"Hurry up!" Chino shouted as the Eliatropes struggled to climb the hill. The boulder hadn't changed, but the environment had. Instead of holding a boulder on flat ground, they were carrying it up an icy mountain.

Where Asis had found the time to implement it, Nora had no idea. She turned to see Yugo falling inches behind as they continued their trek. She could barely see his tired, beautiful brown eyes. There was something about him that just made her heart flutter. Nora turned to Chino, "Can we take a break, I'm starting to get tired?"

Chino stopped, giving Yugo time to catch up, before turning around. Yugo shook his head to stay awake before flashing her a grateful smile.

Chino growled, "You can rest at the bottom!" He kicked her boulder, knocking Nora off of her footing, causing her and her boulder to fall down, both began to roll down the hill.

Nora couldn't feel much except ice and pain. She continued to roll along side her boulder, trying to stabilize herself. Nora felt the curve suddenly begin to level. Was she already at the bottom? Nora heard a portal sound, indicating that Yugo had come to join her.

Suddenly the ground beneath her disappeared, and Nora made the mistake of looking down. She saw the bright white abyss glaring back at her and she waved her arms trying to save herself. If she could just grab the ledge, Nora would be ok.

She felt a hand wrap around her wrist, and Nora saw Yugo's tired eyes staring back at hers. Nora felt him pull, and then try pulling more, but they were equal in weight, meaning he was doing much. Nora was certainly not confident enough in her portals to save herself. "Yugo, hurry up please." She pleaded, unable to hide the terror in her voice.

Yugo shook his head and pulled again, trying to lift her up. Nora closed her eyes. Yugo wasn't going to get any stronger in the next few minutes, and she knew that. Nora felt Yugo fall forward, only to catch himself.

Nora cried out, "Yugo!"

She looked up to see Yugo starring back at her, his eyes emitting a lblue glow. Yugo's chest also began to glow as he pulled her up. Where he got the strength, she did not know, but he pulled her up over the cliff and set her down before collapsing. The two were panting, side by side, exhausted.

Nora heard snow shuffling, and she turned to see a second boulder go rolling down the hill. Nora spoke up, "Hey…Sorry about falling, and your boulder."

She couldn't hear a response. Nora raised herself up slowly to find the Yugo had fallen asleep. She starred at his face. According to Asis, they had history as friends, allies, enemies…. Lovers. Their incarnations had all had different experiences based on the times and states of the Eliatrope people.

Nora smiled at him. There was nothing truly wrong with Yugo. He was nice, caring, and a good teacher. Maybe Nora's competitiveness got the better of her. Nora would have to work on that.

She watched Yugo's chest rise and fall, sleeping so soundly. Nora rose, only to feel Yugo's hands wrap around her arm, "Ad, I'm sorry. Come on bro, dad misses you."

Nora felt a wave of sadness overtake her. She didn't know much about Adamai, but Nora could tell that the subject was crippling to Yugo. She saw guilt, pain, regret, anger and so many more complex emotions flow from Yugo's eyes when he heard Adamai's name. She was curious, but didn't want Yugo to hurt anymore.

"Well, someone is a quick learner." Chino growled, snapping Nora out of her thoughts.

"You could have killed us!" Nora shouted at the Dragon-man.

"That would have been a mercy far too great for my personality." Chino snorted, "But even I did, my lord could have simply brought you back to life."

Nora was going to pretend that he didn't sound absolutely crazy. Maybe he's not She thought. A few months ago, the gods were the pinnacle of power. Now she found that they were afraid of Asis, who denied being a god, and also state that he took orders.

She had gone from believing the Krozmos was endless, only to find out that there were multiple Krozmos across 'multiverses'.

"What do you mean, 'quick learner'?" Nora asked.

Chino snorted a puff of flame from his nostrils, "The boy accessed the Eliatropes' ultimate form. Just for a moment, but he still accessed it."

Nora glared at the dragon-man, "He has a name."

Chino laughed, "And I could care less about it. You two are wastes of time and space, and if my lord didn't control those resources, he probably would have done away with you. Heck, an ancient code is the only thing that keeps him from stopping your little world's conflicts instantly."

Nora stopped and blinked, "Ancient code? You mean he could solve our problems without our help? Why doesn't he?"

This was all a waste of time. These fights and drills were pointless. Asis could end these problems without ever needing Nora or Yugo.

"The ancient code: divine beings are only allowed so much intervention. Asis, who has the power to destroys gods, is not permitted to intervene between the conflicts of men, unless ordered to or called upon. Only someone who attempts to break the barrier between the gods and mortals is allowed to feel my lord's wrath." Chino clarified.

Yugo began to stir, "Uh, no more."

Nora looked down at him swiftly, "Are you ok, how are you feeling?"

Yugo groaned, "I'm alright, I'm ok."

Nora nodded, "Seems like it."

Chino groaned, "If you two are done lazing about, your boulders are at the bottom of the hill. Get them back up so we can begin training."

Yugo began to force himself up. Nora walked over and stretched out her hand. It was the least she could do. They'd have to be nice to each other to survive this hell.

/*-*/

Asis made a note of what he had just read. The demon gods of this world, being born without purpose, and thus rebelling against the gods. They have exerted a lot of influence, threating the lives of the mortals whom the gods were supposed to protect.

Asis continued writing. The gods of this world were indeed incompetent and weak. Their powers seemed on par with that of a deity, not a god. They failed to even stop Ogrest, a beautiful creature made by mortals.

Asis thought for a moment. Perhaps he should pay the child a visit, and understand the little creature's emotions. He stopped, being jarred by the word: child.

Where was Chino and the children? They should have been back by now. Asis groaned before blinking to Chino's mountain top. No sign of the Eliatropes. Asis really hoped Chino didn't kill them, otherwise Venix would have a third body to carry.

Asis scanned the area for energy. They were halfway up. He blinked to them, "Chino, I see you get live for another week."

Chino whipped around, his tail falling in submission and fear, "M-My lord, why are you here?"

Asis glared down at the Dragonid, "Why weren't you at my palace?"

Chino's eyes widened, "F-Forgive me my lord, I did not mean to provoke your ire. Time just sort of… flew by."

The two eliatropes seemed confused.

Asis cocked his head to the side, "Are you trying to tell me how to measure time?"

Chino shook his head and shrunk down even further, "No, my lord, I was-"

Asis couldn't hold it back, he let out a roar of laughter, "You can't tell I am messing with you? Come now, I will take the children, get yourself something nice to eat."

Yugo grumbled, "I'm not a child."

Nora nodded in agreement.

Asis just snorted, "You're children by your race's standards. Now come along."

The two grumbled as Asis grabbed their shoulders and blinked into a dinning room with a long table, with ten seats on each side.

On the table was a large bird, likely a Drago-Turkey, and several sides ranging from pudding to salad.

The two Eliatropes had awed expressions, most likely because this probably looked several times better than what Chino had them eat.

Yugo and Nora both ran to the table and began reaching for plates when Asis spoke up, amused at the sight before his eyes, "Well, I see you have adopted Chino's manners."

The two froze. Asis let out a laugh, "Go on, I'm messing with you."

Nora and Yugo began to dig in, tearing meats and breads off of the table top, devouring the food like a heard of boars.

Asis laughed before scooping himself up some pudding. The two made it difficult to get anything without getting a finger cut off. "You did eat with Chino, right?"

Yugo stopped, "MMPH."

Asis sighed, "Swallow first."

Yugo gulped down his mouthful before saying, "We got rabbits we caught."

Asis groaned, "Goodness, your bodies must be starving for fat. Eat some pudding and butter."

Yugo looked down at his plate before scooping some butter onto his potatoes. Nora asked, "Who made this delicious food." Before stuffing her face with a spoonful of stuffing.

Asis smiled with pride, "I did."

Nora blinked with Yugo. Why was it so hard to understand?

Nora asked, "How do you know and do so much."

Asis shrugged, "I learned it."

Nora blinked, "Why, are you like the god of polymaths?"

Asis shook his head, "I am not a god, at least not fully. I learn a new skill every so often, once I master an old one."

Yugo coughed on his potatoes. Asis opened a portal and slapped his back. Yugo spat out the food and looked at Asis, "You must never get bored."

Asis laughed, "I learn the skills because I get bored. Fighting gods and deities isn't much fun once you know their weaknesses."

Nora blinked, "There you go again. Why do you say gods and deities? Is there a difference?"

Asis nodded, "I will explain it after lunch."

/*-*/

Asis led the Eliatropes down the hallway to a room with a forge and anvil, "So, to begin, you have the mortal world. This consists of all the races that have no divine energy in them at all. Your Iops, Cra, Feca, etcetera. "

Yugo nodded. Asis continued, "Above the mortal world is the Divine realms. Deities are the lowest class in the caste, being mortals with divine powers. They tend to be smaller scale, like local tribes or clans, and require a physical manifestation to exist. These tend to be warrior-kings, great generals, brilliant administrators, you get the idea."

Nora nodded, "Is that what we are?"

Asis snorted, "No, you don't have a cult following…I think."

Yugo nodded, "Is Dally a diety?"

Asis thought for a moment, "I suppose he could be demoted, as he resides on the mortal realm, and that would make Iop a deity. Next on our list is the Hermetes, or messengers. These guys don't really get a lot of attention, and that's because they are basically a mouth piece for gods to communicate with other divine beings. Above the Hermetes are the gods, they tend to be large scale, with impressive power and undeniable existence. These beings don't require physical form, and hold influence over the very fabric of reality. Fire only exists because the fire god exists."

Yugo blinked, "So, if the gods stopped existing-"

"Reality would cease to exist." Asis finished, "Although there are ways to prevent a bland world without anything cool."

Nora was quiet.

Asis coughed, "Right, now for the Angels. They are messengers for the One Who Commands All. They answer only to it, and deliver only the most important messages."

Yugo spoke with immense confusion, "The One Who Commands All?"

Asis nodded, "It has many names and titles, It is without limit to power or knowledge. Everything answers to it in the end. Unfortunately, that much power causes it to not intervene in many conflicts, even concerning gods. "

The two were silent, and they both noticed the brightness of the fire when Asis mentioned 'it'.

Yugo finally asked, "is The One Who Commands All a cool dude."

Asis shook his head, "The One Who Resides Over Everything is above gender itself. But for the sake of simplicity, yes, He is a very 'cool dude'."

Yugo groaned, "My head hurts."

Nora asked, "Where do you fit in the caste."

Asis blinked with regret, "I don't…fit anywhere in there. I am not exactly supposed to exist like this."

Nora starred at Asis.

Asis nodded and continued, "Ok, so I am what is called an Alatreon. Alatreons tend to be more of an act of nature than an act of divine will. We destroy gods."

Nora shrunk down.

Asis sighed, "We aren't created so much as promoted. A mortal kills a god and devours their energy and they are an Alatreon. I suppose while I am sharing secrets, I am also your ancestor."

Yugo and Nora were shook out of their fear, "WHAT!"

Asis shook his head, "More like a great-Grandfather than a dad. You see, when my create was conceive, I was the first dragon. That Idea was scrapped for some reason, but you can't just dismiss a powerful create, and so the Alatreon was born. I was made into divine form as a god, before turning into a mortal to defeat a deity. I absorbed the dragon, and now all three aspects are one. Now do you a magic knife or hammer?" Asis opened a cupboard to reveal an assortment of weapons.

The kids blinked.

Asis groaned, "Look, forget I told you. I don't have a connection to you, I simply need champions to fix this world the gods screwed up."

Yugo thought of everything he just said. He had found a family member, after all these years.

Asis snapped his fingers, "A magic weapon?"

Yugo shook himself, "Uh, what."

Asis nodded, "I see, watch." Asis pulled out a knife and threw it at a target that was at the end of the room. The knife hit the bull's eye…before falling through it like nothing was there. Beneath the bull's eye was a cut that shimmered into the knife.

Asis smiled, "An illusion knife. It creates a duplicate to throw an enemy's dodge while the real one will land a messy blow. Won't help you against a faceless, but it has its uses."

Yugo shook his head, "Why won't it help?"

Asis cocked his head, "Faceless are blind. They don't even have eyes. They see through energy, if that makes sense."

Yugo started, "Like Wakfu currents."

Asis groaned, "I told you, I am not calling it that. I will call it energy. Now let's test you fighting skills."

Asis led Nora and Yugo to the main hall where they had trained against Carl. He stood at the center of the room with Nora to Yugo's right, "If you can pierce my radiating power, you will be ready to fight the faceless."

Yugo and Nora looked at each other, before looking back at Asis.

Asis licked his lips, "Right, I won't counter attack. Not unless you actually puncture it. You may begin."

Yugo and Nora turned to each other, before returning to Asis before Yugo asked, "Now?"

Asis groaned, "No, in an hou- Of course now!"

Yugo and Nora jumped through portals. Nora appeared behind Asis's left shoulder and Yugo appeared beneath Asis, Yugo throwing a jab and Nora throwing a punch. The two fists clashed with a purple fire, before bouncing off. Asis snorted, "Are you even trying?"

The two leapt through portals again, this time taking the other's portal to attack.

Asis groaned, "It's an aura, it just exists. It doesn't get surprised, so just hit me as hard as you can.

The two let out a loud howl before charging again, and repeating their first attacks. Yugobounced back and flinched, gripping his wrist.

Nora ran to his side, "Are you good?"

Yugo nodded, "Yep I'm- ow!" Yugo shouted as Nora wiggled his hand.

Asis walked over and placed a finger on Yugo's wrist, checking to confirm his suspicions. Yep.

Asis spoke, "You've dislocated your wrist, give me a second."

"A second for- YAH!" Yugo shouted as Asis pulled his hand, before jamming it back into his fore arm. Yugo wiggled his hand. It was sensitive, but not broken.

Asis sighed, "Take a day or two to recover." Asis tensed up, before opening his hand and manifesting a hilt made of energy, which gave rise to a burning blade. Someone was intruding!

Asis glared at the doorway, ignoring the shocked Eliatropes. Golden horns where the first thing he noticed, before the spear, then the brown hair and the darker skin.

"What do you want?" Asis growled.

The goddess held her hands up defensively, "I came with a request."

Asis paused before asking, "And?"

The goddess spoke carefully, as to not provoke him, "This doesn't require immediate attention, but there is a conflict that is surely brewing over a piece of territory between two major kindoms. I would like for you to try and prevent a war."

Asis groaned, "I'm under even more restrictive rules than you, why would I take care of your problem."

The goddess shook her head, "I can't be impartial, I need someone with absolutely nothing to gain from a particular side controlling the islands."

Asis remained silent, breathing heavily out of his nose.

The goddess continued, "It would save a lot of lives."

Asis looked at her, "And you want impartiality?"

She shook her head, "I want the conflict to be resolved, and I will take any burden that comes from that. But I do want a side to win."

Asis nodded, "Okay, if it comes to blows, I will help. BUT YOU OWE ME!"

The goddess nodded, before vanishing in a golden light, leaving two stunned Eliatropes.

Asis groaned, before turning to them, slightly confused as to why they were so surprised, "What, it's just Feca. Every once in a while, a god or goddess needs my help. I tend to only intervene if necessary, but such times do come up."

The two Eliatropes blinked, as though they were finally getting used to how things were going.

/*-*/

Nora walked over to a sad Yugo. He seemed lonely. Nora finally asked, "So, uh, where's your dragon brother?"

Yugo slumped down even more depressed. Nora felt like she just touched the worst possible button. "Sorry."

Yugo shook his head, "No, I guess I should tell you."

Efrim came down from the rafters, as though to listen in.

Yugo started with a deep, sad breath, "A friend of mine was going to get married. Turns out, he had two of our Eliatrope Dofus, and wanted me to lift an island off the sea. Adamai and I split up, and we went with our own groups to find the Dofus and keep them safe." Yugo had a small smile at the hopefulness he seemed to hold onto. Then it changed to sad frown.

"Then bad things happened, and got worse, and worse. I accused my brother of being a shapeshifter, and hurt him to get the last Dofus. He told me to choose between my friend and him. I chose Dally."

"Why did you need the Dofus?" Nora asked, warily.

Yugo closed his eyes, "I was going to fight Ogrest to save my friend. I needed all six of them."

Nora punched Yugo's arm, "That's for using my Dofus without permission."

Yugo rubbed his arm, flinching, "Ah, I need them, or else my friend was going to die."

Nora shook her head, "And what were you going to do? Jab Ogrest to death?"

Yugo looked her in the eyes, "Jab?"

"Yeah, those aren't punches. Those are jabs." Nora said, thrusting a fist forward in the air, "Stand up."

Yugo did so, and Efrim watched closely. Nora traced his frame with her finger tips, before grabbing his elbow and holding it strait. She stood behind him, and knee'd the back of Yugo's leg to get him into the proper stance.

"What are you doing?" Yugo asked, nervously as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

Nora took his hand, and pushed it forward, twisting it as he pushed, "That's a punch you get a lot more power with the twist."

Yugo turned to face her, "Really?"

Nora nodded, "Now we're square."

Efrim spoke up, "Why did you accuse your dragon brother of being a shapeshifter?"

Yugo looked down, and Nora angrily looked at her brother. Yugo sighed, "One of the guy who was supposed to go with him, we found him frozen in the ice, so there must have been a shapeshifter."

Efrim snorted, "Then there is nothing to worry about. Adamai will surely come back and realize the misunderstanding. He is a great dragon after all."

Nora nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure he will forgive you at some point, just don't give up on him."

Yugo smiled sadly, but confidently.

Nora smiled back, "Now let's get you punching."

/*-*/

Asis was disturbed by what he was looking at. Creatures that had no recorded origin. They were in red letters; someone had tampered with the timeline. But worst of all, they had tampered with it so much that the future was tied to the fool's intrusion.

Asis couldn't just go back and kill the person or the creatures, because the future would change. Asis wasn't sure what was going to come of this, but he had a feeling that it would mean more strife for his champions.