Amber

Liz, Michael, and Elana kept it secret that were planning to leave Earth, because they knew people would probably try to stop them. They scheduled social media posts to appear after they were already gone where they vented numerous complaints about how they were treated up until now.

After Sarah’s cousin and Earth counterpart left, the remaining nine then walked around a bit, with an armed escort, of course. The entire world already knew about them and were trying to get close.

They had lunch at a rather ordinary restaurant, but Amber, Michelle, and Sarah all got to eat something nostalgic. They had also requested blue moon ice cream for Luna, but she was disappointed by its taste, unlike when she was little.

Roumazi had had to answer an endless amount of questions the previous night, even down to details like how there were humans in both worlds.

That turned out to be because once a world has developed enough mana, it then shoots off its collected mana to become a new world somewhere else. Earth had actually come from Torneltha, and the imprint of the mana meant the creatures and species would develop similarly.

Earth turned out to be a dud world, though, entirely devoid of mana until nine years ago. Humans can survive with practically no mana whatsoever, which is why they developed while no other species of people did.

But that will change in the future now. According to Roumazi’s estimation, most of Earth’s population will have mana within sixty years, and animals will begin to change and develop as well. Other kinds of people might come into existence again, but she couldn’t say for sure.

People’s lifespans can even lengthen, potentially indefinitely. Having a lot of mana was the reason for that, which is why the Torneltha counterparts looked younger. Acquiring more mana can even reverse old age.

The biggest shock came when Roumazi revealed who she really is to the others, as she didn’t want to lie to them. Everyone also talked about like how they were friends with the Queen, and how they had killed bandits in the past.

Liz, Michael, and Elana each chose to still come with.

They also heard from Michael that the bastard who killed Mia was imprisoned for life now. Michael, as one of the few mages on Earth, was known to many people. When the world learned of what had happened to his wife and how the person who killed her was walking around free, they sought justice.

I’m glad he’s locked away, but that doesn’t erase all the pain and grief he caused. Mia was my friend, too.

The group from Torneltha was upset that they didn’t get to do anything fun on Earth, but it couldn’t be helped. The whole situation was a mess and having soldiers, paparazzi, and reporters dog their every step was highly unpleasant.

We’re kind of famous at home, but other than the occasional autograph or selfie, we’re otherwise left alone.

After the nine of them entered the same hotel room, Michelle formed her motorcycle.

“Oh, I forgot to ask about this!” Michael exclaimed, immediately examining it in detail, causing the others to laugh.

“Let’s wait until we’re home, bro,” Michelle said.

It’s amazing that Michelle and I both have twin siblings and a niece now. She and Michael would be fraternal twins, though.

Roumazi helped by making an extension that attached to the back so the three additional people had somewhere to sit. They didn’t have any luggage they particularly cared about, so they weren’t bringing anything.

“Let’s go home,” Roumazi said.

The goddess activated her magic, and the surroundings warped into iridescent shades of blue. Michelle drove forward, and after a few moments, they were back on Torneltha for good.

She then began driving in the sky back to Efrinteu, and spared a glance for her passengers in the back, who were excited.

“Thanks again for the bike, love,” Michelle told Roumazi, who was hugging her from behind.

She giggled, “Of course.”

Several hours later, they landed on the outskirts of the city. The aerial guards really don't appreciate it when people try to enter from above, which Michelle had learned by accident once.

As they walked through the streets, Amber, Sarah, and Michelle were giving their new family members a quick tour.

Michelle was stopped by someone who came up to her and excitedly asked for a picture with her. She obliged with one where she was smiling and another where she was showing her famous glare.

“Why did that person just take a selfie with Michelle?” Liz asked.

“Oh, did we not mention that?” Amber questioned.

“No, what did you forget to mention?”

“Well, the four of us are kind of famous from participating in tournaments, but Michelle is especially. She even has a title! She’s called Lady Iceflame Heartbreaker.”

“Are you serious…?” Michael asked, still reeling from how different his new twin sister/alternate self was from him.

Michelle rejoined the conversation. “They are,” she laughed. “It was given to me during the first tournament I entered. I think it’s fun, though, as cringey as it is.”

“I think you mean amazing!” Liz exclaimed.

“It can be a little embarrassing sometimes when someone calls her that,” Luna added.

Michelle grinned, “Oh, but who was it again that was running around calling herself Little Heartbreaker this, and Lady Beastblade that?”

“Mom… Please forget about that already…” Luna groaned.

“I will never forget that for as long as I live,” she promised seriously.

They made it home, and Luna immediately ran to her room, both to hide her embarrassment and to message her not-girlfriend.

Sarah said, “I’ll sleep with the others, so that means we have one bedroom for use right now. The other two will have to make do with the conversation pit until the extensions to the house are built, which I think we can manage in a few days.”

“Just a few days?” Michael asked.

“Magic really speeds things up,” she elaborated.

Looks like I’m going to be creating a lot of stone again.

“Ah. So we won’t have to wait long. So what’s the plan for us starting out, then?” he asked, looking at the photos on the wall. Pictures taken over the years were projected from photo crystals.

“I imagine that at least one of our royal friends will be here shortly,” Amber said. “Luna messaged Nipha.”

They didn’t have to wait very long before there was an excited knocking at the front door. Nipha hurriedly threw off her shoes the moment she stepped inside and ran to where her elven friend was waiting. “Luuunaaaaa!”

“Nipha! I missed you so much!” They hugged and put their foreheads together.

Elana whispered to Michelle, “Luna told me she loves someone who is incredibly dense… So what’s going on here?”

She whispered back, “They’re both incredibly dense. They both think the other is just a friend, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.”

“…This is going to be so exhausting.”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

Rayna, Senava, and Malorei also entered the home, though much more calmly. They did their best to ignore the two idiots in the room.

“I see your family has grown,” Malorei noted, having already been informed of the new people through Luna’s message to her daughter.

“All three of you tonight?” Amber asked.

“We didn’t want to miss your return, so we kept our schedules light for today and tomorrow,” Rayna explained.

Roumazi said, “Well, you’d best sit down. There’s a lot to explain here.”

I’m glad Michelle told them of her previous body years ago, otherwise, this would’ve been even more of a surprise for them.

Once they got over the explanation, Rayna told them, “I’ll arrange a teacher for all three of them. They’ll learn the language, and anything else they might need to know.”

“Thank you,” Roumazi said. “It means a lot.”

An avian Awakened suddenly appeared in the room, radiating divinity.

“Jorzem, tone it down!” Roumazi yelled at her brother, surprising everyone, as none of them had ever heard her yell before.

He laughed and looked at the wolf, “Ah, so this is your daughter? It’s nice to meet you, Diamond. I am the God of Earth. Your uncle!”

“Uh, y-yeah,” she responded.

“Cute. So that human over there, right?” he gestured to Liz.

“Yes, that’s her,” Roumazi confirmed. She had asked him to visit and see about giving Liz a Gift.

He walked over to her, and an orb appeared in front of him before eventually melding into an utterly confused Liz’s chest. “Have fun!”

Jorzem was about to vanish again when he turned his head to Senava. He hopped over to her and gave her a Gift, too. “Okay, bye! Nice meeting you, Diamond!”

He vanished before she could reply.

Roumazi sighed wearily and shook her head. “Sorry. That’s just how he is.”

“What just happened…?” Liz wondered.

Michelle explained, “The God of Earth showed up and gave you a Gift, a magical ability that would be difficult or even impossible to perform otherwise. Like my motorcycle or Luna’s ice animal that you saw in the footage of our behemoth fight.”

“Oh…” her face broke into a wide smile. “I can weld things with my magic now! I can control the temperature and composition and… Oh, there’s so much I can do with this!”

Amber clapped her on the shoulder. “Great to have you aboard, sis!”

So that’s what receiving a Gift looks like from an outside perspective, huh? Shiny.

“Please thank him for me, Roumazi!” Amber translated Liz’s message for her, and received a nod in response.

“I just received a Gift…!” Senava said. She held her hand open and formed a crystal in it. She gasped. “I can use it to create crystals and experiment with their functions!”

“That’s great, hon!” Malorei congratulated.

Rayna nodded. “I’m happy for you. He’s known to be a bit sporadic when it comes to giving Gifts.”

Nipha was too lost in Luna to have any idea what was going on with her mom right now, though she had been momentarily distracted when Jorzem showed up.

“Michael, Elana,” Roumazi said, gesturing for them to come closer.

The father and daughter nervously did so, not entirely understanding what was going on yet. An orb floated to both of them reminiscent of when Michelle and Luna had first appeared before the goddess nearly a decade ago.

Michael’s Gift was to create high-pressure water jets, which would be immensely valuable for him since he would likely become a blacksmith as well.

Once he builds up his mana pool, that is. Michelle couldn’t drive around in the sky until years later.

Elana’s Gift was the ability to create barriers, and she could even alter their shapes in fine ways. She had no idea what she would use it for, but its purpose would find her eventually, just as it had for Sarah.

Roumazi smiled. “Well, it’s about time for dinner, yes?”

The dinner table was rather crowded that night, with thirteen people there in total.

I can’t believe I went from being on my own to having eight other family members. Michelle and Michael are both looking overwhelmed as well. They both only had Luna before.

Amber excitedly showed her new family members the tournament recordings, astounding them and exciting Liz, who had the same tastes that she did.