Opening her eyes, Phoenix could now see the tall woman, dressed in her gown made of the starry sky, with jet-black skin and eyes giving a milky glow. Her flamboyant hair, with colours of a nebula, still fascinated the former.
Remembering she had a timer ticking, Phoenix snapped out of her amazement.
"Goddess of the stars, I have called for you, for I have a favour to ask."
Lady Anulo tilted her head to the side a bit.
"This is the second time I am called down here for a favour. Are mortals suddenly getting more demanding? Tell me, what is this favour?"
Phoenix audibly gulped.
'Did I push my luck by calling her?'
But it was too late now, so Phoenix braced for repercussions.
"I know it is presumptuous of me to call on you for this. But, us players will soon disappear from New Eden, and no one will be here to rule this new kingdom we founded."
Alantha Anulo's attention was suddenly piqued.
Even if this new kingdom wasn't under her direct purview, the guardian was one of her followers now, and it would still pay tribute to her. So the continuity of it would not be in vain.
"Tell me, why do you think you will be gone, and for how long?"
"We have it under a reliable source, that by the time all players get back to New Eden, ten years will have passed. But for us, it will only have been a week."
Lady Anulo frowned.
'How could she or any of the abnormals know such a thing? Even I haven't heard of any order of altering the time flow..'
"And what is the favour you need of me? I can't sit a ruler on your throne for you, so I cannot see how my help is needed."
"Actually, I already had a replacement in mind, but he refuses to cooperate. I wanted to ask you to force him into it and put in place a safeguard so he respects the seriousness of his role."
"Hmm…"
The goddess looked pensive for a moment, her hair flickering behind her, ever-changing in colour between pink, purple, green, blue and red. Phoenix stared at the phenomenon again, her eyes gleaming in admiration.
When Lady Anulo cleared her throat to garner her attention, Phoenix snapped out of her daze, lightly coughing away her embarrassment.
"I take it the replacement you have in mind is your guardian?"
"Yes. I already asked him to do it, but he refused me, complaining about the responsibilities being too much. Unfortunately, I have no one else who can take this mantle and I doubt I can find anyone in the time I have remaining."
Lady Anulo nodded her head lightly, acknowledging her request.
"I can do this for you. But I will want something in exchange. The Aether you are giving me right now is only enough for me to answer the call. For a favour this size, I will require a tribute much more substantial."
"Just name your price. If it means I come back to a kingdom still standing in ten years, I am willing to pay, and I think Astaroth would agree."
Nodding her head, Lady Anulo snapped her fingers. As she did, the laying down form of a beast man appeared on the branch near Phoenix.
Spinning around, fury in his eyes, Leon growled out.
"What the heck?! Who dares–Lady Anulo! My apologies!"
He quickly got to a knee, retracting all traces of fury from his demeanour.
'So he can be tamed?' Phoenix questioned internally.
Lady Anulo walked over to Leon, passing her hand through his long mane, which elicited a low purr from the beast-man.
Leon opened his eyes again, noticing he and the goddess weren't alone. He cleared his throat to push away the purring and took a serious face.
"What can I do for you, my lady?"
Phoenix didn't rub his reaction in and let him keep his dignity. She instead turned her head to Lady Anulo.
"I summoned you here at her request. Something about you refusing to do your duties as guardian of the kingdom?"
Leon's eyes darted at Phoenix, a sharpness in them.
"My lady. My duties were never supposed to have 'ruling the kingdom for them' attached to them. I thought, as a guardian, I would only have to guard it."
Lady Anulo shook her head.
"Young Lion. Guarding something can mean more than one thing. Here, you would guard the sanctity of the kingdom itself, by allowing it to keep prospering in its ruler's absence."
Releasing a deep sigh, Leon bent his head downward.
"I will accept my duty, my lady."
"Good. Now, on to setting the guidelines and rules you will need to follow. Young woman, I take it you have already prepared for this?"
Phoenix smiled at Lady Anulo. She took out a rolled-up parchment, with on it a list of things that needed to be done and respected while they were absent for the next ten years.
Leon's face morphed into despair. He could feel the weight of responsibility already pressing on his shoulders.
By the time they were done, Leon's eyes seemed lifeless and devoid of any brain activity. Even Lady Anulo had to admit this mortal was one thorough one.
The list of things to work on and rules to follow was an exhaustive one, and it covered any and every point Leon could ever encounter in the next ten years completely.
If Leon even sneezed in the wrong context, he would have to face the goddess to explain his reasons. But in exchange, Leon would get personal training from the goddess to control a new facet of his powers.
As for Lady Anulo herself, she was guaranteed a temple in her honour, where the citizens would pray to her, making her progressively more powerful.
Phoenix had planned out everything down to the dot in a single day, and it impressed the deity. In any normal circumstance, the meagre Aether the mortal had called her with wouldn't have been enough to keep her down in the realm of mortals for so long.
But Alantha Anulo had used her power to extend her stay, curious to see how far she had planned. Now, with all this jotted down on paper, with Phoenix's blood tying her to it, Lady Anulo validated the chart.
Infusing her power into it, transformed the paper into a divine edict, cementing into the laws of the world itself.
"Thank you, Lady Anulo. I can never be grateful enough for this."
"No need to thank me. It was transactional, ?young woman. On that note, I must take my leave. I have already overstayed my welcome on this plane."
The minor deity didn't wait for a reply, as she vanished into a portal of purple and red. But Phoenix was satisfied with the results.
Looking at the clock, only twelve hours remained before the update locked them out.
'Still so many things to do. I hope Astaroth is making good progress too.'
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