Chapter 303: Tying up Loose Ends Before the Departure

Staggering out of the room he'd just been trapped in for three days and three nights straight, Ares collapsed on the floor at the feet of Bellona who'd been sleeping back in her old room at night. There was... Too much noise to go to sleep properly in the shared room as Ares had fully recovered recently, as a good twenty seven days had passed since saying farewell to the Umbra and Legion lot, and, well, Enyo pounced on him basically immediately. No rest for the wicked and Ares had been pretty thoroughly bullied as of late. He got his licks in, both metaphorically and literally, but he was completely bested in due time once more. That pleasure affiliation was cheating! He'd win without it one day!... Ares needed his regeneration to level up soon so he could pay this humiliation back tenfold.

Anyway, currently, Ares was sprawled on the floor like roadkill and so he had to have Blo Blo pick him up and throw him on the couch in the living room. He was honestly lucky to be alive because Enyo had been this close to ignoring his current state and just keep on going... Death by snu snu, what a frightening woman... Hell if she hadn't used her magic to re-energise Ares multiple times he would already be reviving somewhere in the universe thanks to his revenant bloodline. And all of this for just being pent up over the course of a mere month? Ares was likely going to be gone on his trip for longer than that and so he didn't want to think about what would happen when he returned. Better yet, don't even get him started on what would happen later on in his cultivation career when he went off galivanting for thousands of years at a time... Honestly, at that point, Enyo was the rest of his wives' problem, they could sort her out... Or, more accurately, get sorted out by her. She was a machine! Ruthless... Efficient...

Ares had to shake his head to clear the memories, PTSD, and flashbacks from the war he just fought, and lost miserably, so he could take in his surroundings properly. Namely Calla who was looking rather sad as it was finally time for her to leave. She'd been here long enough and trouble would arise if she stayed much longer due to her status as the Umbra matriarch. As she'd found Ares, and wasn't going to go on a rampage at the Legion base anymore, the Legions would show some lenience and not demand the three clans come looking for her to pick a fight. That didn't mean she was free to wonder as she pleased anymore, just that she could spend and extra month with her mini child before having to return to TPMZ and go home. Surveillance would continue as per usual after that so the only way she'd get to see Ares again was either via the pictures she'd taken or when he finally ascended to Vraizon. She'd love to drag Ares away if she could but her cub had important stuff to do and take care of so she wasn't going to selfishly interrupt him. He was a a fundamental champion and was going to own a sect so she was proud of his achievements and wanted him to keep thriving. Her smothering would hold him back so it was finally time to bid adieu... To both him and Appa! Calla was also definitely going to miss the soft marshmallow pillow she'd been cuddling regularly as of late. Her granddaughter was simply way too adorable and squishy!

Calla hugged her cub for a solid five minutes before finally begrudgingly letting go and saying her goodbyes. Ares walked her to the front of the sect, even though she could have easily left by flying straight up and out of it, and then watched her leave after promising to go visit the Umbra home planet later. Once that was done, and he could no longer see head nor tail of Calla, Ares clapped his hands and Shifted right back home where he fell lazily on the couch and went back to recovering his stamina from the 'fight' earlier. As he did so, he checked his cultivation base and was merry as could be when he noticed his cultivation had risen by not one, not two, NOT THREE, but FOUR whole stages as a result of his fight with Mako! He was at sensory enhancement, fifth stage right now and that put him ever so close to bloodline awakening. That would be his next massive power boost and he would no doubt coast on that for a long while to come until anything major happened in Vraizon with the new cultivation realms. It was basically guaranteed Ares would reach bloodline awakening by the time he returned from his trip and he was excited to finally have Garmr under full control, giving him access to that form whenever he felt like it. Plus, until then, he still had two Canis Stimulants ready to go. He didn't have to use them, necessarily, and could save them in case he died and needed them in a second, or rather third at this point, life... But that was boring! Screw that! If Ares needed to use it for whatever reason on his upcoming journey he would chug those things down at the speed of light and go all out! Anyway, long story short, if anyone wanted to bother him before he left for Vraizon, they were going to have to do it fast because Ares was just six stages away from becoming this domain's biggest threat. He was arguably already close but Garmr acquisition would seal the deal for really real!

Flinch

Ares recoiled briefly in horror when he saw a yawning Enyo come casually walking into the room and flop onto the couch next to him... The fact she was only a little tired after all the many things she'd done to him was honestly impressive but he didn't wanna go again! Thankfully it seemed she wasn't going to pester him for more just yet and was waiting for the date they were going to go on to start manhandling him again. That wasn't today, though, as for the next couple of days Ares would be sticking to his promises and training Li Li, Esme, Sadie, and Rox. In fact, that all started today and he would have them all in the same place at the same time. If Esme and Li Li were lucky then Dominus might spare them a word or two in addition to Rox and Sadie but Ares had no control over that so it was up in the air. Anyway, after resting for a few hours with Appa and his two wives, Ares felt good enough, thanks to his regeneration, to get up and go to the training area. He'd promised to meet these four around this time, and come with snacks which were more of a Sadie bribe than anything, so off he went.

Days passed, multiple training sessions were had, and, in the end, Dominus did give some passing advice to Li LI and Esme who took it all very seriously. Of course Dominus only appeared once during these training sessions, as it's not like Ares could summon him more than once every week or two, but he did his job incredibly well and Sadie and Rox were content with the direction of the path he'd set them on. They each had their own things to work on for the near future and so they went back to sparring with one another while Ares trained with Li Li and Esme by whipping out the scythe. He figured he might as well get some practice in with this thing as it was going to be important to him going forward. It was also good training for Li Li and Esme because fighting against such an unusual weapon was beneficial as it was a new experience entirely. Also Ares was just stronger than them both to begin with so any sparring with Ares was incredibly helpful regardless of what weapon he pulled out. A win win for both involved parties.

A few days later, after the final training session, Ares went straight to the mission hall and picked up the task to go explore the Riddlemyd in Xasca. This was a foreign aid mission so he was going to have to have Rud sent a communication of some sort ahead of time to the locals and let them know trouble... Ahem, Ares, the sect's representative, was on his way. Given the twerp's reputation after the tournament he should be welcomed with open arms as his name would have undoubtedly already spread that far. Hell Ares should be a known entity across basically then entirety of Sheryashka at this point. That aside, as for how foreign aid missions worked, not only would Ares get a reward if he completed the mission but the sect that sent him would stand to gain too. There wasn't really a penalty for failing but that could very well depend on the quest in question. If it was something urgent that needed solving there would be a penalty for failing but, for something like this that just sort of passively existed without causing trouble, there was no such clause. This was common for things like dungeons or tombs as failure was expected to some degree given how long they existed prior with countless experts all unable to leave a dent in it. Ares took on the mission and left not only the mission hall, much to Rud's heartfelt joy, but also the sect. His next stop was threefold. Ares was going to go check on the pagoda, as Transmit had publicly announced it was leaving tomorrow, the betting brothers to get his high grade stardust, and then finally he wanted to go buy something minor he remembered seeing a while back that piqued his interest and he'd never quite forgotten about.

Ares arrived at the pagoda and found the Transmit staff packing up the various tents strewn around as well as a familiar face in Mr Peacock, AKA Kaleido Lingo. Figuring it was best to just chat directly with the guy in charge, Ares spoke to the colourful-umbrella wielding multilingual man. "Heyo! Been a minute. Good to see you again. I take it you're gonna pack up the pagoda and skedaddle?"

Kaleido gave a polite bow and nodded. "Yes indeed. It's served its purpose here and now has yet another purpose to serve in the wider world. Namely, your clone is going to terrorise all the imbeciles who dare challenge it, raising your reputation sky high in the blink of an eye. Actually, this just so happens to be a perfect opportunity as well, better than I'd previously thought. You see, I took a trip back outside the barrier after our last chat and found out that a certain high value individual is celebrating the birth of his daughter. This individual is the owner of the dimension's largest and most impactful business of all, long distance teleporters. Of note, the man owns a sort of central hub planet in the mid domains that can take you near enough anywhere for the right price. It's a very well connected area and, for the next few weeks, the owner is temporarily drastically reducing prices to and fro this particular location. In other words, travel is being made much, much cheaper and accessible for a short duration.

Transmit, and the Fundamental Organisation, have formed a deal with this big shot to have the pagoda set up shop at his central hub for people to discover and challenge while passing through. It also makes it easy to attend the return of the pagoda to the outside world for anyone far away who wishes to but might have lacked the funds previously. In other words, the number of pagoda challengers will be truly preposterous after we get everything set up at this hub. This will also be a good opportunity for us to find the necessary replacement trial givers for floors one through four in the pagoda and we want to make full use of this boon that's fallen ever so conveniently into our lap. The only real issue worth mentioning is that there are only so many teleporters and only so many people ready and willing to man them. The staff are going to be worked to the bone, and then perhaps even deeper down to their soul, and there are going to be many high class individuals complaining about the wait times, but that's for Mr big shot to figure out, not us. He'll be raking in enough cash as a result of this collaboration that he really has no justifiable right to complain. If anything, he owes us just as much as we owe him for this friendly business deal. Whether that will even out our score for good, or we'll choose to enter into business with one another again to keep piling up these debts while forming a better relation, I don't know.

What I do know, however, is that I will fortunately procure a chance to shine like a diamond by welcoming those with even the most niche of languages from even the most forgotten corners of the universe. That promotion I've been chasing is practically already mine and I do so look forward to it." Kaleido's seemed to be bursting with colour right now, reserved and tame though his voice and body were, and he was in a very good mood. If the chance that was being afforded him was as great as he claimed then no wonder he was pleased. Transmit was a major organisation and so climbing the ranks was an incredible feat that would reward him accordingly. He seemed to already be a decently high ranking member so he must have been getting up there in terms of the overall hierarchy. Also, he was right, this a fantastic occurrence that would really make Ares' reputation explode across the entire world. His name was already going to have a resurgence once the pagoda appeared but his clone might become a cultural phenomenon as the conditions were impeccably perfect. The original hype, a few more new details and the long lost Astraeus being mentioned by Terros, info on the creation pillar furthering everyone's excitement for the fundamentals, and then this perfect venue? There would be news stories for weeks about the type of shenanigans happening within the pagoda as the number of challenges would be enough to generate a lifetime of stories for the reporters waiting outside to talk with the failing participants. Ares stood to gain massively just because some random guy's wife was going to experience the miracle of childbirth! Happy days! May the kid live long and prosper! Then again, being the daughter of a VIP, one to the extent Kaleido was describing him as, basically meant that child would get everything it wanted and then some for the rest of time.

"Sounds like swell news to me. Out of curiosity, where are you leaving the Primordial barrier from? When it comes time to open up the barrier myself down the line, I might as well go at it from wherever the barrier is weakest after having been already traversed by you to make my life easier."

"Hm, good point. I came in originally from above one of the mountains in the Isasz region, you ought to be able to detect it if you get close enough considering you have an affinity for nothingness. We stayed there for a while, when we initially arrived and set up the pagoda because we were ahead of schedule, before slowly making our way here. We won't be setting up the pagoda there again but we will be leaving through Isasz so I would recommend you try to do the same. It will put you in a relatively low domain compared to your strength level at the time but safety is paramount when exploring uncharted territory right? If you're able, do send notice to the outside world when you'll be emerging from this barrier. We can have some Transmit experts, as well as the Fundamental Organisation, come and ensure your and Mako's safety from any untoward individuals looking to take advantage of your relative weakness."

Ares nodded. "Will do, thanks. Good luck with your promotion and see you around." Ares waved goodbye to the peacock fellow and started heading off. Before he left the area, though, Kaleido threw out his umbrella and made it float high in the sky above the pagoda. A rainbow cage of crystal panels spawned and dropped down onto the pagoda, covering it entirely. Those same crystals shattered into tiny pieces not even a second later but the pagoda had already vanished, disappearing somewhere inside the reflection of the multitude of tiny, colourful, storage shards. The shards congregated atop the umbrellas external canopy and fused nicely with it, giving it a reflective and colourful sheen, before Kaleido spun the umbrella in front of himself. Just like last time, the peacock linguist disappeared behind the ever shrinking colour wheel of the umbrella and was now likely already leaving Sheryashka via Isasz. Ares made sure to wave goodbye to Loris and Peppy? who happened to be in the area, packing up tents, and then left to go find the betting brothers.

This was a quick process as they were basically always in the same spot and it didn't take Ares long to collect his winnings either as they had prepared it the very same day he won the tournament. They had come to terms with his win and congratulated him for an incredible performance while also mentioning they were excited for the future of this place. They wanted to stick around and work under Hans as information gatherers in new domains as well as continue serving their original purpose as betting brothers. In other words, these guys were here to stay on this landmass basically forever at this point. They were oddly resourceful so Ares had no complaints! He thanked them in advance for their services and took his stardust, of which he now had 130 high grade on the nose, and went to Bea's shop, My Fair Lady. This was yet another stop that didn't take up too much time as all Ares wanted was that back massager he saw last time he came here! It left an impact and Ares wanted it because it was really neat! If he had this much high grade then he could easily afford it without breaking the bank and treat himself for once. He rarely spent stardust anyway so a one off purchase for something that would help him feel comfortable on his lengthier travels was worth it!

And with that, only one task remained... Dates! One for Blo Blo and one for Enyo! He already knew where he was taking them but didn't have any specific day in mind... There was still time today so maybe he could take Enyo out tonight and then take Blo Blo out tomorrow? Sounded good! Provided they were ok with this, and weren't cultivating or anything, that would be his game plan so he went home and searched for Enyo. He found the devious woman skulking about outside one of the cultivation rooms and it seemed like she was intent on jumping Bellona inside to mess with her. Apparently she'd been planning on leaving the sect to go dispense justice out of boredom but decided to do this first before she took her leave... Ares figured he would save Blo Blo and keep the sanctity of her cultivation session intact so he offered to go around town with Enyo, and beat up some thugs,, before the date started later. Rather, technically, this was still part of the date, it was just a very Enyo-tailored activity. Regardless, Ares waited for Enyo to get changed before the two set off. Ares stuck to his regular clothes and Enyo was wearing something a bit more casual that didn't stand out much. It wasn't some fancy shmancy date or anything that they were on, just a night alone for the two of them to relax and have fun before Ares left. Plus they were going to Remmy's so not being too dressed up was perfectly acceptable as Gavel wasn't ever going to bother them for it.

The two swept through the streets and swapped between a leisurely stroll and hunting down fleeing criminals. The riff raff used to pick fights with Enyo but, nowadays, that was never happening. She'd built up a reputation via her bandit busting hobby, so they avoided her like the plague, and Ares, who was joining her today, was very recognisable thanks to the international. His face had been plastered here and there on the walls of Red Sun for advertising purposes so the couple prowling the streets were a criminal's worst nightmare and recognisable at a glance. They basically all ran on first sight of the despicable duo but that was nowhere enough for them to flee successfully. being quick to turn tail didn't save them when Enyo effortlessly trapped them in barriers or Ares Voidwalked after them and rounded them up with his Zephyr like he was a lassoing sheriff. Ares didn't much see the fun in this but Enyo was having a blast. Naturally Ares didn't mind doing this every now and then to clear up Red Sun's seemingly ever growing criminal problem but it wasn't something he wouldn't ever get bored of contrary to Enyo. She seemed genuinely enthused to just keep doing this as long as possible. If it weren't for the fact it was a good time to stop and go have dinner, and that they hadn't found anyone to arrest for a while now, she would have still been going at it. Maybe she thought this was a real life version of battleships? Enyo was the red peg, Red Sun was the grid, and the various ne'er-do-wells with mall intent were the vessels cruising for a bruising. Anyway, that game was over for now as it was time for good food!

Ares and Enyo arrived at Remmy's and were greeted favourably by Gavel who was always happy to see friendly faces... Although she did spook Remmy again thanks to the fervour in her greeting... Anyway, Ares warned Gavel that he'd come here today with a decent chunk of stardust and a very hungry Enyo in tow. Gavel thought Ares was overestimating Enyo's capacity for gluttony but she quickly changed her mind when the 'lady', if she could even be called that anymore, ordered a whopping ten dishes. And make no mistake, that wasn't entirely the end of it because she was making Ares order six more than he'd already been planning on for her sake. Despite the fact she wanted to pig out and try basically every dish on the menu she suddenly became reserved when it came to the optics of her desires and didn't want to order everything herself. She was making Ares do about half of the order so she could pretend it wasn't all her... This was rather cute but who did she think she was fooling?! Ah well. As cultivators, eating that much food really wasn't a problem. Throw in the fact that she was basically going to treat it as edible and tasty fuel for the romp in the bedroom later and none of this was too surprising. Enyo really did like her food, probably the most of anyone in the household actually. It made sense somewhat as she abstained from eating at good restaurants back on her home planet when she was younger, for the most part, because she was trained to be comfortable with rations and little else. She was treated to good food once or twice a year by Rhea but that was basically it so her freedom to chow down on whatever, whenever, instead of rations played a big part in her food intake. It was also partially why the honeycomb had blasted away the last line of defence back in Baja.

The two enjoyed their many meals and gave everything a good try. Enyo loved it all, which was understandable because the food was truly divine as per usual, and wanted nothing more than to come back so Ares promised they would when he returned form his journey. They'd had enough for today though and went back home, indirectly booting Blo Blo out the room as she wasn't going to get any sleep yet again in the noisy love nest they'd set up. As it was only a one night fight, Ares put up a respectable performance compared to before and managed to make it to morning without needing any assistance from Enyo's pleasure pillar. He did have to flee in terror after pointing this out because Enyo gave him a look that implied things were only going to get worse if he stayed in the room. Ares had a date with Bellona tonight and he wouldn't make it in time if he stayed in the room as Enyo wouldn't let him go come hell or high water. There could very well be an apocalypse outside but Enyo's priorities would still be set in stone so Ares escaped ASAP.

Much like how Ares spent the day doing what Enyo wanted yesterday, Ares checked in with Blo Blo to see if there was anything she was in the mood to do. Other than restocking on boba tea, she wanted to practice doubling Ares' magic in the back garden again as it had been a while. It had been a long while since Ares last chucked a Perish Wheel so he very much enjoyed colouring the horizon gold with it. Such massive explosions were a fairly common sight in the sect, at least before Ares became mini and stopped doing it, so nobody needed to go looking for answers as it was painfully obvious who was behind it. As long as Ares wasn't destroying sect property he was fine to keep doing stuff like this without Rud breathing down his neck. The explosion was pretty considerable though as Bellona doubled it so Ares had to detonate that one pretty high up in the sky so as not to cause a ruckus. The wheel explosion soared high enough to breach into Vraizon slightly but the attack would have diminished greatly by that point and anyone who got hit by it had no one to blame but themselves really. They would have seen it coming and it would have been pretty slow too after losing most of its momentum crossing domains.

A while later and Bellona was starting to run out of mana. She had her staff but refilling the mana supply inside could be a timely affair and she didn't want to reach into that supply right now. She always wanted it to be full just in case she was ever in desperate need of it and, although she'd be fine going with Enyo, she didn't want to get caught off guard on her trip to the Grecian lands. She wouldn't be able to refill it by then so just ending this session here today was fine. Besides, she had plenty of fun playing around with Ares and was content with the explosions she got to alter and witness. She took a mana shot pill, so as to alleviate some of her drowsiness, and then put on a hoodie. She wasn't going to get changed completely like last time because that wasn't something she needed to do every time she left the sect to casually hang out with Ares. Every now and then, sure, but today was just a day to mess around with her husband and enjoy some nice food. Also, the place they were going to eat at was less fancy than Remmy's and if they didn't have to put in an effort there, at the highest class restaurant in town, then they definitely wouldn't have to at this burger joint either. It was a great place, according to Ares, but it was hardly a fine dining experience or anything.

'Burga's Burgers.' Yes, the owner of the burger joint was named 'Burga'. No, the irony was not lost on her. If anything, she took it in her stride hence the name of her shop. It helped that she was quite the burger fanatic herself so she didn't mind being associated with the meal whenever anyone in Red Sun brought it up. It was good for branding purposes too! Easy to remember and catchy, Onno would approve. Or, rather, he did as he'd come across this place once before when going on a date when Esme and gave it due props. As for the food itself, you likely weren't getting a better burger anywhere in Sheryashka. Burgers weren't common menu items in this domain so the competition wasn't exactly fierce or anything but Burga would have risen to the top regardless as she was damn good at her craft. If she touched up her shop a bit she might even be able to get the same level of attention as Shu and Remmy but, honestly, she didn't care about that. Burga was a large woman with two kids constantly running around so she valued having less customers more than she did earning unnecessary amounts of money. She didn't have to clean up the shop as frequently and she could get her two little children in order whenever they were misbehaving in the back, tiresome though running after them was. She didn't have to deal with the sugar-fuelled brats all the time, though, as her husband would look after them on certain days instead. They alternated to give one another a break from time to time and, actually, Ares had looked after them on occasion himself when they were babies way back when.

That all being said, Burga was easily the food shop owner in Red Sun that Ares had the 'worst' relation with. It wasn't bad or anything, it's just that she'd overhead him saying he preferred Fixer's food one time and that was when things went south. Burga, lazy though she almost always was, was highly competitive when it came to burgers and there was perhaps nothing more insulting than suggesting Fixer's sandwiches, which she defined as 'flat and tasteless burgers', were better... She chased Ares out of her shop with a broom that day and gave him a 'friendly' glare every time he popped around since. They were still on good terms, Ares was with every food shop owner in Red Sun, but she was never going to forgive him for his burger sacrilege!

As for the burger joint itself, it was basically just a slightly larger version of most fast food takeout shops with a few extra stools for people to sit at compared to most other places. People typically took their order and left but there was the option to eat in if anyone so chose and it was decently comfortable. There was one area near the back that was relatively secluded thanks to a jutting wall and that was where Ares was aiming for as that cubby was the golden spot. He'd seen other couples shooting the shit there before and figured that would be perfect for him and Blo Blo. Of course if it was occupied he would just go somewhere else in the shop. That or they could take their meal elsewhere and have a picnic in a local park or something. Fortunately, however, after entering, it seemed like that spot was available and so they would get to eat in relative peace and quiet away from the solo diners near the entrance. The place didn't look particularly busy but that was only because a majority of the people who ordered food from here took their food and went back home with it to eat there with the rest of their family instead.

It seemed like Burga was in the back disciplining her children, for what was likely the tenth time today at least, so Ares and Bellona took their seats and checked the menu while they waited for her to return. Occupying the golden spot before they'd ordered was sneaky but nobody else wanted it and Ares wasn't going to give it up to anyone that came after him just because they were waiting around politely! Funnily enough, another local couple did peek their heads into the shop but as soon as they saw the cubby was taken they dipped back out and left! Ares had made the right decision! If he and Bellona stood at the counter those sneaky rascals would have slid up behind them and stolen the best seats in the building. Ares knew the people of Red Sun far too well, he'd seen it all before! Hell he'd even witnessed brawls over this spot and so he knew its worth all too well... Granted, in the end, the person who won that brawl was Burga's broom as it was an extremely mighty foe... Ares, in his youth, could honestly have been convinced that thing was a treasure the way it whacked people with unyielding conviction... Burga's mastery with that broom would put maybe even Dominus to shame...

Speaking of Burga, Ares felt a sharp glare pierce the back of his head so he didn't even need to turn around to know she was back at the counter. Ares sighed and ducked to avoid the butt of the broom that swooshed over his head but it curved downwards at the last moment and struck his cranium regardless. For a mortal to have accomplished this was seriously no joke and Dominus inwardly gave praise. Dominus had seen this woman's ferocity before and was mighty impressed, almost disappointed even that she was choosing not to cultivate. It was such a waste of talent! Anyway, the broom strike didn't hurt precisely because she was a mortal and packed no punch so Ares just shrugged off the stick and turned in his seat to face her. Burga moved back and stopped leaning over the counter but kept her glare trained on Ares all the way up until he finally got up and walked over to her. She finally put the glare away after a long sigh and nodded at Bellona before speaking with a tired voice. "Who's the girly?"

"One of my wives. Well, fiancé right now but it's going to happen eventually."

"Huh, so the rumours are true then? I'd heard about them but couldn't quite believe my ears. You're all grown up now... But your tastebuds still probably aren't. Tsk, to think I taught you how to cook and you repaid me by saying you preferred that fucker Fixer's food. Shameless!"

"Aw c'mon, you weren't supposed to even hear that..."

"Why does that make it better?! Whatever. Is Fixer still overloading his sandwiches to make up for the lack of taste a good meaty burger provides?"

"I don't know about that last part but, yes, his sandwiches are still as monstrous as ever... Thank God..." Ares mumbled that last part under his breath as that was honestly one of the best parts about Fixer's sandwiches and he hoped the guy never changed that.

"What about the girly? Has she got a good sense of taste?"

Ares chuckled as what he was about to say ought to cheer Burga up a bit. "It's her favourite type of food so I guess that answers that question?"

Burga's eyebrow raised as she looked past Ares and towards the real connoisseur here. A small, gentle smile appeared on her face and it was basically decided then and there that Bellona was getting a free meal. "Aw, what a bright young girly. Reminds me of me when I was back in my heyday. Her meal is on me tonight."

"..." Ares gave a wry smile... "And me?"

"Keep asking and you pay double!"

Ares scratched his head in defeat and walked back over to Blo Blo to tell her the good news and see what she was having. There were so many options but she decided to keep it simple and have a bacon cheeseburger in the end. A real classic and also a good way to judge how good a burger place truly was!... According to Bellona's standards anyway, Ares had no idea what this woman was talking about as this was outside his area of expertise. Blo Blo also wanted a side of wedges and a milkshake so Ares made a mental note of her order and returned to Burga. Burga was happy with Bellona's order but kissed her teeth when Ares had the audacity to order one of the grilled chicken burgers on the menu... Apparently he was in the mood for the wrong thing but Ares really didn't get where he went wrong so Burga just shook her head and sent a pitying glance to Bellona who responded with a 'what can you do?' face. These two were getting along like a house on fire while Ares was burning inside it... Wanting a chicken burger wasn't a crime! Bellona even asked him if this public humiliation was payback for all the bullying she'd done to him when he was mini and Ares was flabbergasted! It wasn't a big deal! Bellona shook her head and patted Ares' hand like he was a child who just didn't get it. He really didn't but oh well, the food here tasted good no matter how 'wrong' his order was. Point in case, when it arrived later Bellona very nearly drooled all over the table. Burga was flattered, and really liked Bellona, so she pat Ares on the back and told him he'd made a good choice...

All because of burgers?

She wasn't wrong but her reasoning was definitely a little off... Anyway, it seemed like Enyo liked Bea and her shop while Blo Blo had fallen in love with Burga's Burgers. They'd both found their favourite businesses in Red Sun and would no doubt become frequent patrons, making sure neither of them ever went out of business for as long as they lived. In fact, Ares could even tell that Bellona was plotting on trying to keep this woman alive at all costs and find cultivation resources for mortals to get her started on her cultivation journey. Burga needed to live forever and keep making her these delicious, juicy, meaty, melt in the mouth burgers until the end of time! With Bellona's support, maybe Dominus would get his wish and this woman would eventually become a broom exemplar... Ares decided not to get involved and just let the burger fanatics do as they pleased because clearly he was not a part of the 'in group'. He did not revere the exalted meal quite like these two so he would just let them do their own thing and support them from afar if they ever needed anything. Anyway, Blo Blo would definitely be visiting this place all the time whenever Ares wasn't around to cook for whatever reason, it had become an instant favourite of Bellona's and she was chomping down on her burger like she'd been starved for the last month. Her gusto was so apparent that she'd even accidentally raked in some curious customers who could see her voracious appetite from outside and so Burga slid a second burger onto the table free of charge as a thank you. Bellona shed a single tear and apparently this was going to be an unbreakable friendship in the future...

The couple finished their meal and chatted about this and that, mostly film plots that Bellona really liked from when she was younger, before finally leaving when it started to get dark outside. Rather than go straight home Ares took Bellona to a nearby park and fulfilled a promise he made a while back that she'd forgotten about almost entirely. A dance! There was no music or anything but a promise was a promise and Ares was going to dance with his wife-to-be no matter what. His Zephyr kept him warm so he borrowed Bellona the Scaled Insulator and now they both had a means to shut out the cold. Bellona could have just used her magic to double the temperature in the immediate surroundings until it was toasty but she'd been offered a coat from her husband-to-be and that was far more romantic, according to the various films in her memories, and so she took that instead. Making up for the scuffed dance back during the international party, they danced hand in hand for about five minutes while joking about with one another and pulling each other's leg from time to time.

Their dance came to lovely end with Bellona resting her head on Ares' chest as he Shifted them both back to the house where they lay in bed with each other and shared a passionate kiss. Enyo was still in the cultivation room so Bellona was free to take things a bit further and use her hands on Ares for a bit of fun without having the lust queen herself get involved and take things further than Bellona wanted to go right now. A pleasant day with a happy ending marked the final night before it was time for Ares to up and leave as, tomorrow, it would finally be time for him to depart from the sect and head off on the next leg of his journey.

Shortly after Bellona finished with Ares, Enyo arrived in the room and borrowed him for herself for a while. This was the last time she would get to have her way with him for a lengthy period of time and she wasn't going to let this opportunity slide! She'd waited patiently for Bellona to finish, as her sex radar was beeping in her brain the entire time earlier to come and join in, but right now was her own time to ride a high and she wasn't going to be modest! Bellona could put up with the noise and wait an hour or two before going to sleep! And that she did because this was the last time all three of them would be sleeping in the same bed until Ares came back from Xasca and she didn't want to miss that. She didn't say it openly but it was pretty apparent she was going to miss Ares and wanted to spend the night here with him even if Enyo was dragging the night on...

And on...

And on...

Bellona's love for Ares prevailed, however, and eventually Enyo restrained herself from pestering him any further so everyone could catch some shuteye. Ares wasn't mini anymore but, tonight at least, he was hugged from both sides once more and reciprocated with one arm for each of the cuddling wives. They were going to miss him but he was also going to miss them, twice as much even! They were only missing one guy but he was missing two women! The maths did itself and he was the one with the most to complain about! They really did uplift him and make his daily life more enjoyable than it was before so part of him wasn't too keen on leaving. Still, he had to do this for a multitude of reasons and couldn't just stay with his family forever. Getting stronger for his future goals was paramount and he could spent an eternal lifetime with them once he was done. He now understood how Appa felt when he left for Baja forest without it... Actually, he was going to miss Appa as well...

Ares sighed to himself and resigned himself to this homesick fate of his as he started drifting into the land of dreams. It was better to look on the bright side here and be expectant for the fun he would have on his trip than to keep dwelling on such matters as this was only going to keep happening in the future anyway. Better to get used to it now than never. With such thoughts in his head, Ares finally dozed off for real and, thus, his time in Red Sun was done for now. He'd been born here, raised here, and had never left Central Land even once in his life before. This place was the very definition of home and, though he'd miss it, he was excited for his upcoming journey too as it would be uncharted territory for the plucky revenant. He was trading those familiar back alleyways and streets for something wholly unknown and different but, honestly? He knew he was more than ready for it. The only question here left to ponder was... Is the rest of the world ready for him?