Yui says "Is there anything else you need?"

"Not at the moment, no. Do you think you will be able to make a teleporter work through the barrier?"

Yui says "From everything Core has told me about the barrier, yes. We will be calibrating a teleporter to match the mirror's wavelength. That should allow it to pass through the barrier."

"Okay, will it be ready by morning so I can take it with me?"

Yui says "Yes, easily. Your room is ready if you want to get some sleep."

"Okay, thank you. Let's go to bed Asuna. Goodnight, Yui."

Yui says "Goodnight, Ash, Asuna."

Asuna follows me as I head to the bedroom, as soon as I open the door she runs in and jumps on the bed. Without Kechara here I won't have to fight for space, it is a rather strange feeling. It is fairly strange what you can get used to and how you miss it once it is gone.

By the time I climb onto the bed Asuna is already fast asleep and snoring softly. Placing my hand on her side I feed her core all of my sacred power. Then I enter my meditation and continue sending power into her core as I regain it.

Once I have that set up I start trying to create a door into the soulscape. It turns out to be a lot easier than I feared, I simply have to picture a door as I create a soulscape. When I enter the soulscape it is exactly as it normally is, and completely under my control.

After being in the dragon's soulscape it is a relief to have control once again. Feeling like blowing off some steam I create a cityscape from my old world and then monsters to destroy it. Watching the monsters fight and destroy everything is highly entertaining for me.

The best part is I can just keep doing it over and over again with different cities. That entertains me for hours, but that is when I realize the drawback of the soulscape. Only a few minutes have passed in real time, but the dragon mentioned controlling the way time moves so I start trying to alter it.

While I quickly learn I can't speed up time, I can make it equal so it passes the same. Once I figure that part of it out, the rest of the night passes quickly. In the morning, about an hour before it is time to wake up, I stop feeding power to Asuna.

That way I will have at least a little sacred power just in case I need it at some point. I doubt I will since I have my divine power, but better to play it safe. The amount of power I can sense in Asuna's core should be enough to get her another rank, maybe two.

When she suddenly wakes up, jumps off the bed, and runs from the room, I know Yui has called for breakfast. I leisurely open my eyes, get off the bed, and get dressed before following her. As expected she is already munching on a large plate of food when I reach the dining room.

Yui says "Good morning, Ash."

"Morning, Yui. How'd things go with Core?"

Yui says "Great! Not only did we get the teleporter set up but she was able to help me with another problem. She has a vast knowledge of magic, in some areas even better than mine!"

"That's good! I'm glad you two are getting along!"

Yui says "We are. Thanks to that, I have a favor to ask."

"Name it."

Yui says "When you reach the bottom of the mountain I would like you to fly around and drop some sensors for me."

"Sure. That's easy!"

Yui says "Thank you. The sensors will allow me to see everything that happens on the mountain and a small area around it."

"That is handy. You will be able to spot any driders that make it outside. If any can get through the barrier that is."

Yui says "Correct. It also means that if the demons come I will be able to react without them having to attack the tower itself."

"That will definitely help."

Yui says "The teleporter and the sensors are waiting for you by the entrance."

"Okay, guess it is time to say goodbye again. It should only be for a few weeks."

As I am saying a simple goodbye to Nived and Yui, Asuna tackles me from the side. She pins me down and starts licking my face, she obviously doesn't want me to leave. I do my best to comfort her and explain that I will only be gone for a few weeks.

However, it doesn't really seem to help, I know she is intelligent enough to understand what I am saying. Yet for some reason she seems terrified by the thought of me leaving. When I think about it, other than going into the test, she has been with me ever since I killed her mother.

In that light I can understand why she is so scared, so I change my tactics. Instead of trying to convince her not to worry, I instead give her a mission. I ask her to keep an eye on Nived and try to keep him out of trouble while I am gone.

It is probably going to cause some issues for Nived, but if it helps her calm down I don't care. Now I feel guilty for having to leave her, but I can travel much faster alone. It probably wouldn't be so bad if Kechara was here with her, but that isn't possible right now.

"Yui, once the teleporter is up and running I think Asuna should visit Kechara for a bit."

Yui says "Okay, that won't be a problem."

"Good. Thank you!"

With that I give Asuna a final hug and head for the entrance, only stopping to grab the teleporter and sensors. I keep my head down and my back towards Asuna, her seeing me crying wouldn't help anything. Despite knowing I will see her again in a few weeks, parting still makes me sad.

Once I am outside the biting cold helps me clear my head and I quickly wipe my eyes before my tears freeze. Opening my wings I launch myself into the air and start flying down the mountain. It only takes me a half hour to reach the cliff and land in the tunnel, then another ten minutes has me back at Core's room.

Core says "Welcome back, Ash!"

Before I can return Core's greeting Kechara runs into me and knocks me over. It takes me a few minutes of petting to get Kechara to let me up, she is harder to move than Asuna. I am already dreading saying goodbye to her when I leave here.

"Hi, Core. How are things here?"

Core says "Oh, just fine. Except for Kechara being all mopey after you left."

"Yeah, sorry. It will probably be worse when I leave again. Once the teleporter is working Asuna will come for a visit, that should help."

Core says "According to Yui it will take a couple of days for Nived to power the teleporter."

"Oh, I didn't know that. Well, where would you like me to put it?"

Core says "Over here behind the mirror please."

Taking out the teleporter I set it up where Core wants it and once it is set Core tells Yui through the mirror. While they talk I move off to the side and sit down with Kechara to start saying goodbye. She takes it a bit better than Asuna, but she is also older and understands things a bit better.

She is still upset that I am leaving, which she makes obvious, but at least she isn't physically trying to stop me. I spend the next half an hour petting and cuddling with her before getting up to leave. Compared to that my goodbye to Core is fairly simple and straightforward.

Once my goodbyes are all said I take off from the stairs and fly out of the cavern. Once outside it is finally time to head down the mountain and look for Lizzy. Flying down the mountain is so much easier, it only takes me an hour to reach the base of the mountain.