Damien woke up to the calls of seagulls and the soothing sound of water lapping against a nearby shore. He felt heavenly, his body pressing against the surface of a very comfortable bed.

  He almost wanted to go back to sleep, content on remaining there forever, but was held back when his brain caught up to the fact that he was on a bed when the last thing he remembered was being in a cave, a cave that had no shore nearby.

  His brain was still woozy and the dull echo of a strange headache rang through his skull. He frowned, he shouldn't be having headaches at all. Strange.

  Damien massaged his temple, patient as his memories slowly came back. He remembered the desert city, the encounter with the Empire Pillars, as well as the subsequent destruction that followed. He remembered diving into the hole in the ground, the artifacts that he saw, and the Desert Lord that came to them. The last thing he remembered was hearing a voice just before he lost consciousness, one unlike those of the Spirit lord.

  The voice had been different and had echoed through the darkness. Huh... maybe Igor's attack affected me more than I though.

  He frowned however, when he remembered that his mind couldn't have been easily tampered with at his level, and certainly not by a Spirit lord far weaker than him.

  Damien sat up, finally taking in the room he was in. It was a massive luxurious room, with walls of bleached white and steaming emerald. A black and white motif hung from the ceiling, with a hundred bulbed chandelier dangling from beneath. A look through the open windows gave him a breathtaking view of a glittering blue ocean stretching endlessly, complete with the smell of the calming ocean wind.

  "When you're done admiring the room, you can then tell me how you're feeling."

  Damien blinked, looking over to see Keilan sitting on a chair on one side of the room, with an open book in his hands. How had he not noticed him?

  Keilan smiled when Damien turned towards him, failing to hide his concern.

  "Aside from this woozy feeling and the strange headache I have, I think I'm fine."

  Keilan only looked more concerned. "That's strange; you're not supposed to have any sort of naturally occurring mental illness. I'll call in one of the healers to come have you checked." He stretched his hands to a set of enchantments inscribed on the wall that would alert a twin placed in another location, the head healer's office.

  "No, no no, I'm sure I must have gotten thoroughly checked when I was unconscious," Damien said and then paused, "... Judging from how undressed I currently am." He sent his brother a pointed look.

  Keilan waved it off "They had to remove all your clothing to be thorough. You don't know how strange and alarming it is for a Spirit lord to suddenly lose consciousness."

  Damien sighed, he did know how worrying it was. Climbing the realms of ascension had freed his mind from every form of naturally occurring illness, a perk that grew more and more powerful as he ascended. Currently, as he was, except he was afflicted by a biological disease made by another Spirit lord, Damien and sicknesses had no reason to come in contact with each other. He was unable to fall sick, talk less of unconsciousness. He seldom needed to eat as it was, and had long since lost the need to excrete bodily waste.

  This all meant that whatever had happened to him had not been natural.

  "I remember unlocking those runes in the cave and the wave of energy that followed, I was about to teleport away at the last second, thinking you were going to follow, only to be stopped by..." White hot Anger flared through him as he remembered the power that had trapped them at that moment, locking them down with gravity and space.

  "Yes, I remember that too," Keilan said, an undertone of anger in his voice. "But there's nothing we can do about it."

  "What about the desert Spirit lord?"

  "Gone. Disappeared by the time we were released."

  "You think?..." Damien began.

  "Has to be," his brother nodded. "No Spirit lord should be able to lock us like that. What do we do?"

  "Nothing," Damien sighed, tightening his fist. "Absolutely nothing... At least for now."

  His brother grunted.

  "How did we survive, though? I thought for sure that we were goners. The last seconds before I lost consciousness were of the wave hitting me and then stopping short, which was strange. When it touched me, I felt something search through me, looking for something... I don't remember the rest, my head still feels woozy."

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  "Something intruded on your soul?" Keilan leaned forward, eyes narrowed.

  "That wasn't even the strangest thing that happened. Was it only me? Or did you also hear the voice?" He asked.

  "What voice?"

  "The one who spoke to me right before I lost consciousness. It didn't even try when it bypassed all my mental defenses, going straight into my mind. I... I don't remember what was said."

  [I said 'Hello Damien, nice to finally meet you.]

  Damien froze. "Who's that?"

  Keilan raised an eyebrow, looking around the room. "Damien, there's nobody here. Are you sure you're alright? Maybe I should call in a healer."

  "No, I'm alright, I'm alright. I thought I heard the voice again—don't look at me like that, I'm definitely sure what I heard was real and not a figment of my imagination," he said, stopping Keilan from voicing his obvious thoughts.

  "Show yourself!" He said aloud. "I'm not afraid to blast this room to dust just to flush you out."

  [Yeeeesh! Is violence always your first response?] Something flashed out of his chest, eliciting a scream from him that definitely was not manly.

  [I like this room, it would be a shame to see it destroyed,] The thing said, drawing their attention to where it was.

  There was a man shaped thing in his room, a sort of toy figuring that had its hand gripped around its chin as he looked around... Contemplatively?

  All that was discounting the obvious fact that the thing was floating, hovering in the air with clear ease.

  "What are you?" Damien drew back.

  The human shaped thing was seven inches tall, and grey from head to toe. It was dressed in a tiny grey suit with grey hair that drifted slowly in the air. It looked exquisitely sculpted, an artistic work Damien couldn't help but admire.

  [I'm your Min—] It didn't get to finish what it was saying when it was slammed into the wall, plastered against by a huge book that fell down a moment later.

  Damien looked over at Keilan who was standing where the man-shaped thing had been, his hands now empty of the book he had been holding a meme before.

  "What did you do that for?!"

  "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I the only one seeing the strange GREY THINGY THAT CAME OUT OF YOU AND IS NOW FLOATING IN THE AIR, TALKING?!"

  Damien narrowed his eyes. "Now you just look flustered and constipated."

  Keilan opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted.

  [Hey! Who are you calling a grey thingy? That was very much demeaning and I would like an apology, thank you.]

  They both looked over to find the thing hovering behind Keilan's head, hands on its waist as it glared at its aggressor.

  "Ahhhh!" They both screamed, looking at where it had been slammed against the wall a moment before.

  "Okay, okay, everybody calm down," Damien said after a while, waving down Keilan, who held another book up like a weapon. It seemed both of them had apparently forgotten that they were Spirit lords and could bring down this entire building with a simple power flex.

  Keilan calmed and, turning to Damien.

  Damien breathed in, calming himself and switching his mindset to that of a Spirit lord, as he should have from the very start.

  He looked at the grey thing. "Who are you, um, sir?

  [I was about to say that had not this egg-headed being attacked me preemptively, without any reason whatsoever! I mean, who does that?!]

  "Who are you calling egg-headed, you pipsqueak?" Keilan glared.

  The man thing gasped. [Did you just call me pipsqueak? Damien, he called me a pipsqueak! I'll have you know, sir, that height doesn't determine a man's worth.] It waved its little fist at Keilan.

  "Oh, wha—"

  "Enough!" Damien shouted. "You aren't children... At least, some of you aren't."

  [I'll be mature and pretend I didn't hear that. That's me being mature.]

  Damien ignored that. "What are you?" He asked for the third time, his tone conveying his seriousness.

  [Hmm, how do I say this? It's complicated, and you might not completely understand, but I'm your... Let me call it, your Nanny.]

  "My what now?"

  [Your Nanny. More precisely, your Minder,] it repeated, drifting slowly through the air to float in front of him.

  "I don't think I need a Minder, whatever that is. Certainly not one your size. Don't take it personal. I don't understand the rest of what you just said."

  [Don't mind my current size, I can grow taller anytime I want.]

  "Wait wait," Keilan interrupted. "Damien here obviously isn't asking the right questions. What he should be asking is what you are and what you meant by being his Minder. Since you both just met and I don't remember him ever giving you a job."

  "That's a good question," Damien said, turning to the thing.

  [Okay, where should I start? Hmm, I am a being that was specifically created to be of assistance to you, from giving you advice pertaining to your progression and helping you avoid getting yourself killed.]

  "Okay, now I'm confused."

  The thing sighed. [Yeah, me too. In all seriousness, you should have known this right from when you landed here. Don't take all the blame, I understand. It's partially your fault.]

  Damien growled and moved to throw the thing out the window, but unsurprisingly, it escaped. [Wait, wait, wait, I can be anything for you.] It changed its shape, its body turning liquid and then morphing into the shape of a small house and then to a mounted animal. [See?]

  But that wasn't what Damien was focused on. When it was done, a shiver ran down his spine. "What do you mean by being specifically created for me?" He asked, anxiety running through him.

  [What I said, I was created to be of use to you."

  Keilan moved closer, asking the question Damien should have asked. "Who created you?" His voice tense.

  It turned to face Damien. [Oh, your father.]