Chapter 370: Home Call

Evening had settled over Mythal, and for once, the city was quiet. There were no alarms or emergency broadcasts, and no monsters at the edge of the city, only the ordinary sounds of people living their lives.

Inside Kai’s new house, Leo was sprawled across the couch with his phone in one hand, glaring at the game on the screen. "This is impossible."

Emma sat beside him with a bowl of snacks. "You’ve been saying that for twenty minutes."

"Because it is impossible."

"You’re just bad at the game."

Leo looked at her. "I am not bad."

"You lost six times."

"Those were strategic losses."

Emma laughed. "That doesn’t mean anything."

"It means I was testing the enemy."

"The enemy was the tutorial."

Leo paused. "Still testing."

Emma shook her head. "You sound like Raze."

Leo sat straight up. "Don’t compare me to Raze."

"Why not?"

"Because he’d probably break my phone."

Emma looked at the phone in his hand. "He probably would."

Leo pulled it closer to his chest. "Exactly."

Dishes clattered in the kitchen, and a moment later, Mina walked into the living room with a glass of water. "You two are loud."

"Emma is bullying me," Leo said.

"I am not."

"You are."

Mina sighed. "Whatever happened to being quiet?"

"That was before Emma came over," Leo said.

Emma looked offended. "Excuse me?"

Leo grinned. "You heard me."

Emma grabbed a pillow. "Say it again."

Leo scrambled behind the couch. "Violence!"

Mina shook her head. "You’re both ridiculous."

Her phone rang, and when she glanced at the screen, her expression softened. "It’s Kai."

Leo’s head popped up over the back of the couch. "Kai?"

Emma sat up. "Seriously?"

Mina answered, and Kai’s face appeared on the screen, with the guest room Gabriel had arranged for them in Nexus visible behind him. Leo was off the couch in a second. "Kai!"

Kai smiled. "Hey."

"Did you find treasure?"

Kai blinked. "No."

Leo’s face fell. "Not even a little?"

"No."

Leo thought about it, then pointed at the screen. "Did you find a dragon?"

Kai paused, and Mina noticed. "Kai."

"What?"

"Don’t encourage him."

Kai smiled. "Sort of."

Leo’s eyes went huge. "WHAT?"

Mina closed her eyes. "You can’t say ’sort of’ after someone asks if you found a dragon."

Leo was already pressed up against the phone. "You saw a dragon?"

Kai shrugged. "Something like one."

"Was it huge?"

"Yes."

"Could it fly?"

"Yes."

"Did you fight it?"

Kai hesitated, and Leo’s eyes got even wider. "You fought it!"

"That’s one way to describe it," Kai said with a smile.

Leo turned to Emma. "See? I told you."

Emma nodded seriously. "I didn’t think you’d actually find one."

Mina looked at Kai. "You’re making this worse."

Kai laughed. "Sorry."

"Was it stronger than you?" Leo asked.

Kai thought about that one. "Yes."

Leo stared at him. "Really? Then how did you win?"

Kai smiled faintly. "That’s complicated."

Leo crossed his arms. "That’s what adults say when they don’t want to explain something."

Mina smiled. "He’s got you there."

Kai looked at his mother. "Thanks."

"You’re welcome."

Emma leaned toward the phone. "Wait. Did you see anything ancient?"

Kai nodded. "A lot."

Her eyes lit up. "How ancient?"

Kai thought for a moment. "Very."

Emma frowned. "That’s not a number."

"You’ll survive."

"Give me a year."

"Older than any year you’re thinking of."

Emma stared at him. "That makes no sense."

Lily’s voice called out faintly from somewhere behind Kai. "Kai! Tell them about the giant wall!"

Kai turned. "Lily."

Leo leaned closer. "Giant wall?"

Emma grinned. "Tell us."

Kai rubbed his forehead. "There was a wall."

"How big?"

"Very big."

Emma groaned. "Not that again."

Leo laughed. "You’re really bad at this."

Kai shrugged. "It was a really big wall."

"How big is really big?"

Kai thought about it. "Bigger than any building in Mythal."

Leo’s mouth fell open. "Like skyscraper big?"

"Much bigger."

Emma stared at the screen. "Okay, that’s actually insane."

"It was," Kai said.

Leo was bouncing again. "What else did you see?"

"Ruins."

"Treasure?"

"No."

"Secret weapons?"

"Some."

"Magic?"

"Ancient technology."

"Monsters?"

"Yes."

Leo grinned. "Can we go next time?"

"Absolutely not," Kai said immediately.

Leo’s smile vanished. "What?"

Emma leaned in. "Why not?"

"Because I’m trying to keep Leo alive."

Emma pointed at herself. "What about me?"

Leo shrugged. "Apparently you’re expendable."

Emma’s head snapped toward him. "HEY!"

Leo burst out laughing, Mina covered her mouth to hide her own laugh, and even Kai couldn’t hold it in. "You two haven’t changed."

Emma crossed her arms. "I am not expendable."

"Of course not," Leo said.

"You literally just said I was."

"I was joking."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Sure."

Kai looked at Leo. "Either way, you’re not going to Aegis."

"Why?"

"Because it’s dangerous."

"I can fight."

"You’re not a Hunter."

"Yet."

Mina turned to him. "Leo. Don’t start."

Leo’s shoulders slumped. "But Kai gets to go explore ancient ruins."

Kai smiled. "That’s because I’m the adult."

Leo stared at him. "You don’t act like one."

Emma laughed again, and Mina shook her head. "You’re both impossible."

Kai leaned back in his chair, and the conversation grew quieter. Leo told him about school, the new house, and the defensive towers he could see from his window. He complained about one of his teachers, then immediately switched to something funny that had happened at lunch, and Emma jumped in with stories of her own while Mina corrected both of them several times.

Kai mostly listened. He laughed and asked questions, and for the first time since entering Aegis, he wasn’t thinking about ancient civilizations, the System, or Bahamut. He was just listening to his family.

Eventually, Leo leaned back against the couch. "So when are you coming home?"

Kai’s smile faded slightly. "I don’t know."

Leo frowned. "You said that last time."

"I know."

Kai glanced at the window, where Nexus stretched out beyond the glass, its ancient towers and floating platforms lit against the night. This continent was holding far more secrets than he had expected. "I still have some things to figure out."

Leo sighed. "You always have things to figure out."

"That’s because there’s always something to figure out."

"You could just come home."

Kai looked at him. "I could."

Leo waited. "But?"

Kai smiled faintly. "But I think I’m getting closer."

Leo nodded slowly. He didn’t fully understand, but he didn’t argue.

Mina had been quiet, watching her son carefully. She knew when he was avoiding something. She waited until Leo and Emma had drifted back into their own conversation, and then she spoke quietly. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

The smile left Kai’s face, and for a moment, he didn’t answer. Mina didn’t press him. She simply waited.

Kai looked toward the window again. Aegis was far beyond the city now, but he could still see the ancient warrior standing beneath the broken sky, and he could still hear the words that came with it. The final message was still with him too.

He looked back at the phone. "I found something."

Mina’s expression softened. "Good or bad?"

Kai thought about Bahamut, the Judgment, and everything waiting beyond the Disaster cycle. He couldn’t honestly call any of it good or bad yet, so he told her the truth. "I don’t know yet."

Mina nodded. "Then be careful."

"I will."

Leo leaned into the camera. "Does that mean there might be more dragons?"

Kai laughed. "Probably."

Leo’s eyes lit up. "YES!"

Mina looked at Kai. "Stop encouraging him."

Kai smiled. "Sorry."

Emma squeezed into the frame. "If there are more dragons, call me."

Kai looked at her. "You’d run."

"I would not."

"You absolutely would."

"I’d record it first."

Leo nodded. "That’s fair."

Mina shook her head. "You’re all insane."

The call went on for another hour. Leo complained that Raze wouldn’t let him watch the elite Hunter training, Emma complained that Lily hadn’t shown her enough ancient technology, and everyone agreed Elden’s security systems were getting ridiculous, until Mina finally reminded them that dinner was getting cold.

When Kai had to go, Leo waved at the screen. "Come home soon."

"I will."

Emma waved too. "Don’t die."

Mina turned to her. "Emma."

"What?"

Kai laughed. "It’s fine." He looked at Leo. "Take care of Mom."

Leo nodded seriously. "I will."

"Good."

The call ended, and the screen went dark.

Kai stayed in his chair for a while. Outside, Nexus kept moving, airships crossing the night sky between ancient towers and modern buildings, and somewhere far beyond the city lay the ruins of Aegis.

He looked down at his phone, then back at the city. He had found something. He just didn’t know yet whether it was a blessing or a warning.