Shar’s purple fingers drummed the top of his anvil as he stared at Vanessa. “So that’s the true form of Holy Sword Dantae? A woman? I have to say, I’ve been working the forge for quite some time, but this is a first for me.”

Vanessa had a frown on her face, and I felt the urge to pet her head to placate her, only to realize that it would only have the opposite effect.

“Do you mean it’s the first time you’ve seen a blade transform?” I asked, eager to keep the flow of the conversation going.

“No, not that. I just meant it’s my first time seeing one transform into something other than a completely subservient beast. And a woman, no less…” Shar’s gaze moved over to Hazeel, who was staring at various weapons lined up on the walls of Shar’s smithy.

He sighed, and gave me a firm pat on the shoulder. “You’ll have your hands full with these two, lad. I’ll keep you in my thoughts.”

Vanessa was obviously less than over the moon at being compared to a ‘subservient beast,’ and was sulking while sitting on the anvil that she had been repaired on only two days prior.

I eked out an awkward smile, and tried to change the subject. “So, what did you need me to do for you, Shar?” I did want to keep my promise to him, even if the Vanessa I got back wasn’t the one I had remembered, it still beat having no Vanessa at all.

The demon smirked and pointed to the back of a wall, where three golden weapons were hanging. The first was an axe, whose handle looked as if it were molded from molten gold, which, in all probability, it was.

Next, a spear. The entirety of the shaft was the same as that of the axe’s handle, pure gold. It was intricately decorated with various leaf designs and raised patterns along the weapon’s length.

Lastly, a shield. Keeping with the prior pattern, a shield made entirely of gold, and one with the same leaf patterns on it that the spear had. A sapphire gemstone was embedded into the middle of the shield, one which radiated energy that even I could feel.

The axe and spear both had crimson metal for their edged parts, and the shield had several crimson spikes protruding from its sides like a tortoise’s shell.

I turned back to look at Shar, a clear look of smug superiority on his face. “Very nice,” I said, turning back to the weapons, and then looking at Shar once more, “but what does that have to do with me?”

The demon’s expression fell, and he sighed. “Are you serious, my boy? I’d think that even the poorest orphan, or least intelligent bum would have heard of the Heroes Cardinal Weapons.”

I tilted my head, before straightening it as I realized I had only told Leresa that I was from a different world. I tried to think of the easiest and most believable way to say it, when I remembered that I was talking to a recently ascended god. He already knew of the existence of other worlds.

So, I did what came naturally. I pointed at myself, and said, very slowly so he couldn’t have misheard me, “I came from a different world.”

Shar laughed, the sound coming from the massive demon’s mouth reminding me of the cadence of a seal’s bark. He wiped tears from his eyes, and upon seeing my own expression, allowed his mouth to go agape.

“You aren’t… no, you’re completely serious. By Tirania’s swinging- '' before he could finish the sentence, a bolt of lightning comedically struck him in the middle of his own smithy.

Shar coughed twice before looking up at the sky with a scowl. “Oh, so when I was mortal you didn’t care, but now that I’ve ascended to godhood, using your name in a curse is a taboo!? Selfish bitch!”

Shar was hit by another bolt of lightning, and shrugged it off just as easily as the first, only this time, his tail had sparks running up and down it. He stuck the appendage into the ground, dispersing what was left of the divine punishment.

“Well, I’ll be damned. So you’re actually from another world.” Shar spoke as if the previous two occurrences of lightning hadn’t even happened. “I have no idea how you got past the barrier, but it seems my post-mortal life still has some excitement in it.”

“Leresa said something about barriers as well, can you explain that to me? Unlike what you thought, I didn’t encounter any resistance when coming into this world.”

That caused Shar’s eyes to widen, and he looked up at the sky. He opened his mouth to say something when thunder rumbled in the distance, and immediately Shar’s face morphed into a frown.

He looked at the sky and shouted, “I got it, I got it already! I won’t say anything unnecessary.” The demon sighed, and faced me once more. “Well, I guess I should start with the barrier first.”

“Leresa told me a bit already, actually. That you would have monsters from another dimension break through into this world and attack its residents, right?”

Shar nodded, and followed up. “Exactly, but that is the cause, not about the construction of the barrier and what function it performs today.”

“The barrier is actually something which keeps out time.” My eyes widened, but Shar wasn’t finished. “We figured out that the beasts didn’t actually wreak an unknown kind of destruction, but instead aged the places they touched until they were little more than dust and ashes.”

“As such this world is one which never seems to age, and time in here moves at a different pace than that of the outside worlds.”

“Does time move faster or slower?” Shar frowned as I interrupted his train of thought, but I repeated myself once more, “Does it move faster or slower!?”

The second question held a bit of desperation in its tone, and Shar answered almost immediately. “It moves slower in here, faster outside. What’s got your loins in a twist?”

I considered telling him about General Armando, and the revenge that I needed in order to put myself at ease, but I didn’t. Instead, I took a deep breath and urged Shar to continue.

“Nothing. It’s nothing. Please continue your story. It’s informational, and it’s not every day you get to speak with a god.” That seemed to have appeased the demon’s ego, and he smiled at me.

“You’re damn right, boy. Now where was I? Oh yeah, the barrier. It was made by the first person ever to transcend into godhood, the Time Wizard, Tirania.” Lightning once again hit Shar, only this time, it only crackled against his nose.

“Argh, Gods damn it! If you didn’t want him knowing your name, why’d you let him inside the barrier in the first place!?” The sky rumbled in rebuttal, but besides that, nothing occurred.

“Anyway, Tirania.” Another bolt of lightning hit, but Shar had already stuck his tail into the ground, keeping it there and preventing him from being shocked. He sighed. “She was a time mage, and transcended in order to create the barrier. As such, she is now an existence that can neither live without this world, and one whom this world cannot live without.”

“So, she created a barrier that prevents dimensional passage with time magic?” Shar nodded, and another bolt struck him in the meantime.

“That just sounds like bullshit to me.” Vanessa chimed in, and Shar turned to her. A bolt went for Shar again, and he angrily looked up at the sky.

“She said it, not me! I’m sure you could do something better with your time than listen to other people tell stories!” Shar studied Vanessa, and said, “Regardless of whether you think it is ‘bullshit’ or not, young lady, the fact is that it actually occurred.”

“That’s like saying that just because something worked, it doesn’t need a further explanation.” Vanessa scowled, and Shar shrugged.

“Why can’t it be that way? I’m sure if you tried to explain the rules of your world to me, they’d go in one ear and out the other. I’m convinced if I tried that it’d be more of the same, so I won’t even bother.”

I could see Vanessa trying to work on a rebuttal in her mind, but the gears failed her and she just kept a quiet grimace on her face. With a nod, Shar continued, “Tirania has complete control over the barrier, and oversees who comes and goes in this world. That’s why ascending to godhood is such an important thing. It allows you the opportunity to meet with Tirania, and negotiate a departure from, and subsequent return to this world.”

“Anyway, that’s enough about history. Back to those three items on the wall over there.” He gestured, and the two of us turned to observe the golden weapons, although Hazeel was still going through Shar’s entire inventory of weapons.

“Those are the Heroes Cardinal Weapons, each modeled after divine beasts of the North, South, East, and West. The Spear of the East is crafted with the talon of Suzaku. The Shield of the West is made from a piece of Genbu’s carapace. The Axe of the south is made from a Byakko’s fang.”

I sighed, and it clicked in my mind where this was going, as only three of the four weapons were present. “So you want us to go hunt a dragon and bring back its materials, or something along those lines?”

Shar laughed, and chuckled so hard that his tail came out of the ground, at which point lightning struck him. The demon groaned, “You vindictive bitch!” as he shoved his tail back into the ground.

“I do want you to hunt a dragon, although not for the reason you’re thinking. These items were crafted by the old god of the forge, and are therefore very important to me as his successor.”

He pointed to his own stomach, and grinned. “I’ll need you to kill the damned dragon that ate the previous hero of the north. It swallowed the man and his weapon whole, and it has been sitting there ever since.”

I nodded and asked, “Why don’t you just go get it yourself, though? You’ve just become a god, I have to imagine it’d be easy enough.”

Shar chuckled and looked at the sky. “You’d think so, but the laws laid down by the founding gods are pretty strict on what gods can and cannot do in the mortal realm. Among those actions prohibited is killing beings while in the mortal realm. Why do you think divine quests get issued?”

I nodded skeptically, and looked back at Vanessa, who seemed lost in thought. I turned to Shar, who had a knowing smile on his face. “I know this will be a pain, so let me tell you something nice. If you complete this task for me, I’ll bring you with me when I go to meet Tirania. I have to imagine that you’re looking for a way out of here, right?”

“Deal.” Vanessa said, without even so much as glancing in my direction. I would have said something if not for the fact that I agreed with her one hundred percent. We needed to get back to America before too long had passed, and there was nothing left of society to save.

I shook Shar’s hand, as did Vanessa, and he smiled tenderly. “I’m glad you’re back, miss. You should’ve seen the boy when you regained this form. He was crying his eyes out, right here in the middle of my store.”

I blushed involuntarily, and looked over at Vanessa to explain myself, but she also had a crimson shade on her cheeks. I was about to say something when Hazeel, who had just finished looking around the shop, poked her head in between us. “Finally done, I saw some things I wanted to get, Leo. So, what did I miss?”