The skies above Haven have long since turned dark by the time Aiden was finally done with discussing everything with his servants.

He made sure to calmly and patiently listen to Thuk, as he excitedly explained their dream of restoring the Lizardkin races to their past glory. These so-called 'Temple-Cities' were incredibly large, hidden wonders of the world. They were monumental metropolises made of pyramids and ziggurats, ancient, archaic structures that are mostly hidden deep in marshes, swamps, and lush jungle biomes.

There were many unknowns surrounding these mysterious places, as from Thuk's excited retelling of the stories, they were more than just being the home of all the cold-bloods, the lizardmen. They weren't even just simple nexus points for worship, but something much more.

From what Thuk could retell, the once-great 10 ancient Temple-Cities were a single giant entity covering most of the habitable lands across Eora. Each Temple-City hidden deep in a habitat that humans rarely ventured into, and even if they did, the scouts and small guards forced hidden in the outer regions made sure that they would never return to tell their tales.

Another interesting tidbit Thuk revealed was that despite the aggressive outward appearance, most of the Lizardkin races were peaceful in their nature, and mostly only fought to defend their territories, people, or during hunts.

Each race had its own role in their society: There were species more suited for spiritual tasks, some were excellent merchants, craftsmen. Again, others were excellent gatherers, foragers, fishermen, while there were those that excelled in hunt or combat.

As for the skinks, as Thuk explained they were mostly scouts and gatherers. Their small builds added with their high agility and dexterousness made them perfect for such tasks. Adding the fact their most common mutation, or 'evolution' as they liked to refer to it, was the Chameleon Skink, which was a sort of primitive form of shapeshifting: It allowed them to alter the color of their skinks to match that of their surroundings.

Still, despite the clear hierarchy, each race, each class in their society was respected and treasured. Nobody shunned or disdained the skinks just because of their small, and fragile stature, nor did they revere the mighty and fearsome Saurians, these giant, dinosaur-like predators as their gods or kings.

Each and every level, every caste in their societal hierarchy was a respected and much-needed part for the whole city to function. With even one of these cogwheels missing or removed the city as a whole would cease to exist.

—

After pacifying the over-excited Thuk, Aiden called for a meeting of all the elders of Gupta explaining to everyone present there that the golden egg in the distance was not to be disturbed but safely guarded at all times.

No one, no matter who it, was to get close to it. He also gave a strict command to everyone present that they were to only observe the object and report it to either Roas, Glohn or Gob if anything out of the norm was to happen to it.

After that, as the Elders rushed to their people to relay the words of their God, and decide on a plan of action, he also made sure to explain everything about the egg in a bit more detail to his trusted ones through their shared mental channel.

They all reassured him that as soon as there was anything to report they would reach out to him, so he can ease on his clearly felt worries and can get back to the outside world.

Eventually, Aiden acquiesced their servant's advice, but not before he took one last look at Number 3's glowing cocoon.

He smiled as he stepped closer to it, and gently caressed its hardened outer shell. He leaned close and whispered sweet nothings in a volume that only he would be able to hear.

"Master, don't worry, your disciple is safe. You pulled me back from the brink of death once again and guided me back to safety. In return, I did what I could to ensure you wouldn't leave Lily and me alone. We both need you, so please do your best to get back to us!"

Taking some more time, in the end, Aiden finally opened up the system's [Gateway], and with one last look and heaving a worried-sounding sigh, he stepped through, leaving the lands of Haven once again, going back to Higrove.

—

Though roughly half a day had passed in Haven, back in Higrove the night was only just now nearing its end. The faint, shy first lights of the wakening sun just now began to cast its bright platinum strands of warmth over the dark, cold sky.

The streets of the city were still just starting to wake from their nightly stillness, only a few merchants, shop owners, and workers could be seen yawning in the sparsely populated streets of the city.

The air suddenly began to buzz in an empty, forgotten alley. The air became hazy, blurry just a second before the space itself seemed to crack in the next second. A small fissure, a spatial tear began to grow and transform in the air.

In a few, quick seconds the crack took the shape of a doorway. Its flat surface giving a small glimpse into another world entirely for only a brief moment before large ripples suddenly emerged, twisting and contorting the scene to an unrecognizable degree.

In the next moment, a hand and a leg emerged from beneath its visibly viscous surface, soon followed by the body of a tired-looking weary, long black-haired young man.

His disheveled look, messed up, sweat-stained attire gave the impression of a very spent, tired traveler, adventurer, or perhaps an explorer.

As the boy stepped out of the portal, it instantly closed up behind him, leaving nothing to remember behind.

The boy, Aiden ignored it completely, his attention was focused on the ground around him. He was surprised to see that the small alleyway was not in the same state he left it. The body of the human that followed him was nowhere to be found!

"What the… What happened? Did someone take-…" Suddenly, he remembered that there was one more addition to the uninvited guests that assisted him out of her own volition when he needed to focus. "…Oh." He sighed, knowing full well that the body was already gone, and he wouldn't be able to absorb it and possibly perfect or perhaps create his unique, new human form rather than using his draconian ability.

Then, as he thought about it, his tired face revealed a frown. He realized that he owed an explanation to the Mistress and that his long-awaited rest would still have to be pushed back.

Yet, before going to visit the elusive Masked Madame, he wanted to at the very least group up with his friends. After all, they were probably still waiting for him back at the inn, growing increasingly more worried and concerned about his sudden disappearance.

After all, the news of the investigation have surely traversed to all corners of the city, even the darkest, most forgotten dark places should be aware of what had transpired by now, much less a frequented and favored the establishment of the local loudmouths, the adventurers of this backwater city.