Once Balu ran off, I felt Irena gently gripping my hand. Looking over, I saw her smiling at me, her wings tucked back behind her. “Well, where would you like to go next?” I asked her, moving to lead her out of the dining area.

She shook her head softly. “We have plenty of time. I’m happy going anywhere.” And with that, the ball was back in my court.

I closed my eyes, thinking about where I had taken her last time. Mostly, it had just been to eat, and watch a performance. However, I didn’t want to just make this a repeat of last year. Starting a tradition was one thing, but I’d rather keep things new as opposed to reliving the same date over and over.

As such, I didn’t lead Irena to the performance hall. Instead, we went to the game parlor, where we could see various Keepers gathered around the arcade style games with a lively atmosphere. Immediately, I recognized the angelic companion that I had spotted last time, one of Seraphine’s. Her presence clearly meant that Seraphine had survived that disaster. And, although she was once again playing a game with a defense ticket as the prize, her posture was a lot more relaxed, looking like she was playing more for fun than anything else.

Not so far away from her, I saw Seraphine herself, speaking with Grimor. Given the gentle atmosphere between the two of them, I couldn’t bring myself to interfere with their conversation. Instead, I led Irena off towards the side, along a wall lined with games. Oddly, almost every game seemed to be taken.

Even more oddly, as we were reaching the end of the row, I saw the wall expand out a little ways, a new game appearing as someone walked naturally towards it. Oh, right. The meeting area responds to the wishes of the occupants. I was still getting used to that idea.

Passing by the new game, we once again reached the end of the row, stopping. Irena began to look at me curiously as I closed my eyes, focusing. I wanted a game that Irena would be able to enjoy, so I thought back to her hobbies. There was one that stood out above all else, one thing that she seemed passionate about, outside of her duties as a Goddess.

I want a role-playing game for Irena. I muttered inwardly. Out of everyone in my pantheon, she was the greatest roleplayer. Whenever she lived an incarnation, she would immerse herself fully in the role of whatever life she lived. Unlike the others who liked to live a certain type of life, Irena did only what came naturally to her incarnation.

When I opened my eyes, the wall had not expanded like I thought. Rather, the two of us had been moved to an entirely different room, up on the second floor where they kept the multiplayer games. In front of us sat a table with a clear screen on top of it. Glancing towards Irena, the two of us moved over to sit at the table.

Welcome to the Keeper’s Table!

Would you like an introduction?

Naturally, I chose yes. This was a first for me, so I didn’t want to just be left completely clueless. Even Irena didn’t seem to know what was going on, so she likely didn’t find this game last time after we separated.

Keeper’s Table is a simulated experience for those that wish to take on a different role. The system used for the experience must be defined at the beginning of play. There are three game modes: Law, Order, and Chaos!

In the Law game mode, one player takes the role of the ‘world’, activating different scenarios and events, while the other players each play out either one or multiple characters. In this game mode, points are earned at a slower rate than Order.

In the Order game mode, the system itself takes control of the world, while the players each player their character or characters. Points may be earned for completing system-set challenges, based on the difficulty of the challenge!

Finally, the Chaos mode. In this mode, every player shares control of the world, able to activate world events by spending in-game points. This mode is designed primarily for the enjoyment of the players, and offers the least amount of rewards.

While I was reading over the rules, I could tell that Irena was doing the same. Honestly, I was surprised to see a game like this as an option, let alone the fact that it was possible to earn points from it. As I was about to suggest running something for Irena, she squeezed my hand, turning to face me. “Let’s play the Order mode.”

I thought about it for a moment, before nodding my head. Looking down towards the table, there were two small displays, each with the outline of a hand. Those instructions seemed plenty clear, so I reached down with my free hand and placed it on the display, Irena doing the same thing next to me.

I blinked, and suddenly was in a different space. Irena was still next to me, but the table had disappeared. Now, we were standing within an endless, white void. And then, a voice spoke out to us, a very familiar voice. “Please choose a system that you would like to use for this experience.”

“Terra?” Irena called out before I had the chance, and the image of a certain red-headed catgirl appeared in front of us.

“That’s right.” Terra nodded her head, a playful look on her face. “The rules said it, right? The system plays the role of game master when you choose the Order mode. As your System Companion, that means that I receive the role. But watch out, I can’t go easy on you just because of our relationship.”

That was probably another rule to ensure fairness. Every Keeper was bound to have their own System Companion, so it made sense to have them be the representative as a familiar face. At the same time, the system had to ensure that they would remain impartial. I glanced towards Irena, a small grin tugging at my lips before I faced Terra. “I want to use the system of Kione.”

Irena was clearly surprised by my choice, looking at me in confusion. However, Terra just laughed heartily, clutching her stomach. “Oh, that’s just mean, Dale. But, I guess it’s fair. Neither of you really know that world well. Would you like to design your own characters, or leave it up to fate?”

The way that she said that, and the look in her eyes told me that she wanted me to choose the latter. However, even as the Goddess of Fate, I knew that she could not go against the system’s rules. So there had to be another reason why. “What’s the difference?”

Terra gave a nod of approval, crossing her arms beneath her bust. “The introduction explained that points were rewarded based on the difficulty of the various challenges I give you. However, this difficulty is subjective. For a young farmhand, it is more difficult to slay a common goblin than for a great hero to fight a dragon. The greater the challenge is for your character, the higher the potential rewards.”

Well, that certainly was a factor to consider. However, as she said, the challenge would be the same for the same amount of points. The point was to overcome those challenges. “How would the creation of my Ki of Beginning rate as a challenge?”

Terra held up a hand, signalling us to wait as she closed her eyes, processing the request. “Five thousand points. Based on the difficulty you had to face at the time, along with the advantages that you had to allow you to deal with it, that is the system’s evaluation. Creating your Divine Body measures in at eight thousand, by the way. That’s likely to be your greatest achievement so far, even more than making Ana.”

I couldn’t help but shudder as I remembered making my Divine Body… It wasn’t surprising that the system evaluated it more highly, given the amount of pain that had been involved. “We’ll take the fate route.”

“I thought you might.” She responded in a playful tone, Irena simply watching the exchange for a moment. “Now’s your chance to make any requests for your characters before I begin the process.”

“Can we have our characters being together?” Irena asked in a voice barely above a whisper, but one which made Terra’s smile turn far more warm and gentle.

“Of course, Irena. Of course you can. Once I’m done, you’ll receive a memory implant of your characters to help you play your role. This implant will be removed once you end the game. You’ll still remember everything that happened during the game, but you won’t have the conflicting memories of life leading up to it.”

“Likewise, you will still have your memories of real life while inside the game, so how deep you play into your role is up to you. However, if I may offer a token of advice… the better you play the role, the higher the system’s evaluation.”

With that out of the way, Terra closed her eyes. Slowly, she brought her hands out from behind her back. Her right hand carried with it a blinding light, while her left hand held pure darkness. When she brought her hands together in a clap in front of her, the two energies touching, I brought my hands up to cover my eyes.

And in that moment, everything changed. Is something the matter, Sly? An unfamiliar, gravelly voice spoke up in my mind, causing me to look to the side. There, I saw Griffith, my lion. We were sitting out on the porch of my house when I had jerked, covering my face suddenly.

I shook my head, startled by how quickly the memories took root. Here, I was Slyris, a journeyman magus. Like Terra had promised, I could still remember everything, but at the same time… I was able to remember receiving Griffith as a young boy, how he had scratched playfully at my face, unaware of his sharp claws, and how I still bore the scars of that first encounter to this day.

“No… everything’s fine.” I spoke in a quiet voice, reaching over to lightly scratch him just behind his mane. “The sun just caught my eye, is all.”

I could feel Griffith’s hesitation, before he seemed to relax with the attention I was giving the back of his neck, laying down next to me. If you say so. It sounds like they’re almost back, now.

I knew who he was talking about even before I heard the squawk of a great bird, a wide shadow darkening my doorstep. Glancing up, I saw Genevieve, a black Shadow Eagle. Her wingspan was nearly a dozen meters as she touched down in front of my house, and a figure jumped off her back.

The figure was just shy of six feet tall with long, flowing black hair. Her hazel eyes shined as they landed on me, her lips curving upwards. She wore a leather armor, reaching up to pat her shoulder as Genevieve began glowing in a soft light, shrinking until she fit on her perch. “I’m back.” My wife said softly, walking over to sit next to me. I knew that this was Irena, the character that she had been given, but that wasn’t the name that left my mouth.

“Welcome back, Kaneda.” That was her character, a spell-bow huntress named Kaneda. Neither of us were incredibly powerful, especially compared to the heroes of Earth I was used to. After all, there was no game system here. No easy way to grow in power. But we were happy, I knew that much.

And in the end, isn’t that what mattered? Not your strength, your influence, or anything else. In the end, isn’t the best thing in the world to simply be happy?