A Nascent Kaleidoscope. Chapter 579:

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as I stepped back into Kyoto.

Of course, I wasn't alone in having just returned.

When I walked out, about ten thousand Youkai followed behind . The first 'wave,' so to speak, of returning Youkai.

Even if there were still so logistics and things to handle on the other side, the war was basically over.

The imdiate commotion was intense at our return back ho. They were t with a lot of residents here welcoming them wholeheartedly. Lots of cheering and celebrations popped up without any ushering.

It did make smile seeing their faces.

Though, I found myself frowning a second later as I grabbed the collar of Arcueid.

"Where do you think you're going?" I gave her a look.

"Hehe~"

"It's ti for you to go ho."

"Yeah, I know." She pouted despite acknowledging the fact. "I had fun, though."

It was hard to be genuinely upset with her.

I would leave that to Gramps.

"I will make sure the princess returns ho safely." Captain Hook was here as well, volunteering himself as her minder.

I suppose it's to be expected; she did summon him. She was technically his master despite the weirdness of the summoning.

Well, at least I had soone I could trust there. However, I still had to take them 'ho.' Wordlessly, I opened a portal when no one was looking, and they followed through.

Arcueid stiffened because Zelretch was sitting there, calmly sipping a mug of what I assu was coffee.

I don't think I've ever seen him give the 'disappointed parent' look to anyone before, but he certainly mastered it.

Probably a skill I'll need to pick up for when I start popping out my own little ones beyond just Kunou.

There was an awkward silence as he swept his gaze around. He gave a silent nod, knowing full well I was absolutely not responsible for this clusterfuck.

"A Heroic Spirit?" His eyes landed on Captain Hook.

"Captain Jas Bartholow Hook." He took his hat off and swept it to the side in a bow.

"Your na precedes you, good sir." Zelretch smiled politely. "Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg."

"To be known by the Kaleidoscope, it's my honor."

Well, he certainly inherited enough information from the summoning then. As much as I was curious about the details involved there, honestly, it was just best to settle Arc properly.

Finally his eyes landed on Arcueid.

"I'm sorry." She spoke first.

"Are you?" He asked. "Do you know what issues you could have caused by travelling away from the 'World'?"

"Yeah." She nodded without much emotion expressed.

Zelretch let out a sigh. "At the very least, there are ample preparations and considerations that need to be taken if you had done this with my help. But you stole Ruby and jumped away without a second thought. What if you got stranded?"

Easy to forget that on one side, there's the embodint of the Kaleidoscope, and on the other, the Archetype-Earth.

"Return to your ho, Arcueid." Zelretch finally said amidst the silence. "You need to sleep anyway. I can tell just from looking at you that you did sothing foolish and now need to bear the consequences."

"Alright, I'll go ho." She seed crestfallen, despite the fact that she would have had to go back to sleep anyway.

Sure, she would recover after literally ripping her own heart out, but even she needed to take so ti to rest considering that her blood is the source of her power.

"I will take her ho if it's permissible." Captain Hook looked at Zelretch. "Please allow to guard her in her slumber."

"Are you sure?" Zelretch asked. "That's a thankless job, and rather monotonous. And she doesn't require soone to look after her."

Captain Hook took his hat off and put it on Arc's head with a gentle smile. "I will protect the princess from now on."

He ntioned it offhand before, but he must be projecting his sister on Arc. Well, she is basically a child in ntality still.

Zelretch didn't argue.

"How are you going to follow? She doesn't exactly live in an accessible place." Hell, even I don't think I could follow along to find her if I wanted to. Maybe Gramps could, but the Reverse Side isn't a place I would lightly touch.

Captain Hook shot a grin. "I told you before, there's nowhere I can't sail."

I raised an eyebrow as he put a hand on Arc's hat-covered head.

"Co along, First Mate. It's ti to go ho." He gently ushered her outside as Gramps and I followed.

Outside, it was nightti, and the full moon hung in the air, illuminating the deserted courtyard.

Captain Hook summoned his ship and guided Arc on board.

She waved happily to Gramps and myself as it took off into the sky.

Gradually, it beca a faint outline with the moon shining behind it, and like a ripple on water, it disappeared from sight.

"I have so many questions." Gramps finally said, staring at the sky for several monts in silence. "But I could also use a drink."

"Rain check?" I offered. "I just hurried back to drop Arc off. I still have so things to take care of and to see so others."

Zelretch let out a sigh and waved his hand flippantly through the air. "I would like to know the details when you have the chance. Go deal with your stuff for now.

"I'll tell you about everything when I get back." I quickly said my goodbyes and opened a new portal, hopping through.

(Line Break)

I stepped out into Yomi, specifically, right into Izzy's living room. Surprisingly, she was not alone when I stepped into her living room.

Though, despite other people being present, I focused almost entirely on Izzy because it's been far too long since I saw her.

Also, if she weren't with guests, I would have already thrown myself around her.

I couldn't help but smile brightly seeing her after several weeks.

After a brief mont, I quickly composed myself and looked at the others in the room.

Why was Orihi here?

That was the oddest thing in the room, despite the Archangel Gabriel and Amaterasu sitting across from her with Izzy at her side.

"Wilhelm." Izzy greeted with a warm smile herself, getting up from her seat to greet .

Well, I wouldn't embarrass her in front of others, so I held myself back and only kissed her on the cheek for now. Still, it earned a little look from her that was always so cute.

She wordlessly pulled to sit down on her other side.

Orihi gave a little wave that I returned.

Such a sweet girl.

"You know Gabriel and my daughter—Ammy." Izzy stressed the latter's introduction.

That was definitely for Orihi's benefit.

I quirked an eyebrow, looking at the Goddess Amaterasu as she emotionlessly took a sip from her cup of tea.

Getting a better look at her, she was dressed much less decadently. Clearly, she was hiding her identity, and it didn't take a genius to see that.

Izzy put her hand on Orihi's head, and the younger girl's eyes began to flutter and close before her head fell down onto Izzy's shoulder.

"Let set her down on one of the guest beds." Izzy excused herself, gently lifting up Orihi.

While she did so, the three of us that remained just stared at each other silently.

Well, this is awkward for so reason.

"Is Jeanne doing well?" Gabriel finally asked.

"She's doing good. She was helping take care of patients and the wounded." I nodded.

"That's good." Gabriel said softly. "I didn't want her to have to be fighting anymore."

"I have a similar sentint." I responded.

The archangel's smile brightened.

"I assu my Miko still remains within that realm?" Amaterasu opened her mouth and spoke as well.

"Mmm, she still has a lot of matters to handle." I nodded, knowing full well that word has probably already gotten back about mostly what's happened on the other side. "I had nothing left to do, so I ca back first."

My presence wasn't needed when there was a lack of things that required punching.

"I have been watching whenever the Devils released videos on the happenings of the war," Amaterasu revealed.

"You watch Devil TV too!?" Gabriel's eyes lit up.

"Hmph, if you can call that drivel entertainnt. Beyond the coverage of the war, I would not degrade myself by watching that filth." Amaterasu said haughtily.

"Isn't a significant portion of their top shows just ripoffs of Japanese dia?" I asked.

"Of course!" She sniffed arrogantly. "They copied our culture and released such cheap knockoffs!"

Ah, she's not talking about the content itself being trash, just the Devil's attempts to copy it.

"My favorite is the Satan Rangers." Gabriel said casually and began to hum the the song.

"Is that not the one where they…" Amaterasu paused. "I do not know how to describe what they do to your faction without making an insult."

"Turn Heaven into mustache-twirling incompetent villains for each monster of the week scenario?" I offered.

"That is accurate." Amaterasu nodded. "And they did not even copy it correctly! They copied the Westernized version!" She huffed indignantly.

"I just liked the big robot fights." Gabriel seed completely unperturbed by the fact that one of her favorite shows directly turned Heaven into a joke and villains.

The idle conversation seed to end as Izzy ca back and sat next to .

I may have sneakily slid my hand over to hers.

"They ca over to discuss so of the matters that beca apparent due to the war. I happened to have Orihi with when they arrived, so they have been kind enough to humor ." Izzy summarized the events that led to both Amaterasu and Gabriel being in her house.

"That mortal has a strange soul." Amaterasu noted.

"She seed very sweet, though." Gabriel added.

"Let's just say she has a peculiar ability and leave it at that." I wasn't going to go into the details. Honestly, her ability was bullshit enough that it might cause many higher-end beings in the world to move in response.

Without knowing the specifics, they didn't seem to care much.

"I assu when you said 'matters,' you were referring to the large group of humans?" Otherwise, I didn't know what else would cause them to need to discuss anything.

"Word got out about it. I made no effort to hide it, as it were, when I sent word around." Izzy revealed it, and it was just about what I expected.

It's not like we intended to use the humans as so sort of bargaining chip. If anything, getting them sorted quickly would be for the best.

"I was already here, so I reached out to Takamagahara." Gabriel added in. "I was told that there are many believers traded within that realm. We would be very grateful for their safe return."

"I intended to visit Mother anyway to discuss the matter in depth without requiring a formal eting." Amaterasu revealed as well.

"I t them personally, and I promised them that I would help them co back ho." No point in hiding anything there. "It's just a matter of logistics. It's not just people from the church either. There were Vikings from centuries ago. Literal Samurai from the Heian period. People from ancient Greece. Hell, the Christians I t were from the crusading era."

"And they all lived together?" Even Gabriel seed surprised.

Well, I couldn't fault her. Even she knew the fervor that the Church's believers operate under sotis.

"Necessity seems to sohow overco cultural chasms. I didn't stay with them long enough to know in depth how they got along, but it seed that they peacefully coexisted despite different beliefs." Sotis just knowing the other person is human is enough. "Though, the major problem has to be handled by all of you."

"They are from far in the past." Gabriel said quietly.

"And if the reports are to be believed, they are very strong for humans. A combination of ignorance of the current world and the strength to cause it harm ans it requires a delicate approach." Amaterasu added.

"I spoke on behalf of the Norse already, and once they are brought back, they can easily settle in Asgard as Einherjar." I really do appreciate how simple the ideology of the Norse belief system is. "The Greeks will probably have an easy ti as well. They keep to themselves and have plenty of mortals or humans within their godly realm. As for the others, I'm not sure. There were plenty of random humans that had popped up there over the centuries, and they all need to be sorted."

"I will have to extend invitations to many other factions." Amaterasu frowned. Even though it wasn't directed at , I did feel for her.

It was going to be annoying to juggle so many strong personalities.

"You can probably get so goodwill at least. I know Yasaka would be happy to just wipe her hands clean of the whole ordeal, so you don't have to consider us in your plans."

Amaterasu shot a small smile even if she didn't say it out loud.

"Enough of that; it's a headache I will deal with later." She said dismissively. And truthfully, it's not sothing that will be dealt with imdiately. Besides Yasaka dealing with a bunch of logistics and handling the aftermath of the war, it's going to take a bit to get the humans transferred here. I expect it to happen within the month, but I wouldn't be surprised if it took longer to coordinate everything.

I, of course, would be helping when the ti ca.

"The most recent recordings have not been released yet. Tell , how did the Youkai of Japan fare at the end of the conflict? There was a sort of detachnt for her, but the Youkai were still residents of Japan, her subjects.

"Casualties were still being added up; I believe we had just passed 30,000 before I left." It was certainly not a bloodless battle. "I don't know if you heard yet, but we had so interference from the Khaos Brigade."

"They were inford." Izzy ntioned. "Yasaka had been sending so brief updates periodically."

Good, I didn't need to go on about that.

An Evil God, Crom Cruach, and the Dragon that Ddraig ntioned.

Quite the lineup just right there.

"Do you intend to keep the pathway open to the Faerie Realms?" Gabriel asked.

"For now." I nodded. "Yasaka believes that they can generate a lot of new goods to sell worldwide to help bolster the economy after how much they invested."

That wasn't my area of expertise, so I didn't know the details.

"And what happened to the Queen?" Amaterasu asked.

"That's… an interesting question. Before we ran headfirst into her, I received a sudden invitation to chat by a certain Big Red Dragon that lives in the Dinsional Gap."

They all paused and stared at .

Big Red's reputation was not exaggerated.

People did not fuck with Big Red.

At least with Ophis, she could sowhat be talked to.

For Big Red? He didn't talk to people; if you ca to annoy him, he would eat you or sothing to that extent.

"He warned against killing the Winter Queen since her existence is tied to so important aspects. So, we decided to seal her, quite literally, to her throne as punishnt. For a thousand years, she is forced to sit there, and everyone in her court will know what happened to her."

"Hmph, she's getting off too easily. How dare she try to reach over here." Izzy scoffed.

I did hear about what happened, and when I arrived, she was missing an arm.

"What happened exactly?" I asked curiously.

"She tried to make so power play. Tiamat also helped." Izzy said. "...she took the arm away with her, not that any of us would have said anything otherwise.

"What do you an, took it with her? Like a snack?" I blinked.

"She ntioned sothing about how valuable it was... so I assu it was to add to her hoard...." Izzy said awkwardly.

"She's not wrong... I suppose."

Why are dragons so strange?

"Why only a thousand years?" Amaterasu asked curiously. "That's not a very long ti."

"Yasaka isn't even a thousand years old." I pointed out. "It's highly unlikely that more than a handful of Youkai alive today will be alive in a thousand years."

Amaterasu looked down at her teacup. "I sotis forget how you mortals perceive the passing of the seasons. A thousand years is many lifetis for you all."

"In all honesty, it's not a situation we wanted to draw out. We went, we fought, we won, and now we want it to be over and move on." I said pointedly. "Her punishnt is the humiliation she has to suffer."

Since we can't kill her, realistically, we hit her where it hurt her the most, in her pride. And settling things at a thousand years ans that she will accept the punishnt without trying anything funny.

Just as Amaterasu said, a thousand years wasn't that long to soone like her and soone like the Winter Queen. It was acceptable to wait it out in the long run.

Now, I believe we did an extraordinarily good job of 'sealing' her right to her throne. Scáthach, Jinn, and I put in so many magical sealing thods on top of her, along with everything else I had at my disposal, that I would be genuinely surprised if even Odin could undo it within a hundred years of continuous ddling. And to add on to that, Jinn happened to have those chains that bound Hel during Ragnarök. Odin apparently took them back when he used them to chastise the Olympians, and they sohow ended up in Jinn's hands.

All that being said, it was impossible for us to 'permanently' seal her. We could have chopped her into tiny pieces, put her in a box in so random place, and done all of this on top of that, and yet, she would still probably return in a few thousand years at the latest.

We just didn't want to keep having to deal with them.

Amaterasu stood up, straightening her dress. "Mother, it's been nice to see you. I will go ho and get started on so things."

"I'm always happy when you co to visit." Izzy smiled.

"I should too. Michael is going to want to talk to everyone to figure out a plan." Gabriel seed to agree.

"I can take you back. I believe Mother would like to spend ti catching up with her lover." Amaterasu shot her mom a look, making Izzy flush in embarrassnt.

Gabriel held a hand up, giggling as she followed Amaterasu out of the house, and I could feel them disappear from Yomi.

Slowly, I turned to look at Izzy. Before she could say a word, I had already pushed her down on the couch and started kissing her.

(Line Break)

A/N

Just a chapter to start bridging things over. Everything isn't magically settled, but Wilhelm isn't really needed over there anymore either. As I've ntioned before, a new world soon.

If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support , visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the sa na.

We have two Arachne chapters and 1 Cyclops chapter up over here as well.