Kyrion stood on a stage in front of him was a a large group of goblins and hobgoblins. Ceres had been freed from her casing and now stood next to a cot holding an unconscious Viole.

Atimn stood behind Kyrion on the stage patiently waiting for Kyrion to make his announcements so that they could get back to the surface.

“Listen up my people! You all work for me and since you work for me, there are conditions and restrictions to doing so. Condition one!”

Kyrion held out one finger and waved it about. “You must agree to work four day’s a week when I have projects that need to be done. You will be compensated and given all the basic necessities in return.”

“Condition two! You will not tell outsiders where you are when your working. These jobs are skill oriented the better you do the more chances you will have to move up the ladder.”

“Conditon three! You will not kill anyone in the place I send you without my express permission. “ Kyrion held out three fingers and waited for the worried muttering to stop.

“Those who agree will have a chance at life in a place that isn’t so dark and damp with food beyond your wildest imagination. To your right I have set up boxes of what we call donuts. Take one from the box and pass the box down. This is a sacred human ritual that expresses unity.” Kyrion lied with ease.”

Eventually every goblin and hobgoblin had a donut along with Ceres and Atimn. The former had a blank expression as though this was normal. The latter couldn’t hide his downright puzzled expression.

Kyrion took a donut and held it next to one of his charkram. “This circle represents unity and when we take a bite together we share in this momentous occasion together. The cycle you were on has been broken.” Kyrion took a bite out of the donut and watched as the goblins did so as well.

“This is insane.” Atimn took a bite of the donut, it was quite fresh, which didn’t make much sense given the amount of time he’d been down here.

The goblins quickly gobbled up the donuts and before they realized what had happened Kyrion cleared his throat.

“The donut is but a minor treat from the world above and if you want more then you’ll have to work, to earn money ad purchase these delicacies in time you will be self sufficient to grow and create your own sadly, you all are at the bottom of the totem pole with the Squirrel Armada leading exponentially and don’t get me started on the bucks, most of them have moved on and taken an active role in human society. That is my end goal. Coexistence between all of my people. Those who refuse to work for donuts and coins may leave now.”

None of the goblins budget.

“You're insane.”

“Now then. All of you must make an oath!” Kyrion persuaded the underground goblins and hobgoblins to serve him with unyielding loyalty. He was their leader, their liberator and to some, their god.

“Donut! Donut! Donut!” The goblins cheered as Kyrion sent them into his domain for safe keeping.

“I thought you were exhausted.” Atimn scowled.

“There is a trick, If I can summon food I can eat it to regain mana and stamina faster, by eating my fill I can regain all my mana. It's why I came straight here to have a snack while you were hard at work. I gained enough energy to absorb all the goblins here. Now we just need to leave. Lead the way Atimn!”

“I wonder about you sometimes.” Ceres stood next to Atimn as he led the way.

Kyrion threw Viole over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. And the group made their way to the teleporter.

“What do I do now?” Kyrion asked.

“Haven’t you used one of these before?”

“No, I imagine you just think of home and it takes you there.”

“Thats not…Take us to the capital of Welheim!” The magic circle glowed golden and the three along with their baggage entered the circle.

Asela heard a knock on her window. It was past lights out and she knew not to go open the window so that weirdos could come in. Sadly a flower on her dresser began to vibrate.

“Hello?” Asela asked, irritated.

“Hey, can you summon Cheseter? I need him to share a room with someone. If anyone one asks , he's his cousin.”

“Ask him yourself, he’s in the boys dorm directly across from this one go knock on his window.”

“Would he mind if I made myself at home? Gotta make an impression on my brother in law.” Kyrion hung up his flower and watched as Asela’s room lit up from the inside like fireworks.

Atimin followed as Kyrion ran towards the adjacent room not bothering to even look back. “I’ve see her before. They call her the princess of fire or something. How do you know her?”

“That is a lame title.” Kyrion laughed as he grabbed Atimn by his shirt and threw him into a purple circle and out inside another room. One much more well organized. Chester was reading through a book, his focus slipping.

“Huh. What are you doing here this late.”

“No good to see you again. You must not want my blessing. Maybe I misread your intentions to court my dear Asela.”

“What? N-no you misunderstand I don’t want to court her. She’s milady. Its a butlers duty to…” Chester seemed distracted.

“It's fine you just had to say you aren't interested in her like that. Here I was going to put in a good word for you about your upstanding character.”

“You don’t have to agree with him. He wants me to join your team for some reason. I have an ability that lets me control shadows to an extent and apparently it ignores some physical defenses. I can tell you that this is a particularly powerful ability and from what I’ve seen it balances out your team quite a bit.”

“Thats good and all but he doesn’t have much training or discipline. If that's all he could do…”

“I can also restrain people and to a decent degree take things from them without getting close.”

“Show me.” If you can take this coin from me you're in.” Chester tossed a gold coin in the air and it vanished before it could flip in the air.

“Got it.” Atimn said with a bored expression he hadn’t moved from his spot.

“I didn’t say go, but you took it. I guess that makes you our eighth member. When the others get back we are headed to the mountains of Chalek to train. Welcome. Now that that's done, how did you get in here?” Chester looked through the spot Kyrion had been standing nothing was there

“Makes you wonder which one of us was really a thief. Doesn’t it?”

“He has ties to an assassins guild. This much isn’t so surprising although it is concerning.”

Atimn recalled the threat Kyrion gave Meh Thod. “He wouldn’t kill anyone would he? He doesn’t look the type. But…”

“He isn’t a fighter and he only kills when necessary, given what I've dug up on him he only kills monsters and he does it as quickly and painlessly as possible, most of the time.”

“That guy isn’t a fighter. How strong are you trained spirit masters anyway?”

“Oh no he’s very good at fighting, he just doesn’t have fighting spirit. No bloodlust, no malice, just pure efficiency and a bit of unpredictability. No it isn’t him who's scary it's the school filled with people who trained him that is.”

“Why didn’t he let me go there then?”

“Different country. He’s the Crimson Berserker of Drisil.”

“Wait. That fight made it through the streets very quickly. I heard he beat your top two.”

“He did. And yet I’m sure you know more about his limits than we do.”

“He can’t teleport. But he can make it look like he is teleporting. Consider that a tidbit of information. I do not want to fight him so I’m playing my part and informing you.” Atmin said before taking a seat in a plush chair and passing out.

“Well guess it’s time to form a cover story for Nicole and the others.” Kyrion’s death has motivated them, they can find out after the training session ends.

Kyrion stopped and stretched as he cracked his back and reentered the cathedral. A woman with long platinum blonde hair and long pointed ears waited for him, along with a swordsman with two blades on his hip. He also had long ears, and very mean eyes.

Meh Thod was laying in a corner surrounded by five guards who hid their heads with helmets and faces with veils.

Ceres lay unconscious next to Viole, both of whom were behind the pair of experts. Hostages would have been putting it lightly. Kyrion didn’t like getting bullied by experts but this wasn’t quite right, they knew he was coming here. They knew and they prepared. The only reason the other two were unconscious was so that he could drop Atimn off while he was conscious.

“So the Scarlet Maelstrom has kept his word. How refreshing. Given that you haven’t run away you must not have all your memories.” The swordsman scoffed.

“Now now. None of that this is supposed to be a peaceful reunion.”

“Wouldn’t I need to know you before this becomes a reunion?”

“Oh you know us. Deep down you know who we are.”

Kyrion thought deep down and came up empty, he then shifted his attention to the freeloader. “Hey these people. Who are they?”

“The matriarch of the elves, a near extinct race on this planet and her bodyguard. Scarlet Maelstrom, was actually my nickname, because everywhere I went blood would follow. There was also a spell that turned my enemies and corpses into a blended tornado of flesh and blood. Hence the red maelstrom.”

Kyrion looked to his left and scowled. “How the hell are you not the one in control of our body?”

“Your soul is different from my own. Let's say my blood type is A and yours was O, while I can use your body from time to time if I were to fully take over we’d slowly get weaker as your body fought me off like an infection. We’d die before we could get strong enough to seperate.”

“Separate?”

“Spirit mastery is like a loan. Your spirits give you powers and a way to use your mana while feeding off your growth. When you get enough power to enter the crucible and survive then the spirits will leave your core and you’ll keep all the powers and abilities you gained. Some may choose to stay while other spirits will go.”

“So that’s what Jala’s mother meant.” Kyrion muttered.

“Why are you talking to yourself?” The matriarch asked

“He’s psychotic always has been.” The guard scowled even more.

“It’s pronounced Psycho, he's a freeloader that takes up space up here.”

“So you couldn’t become one with your own soul, how bizarre..”

The scowl on the guard's face turned into a smirk that he tried to hide. It made him look constipated.”

“Sir do you need to go to the bathroom? You're kinda distracting.”

The swordsman coughed into his hand and remembered. “We can work with this can’t we?”

“Well it’s not like we have to point him in a direction and let him run wild. Things go straight to him this time around. His enemies must be acting on what Psycho would do. Let's see if he’s changed deep down.”

Kyrion what would you do if someone were to kill your mother?” The swordsman asked.

“Do you really need to hear my answer?” Kyrion didn’t bat an eye but his irises did seem to shift to an almost light brown color, it was almost red.

“Well you didn’t attack immediately so that's something.”

“I’ve been taught to choose my battles and I really hate fighting.” Kyrion stated his eyes seemed to brighten.

“Good.”

“We will keep that in mind. And inform the republic of your stance on the matter should they find the gall to call or your mother’s execution. The republic has been shattered after the invasion but that's only temporary. They took the land but it's being run into the ground. When the inclusion happens in two years time every expert on this planet will disappear for a year and during that time the Beast Blood empire will be most vulnerable. The whole world will be vulnerable as demons will descend onto our world and with the intention of wiping everyone out. You may or may not be aware, but this landmass is the last remaining major continent on Imala. There are quite a few islands and shattered earth but due to war quite a few places have fallen. Although to someone who has yet to live past two decades that doesn’t matter much.”

“No it doesn’t. So what happens if we lose?”

“Imala could be destroyed, at worse. At best we will be reduced to living on small islands.”

“And you're telling me this, why? I’m not some battle tyrant or unstoppable force. I can’t just go save the world. Not for free anyway.”

“No but your presence seems to light a fire around those nearest to you and where a hurricane passes…”

“Destruction is left in its wake… Wait, I'm bait for the real hero of this story. Phew!” Kyrion let out a deep breath and laughed as he looked at the two experts who held blank expressions.

“This is no joke young human, you are probably one of the only people who can keep the planet going while we are away.”

“You’re putting the fate of the planet in the hands of a sixteen year old boy still going through puberty. This is insanity, you can’t honestly think this will end well can you?”

“You did it before. Albeit it was quite gruesome.” The swordsman said with a blank expression.

“Psycho? What’s he talking about?”

“You know that scene I showed you when you first stirred my consciousness? I said twelve years back then. But… Things have changed. I didn’t quite notice it at first but I suspect that the time is coming up sooner than I thought. Live for centuries and time gets all wonky. Tee hee!” Psycho’s robed figure knocked on its skull.

“I thought I had time… You can’t just do things like that!”

“You do have time, when you come to Clomois for the tournament I want you to make an impression.”

“So just barely appear to win all my fights and throw some here and there?” Kyrion crossed his arms.

“Or decimate everyone, we just want that fire sparked in preparation for the tragedy to come.”

“Fine, but what do I get out of this deal?”

“What do you want?”

“Peace and quiet, but thats not happening anytime soon. Can you send us back to my school's campus? I need to sleep in my bed.” Kyrion scowled.

“Is that it?”

“I also want to eat a whole 72 pound steak. I can cook it if necessary.” Kyrion started with something he considered to be a reasonable request.

“I think you meant, ounce.” The swordsman slapped a knee and lagged before he realized no one else was laughing.

“I can eat thrice my weight in beef. I’m being lenient when I’m only asking for 72 pounds.”

“But…Where does…”

“He has a beast based spirit, among other things. They eat quite a bit.”

“Technically I have two beast spirits but that doesn’t matter.”Kyrion's stomach began to protest. “Make it a farms worth of cows, beef and dairy varieties. That way I can eat them when I get ready and they can become food later. Should look out for future hunger pangs.”

“So you plan on having a butcher shop's worth of meat on your person at all times?”

“Yes and more if things work out. Does this qualify as a minimum enough boon for saving the world?” Kyrion’s eyes rolled as he took the request.

‘So you know.”

“I won’t be getting my cows until after I help save the world. Nah duh. If I fail it will be pretty obvious.”

“Such disrespect. Though thats the best I can get out of someone who thinks with his stomach.” The leader sighed.

“My gut is the brains of this operation. Said gut also told me I should run quite a few times. But as I'm still here my willpower must be quite high. Anything else?” Kyrion sped along the conversation.

“Fine, you act like you have better things to do. You sure took your sweet time.”

Kyrion closed his eyes, took a deep breath and sighed. “Yeah yeah. I get it. Still I need to get going as soon as physically possible, the run back will be quite annoying if I have to lug those two along with me.” Kyrion crossed his arms.

“Those are young women, are you calling them heavy? There are waters even the bravest don’t dare tred.”

“I mean Ceres can get really heavy but that's partly due to her armor, that stuff is dense. But no I mean logistically, how would you run, while carrying two people across the country?”

“You don’t get it.”

Kyrion pulled a large metal piece of armor out of his domain and took a step back watching as it left a large crack where it fell. “Quite heavy.”

“That is quite heavy for a practitioner to lug around freely."

“I do get your point however. But that's just proper etiquette and bedside manner. Nobody like a doctor who doesn’t know what to say. Oooo that's bad, and, uh oh, aren’t things you tell a patient. Among other things.” Kyrion opened up his domain again and rolled the piece of armor in his domain.

“I see, this is our last gift, step onto the circle. We will pay for your trip home.”

“Huh? Your going to buy us a horse and carriage?” Kyrion seemed surprised.

“No. I’m sending you to the chapel near Drisil.”

“What?”

“Teleportation circle. Step on, go home. Just like that.”

“Would Drisil have one of those as well?”

“Of course they do cost quite a bit to use. The more mass teleported the more mana needed to teleport someone. With your height and mass someone like you would cost around seven hundred gold on your own. But we’re sending you on for free with your friends.”The leader said as the circle began to glow a golden color.

“Friend and prisoner.” Kyrion scowled.

“Well then Kyrion the circle is ready. Goodbye for now.”

The swordsman stayed silent and watched closely as Kyrion moved forward onto the circle.

“Now what?” Was the last thing Kyrion got out before he was transported back to Drisil.