After her two titled blades walked away, Hera looked back to the house that had a hole in the wall. This place survived unscathed for who knows how long, and now she was part of the reason why it had broken. That wasn't a good feeling, but then again, it wasn't like there was much she could do about it. She didn't have any spells to fix this, nor the knowledge on how to do so. Maybe she could ask Lodi later to fix that area when no one was around. Or maybe there was a supply closet with materials to fix that somewhere. Either way, now wasn't the time to worry about that.

Turning back to the group, she walked with them inside the house, and as soon as everyone sat down on the surprisingly soft stone couch, the questions started.

"Did you know Mr. Beetle could do something like that? Did he do anything like it in your dream/vision?" if Bonnie didn't have a broken leg, Hera was sure she would have jumped out of the chair to ask that.

"I had no idea. In the jungle, he only used some venom spells to hit the Blue Spotted Leopard. But then again, I didn't see him fighting something he actually had a chance against."

"What about the armor? Did you have anything to do with that, or was it purely the influence of Lurize and the spirit?" Helena was staring intently at Hera. Clearly, the fact that the Empress was now bound with a spirit was something of great interest to the mage.

"No, it was all them. I'm trying to think if the shape Lurize showed me during the trial was somehow similar to him now, but I don't think that was the case. I remember it being humanoid and, well, naked. Or at least just a spectral silhouette, which helped me to follow the steps of what I had to do since I could see his limbs very well. Maybe that was just because of the test, and the original Lurize was more like that. I don't know," Hera sighed.

"But, are you happy?" when the Empress looked at Alex, she flinched when meeting her eyes. The black and the veins around her face were very overbearing. Noticing that reaction, Alex turned to the side so that she wouldn't face her friend.

"Sorry. Just let me get used to that. And to answer your question, of course, I am. Lurize is the first blade I ever had. Having him here like this is incredible. Not to mention Mr. Beetle is still there. I think that anger comes from him. He was... is a feisty little one. By the way, do you know what actually happened to him? The spirit, I mean," Hera turned to Daskka.

Knowing that this question would come up eventually, the herald had already tried to find that information, "So... the answer is inconclusive. I don't think he exists anymore, but that should be just a temporary thing. When the legacy is no longer with you, all your blades will go away; when that happens, the spirit will return to where it came from. The part we don't know for sure is whether it will be the same spirit. Like I said before, they are like energy. They can't be created or destroyed, but they can be changed. When they are no longer titled blades, they will have changed because of all their experiences, but then are they even the same spirit as before?"

Hera nodded, understanding this was a complex question. When she looked up, she saw Bonnie and Helena looking at her expectantly, and she relayed the information Daskka just gave her.

"Well, the spirit being the same or not, you still have a friend for as long as you want," Blue smiled.

"That's true, and now I wouldn't have to worry about causing a scene if I walked with Lurize in the middle of a city. Well, inside the MAZE, at least," Hera nodded.

"I'm not so sure about that. I mean, his armor is impressive, and he is really tall," Shane looked at Mylo, who didn't have to lower his head to pass through doors like the blade. The Royal Tutor only had to do that because of his horn, but still.

"Well, yeah, but it won't be like walking with Nimbus around. Lurize can still pass as a human. Nimbus would either reveal that I have a legacy, or it would make everyone think we have yet another new civilization around. The uproar each of them would cause is very different," Hera explained.

"Fair, but I still think it would be better to have Lurize in his beetle form. I only saw it briefly, but he was very small, wasn't he?" Adriel turned to Hera, who nodded in response.

"I was so worried that I didn't even take a good look at him then," the Empress let out a long sigh, "Now I feel bad. He just got here, and I already sent him away."

"According to Nimbus, it is good for him to move around to get used to his body. So I don't think it was a bad idea. And you have all the time in the world to talk to him later. You don't have to worry about that, sweetie," Helena smiled.

The group continued talking for some time until the titled blades finally returned. Both of them seemed very happy after their jog, and they quickly told the Empress of their discoveries. First, they could pass the mana she gave them to each other, but doing so would waste some of it. Nimbus estimated that for every 10 points he would give Lurize, the Royal Tutor would only be able to take 8. This meant that, in a pickle, they could pass the Empress' mana to each other, but it was still better if she was giving the right amount to each of them. Another thing was that Lurize found a warehouse of sorts that seemed to store clay or a substance similar to it. He suggested going there later to confirm if that was the case, and if it was, he would fix the hole he made in the neighbor's house, even if no one was using it.

Hera agreed to check it out, but they would do it after the dungeon. During the time the two blades were out, the party decided to attempt the dungeon that was in the city. This should help them understand what happened here, and having more information could help Shane to formulate the questions she wanted to ask when it was her turn to do so.

"Oh, before I forget. Nimbus, do you want me to look for armor that you can use? I noticed how you were struggling to damage Lurize, and I think that might be part of the reason," Hera asked.

"I don't think so. I mean, we are both constructs made out of mana. In theory, what would dictate our defensive capabilities are our attributes and our skills. So my skin would be just as sturdy as his armor if it wasn't for that cheat of a skill," Nimbus looked at Lurize and rolled his eyes.

"That iz rich coming from a blade that can fly," Lurize looked at Nimbus but chuckled right after, "Not to mention. You gain a part of that buff too. Or did you forget about the Army of One?"

"Oh… right. So I also get some of that extra defense? 10% wasn't it? Or, in this case, 8.5?"

Lurize nodded, "Correct."

"Right, I keep forgetting about that one. Since it's a passive, I just take it for granted. I think I would get some extra defense too. I wonder if that works before or after taking into account my armor," Hera added.

"It should be after, mum, but we can test it when we have a chance," Daskka was on the Empress' lap, receiving head pats.

"On a quick change of subject. Lurize, you were a beast!" Blue interrupted with a smile.

"Oh… thank you?" Lurize didn't expect that, and this was the first time he talked with someone aside from Hera or Nimbus. Or at least the first time he was conscious of it.

"I'm serious. That was awesome. I was worried you would be all uptight and righteous but after seeing how you fight? Man, You are an animal!" Blue continued.

"I'm… what?" Lurize was confused, and Hera could tell that he didn't like that compliment.

"A beast! You started off with proper form and all, but then you pulled his leg and slammed Nimbus to the ground. It was awesome. And that last move? 'I am Mr. Beetle!' man, I loved it! You were like a full-blown monster."

"Waz I that zcary?" Lurize turned to Hera.

"No one was scared of you. You've been with them for long enough to know how weird they are. C'mon man," Daskka rolled her eyes.

"Well, that miss with the sword was a bit scary. I was bracing myself to get hurt there, but I hoped we could fix it. To be honest, I was hoping the legacy would protect me somehow, which it did. But aside from that, no, no one is afraid of you. They think you are pretty amazing," Hera bumped him with her shoulder.

"I see… Thank you. I just… never expected to be called aggrezzive. In all honezty, when I felt your emotions overwhelming me, I would just freeze and not lazh out."

"That's probably the spirit's fault. He should be different from who you were before. You two became part of a single thing, you know," Nimbus suggested.

"I told everyone a while ago that Mr. Beetle was kind of feisty. I think that's the aggressive part of you. If Daskka didn't tell me that you couldn't become a demon, I would be worried about that, but apparently, the legacy stops that from happening," Hera added.

"Yeah… that makez zenze. I apologize for being weird. It will take time for me to get accustomed to my new nature," even without putting it into words, Hera could tell that Lurize was slowly getting less frazzled. Another thing that showed that was that he went back to phrasing his sentences while avoiding the letter S.

After that, the party returned to their rooms, just resting before bed. Alex and Bonnie took the room downstairs. The one Hera woke up in. Blue and Helena got a room, leaving space for Hera, while Adriel bunked with Shane and Mylo. That being said, most of them were still walking around, talking loudly, and showering when their turn came. Eventually, they all went to sleep, with Hera dismissing her entire court. The last thing they needed was for someone to wake up in the middle of the night and stab themselves in one of the weapons the Empress left out by accident.

As Hera was lying on her bed, with Daskka snuggled on her pillow, which was a weird transparent air packet that was a bit too soft for her, the Empress started to think about her house. One day she would buy a place. A very large house with several rooms so that each of her blades could have their own place to sleep. That was the dream, but considering the range limit, there was a chance that it wouldn't work as she hoped. Still, she wanted to, at least, give a proper room for those who had their own bodies.

It didn't take long for the sleep to take over her. Despite spending a long time in a sleep-like state, her mind was still exhausted from everything that had happened today. And, unlike how things were in the raft, there were no screams of pain or monsters trying to lure them to a trap on the sky city.