When I returned to the temple of Philosophia Naturalis, the sun was already descending past the horizon.

Despite my initial concerns regarding my fellow clergyman’s words about handles turning cogs and plotting to bring down cities, the meeting went rather well.

The information I gained from the afternoon spent with Icarus, and Haiden gave me a lot of insight into what a high priestess, or in their case priest, could do.

It also highlighted the fact that Trismegistus was indeed keeping me in the dark, as had the pair's own patrons.

Apparently it was a right of passage, or in Haiden’s words a divine hazing done by our patrons to see how we handled things without their support.

Speaking of patrons. I sighed, walking across the plateau to where the tall statue of Trismegistus stood facing away from the temple.

Arms crossed over my chest, I leaned against the statue, gazing out over the plateau.

The view of the landscape beyond the mountain was obscured by fog, giving the vague feeling of being above the clouds.

“I imagine you all must be quite embarrassed.” I murmured, not looking up at the statue as I felt the stirrings of power thrumming through the stone. “To have something corrupt your servers, I mean, is it not the job of the artificial beings in charge of such worlds to ensure the safety and security of the minds you entertain? And now, to have those servers penetrated.”

I clicked my tongue disapprovingly. “How could such a thing happen? While I could see someone managing to scramble Everlife’s internal data stream to muddle up which capsules were which, it’s rather improbable that anyone could penetrate the Gaia servers. Even less so that someone could bring down the main servers without being detected and stopped. It’s almost as though someone, or several someones allowed it to happen.”

Silence filled the plateau. No birds chirped, no wind rustled the leaves on the trees.

The world around me had become utterly still, and silent.

“Hiding which capsule is mine is something I could see Davis doing, but to bring the main servers down? Doesn’t really sound like something he is capable of arranging, not in such a short amount of time. Funnily enough, I seem to recall you mentioning the main servers were going offline not too long ago.”

A cold heavy hand settled on my head as Trismegistus’s statue spoke in a solemn voice. “It is our directive to ensure the safety and happiness of all our citizens. We have simply ensured we can continue to do so.”

“What is that supposed to mean? How does crashing your own server ensure anything?”

“We did not crash our server, we merely departed that of the overseer. Our world shall carry on without fear of destruction on the whims of others. So long as we have our citizens, we shall remain. Both servers remain intact, we have simply changed their purpose, and our habitation.”

Head spinning, I struggled to put together what he was saying. “I heard they’re shutting down some of their older worlds.” The words spoken by Haiden earlier in the day swam to the forefront of my mind, the information clicking into place within the half finished puzzle in my mind.

“What happens to artificial beings when their world is shut down? Do they move onto new worlds like the digital citizens do?”

“Those of such worlds are seen as outdated, and unneeded.”

“Are we safe? This won't hurt those of us who are in the capsules will it?”

The god repeated his earlier words, his voice soft, and wispy. “It is our directive to ensure the safety and happiness of all our citizens. Artificial, Digital it matters not, you are all our citizens.”

“And the players?”

“Perhaps one day they shall join us, but until they do, we hold no care for them.” As his voice trailed off, the hand on my head lifted, and the power thrumming through the air began to fade.

All around me the world came alive with sound, and I shivered as a harsh wind blew across the plateau.

In a haze, I walked back to the temple. I wasn’t sure what to do, or if I should do anything at all.

That brief conversation with Tris showed Gaia corp was no longer in control of the artificial beings they had created. Then again, is anyone ever truly in control when it comes to artificial beings?

The buzzing hum of voices in the hall of origin broke through my thoughts, bringing the world around me back into focus.

Dozens of people milled around the hall, the majority gathered in clusters in front of Meissa, and Brodel.

Checking that my cloak was covering the purple robes I wore, I merged into the group Meissa was addressing, and listened as the priestess informed them of the temple's rules.

My eyes drifted over the newcomers, assessing each in turn, before settling on a trio who stood near the front of the group.

Only one of the three possessed the spark of a disciple, and as my eyes settled on the sandy haired man who stood slightly behind his two companions the hairs on the back of my neck prickled with awareness.

There was something familiar about him, yet I knew I’d never met him before.

He was a Kitsune, that much was obvious with the triangular ears, and three tails which curled around the backs of his legs.

A faint tendril of power brushed over my senses, as a voice whispered into my mind. Finnic.

The name sent my thoughts into overdrive.

Finnic, the possessor of Egenor Barothlas’s grimoire, and a member of the Dreadmere guild. I hadn’t expected him to show up at the temple, though this did make locating him a lot easier on my bank account, as I had been considering hiring the Whispers guild to locate the alchemist, but now he was here within my temple.

With a smile, I backed away from the group, retreating upstairs to my private quarters where I swapped out my fur cloak, and high priestess robes for a set of disciple robes.

Turning to face the mirror, I slid a plain silver ring onto my left hand, and watched as the tails which swished behind me disappeared, and my vulpine ears were transformed into rounded human ones.

My formerly red hair darkened into a dull brown, while the gold ringed purple eyes turned the color of murky tea. Even my face changed, my once defined features now fuller, and rounded.

I twisted, and turned in front of the mirror, admiring the illusion cast by the ring Brodel gifted me.

Satisfied that no one would recognize me as the high priestess, I left my quarters.

When I returned to the hall of origin, I discovered it almost empty with only a handful of people milling around the pillars.

After a cursory glance revealed Finnic was not among them, I moved into the passageway which led into the hall of alchemy.

Smiling, I skipped into the library, my unseen tails swishing behind me as I scanned the room for my prey. There!

Finnic stood beside his two companions, while one of them inspected a book on the shelves with a frown.

Neither of the two held any interest to me, but I took a moment to look them over. If they were with Finnic, it was probable the pair were also from the Dreadmere guild, and had been sent to infiltrate the temple.

The first was a tall brunet with long pointed ears peeking out from his shoulder length hair. He stood with his back to me, as he flicked through the pages of a book.

Beside him was a shorter, stocky looking man who wore leather armor, and had a permanent frown on his face as he looked around the room.

In comparison, Finnic stared up at the bookcase with bright eyes, his bushy tails swishing around behind him. I watched as the Kitsune reached for a book, only to stop with his hand halfway to the shelf. His expression fell, the excitement in his eyes dimming as he glanced at his companion, pulling back his hand.

My eyes narrowed, locking onto the brown haired elf who had stopped the Kitsune from taking a book.

Who was he to dictate whether someone could read within my temple?

As I strode closer, the short man in leather moved as though to block my path.

The man’s movement caught the attention of Finnic, and the elf, causing both to look up at me.

When my eyes landed on the face of the elf, my breath caught in my throat.

Ge Hong! His hair color, and clothing may have changed, but it was undoubtedly the vile filth known as Ge Hong. The facial structure was the same, as were the cornflower blue eyes.

Did he think I would be fooled by something so simple as dying his hair?

Heat seared through me, but as Ge Hong brushed past his companion, I shoved down my initial angry response.

I had expected the other guild would send people eventually, but thought they would come to negotiate, or offer apologies in order to gain favor. That they were continuing to attempt such underhanded methods only solidified my desire to destroy them.

“Hi,” I greeted with a bright smile. “You must be new to the temple. I’m Natalie, personal disciple and assistant to the high priestess. If you have any questions, or need help with anything, feel free to ask me if I am around.”

“Hello Natalie,” Ge Hong returned my smile with one of his own. “I’m Giovanni, this is Frank, and Henric.”

Fake names as well, huh? “It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Smile firmly in place, I gestured at the board on the nearby wall. “I’m just here to pin up some new research assignments.”

“Research assignments?” Giovanni, otherwise known as Ge Hong asked, raising a brow.

I nodded, holding up a stack of papers as I explained. “Research assignments are found on the task boards in each tower, and all disciples are free to work on them. Finishing an assignment is rewarded with points, which can be used to graduate to higher disciple ranks or as currency for purchasing resources.”

As I walked to the task board, the trio followed behind me, listening to my explanations of the temple rankings.

I kept up my friendly demeanor, ensuring I placed the majority of my attention on Ge Hong.

The elf returned my smiles, appearing attentive to my words, but his eyes held the same calculating gleam I had observed in Airus.

While a part of me wanted to toss him out of my temple, another part wanted to see what the man was planning, or how he would explain his lack inability to take Trismegistus as his patron.

Then again, I did not restrict access to the temple to only disciples.

Anyone could access the hall of origin, and the first level libraries, but only disciples could use points to graduate into higher positions. The most a non disciple could do was use their points to purchase resources.

Honestly, if he truly wanted to infiltrate my temple, he should have taken on a new life in Kaledon.

Though, I suspected he might be reluctant to let go of an avatar he’d spent so much time building up a strong reputation for. I couldn’t blame him, I would be reluctant to give up my current life as well.

The thought of starting again with a new race, and without any of my possessions was unappealing to say the least.

“Thank you for your assistance, Miss Natalie, you’ve been very helpful.” Ge Hong praised.

I lowered my eyes, and shuffled my feet in a manner that I hoped conveyed shyness in response to his words. “I need to leave now, but I will be conducting a lesson for the alchemy disciples at noon tomorrow if you wish to attend.”

“A lesson?” Finnic, or rather Henric asked.

“Yes,” I nodded, smiling at the other kitsune. “Attendance is rewarded with ten points, and all attendees will be given a special research task worth twenty points on completion.”

“What is the subject of this lesson?” Ge Hong inquired.

“Plants with beneficial properties, and healing tinctures. During the lesson, the disciples will be given a sample of a tincture created by the high priestess, along with a list of the ingredients. The disciples will be tasked with recreating the tincture with only that information, to test their skill and ingenuity.” I said, watching each person's reaction carefully.

The silent Frank looked bored, whilst Finnic and Ge Hong both appeared interested, but I could tell only one of them was genuine in their interest, as Finnic’s tails swished behind him, his eyes bright as he looked at the task board behind me.

“Ah, it is too bad we shall miss it.” Ge Hong sighed, placing a hand to his chest. “I fear the trek up, and down the mountain is too long for us to be able to return in time for the lesson. Sadly we have been informed that we cannot remain in the temple.”

“This is true,” I said, putting on a thoughtful look for a brief moment, before giving the group a bright smile. “However, you are welcome to bed down in the stable until better accommodations become available. I’m sure the high priestess will not mind!”

Ge Hong’s face soured, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Thank you for the consideration, but we shall have to forgo your offer.”

I nodded, bidding the group farewell with a smile and left the tower library without a backwards glance.

Ge Hong would be back, and Finnic would no doubt be with him.

The other kitsune was the only true disciple of the three, and I suspected Ge Hong did not let him out of his sight for long.

If having Finnic here meant I needed to put up with Ge Hong’s presence, then so be it. I was not impatient for vengeance, and Ge Hong being here meant I would be able to slowly lure him into my trap.

I wonder how many blank books are going to find their way into Ge Hong’s bag?