Dee found herself within a palace made of light, shiny white marble, and gold decorations. As she took a look out of a nearby window, she noted that her current position was extremely high, and an entire city made of similar materials spread out under the window. With a glance to the sides, she figured out that she was within a tall but thick central tower rising from the middle of what could only be described as a heavenly palace. The city and the palace seemed to be filled with beings made of light running on various errands. Many of them seemed to be light elementals of different sorts, but not all of them. There were angels and Archons mixed in as well, which made Dee frown a bit. Was she in Paradisia right now? Surely Umbra wouldn’t send her to the home of the angels? She wasn’t even physically here.

“If you’ve spent enough time admiring the place, you probably should come in.” The voice of Lumen came from an open door opposite the window. The doors were wide double doors fit for a king, though it still seemed to be a side entrance of sorts.

As Dee entered, she found herself in something that seemed to be a mix of a temple and a throne room. On a dais at the end of the room sat the Goddess of Light surrounded by statues that seemed to be glorifying her existence. “I see we’re not borrowing a random temple this time.” Dee stated.

“No, not this time. I do have to do some work on occasion. Welcome to my realm. Judging by your earlier expression, you assumed we are in Paradisia, which in a way would make this enemy territory of sorts for you. Your earlier assumption is both true and false. My realm overlaps slightly with Paradisia, but only slightly. You could walk out of the palace and be in Paradisia, or at least you could if you were here with your body. With how you are now though, not so much. The angels aren’t allowed into the palace, so no need to worry on that front. Only my servants can come here and they have been given other things to do while you’re here.” Lumen explained.

“I can see how the angels turning away from you might become a problem.” Dee stated. With Lumen’s realm overlapping with Paradisia, there would be consequences if the angels no longer worshipped her in earnest.

Lumen grimaced. “The problem with creating an entire race and their home from scratch. Using my own realm as a basis to grow from seemed like such a grand idea back then. Now I’m slightly regretting that decision.”

“Does Order have a similar palace in Paradisia as well?” Dee asked. Seeing as Order might turn out to be her greatest enemy, such information might be rather useful in the future.

“Yes and no. He has a nominal palace to match mine, but his realm isn’t actually connected. His palace is used for official business in a very similar way, but it’s not the same. He has several temples scattered around the place to compensate for the difference.” Lumen sounded a little smug at the difference, but also sounded like she had chewed on something distasteful when she mentioned Order.

“What would happen if your realm was separated from Paradisia?” Dee suddenly asked, the beginnings of a plan forming in her head.

“Funny you should mention that. That’s part of what I’d like you to do for me. I can’t sever the connection myself, but if someone working in my name were to do so….” Lumen looked at Dee suggestively. “Then I would think the results would be less than pleasing for the angels. They would quickly discover why turning away from me might not be such a great idea after all. That’s why Order is trying so hard to have me replaced. The new Deity of Light would take over my realm and remove that threat.”

“Something to keep in mind. That’s not why I’m here though. I seek your guidance, please.” Dee came back to the real topic.

Lumen looked at Dee with slight surprise. “Hmm, it seems Umbra did it. Dammit, she won the bet! I was so sure you wouldn’t say ‘please’ when you came here.”

Dee grinned. “What did you bet?”

“Nothing that important. She gets to have her way with one decision concerning you, assuming the consequences aren’t too much against my interests.” Lumen explained.

Dee’s eyebrow shot up. “And I’m supposed to go along with what you decide?”

“Not that kind of decision. It’s more along the lines of who gets to talk to you first, or what we get to teach you. That kind of stuff.” The light goddess quickly explained, knowing Dee would not like it if she did not.

“Well, my request still stands.” Dee pointed out.

“Right, yes, of course I will teach you. There are three things we should deal with this time’s lesson. First things first, about your blessing. You’re mostly getting the hang of it, but I should mention something. Now that you have become immortal, your body no longer needs to be physical all the time. I would imagine you could use your cute fox form to turn into a kitsune made of that black fire that is so disturbing. In the same vein, when you need to move really quickly or react really fast, you could turn entirely into light. Be aware that this has some downsides. You no longer have the sturdiness of your normal body, nor can you just punch someone when made of light. Also, magic specialized against beings of light would be especially effective. That said, the last thing I will teach you today will somewhat counter some of those problems.” The goddess said, giving a balanced explanation.

Dee considered for a moment. The ability could be useful, but situational. She would have to run some tests. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She stated. Actually, the part about her fox form was more interesting. She had suspected as much, but it wasn’t something easy to just try. Having the idea confirmed first would be a big help though.

“Right, the second thing I’m going to teach you is our magic that specializes in fighting our worst enemies. That would mean demons, undead, and certain other unnatural beings like Umbra’s shadowy servants. This subset of magic can only be used by those with angelic blood and doesn’t affect anyone with angelic heritage. That includes you, even though you’re mostly demonic. I suppose that’s the main reason they inserted angelic blood into you, as they knew these kinds of spells are the favorite of angels and my servants. Anyway, these spells will do you no good against my people, but you will most likely have to face demons to help complete the task Umbra gave you. Thus you should find the spells useful. It’s also always a good idea to have spells against the pesky undead.” It was ironic that Lumen’s help would be so useful in completing Umbra’s task, but such things sometimes worked in mysterious ways.

“And the third thing?” Dee asked. Lumen had mentioned that there would be three things.

“We’ll get to normal spells next time, but you should learn one of the most important spells given to those with my blessing. You can use my power to form an armor of light that can protect you as long as you have holy power remaining. Let me first ask you a question. You have not used the spell ‘Fateguard’ very often despite it being one of the better protective holy spells. Why?” Lumen knew the answer but was asking to make a point.

“The spell ‘Fateguard’ gives a random number of protective layers that will block pretty much any blow but will also lose a layer from the slightest of scratches. That includes the excess power released when crossing blades or fists with an enemy of even relatively similar strength, as our strikes cause some collateral damage when the power bursts out. I would lose a layer every time I hit someone, and that’s even without considering any debris flying around. The spells becomes useless fairly quickly, and pretty much just wastes a lot of power.” Dee explained. The spell had been good at lower ranks and as a buff to a large number of people but had become increasingly useless as time passed and she grew in strength. It was not a light spell to cast.

“Indeed. The armor of light I’m about to teach you works in slightly the same way, in that it creates a similar layer of light to protect you. It’s weightless so it will do nothing to hinder your movement and will protect you even if you do turn into light like I mentioned earlier. That’s where the similarities end. It only creates one layer, and that one layer takes all the damage, drawing on your holy power to protect you. It’s probably the most versatile and powerful protective spells in that it protects you from almost anything, and it is rather efficient in using your power with little to no waste. It will draw enough power from you to block the attack, and there’s no way to overwhelm the protections without first draining you of all your power.” With how much holy power Dee had, the spell would be a very effective way to allow Dee to protect herself with little effort, especially when combined with Dee’s other defensive methods.

“I’m guessing this armor is rather showy, seeing as it’s made of light?” Dee noticed a potential problem.

“Correct. My methods are not good for trying to hide, as that falls into my sister’s realm.” Lumen knew what Dee was aiming at. “However, do keep in mind that the time you can hide yourself is growing shorter. As time passes and you grow in strength, the more you will be forced to face your enemies head-on. That’s where my abilities will shine. Considering your already sturdy physique, possibly your Domain and Aegis and your psionic defenses, my spell will make you a veritable bastion on the field of battle. I know you have learned other protective spells before this, but believe me when I tell you that my spell is much more efficient and doesn’t carry the risk of being broken with a single strong blow. It’s also less subject to barrier-breaking attacks that some people use, though of course there will always be exceptions such as your flames. It also helps to have one protective spell that trumps others, instead of trying to cast three separate ones.”

“Well, it seems like something that won’t hurt to learn. It will be useful to focus my defensive spells on a single ability instead.” Dee agreed. That last part more than anything appealed to her. She knew a dozen protective spells, but if this one would be more effective than any of them, then she would have no reason to cast the others, except if she wanted to protect someone besides herself. In which case Aegis would do the trick.

“Let’s get to training then.” Lumen stated with a smile. “Next time I’ll teach you some other spells that might be more niche in their use.”

-----

As she was sent to her next lesson, Dee surprisingly found herself in a place that mirrored her own Domain. It wasn’t an exact copy, as Croestia and the Living Mountain were both missing for example, but it was close enough. Death stood in the middle, looking at the replica of Dee’s totem. “This is an interesting choice of venue.” Dee commented.

Death didn’t turn around, still studying the totem. “I still can’t quite figure out how much your totem was affected by me, and how much of it was your own unconscious decision.” The goddess stated. “I’m guessing it was mostly you, though I suppose the skull thing came from me.”

“It is what it is.” Dee replied calmly. There was no point in agonizing over what had already happened.

“True enough. I’m fairly confident you will be able to finish the totem once you’ve absorbed the little gift you were left with. Yes, we saw that. Souls from a destroyed hell it seemed like. Very clever. We always wondered where all that power went. We had a suspicion, but it’s always nice to have confirmation.” Death finally turned to look at Dee. “Did you already decide when you were going to absorb them?”

“I wanted to get used to my current power first and find a way to utilize my holy power properly, which I’m starting to get done as we speak. I’ll start absorbing the power as soon as we have some time for me to dedicate to the task.” Dee explained her reasoning. There seemed little point in hiding the fact as she was about to start soon anyway.

“Good. In the meantime, I will be in charge of teaching you offensive holy spells. We both know the death spells will be your most effective weapon, so I’m the best choice. I’m sure you’ve already felt it. You have absorbed so many souls that any death spell you cast will be more effective to a significant degree. You might ask why I didn’t give you any holy power, as my power would make those spells even more effective. Firstly because it’s not my style. Secondly, let me tell you a little secret. With your Domain being this heavily themed with my power, any holy power you channel through the Domain will be equal to channeling power gained from me. I didn’t give you any holy power because you didn’t need me to. Instead, I made sure the power of the other gods would work just as well.” Death’s face was hidden by her hood, but her voice made it clear she was smiling.

“I would think the others would be less than pleased if they found out.” Dee pointed out.

“They already know. Or they suspect but don’t have a confirmation, which is almost as good in this case. Dear old Eternity won’t care, while the other two kids won’t be able to do anything about it. Which reminds me, Eternity opted out of this little study session, so don’t feel too bad about that when you wake up. He’s a bit grouchy at the moment due to matters you need not concern yourself with.” The goddess seemed to be rather pleased with herself for some reason.

Dee suspected there was something going on but decided it might be better if she didn’t get involved for now. Assuming she wasn’t already. “Well, shall we get to our lessons?”

----------

Dee and Razark returned back to the Four Winds. Luckily she didn’t need to go too far for her lessons, and both her daily and nightly lessons had taken barely a month. Both Shraeska and the dark priest Dee had been introduced to had been surprised at her learning speed, though part of that was because she was already learning more complex things during the nights. She had a fair grasp on the new things and only needed some actual battle experience to get used to it.

As soon as the two returned, they were met by a pair of messengers. Dee’s entry had been rather flashy once again, as she still liked to use her dragon form to travel long distances. She also figured the Four Winds would need to get used to it anyway. Some other beings had also noticed her new approach, a particular angel among them, but that was generally within Dee’s expectations. She would not inconvenience herself anymore to keep such details secret, and hiding her dragon form was a futile effort anyway. The form wasn’t as big as Xinglong’s, not even close, but it was still too big to go unnoticed.

The two messengers both rushed up to her and took a glance at each other. It seemed some wordless conversation took place with that glance, and one of the messengers deferred to the other one. The small bunny Meilin spoke first. “Miss Haydee, the representatives of the races would like to speak with you. The matter is not urgent, but your timely presence is requested.” The messenger knew Dee would have questions so she pre-empted them. “The matter is about Moirai. It appears she has broken through the barrier to become immortal, and a celebration is planned.”

“Moirai became immortal?” Razark asked as well. “Well, well. I suppose she felt pressured by her pupil overtaking her. I know she was training pretty hard, but I didn’t know she was already getting results.”

“This is good news.” Dee also stated with a smile. She looked at the other messenger. “I hope you’re not about to dampen my mood.”

The Jun messenger gave a small smile of her own. “I think not. A person called Faylen Sarfina was looking for you. A friend of yours I presume? In any case, she wanted you to visit as soon as possible. What she told me made me assume this would be a happy occasion as well.”

“Well, it’s about time for some happy news.” Dee stated. She looked at Razark. “You go meet with the representatives first. Their news seems like something that can wait, though do tell them I’ll be there as soon as I can. Faylen might have something more urgent.”

“Agreed.” Razark said simply and started moving towards his destination. The messengers didn’t comment on Dee’s choice. They had done their job, so the choice of what to do with the information was for Dee to make.

In the end, it didn’t matter, as Dee noted that both Moirai and Faylen were talking in the garden Faylen had made in her yard. Either Moirai had not been called yet, or the two had known where Dee would go first. “I hear congratulations are in order master.” Dee stated as she walked up to them. She could sense something different about Moirai already.

Her teacher smiled. “Thank you. I suppose I have you to thank for pushing me along. Anyway, I’m not the only one you need to congratulate.” She turned to look at Faylen.

Faylen in turn smiled at Dee tenderly. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice already. You’re about to become an aunt. Or a sister. Or whatever. I prefer aunt personally.”

Now that Faylen mentioned it, Dee could see a new life developing within her step-sister. “Well, well. This is a surprise. I didn’t even know you were dating anyone.”

Faylen gave a small laugh. “I used to avoid such connections when I was in the order, but I’ve found myself with a lot of time on my hands lately, and I suppose your rapid progress also made me realize I did not have the talent to match my brother. Realizing that was like letting go of a heavy weight that had been pressing down on me. I find myself happy here. No fuss due to my family. I can simply work as a trainer and a healer. I can also meet people. Something you should try.”

“Speaking of, when do I get to meet the lucky fellow?” Dee asked, suddenly making a stern face. The bastard had gotten Faylen pregnant without even introducing himself first.

Moirai gave a mirthful gale of laughter. “He’s hiding from you. Everyone knows how protective you are, so he made the wise choice to let you cool down first. You’ll meet him soon.”

“There’s more.” Faylen stated. “We were planning on getting married, and I’d like you to stand by me when the time comes.” Her smile flagged a bit. “I also need you to get a word to my brother. My family has a right to know at least. My brother can decide if the others should be allowed to attend. I would prefer if they did, but only if they behave.”

Dee grinned. “Yes to both. I’d love to stand by you. I’ll also make sure your family behaves.”

‘Though it might be a little weird that the slayer of the Tree of Life is standing with their daughter during the ceremony.’ She thought to herself.