Charles made a door back to Dungeonville after they had created another couple of towns. The one at Richmond Hill, and then a second one at Fort Stewart, nearly forty-eight miles away from it. Somehow, the rescue and recovery teams had managed to find enough people to create town markers at each location.

The excitement of everything had worn off for the little girl in the middle of their time at Richmond Hill. They were selecting someone to temporarily lead the place at the time, and it had been boring for her.

Now she was asleep in Charles arms as they appeared inside their apartment.

“We’ll have to thank Sierra for the location tip later. Going to Georgia was a good call. The people there didn’t put up much of a fuss or give us problems like other spots have. Better yet, we only ran into some low-quality scrub monsters that were easy to take care of without worrying, Myri.”

“Ahh, look at you, acting like a regular dad all of the sudden,” Kira nudged him, gently pulling the little girl from his arms. “I’ll put her to bed while you go talk to my parents about the new locations with Alli.”

He gave her a lopsided smile and walked out of the apartment with Alli on his heels.

“I wouldn’t say the monsters we ran into were low-quality scrubs. We’ve just become too strong for them, is all. I never would have been able to create so many ‘Shadow Spikes’ before my race changed again.

“Now I can create a dozen at once and use it again just a few seconds later. All the goblins, kobolds, gnolls, and whatever else we ran into today never even stood a chance. And that’s just against me, that’s not counting you or Kira.”

“Yeah, like I said, low-quality scrubs. Since we can’t really level up anymore in our current condition, it kind of takes some of the fun out of fighting them. At least I can still keep learning new magic, but even that has dried up some. Everyone is heading to the temples to learn magic now instead of me.” He stopped and smacked his head.

“Crap, I should have grabbed the ‘Spatial Element’ from Zack or Zara while I had the chance. I bet that would have helped with my understanding of how ‘Zero Door’ works as well. Crap, that was such a wasted opportunity. I hope we get to see them again before Gaia sends them back if she can.”

“I thought you already had ‘Spatial Magic’? Isn’t that what ‘Zero Door’ is?”

“I do, and yeah, it is. But what they have is the element itself. I’m hoping it will make a difference. Besides, I’ve never gotten another ‘Spatial Magic’ spell this entire time. Maybe I’ll finally get lucky if I touch their element. It’s how I’ve gotten most of my other spells after all.” Charles opened the door to the Town System building and peeked inside, making sure Kira’s parents were inside before they entered.

Having actual spells had become less important for some of the elements as his understanding of them and mana grew. Unfortunately, ‘Space’ magic was not yet one of those.

Only Kory was inside the building, and looked up as soon as the door opened. “Good, you’re here. There is a guest waiting for you at the house with Krystal. We shouldn’t keep her waiting longer than we already have. We can talk about whatever is you wanted later; trust me, this is more important.”

Concerned, Charles backed away from the building and ran over to the house, throwing open the door. Inside was a woman wearing a deep, blood-red cloak, sitting calmly at the table talking to Krystal. She turned when the door opened and grinned, revealing teeth that were slightly too sharp to be normal.

She had midnight black hair, and her eyebrows were tiny dark downy feathers. Underneath revealed a pair of coal-black gems for eyes. It was strange for sure, but at the same time, it was a look that worked for her.

“Charles, Alli,” The newcomer stood and shook out her cloak. “We haven’t met before, but you can call me Morrighan.”

“The Morrighan? War, battle, can supposedly foresee or even control death, and likes to take the form of a crow. That Morrighan?”

She grinned widely, revealing her teeth once more to them all. “That would be me, and don’t forget, I’m also a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann.”

“Are you though? Some of the legends have you existing long before them.”

The fallen goddess shrugged. “We all have so many beginnings and endings now it doesn’t matter. Brigit is a friend, so I joined her pantheon officially. It was better than being by myself, and there was little risk of being forgotten either way in my case. There are so many who pretend to believe in the old ways that it kept our names alive in their search for power.”

She was a battlefield goddess, and her many incarnations were known everywhere. Indeed there had been no need for her join any one pantheon. Not unless she had wanted to on her own.

“I take it she is planning on creating her own kingdom soon, just like the rest.” Charles scratched at the back of his head with a sigh. “I’ll need to figure out how to link Kira’s weapon to her, then. She’s rather attached to that thing and the power it brings.”

When a god or goddess with a champion chose to descend or become part of the temple system, it obviously also affected their champion. Those with additional powers like Beth and Sierra would lose them. Meanwhile, the champions who had received weapons or items of some sort could keep them. However, they would no longer be linked to their patron, thereby losing much of their strength.

Strictly speaking, when that happened, they would become linked solely to their users, but it wasn’t the same kind as what had tied it to the being who had originally gifted it. The new channel was merely there to provide ownership, and to keep it from being stolen, not to provide power.

That is what he needed to fix. He would need to do the same for Kate as well, if that was what she and Inara wanted. The collar gave the Quillcat enhanced healing with Kate’s help, but he wasn’t sure what other functions she might lose.

“Brigit would appreciate it if you could. She’s willing to wait until you do so, but the other gods have already started claiming lands. And, of course, there were several of us in the Celtic territories. The Fae Courts being one of the most notable.”

“I’ll take a look at it tonight and see what I can do. I know Charlotte has already replaced hers. Unfortunately, I think Sierra, Beth, and Alli are going to be lost causes. They all got abilities instead of items.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Sierra has a class especially well suited to her ability and has used it many times, so I doubt she will lose it completely. At most, its current effectiveness will go down thirty or forty percent.” The Morrighan informed them with a self-assured grin.

“What about Alli?”

“As for her, the issue with the soul bond has already been resolved, so there is no problem there. Her telepathy is also no longer as much of an issue since she can change forms. However, I’m not sure if that one would revert back to its more limited form or not, because of how much she has used it. The last gift she got from her patrons was making her abilities less powerful, so she could handle them better. This is also no longer an issue because of Alli’s new race.”

“I understand, and I suppose you have something to say for Beth as well?” Charles asked, filing everything she said away for later use.

“The only one in question is Beth with Shiva. I can make no guesses as to what he will do. Her case is an interesting one though. You had already linked her weapon to her when Shiva added on to it. Even if he does fall the ability to summon, it will remain. Her increased handling and precision may or may not. Again, she has been using them, so they may have become ingrained enough to have become a part of her.”

Charles shook his head. “That’s a lot to digest, and I’m sure it’s not even the main reason you made this trip instead of going to Ireland.”

“It’s part of it, but no, it’s not. However. Brigit did want me to mention it to you.” She sat down and tapped the top of the table. “Come sit. This conversation will take a while; we may as well be comfortable while we talk.”

“Fine, what is this about? What did she want to tell us?” He questioned with a groan.

“Well gee, if you’re going to be like that, I’m not sure I want to tell you anymore.” She teased.

He sat across from her and leaned on the table. “Going back to what you said before about you all having so many beginnings and endings, how many of the myths about the gods are true exactly?”

“We all have a true beginning, one original myth or legend that gave rise to us as a concept or a being. Then the stories change and get added to with the times. We’re forgotten and then brought back, twisted to fit a mold, not of our own making. We are still us, though I will admit it has twisted a few gods who do not appreciate being toyed with in that way.”

***

“I had a feeling that was going to be the answer. Otherwise, there would have been duplicates and triplicates of some of the gods running around. Not to mention you all would have the worst case of identity disorder ever!” Charles remarked cheekily. It was a sad answer in many ways, but also not one he had any control of. “Now, what is it Brigit wanted to tell us?”

“Bob has gone missing.”

“I’m sorry. I thought you just said he went missing. That can’t be right. I thought he was in charge of the game that you all are playing. The one that started all of this!” Alli cried out, unable to contain herself any longer.

“He was, but now that Gaia has taken over everything, the game is becoming increasingly irrelevant. In any case, no one has seen him around for the last few days. She thought you might want to know, and that the gods were never going to be able to help you find your parents. It was Bob who was going to fulfill the quest reward somehow when the time came.”

He bit back a groan and leaned back in the chair. “I had a feeling that was going to be the case. I just don’t understand how he would have accomplished it. He hasn’t been able to find my mother after all this time. How could that suddenly change enough for him to fulfill the reward?”

“He was probably going to teach you how to reach them using the ‘Zero Door’ spell yourself.” Alli guessed, coming up behind him. “One of the things Alaria taught me is how familiar you need to be with a certain magic before you can progress. That’s why even though your understanding of magic is supposedly perfect, you still haven’t been making too much progress with each element. You aren’t familiar enough with them.”

He tapped his fingers on the table. “If you’re right, then the only way to fix that is by using them more. The ones I currently use the most are healing, lightning, and spatial. Which also happen to be the three that I have made the most progress in… What am I supposed to do then? That doesn’t sound like something Gaia will be able to help with.”

Alli switched forms, managing to almost successfully equip her clothes properly this time. Everyone turned away while she fixed her appearance. “I’ll get that right one of these days. Anyway, I was going to say that we still don’t know what she’ll learn from Zara and the others. It could be useful. We also don’t know that Bob is actually gone. He might just be remaining out of sight for some reason.”

He hated simply leaving things upto chance like that, but it seemed like that might be their only option for the moment.

Krystal handed her a plate with a sandwich on it, followed by one for Charles and Kory. She and Morrighan had already eaten before they arrived.

They talked for a few more minutes before Kira showed up to see what was taking them so long. With her untimely intrusion, the Morrighan decided she had spent enough time there and needed to be moving on. She stood from the table and took a blurry step back. Between lifting her foot up and when she would have put it down, her form shifted into that of a large crow.

With a loud ‘CAW’’, the bird took to the air and flapped towards the open door. She folded her wings in at the last moment and launched herself from the house. Just like that, Morrighan was gone.

“Who was that?” Kira demanded, her narrowed eyes tracking the rapidly diminishing form of the bird.

“A messenger from Brigit,” Charles said simply. “We have a lot of work to do.”

***

“So, their silly little game is coming to an end,” Kira remarked, a while later as they strolled around the town looking at the various shops.

“That’s the way it seems,” Silvi agreed, spinning around to look at the tower. “They’re all coming down here to have their fun and cause havoc instead.”

Charles kicked at a stray rock and watched it bounce down the road. “I’m thinking your parents might have been onto something, Kira. Moving up to the space station might not be a bad idea after all. We’d need to make more upgrades and changes to the place, but it might be something to seriously consider.”

“I’ve actually been thinking the same thing for the last few minutes.” His fiancé whispered. “Staying down here and putting up with each of the fallen gods just sounds like a nightmare. At least up there, we can pretend they don’t exist for a while each day, and Myri would be safe from them as well.”

Silvi spun around at those words. “That’s a good point. Should we bring the other kids up with us, James, Jenny, and all the other orphans?”

“Well, the station does need people to live on it. Making changes to the place is very expensive. The sooner we can get a stable population living on the station generating UM, the better. That said… moving up there still needs to be voluntary.”

Kira nodded at what Charles had said. “True, just because we want to live up there doesn’t mean everyone else will.”

“We don’t have much time either. Unless I miss my guess, Gaia has already started to bring them all down by now. That means I need to finish linking your bracelet and the collar Kate has on Inara tonight. We should probably also talk to your parents, my sister and Scott as well. I don’t see Charlotte and Scott leaving just yet, but I think they will at some point.”

“You were right earlier,” Silvi stated in a sad tone. “We do have a lot to do. At least this means the decent gods will help the territories they’re in charge of. More people will be saved than before.”

“That’s the hope, but humanity’s history with the gods has rarely involved the gods being decent.” Charles wound them back towards the house while they continued to discuss everything.

They met up with Kate’s group just outside the door. The three were beyond dirty and looked exhausted.

“New floor?” Kira asked.

Kate nodded wearily as Charles used his cleaning spell on them. “It’s a pain, but we refuse to give up our top spot on the climber’s leaderboard. All the other teams are now two floors behind us!” She grinned.

“I don’t remember seeing a leaderboard there the last time I went to the tower.” Her sister nudged the large pile of dirt on the ground away from them.

“It was added last week and contains all the teams who regularly enter the tower. It’s right next to the transfer orb.” Beth explained scratching at her arms.

“Yeah, there might be an issue there.” Kira pushed her sister towards the door. “We’ll explain inside. Come on, you two as well.”

Kory and Krystal were sitting beside each other on their couch, drinking something hot and reading their books, when everyone entered, disrupting their relaxing time together.

“You look like you all have decided something,” Kory commented, setting his book to the side. “Well, tell us. What are you going to do?”

“It’s not what the three of us are going to do, but what all of us are going to do.” Kira nudged her sister towards the couches. “We think you might have been right the other night. It’s time to move up to the space station.”

They quickly caught Kate, Beth, and Inara up to speed on what Brigit had told them before they could get mad.

“If we move up to the space station, then we won’t be able to keep competing with the others in the tower,” Beth stated, their most obvious complaint.

“On the other hand, if we have enough people move up there, then we can explore the dungeon that opens there,” Inara remarked, not seeming to care much either way. “And yes, before anyone asks. I want my collar linked to Kate properly. The effects of the collar are too useful to pass up.”

Kate slowly came around after the other two agreed. “Fine, but we’ll need to convince the Coopers to move up with us as well. Beth can’t leave her family behind, and she’s a part of my party, so she needs to be there with us.”

Everyone rolled their eyes at the flimsy excuse, but let it slide. They weren’t going to pressure the girls to figure anything out before they were ready. The rest of the family had long since figured out how the two girls felt about each other.

“I guess we’ll start transferring all of our stuff to the station in the morning, then. I’ll also start moving certain materials from the shared inventory into the space station’s town inventory. I’m sure any future expansion the place does will require a lot of metal and other items. It would be a shame if we didn’t have access to them.” Krystal had already started to put together a plan for their move.

“Make sure most of the items from the military base get stored up there. The system might be able to do something with them when it comes time to make the place mobile.” Charles interjected before she could go too deep into her head.

Krystal nodded and made a quick note.

“I think we should go talk with Charlotte and Scott now. Kate, take Beth and talk with her parents. See what they say, bring them to dad if they have any questions.” Kira ordered her sister.

Silvi sighed at the back. “Don’t forget, we need to make more time for your training, Charles, as well as your sister’s. We can’t keep delaying it, especially now!”

“You’re right, sorry Silvi. As soon as we’re done talking with her, we’ll start our next lesson.” He assured her with a scratch behind her upright husky ears.

Charles had been right. Neither Charlotte nor Scott was ready to leave the lab behind just yet. But they also weren’t against the idea. It simply wasn’t the right time for them. That didn’t stop them from having Charles move the bulk of their stuff up for them, though, the next morning.

The lesson with Silvi had been productive in its own right, even if they still couldn’t access their powers and abilities properly. It was all about learning what they would be capable of and trying to understand the theory before anything else. It was stressful for all three of them, but it was all they could do to progress.

Silvi, in particular, was feeling useless. This is what Alaria had taken her away for, and yet now, she was failing miserably at the one thing she had been asked to do. It wasn’t a feeling she enjoyed.

When the lesson was over, she crawled into bed beside Myri and cried herself to sleep.