Kyrion had woken up in the dungeon that he had been using for training with a rather irritated expression.

“Jala, Issac. Whats going on? What haven’t you all told me?” Kyrion asked with a stony expression.

Jala appeared in her fox form in front of Kyrion, her expression somber but resolute. “Bit’s and pieces that’s all I have.”

“Care to elaborate?” Kyrion tapped his foot subconsciously the ground cracking with each movement.

“Does it matter? I used you.” Jala didn’t meet Kyrion’s eyes.

“To be fair, I’m eighty percent sure that we’re all being played.”

“Thats a rather high estimate.” Issac eyed Kyrion.

“Are you volunteering answers?” Kyrion stared back at the bird before sighing.

“That plant knows something and I’ve picked up bits and pieces from that spirit that tried to foist the Blade of Purification on you.”

“The plant is a plant. What more… wait. Purification?” Kyrion scowled.

“Yes. It’s a weapon desinged to erase those you currently know as demons.”

“So. Did she trick me into taking that power?”

“Gods can’t lie directly. Obscureing and misleadig is possible so long as the information gets you where you need to go eventually. ” Spoke a deep and gravelly voice in Kyrion’s head.

“So I can resurrect people eventually.”

“Thats how it seems.”

“Great. Now Issac, jala do you have any info to give?”

Issac preened. “The time demon is tied partially to your soul and partially to Midas, who seemed to already have a demon possessing his body long before this one showed up.”

“Why is that?”

“A person can only be under the possession of Creatures that dwell inbetween worlds or in the beyond. Any more than one and you get greatly diminishing returns or wild side effets. I’m sure your aware of that portion of mana thats been steailly growing.”

“I am.”

“It’s growing within Midas due to the demon latching mostly onto it while unable to fully integrate with it’s host. It’s also why when Midas dies, your the one getting sent to the afterlife.” Issac added.

“Your a smart bird. How old are you?” Kyrion scowled.

“Doesn’t matter right now.” Issac waved a wing at Kyrion.

“So, it is Midas. What do you mean by him being possessed?”

“The soul in his body, is not the one that was born in it. Chances are it was removed years ago in some depraved ritual.”

“Is that why he seems to irritate me? There is something in him that doesn’t belong.”

“That would line up well with what I know.”

“Right. Then. I need to exorcise that demon within him, but I need to be dead when that happens. It’s possible but not going to be easy.” Kyrion sighed.

“You’ll need to leave you body in the hands of Kyrie.” The tree spirit said from within Kyrion.

“Fine… Make sure you keep an eye on him. He’s a bit arrogant and it bleeds over.” Kyrion spoke within himself.

Kyrie responded. “I am wholly invested in helping you win. I mean your soul has so much room and many interesting things to watch.”

“Your talking about my domain. Right?” Kyrion looked into himself.

“Is it the place with a village of monsters casually living day to day lives, farming, building, and such?”

“Ah. Right that does exist. Karl will the time stuff effect you much?” Kyrion had forgotten about that function of his domain for a while, just delegating it to his spirits as he trained.

“Yes and no. I can swing resisting the power with fifty percent efficiency. Anything in here will be unaffected for the most part, including your body.”

“Care to kick me out immideatly to prevent that? Or thow me in a stasis fridge?”

“That would be ill advised. If Kyrie is here for more than three years I’ll throw him in a stasis coffin.”

“Fridge. It keep food in there. But it keeps hot food hot and cold food cold.”

“We also keep bodies in there.” Karl added.

“Occasionally. I don’t want people stink getting on my emergency ribs.”

“Didn’t you convince Cecil to make those because they could save lives?”

“Yeah…wait!” Kyrion straightened up.

“Yes?” Karl asked curiously.

“I was distracted. Jala, what do you belive is going on and what are you hiding from me. When we met with the goddess, something left my domain without my orders.”

“The Shepherd’s sheers, an item that signifies that the Sheaperd is watching the conversation through an arbiter, any oaths taken and broken would be dealt with by the Sheaperd.”

“Why should I care about a sheep herder?” Kyrion scowled.

“That sheep herder is the one of the highest beings in this universe.” The arbiter stated.

Jala scowled. “I was ordered to open a portal and did so. The item left and I recognized it, due to my nature as a spirit. Most of us have a bit of inborn knowledge of how the universe works. Usually it manifests as magic, on occasion its fit for explanation.”

“I assume you ordered the doorway open?” Kyrion asked the tree.

“It was necessary.”

Great. “Now Jala, why did you pick an Arbiter to be my spirit?”

“Instinct? I’m pretty sure quite a few were Arbiters, now that I think of it, the one I picked felt right.”

“And Issac?” Kyrion raised an eyebrow.

“Also felt right, but every day I wonder If I chose wrong.”

“Well I’m glad i’m here. My abilities have been quite useful, overall.” Issac barked.

“Easy. Kyrie, when time resets I want you to memorize the spell structure I put on this scroll.. Spend all the time you can herer and I’ll even ask Ander to join. Train unil you can do it easily.” Kyrion

“Right.” Kyrie scowled.

“It’s actually quite simple, you just need to get it right on the first try.” Kyrion said as he drew a rather illegible magic diagram along with listing what affinity played what role and when. As he had to be exact when dealing with amateurs. As Kyrie wasn’t a trained healer one mistake could end with him killing Midas. Or more likely leave the young man brain dead.

“But, no pressure right?”

“Plenty of pressure. Make sure you fully envelop his core. If any lingers than he will revert in time. If he reverts, our chances of stoping him decreases significantly should it repossess him.” Kyrion said plainly.

“And you can’t do this yourself?”

“I believe Midas was in that traveling brothel. As it is not actually a soup place I care little about having personal memories of visiting one of those if I can help it.” Kyrion shivered.

“So your fine if I do it.”

“Since I can choose not to relive your memories.”

“So if I spend a little extra time there…” Kyrie raised an eyebrow.

“Your right. Issac… Nevermind. Before he makes it to the brothel, he’s in his room, which is heavilly warded. I happen to have some tools for breaking into places I’m not supposed to be in.”

“Why do I feel like I’ve been insulted?” Issac scowled.

“Why didn’t you offer up that option first?” Kyrie said exasperated.

“You have my memories, Sinbad is dangerous, I happened to see that last fight he had when he was retrieving my bag. I would rather he not see what we do even if we’re healing his teamate. As far as he’s concered we’re killing what could be a member of the royal family even if I suspect shenanigans and intrigue.”

“...Why does it seem like your better at spying and assasination than a healer should be?” Kyrie asked an important question.

“Look. I don’t want to sound like an evil mastermind, but that comes naturally for me. Skills honed from avoiding people who want to find me and keeping track of troublesome individuals. How else do you thing I avoided fighting Minah for five years? Luck?” Kyrion shook his head.

“Yeah… I saw that. The flashes replayed a few times in your memory. I’ve heard that voice and recognized it. He’s one of us, and he’s the one who sent me here. I’m not sure how but he seems to have a power that lets him move people across worlds with ease.”

“That isn’t fair.” Kyrion crossed his arms.

“Yeah. But considering who we are in general, I don’t think we have the right to speak about the unfairness of powers. Had I not been restricted in my use of powers then I could have beaten that brother of yours. Not easily, but I would have had a chance.”

“You keep on telling yourself that. My brother is stronger than you and you’re salty.”

“No! He fought me in a ritual circle. If I used magic beyond a certain threshold then it would have drained my dry and turned me into a husk. Instead he used me as a blood sacrifice to summon something.”

“Yeah yeah. I heard about the Chimera King. Although it was mostly about how those who see it and are lucky to get away are never the same.” Kyrion looked at his nails.

Ander flew down the stairway in a haze of lightning as though he was in a hurry. Upon meeting Kyion he collapsed.

“We need to stop this. Your father managed to hold the Emperor off so we could escape, but I never want to be that weak ever again. Only able to run as someone of that level kills my friends.”

Kyrion blinked twice in surprise. “Did you just use the F word?”

“What are you going on about? We’re friends, we’ve been friends for years!” Ander was exasperated.

“Yeah… But dude. You usually use the term rivals, allies, and such.”

“You must have a flawed memory.”

“Must be all the deaths.” Kyrion shook his head.

Entered soon after with bloodshot eyes. “Don’t do that again.”

“Do what?” Kyrion asked as he approached.

“Die like that! Fighting someone you shouldn’t have. You could have run!”

“I won’t abandon those I love. Plus at this moment consequences are relatively small. If I die, then I come back smarter and wiser.”

“If you die sacrficing yourself again when you don’t have to then you can consider what you've been trying to build with me will be broken!” Lin stated.

“Lin, a healer doesn’t abandon a patient when there is a change to save them. I’ll need to visit that other place one more time. This will be a necessary sacrifice. My uncle needs to be brought back from that other place along with the real Midas. I imagine they won’t be the only people I bring back but I will have to go regardless.” Kyrion stated.

“Why?”

“Because I’ve been killing them when there was another option. While it wasn’t available until recently, and I hadn’t mastered it. I still killed an innocent that was ill when I could have saved them, had I known the full picture.”

Lin looked into Kyrion’s resolute eyes. “So you see this as atonement?”

“My family history is bloody, and destructive. If possible I want to put more good back into the world than there was when I arrived. If you can’t watch, I understand. Seeing something like that hurts.” Kyrion held Lin’s hand in his own.

Lin didn’t catch the seed that was planted in her clothing but she did take her hand back. “Fine. I’ll just head to my room then.” Lin turned and left.

“Trouble in paradise?” Ander asked.

Kyrion looked to his friend, “It was bound to happen eventually. To be fair there are quieter ways to do this but I want to gather all my enemies together and see them in action. So while most will be unnesseacy I will need to go to the world beyond for a bit. Might as well learn something from a death than do it to myself early.”

“Master, sometimes I can’t tell if your the smartest idiot I know, or the dumbest Genius.” Jala states in a deadpan.

“Yeah. Who willingly goes to that place? It’s insane and the only tools you can take with you need to be bound to your soul.”

Kyrion immediately withdrew a sack and coated it in a bloody circle, performing a shorthand binding ritual on his bag. “There. Now I can take some emergency food with me.”

The spirits looked at each other before deciding that they wouldn’t crush their master’s heart by telling him the truth that all spirits know. One does not eat food while in the realm of the lost. There is only water and Favra, and nobody likes Favra.