Gaius, La-Ti and Weiwu were eating dinner together when motes of lights abruptly appeared at the doorway. Under the light of the setting sun, they began to gather, and at that sight, Gaius placed his utensils down, his eyes fixed onto the sight.

He hadn’t seen Nakama for the past few months…which was almost a year for his little sister. He had heard from Weiwu about how she spent her time immediately after school, which was to shut herself in her room to work on a life-sized sculpture that doubled as an artefact.

The boy felt somewhat depressed at the fact that she didn’t visit, but at the same time, he was happy that Nakama was giving it her all to ensure that La-Ti would have a functioning body. With Nexus’ help on her side, Gaius knew that whatever she made would be an astounding creation…especially since the artificial intelligence was capable of creating the Terminus in the first place.

Getting up, he distanced himself from the table, waiting for the motes of light to gather. Staring at them closely, he tried to figure out how Nakama’s beast trait worked, but it didn’t seem to function through any laws of Orb he knew about. Gaius was well aware that her trait was that of a dream walker, who, like the name implied, was capable of traversing dreams.

The only problem was that Cybral and the true Orb wasn’t a dream. Rubbing his nose, he stole a glance at the Chanter of Innocents, only to see an expression of interest on the great god’s face. Like him, evidently, Weiwu was also unaware of how beast traits functioned. Beast traits, as the Human God had implied when called out by Scorpio, were special powers that were granted to beastfolk when they were created a hundred thousand years ago, passed down from generation to generation.

This much he knew, but as to how they exactly worked was anyone’s guess.

In silence, the three of them watched as a small silhouette took shape. The light shrouding the figure vanished, revealing his little sister, who immediately looked around.

A little chill ran down Gaius’ spine, and he lowered his stance immediately. A moment later, a small cannonball screaming his name slammed into him, and Gaius slid backwards as an irresistible force tackled him. Coming to a stop a few metres later, Gaius looked down on her head of violet hair, and then frowned. “Have you been eating properly?”

Nakama looked up at him and tilted her head. “Yes?”

“In that case, why are you still so short?” Gaius asked. “Shouldn’t you be like thirty centimetres taller or something? It’s been three years.”

“It’s because we’re in this world,” Nakama replied. Her eyes gleamed with an emotion Gaius couldn’t quite place, but it was enough for him. “I’m taller outside! Much taller!”

“Much taller?” Gaius asked.

Weiwu chuckled. The boy glanced at the great god, and then rolled his eyes.

“Much taller,” Nakama affirmed. Gaius rubbed his nose as he looked at his little sister, who was now far steadier in temperament than when he first left for the Central Circle. He had felt the beginnings of her personality growth when she first appeared in Cybral, but the changes in her past year had apparently been far more extensive.

Still, Gaius wondered, I don’t think children usually have personalities this stable, right? Who’s her role mod—oh.

His thoughts faltered as they ventured into familiar territory once again. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again.

“Brother, is there something wrong?”

The unfamiliar, somewhat formal term of address, caught Gaius off-guard, and he shook his head on instinct. Nakama had picked up many new things in his absence, and although it was a pity that he couldn’t see those changes when they happened, it was good that his little sister had begun to wean off her dependence on him.

Especially since he wouldn’t be around on Orb for that much longer.

“How’s Isabelle? How’s Xanadu?”

The smile on Nakama’s face faltered slightly.

“It’s better if you see for yourself, brother.” Grief lined Nakama’s face, and Gaius felt his heart seize up. Somewhere, deep inside him, he knew what was going on, but seeing it in person would be better.

“No time like the present, then.” Gaius took a deep breath. “You’ve already completed La-Ti’s new body, right?”

Nakama nodded.

Exhaling slowly, Gaius turned to Weiwu. “Senior, I will have to trouble you to bring my apprentice up into Orb.”

“Very well.” Light flickered in the great god’s eyes. “That’s the least I can do for you, after all. Nakama, I’ll need your help too. Return to Orb, and get ready to welcome La-Ti.”

He patted La-Ti’s head as Nakama vanished. “Kid, you ready?”

Gaius’ apprentice nodded. “Ready!”

“Excellent.” The Chanter of Innocents turned to look at Gaius. “Your body’s still in the process of healing, but you can already return. Don’t do anything excessive for the next month up there or so, and you should be fine. Unless, of course, you feel like staying here in Cybral until your body yanks you back.”

“Don’t be silly,” Gaius replied. “Of course I’ll be going back. Let me clear the table first, though. Wouldn’t want to leave a mess behind.”

“You are a weird person.” The great god rolled his eyes, and then patted La-Ti’s back. “Alright, we’ll make a move first. See you on the other side.”

Grey light erupted from the Chanter of Innocents, and the two of them began to disintegrate. A pulse erupted from La-Ti’s vanishing figure, sending tremors through the small house and into the city beyond. In a single swift motion, Gaius picked up the plates on the table before they could jump off it, and brought them over to the sink.

It didn’t take long for him to be done, and as he stepped off the small stool that made him tall enough to use the sink properly, the boy could hear a clamour from City No.78112’s interior.

“A pity I didn’t get to find out what the two great gods were doing here, though,” Gaius mused out loud. Placing the stack of plates onto the tray, he stepped out of the house and looked at the sky. Taking out a small wooden cube, Gaius glanced at the Severing Cube, which was supposed to help a familiar spirit of Hereward’s to leave Cybral.

Was it going to follow him up into the true Orb, and then into the Orb his body resided in? Gaius grinned, before closing his eyes. He was about to find out.