Nil? Dallion asked in his mind, but there was no answer.

Even so, he was certain that he heard the voice of his echo, as if from somewhere far away. Somehow, for a single moment in time, Dallion had managed to establish a connection with his realm. He tried entering there or any item in his possession, but to no avail.

“Anything the matter?” the thunder fury asked.

“It just takes a bit getting used to,” Dallion replied. “Does it always send jolts?”

For the first time in a long while, a smile appeared on Olm’s face. It wasn’t a pleasant smile, rather he seemed internally happy that Dallion had felt the zap.

“I wouldn’t know,” he replied. “Ready to start?”

“A simple gear,” Dallion repeated. “Let’s get this done.”

It took the larger part of a day to get the gear done. It was an extremely crude gear with less teeth than a cartoon character. Even so, it required a lot of effort and cooperation. Back in the awakened world, he would have been ashamed of such a result, but under the present conditions, he saw it as a masterpiece to the point that he didn’t want to part with it. Unfortunately, Olm took it as soon as it had cooled enough to the point it was no longer glowing. The fury had gotten well versed in the principle of temperature transfer, making him able to carry something while simultaneously letting it cool down evenly and ever so slightly. There was no doubt that control of air currents was an overpowered ability. No wonder that in the history of the awakened world, many feared that the furies could take over the world.

“Tomorrow, you’ll make a smaller one,” Olm said. “With twice as many teeth.”

“It’ll help if you tell me what you’re trying to make. I might know a better way to achieve it.”

“It’s not my decision.” Strangely enough, that rang true. “The point is just to see you work.” That, however, was a lie.

“Do I have to teach the principle of gears to anyone?”

“We’re already familiar.” That was the truth as well. “I’ll have you returned to your home.”

The cloud matter peeled off Dallion’s armor, then moved to the floor not too far away. With a slight sigh of regret, Dallion removed the ring mail shirt and placed it on the floor as well. It was true what was said about beauty and value: it was always in the eye of the beholder. However, could Dallion be sure that was what really was going on, or the world had started to influence him?

And yet, he was certain he had heard Nil. Was it because of the electric shock? There was no logical reason for that to be the cause, but weirder things had happened. Maybe when he went back, he could—

“What happened?” Katka asked as she walked by.

“Huh?” For a moment, Dallion had completely forgotten about her.

“You usually come to get me before we go.”

“Yeah. I had something on my mind.”

The mage didn’t press on. Both of them calmly stepped onto the cloud and had the same two furies as usual take them to Jiroh’s place. It was only once they had arrived and Dallion had gone back to his room that he spoke.

“Did you find anything useful?” he asked.

“In fact, I did. Most of the heroes that ‘went on a voyage’ before returning were losers.”

That didn’t seem at all helpful. Dallion gave her a critical glance.

“No, hear me out.” Katka said defensively. “They were all furies with potential, who had some problems. Just like those who came from Earth.”

“I think we have more than enough problems as it is.” Not to mention the world trying to kill us. “How can you be sure everyone from Earth has problems?”

“You’re missing the point.” The mage said, annoyed. “It’s not the problems that are the focus, but the fact that they had a reason not to return. Now do you get it?”

It was just like in one of Dallion’s awakening trials. If the Moons really were using otherworlders to make things interesting, it was normal they would choose individuals that didn’t want to return to their old worlds. Jiroh had to be an outlier. Awakening too young had kept her from establishing roots in the awakened world, seeing it as a dream. Dallion, on the other hand, still had no desire to return. Even now, he wanted to go back to the awakened world, and not Earth. Looking at Kafka, she was likely in the same boat.

“How does that help us?”

“Magic aside, only the Moons have the power to transport beings between worlds. So, our solution is to find a way to get in touch with them. According to one of the books, there still are “divine artifacts” scattered throughout the skies. I requested to see one, but the alliance weren’t willing to show it to me yet. A slight push on your part and maybe we’ll get there.”

Just a little push. It sounded simple, but from Dallion’s experience, simple things usually ended up being the most difficult of all.

“They asked me to make a cog,” he said.

“So?”

“If they’re already at that level, there isn’t much more I can teach them. Not with these tools, anyway. Once they grasp the principle of making mechanisms…” he didn’t finish the sentence.

“Then think of something else to provide.” The mage pressed on. “We’re this close. You can’t just quit now. All we need is an artifact. If it acts as a sort of key, I’ll use my magic and get us back. If it’s a phone to a Moon, you get in touch and we get back. That’s all there’s to it. You’re the only one in position to make demands, so if you don’t get it, we’ll be stuck here for the rest of our lives, which won’t be long.”

Her entire body was oozing desperation to the point that Dallion could almost see it. Part of him was still uncertain whether he could trust her, yet there was that voice in the back of his head telling him he didn’t have much of a choice. Remaining in this world was certain encapsulation. Being betrayed was only a fifty-fifty chance.

“I have to talk to Jiroh about it.”

“Sure.” The mage shrugged. “Talk to her, do what you have to do, but get them to give us a divine relic. Or better, several. It doesn’t matter where or how well they are guarded.”

Nodding absentmindedly, Dallion walked out of the open walls, straight outside. As an awakened, the fall didn’t hurt him in the least. He landed straight on his feet and kept on walking. After a while, he found that he wasn’t alone.

“Still curious about me?” Dallion asked.

“Are you from the sky?” a young fury asked.

It was the same one who had been pestering Dallion about it each day. After about a week, the novelty had worn off, and Jiroh’s family treated Dallion and Katka like distant relatives who had come for a visit. Conversations had become a lot more casual and less awkward… with the exception of one. In some aspects, the child reminded Dallion of his brother.

“You don’t give up, do you?” Dallion smiled.

“Are you?”

There was no point in lying. Dallion could feel the conviction coming from the fury. He could use his music skills to put in doubt, but what would be the point?

“If I tell you, will you believe me?”

“Only if you say what I suspect,” the fury replied plainly. The logic was laughably childish, which made it so amusing.

“No, I’m not from the sky.”

The answer was what the child expected, though not the one he accepted. For several more minutes, he continued to silently follow Dallion. No doubt he would have done that for more, if Jiroh hadn’t appeared on the scene.

“Kin, stop bothering,” she said in a firm voice. “Do help dad rearrange some stuff.”

Normally this would be the time for a mini-teenage rebellion, at least if this were Earth. The fury, however, didn’t say a word. One moment Kin was there, and the next he had vanished, nowhere to be seen.

“Sorry about that. He’s one of the quiet ones, so he could become obsessive with things.”

“I know what it’s like. How were things today?”

“Interesting. They stopped making me go through books. At this point, we all got tired of pretending, so we went directly to business.”

“They offered you a job?”

“Sort of. They want to gauge how much I know.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. They asked me to make a gear today.”

“A gear?” Jiroh sounded surprised. “They shouldn’t be aware of that technology.”

“Clearly, they are. That means that you might not be the only one who has done back.”

“Either way, I stalled. I told them that their questions were too complicated for me. I’ve no idea if they bought it, but at least they stopped. I won’t be surprised if they have me do tests tomorrow.”

Tests. That sounded so innocent. In truth, it was another step to rendering Dallion obsolete. Jiroh was fully aware of that, so she was doing to make herself appear stupid for as long as possible. However, that came at the price of her own future. The higher opinion of her the library alliance got, the better she and her family would be taken care of. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. With luck and good guidance, Jiroh could shape the entire fury civilization. Dallion wasn’t ready to let her sacrifice for him.

“Katka thinks that she could get us back if she has access to a divine relic. I don’t know what to think of it, but she’s pretty convinced she can pull it off. Any chance you can get access to it?”

“I’ll ask. I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Oly’s been open with me about lots of stuff.”

“She’s not a thunder fury.”

“That’s true, she isn’t.” Jiroh looked at the horizon and smiled. “Who would have thought that thunder furies would even become important again? Before my awakening adventure they were little more than fashion models.”

Without warning, a cloud appeared, making its way towards Dallion at great speed. The situation would have been frightening, if this had been an isolated occurrence. The family pet had taken a liking to Dallion and would decide at random intervals that it needed attention. Its behavior was a complete mix of feline and canine characteristics that Dallion still couldn’t make up his mind, whether it was a cloud cat or a cloud dog.

Eagerly, it pounced at Dallion’s chest, knowing that in such fashion, he would pass through it.

“Skye,” Jiroh sighed. “Really?”

The cloud made a sound that was vaguely similar to a purr as it spiraled around Dallion. As any shapeshifting entity it found it difficult to stick to one form, constantly switching from one to another as it moved.

“We all know you can play, but we need to have a few words with Dal, okay?”

For several seconds the creature pretended not to have heard her, but one sharp remark from the fury and it was clear the game was up. With a whimper, it moved away, floating back into the house.

“It’s developed quite a liking to you,” Jiroh remarked. “Anyway, I’ll get you your relic. I just really hope that’s what it takes.”

“So, do I. Also, can you do me two favors?”

“Two? That’s oddly specific. Usually when you get specific you get yourself in trouble. Tell me—” the fury floated in front of Dallion, staring him straight in the eyes “—will you get involved in any trouble this time?”

“I want you to make me a stone weapon,” Dallion continued. “I’ll tell you what it must look like.”

“That should be easy. What else?”

“I want you to zap me…”