The trio of teens examined the gate with curiosity. It stood fifteen feet in height and stretched ten in width, built of a mix of stone and metal and enchanted heavily. A magical circle spanned fifty feet in diameter around it, various nodes full of mana crystals to power it. In the opening of the gate itself, plains could be seen, a stone pillar ten feet in height in the distance, what looked like a phoenix three times Ichtvar's height sitting atop it, glowing orange and red with flames.

"We have one day of Earth time," Ichtvar said. "Thankfully, Nuenar is in this dimension, so time will pass evenly. I had Torzin help them relocate the arrival point so that we can show up near his current nest. Thankfully, he's met the old bird since the current nest was built, so he knew where to go and didn't need me to lead him there through the pathways of the universe and that world."

"Is that the phoenix?" Nathan indicated the pillar.

"Yes," Ichtvar answered without looking. "As I said, we opened the gate near his nest. Are you all ready?"

"Yes," Nathan answered. "Where are the workers who are normally here?"

"I asked them to not be here while you were around," Ichtvar said. "It didn't seem like a good idea."

Nathan grunted, then fixed the beanie on his son's head to make sure it covered the baby's ears. Then he checked to make sure he and Cyrus were wearing their amulets, then walked straight for the gate, passing through without another word.

Keith, Samantha, and Ichtvar quickly followed, and they crossed the fifty feet to the pillar. As they drew near it, the phoenix atop turned its head and looked down at them.

"Hello again, Ichtvar," it said, then turned its gaze to the infant. "I see why you were curious about such things."

"Why exactly are we meeting you?" Nathan asked, and the phoenix looked at him, finding the demigod holding up a gun aimed at the creature.

"Fascinating enchantment," the creature said, then looked at Ichtvar. "You did not tell them?"

"No," Ichtvar answered. "I wanted to check with you first, then you requested to meet the boy."

"Hm," the phoenix assessed Cyrus, what little of the infant he could see directly. "This is most interesting. I have never heard of a creature like him before."

The three teens stared at the phoenix.

"What do you mean," Nathan said. "A 'creature like him'? And think over your answer carefully, bird."

"Your gun does not bother me," the phoenix said. "It would not affect me, as powerful as it might be. And I am referring to your son."

"Demigods have children with mortals all the time."

"Forged souls in their first incarnation don't have children with forged souls in their first incarnation," Nuenar stated. "They are always far enough apart, both in distance and time, that they never meet. When they do, they are often the same sex. It isn't often the Well of Souls forges a soul, then places it into a female. The majority of those times, it is in the rare universe where women have a higher rate of birth than men by many times."

The phoenix looked at Keith, then at Samantha.

"One to restrain him through love," the phoenix said, then looked at Keith. "One to restrain him through magic," the phoenix looked at Nathan. "In case he breaches the threshold to insanity. It seems the Well of Souls is quite serious about destroying the Sealed Dimensions."

"You know about them?" Ichtvar asked.

"I once traveled into them," the phoenix stated. "Before they sealed it. Now, however, the power which seals them is far too great for me to surpass. Based on your explanation earlier of what they are doing, Ichtvar, I can understand it. I can also understand the rage of the Well of Souls, and the reason behind it forging the three of them. I cannot understand why you did not tell them the truth about the Guild and the Chroniclers. Are you pranking them?"

"What is he saying?" Samantha asked Nathan as Ichtvar gave the teens a nervous look, reminding Nathan that neither she nor Keith could actually understand Nuenar, and he had instinctively spoken in the phoenix's language.

"He just said that Ichtvar lied about the Guild and the Chroniclers," Nathan responded. "And he also called Cyrus a 'creature'."

"I was not far from the truth," Ichtvar muttered.

"You were quite far, in some ways," the phoenix said. "The Guild and the Chroniclers are beyond our reach, Ichtvar. You are aware of this. And you, son of Ulmant, are a creature. All animals and beasts are. Do not take offense to my plain words."

"How badly do you think the bullet would bother you?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan, don't," Ichtvar sighed. "You might have the protection of the Well of Souls, but that doesn't mean he can't flip your switch in other ways. Nuenar, you are saying that Cyrus is a first?"

"Yes," Nuenar answered. "Nathan and Samantha are the first occurrence where a forged soul mated with another forged soul while both were in their first incarnation. Their first iteration and universe. It appears to have created an anomaly. The Well of Souls likely knew this might happen, but dismissed it as an acceptable outcome."

"Are you saying there's something wrong with my son?" Nathan growled.

"No," Neunar looked at him. "Quite different, actually. Your son is a forged soul. Or more accurately, a soul which drew upon the Well of Souls to form, but without the Well of Souls' power. There is no design in his soul giving him tendencies or habits or personalities, unlike forged souls. He is… a crafted soul. A blank slate. Everything he does will imprint upon him, just as with the three of you. It will carry over into future incarnations, into future universes."

Nathan stared. His son was like him, only without actual designs already. A blank slate, free to shape how he wanted to be in future lives in a way even Nathan, Samantha, and Keith couldn't do. Even his personality would be fully free to mold for future incarnations, and the more he matched that in each life, the more ingrained it would be into him.

"A crafted soul," he said. "And what about his mana? Why is it green? Ichtvar says he's never heard of that before. Not in this universe, anyway."

"There are four types of mana in this universe," Nuenar stood and stretched before turning his gaze back to them. "Blue, or ordinary. Gray, or necromancer. Purple, or psychic, and white, or demigod. Six if you include the silver and gold of creatures of the divine realm.

"Your son," the great phoenix indicated Cyrus with the tip of one wing. "Has green. This is not a type of mana which exists in this universe. It never has been. As with his soul, he is a first."

"Do you know what it means?" Ichtvar asked.

"I do not," the great phoenix responded. "I have been in this universe since nearly its dawn, and I have never seen green mana before. Your son is quite unique in that regard. However, an absolute truth of this universe is that at least one, and possibly both, of his parents are capable of managing anything he throws your way. It is a fail-safe to ensure a child does not accidentally destroy everything around them… even if most of the time, the fail-safe fails because mortals are morons and do not use their power over their offspring. Now, I believe the reason you came here is finished, yes?"

"We came here because Ichtvar said you'd make the world aware sooner than we intended if you came to Earth."

"I do not come to worlds where magic is hidden," Nuenar said. "If I visit it and magic is hidden, I will reveal it to all. Magic should never be hidden, that is my opinion."

Nathan put his gun away.

"Then I believe we are done here."

"Ichtvar said some of your inventions use what might be the First Language," Nuenar said, then runes began to glow in the air between them. "He showed me some of the ones which formed."

"Aren't those from when we made the measuring orb?" Keith asked Nathan.

"Yeah," Nathan said. "Ichtvar mentioned it to him."

"These," the great phoenix said. "Are indeed from the First Language. Using its runes to enchant will greatly increase the power of the enchantments created. Perhaps your son's existence may have been for more than your own joy, Nathan. Ichtvar would have continued to avoid me without him, and I am perhaps one of three entities in all the universe who know it. I also support the decision the Well of Souls made to create you three. The Sealed Dimensions must be destroyed. At the very least, the one with the Soul Engine must be destroyed.

"Therefore," the great phoenix told him. "I will grant upon you and your friends the knowledge of the First Language. In its entirety. Use it in your quest to destroy the Soul Engine. Free those souls. You will no doubt need something this powerful in order to do so."

Before Nathan could respond, he felt the knowledge flooding into him, a complete awareness of all of the runes and words of the First Language. Just thinking them gave him a sense of their power, of what they could do and how they worked.

"Is that the First Language," Keith asked.

"Yeah," Nathan answered. "It seems Nuenar supports us in destroying the Soul Engine and wants us to use as powerful of enchantments as we can make."

"Makes sense," Keith said as Cyrus turned his head, trying to look at the great phoenix. Nathan moved so that his son could look. "Tell him 'thank you', would you?"

"Thank you," Nathan told Nuenar as Cyrus stared at the pair of phoenixes.

"You are welcome," Nuenar told him. "Now, is there anything else you wish to know? Or will you be leaving, to return to your designs and planning?"

"Yes," Nathan said. "You called me a son of Ulmant? Is that the god who sired me?"

"Yes," the great phoenix answered.

"All Ichtvar will tell me is that he's a god of love and sex."

"He's also the king of the gods," the great phoenix answered. "Most powerful of them all, and the one who authorizes any god to enter the mortal realm."

The demigod stared at Nuenar, unsure if the great phoenix was screwing with him or being honest.

"Yeah," Ichtvar looked at Nathan. "I didn't say that because I didn't want it going to your head. Basically, it means that you are above pretty much everyone in the universe. Other than your father and his wife. Your divine authority will work even on high gods, the ones who can move throughout the universe. You are literally a divine prince."

"Don't shoot your familiar in front of our son," Samantha said, and Nathan sighed, then lowered the gun he had raised. "Nathan's a prince?"

Ichtvar had spoken in English then, which allowed Nathan's friends to learn of the demigod's true inheritance.

"Yes," Ichtvar stated. "Which effectively makes you a princess, when you think about it."

"We aren't married," Nathan said.

"Don't have to be for some cultures," Icthvar indicated Cyrus. "In many cultures, a child between you two is enough to make her your princess. This includes in the divine realm."

"Is there anything else the three of you wished to discuss?" Nuenar asked. "If not, you should leave. I believe Ichtvar said your time was limited."

"He got us a day," Nathan said. "Can we explore this place a little?"

"No!" Ichtvar hastily answered. "No, no! You are leaving here! You are not staying here!"

"Why not?" Nathan asked.

"This is probably one of the most hostile dimensions out there," Ichtvar explained. "Exempting the ones the Dungeons are in. There are probably fifty dragons within a hundred-mile radius just from here. The only reason we haven't been attacked is because despite being a phoenix, Nuenar is capable of incinerating them! That's why I had the gate opened so close to his nest!"

"Speaking of dragons," Nathan looked at Keith before beginning to walk back to the gate. "If we make that today or tomorrow, we could probably visit Endariv the day after."

"We're making the actual offering," Keith dipped his head to Nuenar before following Nathan. "Not the one you want to make."

"Can we make both?"