"I am," Lyda answered. "We're going back to Madam Mara's?"

"Yes," Cyrus answered. "I already have the flight booked."

"Okay," she says. "Let's head out, then."

"Goodbye," the triplets told them.

"Goodbye," Lyda told the triplets.

"Make sure to wash the dishes," Cyrus said. "And open the shop back up, and don't forget to finish converting those discs into recospheres, and to finish Kylnar's order, okay?"

"Got it," the triplets responded. "Goodbye, Cyrus."

"Goodbye," he said. "Come on, Lyda."

Cyrus led Lyda outside and to his car, then drove them to the airport. They checked in and waited for their flight.

"You seem surprised by something," Cyrus said as they took their seats on the plane.

"Well," Lyda said. "You booked two seats, beside each other, and one is for me. Wouldn't you rather sit alone?"

"Yes," Cyrus answered. "But if we are dating, even if only temporarily, then I will let you sit by me. I can handle it if you bump me or brush me."

"Okay," she chuckled.

Cyrus pulled out his tablet and used it for the duration of the flight, putting it away only once the plane landed and it was time to exit. They took a car down to the restaurant after leaving the airport, and Lyda approached the bar, where Sabbie was filling a beer for a customer.

"Welcome back, Lyda," Sabbie greeted her as Lyda took a seat. Cyrus sat beside her and grabbed a menu "Still with this handsome man?"

"For now," Lyda answered. "Actually, I still have two tokens left to earn, the Forest Token and the Mystery Token."

"Can I see them?" Sabbie asked, and Lyda gave Cyrus a curious look.

"It's up to you," Cyrus told her. "I'm just holding on to them."

"Sure," Lyda looked at Sabbie. "If Cyrus will get them out."

Cyrus set the four tokens on the bar without looking away from the menu, and Sabbie looked over them.

"Silver Oracle and Blessed Ones," Sabbie murmured. "I find it hard to believe you did both."

"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter," Cyrus said. "She has four of the tokens and is just missing three, then she'll be good to go."

"Three?" Lyda asked. "Aren't there six?"

"What?" Cyrus screwed up his face in confusion. "Oh, right. Mystery Token and Forest Token. You have the other four."

Lyda gave him a sideways look, but turned her attention back to Sabbie after only a moment.

"There's apparently," she told her friend. "A Forest Ruin outside of the city. Cyrus says we'll head there tomorrow. I'm kind of excited at the thought, to be honest. What's a Forest Ruin like? I didn't do much research on those, since the cost for going into one is pretty high."

"The local one is kind of quiet," Cyrus said. "A few monsters, a few traps, but nothing really noteworthy. Has a few good places to nap in, and-what's that look for?"

"Has a few good places to nap in?" Lyda raised an eyebrow. "Have you gone into it and taken naps a few times?"

"My brothers don't like Ruins," Cyrus stated.

"So you sought them out as hiding places!" She laughed.

"His brothers?" Sabbie asked. "The supposed god has brothers?"

"Yes," Lyda answered. "They-"

"Are here," Cyrus muttered.

A moment later, the triplet gods of time walked through the front door, grins on their faces as they approached Cyrus and Lyda. Owen sat to Cyrus's left, Luke on Lyda's right, and Max stood behind them, leaning against them with an arm around each one.

"We found out," Owen said.

"That the two of you," Max said.

"Decided to be together during this trip," Luke said.

"And if you suggest a fivesome," Cyrus said as all three went to speak. "I will make sure you three don't get laid for another year."

"Awww," the triplets said in unison. "But it might be fun."

Cyrus met the gazes of each one of them, and when he did, their grins faltered a little.

"You know," Max looked at Lyda. "We have a higher sex drive than our brother, and a fair bit more experience. You've seen what we can do, want to experience it again?"

"I would, very much," Lyda said. "But you know, your brother has his own charm, and I know you're only doing this to annoy him. So if you'd like to ever be able to have children, I'd suggest you don't push it."

"Maybe once the trip is over?" Owen raised an eyebrow.

"Since you two only agreed to be together until then?" Max asked.

"We can give you another good time," Luke said.

"How about it?" They asked in unison.

"How about," Cyrus elbowed Max in the stomach, causing his brother to release them and stumble back. "You three find some other target? Lyda said 'no'. If you want to sleep with her again, ask her if she's single, not for an 'after you get single again'."

"But-" the triplets began to ask.

"We're in a restaurant that has men and women who you can pay to have sex with," Cyrus said. "Go find one of them to harass. The other option is I undo the spell I put on the three of you to prevent you from having children. Then you can find yourselves explaining to Rynovar why there are suddenly a lot more Blessed Ones being born."

The triplets backed off, and Cyrus let out an aggravated sigh, before looking up from the menu and meeting Sabbie's gaze.

"Can I get two cheeseburgers with lettuce, onion, ketchup, and pickle," he handed her a couple of notes. "Both with fries for their sides. An order of chicken tenders with fries, two orders of mozzarella sticks, and an order of nachos with meat and cheese, no other toppings? And a beer."

"Sure," she said with a smile. "Your brothers are just as hot as you, you know."

"They know it, too," he muttered, pulling out his tablet and beginning to use it.

"Cyrus," Lyda suddenly sounded panicked as she began looking around. "The Silver Token is missing."

"Luke grabbed it," Cyrus told her. "I used a bit of magic to swipe it back, and it's back in the warehouse. He'll probably realize it soon, but he won't go after it again."

Cyrus waved a hand over the tokens, sending them back to the warehouse, then he accepted the beer from Sabbie and drained it.

"Another, please," he handed her a few notes.

Sabbie filled him another glass, then took Lyda's order before sending it to the kitchen and talking with her coworker. Cyrus, meanwhile, used his tablet, arranging for the sale of a lawn ornament he'd had in storage for six months, though the buyer wouldn't be available to pick it up for another three.

After they ate their late lunch, Lyda told Cyrus she was heading to her apartment to pack a few more things, and asked for her pack.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asked as he handed her the bag he'd kept in his warehouse for her.

"No," she told him. "I'm just doing some laundry and packing some fresh clothes. Maybe picking up a few other things, too."

"Okay," he said. "Want me to keep an eye on you in case something happens?"

"Can you do that from here?" She asked.

"I can do it from anywhere on Earth," he told her, and she raised an eyebrow as he sensed her confusion and curiosity. "You think about me, you somewhat worship me, and you acknowledge my existence as a god. As a result, I can sense you and watch you at any time. It's why Rynovar is able to keep watch over the entire world at once from his floating island. He doesn't need it to look at things, he just wanted an island floating in the sky, so had Kylnar make it. No, Rynovar simply looks at anyone and everyone, though he also filters out certain things and people to watch at all times. My brothers and I are among those."

"That's interesting," Lyda said. "And I really should have expected you to be able to do something like that."

"It's not something many people think about," Cyrus shrugged. "Want me to?"

"Sure," she said. "Back in a few hours."

Lyda left, and Cyrus returned to using his laptop, feeling Sabbie's gaze on him and her confusion and mild annoyance with his empathy.

"Staring won't answer any questions or let you vent," he said after several minutes.

"You do know she wants some time alone, right?" Sabbie asked. "And you always playing on that thing doesn't help."

"What else am I to do?" Cyrus asked. "I'm always using this, and was before we met. She's never said anything before, and she doesn't have an issue with me conducting business."

"Right, because you're supposedly a god."

"It's because she accepts me doing this as a part of who I am," Cyrus stated. "I've already proven to her that I'm a god, and-"

Cyrus rubbed his temples as he let out a long breath.

"Welcome to the event of a lifetime," he muttered. "Four gods walk into a bar, then a phoenix shows up."

As the bartender opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about, there was a flash of flames beside him, receding to revealing on the stool to his left a falcon-like bird with red, orange, and yellow feathers, its golden eyes looking at Cyrus with interest.

Without a word, the young god pulled chocolate from his warehouse, unwrapped it, and set it on the bar. The phoenix jumped up onto the bar, then picked up the chocolate with one claw and lifted it up as it bent its head down, taking a bite with its beak. It chomped the chocolate for a few seconds, breaking it up, then swallowed before nodding.

"That's some good stuff," the phoenix told Cyrus. "By the way, are your brothers really upstairs-"

"Yes," Cyrus said. "It isn't like you to visit Earth. What are you doing here?"

"I came to say 'hello' to Rynovar," the phoenix responded. "We're old buddies."

"You've never met him," Cyrus shook his head. "Only his wife, Selar, and their friend, Kylnar."

"Your friend, too," the phoenix said. "How many times does he visit you? Wasn't the most recent time in the shower?"

"He wasn't visiting me," Cyrus's face flushed as he felt Sabbie's amazed and confused gaze turning to him. "He just happened to have reserved a spot at the same spa at the same time as me. A year before I reserved a block. That was merely coincidence, and had surprised him, considering he knows I can't stand being touched."

"Sure, sure," the phoenix took another bite of the chocolate. "This really is good stuff, Cyrus. Can't find someone who makes it better than you."

"You've never had my-" Cyrus cut. "You're the thief!"

"Erm, maybe," the phoenix said. "But in my defense, it was just sitting there, untouched, and I didn't want it to go to waste!"

"Kylnar told me to keep some on-hand in case you ever visited," Cyrus said. "I didn't realize you were sneaking in and stealing my stores for you! That's all your getting!"

"Is this really a phoenix?" Sabbie asked.

"I am," the phoenix puffed out his chest, looking at Sabbie. "Ancient phoenix whose life transcends this universe. Rynovar and I are old friends."

"You've never met him," Cyrus rolled his eyes, putting his tablet away. "We just went over that. What are you doing here?"

"Visiting an old friend," the phoenix flapped a wing dismissively, then took another bite of the chocolate. "This really is some good stuff, Cyrus. I can see why Kylnar wanted you to have some of it. And I've known Rynovar in more than just this life of his."

"Reincarnation doesn't exist," Cyrus said.

"So you say," the phoenix said. "So you say. This really is some good chocolate, what's your secret recipe?"

"Phoenix blood," Cyrus answered.

The phoenix paused for a moment, then examined the piece of chocolate, as if it might actually contain phoenix blood as an ingredient.

"You know," the phoenix gave him an amused look. "In all the time I've known Rynovar, he's pulled that same stunt a few times. One time, he even convinced me he put my blood in the chocolate! Turned out, he'd actually used it for an enchantment."

"Considering you've never met Rynovar," Cyrus told the phoenix. "You have some of the weirdest dreams."

"Perhaps," the phoenix said. "Anyway, I'll be off. Old friends need visiting before I go and help another phoenix-erm, no. Won't say it, not to you. I'll be taking the rest of this with me as well."

The phoenix waved the chocolate in its claw.

"Farewell, Cyrus," the phoenix said, then disappeared in a burst of flames, leaving behind no trace of its arrival.

Cyrus looked at Sabbie, who was staring at the spot where the phoenix had been in a mixture of confusion and awe.

"Aren't phoenixes supposed to be myths?" She asked, slowly turning to look at Cyrus. "Was that some sort of illusion of light and sound you did?"

"No," he answered. "Sadly, we just got visited by a delusional phoenix, and it's the first time a phoenix has been on Earth in more than ten thousand years, if you don't include the times he's apparently stolen my chocolate stores. Why he decided to come visit me, I'll probably never know."

"Phoenixes see a lot more than you would expect," a voice said, and Cyrus turned to find Kylnar walking into the restaurant. "Even one as young as that one, the youngest of them all. Why he visited you directly rather than just stealing your chocolate, I don't know. But considering he's a phoenix, we may never know."

"Hello, Kylnar," Cyrus looked at the older god. "What brings you here?"

"He likes to peck at my hair," Kylnar answered as he took the seat to Cyrus's left. "So I thought I'd come bother you instead of dealing with that."

"Thanks," Cyrus muttered.

"You really shouldn't," Sabbie told Kylnar. "Pretend to be one of the three gods of this world. What if the real Kylnar strikes you down?"

"Oh, I'm perfectly okay with myself calling me that," Kylnar smiled at her, holding up a hand and producing a long dagger. "As for proof? Well, we can always do this."

As Sabbie stared at the weapon, Kylnar pulled off his shirt, revealing his slender, lean torso. Then, he raised the knife and plunged it straight into his heart.

"As you can see," Kylnar said as he pulled the dagger out of his chest, the blade coated in sticky, shiny, bright red blood. "I can take a lethal wound like it's nothing. In fact, you'll notice I'm already healing."

As Sabbie and several other guests of the restaurant watched, the injury mended, healing over in moments and leaving just the blood on his chest. The dagger disappeared in an eruptions of flames, then Kylnar gestured at his chest, the blood burning away as well.

"Perfectly clean, perfectly smooth," he told her. "And since you can sense water pretty well, Sabrina, I know you sensed the blood was quite real. Who but a god could naturally heal that quickly and survive such a fatal injury?"