(Niko, 16)

Expanding my scanning spell out as far as I can, I descend into the water, using a spell to allow me to see and breathe as I navigate. Jason would never do something so selfish, but that does not mean someone else cannot do this.

There is no chance in the universe he does not know about this, especially not if he has remembered who we really are. He has not just memories, but experiences. Grey magical power does that to us, due to nature of our souls and of what we are.

So I walk along the bottom of the ocean as soon as I reach it, using magic to protect my body from the cold and pressure.

For more than an hour, I search. I only barely know what I am looking for, but as soon as my scanning spell touches something which it might be, I walk straight towards the detected object. Kneeling down, I pick up the oyster and examine it, then gently tease it open, revealing a World Pearl within. I pull the World Pearl out, then after making sure my prize is gripped firmly in one hand, I set the oyster down and begin swimming, ensuring I keep that firm grip on the World Pearl.

As soon as I pass through the surface of the ocean, I fly up into the sky, drying myself before opening a gate. I pass through the gate, then hold out my free hand, opening up the passage to the Shattered Isle.

With the passage open, I fly through and to the island, landing on its shore. There, I dress again, then make my way to the base in the center and enter the storage building. After moving a few items and performing a couple of specific spells, I find myself looking at a door in the floor of the main room.

I lift the door open and descend the steps, torches igniting as I pass them by, granting me sight without any need of magic on my part. This might not be Nolan's vault here, but it does contain a few other rare and valuable resources which he wanted hidden.

When I checked it earlier, it was missing a World Pearl, but had the other four items necessary for this. If World Pearls are stored here, Nolan or Jason likely hid them within the vault.

I walk straight to a shelf with various jars and open up four. Each one is full of gems. Red, white, blue, and brown, each type of gem stored in its own jar. I select a single gem from each, feeling the elemental power contained with them. Raw essence of elements, similar to the beads on Jason's bracelet. These ones were crystallized naturally and then harvested by us after the war.

With the five items in-hand, I return upstairs and put everything back to where they were before I disturbed them, and the entrance to the basement storage disappears entirely. All of that finished, I exit the Shattered Isle, and as soon as I am out of its sealed area, I open up a gate and travel to Jason's home.

I place the five gems on the ground, the World Pearl in the center, the four gems at the cardinal directions. Fire to the north, air to the east, water to the south, and earth to the west. Pulling out a knife, I cut my arm. Quickly, I sheathe my knife and use magic to move my blood down to the pearl. It splits above the pearl, forming four streams which lead to the gems. The blood wraps around the gems before traveling to the World Pearl, surrounding it as well.

Faint from the bloodloss, I seal up my wound, but do not heal it. The five gems and World Pearl, now surrounded by orbs of my blood, begins to lift up off the ground as my mana drains out of me, and I do my best to shape it into the proper spell. I do not want to summon the avatar of the sun or the moon, or grant avatars to any being but one specific one.

The five orbs of blood combine into a single, larger orb of blood, the gems and World Pearl completely concealed from view. Dirt rises up with it, fire blazes around it, the wind begins to swirl around it, and water begins to draw to it. The elements mix with my blood, and everything begins to shimmer with a blue light.

Lightheaded, I do my best to remain standing as the spell works. Badger Alpha comes outside to watch, probably confused by this.

A form begins to appear, the body of a teen around a year younger than myself, with pitch-black hair and red eyes ringed with gold. Blue, green, and purple marks run along his body as he gives me a sleepy, but confused look. I cannot be too sure, but I believe he may look older than when I saw him in my old life.

"Benjamin?" He asks.

"I am Niko in this life," I respond in the ancient tongue, knowing he likely cannot understand any modern languages.

"Are you well?" He asks. "You look ready to drop."

"I used up more magical power than I should have," I tell him as the marks fade away. "Are you able to override a god's intent on injuries?"

"As you are not grey magical power, it would not heal your leg," he tells me.

"I know that," I shake my head. "I will wait as long as necessary to recover my leg. But in the old days, you could override a god's intent. Are you able to do that now?"

"You are speaking of Nolan?" He asks.

"How did you know?" I frown. "Can you sense him?"

"Moltriossa contacted me after he visited her," he informs me. "She asked me the same question you intended."

If I remember what Jason told me correctly, she is Triossa, the god who watches the sanctuary where the King of Summer was buried.

"And you will not?"

"I cannot," he answers. "Enamas was stronger than me, so my blessing cannot override his curse."

"Are you not-"

"Nolan weakened me, in your past life," he informs me. "My power is not as it was back then, and the curse of Enamas's intent is stronger than my blessing can be."

I move and sit on the steps to Jason's home, and Badger Alpha jumps onto my lap. This entity is not a god, but does have power akin to one. He caused a few problems for us during the war, then one day, he suddenly decided he would be friendly with us. That came after the war, and we always suspected Nolan had a few words with him. With his blessing, the 'curse' that derives from a god's hostile intent can be lifted. Gods can perform the same blessing, too.

It seems those words Nolan had involved dampening the being's power.

"So you are unable to override the intent?" I ask.

"Correct," he answers.

"Do you know if Midlaris could?" I ask.

I am unable to grant the world an avatar, but Miralandis might be able to, especially as she is more powerful than Jason, and he could do it at violet magical power.

"Midlaris does not have the requirements to," he states. "Even if he might be more powerful. There is a reason he required assistance in protecting humanity during the war. He has worldly power, rather than divine or celestial."

I sigh, finding myself running my fingers through my hair. Lina commented about me doing this from time to time. Usually when I am upset about something, or something failed. Like now.

"Do you know of any way we can perform that override? I ask. "I doubt Jason would inform me of where the god of fertility who is freed is, and if there were another god powerful enough-"

"There are no gods on this world who are not sealed who are powerful enough to perform what you desire," he tells me. "You-"

"Niko, please return to the training camp," Jason's voice comes out of Badger Alpha. "And while I appreciate the effort, it's only a few months of issue for me. Also, his time is probably up."

I look at Badger Alpha.

"I didn't tell him," Badger Alpha says. "He knows, he knows."

"I can sense him from here," Jason says. "Hello, Motlarn."

"Hello, Jason," he says. "And you are correct."

The being before me turns to dust that dissipates on the wind, and I sigh.

"Come on, Niko," Jason says. "I know you're probably about to pass out from that."

Badger Alpha hops off my lap and I stand, then open a gate back to the training camp. A light snowfall has begun, though if Jason was correct, it will soon turn into a snowstorm. Strings of light crystals somehow on without mana batteries are hung across the building and the walls, giving the place a strange, but beautiful appearance.

I enter the training facility and make my way into the cafeteria, where everyone else is creating decorations for the inside. Almost everyone. Jason is eating, Alex is looking at him uncomfortably, and the Sages and the two children are talking in the kitchen. Miralandis and Jarenidis are here as well.

"Please refrain from exiting the training camp without permission from the staff," Jason says. "For safety reasons."

"Safety reasons?" I ask. "I am one of the most powerful students here, and have-"

"No," Jason shakes his head. "Stay here, Niko. Summoning ancient celestial beings rarely ends well, you got lucky."

"Ancient celestial beings?" Alex frowns. "Wait, that actually was Motlarn ya were talking to?"

"Yes," Jason answers.

"Who's Motlarn?" Mikey asks.

"An ancient celestial being on-par with gods," Jason answers. "He fought against us during the war, then after, I – Nolan – had a few words with him and he decided to no longer be our enemy."

"Gods would summon him," Alex tells the others. "To cause chaos. Much like Midlaris, he doesn't have an actual 'form' that he can simply use. He has to be given a form through a certain spell with specific reagents, and it lasts based on how much magical power and mana was poured into it."

"You did not just have a few words with him," I say. "You somehow reduced his power."

"Long story," Jason says. "And it wasn't entirely Nolan who did that, even if it was."

"That makes no sense," Alex tells him.

Did Nolan use the power of his true self, the Divine Dragon? Is that even possible in our forms? I think back to the day when we faced the armies after Nolan 'died'. When the Divine Dragon appeared before us and eliminated the armies.

Yes, there is a way to harness our true powers here, but could that be unique to the Divine Dragon, as this is his universe?

"What makes no sense is how long you two will continue to deny things," Jacob mutters.

That was a change of topic. I suppose with Jason being missing for a long time, and the realization that any of us could be injured badly, this has been on Jacob's mind. Jason and Alex make up the only Magi pairing which has not actually gotten together.

"Deny things?" Jason gives him an innocent look. "Whatever do you mean, Jacob?"

"Yeah?" Alex asks. "Whatever do ya mean, Prince Jacob?"

"Nothing," Jacob looks at me. "You summoned him?"

"I thought perhaps he could override Enamas's intent so that Jason could recover properly and quickly," I say. "These are injuries which should take Jason a few weeks, not a few months, to recover from at his current magical power."

"Niko," Jason looks at me. "I appreciate the thought, but there are no avenues open to me right now. On other subjects, I need to talk with you when everyone else heads to take a shower tonight, okay?"

Probably as a way of giving me some privacy so that no one notices my leg.

"Okay," I respond, grateful for such a good friend as Jason.

"Alright," Jason smiles. "Now, let's return to what we were doing! Alex, you were telling me about the incident between you, Barry, and some random guard last winter?"

"Yeah," Alex nods, and I realize that he is rather pale and looks quite concerned for Jason. Did something happen to Jason while I was gone? "Where was I?"

"The cheese and potatoes."

"Ah, right," Alex says. "So while I was looking at the potatoes…"

(Jason, 16)

I tried to avoid being alone with Alex after his fainting fit, but he stuck around me even when Niko went off to take a shower. Jarenidis gave me a subtle sign that he would keep watch for my friend so that no one would accidentally stumble upon him, even if they should all be in bed now.

That leaves Alex, me, my mamas and papas, my grandmama, and the three children my mamas and papas are now taking care of. Everyone else only saw Jenna and Cody, who are eight and six, but there's also Thomas, who's ten. He wasn't one of the ones the Leviathan rescued, Mama Alyssa found him shivering on the streets last night and took him in. He's terrified of crowds of people and kept hidden for the most part.

I give Mama Elena a look, and she nods, then ushers the children off to bed while Alex stares at me in concern.

"Alex," I break the silence. "I'm fine. It's manageable."

"Jason," he says. "Your body is being held together with force magic. Literally. That is not 'fine'."

"That's just to speed up the healing process," I tell him. "It's easier for my magic to heal me if the pieces are there, even if they need to be refreshed, than if they're missing entirely."

"Jason!" He exclaims. "This isn't the time for stuff like that! I thought you were dead, and now I find you like this! Everyone thought you were dead!"

"Niko didn't," I say. "Fael Mira didn't."

"For weird-"

"Because it was true," I state. "Alex, I know I look bad when I release the illusion spells that make me look and feel normal, that's why I sustain them. With my holy spell, I barely feel the pain, and with my force magic, I make up what's missing. I am fine. I will be fine."

"What if another god shows up?" He asks. "And you aren't able to get Reaper out in time? Or they manage to evade its attacks?"

"I have a fail-safe."

Well, it isn't usable, but I don't want him to know that. I'm not powerful enough for the fail-safe to actually work yet.

"Jason-"

"I do," I state firmly. "It will guarantee my victory."

"Jason-" he begins.

"Alex," I say. "Trust me on this, okay? And trust me when I say I'm fine. Please, Alex. I don't want people fussing over me, especially not over some small injuries."

"SMALL INJURIES?" He yells. "JASON! YA ARE MISSING LIMBS! YA ARE LITERALLY STITCHED TOGETHER WITH MAGIC!"

"Maybe," I say. "But I still have a body, don't I? You should head to bed, Alex."

"But-"

"Leviathan!" I snap. "Stop this nonsense and get some rest! You will need it for the training you will undergo tomorrow! I am okay, okay? I am fine!"

Alex drops his head down. It's in his nature to worry when those he cares about are wounded, as it is for all of us Magi. I stand and approach him, wrapping my arms around him.

"I'm fine," I reassure him. "I promise. You'll know if I'm not fine, I promise."

He hugs me back, then I give him a quick kiss. Alex leaves, and I look at my stunned mamas, papas, and grandmama.

"Why did you call him 'Leviathan'?" Mama Alyssa asks.

"Let me think on the answer," I tell her, then do just that.

Do I tell them the truth? That we aren't even mortal in any sense of the word? These are all intelligent people – they were more than capable of raising me, which only proves their intelligence. They could handle me as I grew up and got into mischief, intelligent enough to prepare or stop me.

My true mother, the Queen of the Gods, likely put me in Papa Samuel's way on purpose because of that. I doubt she caused my birth papa's and birth mama's deaths, but she ensured they were near someone who could handle me growing up.

If I don't tell them the truth now, then they will think on it, and think on it, and think on it. Eventually, they'll figure it out on their own. Giving up, I sigh and sit back down.

"Because that's who he is," I tell them. "We Magi aren't human, even if we have human bodies. They were rendered immortal by the Queen of the Gods to ensure our souls didn't destroy them. In reality, we are the Divine Beasts. The others haven't remembered this yet – those memories only return when we turn grey in magical power. Only then can our minds actually handle the force of the memories of our true selves. It's also why my memories became more than just that, but actual experiences, why my past knowledge is coming back to me. By the time I reach the fourth level of grey magical power, greater grey, I will have fully remembered everything, from all lives."

I can see they are confused, so I explain to them about my wrath upon noticing the war. They listen as I talk about the agreement with our 'mother', the Queen of the Gods. I don't actually have a lot of memories from myself as Dragon.

"And calling him by his true name," Papa Jared looks confused. "Helps with things?"

"It did when we were Magi," I shrug. "I suppose it resonates with their souls. He probably won't even realize I'd called him that until later. I'll have to apologize to him, for snapping like that. I just wish he'd understand I'm fine. You guys, too. This is nothing compared to some of the stuff I dealt with in the war. There was this one time, we were fighting against a god name Emularas…"

(Alex, 16)

Crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. I made Jason snap. Does he know I am the 'god' who rescued those kids? He called me 'Leviathan', and knowing Jason, it could be because of that, him letting me know.

But I made him snap like that. Why did I have to push it? Probably because of my memories from when I was Quinn. Nolan would never really tell anyone had bad his injuries were. He suffered more than any of us, yet always put on a brave face. He'd managed his pain with magic and stitch his body up with magic. Then we'd find out his head wasn't even there.

I was worried Jason was probably doing that again, and he probably is. Not the part about deciding his head wasn't as important as other injuries he had and waiting to let it regrow until later, but hiding his real pain, his real suffering. He's locked out of most special magics, which can't be a good thing at all.

Ya are so stupid, Alex. Why did ya have to go and make him snap? Ya know he'd never admit the true severity of his injuries, even to himself. Pushing him would only upset him, because he doesn't want us to worry or know the full severity. Sort of like with Niko and whatever's wrong with his leg. He ain't telling anyone on that, either.

The fact that he waited until after everyone else finished their showers and had Jarenidis guarding them while he showered tells me it ain't pretty. What's so bad that the Sages can't fix it? I know Jason would've asked them, or maybe his grandmama.

There was a second god who showed up, one Niko fought and the gargoyles killed. Did the god injure Niko's leg? From the report I got, Niko wasn't actually attacked by the gods – the gargoyles protected him.

But there was no one around to see it, which means we're relying on Niko's word.

Dammit! I'm doing it again, just switched from Jason to Niko.

I flop myself onto my bed and sigh, then sit up and remove my boots. I change into a nightshirt, then snuggle under my blanket. I want to sleep, but my worry about Jason is too high. His mamas and papas are probably just as badly affected as me, I'm sure.

By the time morning comes, I'm not sure if I've slept at all. I change into a fresh outfit, then meet up with others in the cafeteria.

"Are you okay?" Adam and Elise ask as we get in line to get our first round of breakfast.

"I'm fine."

"You look like crap," Adam tells me.

"I'm fine," I say.

"Sure ya are, Boss."

I glance at Barry and my crew, then shake my head.

"Just didn't get much sleep last night," I say. "That's all."

"One of the rules of this training camp," Jason says. "Is to have that technique I taught you last night active at all times."

I look over and find him with a faint grey glow. Did he sleep with the technique active? Or did he turn it off for while he was sleeping, then back on sometime after he woke? Did he even sleep last night? He looks rather exhausted.

After filling my plate with bacon, eggs, and fruit and grabbing a glass, I make my way to the table Jason's sitting at and sit across him. I set my stuff down and fill my glass with orange juice from the pitcher, then look at Jason.

"Did ya sleep?" I ask as my crew sits around us.

"Yeah," Jason answers. "Mama Elena wanted to check me over again, though, and that took a couple of hours, so I'm rather exhausted, especially after waking early this morning to prepare some stuff. Also, none of you turned on your techniques."

"Can't we wait 'till after breakfast?" I ask.

"Nope," he says, then uses his magic so he can be heard throughout the room, everyone having arrived by now. "Everyone needs to be using that technique at all times they are able. Failure to do so will result in a punishment in the form of additional chores. All trainers are capable of telling if someone is able to keep it up or not."

I sigh, then perform the technique, needing to concentrate for a minute in order to turn it into a thin layer rather than it simply drifting off of me. While Jason is unaffected by the mental strain this would give most people, it takes the rest of us longer to eat while sustaining this because of the additional effort we have to go through to do this.

Based on my memories from our lives as Magi, we used this technique at all times, though I don't remember any of us having the glow after our training ended. I still don't actually remember the training.

But I do know this only becomes easier to manage with time, and that it's beneficial in the ways he mentioned last night, so I put up with it. After breakfast, I take my dishes to the dish bins and put them in, then join my training group in one of the training rooms. We're one of the groups of eight, and our first session is swords training.

Practicing with a sword with this technique active is not easy, and most of us lose our concentration on it as we practice the moves. Any time we do, Sage Jared stops us and has us turn it begin it again before we resume practicing.

"Remember," he says as we train. "The purpose of this right now is not to become better swordsmen, but to better use the aural sheath, as it's called. That is why we are using forms you already know and have been drilled in: because they're familiar to you, which means you can perform them with this more easily than if we were to teach you new forms."

By the time the session finishes, we are all soaked in sweat, breathing heavyily, and just plain exhausted. I'm barely able to stand, myself, but manage to drag myself to the next session, where Jason is sitting at a table with what looks like a stuffie strewn out across it, his aural sheathe active.

Tables are set up in here, along with cabinets and shelves with supplies. There are eight tables total, each with a single stool and a paper.

"I am teaching enchanting today," Jason says. "The papers on the tables explain the process you will use, while the supplies are in the cabinets. You will be learning how to properly apply a moisture-resistance enchantment to fabric that's already woven, yet have it permanent."

That's possible? I thought his stuffies were made from scratch – that he wove the enchantments into them as he spun their thread and wove it into fabric.

"For the purposes of this," he says. "The fabrics you will be working with already have the basis set, what you will be doing is finalizing the enchantment to create a fabric coin purse. To create the actual enchantment from scratch, you would need to start from when the thread is spun, which we aren't going to focus on here.

"To make permanent enchantments in already-made fabric," he says as we take our seats. "You have to use fabric which has already been prepped for such a thing. It's called 'aiz-vara fabric', which means it's been specially prepared."

Ya already said that, Jason.

"This is important," he says. "Which is why I'm repeating it multiple times. If you don't use aiz-vara fabric for this, the enchantment will need you to actively activate it with your mana. You can find the instructions on the papers at your stations, get started. Come to me if you have any questions, I'll be busy working on this stuffie."

He returns to working on his stuffie, leaving us to look over the instructions and work on the pouches without any real instruction. Normally, in lessons, we would have a demonstration first, but I suppose Jason wants to grade us on this?

That, or he's exhausted and forgot to do the demonstration.

I read the instructions, then grab the supplies necessary. I can stitch and sew a bit, we all had to on the streets. Back at my seat, I get to work, doing my best to cut the fabric and enchant it following the instructions. By the time lessons are over, Jason has finished his stuffie, which then wanders around his desk. It's a leopard, and the way it's moving independently makes me worried it's another Ultra Defense Stuffie Golem, or whatever they're called.

I bring him up my pouch after I finish it and give the stuffie a curious look.

"Good job," Jason tells me after examining the pouch. "Your stitch work is shoddy, though."

"It's always done me fine on the streets."

"Maybe," he says. "But Alex? Your stitching is too long. Smaller gaps between them, and make the sizes more consistent. Also, you didn't enchant it for water resiliency, you enchanted it for water retaining."

"What?" I look at the pouch.

"Half the last group did the same thing," he tells me as he hands me back the pouch. "You can check the back of your instructions for ones on how to avoid doing that."

"Alright," I start to move back to my seat.

"Alex," he says, and I turn to face him. He scratches the back of his neck. "Sorry for snapping at you last night, I was pretty exhausted and didn't mean to."

"Sorry for pushing ya," I tell him. "I should know better. Even if we never dealt with that sort of stuff in this life, ya are too much like Nolan for that to not be the norm."

"Yeah," he shrugs. "Sorry, though."

"Sorry, too," I tell him, then return to my seat and begin working on a new pouch, after reading the explanation on the back of the instructions page.