Hours went by as I watched Kiomi’s antics. It had been an eventful day for her, with Zaleria’s champion having decided to visit her dungeon and spooking her quite a bit. Naturally, the woman in question had no intention of hurting her, she had openly told me what had brought her to the dungeon in the first place and there was not a single lie to be found in her words. She had traveled all the way to this place both to fuel her own curiosity as well as to help out Zaleria, who was desperate to find out about any life sign coming from me.

Sadly, there was no chance for her to find out herself, as my current domain was far too weak and small to host another deity, let alone multiple ones. As such, she could only put her hope on her champion to find out more about my reappearance.

Sadly, I couldn’t exactly tell Kiomi about this. I had sent her a sign, a wave of warmth, as I tried to calm her down, but she either didn’t notice it or misinterpreted the message, as she was already running towards the safety of her barred-off rooms within moments of laying her eyes on the elf. Before long, the poor girl had already hidden in her bed, with the blanket pulled over her body and only the tip of her tail still visible.

At least Myra was there to protect her somewhat, though her words and gentle touches couldn’t soothe Kiomi’s fears, especially with the seemingly scary elf meanwhile forcing her way deeper and deeper into the dungeon basically unhindered by the monsters she had summoned and the challenge she had created. Instead of taking hours, she had traversed most of the rooms in minutes each, leaving Kiomi no reasonable time to prepare.

And when Myra then had to leave Kiomi to prepare for her fight, the funniest thing ever happened: she dug a den to hide in! I had known she would take some of my instincts and traits when I created her body, but it didn’t expect to see this exact image happening–ever. It reminded me of my former self, causing me to smile at every single one of her actions.
Without the protection of Myra, Kiomi had quickly escaped from her bed and towards the core room, where she had not only dug a burrow to hide in but had also summoned several strong foxes to guard her. Using both the core and the furs I had given her as some sort of protection or mental support, she then stayed down low, only to be discovered by Myra, who probably wouldn’t have noticed her in the first place if it wasn’t for the large, black foxes standing guard in the middle of the meadow.

When Myra then tried to talk Kiomi into meeting the elf, after having rendered her helpless and now knowing that she was Zaleria’s champion and meant no ill will towards her or the dungeon, I helped her out by enveloping Kiomi with warmth, showing her that I was watching and ready to help, should she need it. It was this that allowed her to follow Myra out of the den and meet the elf in question.

Luckily, the talk went well, with the elf presenting gifts and promising the support of her people, which, with all that lay ahead of Kiomi, was desperately needed. After the elf left, Kiomi looked like she was ready to sleep again, but she had way too much mana now to do such a thing, so, reluctantly, she discussed with Myra the next step, before beginning to design the future town–at least they tried to.

Neither Myra nor Kiomi had any idea on how to properly construct anything bigger than a shack. So while she had built houses for her foxes living in the nursery, creating anything fancier was impossible to her even with the mental support of her core or Myra’s instructions. They had managed to create quite a few houses, but not a single one of them was actually presentable. So instead Kiomi decided to build something she knew exactly how it was supposed to look like–at least she looked more than sure of herself as she sat down at the center of the room, hugged her core, and closed her eyes for the task to come.

Feelings of warmth spread through me as I realized what she was doing. Over the span of minutes, Kiomi created another statue of me, again sitting in a nest of fur, but this time far larger and even more breathtaking than the last one. It was obvious she had gained more experience since building the first one, as she added a lot more detail to every aspect of the statue. Sadly, she grew visibly restless after creating my image, as if she was unsure how to continue, but I sent her a wave of warmth to encourage her, and, sure enough, she soon began working on a second figure, one that was once again being showered with motherly love. This was sure to cause discussions among the delvers, but I didn’t mind. If anything, showing them how important she was to me was a must, as it would give her a little more protection at least.

After finishing the statue, Kiomi began digging a large hole surrounding her creation before filling it with water. The newly shaped lake had only a strip of green connecting it to the rest of the meadow, but that was more than enough, as she soon summoned a gravel path that led to it and around the lake, leaving enough space for future buildings constructed at its shore. She then connected the path to the door leading towards the storage room and the passage in the boss room, before leading Myra into the darkness of her private tunnels. Apparently, her mana had dropped enough for her next task, which seemed to involve the Vulpine Circle in the volcano room.

A smile grew on my face as I realized she was on a good path to finishing the quest I had given her. She still had to create four more foxes to unlock her second floor, which, at the current pace, would take her one day each at most. With the delvers doing their morning prayers without fail, it would be easy for her to do.

Before long, the two of them reached the Vulpine Circle, only to be greeted by a weird sight. The water foxes were speeding their boat through the lake nearby, parading around the treasures they had stolen from the elven champion. The items likely weren’t too expensive, as the belt only had a few potions and a number of seeds stored in them, but it was the dagger that had caught the fox’s attention the most. Right now, the leader of the pack was carrying the belt around its body, with the weapon in its mouth and its head held up high as the shiny metal reflected the sunlight. The smaller foxes were loving every bit of this. They excitedly chased after the boat, barking, laughing, and wagging their tails as they jumped out of the water again and again.
Kiomi and Myra were stunned, to say the least. They stared at the boat passing by once, then a second and third time, only then did they realize they had to save the items before the foxes lost their interest in them, dropping them onto the floor and causing them to be absorbed. Soon, they were already chasing after the foxes, running into the shallow water as they demanded the crew on the boat to stop.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as the foxes mistook this for some sort of game, resulting in a grand chase that lasted many minutes, leaving both Myra and Kiomi gasping for air. Still, they looked like they were having the time of their lives, which made the scene extremely precious to me, especially since I knew of Kiomi’s rather miserable past.

Knowing she had no chance against the foxes aside from forcing them to comply, which obviously didn’t sit well with her, Kiomi then decided to ask the foxes for a trade instead. She summoned a selection of fruits and berries for the foxes to choose from, including her newly unlocked fruits, to then offer a trade. Luckily, this worked in her favor, and it didn’t take long for the foxes to drop both the belt and the dagger at her foot before they stuffed themselves with the unexpected meal.

Relieved, Kiomi sent Myra to bring the items to the entrance of the dungeon, in the hope that the elf hadn't left the camp yet. She then selected one of the Water Foxes that was currently stuffing itself as well as one of the Earth Foxes that had approached the scene to grab a bite, to use the two of them in her magic ritual. There was no persuasion needed, as both of her monsters happily accepted their new task. Soon, they were already sitting on their respective pedestals, allowing Kiomi to summon her newest fox. This time, she thought for a while, before imagining a new creature to come into existence. I couldn’t look into her head, so I had to guess what she came up with, but instead of the expected mud monster, the one that grew out of the mist of blue and brown mana instead looked like a much softer and white version of the earth fox instead, its smooth body giving it a rather cute look.

Kiomi couldn’t help but greet her fox the same way she had greeted all of them–by petting it all over. Her fingers and hands actually left imprints on the monster’s body wherever they touched, but the fox smoothed those out with a single shake of its body before happily urging for more attention.

Sadly, I couldn’t pay more attention to any of their antics, as a sudden dizziness took hold of me. I felt weak and sick, as if I had fallen ill, though that couldn’t possibly be true, as I had long been freed by such worries. Still, I felt anxious, terrified even, until I realized just what was happening.

Three flashes of light illuminated my surroundings, as golden silhouettes suddenly appeared in my realm. It took my eyes a moment to adapt, but soon, I recognized the familiar faces. It was Father, who was accompanied by both Zaleria and, surprisingly, Diona, who was already exploring her surroundings, being as curious as ever. Father had taken a foxkin form just for this occasion, which wasn’t unexpected, as he switched races whenever he felt like it, though it still made me feel a lot closer to him. He had even made sure to color his hair, fur, and beard in the same white I had. Not only that, he even wore red robes shaped after the traditional attire of foxkin, though he, like usual, revealed large parts of his muscular chest and stomach, thus openly presenting himself as a man in his prime.

Father, or who mortals mostly knew the name and title of Omos, Father of All, didn’t state what he had come here for. Instead, he walked right up to me, placed his big hand on my head, and infused me with his energy as he gently petted me. A soothing warmth conquered my body, easily driving away the sickness I had felt just a moment prior and allowing me to easily stabilize my realm. I felt stronger now and far more energetic as well, as if all of these years had been a lie. Naturally, this made me purr, a sound that they hadn’t heard for millennia.

“It has been so long,” Father said before removing his palm.
“It has…”

Zaleria saw this as her turn. She ran up to me, threw her arms around me, and hugged me close as if I was some kind of pillow or plushie. She then began petting my head while urging me to turn into my fox form, but how could I do that, with all of them watching?! She would turn me into pudding within minutes!

Father chose to ignore my silent plea for help. He instead explained he had given me that strength just now so I could recuperate to my former self and not for me to give it away to some mortals in exchange for a simple prayer or two.

“I will change that blessing of yours,” he then announced. “Those interested in it can pay for it with mana instead. That way, you do not need to intervene.”
“What about those that don’t have mana?!” I heard myself protest.
“Don’t worry, I have already found a way to work around that.”

I could only look at him in confusion as he waved his hand, making a divine quest appear in front of my eyes, one he was about to give to Kiomi. The quest itself described the changes done to the blessing, couldn’t be denied, and rewarded her with a comb of all things, which sounded like a token item at best. Still, it would need to be done, so I nodded in acceptance, causing Omos to send the quest down for Kiomi to solve.

Once he had done so, a smile grew on his face, as he summoned a comb into his outstretched hand, one that made me stare at it open-mouthed. It was made of divinite, a metal that only Father himself could produce using his own magic of creation. Few mortals knew it existed as it barely ever left the heavenly realms. Only during banquets celebrating the birth of a new deity would small cups of this shiny, pure white metal be used to toast, with the used cups being thrown down to Redonia for worthy mortals to find. I had only seen this custom happen twice, both in my honor and in Diona’s who followed after me as the youngest goddess, at least to my knowledge. A lot could have happened ever since I last participated in a banquet.

I was just about to ask Father about the banquets when Zaleria reached out for the comb, noting that it had been heavily enchanted. And she was right, as he had not only turned it indestructible but also made it so it would work magic into the hair touched by it, making it soft and voluminous. The elven goddess, my guardian, mother, or former owner– all titles fit her well–took the item with a smile, which almost made me want to escape from her grasp.

Omos chuckled as Zaleria began working the comb through the fur of my tail, causing me to almost immediately drop all resistance. It felt good and way too nostalgic for me to reject her gentle care. Still, he did his best to catch my attention again, before explaining why he had come here in the first place.

“Cohold wants you to know that although he was quite surprised, he doesn’t mind you taking his dungeon. He wants you to consider it a gift, but wishes you will start visiting the banquets again.”
“That…”
“All of us are waiting for you to return.”
“I see…”

He was right. I should show my face to them again. They were family, after all, even though they could be rowdy and were slightly too attentive from time to time, especially when I revealed my original form. It was just their way of showing their love. And, given that I had already placed the foundations of a new start with Kiomi’s help, I could spend a day every now and then to reconnect.

Using the strength Father has given me, I could safeguard my realm even when I wasn’t around, allowing me to take a breather. And, quite honestly, I knew I needed it, as being surrounded by the souls and traces of what has once been could take quite a toll on you. So how could I not accept?

“When is the next one?”
A smile grew on Father’s lips. “There will be a beautiful sunset tomorrow. How about we watch it all together?”
“That sounds great…”

Father nodded happily, before stepping aside, as Diona, as well, seemed to have something to say, and, knowing her domains and responsibilities, I already knew that it was related to the dungeon.

The young goddess hadn’t changed at all since the last time I had seen her. Her orange, black, and white hair was still short, barely reaching to her neck, and she wore a seemingly hastily made leather armor that didn’t protect parts of her stomach and most of her legs, allowing for her to have full mobility. Her believers had made sure she appeared to be wild and youthful, and her very primitive bow, barely a stick that even had leaves still attached to it, was only one indicator of her character. Her feet, as well, were bare, allowing her to feel one with the world, as she had once explained to me.

Diona had a story somewhat similar to mine, as she had started as a mere stray cat that had accidentally eaten a holy fruit, giving it magic powers and a humanoid body. With this, she had worked her way up, wandering the lands, exploring and defeating monsters until she, herself, ascended to godhood, having received the domains of the Hunt, Individuality, and Exploration from our father. The biggest difference between us was that she hadn’t spent half of her time as Zaleria’s pet, being blessed solely to increase her life span. She had worked for all of it and was even doing so to this day, as she cared after both adventurers and dungeons alike. This fact alone, quite honestly, made me feel rather humble.

“Your dungeon is doing great,” Diona began. “It needs a little work here and there, but all in all, I am impressed so far.”

I nodded, accepting the praise in Kiomi’s stead. Due to her tasks, Diona could see through the eyes of dungeon delvers and even explore their surroundings using her magic, allowing her to lay open the inner workings of the dungeon in question. As such, she was easily the most knowledgeable about dungeons, even among fellow gods who often were much, much older than her.
“That said,” Diona continued. “Did you tell your dungeon avatar that things will slow down soon?”
“Slow down?”
“You weren’t aware?”
“Aware of what?”
“Dungeons receive a lot more mana from delvers for the first month after getting discovered. I don’t know why your dungeon gets that gift, considering it is much older, but it should run out soon…”

Hearing this, Father cleared his throat before explaining what had happened.

“Your brothers and sisters had millennia to build and perfect their dungeons. I decided to give you a helping hand since this is your first one.”
“That explains it,” Diona answered, visibly satisfied about having heard this tidbit of news. “It should still run out soon, right?”
“She has less than a week left.”

A shiver ran down my back. That was the first time I heard about anything like this!

“What does this mean?” I asked.
“The dungeon will only receive a tenth of what it gets now,” Diona said with a shrug. “This tax is paid at enchanted doors that separate your floors from each other, should you have more than one. This means the more doors an adventurer passes, the more mana you get.”
“Kiomi doesn’t even know how to build those! She has no idea about magic and enchanting!”
“Just give her a quest and teach her,” Diona offered, before shaking her head. “No, scratch that. I will make sure she has everything she needs.”

Diona closed her eyes and concentrated, willing a divine quest to come into existence. She showed it to me, albeit briefly, before sending it to Kiomi, leaving me feeling rather sorry for the girl.

“I instructed her to exclude delvers that only come to pray, as other chosen dungeons work the same way.”

Hearing her explanation, I couldn’t help but send Kiomi two quests of my own, just to make sure she knew I was trying my best to assist her. I had to stay within the limits of what I was allowed to give her, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t walk the line of what was possible.

“I will look the other way,” Father decided when I showed the quests to them. “Just make sure it doesn’t become a habit.”
“It won't!” I promised, before sending the quests to Kiomi.

My quests would only appear after the other ones as Kiomi had already received them, but they hopefully would be on time to prevent her from panicking or growing confused.

“Now that this boring stuff is dealt with,” Zaleria whispered in my ear. “How about you show your real self?”

Without giving me a chance to deny her request, Zaleria was already petting me all over the back, trying to force me to turn into a fox with her gentleness alone. And it would certainly work if she continued like this, as I wasn’t about to show a face of pure bliss in front of our own father!

“I still remember how small you were when I gave you your first blessing,” she mused. “You were little bigger than a cat and far too cute for your own good!”

I felt a little ashamed about being reminded of my animalistic past, but Zaleria wasn’t about to stop. She then talked about the time she gave me my third blessing to congratulate me on my wedding to Nakano, the human hunter I whom had fallen in love with and shared my most precious years with. It was him who had given me the chance to create my family in the first place, helping me give birth to the first foxkin that roamed Redonia. Sadly, as a human unnoticed by most gods, he died way too young to see his sons and daughters grow and flourish.

It was a few dozen years after his passing that Zaleria took me in, having seen more than enough of my daily struggle and grief. She treated me like a pet when I needed it, and like a daughter when I wanted it, allowing me to finally overcome my feelings. By then, she was already family to me, one I didn’t want to leave alone no matter what. As such, I stayed at her side, slowly reaching immortality as I watched the foxkin building their own future–until that fateful day that had turned my life upside down once again.

Zaleria skipped this part of the story, knowing how much I still suffered from it, but it was already too late as I had long lost my fight against the tears. Knowing this, I hid in the only way I could think of, by surrounding myself with golden light and turning back into my past self, a white-furred and nine-tailed fox that was, at least in Zaleria’s mind, the perfect size and fluffiness. I was barely bigger than a dog now, but my adoptive mother was more than happy with that fact. She massaged my back and scratched me behind my ears, perfectly hitting all the right spots. Soon, I was already purring, which was exactly what she wanted, as she was now showing a wide smile.

Father used this chance to steal a touch as well, but he left it at that. “If anyone deserves a second chance, it would be you, so I will pretend I didn’t see all those souls you have gathered outside. Just make sure not to tell your brothers and sisters before I talk to them about it, as they aren’t allowed to do something like that with the rules I made back then. It would affect the world of the mortals too much.”

I nodded. Father had told me about the changes he had made after the War of the Great Forest and about the fate of Tow, who had caused all of that with his schemes and lies, but back then I wasn’t ready to accept his words and just move on. Instead, I hid like an animal, turning my realm into a safe haven unreachable by my family. It should still be that way today, but Father naturally had a way to circumvent my barriers. He only never chose to do so, knowing that I needed time to heal. After noticing I was active again, it was only a question of time for him to show up. He has probably just waited for me to have enough strength to support his arrival.
“You did nothing wrong back then, so allow me to deal with the aftermath your little project will cause.”
“Thank you, Father…”
“I will teach you about dungeons in the meantime!” Diona exclaimed, before summoning a thick, enchanted tome out of thin air. “This book covers everything you know, but I will come and visit you every once in the while to check on the progress your dungeon makes!”
“How about I talk to your brother Sagaro as well,” Father suggested. “He could send his kin to assist your new daughter. They should have many books about the architecture and culture of your kin that they would be willing to share. It will help her build a good home.”

Naturally, I was more than happy to hear that. Sagaro was the god of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Remembrance, so his followers and kin tasked themselves with traveling all known realms, filling countless books with their findings. As his kin could be traced by to owls, they were adept fliers and magicians and thus faced almost no trouble on their many journeys. Dropping a few books in a dungeon should be easy for them!

I was trying to thank Father, telling him how much this meant to me, but Zaleria’s gentle care prevented me from speaking out again and again. Father chuckled upon noticing my struggle, but he didn’t even try to save me. Instead, he placed his hand on Diona’s shoulder, before turning around and leaving my realm in a flash of light. Diona shrugged, before waving a silent goodbye. She then disappeared the same way father had, leaving me alone with my adoptive mother or rather owner, as it now seemed. Zaleria had long won, turning me helpless and mellow. She kept caressing me for minutes and hours, reminiscing about the old times. With the nice memories flooding my mind and her gentle voice soothing all of my worries, I soon dozed off, the comb tracing my back the last thing I noticed before I was carried off to a world of dreams.

- - - - -

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