After Sha’s unexpected and rash departure Saji, Ka and the three gods wanted to return to the pub.

But before they could go very far a large mob had surrounded them, blocking off all paths of escape. A lot of people, especially the owners of the buildings that were destroyed in the fight, were furious and violently demanded an explanation and reparation. Some of them looked more threatening then others and it seemed like this would soon evolve into a straight out battle royal.

Fortunately, as soon as the sleeping lady, Tian and Mr. Sherevile released a bit of their godly presence they immediately covered in fear and their loud and piercing demands died down and turned into ghastly silence.

Only few of these people could afford to offend a god and none of them would want to offend three gods at the same time!

As such they had no choice but leave the matter be and feel happy that they escaped this ordeal without losing their little lives. Of course, this did not mean that they were satisfied with this result, but in the end, power was what decided in this city. What would money or an explanation help them when their bodies had already become cold and stiff?

Having suffered little backlash from the angry mob the group of five returned to the pub without encountering any more problems on their way. Despite that Saji only relaxed and released the tension after the familiar black door of the pub had closed behind them and sealed of the constant barrage of sounds that came from the outside.

The familiar twilight of the pub and the faint, smooth sound of jazz music engulfed her and made her feel at home. It was strange, the first time she had entered this pub was only a week or so ago, yet it felt more familiar then her apartment in the mortal world.

Kan curiously looked around the pub and inspected the various brewages on the shelve behind the counter. He had a fascinated expression when he opened one of them and sniffed on the opening.

“This stuff is strong!”, he exclaimed and returned the bottle to its original position. Mr. Sherevile, Tian and the sleeping lady returned to their usual seats and as if nothing had happened the two male gods resumed playing the card game they had left a day ago. The sleeping lady on the other hand gave Raja, who had remained inside the pub for the whole time, a short summery of what had happened.

The monk was shocked and furious as he found out what had happened during the time he had lazed around in the pub. He immediately stood up and bowed deeply in front of Saji.

“I have no excuse for betraying your trust. I wasn’t there when you needed my help despite having offered you my assistance. Despite my horrible mistake I hope you can forgive me.”, he solemnly asked Saji for forgiveness.

In his eyes as he had promised Ji to take care of Saji it should have been his duty to protect the girl. Furthermore, he had not only let down Ji, an old friend of his, but also endangered Saji who he already regarded as a friend! He felt extremely guilty for this.

Of course, it wasn’t really his fault. He did not expect anything like that would happen only 13 hours after Ji left to take care of his business and Saji went on her shopping spree. Because of this he had relaxed inside the pub and hadn’t gone outside. If he had, he surely would have heard of the terrible battle that laid waste to multiple streets and he would have gone and made sure that Saji was safe.

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret and now Raja could only apologize to Saji.

Of course, Saji accepted his apology. In the first place she did not feel like it was Raja’s fault that this had happened. From her point of view there was another person that could be blamed for the recent events as that person clearly knew about the events before they even happened.

Her eyes fell onto the sleeping lady.

The obese women noticed her glance and returned the look. As their eyes met a small smile appeared on her face.

“You knew it would happen.”, Saji slowly said. She had guessed it long ago, but the sleeping lady’s smile had asserted her suspicion.

The sleeping lady nodded gently.

“Of course I knew it. If I did not know it would happen, why would I promise that pitiful fox cub a rare fairy so that he protected you? I knew it would happen the moment you entered this pub and I have let it happen since Ji intents on keeping you here.”, there was no guilt in her voice. She spoke clearly as if she was stating the most obvious facts to a small child who did not understand them yet.

Raja’s expression changed, and fury appeared on his usually tranquil face. But it disappeared as fast as it had appeared and was replaced by a deep frown. He seemed to have realized something and now was pondering about something.

Tian and Mr. Sherevile did not react to the sleeping lady’s words and quietly continued playing cards. It was obvious that they already knew about the matter.

Kan on the other hand had a surprised expression but chose to stay out of the matter. He was an outsider and did not feel it was reasonable for him to get involved in these matters.

Saji noticed all the different reactions of the people within the pub, but in the end her attention was drawn back to the sleeping lady’s quiet smile. It was no mask. The sleeping lady truly believed that there was nothing wrong with her actions.

“Why?”, Saji asked. She felt disappointed. For the last week she had considered these people, these gods as her friends and even though they hadn’t met for long she felt that she knew them quite well. But now she realized that she knew nothing about them.

The sleeping lady saw Saji’s disappointment in her expression and shook her head.

“Don’t be sad child. None of us has bad intentions, but in the end, we are gods! How could our behavior be that of a mortal when we have lived for so many lifetimes and experienced so many things? How could you expect to understand our intentions after only knowing us for one week?

You have to realize that right now your knowledge and experience is limited to the few years that you have treated upon the mortal world, even worse, you now have entered another world and have to learn and experience many things you did not have in the mortal world.

Truth to be told neither Mr. Sherevile nor Tian knew about this matter until it was already to late, I did not tell them on purpose as I know that they are too protective of you. They would keep you under their wing until it was to late for you.

They and Raja have realized it themselves that is why they are silent now.”

Tian and Mr. Sherevile slowly nod. Their expressions were solemn and somewhat sad, but it seemed like they agreed with the goddess’s words. Raja remained silent but Saji could tell that he also could not refute her reasoning.

She took a deep breath.

“You still did not explain to me why.”, she had calmed down a little. The goddess was right. They were gods that had lived more many centuries experiencing things that she could not even think about. She on the other hand had only entered this world for a week.

In terms of experience and knowledge she was no more than an infant!

Of course that did not lessen her disappointment, but now this disappointment was directed as herself.

The sleeping lady once again read Saji’s expression and nodded approvingly. After years of experience she was proficient in reading other peoples expressions and there were few people who could hide their true intentions from her eyes. One of these extraordinary few people was Ji.

She waited for a short moment and began to explain.

“You need to realize that as long as you remain under Ji’s protection few will be able to harm you, but there is still a selected few that would dare to try it. A god’s companion is always prey for the more powerful organizations in the city as they search for a god’s weaknesses and ruthlessly exploit them.

At the same time if you remain near to Ji you will never become a true part of this world. You will never learn how to live inside it and you will never be anything else then a god’s playmate.

Ji has too little experience in these matters and he is to proud to ask others for help, this is why he doesn’t realize it. But if you want to survive in this city, or rather if you want to become a part of this world you have to become something that exceeds just being a god’s companion.”, she stopped speaking and took a deep look at Saji.

Saji was silent. Inside her mind she was still digesting the goddess’s words. But she could already tell that what she said made sense. The more she thought about it, the more she understood Raja’s initial reaction. At first, she too was somewhat upset but know that she heard the reasoning behind the sleeping lady’s actions she couldn’t help but accept that she was correct,

After some time, she finally woke up from her thoughts and once again focused on the sleeping lady.

“So, what can I do to become a part of this world?”, her voice was resilient. It seemed like she had made a decision.

A look of approval appeared in the obese woman’s eyes as she saw the girl’s determination. Yet her next words left Saji hanging.

“We will deal with that as soon as Ji has finished dealing with the current matter.”, she returned to drinking her tea.

Saji was left dumfounded. “You can’t tell me this and don’t explain anything to m-“. She was about to finish her protest when suddenly a single tone swallowed her voice. As soon as Saji heard this note she forgot her anger and focused on the serene sound.

It was vibrant and strong, yet gentle and full of soul.

It had the strong character of true Jazz, something that could touch a person’s heart despite their lack of interest in the genre. This feeling of ease and calm that engulf those who listen to the old masters of Jazz.

The note changed into another, higher note, then back into a low tone. The speed at which the notes changed picked up and a melody was created. Someone was playing a saxophone in the back part of the pub!

Saji’s mind shook as she listened to the melody of a single instrument. It was tranquil but powerful jazz. A lonely instrument piercing through the silence and creating a world of sound inside the resulting void.

The lack of any other instruments made the melody seem lackluster and simplistic, but somehow this simplicity and pureness struck the heart and made it vibrate with emotions. The silence between the notes, the gaps that resulted during the play, all of them turned into parts of an incredible pierce of music that made the soul shake in excitement!

Tian and Mr. Sherevile had stopped playing cards and closed their eyes to listen to the music. A surprised expression appeared on Raja’s face only to be replaced by enjoyment and tranquility. The sleeping lady likewise enjoyed the gentle and yet powerful tunes, gently sipping on her tea from time to time.

The whole pub was filled with the sound of a single saxophone playing its song.

Saji looked around but could not find who was playing. It come somewhere from further back into the pub, around a dark corner and down a short hallway.

As if in trance Saji followed the tune to its source.

She soon entered a second room, larger then the one she usually hung around. Just as the other room the lighting was dim, and the furniture had this old new York vibe to it. Tens of tables were scattered around, all of them packed with customers of all races. After dealing with so many different beings Saji could tell that most beings present were gods or at least close to a demigod in power!

Despite the huge amount of extremely powerful beings inside the room the only thing one could hear was the sound of the lonesome saxophone. Everyone was silently listening to the sound of the saxophone.

Finally, Saji turned her head and saw the source of the mesmerizing tunes.

On a small stage stood a single solitary man holding a beautiful silver saxophone. He seemed to have lost himself in the music as his body moved in accordance to the melody.

There was nothing special about the saxophone he played, no magic or secret method employed to achieve any effect. Still, for some reason the man seemed to have become one with the world. Saji could feel a mysterious presence swirling around the youth.

Suddenly Raja appeared next to her. He looked at the young man and nodded approvingly.

“He has found his path.”, he said to Saji.

She responded with a questioning look. Raja smiled.

“The Daoists call it Dao, the gods call it their True Nature, the magi call it the Pinnacle, while we Buddhists call it Enlightenment. Simply put it’s the way to become an eternal being by finding a universal truth and merging this truth into your own existence. This results in the world accepting you as a part of itself and you become a representation of this particular truth.

Of course, the paths of the Magi, Immortals and Monks are different then the one of a god, but the end of all paths is the same.

The gods and buddhas accept becoming a representation and have to abide to the rules governing the world, while the Immortals of the Daoist doctrine and the Magi, who have a more scientific worldview, forcefully separate themselves from their original duty and pursue the path of absolute freedom.

In the end it is a question of worldviews…

But unfortunately, this young man of the Ta-clan cannot become a god.”, Raja shook his head woefully.

Saji had a shocked expression. Not only because she just found out how to become a god, but also because she realized that the familiar looking young man on the stage was in fact Kan!

“Why can’t he become a god?”, she asked surprised.

Raja had a condescending expression on his face.

“In this world there are many beings with special and extremly powerful bloodlines and the Ta-clan is a prime example for this. You should have realized that Kan is very powerful despite not being a god or demigod. In fact, if it wasn’t for his bloodline Kan would have been at the verge of godhood for a long time.

Sadly, it is impossible for the Ta-clan to produce a god. The power of a species always has a price.

Right now, Kan has found his own truth and he has passed the criteria to become a very powerful god. Yet because of his bloodline he will never be able to cross the last treshhold. He knows that in the end he will forever remain at the very pinnacle of the mortal, never capable to take the last step into the eternal.”, he sighed.