Apostolos sighed before it turned into a yawn, his arms stretched overhead as he stared at the well-shined double doors in front of him, made of fallen branches harvested from the Great Star Blood Sequoia. As far as materials went, it was one of the 'rarest' to obtain, given the very specific law mandating that the Star Blood Sequoia was to be untouched. Only fallen branches or the like were allowed to be used, and even that was tightly regulated.

Which, in hindsight, felt uncomfortably close to idolization.

Sighing once more, Apostolos pushed open the doors. As much as he wished he could have mourned the deaths of the most recent wave properly, life went on, and as one of the council, he had a job to do.

"G'morning," A voice spoke out from inside the council room as Apostolos entered.

"Irene," Apostolos nodded to the one person in Ehkorrus who technically had equal standing to his own.

Not counting Rory.

"How's Rory?"

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about." Apostolos said, feigning ignorance.

"Oh, come on, we all got the notification, but he hasn't made an appearance as far as anyone is aware. Meaning he's hiding out, isn't he? But I figure he met with you first."

Apostolos opened his mouth to argue before closing it and shrugging.

There's no point trying to play coy; I can't keep anything from her.

"He's fine. Better than fine, just a little taken aback by some of the changes."

"Has he… has he changed much?" Irene asked, her voice faltering for a moment with uncertainty.

"Hah," Apostolos snorted. "When I say you won't believe me at how little he has changed, well, I mean it."

"Six decades, Apostolos, you're right that I don't really believe you."

Before Apostolos could respond, the door was pushed open, and another figure entered, Jed looking somewhat disheveled.

"Morning," Apostolos nodded to the man.

"Apostolos, Irene."

Eyeing the man, Apostolos noticed something off —a hint of nervous energy as he seemed to be looking around.

"Is something the matter?" Irene asked, beating him to the punch.

"Yes… No… Maybe?" Jed said. "Is uh, is… is he here? Can he hear me?"

"Wait… Rory?" Apostolos asked, genuinely taken aback by his behavior.

"Yes," Jed all but hissed. "And be careful, what if he can hear when people speak his name?"

"Jed, did you sleep at all last night?" Irene asked, concerned.

Apostolos ignored Irene, cutting ahead. "Jed, what exactly do you think Rory is?"

"He's the Great Founder!" Jed answered with a nervous snap before an exhausted sigh escaped a moment after. "Sorry. Perhaps I've had my ear to the ground a little too much; some of what our people have been whispering and the rumors spoken, I may have internalized."

"Rory is a man, not some divinity," Irene said. "And I'll go out on a limb and assume he can't hear people whispering his name, or he probably would have returned a whole lot sooner."

"Speaking of that," Jed frowned. "Is… is he planning on superseding us? Has anyone even seen him, or is he silently preparing some sort of judgement for our failures?"

"Jed!" Apostolos finally snapped, his eye twitching. "Get a hold of yourself. Rory is just a regular man, not a god, not a weird monster, and definitely not a tyrant who's returned to affirm his right to rule."

The room was silent for a moment before Jed hung his head low, remaining like that for several seconds before clapping the sides of his face with a rather loud slap.

"Sorry. I think the decades of stress, compounded by yesterday's events and the Founder's return, got to me a bit. I'm better now."

Taking his seat, the three of them glanced toward the double doors as Irene tapped her fingers on the shared desk.

"Well, if we have all that handled, I've got some reading for the two of you."

From seemingly nowhere, several binders filled with papers appeared, dropping down in front of the two of them.

A natural inventory skill. I'm still baffled she managed to figure that out on her own.

"What is all this?" Jed asked, glancing at Irene.

"Paperwork and reports on everything that was lost, expended, or otherwise used during the wave, including personnel, their families, and reparations that might be necessary."

Apostolos stared at the binder, a feeling of horror welling up in his chest.

Oh, Rory, are you sure you don't want to take over for us?

"Huuchuh!" Rory sneezed loudly, wiping at his nose.

Odd. Haven't gotten a cold in decades.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Feeling alright?" Gill asked, looking concerned that a mighty T7 would be sneezing.

"Yeah, must be the stardust tickling my nose or something," Rory responded.

"Huh, maybe," Gil shrugged, dropping the subject as he looked back toward the fairy who had finally righted herself.

"You win this round!" Astra yelled, darting forward through the air to float in front of Rory's face, arms crossing and foot tapping on nothing.

"Sorry," Gil lowered his head as Rory glanced at the short man, confused at the reaction.

"Because of 'er effect on lower tiers, only ones we really let interact with her are tier sevens, as even tier sixes have to resist."

"Yeah, you sort of mentioned that."

"Well, most other tier sevens have their own things to be doing. I been 'er main source of human, dwarf, contact for some time now."

"Dwarf?" Rory questioned, surprised.

"Oh, right. My race changed when I hit tier seven. I been nudging it in that direction for some time. I'm the first of my kind," The other man thumped his chest proudly before shaking his head. "That 'side, she's like this because she ain't got anyone else to teach her how to not be a brat."

"It's fine," Rory snorted as the fairy frowned at them.

"I don't need babysitters!" Astra snapped.

"Astra, what do you do during your day?" Rory asked, suddenly curious.

"I sleep!" She said, as if it were an outstanding achievement.

"And?"

"And?" The fae repeated, seemingly confused that Rory felt there would be anything else.

"She ain't do much else 'cuz she can't," Gil answered. "This room is as much for 'er safety as it is for everyone else."

"I don't need safety," The fairy pouted.

"Uh-huh, you remember what happened last time?" Gil questioned, arching his bushy eyebrows at the small fairy.

"…Yes."

"What happened?" Rory asked, feeling out of the loop.

"Under the Chief Protector's watchful eye, we tried having her leave the area of her physical body. It, well, didn't go well. She rapidly lost strength, and if it weren't for Apostolos's quite similar Solar affinity, she may not have actually made it back to her physical body in time before she simply… ceased."

"Huh, you don't say," Rory said, suddenly curious. "If I'm understanding this correctly, the form you're in right now is a concentration of your power into an avatar, and the star is your real body. Meaning that-" Pausing, Rory pushed his senses outward, eyes flaring with power as he let his eyes undergo a full ocular release.

"Yep, sure enough. You've got a spatial tether. Now that is interesting," Rory grinned as he glanced at Astra, who was scuffing her feet midair, sheepish for the first time that Rory had seen of the otherwise rowdy fairy.

"A spatial what now?" Gil asked, looking confused.

"Wait, you mean no one noticed?" It was Rory's turn to look confused. "The reason she lost strength is that her spatial tether snapped, if I warrant a guess."

"Aye… No, that's a lie. I ain't follow any of that."

"Think of it like this," Rory sighed. "A flower is a living thing, but if you just uproot it, it will quickly wilt and die. But if you plant it into a flowerpot first, you can move it just fine."

"Are, uh, are you saying she a plant?"

"No," Rory snorted, holding back a deeper chuckle for fear of making Gil feel bad. "She's not a plant, but she's similarly stationary. While her avatar she's taken may suggest otherwise, it doesn't change that her conceptual core remains anchored in the same general coordinates. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't say anything." Rory said as he turned to look at the fairy.

A muffled sound escaped the small fairy as Rory shook his head.

"Say that again?"

"Embarrassing," The little fairy finally muttered. "But in my defense, I didn't know what would happen if I left my core behind!"

How in the world is that embarrassing? You know what, not going to question it.

"So, boss, I'm 'fraid I ain't sure what any of this means for anything."

"It means that if little Astra wants, we can go for a walk," Rory said as he focused on the conceptual anchor point of the star fairy.

Not what this was intended for, but really, it's just an application of similar principles.

Locking down the point, Rory then turned his attention inside the 'inside' of the void diamond that made his bracer work as both an inventory and a void shell. Typically speaking, the void shell feature was far less utilized; however, it was worth noting that the void shell was the primary function, and the inventory feature was nothing more than a beneficial secondary function.

And in this case, I'll use both.

"Wha- what did you do?" Astra zipped around his head like she was his own personal halo.

"I transplanted your spatial anchor within here," Rory waved his arm where the bracer was situated. "I'll admit, you're shockingly heavy."

"Hey!" The fairy snapped. "I am not!"

"No, you definitely are. You occupy more metaphysical space than every single item I have stored combined, which is pretty damn impressive. Though you are a young star, I'm not sure I can be that shocked."

Gil was staring at Rory, mouth wide open as if he'd just turned water into wine.

"Right," Rory coughed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "Astra, you coming?"

"Yes!" The fairy answered instantly, until she realized she had sounded perhaps too eager. "If my servant insists."

"Don't worry, Gil, I'll bring her back later. I'm sure none of you would appreciate my kidnapping of the literal heart of this facility."

"No, uh, I mean, it's fine!"

"Good to hear," Rory said as he flared his aura for the first time, the doors locking them in parting.

Oh, thank goodness, that would have been so awkward if I were wrong and they didn't add me to whatever security protocols these operate with.

"So, quick question, where exactly can I find Mariah?" Rory asked as he continued to feel uncomfortable with how Gil was staring at him.

"Would you approve if I sent you directions?" Gil asked after taking a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Great, sounds perfect," Rory said, preparing to leave as he received a notification from Gil. Taking three steps, Rory suddenly stopped, turning to face the dwarf.

"Oh, and by the way, Gil?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't see me," Rory grinned, "I'm trying to keep a low profile for a bit, if you catch my drift."

Nodding vigorously at him, Gil stuck two thumbs up.

Alright, time to get going before he gets any weird ideas like praying to me.

"Whoa," Astra said, floating next to him.

"What?" Rory asked, eyeing the small fairy for signs that perhaps he'd made a miscalculation.

"I feel… Fine," Astra flexed her tiny fingers before taking a seat on his shoulder.

Oh, hot damn, she burns. She could give Jinn a run for his money.

"Feel good to get out and stretch your legs a bit?" Rory asked, smiling at the fairy currently burning his shoulder.

"But I'm not stretching my legs?" Astra frowned at Rory, looking confused.

"A phrase. So, you remember the rules I laid out for you?"

"No making a scene, or you'll drag me back to my room," Astra grumbled. "I can be elegant and composed; I am a Grand Queen Empress!"

"Sure thing, pipsqueak," Rory snorted.

Well, count this as another thing I need to take care of before I even consider leaving again.

Having met the small fairy, Rory wouldn't have been able to rest easily if he hadn't ensured she had some more freedom than was currently possible.

She's also going to need to learn how to control her aura, but being born from a star, it's not exactly surprising that for her, that would be like being told to just stop breathing.

Pulling up his interface, Rory oriented himself, destination in mind.

Alright, find Mariah, and discuss some plans for the walls. After that, I've got to pay a visit to a certain oversized snake. Fashion some sort of way to make Astra's spatial anchor mobile and meet up with Apostolos. And more! Oh, how I love errands.

Exhaling, Rory could only shake his head.

My own fault. This is what I get for being gone for so long.

"Hey, why are you just standing there staring off?" Astra asked, her molten feeling hand poking his ear.

"Sorry, just thinking about things I've got to do," Rory chuckled. "But for now, let's get to exploring, shall we?"

"Yeah!"

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