Akira traversed the well-lit paths that led through the estate grounds at a meandering pace, taking the time to enjoy the beauty of a few bioluminescent flowers and trees. Normally, these specimens couldn't be found anywhere near that part of the world, typically only able to grow in the vast underground caverns of Vestermole—an underground kingdom nearly on the other side of the world.

It had been a long day—well, more like weeks in reality. Ever since Lukas had appeared, things had grown complicated and much more annoying. Her days used to be simple and straightforward; now she had to deal with Lukas' training, show him how to do just about everything, and manage the constant stream of inquiries from just about every person in the city and her own family. To his credit, Lukas was the least draining aspect of her day, even if the quickness with which he picked up on some things irked her to no end.

But ever since seeing the two together while getting Lukas his armor, more and more people had been approaching her with questions. At the current point, she was running out of easy answers and ways to avoid giving them. Things had been a lot easier before—she was from one of the most powerful aristocratic families in the region, and people would think twice about approaching her on a whim.

That had all changed when a new mystery man appeared, grabbing everyone's attention. What was perhaps the most annoying part was the fact that no one would approach her when Lukas was actually with her out in public—all of them too unnerved by the subtle use of his aura ability. That would have been great, except for the fact that getting Lukas to go out in public was like pulling teeth. He was far too absorbed in his books and viewed going out the same way a child viewed vegetables.

The short walks through the family grounds were a nice way for her to unwind and relax after a stressful day. Though she wasn't out there just to enjoy the scenery—as pretty as it was—she was on her way to see Lukas.

Despite how much of a pain he was, Akira found herself spending more and more of her limited free time with him—when he wasn't engrossed in one thing or another, that is. She would say she didn't know why she was doing it, but she did know.

Someone like her didn't have a lot of friends; being at the top of the pile meant her peers sought her out for politics or benefits—two things she wanted nothing to do with. While Akira would consider Luna her closest friend, things weren't all perfect there. With the cannid woman more involved in politics than Akira, both of them made sure to avoid certain topics, and while that wasn't necessarily detrimental, it did mean there was a barrier there. Even within her own family there were social climbers, and even if there were a few cousins she liked, Akira wouldn't call them friends. None of that was even mentioning the facade she had to put on around others in order to keep up appearances.

Then there was Lukas—a complete outsider with no regard for status or power. It was unbelievably refreshing to have a normal conversation with someone, even if it felt like she was explaining something or answering one of his inane questions more often than not.

Being treated like a normal person was nice. What was even better was being able to speak her mind or laze about, not having to worry about saying the right thing or "carrying herself with the dignity of her station," as some would call it.

When she arrived at Lukas' residence, Akira simply walked in the front door. She knew it was polite to knock and announce her presence, but Lukas didn't mind. Besides, when she did knock Lukas didn't hear it most of the time anyway.

Walking through the foyer and into the living room, Akira found the place in its usual state of disaster. It was like some kind of explosive had gone off in a library, leaving old books and scrolls scattered about at random, a thin layer of chalk dust still covering most surfaces.

While the room was left in what had become its default state, Lukas was nowhere to be found. Assuming he was doing alchemy or studying, Akira went upstairs to check the lab and study—not too broken up about the idea of interrupting and making him entertain her. The only problem was that he wasn't there either.

Frowning, she went to check the meditation chamber next, only to find it empty as well.

'Did he go to the lodge to get more books?' she wondered. 'No, he went yesterday. There's no way he could've finished those ones already.'

Unsure of where Lukas was, Akira pushed out her senses, checking to see if he was anywhere in the house.

Scowling, Akira turned her gaze to the ceiling. 'What's he doing on the roof?'

*

Hopping up to the roof with the help of her stats, Akira soon found Lukas. He was lying down, legs crossed, hands clasped over his stomach, and staring up at the starry night sky.

Walking over, Akira stared at him curiously for a moment. "What're you doing?"

"Meditating," he said, not shifting his gaze from the sky.

She took in his relaxed form with a raised brow. "Clearly."

Lukas pulled his eyes from the stars and looked at her. "The night sky and the quiet of the hour are calming. Just the rustling of leaves and the endless expanse," he said, gesturing out to the sky.

"Mind if I join you?"

He waved a hand vaguely. "As if you'd listen if I said no."

With a grin, Akira joined Lukas, lying next to him. They were silent for a few minutes, both taking in the brilliance of the sky above.

"You do this kind of thing a lot back on Earth?" she eventually asked, nervous that the question was a touchy subject.

She knew Lukas didn't mind talking about his home world. She'd even say that he loved talking about it, readily answering any and all questions she asked about the place. His life and own experiences, on the other hand, weren't something he shared openly.

Akira was curious to know who he'd been before coming to her world and what living on Earth was really like. This wasn't the first time she'd asked an open-ended question like that either, but each time Lukas would always give a general answer about how things were in his home world.

"I wouldn't say it's common," he shrugged, answering how Akira guessed he would. "People are more interested in other things. Besides, the night sky isn't as clear back home."

Rolling her head to the side to look at him, she frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Light pollution. The lights from cities and towns drown out the stars, and with my world being so much smaller than this one, we only have so much space. With no monsters or beasts, it's a lot safer too, allowing us to spread out more. It's not easy to find a place with a clear view."

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Akira simply nodded, and they fell into silence once again.

"Does it make you feel small?" she asked, gesturing up at the heavens.

"…It makes me feel a lot of things," Lukas said after a moment. "Complicated things for sure, but not small. You?" he asked, looking her way.

"It does," she freely admitted. "That's even knowing how strong someone can get as they go up in rank. I could reach the peak, whatever that looks like, but that's nothing compared to the vast number of endless universes."

Lukas sat up, turning to look down at her sprawled form. "Hang on—universes?"

"Yeah?" she said with a raised brow. "You come from another universe, you know that. There are a countless number of universes all layered on top of one another."

Akira could just about see the frown beneath the mask. "Yeah, I… I guess I knew, but I never really understood. I've had too much on my mind since coming here. Universes, huh."

Akira smiled, not missing the wonder in his voice as he turned his gaze back to the stars. "I'm going to assume you want to know everything I do?"

"Yes please," he nodded adamantly.

"Well, I want to preface this by saying that my mother definitely knows more than me, so if you have more questions afterward you'll have to go to her."

Lukas nodded in understanding, and she continued. "I guess I should start with the fact that the multiverse is huge—beyond our comprehension. There are layers upon layers of universes and dimensions, all fundamentally the same though with a few differences.

"The big one is that the overall magic levels are different—similar to how Adona has differing levels of magic depending on where you are. Independent universes and the multiverse as a whole are the same. As far as I understand, our dimension isn't very impressive, the same as the planet."

Pulling out one of his many notebooks, Lukas began writing things down. "How so?"

"My mother once told me that the peak gold rank was the limit of what could be accomplished on Adona because the magic levels just aren't high enough for further growth. Some manage to push through to whatever the next stage is, but most don't—and can't—unless they leave the planet and go somewhere with the proper conditions and resources."

"They go to other worlds or dimensions?" he asked, not looking up as he scribbled his strange squiggles that Akira guessed were his native language.

"Yes," she confirmed, noting the strange writing. "Some worlds and dimensions have the ability to hold a high level of magic. Dimensions with higher ambient magic are often called higher realms due to the large amounts of energy they have. You can see it as a top-down sort of thing where we're near the middle."

Lukas nodded eagerly, his hand moving in a blur as he wrote. "And how would someone reach another dimension or world? Are there any ships that can travel the distance?"

"Ships?" Akira mused. "Maybe—I haven't heard of such a thing before, but I wouldn't be surprised if they exist. As far as I know, most people use teleportation circles. They're used to travel across Adona as well, but they're expensive to run."

"Teleportation…" Lukas muttered, his eyes distant with wonder.

Akira grinned. "Not something you have back home, huh? Well, it'll be a good long while before you can give it a go. Like I said, it's expensive enough to travel across the planet. Travel between worlds or dimensions is only for the extremely wealthy."

"Being able to do that suggests some kind of infrastructure," Lukas noted. "Is this planet a part of an alliance or galactic empire?"

"The latter, though it's kind of complicated. The way my mother explained it, our planet is like a small, poor village in the middle of a vast and wealthy empire. We're pretty much left alone here because we don't have anything to offer. We're centrally located, and our planet doesn't produce any rare resources in high enough volume to warrant exporting off-world."

Lukas halted his frantic writing for a moment, looking back up to the night sky. "So, we're left alone here?" he asked, a strange wistfulness to his words.

"More or less," she shrugged. "You should be happy about that, though. Were word of you to reach the Imperials, there would be nothing anyone on this planet could do to stop them if they wanted you. At least as cosmic country bumpkins, no one pays attention to us."

He was silent for a moment before nodding, turning his attention back to his notebook. "You're right. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Hmm," she hummed, pondering the night sky as she searched for anything else she knew. "No, no, I think that's about all I know. You'll have to look to my mother for more."

With a displeased grunt, Lukas put down a few more lines before putting his notebook away.

Akira watched him for a few seconds as he lay back down next to her, noticing his standoffish body language. "You haven't talked to her yet, have you?" she asked.

Another grunt.

"It's been a week, and the family get-together is tomorrow night. She'll want an answer before then. Do you know what you're going to do?"

"Yes and no," he sighed. "I know what I want to do, but then there's what I should do."

Rather than say anything, Akira remained silent and eyed him as he collected his thoughts.

"Agreeing to be adopted by your family is the smart thing to do, I know that, but I don't think I can do it. I value my freedom and independence too much—I don't want to be chained down by whatever rules your family has me follow. There was a time before where I wouldn't care and just go with what I was told, but back home, when I left to live in the forest, it was so freeing. If I made a mistake or messed up, no one was there to yell at me or criticize me or tell me things I already knew. I could just handle it myself and move on with my life.

"Showing up in this world was the same. I made mistakes, and the only person affected was me—no one was breathing down my neck or judging me. Apart from training, things are still the same. I could have an accident in the lab and no one would be there to scold me for doing something wrong. Being adopted means I'll be under more scrutiny and held to a higher standard—one where messing up means repercussions for other people, not just me."

Akira nodded along as Lukas spoke, taking it all in. Once he was finished, she took a few seconds to go over what he'd said—and she understood. Despite his last words, he wasn't necessarily concerned with harming her family's reputation. He was worried about being limited.

He could be likened to a wildflower, where the adoption meant being moved to a greenhouse. The greenhouse meant safety from outside influences, but it also meant being trapped in a planter box. Lukas wanted to stay as wild and free as possible, able to grow and move as he wanted.

Akira couldn't blame him for that, but they weren't in the wild. Lukas' nature as an outworlder and their location in a city meant there were inherent societal limits already in place. If she were in his position, she would've accepted her mother's offer—but maybe that was because she was already used to the "limits" Lukas was afraid of.

Akira placed a hand on his shoulder, and he looked at her. "Just do what you feel is right, and if you want to change your mind at a later date, then you can."

Taking a deep breath, Lukas let it back out as a slow sigh. "Alright then."

"Do you have a backstory figured out yet?"

"Sort of?" he shrugged. "Your dad and brother are in Lighthollow, right?"

"Last I heard," Akira nodded. "They've been there for a while. Why?"

"We could say that your brother discovered me and considered me a promising young talent—one that's too low-ranked to join his team, but not too low to join another Anuk team. He could've told your dad about me, and they sent me here."

"That… could work. My brother should be mid, almost high-tier iron by now, so not joining his team makes sense. He also inherited my mother's drive to make the family stronger—being the next in line after my mother—so looking for talent wouldn't be out of the norm for him. As for a team, are you joining my team?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Do you have a team?" Lukas asked in return.

"No," Akira shook her head. "I've done a few contracts with others, but I'm not registered with a team. I don't think I'd mind having you on my team, though," she said, head tilted curiously, "considering your strength and insane stats."

"Maybe," Lukas said. "I mean, I did just go on a big spiel about how I like being independent. Besides, I don't have any experience in fighting with a team, so I'm not sure."

"I'm not going to ridicule you if you make a mistake, Lukas. We can go on a few test runs sometime in the future," Akira suggested. "I think my mother will approve of your backstory—it would also explain why I'm training with you."

The two fell into silence again after that, once more broken by Akira. "So, does this mean you're ready for the soirée tomorrow?"

Rather than answer with words, Lukas let out an exhausted groan that told Akira all she needed to know—and she laughed.

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