and form a crude half sphere around us.

The setup reminds me too much of a Tesla machine… with us at the receiving end.

My father said that this apparition is needed to inject enough mana into the network. The intention is to overload a small part of the network with energy. I did basically the same when I forced the pathways open while Marcus and I were between the dimensions. Once the pathways are saturated, they should start to disperse the collected energy through the network to let it grow. We should be able to use the resulting energy wave to ride the pathways to our destination.

Or so goes the theory at least. These spikes look more threatening than anything else. And I don't like having several zetawatt of power pointed directly at me.

“Here it goes. Make sure to stash me some chocolate. The next one who visits you is me. It should be just a few days until I've charged the pathways enough to open them permanently.” Shade winks at us and grins.

I hug Marcus from the side and prepare myself to grab and hold onto one of the pathways. Since Shade is already supplying them with power, they are now visible to my mana sense. No special effort involved since they glow like a christmas tree.

“Don't do something stupid like dying. We still have to introduce Marcus to the rest of the family. Like grandma and Mom!” Elona waves at us, a cheerful tone in her voice.

“Wait. There are more of you?” Marcus asks, dread in his voice.

I fight hard to hold back a snicker. “Don't worry. My grandparents are really nice people.”

Unfortunately Marcus isn't dense enough to overlook the 'but' in my comment. “What aren't you telling me? Is there something special about them?”

I wince. “Other than that Elona's parents are a meddling succubus and an ogre? And Shade's side of the family tree contains a bitchy sex demon and an ice giant. Oh, and my Grandma is a fury. She is still out for revenge against Moonray by the way. It says something about a person if she is able to hold a grudge for over thirty years. I think the only decent persons in the family are my aunt and her husband. She is a siren and tries to keep her distance as much as possible.”

Marcus furrows his forehead. “That sounds like I'll have a lot of fun once the introductions start. Are there any cousins or other in-laws I should know about?”

I roll my eyes. “Don't get me started about that. It would never end. Let's just say that you will wish that I never introduced you to some branches of the family tree.”

“Stop flirting and get ready to jump on the train. The pathways should be ready any moment now,” Shade informs us, one finger hovering above a big, red button. Though his attention is fixed on a screen with a lot of data.

“Why did you use a red button for this? Normally you use the red ones only for really dangerous stuff,” Elona asks.

Shade raises an eyebrow and checks the position of his finger. “Oh! Thanks, Sugar! I almost pressed the wrong one. If I didn't have you as an assistant I would be lost.” His hand changes position, just a centimetre to the left. It comes to rest above a black button instead. “Are you ready?”

“Yes!” I answer.

“No! What would the red button do? This doesn't raise my confidence in your methods!” Marcus tries to step from the platform, but I hold him back.

Shade grins, showing his teeth. “Don't worry. You wouldn't have felt anything.” Then he presses the button.

.