(Jacob, 16)

Jason and I return the training swords to their racks, then walk over to the servants and accept the towels to wipe our faces and torsos off with. When we finish, we both pull our tunics and belts back on, before adjusting our weapons back to their normal positions.

"Good job, you two," Sage Michael tells us, and we turn to face the elder who oversaw our training. "You're both improving."

"Thank you for coming," I dip my head to him. "I will admit, sir, that I had only jokingly asked Jason if you would ever be interested in helping me improve my abilities. I had not expected him to pull out his comm plate and ask if you could come and give us advice during our sparring and training session."

We were both going to train under the instruction of a pair of Royal Knights, who decided to take the time to learn from the Sage as well after Jason took me seriously. My bodyguards also participated in the training after Sage Michael sent for more Royal Knights to come to take over their watch.

Both of my personal, similar-aged guards seem to be entranced by the presence of the Sage and by having learned from him.

"Your papa is like a nephew to me," Sage Michael laughs. "I remember when he was still an infant, Jacob. He knows that we would take no issue with visiting to train you, Lina, or your guards, both visible and hidden."

"Hidden?" I ask, and Jason gives me a confused look, so I look at him directly. His confused expression tells me that he knew and thought I did. "I have hidden guards?"

"You weren't aware?" He asks, and Sage Michael laughs.

"No," I answer. "I was not aware of this."

"Oh," Jason says. "The only reason you have to clear entering a restaurant with Uncle Zach first is because they have to check the restaurant early and watch it all day. There are usually twenty Royal Guards watching you at all times when you leave the palace. Their job is actually dealing with the threats that might come near you. Their job," he gestures to my two personal guards. "Is to deter people from just approaching you."

I look at my guards, who both nod in confirmation.

"Why did no one ever tell me this?" I ask.

"King Zachary explicitly ordered us not to," Evan answers. "When we passed the examinations and requirements for combat capabilities and observational skill for this position last year, we were told that our duties were not to actually protect your bodies, but ensure that the majority of people did not simply approach you."

"His Majesty," Wyatt continues. "Wanted you to have personal guards closer to your own age, which is why we were assessed for the position. We do have the duties of protecting you should something happen, but it is not our primary job."

"If a situation arises," Evan informs me. "Where you might be in danger, the hidden guards will protect you as we escort you to safety. But again, Your Highness, our primary job is to act as deterrents for those who would simply approach you on the streets."

"And," Wyatt looks at Jason. "You are aware that, when you asked us if we were applying for your training group, that our lack of qualifications was not just because we were lower orange, yes?"

"What?" Jason looks confused about that.

"We are students of neither the Royal Knight University or the Royal Mage University," Wyatt tells Jason. "Even had our magical power been a level up, we are not permitted to join any of their groups."

"Oh," Jason scratches the back of his neck. "Royal Educational Advancement Code, Article Seven, Section Four. Any official member of the Royal Guards, Royal Knights, or Royal Mages who are of the standard age of university as outlined in Article One and are officially instated as personal guards for a student of any university within Varil with the blessing of the ruling monarch receives all university permissions of the student whom they are assigned to. That's the summarized version of it."

I should have remembered that, as the Crown Prince. I suppose I need to refresh my own knowledge of some of our laws.

"Did you memorize the entire code?" I ask Jason instead of commenting on my own forgetfulness.

"My papas and mamas made me," Jason indicates Sage Michael.

"We did not actually expect him to," Sage Michael admits. "But we wanted him to at least be aware of the laws of Varil for when we sent him off to university, so we tested him both on knowing the laws and understanding them."

"Anyway," Jason looks at Wyatt and Evan. "Since Jacob is a student at the university and the two of you are Royal Guards who were blessed for that position by Uncle Zach, the current reigning monarch of Varil, that means you two are permitted to join any of its groups as well. Your magical power levels have gone up to middle orange since the start of term, no doubt in part because of your own magical control training that you perform while watching the halls during the sessions. If you wish to apply for it, you may. I am sure you are capable of meeting the other requirements, considering you are Royal Guards."

They practice magic magical control while we are training during the group sessions? I suppose they get bored standing there with nothing to do and no one to talk with but each other. It probably helped them take their minds off the fact that they were technically unable to do their jobs.

But hearing what their actual duties are now, I suppose it makes sense that they would probably see the training sessions as outside of their realm of duty as well, as everyone in the group was either a trainer or a part of the group, and Jason himself could deter any actual threat to me. They probably also do it while the advance training group is gone, since they aren't even anywhere near me.

Unfortunately, they are still stiff. I understand trying to do their job, but that does not mean they should keep me at a formal distance. It has been a year since they were assigned to me, and this is quite annoying.

"Understood," Wyatt responds to Jason's comment. "Then we will both audition tomorrow."

"You can audition now," Jason says. "You know the requirements."

My guards nod, then both manifest barriers of the appropriate size. Jason strikes at them with magic bolts for two minutes, as is standard for the acceptance. Then, the pair of them use enhancement magic to add an extra sharpness to their swords. Jason nods his approval.

"You can begin joining the basic version of the group," he tells them. "If you wish to join the advanced group, you will need to prove yourselves worthy of it, as with everyone else."

Speaking of people joining his group, I want to talk with Eden, the farmer who barely made it into S-Class, about switching training groups from the one he's in to Jason's. I know he's considering dropping out of university, and the treatment his group is putting him through is part of it. It was the only one who would accept him which he met the qualifications for, unfortunately, and they treat him like he's their servant. Quite a lot of hazing involved.

Even though that normally would not be allowed, they get away with it by only skirting the rules. No actual violations have occurred, so nothing can truly be done about it.

Combine that with his lacking ability to truly keep up with us in S-Class, and his excitement at university has begun to wane, and he now feels like a failure, despite the fact that he made it into the elite class of the elite university.

I will attempt that discussion tomorrow morning. No later than after lessons, however, as auditions are on Mondays, so I would have to wait another week if I missed it then.

"Understood," my guards respond to Jason, who looks at Sage Michael.

"Your Mama Alyssa is here, too," Sage Michael tells Jason, who frowns.

"Did she eat an early dinner?"

"We have not had dinner yet," Sage Michael answers. "Why?"

"Because when I asked her to stop by," Jason responds. "I asked her to stop by after dinner. We were supposed to do stuff, and I know she's going to go 'why weren't you at the house when I arrived?' She showed up early, I promised to meet with Jacob, and Casper probably isn't ready to return yet."

"Casper?" I ask. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"He's visiting his mama right now," Jason answers as if traveling across the continent each day is a normal thing.

Then again, this is the man who regularly moves between here and the Unwild Lands twice a day – sometimes more. And who will teleport to another nation just to-

"Did you do something in Anotis?" I ask.

"I went down to see if I could cure Queen Elizabeth," Jason nods, and I groan in response.

"Did you?"

"Mama Elena had to help me," he nods. "I couldn't have done it by myself, I lack a certain level of finesse that was required. It took us a couple of hours to complete her treatment. Before I returned home, I had to help Niko with something in Mar, too, but then I opened a gate for Casper to visit his mama. I wanted to do something with you after we did this and before dinner, then would open a gate for him to return after dinner, since he is still on that diplomatic mission."

Ah, right. Officially, he is on a diplomatic mission, and those around us are probably unaware he was here in Varil City.

"Do what with me?" I ask.

"Just a short trip," he answers. "To visit some place I've never been to before."

"Thanks, but no thanks," I answer. "I value my sanity far too much to allow someone to do a blind teleport with me."

"Niko lets me all the time."

I do not want to even think about how many places Jason might have performed a blind-teleport to with Niko.

"Niko might be a tad bit insane."

"You let me before," Jason points out.

"I was thinking too much about the fact that we were going to face a black dragon and a red dragon to properly comprehend what was happening."

"When was that?" Sage Michael asks, making me realize that Jason never informed his papas and mamas about that. I cannot remember if he said whether or not they helped him with the gifts or not, but if he did, then he probably lied to make me a little more at ease. "Jason, when did you go off to negotiate with dragons?"

"Last month," Jason answers. "Aizaral and Mairala weren't that difficult to negotiate with. There was that fear that things would go south, but I had full confidence in my abilities to deal with them."

Sage Michael begins verbally admonishing Jason for it, and my good friend and cousin looks both shamed and embarrassed by it, with a touch of annoyance mixed in.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Sage Michael asks after ten straight minutes of that.

Jason scratches the back of his neck.

"Mama Elena already ripped into me for thirty minutes for doing something massively political today," Jason tells him. "And Papa Samuel did for almost an hour over that and something I did for Mar because of my initial actions with them. Can I answer this another day?"

That must be why he looked so exhausted when he arrived for the practice session earlier. Having his mama and papa scolding him for an hour and a half would probably wear down even the most hardened of soldiers.

And Jason's papas and mamas are the Sages, so they probably have an even bigger effect on him than a normal mama or papa.

"We will continue it soon," Sage Michael gives Jason a pointed look. "With all seven of us."

Now I feel sorry for my friend.

"Where were you wanting to go?" I decide to ask him.

"To the Tomb of the King of Spring," Jason answers. "You mentioned you've been there before and were fascinated with him as a child, and considering his historical connections, I was interested in visiting it. I thought we could take a short trip there together."

You have some deeper intention behind this, I know you do.

"It has been a few years since I last visited it," I nod. "It would be nice to visit again, even if it cannot be entered."

"It can't?" Jason looks surprised.

Has he not been told about that?

"It cannot," I nod. "The Tomb of the King of Spring is sealed shut tightly with magics no one knows how to breach."

An impressive feat. I doubt even Magus Nolan could have made a spell so powerful it would remain that strong today. Maybe weakened, but definitely not powerful enough to prevent any form of breach.

"Even your Mama Alyssa and Papa Samuel are unable to breach it," Sage Michael informs Jason, who looks deep in thought about something.

"What about the artifacts that are said to be there?" He asks. "I was told that they're there, and a few have faint traces of magical power in them."

"There are a few in the first room," I nod. "The entrance, as it is. The actual tomb, however, is sealed past that. If you will give me a few minutes to fetch my coat, then we can be off. We will meet you at the front gates of the palace."

Jason nods, and I make my way to my room and retrieve my coat. After pulling it on, I make my way to the front gates, where Jason and Sage Michael are standing.

"Since I have been there before," the Sage informs me. "I can open a gate there."

He gestures to the side, and a gate forms there.

"Thank you," Jason nods, then looks at my guards. "Do you want to go before or after him?"

They choose to go before him, aware of the presence of two beings far more capable than them standing on this side to watch my back. I pass through, then Jason steps in after me, the gate vanishing away a moment later as I wonder how the gate trips affect the hidden guards' duties.

Ignoring the stares of the visitors, I look at the entrance to the tomb. Set into a tall hill, one must ascend twelve steps of grey stone to reach the a brief stone yard twenty-four feet on each side. Four two-foot-thick, twelve-foot-tall pillars stand on either side, spaced evenly apart and forming a sort of walkway leading from the steps, which are twelve feet wide, to the entrance, which is only eight feet wide.

Though everything is made up of the same grey stone, there are green and brown patterns set into the pillars, torches held in green metal stands on each one to light the area, though they are inert at the moment, the evening sun illuminating us at the moment. Soon, they will be lit.

This space was excavated after the battle for the hill, though the tomb itself still remains beneath it. When the Varilan people excavated the place back then, all of this stone and the patterns were already there, the torches as well. Whoever crafted this place did a masterful job of it.

Jason and I pass through the open doors into the tomb's entrance. The doors themselves forged of oak and are six inches thick. They, too, are a work of ancient craftsmen.

My cousin looks around the chamber we've found ourselves in, four braziers illuminating the space, which is twenty-four feet long by twenty-four feet wide and twelve tall. A statue of Magus Ethan stands to either side of the four-foot-wide door on the opposite wall. He's sculpted perfectly and life-sized in pure-white marble, and I cannot help but compare myself to my old self.

The statues are of when Magus Ethan was around nineteen or twenty, I am guessing, and his muscles are pretty decent. The same dense musculature I have from my years of training, even though he began later. Comparatively, I likely have an extra layer or two of muscle over him. He was likely stronger than me physically, though, due to his magical power level.

Each statue of Magus Ethan holds a sword in one hand and an orb in the other, set so that the swords are held on the opposite side from the door and the orbs are in the hand closest to it. The swords are forged of steel, reminiscent of my isivnite sword, Griffin's Claw, complete with the brown gems set into them. The orbs are of swirled black and green crystal.

When I was younger, the orbs brought no memories back to me, but seeing them this time, a memory resurfaces. A memory of me wielding the Orb of Spring to revitalize fields of flowers, before setting it into a stand so that it could continue to fuel the land's health for many years as it recovered from the effects of the demons and the corrupted.

Looking at things now, how did they know about Griffin's Claw and the Orb of Spring? And what I looked like as Ethan?

"Prince Jacob!" One of the guides for the place greets me as he and the other give a deep bow, Jason looking around. "Apologies, Your Highness. We were not made aware that you might be visiting us."

"It was an unplanned trip," I smile at them, looking at Jason. "The artifacts are the statues and the braziers."

Jason nods, taking his gaze from the empty walls and examining the braziers for a few moments.

"You may relax," I tell the guides. "Jason was curious about this place, and had never been here before. He is like a cousin to me, and I decided to show him the Tomb of the King of Spring."

Who I used to believe was the Magi of Earth, but was really the Magi of Light. Me. I still need to sort out how I made that mistake, considering I had seen the actual Magi of Earth before. Admittedly, interpreting memories can be hard sometimes, and I was making a guess, anyway.

"Would it be alright," Jason asks as he examines the statue to the right of the doors. "If we had some time alone in here? I want to see if I can discern how the enchantments are powered, and would rather my secrets as to the method not risk being discovered. I assure you that I will not bring damage to this place."

The guides give me a hesitant look, so I nod.

"As you wish, sir," they give him a slight bow, then leave.

"Jacob," Jason says. "Would you mind sending your guards out as well?"

Magi business and discussion, then.

I dip my head to my guards, who follow the guides out, taking up positions outside as the guides close the door.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"One," Jason says. "The enchantments have not faded with time. They're powered directly by the dragon veins. This was something I had researched as Nolan, but do not possess any memories of succeeding in it."

"The tomb itself," I say. "Is estimated to only be around a thousand years old, based on the legends."

"Maybe," Jason approaches the pair of doors leading deeper into the tomb. "However, they are definitely from three thousand years ago. I recognize the craftsmanship."

"You do?" I frown. "From where?"

"The Tomb of the King of Decay," he answers. "Benjamin's tomb. And it was Nolan who made that. The front of it matches as well. I didn't actually check, but the braziers are identical, so the enchantments likely are as well."

"You built these tombs?" I ask. "Or rather, you did as Nolan?"

"Yes," he nods.

"And you have seen Niko's tomb?"

"Niko?" He gives me a confused look. What a good actor. "What does he have to do with any of this?"

"Niko understood our conversation in the ancient tongue," I tell him. "From last night, after the performance. He is also a foreigner, and betrothed to my sister. I know you have likely already realized that Lina is Jessica. That would make Niko Benjamin, who fit the criteria for someone called the 'King of Decay'. He is also one of the four Magi none of the Kings' tombs match up to."

Jason sighs.

"His tomb is on the islands of his homeland," Jason nods. "The Moon Folk still live out there, isolated away from us. They speak a different derivative of the ancient tongue than we do, but their Moon Priestess still speaks the ancient tongue."

I do not actually remember the Moon Folk, but can guess that they were Benjamin's people.

"I take it that is where your necklace and new bracelet came from?" I gesture towards the two items, whose origins I have been pondering since they appeared.

"Yes," he touches the necklace. "The necklace was something I acquired while there."

"And the bracelet?" I ask.

"Is an item I made as Nolan," he answers. "Kept safe by a certain being who returned it to me."

He frowns a little.

"It seems I knew then that we would return."

"What do you mean?" I ask. "How could you have known then that we would be reincarnated?"

"I… I'm not sure," his frown deepens. "But I gave them explicit instructions to return it to me when I returned. Receiving it made me regain the memories of that, and despite not having the knowledge of it, I receive a very clear message when I saw it. A message ingrained into its existence, yet which could have only come from knowledge I don't possess."

"What message?" I ask, and he looks me in the eyes.

"That the Gathering will occur soon."

I frown. That is the same message the rulers were given by a goddess last summer, the reason the existence of the Magi and their war against the heavens and underworld is being revealed to the public.

"How did you receive that message?" I ask, and he holds up his bracelet so I can look at the beads. When I do, I realize that each one represents a different sacred beast – and was forged of the pure essence of an element. "You made that as a message?"

"Yes," he nods. "It is likely that I imprinted the message into it, set to react to my soul. I never learned soul magics, at least, not in my memories of being Nolan, but everything I have learned about myself so far says that I may have been a lot more capable than I thought. Back on the islands, I didn't even bother looking at the enchantments, so I wasn't aware that I'd constructed this place. But here? Nolan's magic is filling this place. This is his handiwork. My work. I created-"

His face goes blank for a moment, then fills with realization. He holds up his hand as a small spatial storage ring appears, and a ring of twelve keys drop out of it. Each key, I realize, is forged of isivinite and imprinted with the crest of a different Magus. Rather than teeth, each key is a slender metal rod only two inches in length, the very tip of it coated with a thin layer of some sort of crystal.

Jason looks for the key with the griffin on it, then steps up to the plain, yet powerfully-warded doors, and presses the key to the center of it. I sense a powerful force of magic flowing through him, the keys, and the doors, and a moment later, the doors vanish.

Jason looks at me, his eyes grey.

"Would you like to see your real tomb?" He asks.

"There are twelve keys there."

"I noticed," he looks at the ring, shifting until he reaches one of them. "This one is for my tomb… yet I'm not sure how it would have been sealed without the key. This was in one of the dimensional spaces I made as Nolan."

"How did you receive it, then?" I ask in bewilderment.

"As we did not pass on to the next life," he informs me. "Our dimensional spaces and spatial storages made in past lives are still accessible to us. Midlaris told me this earlier."

I stare at him as I attempt to comprehend what he just told me.

"Did you summon Midlaris to deal with the situation in Mar?" I nearly shout, and he nods. "No wonder your papa scolded you, Jason! Do you have any idea how beyond that was?"

"Niko asked and Midlaris didn't seem to mind," Jason mutters. "I don't see why everyone is making a big deal out of it."

"Probably because you are the only person on Midlaris he would probably respond to every summoning for and be willing to possess consistently!" I exclaim. "Probably because you personally killed the gods and had several meetings with the King and Queen of the Gods when you were Nolan! That is not something anyone can just do!"

"Yeah, yeah!" He waves his hands. "Seriously, everyone is throwing a big fuss about me summoning the world to deal with people who are claiming that magic disturbs the world. What, is he not allowed to weigh in on this?"

I groan, rubbing my temples. He has a point on that. I still think that was more than a little beyond, though.

"So do you want to see your real tomb?" He asks.

"Yes," I sigh.

We walk past the doors into the next chamber, and braziers flare to life. Resting in the center of the room is a stone sarcophagus, patterned with griffins, the rune for Magi imprinted on the center of each side and the lid in gold. The floor is a tile mural of the griffin of my crest, the true griffin of the sacred beasts.

Two more statues of Ethan are in front of the front wall, to either side of the door. In front of the back wall are a pair of griffin statues, and on the wall between them a full-color mural of Ethan, dressed in his isivinite armor, Griffin's Claw on his hip. The entire back wall was painted to look like the sky with a mountain in the background.

On the side walls are shelves of items I recognize from my life as Ethan. Weapons, armors, and other various artifacts. Scrolls and tomes of knowledge lost to time. Walking over to one of the shelves, I gently touch one of the tomes.

Ethan's personal journey log. It does not contain my knowledge of spells and such, but rather, the journeys I made. Every place I visited, every battle I fought, every village I saved. Seeing it, I recover the memories of Nolan handing it to me, explaining it to me.

A log for us to remember ourselves by. Our pasts and histories. A log of who we were before we joined him, and who we became after. Each of us had one, even Nolan. While I had seen some of what was written in everyone else's, Nolan's remained an eternal mystery to all of us, even Quinn.

Thinking about it, what knowledge I have about Nolan from my memories as Ethan is limited far more than I realized. He really was a mystery, and that gives me more to think about than the many questions I already had.

But just like Nolan, I know Jason will avoid answering any questions relating to those mysteries of his past. The same for the reason he created the training group. He knows something we do not, and it has to do with this Gathering.

He began preparations before he received the bracelet, before he knew about the Gathering. Or was he already aware it would begin to happen? I know the Sages would not have told him – at least, I doubt they would.

"Do you want to see your corpse?" Jason asks as I think about his mysterious nature, and I jump in shock, turning and giving him a horrified look.

He smirks at me, and I realize that he was just offering to provoke a response. Two can play at that game.

"Actually," I say. "I am a bit curious to know what you buried me with."

Jason gestures with his hands, and the stone lid of my sarcophagus lifts up into the air, floating up to the ceiling, where it rests.

Hesitantly, I approach, as does Jason, and we look into the stone box. Tradition back then was to burn most of the dead, but to give a proper encasing to great warriors. That was true for demons, angels, and humans alike.

Their bodies would be stripped and cleaned, then carefully laid into the box with several items important to them placed with them. Nolan must have performed some sort of protective spell, because my corpse remains completely intact, unchanged from when Ethan died. As if he were sleeping.

His brown hair was washed and brushed nicely, his hands folded over his chest. He looks so peaceful, and I am more than grateful Nolan had the foresight to close his eyes. Seeing my dead body staring at me would probably unnerve me more than it does now. At least he is not identical to me now, that would be even more disturbing.

There are only two items in the sarcophagus with my old life's corpse, a ring and an amulet. The amulet consists of a griffin surrounded by several flowers, the entire thing crafted of silver, gold, and jewels. The ring is a silvery-blue godsteel ring set with a rich, brown gem. A few more memories resurface when I see them.

"Those were more important to me than my sword?" I give Jason a look which should convey that I am not amused.

"Your sword is probably in a dimensional space you made as Ethan," he shrugs. "I know mine was."

"Of all the things you put with me," I say. "You chose my life-mate amulet and the ring I happened to be wearing when I punched a god?"

Seeing the ring flashed me back to that incident, though I do not remember why I punched a god or what happened after I did. I do doubt the incident had anything to do with my death, though, as it was definitely before the war ended.

"I don't even remember picking these," Jason tells me. "I don't actually remember making any of the tombs. Chances are, the Queen of the Gods intentionally removed those memories from me."

Right. She affected his memories in an attempt to stunt his knowledge. He figured out about reincarnation just fine, and that it was no doubt the Queen of the Gods who messed with his memories, but who knows what her true reasons were?

It does explain why none of us can remember training under him, though. If she removed his own memories, then she no doubt did the same to the rest of us, to intentionally stunt our ability to grow in power. All of the memories of the skills we had mean little when we do not possess the foundation require to use them, the knowledge behind how they were performed. Only what we can interpret gives us knowledge.

I want to see Tasha again, thinking about this makes me depressed, and seeing her always cheers me up. I could bring her a bouquet of local flowers before we return, too.

"So then you don't know why you put all those items out?" I gesture to the shelves.

"It may have had to do," he tells me. "With when we return. But I think our logs were the primary reason."

"Our logs?" I ask. "Why?"

"Because," he answers. "They contain the complete records of our journeys. Even if no one today knows the ancient tongue among the common nations, there are outliers like the Moon Folk who do. And some of those people do know the true history. If a scholar from one of those nations were to get hold of one of those tomes and begin translating it-"

"It would reveal information about the war," I finish. "Sorry for the interruption."

"No worries," he smiles at me, that phrase a little… odd. It must be from that second life of his. He will not tell me much about it, other than many of his inventions are inspired by things from there. "We aren't here formally, Jacob, and I prefer it if you go fully non-Prince when you start doing it."

"Apologies are a habit," I remind him. "As is allowing someone to finish. Are you thinking we should take the logs?"

"No," he shakes his head and gestures with his hands. The lid to my sarcophagus lowers back into place. "We should wait until word spreads a little more, then I might open up the tombs we know of, as if it were a 'miracle'. The room itself is enchanted so that only the owners can remove items from in here, and all items are enchanted against damage. Magi are also the only people capable of using magic in here."

"What?" I ask in shock. "You already read all of those enchantments?"

"Yes," he nods. "And if someone really wants to try to destroy something in here…"

He trails off, giving the statues of Ethan an unamused look.

"I suppose I didn't know how to make golems back then," he says. "But those orbs are enchanted with potent offensive powers set to trigger in quite a few situations. And everything in this tomb is powered by a connection to the dragon veins, which means that the enchantments are just as powerful as they were three thousand years ago, when I set them into place. If one of the churches found the information too outlandish, they would have to go after the interpreters and guests, not the tomb or the artifacts within."

"Indeed," I nod. "And not all of the churches are hateful. The Church of the King of Spring will want to protect the artifacts from my past life."

"There's a church for you?" He looks stunned. "Do they worship the gods?"

"Yes," I nod. "They are a part of a greater church known as the Church of the Twelve Rulers of Power, which has been around for more than a thousand years. No one knows when they really began, but it is believed to have been around fifteen centuries ago. They are people who believe that the Twelve Kings and Queens of Power were the heroes of a very specific pair of gods."

"The King and Queen of the Gods?" He asks.

"Correct," I answer. "Supposedly, their information came from the Great Prophet Enaveka-"

I cut off as Jason stiffens and turns as white as snow at that name. He knows it.

"What is it about that name that has made you terrified?" I ask.

"Nothing that important," he forcibly relaxes. "Just that Enaveka also happens to be the true name of a god we knew of as Magi, who went by the title of Oracle, when translated into Varilan Common."

The true name of-of Oracle.

I feel myself stiffening at the realization. Not many people would know the true name of a god who went by another, and it is doubtful that someone simply learned it. That means that there is a good chance that he is here on Midlaris, roaming freely.

Oracle is a god of knowledge, and a very powerful one. He also happens to be the god who I punched.

That brings up several very important questions, now. The first is why he has not come after me, if he is here on Midlaris. The second is why he is not enforcing the fact that he is a god to his church. Enaveka was one of the problematic gods during the war. All of the gods were.

This makes it possible that it is not Enaveka, but someone who found his true name from some record or something.

"Let us leave," Jason tells me. "I will reseal the door."

"When you open the gate," I say as we exit the inner tomb. "Can you open it to Tasha's home?"

I want to give her a hug and a kiss. It might be the last time I ever do, after all.

Gods are known for their ability to hold grudges.

"Will do," Jason scratches the back of his neck. "He probably holds a bigger grudge against me. I thought I killed him."

Maybe you should hurry home to Alex and confess to him the love you clearly feel, then?