A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as I stepped back into Kyoto.

Of course, I wasn't alone in having just returned.

When I walked out, about ten thousand Youkai followed behind me. The first 'wave,' so to speak, of returning Youkai.

Even if there were still some logistics and things to handle on the other side, the war was basically over.

The immediate commotion was intense at our return back home. They were met with a lot of residents here welcoming them wholeheartedly. Lots of cheering and celebrations popped up without any ushering.

It did make me smile seeing their faces.

Though, I found myself frowning a second later as I grabbed the collar of Arcueid.

"Where do you think you're going?" I gave her a look.

"It's time for you to go home."

"Yeah, I know." She pouted despite acknowledging the fact. "I had fun, though."

It was hard to be genuinely upset with her.

I would leave that to Gramps.

"I will make sure the princess returns home safely." Captain Hook was here as well, volunteering himself as her minder.

I suppose it's to be expected; she did summon him. She was technically his master despite the weirdness of the summoning.

Well, at least I had someone I could trust there. However, I still had to take them 'home.' Wordlessly, I opened a portal when no one was looking, and they followed me through.

Arcueid stiffened because Zelretch was sitting there, calmly sipping a mug of what I assume was coffee.

I don't think I've ever seen him give the 'disappointed parent' look to anyone before, but he certainly mastered it.

Probably a skill I'll need to pick up for when I start popping out my own little ones beyond just Kunou.

There was an awkward silence as he swept his gaze around. He gave me a silent nod, knowing full well I was absolutely not responsible for this clusterfuck.

"A Heroic Spirit?" His eyes landed on Captain Hook.

"Captain James Bartholomew Hook." He took his hat off and swept it to the side in a bow.

"Your name precedes you, good sir." Zelretch smiled politely. "Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg."

"To be known by the Kaleidoscope, it's my honor."

Well, he certainly inherited enough information from the summoning then. As much as I was curious about the details involved there, honestly, it was just best to settle Arc properly.

Finally his eyes landed on Arcueid.

"I'm sorry." She spoke first.

"Are you?" He asked. "Do you know what issues you could have caused by travelling away from the 'World'?"

"Yeah." She nodded without much emotion expressed.

Zelretch let out a sigh. "At the very least, there are ample preparations and considerations that need to be taken if you had done this with my help. But you stole Ruby and jumped away without a second thought. What if you got stranded?"

Easy to forget that on one side, there's the embodiment of the Kaleidoscope, and on the other, the Archetype-Earth.

"Return to your home, Arcueid." Zelretch finally said amidst the silence. "You need to sleep anyway. I can tell just from looking at you that you did something foolish and now need to bear the consequences."

"Alright, I'll go home." She seemed crestfallen, despite the fact that she would have had to go back to sleep anyway.

Sure, she would recover after literally ripping her own heart out, but even she needed to take some time to rest considering that her blood is the source of her power.

"I will take her home if it's permissible." Captain Hook looked at Zelretch. "Please allow me to guard her in her slumber."

"Are you sure?" Zelretch asked. "That's a thankless job, and rather monotonous. And she doesn't require someone to look after her."

Captain Hook took his hat off and put it on Arc's head with a gentle smile. "I will protect the princess from now on."

He mentioned it offhand before, but he must be projecting his sister on Arc. Well, she is basically a child in mentality still.

Zelretch didn't argue.

"How are you going to follow? She doesn't exactly live in an accessible place." Hell, even I don't think I could follow along to find her if I wanted to. Maybe Gramps could, but the Reverse Side isn't a place I would lightly touch.

Captain Hook shot me a grin. "I told you before, there's nowhere I can't sail."

I raised an eyebrow as he put a hand on Arc's hat-covered head.

"Come along, First Mate. It's time to go home." He gently ushered her outside as Gramps and I followed.

Outside, it was nighttime, and the full moon hung in the air, illuminating the deserted courtyard.

Captain Hook summoned his ship and guided Arc on board.

She waved happily to Gramps and myself as it took off into the sky.

Gradually, it became a faint outline with the moon shining behind it, and like a ripple on water, it disappeared from sight.

"I have so many questions." Gramps finally said, staring at the sky for several moments in silence. "But I could also use a drink."

"Rain check?" I offered. "I just hurried back to drop Arc off. I still have some things to take care of and to see some others."

Zelretch let out a sigh and waved his hand flippantly through the air. "I would like to know the details when you have the chance. Go deal with your stuff for now.

"I'll tell you about everything when I get back." I quickly said my goodbyes and opened a new portal, hopping through.

(Line Break)

I stepped out into Yomi, specifically, right into Izzy's living room. Surprisingly, she was not alone when I stepped into her living room.

Though, despite other people being present, I focused almost entirely on Izzy because it's been far too long since I saw her.

Also, if she weren't with guests, I would have already thrown myself around her.

I couldn't help but smile brightly seeing her after several weeks.

After a brief moment, I quickly composed myself and looked at the others in the room.

Why was Orihime here?

That was the oddest thing in the room, despite the Archangel Gabriel and Amaterasu sitting across from her with Izzy at her side.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Wilhelm." Izzy greeted me with a warm smile herself, getting up from her seat to greet me.

Well, I wouldn't embarrass her in front of others, so I held myself back and only kissed her on the cheek for now. Still, it earned a little look from her that was always so cute.

She wordlessly pulled me to sit down on her other side.

Orihime gave me a little wave that I returned.

Such a sweet girl.

"You know Gabriel and my daughter—Ammy." Izzy stressed the latter's introduction.

That was definitely for Orihime's benefit.

I quirked an eyebrow, looking at the Goddess Amaterasu as she emotionlessly took a sip from her cup of tea.

Getting a better look at her, she was dressed much less decadently. Clearly, she was hiding her identity, and it didn't take a genius to see that.

Izzy put her hand on Orihime's head, and the younger girl's eyes began to flutter and close before her head fell down onto Izzy's shoulder.

"Let me set her down on one of the guest beds." Izzy excused herself, gently lifting up Orihime.

While she did so, the three of us that remained just stared at each other silently.

Well, this is awkward for some reason.

"Is Jeanne doing well?" Gabriel finally asked.

"She's doing good. She was helping take care of patients and the wounded." I nodded.

"That's good." Gabriel said softly. "I didn't want her to have to be fighting anymore."

"I have a similar sentiment." I responded.

The archangel's smile brightened.

"I assume my Miko still remains within that realm?" Amaterasu opened her mouth and spoke as well.

"Mmm, she still has a lot of matters to handle." I nodded, knowing full well that word has probably already gotten back about mostly what's happened on the other side. "I had nothing left to do, so I came back first."

My presence wasn't needed when there was a lack of things that required punching.

"I have been watching whenever the Devils released videos on the happenings of the war," Amaterasu revealed.

"You watch Devil TV too!?" Gabriel's eyes lit up.

"Hmph, if you can call that drivel entertainment. Beyond the coverage of the war, I would not degrade myself by watching that filth." Amaterasu said haughtily.

"Isn't a significant portion of their top shows just ripoffs of Japanese media?" I asked.

"Of course!" She sniffed arrogantly. "They copied our culture and released such cheap knockoffs!"

Ah, she's not talking about the content itself being trash, just the Devil's attempts to copy it.

"My favorite is the Satan Rangers." Gabriel said casually and began to hum the theme song.

"Is that not the one where they…" Amaterasu paused. "I do not know how to describe what they do to your faction without making an insult."

"Turn Heaven into mustache-twirling incompetent villains for each monster of the week scenario?" I offered.

"That is accurate." Amaterasu nodded. "And they did not even copy it correctly! They copied the Westernized version!" She huffed indignantly.

"I just liked the big robot fights." Gabriel seemed completely unperturbed by the fact that one of her favorite shows directly turned Heaven into a joke and villains.

The idle conversation seemed to end as Izzy came back and sat next to me.

I may have sneakily slid my hand over to hers.

"They came over to discuss some of the matters that became apparent due to the war. I happened to have Orihime with me when they arrived, so they have been kind enough to humor me." Izzy summarized the events that led to both Amaterasu and Gabriel being in her house.

"That mortal has a strange soul." Amaterasu noted.

"She seemed very sweet, though." Gabriel added.

"Let's just say she has a peculiar ability and leave it at that." I wasn't going to go into the details. Honestly, her ability was bullshit enough that it might cause many higher-end beings in the world to move in response.

Without knowing the specifics, they didn't seem to care much.

"I assume when you said 'matters,' you were referring to the large group of humans?" Otherwise, I didn't know what else would cause them to need to discuss anything.

"Word got out about it. I made no effort to hide it, as it were, when I sent word around." Izzy revealed it, and it was just about what I expected.

It's not like we intended to use the humans as some sort of bargaining chip. If anything, getting them sorted quickly would be for the best.

"I was already here, so I reached out to Takamagahara." Gabriel added in. "I was told that there are many believers traded within that realm. We would be very grateful for their safe return."

"I intended to visit Mother anyway to discuss the matter in depth without requiring a formal meeting." Amaterasu revealed as well.

"I met them personally, and I promised them that I would help them come back home." No point in hiding anything there. "It's just a matter of logistics. It's not just people from the church either. There were Vikings from centuries ago. Literal Samurai from the Heian period. People from ancient Greece. Hell, the Christians I met were from the crusading era."

"And they all lived together?" Even Gabriel seemed surprised.

Well, I couldn't fault her. Even she knew the fervor that the Church's believers operate under sometimes.

"Necessity seems to somehow overcome cultural chasms. I didn't stay with them long enough to know in depth how they got along, but it seemed that they peacefully coexisted despite different beliefs." Sometimes just knowing the other person is human is enough. "Though, the major problem has to be handled by all of you."

"They are from far in the past." Gabriel said quietly.

"And if the reports are to be believed, they are very strong for humans. A combination of ignorance of the current world and the strength to cause it harm means it requires a delicate approach." Amaterasu added.

"I spoke on behalf of the Norse already, and once they are brought back, they can easily settle in Asgard as Einherjar." I really do appreciate how simple the ideology of the Norse belief system is. "The Greeks will probably have an easy time as well. They keep to themselves and have plenty of mortals or humans within their godly realm. As for the others, I'm not sure. There were plenty of random humans that had popped up there over the centuries, and they all need to be sorted."

"I will have to extend invitations to many other factions." Amaterasu frowned. Even though it wasn't directed at me, I did feel for her.

It was going to be annoying to juggle so many strong personalities.

"You can probably get some goodwill at least. I know Yasaka would be happy to just wipe her hands clean of the whole ordeal, so you don't have to consider us in your plans."

Amaterasu shot me a small smile even if she didn't say it out loud.

"Enough of that; it's a headache I will deal with later." She said dismissively. And truthfully, it's not something that will be dealt with immediately. Besides Yasaka dealing with a bunch of logistics and handling the aftermath of the war, it's going to take a bit to get the humans transferred here. I expect it to happen within the month, but I wouldn't be surprised if it took longer to coordinate everything.

I, of course, would be helping when the time came.

"The most recent recordings have not been released yet. Tell me, how did the Youkai of Japan fare at the end of the conflict? There was a sort of detachment for her, but the Youkai were still residents of Japan, her subjects.

"Casualties were still being added up; I believe we had just passed 30,000 before I left." It was certainly not a bloodless battle. "I don't know if you heard yet, but we had some interference from the Khaos Brigade."

"They were informed." Izzy mentioned. "Yasaka had been sending some brief updates periodically."

Good, I didn't need to go on about that.

An Evil God, Crom Cruach, and the Dragon that Ddraig Mentioned.

Quite the lineup just right there.

"Do you intend to keep the pathway open to the Faerie Realms?" Gabriel asked.

"For now." I nodded. "Yasaka believes that they can generate a lot of new goods to sell worldwide to help bolster the economy after how much they invested."

That wasn't my area of expertise, so I didn't know the details.

"And what happened to the Queen?" Amaterasu asked.

"That's… an interesting question. Before we ran headfirst into her, I received a sudden invitation to chat by a certain Big Red Dragon that lives in the Dimensional Gap."

They all paused and stared at me.

Big Red's reputation was not exaggerated.

People did not fuck with Big Red.

At least with Ophis, she could somewhat be talked to.

For Big Red? He didn't talk to people; if you came to annoy him, he would eat you or something to that extent.

"He warned against killing the Winter Queen since her existence is tied to some important aspects. So, we decided to seal her, quite literally, to her throne as punishment. For a thousand years, she is forced to sit there, and everyone in her court will know what happened to her."

"Hmph, she's getting off too easily. How dare she try to reach over here." Izzy scoffed.

I did hear about what happened, and when I arrived, she was missing an arm.

"What happened exactly?" I asked curiously.

"She tried to make some power play. Tiamat also helped." Izzy said. "...she took the arm away with her, not that any of us would have said anything otherwise.

"What do you mean, took it with her? Like a snack?" I blinked.

"She mentioned something about how valuable it was... so I assume it was to add to her hoard...." Izzy said awkwardly.

"She's not wrong... I suppose."

Why are dragons so strange?

"Why only a thousand years?" Amaterasu asked curiously. "That's not a very long time."

"Yasaka isn't even a thousand years old." I pointed out. "It's highly unlikely that more than a handful of Youkai alive today will be alive in a thousand years."

Amaterasu looked down at her teacup. "I sometimes forget how you mortals perceive the passing of the seasons. A thousand years is many lifetimes for you all."

"In all honesty, it's not a situation we wanted to draw out. We went, we fought, we won, and now we want it to be over and move on." I said pointedly. "Her punishment is the humiliation she has to suffer."

Since we can't kill her, realistically, we hit her where it hurt her the most, in her pride. And settling things at a thousand years means that she will accept the punishment without trying anything funny.

Just as Amaterasu said, a thousand years wasn't that long to someone like her and someone like the Winter Queen. It was acceptable to wait it out in the long run.

Now, I believe we did an extraordinarily good job of 'sealing' her right to her throne. Scáthach, Jinn, and I put in so many magical sealing methods on top of her, along with everything else I had at my disposal, that I would be genuinely surprised if even Odin could undo it within a hundred years of continuous meddling. And to add on to that, Jinn happened to have those chains that bound Hel during Ragnarök. Odin apparently took them back when he used them to chastise the Olympians, and they somehow ended up in Jinn's hands.

All that being said, it was impossible for us to 'permanently' seal her. We could have chopped her into tiny pieces, put her in a box in some random place, and done all of this on top of that, and yet, she would still probably return in a few thousand years at the latest.

We just didn't want to keep having to deal with them.

Amaterasu stood up, straightening her dress. "Mother, it's been nice to see you. I will go home and get started on some things."

"I'm always happy when you come to visit." Izzy smiled.

"I should too. Michael is going to want to talk to everyone to figure out a plan." Gabriel seemed to agree.

"I can take you back. I believe Mother would like to spend time catching up with her lover." Amaterasu shot her mom a look, making Izzy flush in embarrassment.

Gabriel held a hand up, giggling as she followed Amaterasu out of the house, and I could feel them disappear from Yomi.

Slowly, I turned to look at Izzy. Before she could say a word, I had already pushed her down on the couch and started kissing her.

(Line Break)

A/N

Just a chapter to start bridging things over. Everything isn't magically settled, but Wilhelm isn't really needed over there anymore either. As I've mentioned before, a new world soon.

If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.

We have two Arachne chapters and 1 Cyclops chapter up over here as well.