"Okay, now let's get back to the real reason that we are here. What can the ranching system do about Chey? I know that we made Lidy a helper, and I had the other demons swear to me, right? I could make him a helper, but what would that mean for him?" I asked Harold as we sat around the table.
The two of us were both drinking coffee now, and even if it was in my mind, it was great. There were some things that just couldn't be beaten, no matter what reality you were in.
"What you did with the Demons won't work here because you are outside that reality. We will just call the places in your back constellation the Astral Realm for now. Only the ranching system will work outside of the Demon Realm, the place everyone else is. This system will work in every Realm," Harold explained, but I narrowed my eyes on him.
"We are on my back right now?! How does that even make sense?!" I asked with wide and confused eyes.
"I didn't ask you to make sense of it! The Astral points on your back are nodes, and some of them are greater than others. Your mission is to collect and activate them all. When you do this, Helsin Zero will be forced into the final conflict at the Center of Everything!" Harold declared and then drained his coffee.
While I understood that point, kind of, I was still trying to figure out how I was here, or there, but on my back! The lines were starting to blur, and I was having trouble keeping my grip on everything spinning around me.
"You are everything, and everything is you. Don't try to make sense of it all, or your head will start to hurt or possibly explode. The constellation on your back isn't on your back, but it is. The actual places are inside the Astral Realm, but all Realms are part of you," Harold explained, and I gave my head a shake.
I could get lost in my own thoughts for an eternity trying to wrap my head around the implications. Again, I was getting distracted and kept digressing from the topic at hand.
"Fine, I'll drop it. Now, back to Chey. What are we going to do about him?" I asked.
"We will make him a Warden. You will be able to gain as many of these as you need. They will take care of defending the women and others while you are away from the ranch. Once you leave the island, the boat that is being built will be converted into your first ranch. Once you gain full control of Libra's ring, we can start setting up inside of it," Harold explained, and I just sipped my coffee, narrowing my eyes.
This sounded like an aggressive amount of work. There was no way that I was going to be able to get this all done and explore this world.
"You better not be going anywhere anytime soon! You just keep piling on more and more things!" I growled, and Harold started to laugh.
"Don't worry, as much as I want to leave, we are stuck with each other. Once you have the first ring active, I will be able to help you more. It is up to you to learn to master it along with the hundreds of other things you have to do, haha!" Harold cackled, but I didn't find it very funny.
"Don't fucking laugh at me! I will just learn how to use the damn ring!" I growled, but that just made Harold laugh more.
"Nothing is ever that easy, but I will let you figure that out. Now, when you are back in front of Chey, just do the same thing that you would for the girls. The difference is that you will ask him to become one of your Warden's, and then you both just have to confirm it in your minds," Harold replied, and I opened my eyes.
I was standing back in the same place that I had been, in front of Chey. I looked over at the panting sound, and Howl was also in the same place.
For me, I had been talking for thirty minutes, but it was a mere blink for these two. It was always a bit strange for me, but now I knew what I needed to do.
"Chey, would you like to become one of my Warden's? That means that you will be one of the people in charge of watching over my people while I am away. Are you okay with this?" I asked, and Chey pulled his shoulders back, straightening his back.
"With pleasure! I would have done almost anything to get out of this place, but that sounds like a splendid job!" Chey said with excitement and then asked, "Where are we heading?"
"Across the open water, and then to the bottom of the ocean-" I started to say but then stopped.
All the excitement and color seemed to drain from the centaur as I had spoken. Now he looked like he just had the wind knocked out of his sail.
"I guess I will just stay on this island until you can open my father's ring…." Chey said as he looked away in disappointment.
"What are you talking about? Weren't you just all excited to leave this place?" I asked in confusion.
"Can't swim, and I hate open water. I also have thalassophobia, so the ocean is a no-go for me. It was a fun idea while it lasted," Chey said in defeat, but I shook my head.
"No, you are coming, and you don't have to worry about the water. You will be watching over the inside of the submarine that my girls are all working on. It is a ship that is completely enclosed, and you won't have to worry about anything!" I explained to Chey, but he didn't look convinced.
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