Twenty days after the Queen of Deckan passed, Jonas would hear a faint knock from behind him. Blinking in surprise, he turned around. Despite being a god, he had never once slacked on his personal security, always keeping his doors locked and his wards up to date. Not to mention his own divine senses, which should have easily detected anyone bypassing those security measures.

Yet, once he saw who was waiting for him, he no longer found it strange that they had been able to evade his security. “Lady Udona.” He muttered, seeing the kitsune standing in his office doorway.

Udona gave a small nod, smiling towards him. “Sorry for suddenly barging in like this, but I have a request.”

Jonas didn’t seem to mind, shaking his head. He had expected this visit for a while now, just unsure when it would finally come. “You want to talk to her?”

When Udona answered him with a nod, Jonas slowly stood up. “I’ll leave you two alone.” As he said that, a portion of his divinity split off behind him, forming into the visage of a woman familiar to Udona.

Seeing Bria standing in front of her like that, Udona’s heart ached. Still, she was happy to see her friend, and barely registered Jonas leaving the room. Once he closed the door, there was a long moment of silence before Bria was the first to speak up. “I guess that means it didn’t go so well, huh?”

There was a bitter smile on Bria’s face, and Udona walked forward wordlessly to wrap her in a hug. “I’m just glad I get to see you again. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to save you…”

“It’s fine, Udona.” Bria chuckled, reaching around to pat the goddess’s back. “I knew what I was getting myself into. Like you always taught me… I have to be ready for anything. Now… how’s Deckan doing? Nobody’s made a mess of the place yet, have they?”

Udona shook her head, pulling back to look Bria in the eyes. “The world spirit of Deckan asked James to keep the throne off-limits until I picked someone to replace you. He has been… frighteningly effective. Nobody’s been able to enter the palace yet, let alone claim the throne.”

Bria let out a sigh of relief when she heard that, moving over to sit in Jonas’s chair. “That’s good. As for a replacement… I guess I hadn’t really considered that. I didn’t think he’d be guarding it like this, so I always thought it’d just be a free-for-all if I died.”

“Do you have anyone you want me to consider? If it’s for you, I’d be happy to.” Udona spoke in a gentle tone, moving to sit on the floor in front of Bria. Although this might have seemed like more of a submissive position, neither of them considered that to be the case. Udona was simply wanting to fulfill her friend’s final wish.

Bria closed her eyes in thought. “There are a few people that caught my eye. But… I don’t think any of them really have what it takes to be queen. Advisor, maybe, but not the ruler. They each have their own problems, like loyalty to another family, or a bit too much interest in coin.”

After saying that, her eyes opened abruptly, a playful smile growing over her lips. “Actually, there is one woman I know that would make a great queen. She’s smart, considerate, and loved by everyone. She cares for the people, and would never betray them.”

“Although she might be a bit playful at times, and shy around strangers, she’s never let me down as long as I’ve known her.” Udona tilted her head curiously as she heard that description, wondering who in Bria’s life would fit that description.

I gave a slight chuckle as I watched the new world that appeared in front of me. One of my favorite pastimes the last few days had been watching the scholar on his jaunt across the infinite realms. It was impossible to predict where he would end up, or what his situation would be like when he arrived.

For instance, the world that he had just appeared in was one that seemed only to be populated by women at a quick glance. He landed right in the middle of a large city, drawing curious glances from everyone around him. There was no magic in this world, and they had a moderate level of technology. Probably a bit ahead of the Earth that I was born in.

However, the women all had deep pink skin and four eyes, making them look wholly alien. The scholar, having just left a world that spontaneously turned into flames, was still smoldering when he arrived. He couldn’t understand the words of the women that seemed to want to call for medics or ask if he was alright.

Over the last few days, he had learned to control his power to a certain extent. At first, it would send him to a new world once every few seconds, giving him no time to properly adjust. However, that was only because his own anxiety from crossing worlds caused the energy to spike. Once he was able to remain calm, the spiking energy calmed down as well.

It still had the chance to randomly relocate him, but it was not as often as before. As opposed to several times a minute, it reduced to at most once a day, unless his emotions spiked. There was a brief moment when I thought that he’d be able to get back home, as he managed to appear within Fyor’s third floor. However, his excitement about being in familiar territory triggered another immediate shift before he was able to contact anyone.

As a safety precaution, I kept my finger on the Smite button for him. There was the chance that he’d be able to appear within an upper level of Fyor and cause an immediate power spike for my world. If that happened, I’d have to take drastic measures. I had already warned Terra to immediately freeze time if one of his gates led to somewhere that would unlock that kind of power, before he had the chance to fall through it. Only with that could I be fully assured.

Dale, can we talk? Udona’s voice suddenly disrupted my thoughts, causing me to blink in surprise.

Sure. Would you like me to go to your room? As I asked that, I stood up from my seat, moving towards my bedroom door. When she agreed, I walked directly to her room, not hesitating to enter it.

The room itself looked much the same as it did the last time I was present, when she had just started grieving. However, there was now a row of bookshelves along one of the walls, and a writing desk in the corner. Udona sat on her bed, hands in her lap as she waited for me. She seemed… almost nervous.

“What’s the matter?” I moved over to sit next to her, knowing that it would take quite a lot to make one of my goddesses show such an expression.

“I… have a favor I’d like to ask you. I hope it’s alright.” She slowly lifted her head, looking into my eyes. When I gave a faint nod for her to continue, she took a deep breath. “I’d like to personally manage Deckan. I’ll make an incarnation that will grow up to be the new queen, and manage it myself until that happens. That way the world won’t be without a ruler when we’re invaded.”

I blinked in surprise, having a hard time keeping up. “Okay… so first of all, not entirely against the idea… but I’d still like to ask. Where did this come from, all of the sudden? I thought you were going to be picking a new queen, not becoming one yourself.”

Udona gave a low, bitter chuckle at that, shaking her head. “I went to say goodbye to Bria. She left an image of herself with Jonas, in case something went wrong. I tried to get her opinion on who she wanted me to appoint as the new queen, and… she asked me to do it myself.”

“She said, since I’m always helping out with running things behind the scenes, I should ‘suck it up and run things myself’.” There was a self-deprecating grin on her face as she said that. “It was her final wish, so… I at least want to give it a shot.”

Thinking about it, I gave a small nod of my head. If this was something that she wanted to do, I’d allow it. Normally, I tried to keep the roles of the companions more behind the scenes, guiding the world from the back and letting them take care of themselves.

However, with this being the age of gods, it wouldn’t be too bad for them to come forward now and take the lead if they wanted to. I wouldn’t force them to do so, but for those that wanted to take the initiative like Udona, I didn’t want to hold them back. “Alright. I don’t think anyone would object to you taking the throne. Except for the fact that they won’t be able to get it from you.”

She gave a light laugh when she heard that, nodding her head. “Thanks. I know this isn’t exactly how you planned for things to go. It means a lot to let me do this.”

I reached up, rubbing her head a bit. “Just make sure not to mess it up.” I told her in a teasing tone. “This is a big responsibility, and it means your gaming time might be cut down a little.”

Udona put on a fake look of shock, gasping at my words. “Oh, whatever shall I do?”

James stood ever-vigilant in the courtyard of the floating palace. While his main body continued working on research, his avatar never left its post, unless it was to dissuade people from causing problems. Over the last nearly three weeks, there had been a rather sharp decline in trade due to the absence of a top decision-maker for the world. However, he knew that this situation wouldn’t last too long.

Even regarding the political infrastructure of the planet, it just wouldn’t make sense for the Keeper to allow a world to go without a leader. He had no doubt that Udona would find someone soon, even if she had to force herself to do so.

That didn’t stop him from being surprised when he felt a pulse of divine energy behind him. He had been prepared to turn and retaliate before he felt the familiar strength that could only be shown by one of the Companions. Letting out a sigh, he turned around, facing Udona herself. “Did you find someone?”

“You could say that.” The goddess answered, wearing a deep black robe with a low cut. “In accordance with Bria’s final wish, I’ll be assuming the throne myself. Deckan wants a God-Queen… and I’m the best they’ll get.”

James was briefly taken aback by that decision, before considering it more deeply. It was true that with the addition of the incarnation system that this Keeper had, it was possible to have an avatar present while handling a defensive battle. “Want me to drop the castle, then?”

“Gently, if you could.” She nodded with a smile. “I’ll make the announcement myself.”

After they decided on that, the residents of Ashtanu watched the floating castle descending towards the ground. Now, naturally James was unable to fit it in exactly the way that he pulled it out. There was a series of crushing sounds, cracks spreading out where the castle tried to fix itself back in place.

Once the castle was settled, those cracks began to close up. As soon as someone repaired the plumbing and wiring connections for the castle, it would be almost as good as new.

Those nobles that were keeping an eye on the situation were surprised to find that the castle had ‘fallen’ to the ground. They thought that perhaps the new heir had been chosen, or James had been forced to leave. Either way, they knew that they had to make their way there to see for themselves.

What they didn’t expect was for a thought to be sent across the world, an announcement from the Goddess of Life herself. Good evening, everyone. I apologize, but I’d like to take a moment of your time to say a few words.

These last few weeks have been hard on many of you. Decisions that should have been made were left at the wayside. But, please know that that shall no longer be the case.

Before the late Queen passed, she left an imprint of herself with the God of Community, Jonas. After consulting with her, Bria chose to ask me for a favor. Instead of finding a replacement for her among the mortals of the world, she asked me to lead personally.

In honor of her years of dedication to the world, and all that she has done, as well as having received permission from the Keeper himself… I have agreed to her favor. Until such time as my avatar in this world has matured, I will personally be leading my people. Not as some high above figure that can only be seen as an object of worship, but as a true queen.