· · · · · · ·

In the way one never knows how a dream begins, Xelloss found himself seated at a massive triangular table and a cup of tea at his lips. He took a sip and looked around.

The table stood central to a bright castle hall, a chandelier with hundreds of (temptingly smashable) gaslight lamps right above them; their golden light dominant over the sunlight from the windows. Weird statues and ornaments stuck from the wall, typical to Lina's bizarre tastes, but a little more subdued than once.

The other people were either confused or debating the atrocities of this delightfully awful architecture. Some realized the excellent food before them and ate, or already had been in the moment that hadn't been there yet.

Central to each side of the table was a chair a little more ornate than the others, one right at his side, occupied by his lord.

Another was empty but had Filia, Jillas, Milgazia, Memphis and Orun at it, along with a few empty chairs that had food before them. Something scurried below that table.

The third throne belonged to Lina Inverse, who scarfed down a turkey leg. Surrounding her were Amelia, Zelgadis and a number of other friends. This was by far the most crowded side, yet even this one had empty chairs.

The lot chatted and ate, not quite aware yet they lived again and were ... peculiar. Xelloss couldn't pin point it, but their astral forms were off. Not in a way he could hope to describe.

Filia looked at the most like before; this blend of sanctity and absurdity in the edges. Something in the image of a chimera without being one. She looked around too, now, eyes first lingering on the empty chair, then to him. He had no answer. Something bothered her, but she said nothing.

Gourry was the first to ask, "Hey, how'd we get here?"

Sentences hung in the air as the others fully realized themselves.

Lina froze for a second, then swallowed. A huge grin appeared. Balling a fist up, she sat back as victor on her throne. "Yes! It worked!"

"I take it that's a good thing, but what exactly did work?" Zelgadis asked. "And ... "

He looked at his hands like he hadn't seen them in years ... which was a literal truth, since they were just human hands. Whatever joy he felt about this mingled with confusion, since Amelia at his side was still a chimera.

Pokota hadn't had a human body in years and now had some issues controlling his body. Sometimes his ears turned into arms on reflex. Hilarious, but also not something that would happen if he'd just been returned to human form.

Xelloss's first guess was that they'd wished for this, but no, the Lord of Nightmares wasn't so contrary she'd cherry pick wishes. It was probably related to the strange behavior of their astral sides ... ah, yes, they were bigger than normal. And maybe, they had traits of chimeras, except without the edging on the astral plane where the soul was smaller than the entire creature.

Most of them still lacked a distinct form, like newly crafted devils that had to settle on an identity yet. Except Gourry, who was rapidly settling into a giant pudding?

Zelas drew in a deep wisp of her cigarette and purred, utterly content. "Can you tell yet, Xelloss?"

He was about to comment on the astral state of things, but then he understood : his lord felt well, yet this did not smell like poison.

Taking a careful sip of his surrounding, he confirmed it. In this new world, they could eat all emotions.

Just ... oh chaos and order. The possibilities.

The arbitrary segregation of emotions across positive and negative had never made much sense anyway. Emotions were too wide and diverse, and now they had all this diversity to thrive on. This was more amazing than he had hoped. All his former scheming and pranking had been influenced by his need to feed on negativity, but now he could be whatever he wanted. Nobody would ever be certain again what his goal was, it could be a scheme for his lord, it could just be for fun, it could be because he cared for something minute.

"Why can I see the astral plane without casting a spell for it?" Memphis asked.

"That's what the weird colors are?" Pokota asked.

"I'm not getting colors, I'm getting shapes," Zelgadis said. "What's going on here?"

"Not much, the Lord of Nightmares just pushed through a few changes," Lina said between munching on a roast that looked like her drawings. "There's perks to having the Apostle of Chaos for a friend, you know."

"Any other perks we should known about?" Zelgadis asked, ever ill at ease with others tampering with his form.

"Eh, the world was saved?" Lina said, gesturing all around her. "Nobody gonna eat this?"

"How did we get here?" Pokota asked. "I don't remember how ..."

"What, did you expect a big bang or a flash? It's the Lord of Nightmares. If she can make the transition seamless, she will," Naga said. "And you are not getting all the food, Lina!"

This prompted a low key struggle for the chicken plate, which Gourry mingled into by eating it. The rest of the table was less keen on eating, for different reasons. Confusion was a large one, curiosity and uncertainty the others.

"Can we still use our powers?" Memphis asked. "I don't feel like I did before."

"It's just that you're partially existing on the astral plane," Filia said with some tension. "It's normal for chimeras to feel that way."

"We're chimeras?" Sylphiel asked.

"Not quite. We are something new that functions similar to a blend of the two plane lifeforms. I think we all have the same powers as before, but there will be new ways to use them."She twirled a simple lightning ball into her hands, not using a spell. "Try it without words."

Sylphiel got up here and walked over to Memphis, sitting in one of the empty chairs while Filia gave an impromptu lesson on wordless magic. Xelloss wanted to join in to spice that up, but caution kept him in place. Zelas was too unsure of things yet.

Amelia's excitement was on a steady rise, while that of Zelgadis went to opposite way.

"So what about them?" he asked in Lina's direction, jerking his head at the devils.

"She's still got all that power from those two crab things," Gourry said. "Xelloss has one too, except with lots of small parts."

Most of the table froze, which Zelas answered with a radiant smirk. "Indeed, I too received a little of what I desired."

"Please tell me one of us has the power to deal with them?" Zelgadis asked.

More than a few cast a look at the empty throne between Filia and Orun, but that side of the table did not look particularly distressed. Filia was pointedly pretending to not know him right now.

"Do not worry," Orun said. "If they would pursue world domination, we will be ready."

"Not an if," Lina said. "They didn't go through this whole plot just to go on vacation."

"Actually, vacation sounds excellent," Zelas said. "I have always been curious at the concept of taking time off. That said, once I return you need not fear much. I am not the lord of deception for nothing. Gaav is the lover of war, I am more interested in an ... ah, a social approach. I shall not ignite war, commit genocide or start any torture dungeons. There is no more need for such crude methods."

"Great to know," Zelgadis said. "There's a dozen of ways you could wreak havoc otherwise."

"Oh, it'll work out. They like us," Gourry said happily. "Well, most of us."

Zelas raised a brow. "You are hardly in a position to judge that, but I will concede that we bear you no ill will. So far, and with the knowledge I have right now. I do not know what I am expected to do in this world yet, however. If the lady Lina would care to enlighten what exactly she affected?"

"Not telling you," Lina said. "But I'm pissed as hell that Luna made me do it."

"I see. So, you will not tell me the price either?"

When the table fell silent and all gave Lina an expectant look, Zelas continued. "There is a balance to how the Lord of Nightmares operates, even if she may have whims. There was a price, or was there not, lady Lina?"

"So what if there was? It's none of your business, Zelas," Lina bit. "Both your and my asshole sister had choices that you failed. One wrong turn after another. Be grateful what you ended up with and leave the chaos apostle stuff to me."

"What do you mean, it's your business? You can't just go change people's bodies and minds like this," Zelgadis said.

"Chill, Zel. I didn't. Lucifer calls the rules, all I tried to get is you all back in the best possible way. If this is what she decided, there's nothing I can do about it," Lina bristled.

Amelia tugged Zelgadis's arm. "Come on, sit down. I bet we'll have a great time. Miss Lina, we didn't lose anything, right?"

"Nah. I did a lot of whining to ensure we all got the same mind and the bodies we wanted, no catches, no loss of powers, no loss of lifespan or anything else. You can probably learn to control your body like Claire did anyway." She pinched her teeth with a little bone. "In fact, I still get to enjoy food even though we've got a spare food source."

Xelloss didn't like the way miss Lina talked about their creator at all, but since her astral form glowing in eternal gold, he didn't have a right to voice this to her. So all he asked was, "Spare source?"

Lina sat up, shifting to serious business mode.

"Okay, here's the deal. Everyone at my side of the table has become a deity that exists on both planes. There were a bunch of people wishing for a new world order, and that's what we've got now. We can feed on the emotions of living beings, but also ordinary food. There's a lot I don't know and a lot we need to learn, but we're alive. Oh, and we're not gonna die of old age. I'm not sure we can die, actually."

The moods that sank and rose around the table followed a pattern in accordance to who would lose family to the afterlife. Xelloss was less concerned with the particulars than the fact he could tell far better where exactly emotions came from.

He didn't quite see it coming that Naga of all people jumped up.

"What?" she nearly shrieked.

"You can just go visit hell on your own accord," Zelas said, bored more than anything. "Lady Lina, this begins to sound like a new magical order. Will spells work the same way? What happened to the gods? What are our roles in this world?"

Lina shrugged. "We'll figure it out as we go along, and sit down, Naga. I didn't forget."

Naga scowled, but did sit down and grabbed some of Gourry's food.

Zelas was less content with the answer. "Our former game is destruction versus creation. Which is our new?"

"You and Luna will tell me, I'm sure," Lina said. She didn't look at Zelas anymore and pulled a fried pork plate to herself. As far as she was concerned, the conversation was over.

"What's the problem with not dying?" Milgazia asked. Xelloss had almost forgotten he was there, but his painful monotone cut through the flow. That effect hadn't lost its power at all, making Xelloss doubt how awesome the new world order was.

"There's a lot of us who have family they'd hoped to meet again," Sylphiel whispered. "We thought we'd join them some day."

"Nothing was taken from you," Zelas said, an impatient growl to her voice. "Unless the lady has closed Megiddo or destroyed hell, you can just visit."

"Nothing was taken except death," Zelgadis said. "Beneficial or not, these changes were done without our consent and it'll turn our lives upside down. If one dies right, you can have a few centuries of afterlife in a world shaped by one's needs, loved ones and dreams. Guaranteed. Figure out how to settle into your and you've got eternity. If I get this right, we're going to be bound to work for way longer."

Zelas flicked her cigarette over her shoulder. "Indeed, eternity. In hell, you'd have had only a limited freedom, there would always be the risk you errode away. Please, do spare us angst over the blessing of immortality."

"She's right, Zelgadis," Amelia beamed, even though she had a sad undercurrent too. "This means we can work justice on a level never seen before!"

"In hell," Orun said. "I'm ... I think I'm getting something from Valwin. E says the world is very empty."

The entire table looked at Lina again.

"We got back everyone who died due to falling into the Sea of Chaos," Lina said. "But a lot of people died because the planet's instability while chaos ate it. They're all in hell now. Don't worry about it, I plan to experiment a little with hell trees. We'll get the world repopulated within no time."

Zel threw up his hands. "Sure, let's repopulate the world just like that."

"Oh come on, Zel, it'll be fun," Gourry said. "And it's gonna help Lina get rid of the Enemy Of All Who Live nickname, right Lina?"

"What did you call me?" Lina snapped, but her words were lost under the flare of Amelia's sparkly power. Xelloss could have sworn he saw blue cherubs flash by.

"Mister Gourry's right! We should see this from the bright side and put the world back together better!" And there was the foot on the table and the skyward finger of righteousness.

"I will be the god of Justice!" She then grabbed Zelgadis' arm. "And Zelgadis will be the god of Knowledge! After all, no one's read as much books as he has! Together, we will be the gods of wisdom!"

New world order or not, Amelia's justice was just as nauseating and syrupy as ever. Nobody shared the mood, not even the most optimistic.

Memphis looked like she might boast, but Sylphiel's whisper on how they'd have to train their powers got her in her tracks. Milgazia had some sort of horrifying realization to their left, while Jillas tried to regrow his one lost eye and got five.

Amelia thundered over the lesser discomfort, pointing at Lina next.

"Miss Lina will be the god of Adventure and mister Gourry the god of Protection and my sister can be uhm ... Style?"

"Hey, you don't get to decide that!" Lina snapped.

"But miss Lina, it fits so well!"

Naga stood up and posed to match her sister. "I say my little sister has everything down perfectly."

"I feel we should have a god of food, with the way you all consume stuff," Memphis said. "Even in this state."

"You want to be food god, miss Memphis?" Amelia asked.

"NO!" both Sylphiel and Lina cried.

"Look, everyone gets domain of some sort of food, okay?" Lina said. "Me and Gourry will govern the roast and fatty stuff, you can do the brewy seafood things and they —" she pointed as Filia and Xelloss, " ... can do the frilly stuff like tea and cookies. Memphis can govern cabbages."

"Hey, I like more than just cabbages!"

"What would her true domain be, though?" Amelia wondered. "I'm afraid I don't know you well, miss Memphis."

"Oh, I'll let you know once I and Sylphy have decided. Definitely not something as silly as cabbages. Why that when there are forests in the world?"

Amelia turned to Pokota. "The god of inventions!"

"As you say, Amelia!" he said, happy to grin with a human mouth and turn human thumbs up.

Zelgadis pointed at Xelloss. "The useless trickster god."

"Okay," Xelloss said happily.

"You gotta be kidding me," Zelgadis said, prickled more than anyone. "Oh great, we're a pantheon now. We just got the job to order the world just like this. No way to opt out?"

"Nobody said we have to do it. But I bet we'll do it on our own anyway," Naga said. "We've been doing it since a long time."

Naga had a point, but for Zelgadis it was really about being given full understanding of a choice to be taken. He'd had no choice, so even if he was happy with his new human body, the anger meant more. For now.

While Zelgadis got in a debate with Lina on the ethics of just rewriting people's bodies, Xelloss savored the emotions in the air around them. Irritation and frustration were filling on reflex, but he wasn't so sure anymore that was all to it. He kind of craved a distraction in debating this with Filia, but she was still busy with her boring cohorts.

Zelas watched it all with a bemused look on her faces. After a while, she stood and and walked out on the balcony, signing Xelloss to follow. She closed the door behind them.

Outside, the castle looked more reasonable than inside, albeit only by contrast. It was through and through a fairy tale fantasy castle, with spires and towers in places where they made no sense. They couldn't see through these walls, but otherwise the astral plane was actually more clear than they'd ever seen it.

Even without projecting eyes, he could see the people on the beach. There were no dragons, but a few very confused Sailoon soldiers wandered around.

Xelloss knew they were confused because he could taste their emotions, despite them being well over two hundred meters away.

"We're going to have a lot of fun with this new set up," Xelloss said. "I dare say, we're a little flow compatible now."

"Yes, imagine that." Zelas chuckled. "It may suppose it has to do with our souls solidifying. Just now, I attempted to split off a tiny segment of my power to create a new lesser demon. I cannot do it anymore."

"That's a useful or bad thing?"

"It could be either. What happens when you split off one of your smaller pieces?"

Xelloss made one split off and wander away, and another to the other side without projecting into the physical world. The moment they were detached, he got triple vision. When he called them back, they blended seamlessly back into him.

"They work like drones connected to me, they have no mind of their own," Xelloss said. "Though, I think they have experience of their own."

"I am certain you will experiment in due time," Zelas said. She pulled in a long breath from her cigarette. "Before that, we have to understand our position in this new world, especially our adversaries."

"You'd like to know where miss Luna is in this whole set up?"

"Indeed. I have the equivalent to two pieces of Shabranigdu, along with my own power. You have one. Between us, we do not have enough to stand up to Luna, should she still be the Phied we saw her as a mere half hour ago."

"I see. What about Lina? ... would you ... expect to clash with her?"

"That depends in what capacity she ends up acting. She is still the Apostle, but she is also the leader of one of three factions in this new world. I shall see when the time comes," she said at ease. "After all, we no longer have to fear discovery, play convoluted schemes to survive or manipulate creatures stronger than us. We may take things as they come."

He couldn't get himself to ask her yet. Did you defy the Lord of Nightmares? Would it not matter if Lina was the vessel of Lucifer, when Zelas really wanted something else?

"What are you dissatisfied about?" she asked.

It was no command to answer, just a casual question.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I suppose I'll need some time to make sense of things. What are your plans now?"

"I will take some time to settle into my new power, then gather our tribe and return to Wolfpack Island, if it still exists. From there on, I want to expand across the globe. There are many an idea I've had for this world that I've never been able to tell you about, but now I can. I am sure you shall find them entertaining, but it will have to wait until later, when we are in our own halls."

Xelloss became aware of a distance between them that he'd never understood before. He couldn't quite put it to words, only that something wasn't right. Maybe, maybe it was a little warning that this could go wrong. It'd gone wrong in the very recent past, with others.

"I would command you to tell me what is bothering you, but you do not know yourself, do you? Hmm. Maybe it is that I have made you for a world of subfertuge, and now you have no guidance anymore? Do not worry, I will find you an application."

"I'd appreciate that," he said. Even if that would just distract him.

A violent scream tore apart their quiet.

"I finally get my castle, and there's no servants!" Lina hollered inside, loud enough to pass closed doors.

"Well, that would be too easy, would it not? Our mother would not create a boring world," Zelas drawled as she leaned back in.

"I knowwwww," Lina whined. In one fluid motion, she jumped out of the chair and landed at the main exit door. Gourry and Naga were on her heel. "Let's go find the rest of the food on our own."

Just before Lina marched off, she looked over her shoulder at Zelas. "You owe me, got it?"

"I understand," Zelas said.

"Good. Now get off my island."

She didn't wait to see whether Zelas did, but Xelloss suspected she had a way to know. At least here. The entire place brimmed with her chaotic magic.

The rest of the residents took that as a cue to either go home, figure out how magic worked or explore the castle. The latter tempted Xelloss, but alas, there were more pressing matters, like securing their new power structure.

The room emptied itself after all the food was gone, save for Filia and Jillas.

Zelas shifted behind her chair, leaning on its back and looked down.

"Am I right to assume you won't indulge us with explaining the absence of miss Luna?"

"I will not indulge at all, oh great Beastmaster Zelas Metaliom, or should I call you Tamarillo Furwy Zelasigdu now?" Filia said with a heap of false politeness.

"I choose my own name," Zelas sneered. "Xelloss, you will introduce me to others as Blood Beast Zelasigdu."

"Mister Jillas, we just found the name for Zelas when we're angry at her," Filia said.

"Tamarillo Furly. Got it."

"Why did you have to take a liking to this dragon, Xelloss?" Zelas asked, once again. "She is an atrocity of manners."

Filia brightly said, "Oh, but it fits so well with how they christened our new Phied as Espresso Boneball Lunaphied."

Xelloss just raised an eyebrow. "Am I missing something?"

Filia smiled wider and Zelas sighed. "I can sense the other Igdus, and I may presume she is aware somehow of the Phieds. Is it miss Luna telling you this, miss Filia?"

Filia turned away, drinking her tea. Yes.

Luna was still the Phied, and Filia remained in contact with her. As insulting as the name was, it also meant that the other Igdus recognized Zelas as the top devil.

Filia stood up. "Come on, mister Jillas. Until I learn to scry on my own, we'll rely on your nose. Let's go find mister Gravos. In fact, let's turn it into a scrying lesson for me. I guess and you tell me whether I'm right or wrong."

"I'd love to," Jillas said. "Can I give hints?"

"No, I'm sure I don't need them. Our side of the table's best at the natural aspects of the world, you see. The flow is practically ours."

Oh yes, rub it into their faces what they couldn't do. Filia had some nerve doing that right at Zelas.

Not that Xelloss expected any less of her, but he didn't expect more either. When it came to distances, the one between him and Filia was even greater. Despite everything.

Filia marched off to busy herself, and he was ready to follow along when he caught a whiff of a peculiar emotion. Shame, and fear, in this hall. He looked around on both planes.

With all the clutter out, he saw a shape in a far corner under a table, but nothing he recognized astrally. Something holy he'd have to see the physical way.

With his staff, he lifted the cloth and found a quivering child.

Oh, right. Technically, reborn Val had travelled alongside Lina from the final battle to the seaside town where they'd left Filia.

· · · · · · ·

There was so, so much to do. Forge a new magic system, a world ... Amelia was right, they could do better now. They had a chance at last. They could do better than just leaving things as it was.

Knowing this, Filia threw herself at things to do, only to find nothing in need of her.

Lina was tinkering with helping Pokota remanifest a physical body, nervous system and all.

Amelia gathered her people and explained to her best efforts what had happened. They were eager to return home, but it appeared the machine on the shore was gone. It left them stranded until due notice. Amelia had yet to break the news Sailoon might be mostly empty.

Memphis found her Zenaffa armor ... independent and as an animal. It didn't particularly dislike her, but had no interest in remaining in her service.

Milina arrived on her own accord, or perhaps return after having skipped Lina's feast. Still an angel, she spoke for Rangort, who was very curious what had happened. Luke existed in hell ... with all of the power of Shabranigdu at his disposal. Interesting, but that was for later.

At last Filia took to instructing Orun, Milgazia and Memphis on teleportation. Just being familiar with the flow gave them a foundation and a jump start, not skill per say.

And she had to figure out how to teach them without them figuring out Luna's little secret; her getaway. Especially since Zelas still hovered hoping for a clue.

So she brought them to Ragrairyos, who assured them that yes, they could teach, but do go solve this new problem first. Promptly they got sent off to some random, empty ruined city.

There was Martina, Zoamelgustar and Zangulus. The two humans had joined the pantheon and gotten a little carried away with their new potential, prompting Zoamelgustar to contact Ragrairyos about their trouble oh, that whole thing of existing since now.

Filia paused, a little bitter that an actual figment of imagination had come to life, and not ... her family was not complete. But hey, Zoamelgustar was having an existential crisis, coming into being fully minded yet with no history, she couldn't leave the poor fellow hanging.

While she worked to get those three to, uh, settle and not destroy things with wanton power bursts, she touched up with the other gods, and sent Orun home.

Valwin lingered in his tower of wind, as usual, told Orun not to nag him too much but he'd listen more now, and sent her off.

Vrabazard was missing. Unlike the absence of Luna and Leyunso, this prompted surprise from Lina. However, she still shrugged it off and went on counting the absurd amounts of gold in her dungeons. Filia actually saw her do so from a distance, as long as the connection was open; Lina had a crystal ball for that for tacky reasons. Gourry figured out flight and knocked it to pieces, and that was that.

Martina had figured it out too and Filia learned she could still receive prophecies : Martina was never going to drop lording it over Lina that she figured it out first.

Amelia got the hang of changing into a human form pretty easily, but Zelgadis didn't manage to transform at all. He didn't really want to on such a deep level, he absolutely couldn't. There was probably a subconscious reason.

Gravos was on the island, wandering around confused. Unlike Jillas, he had not transformed. Tallying it up, the pattern appeared to be that everyone Lina had travelled with had joined the pantheon. Lina got a spare crystal ball to let everyone know to be in the lookout for some spoiled rich guy's daughter she had escorted once.

It also prompted the first mention of Luna, when Lina said, "Damn. So I couldn't have kicked Luna out if I wanted to."

Ragrairyos arrived in full dragon form, towering over the island. Her massive head leaned down to Filia, astral form radiant in quiet greeting.

But then she projected a separate, human form before her. There was Lyos.

"Hey, where's my food?"

Filia blinked. "Mister Lyos? You exist?"

"Sort of?" he said, his hand estimating up and down. "I'm kinda glued to her and we feel the same things, but I don't have the same thoughts. It's really weird. Anyway, I ... we ... ugh, people want to go home, and I can do that. Orun was with Valwin a while back, but she's here now, right? We also want to gather up her tribe and reroot it in the west."

Ragrairyos dumped the information of their whereabouts into Filia's head; the gods and anyone connected to them had appeared in their original domains, but they had a pull towards this place if they contained anyone who had traveled with Lina.

Unlike those on this island, they hadn't woken up but actually experienced the reformation of the world, and come out disturbed and suspicious. Filia wished she could assure them it was safe.

Like this, Filia filled up her first hours of the reborn world with cat's cradling all kinds of connections, knowing who was what where, and occasionally bossing people around. It was familiar, comfortable almost. Nowadays it was easy to recognize it as distraction.

The moment she paused with nothing to do, and thought of the fact she had had to abandon her old home, knowledge of her very own 'palace/island' unfolded in her mind like a memory, though it was the future.

It did not compel her — she would rather build something new than dwell on what was shaped by a life around hiding and pretending to be human. The cottage had to be there because Jillas had wanted it more than she herself had not — and she had to admit, she would choose what the rest of the family liked to go home to, and perhaps they all wanted that.

She did like her old tea corner to be present sooner rather than later, to be honest.

Since Lina ought to be be grateful for Filia's efforts, she claimed a few things from the kitchen cabinet, and went to the best place to teleport.

Gravos was not exactly happy with Jillas speedrunning his own adaption to godhood or whatever it was; there was worries about astral bombs. She was too tired to worry for that particular thing.

Just as they were about to leave, someone called out, "Hey, what the hell?"

It vibrated on the astral plane so much, it took a second or two to realize it was just Lina, suddenly standing where she hadn't been before.

"I can't believe you are not declaring your departure to the ruler of this island." Filia turned to find Lina there, hands on her hips and smirking. "Whom you still owe money by the way."

Xelloss was behind her, pretending he needed to walk.

Ever since the return of the world he'd snapped right back to his jolly unassuming priest presentation so well, it would be easy to not remember all else he was. Filia resolved to have some more nuance on how he was a monster in the future.

"I do hope you've kept him from hovering over some secrets of your own."

"Probably not as well as you do. You know where Luna is, don't you? All the gods know, but I can't get any to tell me. You'd almost think I wasn't the apostle of chaos who just saved the world."

"We'd tell you if there was anything to worry about. Well, I would. Honestly, I would worry more about Vrabazard. But alas, for today I'm worrying about uniting the family at home."

"Fine. Let me know if anything weird comes up," Lina said. "If not, you better start thinking about paying off your debt to me. I hear your company's thriving now."

"Miss Lina, you're still going on about that now you have so much gold?" Filia sputtered.

Lina shrugged. "Hey, I'm a merchant too. Anyway, Xelloss is hovering, so let's talk later."

Filia nodded once, solemn.

"Oh my. Secrets kept from me? This sure is a very different world."

"Get used to it," Lina barked.

"Ehm, well, I probably will," he said, uneasy. "Now, miss Filia, would you mind if I accompany you?"

She narrowed her eyes, suspicious, but did nod. "Orders?"

"I'm afraid so. Lord Beastmaster is curious why the lady Lunaphied is not around. I am to follow you and see where you go."

"You better accept that I'm not going to tell you. Orders," she huffed.

"Unlike me, you're not obligated to follow orders from your respective lord," he said. "I have some hope of coaxing you to talk. After all, you did just hint you are in contact with her."

She stuck out her tongue. "I am fully aboard with these orders."

Not wanting to risk Jillas and Gravos getting hurt, she turned into a dragon and carried them further from the island.

The sunsets in this world was a tad too picturesque to be realistic. Maybe that was just Lina's fantasy, though. The sky was streaked with clouds that didn't make sense given the direction of the wind (which went whichever way Lina needed for dramatic cape effects). A flock of seagulls would periodically streak past the sun, circle the island and repeat it.

It could be worse, though. Everything could've looked like Lina's abomination of a castle. But the further one got from it, the more grounded the rocks were. The shore was practically functional and normal, save for a row of tacky palm trees chattering on how awesome Lina was.

The distortion of space was gone, but there still was a certain density that made it hard to navigate teleportation. It took a hundred miles or so before she was clear of Lina's domain, before she could gather in her power from the environment.

Home.

She didn't really want to face the hollow of it, but of course she went anyway.

With one jump they made it, and Filia wasn't even exhausted. Oh, no, something else stole her breath away.

They had come to the valley of the ancient dragons, standing on the tallest peak of the western mountains.

Where once had been ruins now lay the rounded cathedrals, pillars turned tall to hold fires in the middle of colorful lake.

The forest didn't burn anymore, as it had grown a myriad of shining blue orbs : Megiddo's trees inverted to bring life.

Filia forgot to breathe, and learned she didn't need to anymore. "Can you hear them?"

"I can," Jillas said, tears coming up. "Lord Val's among them, right? Is this real or some trick?"

"Somewhere," Filia whispered. "It's not a memory, it's the future."

"You shouldn't be so sure about that," Xelloss said. "You have no idea where he actually is, you're just hoping here's out there. Don't set yourself up for disappointment now."

"I totally wished for it so he's gotta be," Jillas said. "Tell'em, boss lady. We all got wishes granted, and all of the Copts wanted our Val to come back."

"Oh? Did you wish for anything?" he asked Filia.

"I did not wish consciously," she said. "She may have answered better than I could imagine, but I hope that whatever price miss Lina paid is not too high."

"I'm certain she can handle it," Xelloss said. "Besides, you do not need to fear that the Bringer of Light is senselessly cruel."

"Hmm." Filia begged to disagree, with how Xelloss defined mercy and cruelty. Enough of him now.

She took a careful first step into the valley, passing by an invisible barrier that seamlessly blended with her flow. When Xelloss followed, it crackled and stung him.

A smile for that little wish granted; her new home was trash repellent.

Once inside, Filia's magic fanned out across the astral plane, far more easily than elsewhere.

With nary a glow, she'd gone to the edge of the forest down the mountain.

They were all the same eggs, holding tiny embryos. She wandered into the forest, taking the sight in, barely able to grasp the magnitude of the task ahead. The chance to undo the bitter legacy her people had wrought onto to the world, to bring back dragons who loved life more than they did.

The more she walked, the less she remember to have a physical form. She stopped walked. She began to float. She was astral more than mortal now.

A long, long piece that had no thickness, existing purely two dimensional, yet able to hold things. In this manner, she snaked through the trees and gently brushed the eggs by projecting where it applied. Sometimes she almost was a dragon, if she had to be, but for now, she was required as a guardian all over the place.

Oh, she would have to find help if many would hatch around the same time, and ghost beacons had to be installed for education, and, and ...

There at the edge of the mountain foots lay a rounded cathedral, that which she had once found to be a memorial to genocide.

Here she gathered herself small and mortal again, and walked into the open door.

· · · · · · ·

Xelloss desperately, achingly longed to make a stupid joke about Filia turning into a ribbon. And then to pay it absolutely no attention! Her mind full of redemption and babies and ancestries, it left her unpalatable even in this new world. Perhaps what tasted foul to him now wasn't positivity but emotions sourced of what he found dull or grating.

Filia wrapping herself up in sacred atoning duty left her no room to bicker or burn up with passion for anything, not even the fact this place was filled with antiques. Ugh. Reverence. Definitely one of his most detested emotional states.

Since he had orders to carry out, he went up and down the cathedral, but found no trace of Luna Inverse. She'd like the place though. Very orderly. The absolute antithesis to Lina's architectural flavor.

The rest of the valley was similarly drab. There were some smaller islands on the lake with houses. A quick sweep and he understood the situation, so he had an excuse to drag Filia out of the gray halls.

She'd actually started praying?

He popped up right behind her and loud enough to echo in the vast hall, he said, "Miss Filia, I didn't find miss Luna, but I think I found your nursing staff."

She took a very deep-oh-how-thee-test-my-patience-god sigh. Through grinded teeth, she said, "You shall be quiet here."

Then she teleported the two of them out.

"I was in the middle of communing with the ancient spirits, you can bear to have some respect."

He held up his hands. "You really ought out those islands though, lest you perhaps think you're to sleep in a sanctuary."

"Hmmmmph."

Oh, he was pretty sure she had been getting ready to settle there.

Up close, the islands were not so small. They contained several houses each, all of them empty. Filia would certainly find helpers to fill them.

At the central island, caked between pillars, was a cottage both familiar and new.

Three cottages actually, stitched together from memory, so it really was more of a homestead now. There was an inner courtyard with the usual quaint nonsense, at the center of which was a broad aviary. Xelloss peered inside whether one of those birds was the thing Val had been attached to.

It was in fact there — he flicked it out of the cage because if she saw it, she might suspect his surprise too soon.

While Filia was filling a cabinet with ... oh, had she stolen that from Lina? Charming.

"Miss Filia, as I look at how all this is arranged, with the cathedral and the souls and these houses being in the one place of the valley that wasn't inhabited and can easily be erased ... it looks an awful lot like you wished to be atoning. Still not over that, are you?"

"I wished for atonement once," Filia said. "But Valgarv asked for accountability as if I was there. I am past the latter, doesn't mean I'm over the responsibility as a golden dragon."

"Really? Don't get too wrapped up in that : you forgot mister Jillas and mister Gravos at the entrance."

"Aaa!" And off she was. So he poofed onto the roof and tested how far he had to be to hide here in this dense astral plane.

Back seconds later, she looked around, didn't quite spot him, and was about to step through a door.

He leaned over the roof's edge and said, "I'm probably going to have to look in there."

"There's nothing in there for me to hide that you haven't already seen," she said, leaving the door open for the other two. "Including any Phieds."

She'd meant that literary. The inside was almost a perfect replica of one of her favorite cottages that she'd left behind before moving into Kataart. The only notable difference was in her office, which now contained a fancy crystal ball communication system, and various historical vases and maces she'd always wanted to buy.

She did some boring catching up to her company while he looked around.

There was exactly one picture of old, ordinary human Luna on a wall somewhere, and nothing else. No records of her adres, no items, no Dilgear (what a surprise she hadn't adopted that one too), not even that silly list of restaurants to visit next time in Zephyria.

Meanwhile, Filia discovered the emptied aviary, and prattled with the other two about who had for an empty bird cage. Jillas smelled lots of birds around, so Filia concluded pretty quickly Xelloss was to blame.

Since that might be fun he made himself known in the outer courtyard.

Filia took one look at him, clammed her mouth and just crossed her arms. Damn. She wasn't biting even this mild little thing; better not push today.

Something brushed past Xelloss's legs. Filia's cat had just darted in and laid a dead dove at Filia's feet, meowing happily.

"Still the same kind of world," Filia muttered, eyes on Xelloss as she bent down.

She took the dead dove in her hands. Now she forgot gravity, and her hair floated up. Xelloss tugged one of the strands.

"You should stuff that bird."

Oh, the nerve. She pushed his shoulder. He let her and feigned to stumble back a step or two.

"That is vile! No! I'm burying them as it should be."

"Hm, is burial truly a should be, or merely a preference?

"It's ... actually, I'd prefer not to bury anything today and ..." She frowned. "Ragraid said... let's see ... I should be able to open the life law, the bird's not been dead for long. Xelloss, is its brain still intact?"

"Are you sure you went me to pay off my grand debt with such trivial means?"

She glared, sending daggers and a finely written note about how unmannerly pedantic weaseling was.

He sighed deeply. "I guess I can do one on the house."

One poke was enough to get a view of its fabrication. "Yes, it died from broken neck only."

And there, she'd seen the astral trick, and resolved to learn it. But first ...

Filia moved her hands above and below the corpse, set in place her personal life law circle, and healed the neck while pushing the flow of life back in its place. The bird twitched first, then shook outs its feathers and cooed. Filia smiled brightly.

"I still say you should have stuffed it."

"Can't you just respect this moment? Honestly, you're the absolute worst friend I have."

Beat.

Ah, what the hell. New world order and all that.

"But won't that just make me your best enemy? Now what does that say about you?"

"That I'm making a valiant attempt at positive thinking." She nicked open the largest kitchen window, and set the dove on the sil.

"Oh my goodness, you?" He got inches from commenting on her positive thinking only happening when it came to the wrong people, but swallowed those words. Too soon. For eternity. "I'm afraid that in this world, I'm rather more tolerant of positivity."

The dove flew out, off to a shining apple tree in a flowerfilled garden, the sort Elena had always wanted.

"Well, it's not about you anyway." She poured a cup of tea. "Are you done with your detective work, hmm?"

"Well, assuming there's no sense in asking you what became of her, then yes, the orders are done, but—"

"Excellent." She handed him a cup of tea. "To go."

"To go?"

"Yes. I'm sure Zelas will want you back as soon as possible, now that you can tell her Luna is traceless."

"Well, yes ..."

When Xelloss had both eyes open yet no malice, he barely looked real. Even now. Even though she was probably the one who'd seen him like that the most.

"Miss Filia, what do you expect to happen now?" The implicit question, with us?

"What is there to say? Going astral didn't make me more like you, so really, nothing changed."

"That's not what I meant," Xelloss said.

She crossed her arms. "No bickering fun for you today. I have restoring and mourning to do, and I better not have to deal with your entertainment."

"I'll keep my promise, Filia," he said.

"As well as you can, and in the end, it'll still be down to Zelas."

"I'll talk to her about that," he said.

"You didn't wish to lose that which binds you to perfect obedience, did you?" she asked, softer now.

He looked away, and his eyes closed. "It didn't occur to me."

How could he be content with that? She still felt powerless in many ways around him, and this was perhaps worst of it. That he'd be alright as a ready weapon, will set aside. Whether he'd slaughter and torture without orders wasn't really important if that wasn't going to change, then. She'd always worry about who would get hurt next.

"It won't be too difficult to be the enemy of you again, if you two make this necessary."

"Oh, I'm sure I can avoid that forever." He set down his bag next to the kitchen table, shoved it below, and prepared to sit on a chair, only for Fillia to pull said chair away.

"I never invited you for tea. Go off to your master and report."

Now he thought of it, she really never had in all those years, he'd just invited himself.

"Well, I'll have to wait for an invitation then." And resisted very hard the urge to jab about how she was uncourteous for not having extended one — truth be told he knew too well he hadn't ever earned one. Also it was a tad simplistic, when they could play more complex word games.

"Fat chance." Stuck out her tongue too.

She really was making nuance difficult.

"Who knows what will change," he said.

"Maybe you will, but I'll first have to see it. Later."

"Actually, I have a few more hours leeway and ... " The familiar sizzle of holy teleportation started dragging at his being. "You're kicking me out."

"Yes!" She eagerly nodded, clapping her hands together. Her eyes squinted shut like whenever she ranted on pottery. "I've always wanted to be able to do that."

Within a soft frizzle, they appeared where they had first arrived.

Filia stood between him and the valley, holding out a little card between index and middle finger. "However, you are free to contact my assistants to make an appointment, should you have a useful reasons to require my paid service. Unless off course it turns out I need to stop a nefarious scheme you run."

"I'm sure my future temporary allies or pawns will appreciate that, assuming you even find out when I'm up to something," he said, easy as ever.

She just gave him a n infernal smile and said, "Well then, I'll see you later, Evil Wizard Icecream Container Person Thingy."

Self restraint, self restraint, self restraint, he had to be the better rival.

Filia's eyes widened. "Oooooh. Annoyance really does taste good. If it's from you. Touché."

Having said that, she vanished in a shower of yellow and pink sparkles.

The barrier solidified; he could probably break it if he tried, but he wouldn't.

He would however simmer in the fact that she had conceded some trivial long forgotten debate instead of the actual topic of ... oh, whatever. He'd win some future day yet.

For now, he had a whole new world to sample, and so left to it. Let her win today, and perhaps she was worth losing to in small ways.

· · · · · · ·

Xelloss had somehow left his bag, which was weird : Filia could have sworn he'd had had it on him just now.

She teleported Jillas and Gravos off to the most likely location of Elena and the cubs, figuring that since it was Jillas's wish and nose, he'd have a better chance tracking them. She herself couldn't really bear the idea of leaving this place unattended.

She checked the aviary, everything else, went through the forest, the cathedral, and found nothing off.

It struck her as silly the more she went on; the reflex to be weary of Xelloss was so baked into her life, and she knew so little of what he'd be like now. Less worse, presumably.

She really ought to spend less time and that and more on planning, but it felt so insurmountable. Were all these eggs going to hatch at the same time? Could she get enough helpers? Would spirits line up to reincarnate? Who were elders of the ancient dragons, how many were there? Maybe Jillas would drag in the entire red fox tribe and it still wouldn't be enough to help an entire dragon tribe.

Yet here the task was.

The world had ended.

The world had come back.

Like a missing heartbeat it had passed, a whimper that felt incomplete for all the anxiety and soldiering on that had come just before. It should be too much, there should be signs like exhaustion, utter joy, collapse, anything save going on like she'd just had a bad sleep.

All of existence at the whim of a capricious creator, who now could enter the world at will through Lina.

Every step over a challenged brought her to the start of a new one with no end in sight, and now she was immortal? Ready to defy death of not just herself, but others too.

Luna had all but stepped out of responsibility. Ah, time to truly know herself, live the life and be the person she would have been, had she never received the pieces of Ceiphied, or any other ties to the supernatural. Filia was not to disturbed her unless anyone threatened existence again.

So here she sat alone, knowing the risks and the weakness, with mere business and projects to distract her in the future. If she filled every moment, she would not have to dwell on the dread of it all.

She really should get on with that. Get up. Move. The tea was getting cold. The dragons waited explanation. The other dragons waited for life. And, and, and ...

Instead she bent forward, hiding her head in her arms as she pressed against the table. She breathed in, and held it too long for a mortal. Nothing told her she was ready to be a god. How dare she, how dare they? Could she do better than the old gods? Or would she only seem better by comparison?

The table shook, and it took a few moments before she realized it was not sobbing of her own.

The astral plane was hard to decipher yet, but it looked different right before her.

Someone was under the table.

She looked below, ready for a prank from Xelloss, and that exactly she found. A dozen thoughts flashed through her mind as a toddle looked back at her with big, tear, oh so familiar eyes.

"Val?" she asked, voice trembling.

He didn't move. "Am I?"

They had made him independent once, just to lose him. Maybe she would find this child not quite the same, just an incomplete memory. It did not matter compared to the fact this child was alive, and needed a parent.

"I am not either, I don't care." She fell to her knees, arms open.

The child hesitated, but not for long until he fell around her neck. She feld him as close as she could, mindful of her strength, and the trembling, birdlike wings on his back. She'd always avoided ruffling them, but now she laid an arm across. Neatness be damned, her child needed a better embrace.

Her child, or was he?

"What's the last you remember?"

He stiffened. "I ..."

It took a bit before he found his voice between sobbing. "I remember three last times. I don't know."

"It's alright, we'll sort this out." She stood up, barely registering her knees hurt.

Off to the living room she went. She set Val next to the window that looked onto the aviary.

The crystal ball of communication cracked a little as she forced it to connect to someone who didn't carry one. It did find some rock somewhere, there was some busying on the other side about oh no what is happening, before Jillas sounded up; no visuals.

"Jillas, do you have the rest of the family yet?"

"Almost to it, gunmoll! Gravos is picking up some old loot."

"Forget the loot. The trash just pulled another prank by hiding some crucial information and you'll want to be here. Take only memorabilia and get over here now."

"Why were they gone?" Val asked. "What ... what happened?"

Filia closed the crystal ball's connection and took a deep breath. "The world was remade by the Lord of Nightmares, who fulfilled the wishes of everyone who traveled with her apostle, Lina Inverse. She is not ..."

When she turned, Val wasn't scared of the name. He only curled up and started sobbing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't wanna fight her anymore, but ..."

She could barely make out the words among the blubbering, but it was almost like he said he'd said she should have come earlier.

Filia knelt before the chair, brushed over Val's head. "I lied. Lina Inverse wouldn't kill any dragons like you, I just didn't know a better way to raise a child. Please forget all of that, you'll be fine if you don't pick a fight with her, and you don't want that, right?"

Val shook his head rapidly.

"Good." With his eyes now free, she wiped the tears away. "Blow your nose, and ..."

Why not? "You can take the vest of and let your wings out. I'll ask Elena to make you some pants or tunic that'll let your tail free all the time, how's that sound?"

Val perked up. "We don't have to hide anymore?"

"Not at all. In fact, you should show you are an ancient dragon with pride. We're staying in small forms for convenience now, not for hiding. This is a dragon's valley."

She turned his chair to the window, found some paper and pencils right where they should be, and let Val draw what he saw outside. It was painfully nostalgic how easily kids could be distracted.

She made some tea, hot cocoa and sweet lemon juice. All those went on a tray with cookies and milk for dipping.

Val was just as wide eyed as always as she placed this on the table, and ... he hesitated to reach out. Perhaps he remembered Filia's education on patience and politeness even when hungry, or maybe his personality was wholly different.

Just in time, the teleportation circle in the sideroom sizzled.

Jillas appeared with Molly in his arms and a bag in the other, and Elena carrying some of the more delicate things — Filia was certain some of it had been items broken or lost of the years. And some of them broke all all over against as Elena's hands flew to her snout.

"Val!"

Wide eyed Val stared, and then at last smiled, though it wobbled. It hurt Filia a little she couldn't get that reaction alone, but she set it aside — the family ahd to be whole before it might feel safe.

This child remembered Molly and the others, enough to be make it a return than a newcomer. Nothing else mattered, they had room. She would keep telling herself that until she didn't see the shadow of Valgarv anymore.

They were absolutely going to have dinner early because Val had missed the feast (she was going to have to safeguard against Xelloss indulging people's secrecy too much, for hell's sake, this was a child). Gravos found a cabinet full of ingredients for everyone's favorite dishes, and the kitchen table grew in size the more they decided to make.

Jillas was all teary wobbly eyed the entire time, and asked more than a few kinda intrusive questions.

Val remembered almost everything, and Filia heard a few things new to her yet. He wasn't quite the same about it as first Val, or remade Val — there was a more quiet bitterness to this kid. When he recalled something of Valgarv, it was his own point of view, not a cohost personality.

There was cruelty in a child being made to remember things that weren't his own, if that was true. She would deal with it better than before.

"Should I just stay in here till they're hatched?" Val asked. "I don't think they're gonna like what ... what I might do again. I don't know."

"Nonsense, you should be here, b- ... Val." Jillas turned to Filia. "Right, gunmoll?"

"Exactly, because we're gonna revive the ancient dragons and I know so little of them. If you do remember, no matter the pain, it will help. Do you recall your first parents?"

He nodded.

"I'm sure they won't mind waiting a bit to reincarnate for you," she prophesied as she set five different bowls before Val.

He ate all of it, and here his preferences didn't quite align with the past.

Only now did it strike her Val was only about six years old — his expression and questions had made him seem so much older. But he was hungry like a dragon his age should be and just as messy an eater.

Elena set on the chair next to him, pulling out some knitting. "Jillas and Gravos were thinking we should build a few treehouses in the old style, perhaps you could draw us some buildings the way they used to look, Val?"

"Okay, but ..." His feathery tail popped out, and he fiddled with the feathers.

"What is it, Val?"

"Don't think I wanna be like that Val," he muttered. "Not if it makes other scared."

"Perhaps a new name would help," Elena said. "How about ... Valtyr?"

"Huh?"

"Would you like to be called Valtyr? It's a little more than the start," Molly said. "I read it in an old legend. We did lots stuff today."

"Okay, I'll try. Mom?"

"You can pick another name at any time," Filia said. "Though Valtyr does sound nice. You know, we ought to gather everything we know of not just the ancient dragons, but the fox tribes too, and everyone else who needs memory."

"We should start a school, really," Elena said, to the collective groans of three children.

There were no point in sheltering any of the kids anymore. An ordinary childhood had never been possible then, nor now. She resolved to be truthful about everything, if it came up. She couldn't give anyone the best possible childhood, but she could give what she didn't have herself : a truthful foundation, and better responsibility. Not just for Val, but the others too.

None of this sorrowful past was spent in vain of as long as they could rebuild. If not as good as before, good enough would do. But, slowly, by small steps rather great drama.

In the doorway sat her cat, golden eyes gleaming, holding a struggling bird in its mouth. Filia snapped her teleportation to set the bird free outside, and the cat in her lap. Tomorrow, she would get the kids not just a new bird, but a kitten too.

· · · · · · ·

The End, Despite Everything

· · · · · · ·