Kashi led the way, pushing the large door which opened to a sunny field packed with several 'small' houses made with brick and thatched roofs. Hundreds of giants walked across the fields, carrying large bundles toward the north. The draconian did not have time to figure out where they were headed before a loud, familiar bark drew his attention to the side.

Kashi's lips spread into a wide grin when he saw a familiar black direwolf trotting over from the side. 'Kira!" The draconian excitedly ran over and wrapped his arms around his old partner's neck before she could scamper away. Due to the logout deadline, he did not have time to chat with Kira after her return. He had so many questions!

"How are you? What was it like in that cocoon? Are you alright? What's your evolution like?"

Kashi inundated the poor direwolf with so many questions her eye nearly spun. Fortunately for Kira, Suzuki just about saved her.

Suzuki tapped Kashi's shoulder. "Relax. You're going to freak her out."

"Ah, oh, yeah." Kashi let out an embarrassed chuckle. He released his hold and took a step back, admiring Kira's new form. The Nightwind Direwolf's eyes still harboured much of the vicious recklessness Kashi remembered but tempered by a pearl of strange wisdom. Kashi smiled. "Looks like you gained more than pure strength from your evolution."

"So it would seem," Kira raised her head, nose pointed high with pride. "Similar to Drixlia, I unlocked my bloodline heritage. I've received the qualifications to become a demigod. It is only by my wish that I remain here."

"Hehe, can't bear to leave me behind, can you? I knew you cared for me."

Kira snorted. "As if. I'm merely heeding Belrug's warning. Being locked in an eternal battle for arbitrary good and evil does not interest me. I'd much rather stay here. My life has much more meaning here"

"Sure, sure. As long as you believe it." Kashi dismissively waved his hand. "So? How is it? What kinda upgrades did you get? Your wind control was insane. Are you an Elementalist now or what?"

"Elementalist? No." Kira rolled her eyes. "Stop using yourself as a standard. Elementalists are supposed to be rare. No, I gained plenty of wind magic spells from my bloodline. But, with dedicated training, I can touch upon wind control."

"Not bad," Kashi nodded. "What else?"

"There's my ancestral sword, Gungnir," reported Kira. "It's the chosen weapon of every generation's Nightwind Direwolf. As the current Nightwind Direwolf, I can summon it from its resting place in the Netherrealm. Utilizing it requires immense mental energy, which is why my mental strength exploded after my evolution."

"Huh. There didn't seem to be anything special about it." Kashi murmured as he recalled the sword Kira used while fighting Razznik. "I mean, it's very well crafted to have survived a bout against Razznik, but nothing that should need that much mental acuity."

"Yes. But that is only because I'm still weak. Gungnir has three levels. I've barely activated the first. I require far more training to unlock the second and third. Only then will we truly see its potential."

Kashi grinned. "Now, we're talking." He was not as interested in the sword as in Kira's mental strength. Right now, she could maintain a steady, instinctual communications link connecting at least twenty people in the midst of battle. He could not imagine what she could do when she improved further. For all his strengths, Kashi did not have any mental skills, nor did he have a clue on how to cultivate them. Having Kira by his side would bolster his strengths and shore up his weakness.

"But that's not all." Kira's pupils shone with multi-coloured light. The light spread over her body, then spilt, forming five clones coloured red, blue, translucent, yellow and green.

Kashi's eyes widened. Familiar but distinct mana flowed from each clone, causing him to blink in disbelief. "It can't be."

"It's not as overwhelming as you think," Kira said, bringing down Kashi's expectations. "Perhaps because my evolution happened in Orez under Yggdrasil's branches, I gained an affinity for the elements. I can't actively control them because they interfere with my divinity. As a wind demigod, I should not control any other elements or risk losing that divinity."

Kashi examined the incarnations. Each one radiated energy corresponding to its elements. The red radiated heat, the blue an icy cold, the green a sweet smell like a meadow of flowers, and the translucent smelled like the raging seas. The yellow clone had no smell, but the sparks running along its fur made its element obvious. "So, this is your solution?"

Kira nodded. "During my evolution, I subconsciously isolated the elements and created incarnations to handle each one. Each one should be equivalent to a Tier 2 mage but extremely weak. To use Stryke's terms, I would consider them 'glass cannons.' They can put out strong power but will crumble under the slightest attacks."

"What happens if they are destroyed? Is that the end?"

Kira shook her head. "No, their source is within me. If they're destroyed, I can create new incarnations. But, I will lose all progress from cultivating the previous."

"Oh, wow," Kashi's eyes widened in surprise. "That's one way to keep that in check; else it would have been like having six demigods running about."

"Still, it can be quite useful," Suzuki suddenly murmured, drawing a strange look in Kira's eyes. "They can be employed like tactical nukes. Raise their strength to a sufficient level, then send them out to cause maximum damage while accounting for their destruction. They're not sentient, are they?"

Kira momentarily paused, her eyes scrutinizing the daeben's appearance, demeanour and gaze. She gained a rough idea of Kashi and Suzuki's situation from her time in their heads. Her eyes narrowed, hints of confusion apparent in her gaze. She could not understand how one 'source' could produce two diametrically opposite personalities. Her many thoughts passed through in the blink of an eye, but she quickly answered, "No, they're not sentient. They're an extension of myself, so they follow my instructions."

"Heh," Kashi revealed a devilish grin while winking at Suzuki. "Gets rid of the moral dilemma, doesn't it?"

Suzuki rolled his eyes but then stopped when a massive shadow blotted out the sun. The daeben looked up, a strange light shining in his eyes as he beheld the mass of dirty gold that swooped down, gently ensuring he avoided knocking over the mud and stone structures around the village. "Lord Skyrm," greeted Suzuki with a polite bow, adopting the proper honorifics.

"Hm." Skyrm's hollow chuckle blew a wad of hot air over the trio. He lowered his massive truck-sized head, making it easier for them to look at him and said, "Razznik didn't call me Lord in years. Do you not suppose it a little late to adopt honorifics now?" Raising a wing, he stated with a deprecating smile, "Especially in my state?"

"Razznik is Razznik. I am myself," Suzuki stubbornly replied. He did not have the familial relationship Razznik shared with Skyrm but held the utmost respect for the Divine Dragon. Not just anyone could find out the truth of their existence, yet still fight against fate, not once, not twice, but three times. The last one even involved gambling his life, but Skyrm did it anyway. "Besides, your state is only temporary. And you are still the strongest being, at least in Destia. You deserve the respect."

Skyrm nodded and then turned to Kashi. The proud dragon's expression immediately crumbled when he saw the draconian's devious smile. Forget reverence; he felt Kashi was about to fleece him of everything he was worth! Lips curled stiffly, he said, "Once again, I must extend my appreciation for saving myself and my daughter and also for raising my grandson. It would appear I owe you a debt most grand."

Kashi waved his hand. "What's debt between family?" He tried to smile, but his draconian teeth made him even scarier, radiating the aura of a greed-infused devil! "More importantly, did you make up your mind? Taking residence in Orez will be good for you. Yggdrasil's branches will speed up your healing. Both you and Zeno will be back in continent-destroying shape in no time. Besides, I don't think there's a level limit in my world. That'll really facilitate your growth."

"Your proposal is akin to bee-protected honey." Skyrm gently smiled. "I can take you up on your offer, but neither myself nor Zeno will take up positions as gods in your world. The gods might appear all-powerful, and they are, but their strength comes with appropriate responsibility that greatly shackles them. There is much they are not allowed to do. I will not have my life be restricted in that manner—not even for the promise of immortality."

Kashi sighed. "I thought as much, but it was worth a shot. Still, I could use your help regardless."

"Why? Your world is still in its natal state. Your gods should still be able to exert direct material influence. Security should not be an issue."

"Yeah, no, it's not that. We want to open several academies in Rosendun, Merriheim, Serisis and Orez." Kashi revealed with a smile. "Local mages will supervise Rosendun and Merriheim, and Lord Nornesh will preside over Serisis. I'd like you to lead the mage headquarters and main repository in Orez."

Skyrm's eyes narrowed. "I sense you want me to be more than a figurehead."

"Who needs a figurehead?" Kashi grinned. "No one knows more comprehensive magic spells than you. Not even Razznik. Any mage academy worth its salt needs a deep repository of magic scrolls and books. We could spend several years finding books to build up the repository slowly, or we could rely on someone who already has most of them memorized.

Skyrm's brows twitched. "You want me to scribe scrolls for you? Me?"

Kashi shamelessly chuckled while spreading his hands. "Don't put it like that. This is good for you. You've spent too long fighting and battling. Why don't you spend a few years writing? It's very therapeutic. You'll cleanse your soul."

Skyrm rolled his eyes. In all his years, he had never met someone so shameless. Razznik was also shameless, but it was a different kind. The Chaos God was the type to ask for the unbelievable with a straight face. On the other hand, Suzuki dared to shift the goalpost and make it seem like he was doing Skyrm a favour. The Divine Dragon was momentarily unsure which version pissed him off more.

Shaking his head, Skyrm said, "With the new laws, Residents will use up scrolls just as fast as Summoned. I cannot possibly produce the number of books needed to support several academies." Skyrm thought he had Suzuki but failed to account for the guild behind him.

Kashi revealed a triumphant grin. "Ah, don't worry about that. I only need you to produce an original copy for each spell. We've been training scribes in our guild to help mass-produce the Runes of Creation and Blacksmith Manual I got from Lord Zeing. It's just a matter of hiring more scribes."

The Scribe's artistry skill was one of the hidden undersong backbones of Destia. Scribes were able to duplicate magic scrolls and books, allowing more people to learn the various spells. However, because the skill had near-zero combat utility, ninety-nine per cent of gamers ignored it. If not for the Runes of Creation and Kashi's unwillingness to turn into a duplicating machine, the Twilight Wolves might have ignored this field. However, the Wolves were uniquely poised to take advantage of a vault of knowledge like Skyrm.

Skyrm nearly pulverized Suzuki with a single slap. Only now did he realize the draconian had been leading him on from the very beginning. He would have easily refused if Kashi led with having the capabilities to duplicate magic books. Instead, the draconian made Skyrm inadvertently offer to support the academy if Kashi could fix the copying issue.

Granted, in a court of law, Skyrm would easily win any dispute about whether he offered or not. But the Divine Dragon was too proud to play such a base trick. He had been well and truly played.

"I yield," Skyrm gracefully but reluctantly admitted. "But, I will not be trapped in your world. I must be free to enter and leave as I wish."

"That can be arranged," stated Kashi with a smile before glancing over at Suzuki.

'This damn bastard.' Suzuki's eye twitched as he took out a canvas and apparated Jingu Brush, finally realizing he, too, had fallen for Kashi's dastardly scheme. The sneaky devil did not choose the draconian form by accident. He wanted to toss all the production jobs onto Suzuki!

Despite his anger, Suzuki was too principled to drop the brush. Like Skyrm, he had already committed to playing the daeben role. He would not give up at the slightest inconvenience. Gritting his teeth, Suzuki's hand blurred as he swiftly painted a particular lush landscape on the canvas. Once finished, he fixed the painting to a frame and then presented it to Skyrm.

"A permanent gateway into Orez," Suzuki stated as the painting flew off his hand to Skyrm's eye. "To leave, just call on Drixali to open a gate. I will create a central hub for travel in and out of Orez soon. Until then, please make do with this."

Skyrm glanced at the painting. "This will have to suffice." With those words, he sucked the painting into his mouth in one deep breath. Where it went afterwards, only he knew.

"Okay!" Kashi excitedly clapped, pleasantly relieved at the successful deal. "Now that that's done, I can finally ask: where are the lovebirds, and what's with the giants?"

Skyrm chuckled. "Zeno and Ludarak are away. They will meet us on Destia soon. As for the giants, that is on you. Many have chosen to begin the long journey back to Destia without a purpose. They are crafting boats to prepare for this journey."

"Boats?" Kashi's eyes shone with a familiar glint that sent shivers up the Divine Dragon's eyes. "Why waste time on such a dated mode of transportation? Have they not heard of Orez Transportation Industries?" The draconian rubbed his palms together as he made his way towards the shore to trick, no help the giants with an alternative offer.