TYE

Kojo and Sharone soon left the house. They walked side by side, making their way to Lloyd's laboratory. Sharone cradled Tye, the Chimera rabbit, in her arms, and Kojo couldn't help but glance at the rabbit with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

"What's the deal with that Forbidden Beast?" Kojo wondered, his thoughts echoing in his mind.

(Why, are you jealous that the rabbit is so close to her chest and you're not? You could get some cuddle time if you asked instead of being,you know,you) Sysia teased.

Kojo's face remained neutral, but his inner response was emphatic.

"No."

(What do you mean no?)

"I mean, think about it, Sysia. There are some pages where the rabbit is there, and then it just disappears for chapters on end. Then, suddenly, it randomly spawns back to our presence. It's like it's being written in and out of the story. It's either lazy writing or whoever is up there just keeps forgetting things. I personally think it's laziness."

(What are you talking about, Kojo? What pages? What story?You're referring to our world like it's a world of fiction.)

Kojo's expression didn't change, but his thoughts were laced with amusement. "It is.You know exactly what I'm talking about, Sysia. You're in my head after all."

There was a pause and Kojo blinked as his mind was suddenly flooded with flashes of numbers,calculations and various strings of code.

(I've run the numbers. You don't seem to be going insane.)

"Seriously?" Kojo responded dryly.

(You're probably being stupid on purpose. ) Sysia concluded.

(As for the rabbit, you can find out more about it through the bond between you two.)

Kojo glanced at the Crescent moon symbol on his left hand , a reminder of his connection to Tye. Sysia continued, (Information about the Forbidden beast can't be found in the archives, and I'm unable to 'Scan' it. However, I do know some of its base abilities.)

Kojo's curiosity was piqued. "Whats out resident mascot capable of"

( You didn't ask all these until now?)

" Well a lotta things happened and as I said it's a oversight from....."

( Stop blaming someone else and just say you forgot.)

" I forgot." Kojo responded flatly.

( Pervert.)

" Wait whaa-"

Sysia ignored and continued .

(The Chimera rabbit has the ability to teleport on a much larger scale than your Warp, allowing it to go anywhere, ignoring the constraints of coordinates,space, time, and dimensionality.)

Kojo's eyes widened in surprise." For real?"

(I was shocked too, but then again, it's no surprise. The Chimera rabbit is a Forbidden beast, a race that's separate yet on par with the Celestial races: Dragonkin, Fay, Seraphs, and Daemons and seemingly the only one of its kind.)Sysia's said in a matter-of-fact tone.

As Sysia finished speaking, Tye hopped out of Sharone's arms and landed on Kojo's shoulder, snuggling close to him affectionately. Kojo's expression softened, and he reached up to gently pet the rabbit's soft fur.

Sharone smiled, watching the exchange between Kojo and Tye. "Looks like someone's got a fan," she said, her voice warm and teasing.

Kojo smiled.

As they approached Lloyd's laboratory, Kojo's thoughts turned to the task at hand, and he pushed aside his curiosity about Tye's abilities, focusing on the meeting with Lloyd.

The door to the laboratory swung open, and Lloyd greeted them with a warm smile pulling them inside.

"Ah, perfect timing! I have some questions."

Kojo sighed and nodded. "Let's get down to business."

***********

Rey walked through the bustling streets of the city, taking in the sights and sounds of the vibrant marketplace. Eden seemed to be busy, engaged in a transmission projection with the Duke and other leaders to discuss the plans for the border with the King. The girls had disappeared somewhere, and Rey was left to his own devices.

As he strolled through the crowd, Rey's mind wandered to the recent events. He wondered what his purpose was in all this. Everyone seemed to have a role and yet here he was walking aimlessly.Lost in his thoughts, Rey didn't notice the girl in front of him until he bumped into her.

The girl dropped the basket she was carrying and the ingredients she was carrying fell on the floor, and Rey quickly apologized.

"Sorry!" He said bending down to help pick up the items that had fallen to the floor.

As they both reached for an apple, their hands touched, and the girl's face turned bright red. She quickly snatched the apple and ran off, leaving Rey bewildered.

"What's wrong?" Rey wondered, watching the girl disappeared behind a corner. "Maybe she was in a rush, but she seemed frightened." He shook his head, deciding that he would have to apologize if they met again.

Just then, someone called out to him.

"Rey! Hey, Rey!"

Rey turned to see Sol, a familiar face in the crowd. "Sol. Yeah I forgot he was still in the city. And why is he calling my name so casually? We don't know each other that well." Rey thought as the handsome man approached.

Sol grinned. "You're quite the ladykiller, aren't you? What did you do to the poor girl?"

Rey held up his hands in defense.

"I did nothing! I just bumped into her, and she ran off." He said quickly.

Sol raised an eyebrow.

" Relax,I was just teasing.Where are you off to?"

Rey shrugged. "I don't have anything to do, so I'm just walking around. What about you, I thought you'd left by now?"

"I have to see Sharone first. And I'm waiting for a shipment from Adonis, so I'll be here for a couple more days." Sol responded.

Sol's gaze fell on Rey's sword.

"Hey, since we both have nothing to do, why don't we train? I could use a good spar."

Rey hesitated.

Sol seemed to have an abnormally large arcana pool, but he didn't seem to be able to tap into it. Wouldn't that mean he'd get hurt if they fought, especially with Rey's Supreme Enchantment?

Sol seemed to sense Rey's reservations. "Magic isn't everything, you know. Ok,let's make it more interesting and place a wager – the one who wins buys the other a drink."

Rey thought for a moment.

"I don't drink but Okay, I'll take you on."

The two of them moved to a scheduled area, and Sol drew his whip. Rey unsheathed his sword.

A few minutes later, Rey found himself lying on his back, a whip wrapped around his neck, and bruises covering his body. Sol stood over him, a triumphant smile on his face.

"Guess you owe me a drink," Sol said, laughing.

"You have exceptional abilities. But,remember what I told you before?"

Rey groaned, rubbing his sore neck.

" Magic isn't everything ."

Sol chuckled, offering Rey a hand up.

" Exactly. Now, about that drink..."

********

Kojo and Sharone walked side by side, returning from Lloyd's laboratory. Sharone turned to Kojo with a thoughtful expression. "I never expected Heira to be so bright in the field of science," she said.

Kojo nodded in agreement. "

Yes, it was a surprise. It was as if she was one of us from the start. She didn't even react when you told her that her uncle had been named and was now subordinate to Sasha."

Sharone's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Still ,it's best to be in the safe side so I'll keep the brand on her just in case."

As they walked, Kojo's thoughts turned to Lloyd.

"That bastard,I never expected... actually, if I'm being honest,I did," he thought to himself, a hint of a smile on his face.

(It's all because of your influence, plus he's a man of science, of course he'd come up with these things himself given time)Sysia chimed in.

"But isn't the development going a bit too fast?" he wondered.

( Oh?, so now your worried ) Sysia asked, her tone laced with sarcasm.

Kojo shook his head.

"No, but like it's going to draw a lot of attention."

Could feel Sysia rolling her eyes.

(It's better that we become stable now so that we can work on the 'saving the world mandate' Dona gave. That aside,we can slowly start sharing the technology with the rest of the world while maintaining a monopoly.)

Kojo thought about it for a while then chuckled shaking his head.

"You're a crafty snake."

(You're one to talk, Kojo.)

" But, like for real though, who just comes up with the formula for alternating current, albeit with modifications for magic and arcana? In under two minutes?!" He wondered.

(Lloyd's a genius And with our guidance, he might just change the world.)

..... Speaking of which.

" Hey Sharone,your old ,right?" Kojo asked her.

She whacked him on the back of the head.

" Ow! What was that for?"

" Its rude to talk to a lady about her age." Sharone scolded

" What are you so mad about? You're basically immortal. You could be a thousand and..." Sharone glared at him and he took a step back.

" Ok,ok I'm sorry. I just wanted to know what your perspective of the Holy Land is since you've lived a long time." Kojo said.

She paused pondering the question for a moment.

"The Holy Land of Ezkanur, is a place of great spiritual significance, home to the Church of Undying Light and the seat of the Pope's power." She began in a soft tone.

Kojo listened intently.

"I've never actually been there personally and countries and nations change over a period of time depending on their leaders. That and the Necroleonic Federation have been at war with the church due to obvious reasons. They spread light and they live in the dark."

Kojo noted how Sharone excluded herself from the other vampires by using 'they'

"Because of that we don't really hear anything good from that side and the treaty for peace that all countries signed made information about them really scarce.From what I've learned, the Church has stood for thousands of years, its origin shrouded in mystery. Some say it was built even before the time of heroes, the Dark Ages when Estelle Leicester faced the Chaos Lord Minatori. Some even say it was established before that during the Age of Prosperity"

Sharone's expression turned thoughtful as they turned a corner, walking down a quiet street lined with trees.

"The Church is dedicated to the worship of the Goddess Shrena, one of the four gods currently worshipped in the world. The others are the World Tree in Tessaloni, the Metallurgy God Ignus of Adonis, and a Nameless deity from the East."

Kojo nodded thoughtfully.

" So there are four main gods in this world huh? I wonder which if some of them are Chaos or Order Lords

( Then again some of them could be myths made up by people who've observed natural phenomena or phenomena caused by the other powerful beings in this world either mortal or celestial.)

"As for the structure of government,I know it's run by to the Council of 70 Archbishops, known as the Clergy of Radiants who serve under the Pope as a form of parliament. They govern the Church and guide its followers, with the Pope having the final say."

As they walked, the sun began to set, casting a warm orange glow over the landscape. "Through the years,the Church has gained a significant influence on the world, with churches established in various countries. The Bishop is the leader of these cluster of churches found in each nation and serves as the Popes representative, spreading the teachings of the Church and guiding its followers."

Kojo nodded thoughtfully, his eyes narrowed in consideration.

" So bishop Rigarde is a man of considerable influence in the church?Why am i feeling bad about this?" He muttered.

" Did you say something?" Sharone asked.

" No nothing,I was just wondering what the popes name was."

" I don't know either, since most of them have a shorter lifespan than I do so if you want more information you'll have to ask Cassandra."

" See why I called you old."

" I'm not old! I'm a charming young woman." Sharone retorted.

" If living for 7,000 years is considered young then ok , Grandma,you still got it."

He gave her a thumbs up.

Sharone began hitting his shoulder and he ran away laughing while she chased after him.