Kai followed Alex into the building. To the right, Kai could see a large room beyond the doorway straight ahead, but Alex was taking him through a corridor to the right side. The elderly man’s sandals left no noise on the marbled tiled floor, while Kai winced at every step of his as he proceeded through what was the once a silent hallway. Following along the two was Akane, who similarly made no noise when walking.

“The building has three floors and a basement. Although the first floor is the one used most often. I’m sure you wondered about that massive room we skipped; no need to worry as we will return there. I wanted to show you these rooms, they are most often used for reflection and contemplation. As I explained, the magic helps the mind separate emotions and events, so these rooms are used for that purpose, people are able to think there without being bothered. Anyone can come inside and use them if they so wish during their time here.”

Coming out of one of the rooms ahead, a man dressed similarly to Alex began walking, passing the three, paying no attention as he rushed down towards where they had just come from.

“You know you never told me how you know about the Olympians,” Kai remarked.

“Books, discussions. I’ve found the subject of deities outside the Myriad of Worlds to be quite fascinating. I’ve often found myself contemplating if they were real. Or just mythological figures created because people feared the unknown. There is no evidence to suggest that the Olympians ever truly existed outside the minds in which they were believed to be real,” Alex’s tone was one of thoughtfulness.

“Is that not blasphemy for a priest of the Nine to be so... interested in other gods?

“Some may see it that way,” he said. “What do you believe? Were gods outside of The Nine real? Did they truly ever exist?”

“Do gods have to be physically present to truly exist?” Kai asked.

Alex halted. “Explain,” he said with a toothy grin.

“Does it matter if their gods don’t physically exist? If they are believed to be real, then who are we to say otherwise?” Kai sighed. “I don’t know if the other gods genuinely existed outside of this place,” he lifted his arms and did a slow circle. “But, if the Nine are real, then why can’t the others also exist?”

“Then where were they in the human’s time of need?” with a surprising tone of vexation.

Kai could only remain silent at that. Wait... time of need? Does he mean the reason why the Nine brought humans to the Myriad of Worlds?

“Perhaps there was never a need for them to show, or maybe The Nine made up the story about the great enemy,” Kai said thoughtlessly.

Suddenly, he was on all fours, throwing up the next instant. His vision had changed. They had been standing in the long temple hallway. The next second, they were in a black void, with nothing else around, there was only darkness. Even under his feet there was no indication there was any floor, it was as if he was standing on pitch black. He couldn’t tell where the room ended, the measure of distance didn’t seem to exist. Although, there was no light, all three of their figures were perfectly visible in the darkness. Akane was on the floor of darkness, growling at Alex, her back arched, ready to fight. Alex’s silver eyes shone brightly as he glared down at Kai. The next second, the void vanished, replaced by the familiar hallway.

“You speak of matter you do not know young Kai. I would not have you insult the gods who have sacrificed so much for the resident of these worlds,” the tone of authority was undeniable. It was clear that he would not accept any further questions of the Nine’s motives.

Gasping for breath he said, “I’m sorry.” His body felt weak. He felt liquid running down his cheeks. Tears? He touched his face, pulling away his hand it was covered in red. Blood.

Health: 352/840

The reality of the situation set in. Alex looked horrified. “I apologize. It’s... been a long time since I’ve talked to others who challenged.... I forgot we were having a theoretical discussion. Here, please drink this.” A vial appeared in Alex’s hand.

Kai identified the object.

[Greater Health Potion]

He had never seen one higher than the standard version before. This was wasted on him for it was meant to heal someone far stronger, but he would accept it regardless. Reaching out he hesitantly, took the vial from Alex.

Still kneeling on the floor, Akane looked at him with eyes of concern, a little whimpering breaking the silence. She looked fine, but it was difficult to tell through his blurry vision.

With shaky hands he attempted to uncork the vial, only to fail, lacking strength in his trembling hands. Putting the vial up to his mouth, he grasped the cork with his teeth before he pulled them apart. Spitting out the cork, he chugged the potion. The effects immediately began working, his body felt better.

Seeing his health tick up rapidly, Kai looked up at Alex. The old man looked remorseful, his eyes watching Kai with concern.

“You almost killed me,” Kai accused.

Alex bowed his head. “An accident I assure you. I can only give you my word that I didn’t attack you directly.”

Kai gave the man a glare before he turned to Akane.

“Is Akane ok?” Kai asked. He ran his hand down her back. Whatever magic Alex had used didn’t seem to affect her.

“She is fine. It hardly affected her at all,” he said. “I am terribly sorry. I almost committed a grave sin.” Alex’s silver eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “No, it was a grave sin.”

“I... I should go,” Kai said. His health had already gone back to full, but he still felt shaky.

“I understand,” Alex bowed his head. “Before you leave, I ask you please forgive this one.”

“I won’t hold it against you if we can finish that tour,” Kai said, surprisingly Alex and even himself.

“Truly?” Alex asked, his eyes wide.

Kai nodded. He found himself liking Alex. And unless Alex was a superb actor, he had seemed genuinely sorry for what happened. Besides, Kai’s heart was full enough of anger and revenge, he didn’t need to add to his burdens.

“You are blessed to have such a guardian. Despite knowing it was a battle she could not win, Akane was willing to fight me had I not stopped my magic. It is truly commendable to see a bond of love between a fox and her pup.”

Kai looked to Akane, who appeared bashful? She wasn’t making eye contact with him, in fact, she was staring at a wall causing Kai to chuckle.

After another twenty seconds of walking, they approached the end. There was a pair of double doors to his left already opened. Beyond the doorframe was that massive room he had glimpsed from earlier. Instead of entering through the back of the room, they had now come in from the side but closer to the front. Walking inside Kai was in awe. Nine massive statues were strategically placed at the front in a half-circle. Many pews lined the room all facing the statues. An alter and chairs had been placed in between the statues and the pews. The room was nearly empty except for the occasional person sitting down in the pews.

“There are smaller statues nearby where we entered the building for people who want to make a quick prayer, but I thought you would appreciate these. This room is commonly used for marriages or sermons. In fact, the Ash Monarch was married to his second wife in this room, some 250 years ago?” Alex tilted his head questioningly.

The room looked like it could seat five thousand without issue.

“Must have been a lot of guests,” Kai dryly remarked.

“I imagine so. This lowly one is just a caretaker of sorts. I had not been invited.”

They approached the furthest marble statue to the right. It was immense. Not only was the statue ten times larger than Kai, but the aura radiating from it was palpable enough to feel physically.

“Noxsol, the Guide of Death.”

The figure was mysterious. Draped in a robe and hood, a shadow was cast over the face, making the details difficult to figure out. Kai coughed into his hand once. Pulling it away he noticed red specks.

Checking his health, Kai noticed it was dropping by the second.

“Even though it’s a statue, the death magic emitted is no joke. Let’s move on.”

Kai let out a sigh of relief as the feeling of death stopped a few meters away. The next statue was the second tallest and the brawniest. He wore nothing but pants, with his arms crossed over his bare chest, the being looked downright demeaning as if everything was beneath his consideration. Tusks jutted out of the mouth upwards, giving him a more feral look.

“Verdic, Judge of the Soul. His law is unquestionable. He is the most active of the gods among the mortals. He commonly resides on a few planets, but primarily in the Orc homeworld of Tbaskian.

“Omni, the Engineer of Magic.

Omni appeared half the size of the others. A massive bushy beard ran down from his face to his belt. Two straps came up over his shoulders in what looked like overalls. A hammer with a handle larger than Kai’s body was in his hand, looking very similar to the one used by Knock, just larger. Much larger.

Again, an aura radiated from the statue, but there was nothing detrimental about it.

“Dwarf?” questioned Kai.

“Yea.”

The first female goddess was next.

The next statue had a lithe figure compared to the others. She wore a simple toga down to her feet. The hair was in a single interweaving braid going down her back. The ears looked pointed, which if his guess was correct, appeared like elves according to the lore his first mother told him.

“Adara, the Keeper of Time,” Alex informed him. “Be careful standing near this statue for too long, time passes a little differently near it.”

He could feel it, his hand was moving quicker than he was intending. It reminded him of Lucian and his time magic.

“Considered the most beautiful of the gods, she closely resembles an elf and is their favorite to worship.”

“Is there any importance to the order they are in?” Kai asked.

“Not particularly. It depends on which race’s place of worship you end up visiting. In the human kingdoms, they tend to have the more human-looking ones in the middle.” Alex shrugged. “It’s just the way it is. Go to the Orc’s temple and Verdic would be smack in the middle. Also, sometimes it depends on their symbolism I guess too. Noxsol isn’t too popular being the “god of death,” he empathized the last part. “Now the middle, Ekos, Creator of the Elements.”

The statue depicted a handsome young human man. A sharp angular face under a very pointy wizard hat. Even with the marble covering up much of the details, he could still tell it was an extremely opulent robe, tied with a rope at the waist. In his hand was an orbed staff. The man was holding it out in the air, like he was casting a spell. Kai felt the air cool on one side of his body, while the other side got hotter. It started to become uncomfortable after a few seconds, forcing him to move on.

Alex had a knowing smirk. “Dalia, the Warden of Life. The favorite of many humans and other species alike. Called the mother of all life, she is a gentle being who cares greatly for the life of all kinds.”

The aura around the statue radiated life magic. The health Kai had lost began to gradually restore.

Wait... she looks human too. But why... the gods predate humanity. Did she create us? But I thought humans evolved from primates.

“Why is she human?” Kai asked.

Alex burst out laughing. “Excellent!” He bent down and slapped his knee. “I was wondering if you would catch on to that. Take a guess.”

“I can think of two. Either she created humans, which from what I’ve learned of human origins is probably not the right answer, or... she can change her appearance.” Kai’s eyes went wide. “They all can!”

Alex nodded at Kai with a proud smile. “Right. From ancient texts, Dalia used to appear as a dryad before the humans arrived. Some 300 years ago, she began appearing as a human for reasons unknown,” Alex said. “It is a great honor for the god appearance to take after one of the races and believe me they don’t change often. Many are upset with the humans for having two gods take shape as them. The “new favorite children” they call the humans.”

Kai’s eyes caught on the next statue. “Is that a dragon?” Kai questioned.

“Of sorts,” answered Alex. “Salvandun, the Councilor of Order. Appears as a dragonkin, one of the strongest of the sentient races.”

Kai could feel a pressure descending on him. It felt domineering, the sheer power that radiated from it suppressed his breathing. Kai felt so small compared to the being, his mind going blank, unable to think or move.

“Let’s move on,” Alex grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him away. “Xander, Custodian of Space,” he said.

The statue was the most confusing to look at. One second the statue appeared far away as if on the edge of his vision, the next it was so close, that he could reach his hand out and touch it. It seemed like it kept shifting about moving through space. Taking a step back out of the range of the aura, the statue lay dormant, not moving or looking as if it had moved. No longer in the aura range, he got a good look at it. The figure was clothed in a cloak and hood, but the face was undeniably some kind of animal. His face looked similar to a cat, like the Grove Panther he had fought but with more human features mixed in.

“He might be the shyest of the lot, seeing as how he has made the least number of appearances to date. I think it was four confirmed sightings last time I checked. But he has given much to the mortals of this world. He is the one who held the portals stable when mortals were transferred to the Myriad of Worlds from their original planets. He also designed the world teleporters to bring sentient beings between worlds here in the Myriad of Worlds. And his other notable but least known gift is the natural causeways between worlds.”

“Natural causeways?” Kai questioned. He of course knew of the teleporters between worlds and cities. Most worlds had a few world teleporters capable of transportation between worlds, while most kingdoms or countries had local teleporters that only worked between those on the same planet. The local teleporter in the Ashbourne Kingdom has been offline ever since the war began. Those were common knowledge, but Kai had never heard of natural causeways before.

“They are gateways between worlds. They exist randomly, scattered across the worlds, allowing for monsters to roam between planets.” Alex must have noticed Kai’s face. “Not to worry, most monsters do not use them. They are dangerous even for them. From what I’ve heard, powerful monsters make their homes outside the causeways, so unsuspecting prey may come to them through it.”

Walking towards the next statue Kai felt nothing. No aura could be felt, which was odd considering everyone before had some kind of presence. The face looked human, but two massive horns extended out of the head slicked towards the back of the skull.

“The last of The Nine is Laphin, the Artist of Chaos. Appearing as a demon lord of the demon race.”

Not a shred of aura radiated from the statue. He felt nothing unlike the others. Kai felt a hand on his shoulder, Alex grasped him and pulled him away from the statue.

“Don’t get near that one until you’re stronger. He’s a bit of a prankster. Thankfully no one has ever died, but we have had people require a healer occasionally.”

Kai blinked, the statue which had a neutral face now appeared to have a frown. He took an extra step back, just in case, prompting a laugh from Alex.

“Hey Kai!” he heard from behind.

Turning he saw Andre walking towards him. “Andre, finished your business?

“Yea, over two hours ago. Where in the Nine have you been?”

Kai’s body went cold. Two hours? How it hasn’t even been 30 minutes since we split up.

“Two hours? You’re not joking?”

“No...” Andre looked concerned.

Kai turned to where Alex had been standing, but the spot was empty. Frowning, he searched around and couldn’t see the old man. Akane patted him on the head with her paw.

What the...

“Let’s get back to the academy. Dinner will be over soon if we don’t hurry.”