Arad stood, “Baltos and the royal family would stay in this keep for protection. It’s the safest place I can offer. Gin would handle all connection with the village or Alina, and I’ll move the injured Kin here to finish her recovery,”

“And you?” Baltos stared at Arad.

“I’ll be staying in my house for what little remains of the winter,” He replied, “And I’ll set off for the university afterward. I’m counting on you and Charlie to watch over the castle’s building process,” Arad replied, walking toward the door, “I’ll bring Isdis here later to see you,”

“You can count on me. I guess I can keep doing my work from here?” Baltos nodded.

“You can. I don’t need the castle right now. Use it as a base,” Arad walked out.

Alcott smiled, “So the kingdom’s capital is in Arad’s territory now. That’s akin to saying the whole kingdom is a part of his treasure hoard.

“Void is fated to absorb everything, and Arad already took the kingdom.” Merlin opened the door and walked in, “It’s not his power alone that’s growing at an insane speed. His influence is stretching like wildfire,”

****

ZON! Teleported to his house garden, landing outside the main door. “Finally back,” He lifted his hand, about to knock on the door. ^I wonder what Aella would say about Zephyr getting sealed. I told her with my crows, but she’s bound to ask personally about the details.^ 𝑖𝘦.𝑐ℴ𝘮

He swung his knuckle at the door, about to knock.

CLACK! The door burst open, and Aella stood there. She opened it before he could even knock. “Welcome home,”

Arad stared at her, noticing a faint twitch in her magic that he didn’t recognize, “You’re angry about Zephyr. Sorry, I was late to save her.”

Aella smiled, “I’m not angry,” She pulled him inside by hand, “I knew she was sealed the moment it happened. We are linked, remember?”

“So you’ve felt it,” Arad looked at Aella, “But that doesn’t change the fact I couldn’t save her,” He could still see the strange flicker in Aella’s magic and know that something was up in her.

“You’re looking at my magic, right?” She giggled.

“How do you know that?”

“Your eyes glow purple whenever you do so. It’s obvious.”

“Wait…I didn’t know that.” Arad rubbed his eyes, “No wonder people get scared when I look at their magic.”

“They get afraid thinking you’re about to blast them with a spell. You probably should be careful when doing that,” She sat on the couch and pulled Arad to sit beside her.

“So, you aren’t angry?” Arad asked.

“It’s not only emotions that can change one’s magic. The magic itself can grow or shift,” She pointed above her head, “Zephyr knew she didn’t have enough concentrated damage to penetrate the barrier from the inside and that she’d be locked in for a while anyway.”

The wind started rushing around her body, rising above her head and condensing into a glowing green crown. “She only had enough time to send less than a hundredth of her power, so she gave me the title and key to her greatest magic,”

“What thing is…” Arad gasped.

“Crown of the wind spirit queen,” Aella smiled, “It’s a mere title, nothing more.” She waved her hand, “The whole world is engulfed in Zephyr’s wind expansion. It’s the air every living being breathes. Everything that ever lived and breathed is indebted to her,” She smiled.

“She gave me the key to keep it active so the world won’t suffocate and die,” She looked at Arad, “If she didn’t give me this crown, the whole air of the world would’ve faded away, and all living things would’ve suffocated to death, even Vlad would’ve lost his life.”

“Wait, the whole world relies on her to exist?” Arad looked around.

“Zephyr never told anyone, and honestly I doubt any great power of her caliber would speak of how important or vital they are. When she dies, the world dies with her. That’s the spirit representing wind, you can’t have living beings without air for them to breathe.” Aella looked down with a sad face.

“She gave you the title, which is like a key to keep the expansion active.”

“The expansion is called atmosphere,”

“To keep the atmosphere active, and some of her power in the form of magic.”

“I won’t call it magic. She’s raised my affinity with wind magic which would make my wind spells stronger. It’s like a modifier that grows the stronger I grow,” Aella waved her hand, “I’m not stronger now, but my growth speed should be better now,”

Arad looked forward, “Do you what this means?”

“The other spirits are just like her. If the earth spirit went missing,” Aella looked down, “We should say goodbye to the ground.”

“Zephyr wasted a lot of her power as she started herself and as she trashed the first layer of hell. I doubt the other spirits are as gentle as her, they’ll be at full power all the time,” Arad clenched his fist, “No matter how big or strong someone grows, we can never shatter the earth. Let’s hope they are friendly,”

“Arad, you’re back,” Isdis walked into the room, “Can you send me to father?”

“Of course,” He stood, “Kin woke up?”

“She’s the one who informed me,” Isdis nodded, as she touched Arad’s hand, “I’ll send her after you,” ZON! He teleported Isdis to the Keep.

“I’ll go get Kin,” Arad turned toward Aella, “I’ll inform the rest of your return, not that don’t know.” She smiled.

As Arad walked into the hallway, he saw Merida walking toward him. “You’re back, the crows told me,” She smiled.

“It’s been one thing after another.” Arad sighed, “I don’t seem to have a moment rest,”

“A busy man is a good man,” Merida giggled, “Albeit it’s a bit frustrating for us both. Especially if you’re self-employed like an adventurer, or whatever a dragon does. You need to make vacations for yourself and set time limits,”

“You’ve owned a shop with your father,” Arad smiled, “Is that how it works?”

“Yeah. People keep coming minutes before I close, and if I don’t reject them, I’ll find myself working till midnight. Your mental and physical well-being is more important than anything else,” She tapped his shoulder, “And my nights are important as well,” She stared at him with a judging glare.

“Keeping it in your example, aren’t the customers important? Lyla said that,” Arad replied.

“It’s quite a debate, but I’d say it’s like everything else. It depends.” She shook her head, “Sometimes it’s worth it, sometimes it isn’t. I usually take someone’s first order that comes at a late hour, but inform them that I won’t take it next time. A hero can’t save everyone so don’t stress over it, and try to have some time to relax and spend it at home.”

“You’re right,” Arad smiled, “I’m spending the rest of the winter here. We’ll talk about it later,”

“Wait,” She grabbed his hand, “It’s my turn, right?”

“Turn at what?” Arad asked, and she pulled her sword, “I’ll slice you in half,”

“It is,” Aella poked her head out of the living room’s door, “I told you that we’re the ones deciding,”

Merida stared at her, “Are you sure? Shouldn’t he have the last say?”

“That won’t do it. It’s our job to decide on an order and rotation. You’re up tonight so get yourself ready.”

“I mean,” Merida gasped, “About last time, I can’t just come in and…” 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“Arad doesn’t care, I know that much,” Aella turned toward Arad, “She said she’ll love flying around a forest slaying monsters. Find a suitable place and take her out,”

“Ah! That’s what you mean,” It finally clicked in Arad’s head. He turned toward Merida with a smile, “No wonder you were about to get aggressive,” He looked at her sword, “We can do it that way as well,”

“Fine by me!” Merida replied. She doesn’t care how she gets it, just wants to do it.

“Don’t.” Aella stared at them, “She doesn’t have Eris’s regeneration, nor your speed and power. She’ll end up too injured. Take it slow with her,” She then went back inside.

“Aella! I can handle myself!” Merida shouted at her.

“You’ll end up crying. If his arms are thicker than your thighs, you can guess how the rest compare!” Aella called from the kitchen.

“I’ll punch her down,” Merida said, rushing past Arad.

“I heard that. Come if you want, I’ll smack you with this radish,” Aella said as she got ready to fight Merida.

Arad looked back, hearing the two scraping in the kitchen like cats.

“What are they going on about?” Arad sighed.

^Wives banter. They aren’t actually angry at each other or fighting seriously, so it’s best to let them be.^

^You’re right. Those two could unleash enough power to blast the house away,^ He thought, walking toward the dungeon’s entrance to teleport Kin to the Keep.

Arad stopped at the entrance and looked back, “Those two are agile, not even making a single sound while fighting around the kitchen.” He mumbled, watching them through the eyes of a crow sitting at the window. None of them was able to hit the other nor made any sound as they jumped everywhere from the walls to the ceiling, masterfully dodging anything that could be knocked over.

^Can I use the crow?^ Doma asked.

^Why? Go ahead,^

Doma giggled, taking control of the crow instead of Arad.

“KWAAA! Merida, don’t forget to take a bath after this,”

Merida immediately hit the ground with a red face.

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