'Come on, girl! It should be enough now...' the glove muttered as it observed Lara still struggling with the magma golem.

'I also had enough' the Ruler rumbled in a gruff tone, then slammed the golem away with the flat of the blade, sending it flying a few miles back.

"Thank you, big sword" Lara whispered in a tired voice, as she tried to circulate her qi and recover her injuries.

'Use your Skill, little girl. Minor threats like this shouldn't be any problem for you.' the Heart Ruler answered in her mind, seeming disappointed.

"What? I have a Skill? Wait, I remember some stuff about Skills..." the blue-haired girl muttered as she closed her eyes in contemplation.

'Direct as a an ox, idiot! Where is the explosion of comprehension? The insight into Dao?' the glove complained towards the Ruler.

'Seems to me your little Soldier is doing it right now, orange glove.' the Ruler objected while pointing at the young girl.

The glove observed his ward for a moment, than it had to agree. Perhaps not everyone was like Pef, obtaining insights during fights. Meditation was boring though.

And because it was boring, the glove began crafting itself an Avatar, first as a giant spider tugging on a million strings, then a flower controlling millions of insects with its pollen, then a silver harp controlling the minds of millions with its music. Nothing really fit, or fit too well and gave away the trick.

Eventually, it had to admit defeat and just copy what the Power Word Guns did with their Avatars. An armored woman with a melodic voice, large white wings, a book on her hip and a harp in hands. Then it went through a thousands variations of body and face and hair, until it found something he knew it would please Pef. Orange hair too, just for symbolism. The Avatar also had the scent and flavor of a human soul too, given that it had been crafted from the remains of one.

'That idiot better not make me sing.' the glove mused as it observed the Avatar for any flaws. There weren't any, of course. The glove was pretty much perfect.

In a flash of white light, the Avatar appeared beside the young Soldier and saw things with nearly human eyes for the first time. 'So limited, but rather charming too. Oh well, it isn't like I will keep the Avatar that long anyways' the glove hummed inward.

'Oh? You decided to make an appearance, orange glove?' the Ruler commented curious.

'I did have one of Pef's inner selves held back for another project. Might as well use it.' the glove answered in a careless voice.

'What project?' the Ruler asked curious.

'Classified, my friend. An order from the General herself.' the glove answered in a harsher tone.

The ground shook as the magma golem approached once more, this time keeping a careful watch for a large sword floating about.

Lara also opened her eyes and rose to her feet. "Hey! Elder Sister, be careful! This monster is dangerous, so don't get in its way." she exclaimed while stepping protectively in front of the glove's Avatar.

"What can you do then, little sister?" the glove asked with a melodic voice, while her wings fluttered.

"This time...this time I can hold it back!" little Lara shouted and flew at speed towards the stomping golem, while a blue cone formed in front of her.

With a giant crash, the girl impacted the chest of the golem, and passed through to the other side, leaving a giant hole in her wake.

"Ha! I do have a Skill. Thank you, big sword!" Lara exclaimed as she passed once more through the golem from the side, making it crash onto the ground.

In a minute, the golem shattered into thousands of grey boulders while a single red gem gleamed with light from the middle of the rubble.

Lara bent to pick up the gem and examined it curious.

"A Red Lava Crystal? You found something quite valuable, little sister." the glove's Avatar said seeming a bit suprised.

"You know what this is, Elder Sister?" Lara asked with wide blue eyes.

"I just told you what it is. I have a Skill that lets me identify things. Not sure what it is used for though." the Avatar answered with a tiny shrug. Playing at being a living being was rather fun.

"Are you a Goddess, Elder Sister?" Lara asked a bit more cautious, as she examined the winged-woman with a frown.

"Let me see." the Avatar said while placing a hand on her chest. "Oh. I am a Goddess! Never thought to check before." she continued with a surprised voice.

"Haha! You're so silly, Elder Sister. But your wings are really pretty. Are you hungry?" Lara asked with childish curiosity and politeness.

The Avatar checked to see if she was hungry. "I'm not sure. Seems I have never eaten before." the glove replied truthfully.

"That's awful, poor you. Come to my house, my mother makes a great stew. You'll love it!" Lara demanded and began dragging the Avatar by the hand.

----------------------------

"Pay your respects to our new Holy Son!" the Sect Master ordered as he presented little Pef to the gathered audience in the Icefire Plaza.

"May you live a million years, Holy Son!" the people shouted as they knelt in supplication.

Pef frowned for a minute, as a million years seemed a bit short in his memories. 'Probably just a saying.' he decided after a moment.

He instead went to raise his mother before she could kowtow. "None of that, Holy Mother. I'll see about getting you a place in the Alchemy Hall, after we settle in. Grandpa too." the blonde boy spoke in confident tone, then glanced to the Sect Master sharply.

The old man nodded graciously. "The Holy Son's family has accompanied him from the Snowflake Sect, and have decent cultivations already. If they want to join our Alchemy Hall, we will be pleased to have them." he ordered with a glance towards the Head Alchemist.

"From today onwards, I will take charge of the Outer Sect, and see about solving the discipline problems I saw on my way here. The future of a Sect starts with its lowest disciples, just like a plant needs its roots to grow." Pef announced next, making the gathering all frown in confusion.

A Holy Son was an exalted position in any Sect, even higher than a Core Disciple or a Court Elder, yet the boy only wanted to take care of the lowly Outer Sect?

Perhaps he was indeed punished by the Sect Master for his outrageous behavior at arrival, even killing a Sect Elder. Eyes lifted from the ground to stare at the young boy.

"I hope there won't be more instances of disrespect towards our Holy Son. If he doesn't kill you himself, than I will." the Sect Master said in a colder voice, then flew away towards a distant peak.

The remaining elders and disciples froze in their kneeling stance, now terrified of the new order.

This was much worse than they imagined a Holy Son would be.

"All rise and back to work, people. We shall know each other better, in the following days." Pef ordered as he climbed on his perch and departed on board his Sky Realm carrier.

The Alchemy Head frowned then turned away, flying at speed towards his Hall. He would need to arrange a place for the newcomers, and warn his Hall members not to offend the Holy Son's relatives.

Although Alchemy was a fairly safe occupation, power was always a concern. What they were given could also be taken away, and now a new power had arrived in the Icefire Sect.