A few months later, Titus’ hard work had finally paid off.

  He heard the news of a demigod with red hair. Some called him Achillies, getting the name Acheus confused with him instead. He had gained much wealth in the town of Memphis, transporting items between various cities. He charged as much as he wanted, whenever he wanted to transport people's goods with his ability.

  During Ace's time, the best use for that ability was working at a pizza delivery service. Now every merchant came to Memphis to use his ability to gain more profits, much quicker.

  Menes was overjoyed when Ace said that he wanted his daughter. At this point, Ace had given up on ever returning and decided he would make the best of his strange predicament. He originally decided not to do anything too different when he realized he was in the past, but he didn't care anymore. All the money Ace had acquired from his business gained him a large house, many servants, a pretty wife, and many fathers who told him, have mine. He was disgusted by the idea of having many wives but curious about having many women at once. His mind was now focused on two things: how often he could be alone with his wife, and how much money he could make to fill up the time outside of her.

  It had been an entire year and a half since he had arrived, and he was much more comfortable around others and felt a lot more confident now that he held a position of power, when before he was always chastised for never being strong enough, or never trying hard enough. He rarely ever thought about returning home anymore, as he decided that it was impossible.

  One day Ibis came up to him, walking as fast as her short legs would allow her now larger body and a protruding belly to go. He was writing in his room, trying to create records of transactions on his own because he trusted no one with his money. She came up to him in a panic, afraid and sweaty. “Titus’ guards are here,” she whispered. “They said you must go with them or else they will take me instead.”

  Ace sighed and knew this day would come. He explained to his wife that he would take care of it and left. He had matured a lot during this time and simply knew that there was a way things worked around his new home. Titus was the new Maximillian.

   Ace refused to move them back to Alexandria using his ability and forced them to make the trip back by boat down the river. They immediately took him to Titus' large chamber where he took audiences from his citizens and foreign dignitaries. His throne sat high above everyone else, and Titus looked down on Ace, upset, hurt, angry, and embarrassed.

  Before Titus could speak, Ace apologized. "It was wrong what I did," he said. "You wouldn't listen to me when I tried to say I wanted to leave. I'm sorry." Titus was pleasantly surprised at how Ace was willing to admit his wrongdoing so easily. “You will return to me, won’t you,” Titus exclaimed. “No,” Ace said bluntly. “I have a kid and a wife, and a business.”

  Titus was angry that Ace had easily moved on without him, that he had used his gift of learning how to read and write their language for-profit and not give him any. “You can never leave me,” Titus shouted. Ace disappeared and Titus was left screaming in an empty hall, inside his ivory tower.

  For the next several months, Titus repeated this, and Ace did the same thing. He simply left once he arrived in Alexandria back to Memphis. He didn't mind, as the constant use of his power helped him to be able to travel farther distances and improve without accidentally leaving a slipper behind, or being unable to bring someone with him.

  Many other people tried to take him or his wife, but Ace just left with Ibis, their rudimentary weapons no use if he could simply leave. Even if they did do anything dangerous, Ace could simply use Invictus. Ace was tired of being bothered and then closed his business.

  For the next year, Titus forced some poor soul to travel to Memphis and then bring Ace back once a month to scream at him. It had become so customary, that one month Ace simply went to visit himself, which just made Titus angrier. Ace and Ibis joked about how it was the monthly visit to the in-laws and did not take anything he did or said seriously.

  Menes was now quite haughty and had an inflated ego. He now only worked, not for money, but to show off that he didn’t need to. Ace was annoyed with his constant need to show him off wherever they went and hated that he now lived in a culture where your in-laws lived with you after marriage. He was, however, quite happy to have his son.

  He had dark skin, straight brown hair, and was a fat and happy baby. The only indicator that Ace was his father was that somehow he had the same blue eyes as him. All the servants and noblewomen twittered about his son, amazed at his striking eyes, claiming that one day he will be a great warrior. Ace rolled his eyes at the comments, tired of everyone trying to smell his ass every time he farted.

  Once he married Ibis and she had his son, Menes and Ibis decided to come clean with a secret they had been hiding. Ace was nervous when in the middle of the night, Menes and Ibis woke him up. “I think you should know something,” Ibis mumbled. “You and I are the same.”

  Ace was puzzled by what she meant. Ibis went over to a nearby table and showed him a dead flower she had picked up earlier. “Look closely,” she mumbled.

  She grit her teeth, and sweat. Her nostrils flared and she groaned as slowly, the wilted flower came back to life. Ace’s heart beat fast and he watched in awe, trying to think up many different ways they could use her ability. “I did not want an evil man to take my daughter and use her for horrible things,” Menes explained. “However you have proved yourself a man worthy of being with my daughter many times over.”

“How can she do this,” Ace asked.

“I have thought about it a long time,” Menes replied. “She must be blessed by Ra and Iah! She was born when they both met!” “You mean a solar eclipse,” Ace asked. “When the sun and moon come out together?”

Menes nodded rapidly and grinned, believing that Ace was possibly blessed the same way as well.

“That makes no sense,” Ace said bluntly.

“It’s true,” Ibis insisted. “My mother died in childbirth during the eclipse, so now I can give life to all.” Ace simply nodded and agreed, never truly believing in any of their gods. Menes left, happy that Ace would keep his daughter's secret.

  Ace was up all night, the cogs in his head spinning. He was slowly starting to piece everything together. Ace stared at her while she slept and he wondered why she never killed him in his sleep. It was too much of a coincidence. It's one thing to look like her, but now they have the same power.

Ace was now afraid of his wife, who would never hurt a fly, and who was too busy spending her time playing with their child and weaving new clothing whenever she fancied. He stayed up all night, trying to find many ways to hide his son in case she showed her true colors.

The next day, as scheduled, Titus’ henchmen came for Ace.