Back at the Shining Arrow Guild, Layhanna's face turned to shock when a second June appeared on the other end of the seeing mirror before he prematurely severed the connection. Her gaze turned to June.
How could he be there and here at the same time? Does being in the Divine Realm mean he could be wherever he wanted at any time? She didn't know, and she could feel a headache coming on the more she thought about it.
June turned to her and bowed slightly. "I guess this concludes our discussion for now. We can pick this back up tomorrow. I'll have Estrella contact you after we finish going over the finer details."
He then turned and headed for the door. Quin bowed and followed right behind him.
"Wait!" she called after them.
They paused and turned to her with a questioning look.
"How…"
But that was all she said before she stopped herself. Why would June answer such a question? To give away knowledge that only he and others of the Divine Realm knew. For knowledge was power, and the strong withheld it from the weak. It had been so for millennia.
"How… What?" June asked before his eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh, how am I here and in the palace at the same time?"
Layhanna nodded. On either side, her guild members nodded in agreement, their curiosity as evident as hers.
"Well, it's quite simple, really."
Then, before her very eyes, a third June stepped out from behind him. She blinked several times, thinking that her eyes must be playing a trick on her. But no, two Junes now stood before her.
"All you need to do is blend your Soul Essence and Energy and channel them with some Life and Psionic Essences. Then just imagine a perfect copy of yourself. The System will take care of the rest. It would be easier if you understood the molecular structure and the anatomy of your own body, but just letting the System handle it should be enough."
She furrowed her brow. She understood about half of what June had said, but she didn't know what molecular structure and anatomy meant. The words he had used weren't Elythra. She surmised it had something to do with the body, but what exactly, she did not know.
However, even if she did, it wouldn't have mattered since she had yet to unlock her Life Core. She had followed the Path of the Warrior when she first awoke to the System some centuries ago. So now, being in the Mythic Realm, she had only unlocked two of her Concepts. Her Psionic Core and her Lightning Core, but that was it.
"Right," June said, pulling her from her thoughts, "you probably can't do this if you don't have both Concepts unlocked."
She struggled to hide the frown that creased her brow. It was as if June had read her mind, yet he hadn't used any Psionic Essence on her.
Matil raised his hand, reminding her he had chosen the Path of the Mage and had both Concepts unlocked. "I have both unlocked."
June clapped his hands. "Great! That can be something for you to work on. In the meantime, Quin and I have other things we need to take care of while we're still in the city. If you need us for anything, we're staying at the Dancing Lumins."
With that, he and Quin left. When the door clicked shut, they all released a collective sigh of relief.
Merriam's hand shot out and punched Urzenkeil in the arm. "Why in the hells didn't you warn us he was a Divine being?"
Urzenkeil glowered at her. "I did. I told you to treat him with respect and to act as if he were above the king."
Before Merriam could throw another punch, Layhanna slammed a hand on her desk, startling Merriam. "That's enough, Merriam! Urzenkeil was bound by a Soul Pact. There was no way for him to warn us."
Merriam crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her chin high in the air like a petulant child. "Hmph, there must have been something he could have said or done to hint at that fact without breaking the Soul Pact."
She could only sigh and shake her head as Urzenkeil turned to her and bowed low. "Merriam is right, in a sense. I should have found a better way to warn you all, but I didn't out of fear. For that, I am sorry, Guild Master."
She fell back into her chair and massaged the side of her head, trying to fight the growing headache. "There's no need to apologize because you did nothing wrong. The man was a Divine being. There was really nothing you could do but accept his words."
Still, that didn't change the fact that they were now in bed with a rogue Divine being. No, two Divine beings who had come seemingly out of nowhere. Layhanna had never even heard of them before.
Another sigh escaped her lips as she rested her head on her desk.
Their lives were about to change drastically from this day on. But was it for better or worse? She did not know, and that alone scared her more than anything.
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Once outside the room, June dropped his barrier and made his way towards the stairs. "What do you think? Do you want to settle here, call this home?"
Quin looked at him, offering him a smile. "Home isn't a place, it's with you."
He returned her smile. It warmed his heart hearing her say that, but…
"You know, I think that as well, but…"
"But?"
"We've spent close to 150,000 years together. I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to explore this new world we find ourselves in on your own. Not that I don't want you around; far from it. I just wanted to let you know, in case you were afraid to tell me."
Quin's smile broadened. "Thank you, Father."
She fell into contemplative silence as they walked, speaking only when they reached the stairs. "I think I'll take you up on that offer, but not at the moment. I'd like to set some roots down here before heading off on my own."
He chuckled, nodding in agreement. "That is a sound plan."
He had done his part as her guardian, her parent. Now he had to let her go. She deserved some independence, to grow and experience things without him hovering over her the entire time. Still, part of him feared the thought. But he trusted her, and that was all he could do.
"Just be careful. I wouldn't want to lose you, too."
Quin's smile faded a little. "Of course, Father."
Stepping down the stairs, his gaze swept the room, finding the remaining guild members all gathered there. They remained tense and on guard. Those sitting immediately rose when their eyes caught sight of them coming down the stairs, reaching for their weapons but not drawing or brandishing them.
Yisha and Draxxus were among them, and Draxxus instantly hopped out of his mother's lap when they reached the bottom step. "June!"
"Hey there, little buddy," he said.
To his surprise, Draxxus leaped at him. He caught Draxxus and wrapped him in a hug. The little boy trembled in his grasp as he stood there with him in his arms. He shifted his arms to better support Draxxus.
"Everything's okay now," he said as he patted Draxxus's back soothingly.
Yisha came rushing over to stand before him with her arms outstretched. "I'm sorry, June. Come, Draxxus, we don't want to bother Mister June and Mistress Quin now, do we?"
"It's not a bother, really," June said, but he did hand Draxxus over to Yisha.
Once Draxxus was back in his mother's arms, June put on the biggest smile he could and pulled out a wooden training sword from his spatial dimension. "Are you up for some sword training, Draxxus?"
Draxxus's fear-ridden expression abruptly changed to one of excitement and elation as he gripped Yisha's shoulders and shook her. "Mamma! Mamma! My sword!"
His sudden actions caused Yisha to lose her balance, but before she could fall over, June caught her in his arms. It was like they were ballroom dancing, with him holding her in a dip. His heart skipped a beat as they lingered there for a moment, his eyes locked with hers. The feelings from the visions flooded back to him, but before they could take root, he pulled her up.
"You've got to be careful, Draxxus. You wouldn't want to hurt your mother accidentally."
Draxxus's face fell as he nodded. "No, sir."
Meanwhile, Yisha's face was as red as an apple. She averted his eyes as she placed Draxxus on the floor and retrieved the training sword. She dropped into a compact squat, her knees tight against her chest, and handed it to Draxxus. "June is right. Please be more careful. I don't want you hurting yourself."
She then turned to look at him. "And please don't push him too hard."
He swung his training sword across his shoulders, letting it rest just behind his neck as he gripped either end. "Naturally."
A thought then occurred to him, and he turned to Quin. "Did you want to stay and watch, or is there something else you'd rather do?"
Quin thought for a moment before answering. "There is something I need to check on, if that's okay with you."
He nodded, knowing what it was. With his Aura Sense, he had kept tabs on her clone and seen her interrogating one of Garn's men who had surrounded the Guild House. "I'm fine with that. Just keep an eye out for anything suspicious."
"Yes, Father," Quin said with a dip of her head before leaving.
He returned his attention to Draxxus. "Now, is there a training yard in the back?"
"Yes!" Draxxus shouted before running towards a door that led to the back.
"You can come too, you know," he said, holding out a hand to Yisha.
Their eyes briefly met before she glanced away and took his hand. He pulled her up and steadied her before taking a step back.
"If that's okay with you."
"Certainly. Besides, I think you should take some lessons as well."
Her eyes widened as she looked at him in shock. "Me?"
He nodded. "You want to become stronger so that you can protect him, right?"
Her eyes shifted to track Draxxus. "Yes, I do."
"Then let's go," he said with a confident smile.