The doorway snapped shut behind everyone in the main area of the space station. They were gathered in front of the gazebo, since they would need to join the town first before they could do anything. It was a requirement that applied even to the kids who didn’t have access to the system yet.

The line quickly diminished as each person went through the familiar process, already knowing what to expect.

A message appeared in front of each current member of the town after everyone had joined.

Congratulations, the town -ISS- now has enough inhabitants that the dungeon has been unlocked for use.

A flash of light came from behind them as a new building came into being beside the store. It was a single story and completely unassuming outside of a few items. Namely, the currently blank leaderboard that had been placed to the side of the large wide double doors. There was also the big-name above the doors, ‘ISS Tech Dungeon’.

Well, that was interesting. He didn’t even know if the tower dungeon in Dungeonville had a name, yet this one certainly did.

“Well, there you go Kate, Beth, Inara. You can start exploring that in the morning, as long as you are very careful. Understood?” Kira instructed the three. She was relieved the dungeon had appeared just like she hoped it would.

The three nodded in excitement. This was exactly what they had been hoping would happen as well.

Beth’s brothers simply shrugged and went to find their parents. Unlike their sister and her friend, they weren’t interested in delving into the dungeon or tower. They did it occasionally to increase their levels, but their focus was elsewhere.

Either way, Charles’ part was now done. What everyone else did from here on out was no concern of his, he just wanted to get some sleep. Playing with Myri and Silvi earlier had worked to distract him for a while, but now it was all coming back to him.

“I think I’m going to get to bed now.” He whispered to Kira.

She nodded, gripping the edge of his shirt. “I’ll be right behind you. I just need to make sure Kate gets settled in at mom and dad’s first.”

The welcoming oblivion of sleep took him the instant his head hit the pillow.

Kira beat him out of bed in the morning and had breakfast ready for all of them by the time he managed to wake up,

“Are you doing alright?” The worry in her voice was palpable. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite as out of it as you were last night.”

Charles began to nod, before shaking his head no. “I’m stressed with everything that is going on, that we’ve been seeing, and then the stuff with the quest yesterday…” His shoulders slumped as he breathed out. “It just made everything we’d been doing seem pointless for a bit. I know we saved a lot of people building those towns, but emotionally, that doesn’t really mean anything to me.”

Kira listened to him as he tried to explain what he was going through. It was a novel experience for her to be the one listening for once, instead of the person doing the talking. She found it soothing in a way and intimidating that Charles felt safe enough with her to open up like this.

It was easier to open up to a stranger you had never met or were paying than it was someone you knew and cared for. A person you loved opinion’s carried more weight, they mattered more, and how they reacted could set the pace for your relationship going forward. More than that, it could destroy a person’s confidence or build them up more than any other. It was an honor, and a heavy weight to suddenly find thrust upon her.

“I think it is a good thing that we can slow down now. A very good thing in fact. The quest is done, and there are now enough towns down there that people have begun to spread out and begin searching for survivors on their own. Meanwhile, everywhere else, the gods have started to create their little kingdoms and are making their own towns. You need to take care of yourself, Charles. Even if this is all you do, and you stop now, you’ve done more than enough. No one else has done anywhere near as much to save people as you have during this time.”

That was something she believed with all her heart.

“Except for you and Alli,” He said with a soft exhale. “Yeah, I just need to figure out how to slow down and relax in this new world, while also taking care of us, but we’ll do that together. Right?”

She nudged him toward the girl’s room. “Of course, now wake them up before the food gets cold.”

“Are you coming down to meet with James, or am I just taking Charlotte?”

“Just Charlotte this time. I thought I would take some time to help Sierra get everything settled for all the kids.”

He knocked softly on the door before opening it and poking his head inside. Both of the girls were still out cold. He had to admit, Silvi certainly was a deeper sleeper in this form than she was as Alli. In her other form she stirred at the slightest noise.

After waking them, and eating breakfast together, he went to find his sister and take her down to Earth. It was time to meet with James and find out what Gaia had in store for them.

The necromancer was waiting for them when they appeared outside the lab. He was leaning against its side, casually watching the people who lived in the town.

“You moved last night.” He accused Charlotte.

“It was time. The space station finally has enough room to accommodate mine and Scott’s labs.”

The professor clicked his teeth together and slumped his shoulders. “All good things come to an end, I guess. It was bound to happen at some point.”

“We’re not leaving.” She said with a roll of her eyes. “We simply moved to get some distance from everyone else. Besides, the environment on the space station is perfect for certain experiments and continuing our work. You should ask Gaia if she’ll let you come up and visit.”

He waved away the suggestion. “I can’t leave Earth for now, not until she has gotten everything under control. I’m her champion and am at her beck and call. I need to be able to quell any upstart monster or fight one of the weaker fallen gods at a moment’s notice. If I was on the space station, I wouldn’t be able to do that.”

“That sounds like a lot of fighting,” Charles remarked as they followed him towards the bridge and the tower beyond.

“It is. After dealing with that corrupted dragon, Leri, I came to realize a few things regarding my strength. It isn’t enough, and as Gaia’s champion, it was shameful that we needed to depend on others to take care of our problem. So yes, I have been doing a lot of fighting, trying to grow stronger.”

“And has it worked?” Charles could see the man’s level, but he wanted his thoughts on the matter. Besides, a simple level and the skills a person had never told the whole story.

“Somewhat, only now the other gods have fallen and started increasing their strength in turn. It has created a delicate balance for now. Thankfully, I am immortal where they are not, and they all know that. Even if they were to win the first fight, who is to say they would win the second or the third?” He laughed and flipped the hood off his head as they approached the tower.

They followed him inside, ignoring everyone, and stopped at the orb floating beside the leaderboard. The orb was what allowed people to move between the floors they had already been to.

James reached towards it. “Put your hands on my shoulders. It will be easier to move inside the tower this way than my usual method.”

He waited for them to obey and then thrust his hand inside the orb. He quickly made a selection for a specific floor and the sphere grew in size until it swallowed the party of three. Without missing a beat, the enlarged bubble began to shrink with them inside before sinking into the floor and disappearing.

“Ugh,” Charles complained as they reappeared on another floor inside the tower. “I know Kate said it doesn’t feel like anything, but I beg to differ. That felt weird!”

Charlotte dry-heaved to the side with a nod.

A projection of a young Gaia appeared before them. “Interesting. The two named Zack and Zara reacted similarly as well, but not the one named Tessa. I wonder if that has anything to do with the elemental affinity they possess?”

Charlotte held up her hand. “I don’t have the space or spatial element, though. Mine is a mix of metal and electricity that forms circuitry. It’s a pure tech-based element at its core.”

“No perhaps not now, but you are just like Charles in that you have the potential to learn every element. A chance that I would suggest you take sooner rather than later. High Gods value the elements they have learned highly. While they never become locked as they do for everyone else, it does become harder to learn certain ones if you lack the foundation. Though, from what I understand they do have methods to get around those limitations to a degree at least.”

“I… hadn’t even thought of that, but it could introduce some interesting things I would be able to do.” She glanced at her brother. “Charles, do you think you can show me how to go inside someone and touch their core like you do?”

He shrugged. “I might be able to, not sure, but if not, I can at least still bring you in while I do it.” He had mainly been cheating the entire time by using the meditation rune embedded in his hand.