After Sol's question she kept her silence and breathed heavily through her nose.
"You can't answer that, not honestly, because you know who I am, you have known all our lives."
"People change... And you've changed too." Eris countered, and he closed his eyes with a sigh of his own.
"Take my hand."
"I don't want to-"
"You're not being given a choice here; take my hand." Sol reached out adamantly while Ikaris held on to him tightly.
Reluctantly the healer took Sol's hand, and as soon as she did they vanished again appearing on the first moon, D'ol, where he gestured she look up, and Eris felt a sense of unease and terror as she stared upward and found a whole planet staring back at her, or more precisely a dark planet with visible fires and entire black areas of burnt land.
"Do you see those shadows, those smoke-like shadows that seem to be squirming around even though it's clearly dayti?" He asked, pointing at the part still in dayti and she nodded.
"Those shadows are demonic magic, and the shades within them are a poison that slowly rot the land as they make their way toward Argom." Sol explained, pointing to the night side of the planet where there was a single spot of light coming from the kingdm.
"Arkadia is suffering, the last thing you should be concerned about is soone like Han who has spent his entire life doing acts that are no less vile than the demons themselves, you were wrong about him, accept that he deserves it and move on."
"That's..." She fell at a loss of words and closed her mouth again before staring up at him. "Sol, if you have all this power, why haven't you gone back to earth?"
"The specific kind of power required to traverse across universes is outside of our grasp." Ikaris spoke up.
"Our?"
"Individually even you have more than enough power to go back ho, it's just that it's different for everyone, we're not born a race like the demons that can do it at will, in fact without outside interference we'd never end up anywhere other than earth." Sol changed the subject and then took her hand again.
His example ca from Ikaris; despite her imasurable power it took everything she had to summon him the first ti, and again when she sent him back to earth she was tapped out because of how much power she had to use; power that she could not access while in another dinsion than her own.
The gods of Arkadia, despite being the ones who governed the dinsion didn't have the sa power as the queen and the mages, they couldn't open rifts to other alternate realities at will, the closest he ever went to sothing like that was the nightmare prism and the dinsions the system could make, but those were just skills based on altering reality in a closed and isolated space.
"Let's return."
"...Okay."
After returning with a much more calm Eris, Sol settled down with Ikaris in the tent they would all be sharing, taking a seat with his back against one of the corners while Ikaris rested her head in his lap.
"Eris?" Usami looked at her since she had been silent since returning. "What happened?" She asked.
"Not much, really." She replied, laying down and turning her back to everyone. "We need to focus on getting stronger, so we can at least stand a chance, good night, everyone."
***
At the crack of dawn Arla arose and went outside, finding Han standing and staring as the skies slowly brightened and Sara already over a few pots and pans preparing breakfast with three fires. "Good morning!" She greeted Han with a smile and a small wave, but the man looked around at her with an almost disgusted expression and then looked toward the skies again without a word.
"Eh..." She lowered her hand and chuckled to herself. "Guess not?" She looked at Sara, but the maid just shrugged.
After her ca Sol, who without saying a word extended his hand in Han's direction.
[Nightmare Prism]
A portal opened up with fire gushing out of it, and Han stared down the hole and took a deep breath before leaping through fearlessly.
"...Good morning, Master Vestic." Arla looked at the portal and watched it slam shut with a *pop.
"Did you sleep well?" Sol asked, he recalled how guarded she was once inside with everyone else, it was less about her feeling unsafe and sothing clearly more psychological; she seed afraid even, it was the second ti he had seen her behaving like that with the first being the night she carelessly walked out in view of the soldiers of the demon subjugation army.
"As well as one could." She smiled warmly at him and then looked to the tent as the others all exited one after the other. "Everyone start packing up, we leave in an hour."
"You'll travel without today," Sol looked at Arla, and everyone else looked at him.
"Is it another one of those challenges?" Dina asked, and Ikaris nodded in confirmation, she would say sothing along the likes of 'be careful' but she knew that he needed to get stronger and the fastest way was to discard safety, so instead she extended her hand and gave him a punch on the shoulder, smiling.
"I'll root for you."
"Oh, thanks." Sol seed taken aback by the small cheer as Ikaris stretched like a cat raising her hips and touching her toes before standing and stretching against him again.
"It is a little concerning that they still want to fight you so eagerly, but I understand that their goals have drastically shifted as well, so do not hold your punches, fight hard, love, gain indomitable strength." Ikaris reached for his cheek and kissed him softly.
"Thanks," Sol kissed her forehead and then stepped away, giving them a playful salute before he vanished in a flash of white and indigo mana.
"Wha- he just left without even helping with the packing!" Usami pointed at where sol had just been standing, but Sara stepped forward with a smile.
"That falls under my workload lady Usami." Sara, spoke up. "He also left without breakfast, she gestured to the dishes as she turned around and started sharing equal amounts for everyone.
"He works you to the bone and you never complain, I thought you were only supposed to be keeping an eye on him as per general Grim's orders." Eris raised a brow at Sara and the maid chuckled.
"Milady, that is a sure misconception if I have ever heard one." She placed the food in Eris's hand and smiled at her.
"Sir never asks anything of beyond what I am willing to do, he lets do as I please and say as I please, when I am with him I am more relaxed than I ever could have imagined, every mont spent with him is a treasured one, the least I can do for soone who has made my life so much easier is help them when he is busy."
"Besides, had she not said or done anything I would have gladly done it." Ikaris spoke up but then stopped and looked toward the north, and when she did, so did Dina and then Arla. "By the way... we have hostile company."
"Demons are coming?" Bruce asked.
"He left us knowing they were on the way." Ikaris answered, summoning a full set of armour over herself and her sword. "I do not believe that it is anything we can't handle."
"Are you supposed to fight though?" Dina's staff appeared in her hand in a flash of pinkana and she readied herself.
"What about your armour?" Bruce looked at her while he was in the process of rushing to equip his chestplate.
"It only becos important if I manage to get hit, right?" Dina chuckled and started floating upwards.
"That's not funny you have to be careful-"
"I'm serious, though." Dina looked back down at him. "If you're so concerned then hurry up and co help us." She stared at him with an annoyed expression while her and Ikaris took off toward the approaching enemies.
"What about Ikaris though, is she supposed to be fighting if she's pregnant?" Usami asked slipping her feet in her boots while Arla went behind Ikaris and Dina with Eris in tow and Sara waited for her and Bruce.
"Not our problem is it?" Bruce stared in the distance as a large white explosion shot up into the air and the ground under their feet shook. "We're ways behind them Lready, if we keep getting left behind we'll never progress!"
"I'm ready." Usami looked to Sara after hearing Bruce's words.
"What about your arm and shoulder-guards?" Sara asked handing Bruce his gloves.
"Just get there."
"Very well," Sara skipped over to her and stood in her shadow, slipping into the ground before Usami was dragged down after her leaving Bruce struggling by himself.
"Ah shit, I need to learn how Sol and Ikaris are able to just suddenly equip armour like that."
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