Seth and the Badger, who he had taken to calling 'Honey' because it was simply easier than always referring to her as 'The Badger.

Anyways, Seth and Honey quickly split apart and plunged into the horde of beasts that were gathered at the edge of the clearing. He didn't need Honey's help taking them out, in fact he had intentionally slowed down his puppets so that a lot of them stayed alive.

He just needed a reason for it to leave or to stay in line if it came with him. Although a bet might not be binding, the grip that bet had on its pride was.

It wasn't the best solution, but it was all he could think of. Simple fact of the matter was, he couldn't kill it. If he captured it and left it alone there was no guarantee it wouldn't escape and follow them, or simply stick around and make more chaos.

If he took it with him, he needed a guarantee it wouldn't cause chaos. A guarantee he didn't get with capture. He needed it controlled, and so left it up to its own ego to keep it leashed. At least until he got it to it's 'opponent'.

That part wasn't actually a lie. He did actually have someone in mind who could keep the badger under control. Nixie.

She was much stronger than Seth, as embarrassing as it was to admit, and although only part of her skin was covered in scales her entire body was equally as tough. Even if the badger had real damaging mutations, instead of just its regular claws and teeth being simply sharped and unbreakable, then he still wouldn't worry that it could hurt her.

If anything he was more worried for the badger.

Every kid needed a pet, right? And what better pet for Nixie than one she couldn't accidentally kill, which was a real concern.

Sure she was gentle and knew how to control her strength, she did perfectly fine with Astra's two headed dog Snowball and absolutely loved that fluffy fella. But she was still a kid and sometimes they could be a bit... too enthusiastic.

It was better to plan ahead. Plus this took care of an unkillable issue. Two birds with one stone, right? He was such a good dad.

Of course, as he was thinking all of this, Seth was in the middle of the beast horde and fighting off a few dozen different beasts at a time. Although considering that even the strongest amongst them, a Lion that was on Honey's side of the horde, he wasn't really concerned.

In fact as he leaned to the side, dodging a giant toads tongue - which had an end that opened up into another mouth - Seth was more wistful and bathing in nostalgia.

He grabbed the tongue before it could retract and yanked it hard, dragging the toad towards him before slamming his fist into its slimy face. It was sent flying backwards, only to come springing back because of its tongue and then bounce away from his punch.

It was like a torturous paddle ball that resulted in a lot of bruises as the toads spongy flesh absorbed the blows and refused to let it be knocked out, much to the toads own misery.

Seth had spent so much time dealing with monsters of legend and mythology, dealing with Dragon's and Wyvern's and nearly getting killed by the Loch Ness monster.

He had spent so much time in the realm of mythology, that he had almost forgotten his roots in this new world. He rarely fought against any mutated creatures now that didn't have some root in mythology. Hell some of the things he had fought, like the Hemogoblins, might not have even began on this world.

They still existed, obviously, considering he was using one like a punching bag, but it was usually others who dealt with them. He was so busy dealing with ruling or increasing his power or all the mythological and otherworldly issues, that he left the mutated mundane up to others.

Even if his [Spirit Animal] controlled puppets were fighting them, he kept that out of his mind for ease of thought, so it didn't really count.

He found himself strangely... nostalgic for the early days. Fighting through his office building, facing off against plants, house cats and mutated co-workers. Fearing everything that he came across, scraping by for every single victory. Being on the verge of death multiple times and having only one puppet to his name. He could still remember how disappointed he was when he realised what his powers were, all because he was an idiot who couldn't figure out that 'Puppeteers Threads' was probably not 'slicing threads.'

If that version of him could see what he would become, he doubted that he would be disappointed with his powers.

It was strange, thinking that was only two years ago.

No... less than that, his time in the transit plane really messed with his sense of time. Come to think of it... did he miss a birthday? How would that even work now? Did he have to change his birthday to coincide with the months he spent in that strange infinite void?

It was safe to say that, as Seth finally threw the Toad like an Olympic hammer and moved on to the next unfortunate beast, that the terror of the early days had faded. It wasn't just the fact he was here with an Avatar, even in his real body he wouldn't feel fear.

He almost felt thankful to that Raven, the one that started it all. It lost him his arm and shattered his soul, yes.

But what would his life be if it didn't happen? Would Sirius have ended up killing him on some other hunt after he foolishly trusted him? Would Astra have even noticed him if it wasn't for his need to disguise himself as Corvus.

Perhaps the draconic lady, who had still yet to reappear to him, would have died at the hands of the Heart-eater like he intended, or she would have simply escaped on her own and found some other fool to carry out her mission.

Either way, if it wasn't for that raven, would his life have any semblance of recognition to what it was now? Nixie, Omelette, Julius, Bob, Carnifex. Would any of them exist at all?

People often say they would give an arm and a leg for certain things. But if he had a chance to go back and do it again... then Seth would eagerly cut off his own arm and toss it down that raven's gullet himself to keep things the same.

Perhaps it was being surrounded by all these beasts that were bringing on these thoughts, or perhaps it was a result of his work in meditation, which was still going on at this very moment even if drop kicking a tiger doesn't seem conductive to such a practice.

Whatever it was, while Seth was fighting the beasts outside of the newly conquered city, his delegates were hard at work constructing the space stabilising alter and putting the final touches on his rule.

The Delegate, a tall man with chocolate skin, dressed in a crisp suit and who exuded a refined air that permeated every fibre of his being, stood next to a shy woman with curly brown hair. The pair watched over the construction of the alter, as the final pieces were being put in place.

Huge clay golems, twice the height of a normal man, were responsible for the heavy lifting while human workers worked on the fine details. All of the runes were carved before hand, they simply had to put it together like a complex, 3D jigsaw.

Around them, the decrepit and dreadful houses of the previous ruler were being torn down to make way for new constructs that were not only comfortable to live in, but would be more likely to withstand any attacks.

The old world houses were like paper against most beast attacks, especially as their powers grew stronger.

The mousy, curly haired woman looked at the clay giants with a hint of fear, as well as the soldiers made of stone patrolling the streets and keeping the peace.

"What are those things? Are you sure they are safe?"

The man followed her gaze, before replying in a neutral tone.

"The big one's are Ushabti, created for labour as well as used as servants. You may apply for one through Ravenkeep, but the creator needs time for recovery and creation. So expect a wait. The others are called Unkindly Guards.

They serve our Lord, as do you. They will not harm you nor any of your people, not unless they commit crimes or are given reason to."

"Oh... Okay..."

She clasped her hands together, knitting her fingers nervously as she looked down. The Delegate glanced at her again, raising his eyebrow at her reaction before letting out a sigh. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a forced smile, trying his best to be warm and comforting.

"You will be fine. You were chosen to lead this city because you were smart and tried to keep your people from violence. We respected that. Power will come with time, don't worry. Look at the Lord for inspiration.

I will be here to help you through the rough stages. It will be fine. All that is left is the formal oath to be taken."

The girl nodded softly at his words, the weight on her shoulders lifting until a small smile blossomed on her lips. By the time she was swearing her oath to the Lord and officially assuming her position as Mayor of the city, the nerves had all but faded.

At that same moment, unbeknownst to the Delegate, the new Mayor or even Seth himself. When the new Mayor uttered the final word of her oath, a wax sealed envelope appeared in Seth's workshop. Resting on the table, as if it had always been there.

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