A Portal Home, A Door Closed

"It's effective!" I exclaimed, genuinely surprised that Kazir, of all people, had provided a helpful solution.

"Quickly, get in!" Zephyra urged, her expression solemn and strained. "It takes a tremendous amount of personal Aether to keep a gate like this open! At your current level, you only have enough to hold it for a few more seconds!"

Just as we prepared to cross the threshold, Kyoto balked. "I don't want to return!" he announced abruptly.

"We can come back later! This is just a test run!" I insisted, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward. "Now, get in!"

One by one, we clambered through the shimmering tear in space. Once the last person was through, I followed Zephyra's instructions and focused on closing the portal. The link severed with a silent snap, and a wave of exhaustion washed over me, dampening my earlier enthusiasm.

I took a moment to get my bearings. We were standing in Kazir's glass-house studio, the same rooftop where I had fallen. Several large computer monitors glowed, their screens filled with the complex timelines of video editing software. All around us, props and camera equipment were strewn about in the same haphazard chaos I remembered.

"We're in Brookland," I told the others, my voice echoing slightly in the glass enclosure. "Part of the FSA. This is near my old workplace… and this studio belongs to someone I know."

Zephyra and the others surveyed the alien environment, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

"Is this a studio?" Kyoto asked, tilting his head.

"For a prank video channel, yes," I replied with a sigh. "The jerk who owns it has been making them for years. I've been one of his unwilling stars ever since I moved here in 2013."

Kyoto offered a look of token pity. "That's rough, buddy."

"The exit is this way," I said, gesturing toward the door. "We're on top of a six-story building, so the fence offers a pretty incredible view."

As we stepped out of the glass house and onto the open rooftop, I noticed Zephyra's discomfort. Her eyes darted about, seemingly unnerved by the mundane objects of our world. Ms. Latina and Voktah were unnaturally silent, and even Voktah's customary grin was absent.

We walked to the edge and stood before the safety fence, taking a moment to admire the cityscape. The building was perfectly positioned between a quiet residential district and the glittering towers of the downtown core. Just as we were soaking it in, the heavy door to the rooftop staircase creaked open behind us.

"Huh? Is someone up here?" a familiar voice called out. A voice I had hoped to never hear again.

"Kazir!" I yelled, spinning around to face him.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "What? No way… Who are you people?" He took a stumbling step back, his face draining of all color. "No! It can't be! I saw you die! I was at your funeral! I saw them lower the casket!" he stammered, panicked to see me standing there, alive and well.

"And yet, here I am," I said with a wry smile.

"This is a disaster!" Zephyra suddenly cried out, her previous agitation exploding into full-blown alarm. "Open the gate! We have to go back to Arcalos right now! Return, now!" She must have mistaken Kazir for the King impersonator we'd encountered.

"Relax," I said, trying to calm her. "He just has the same face. He's not that monster."

"That isn't the problem!" she insisted, her voice trembling with a frantic energy I didn't understand. "Open the dimensional doorway now, or we will all perish!"

Perish? I had no idea what she was talking about, but the sheer terror in her eyes told me it was better to listen. I closed my eyes, picturing the inn room back on Arcalos, and poured my will into the space before us. Fortunately, the portal tore open on the first try. One by one, the others leaped through. I went in last.

"I'll be back!" I shouted at the ghost-white Kazir.

"Please don't haunt me!" was the last thing I heard him wail. "I'm sorry—"

He probably thought I was a ghost. That was fine. At least I could leave him with that little "parting gift" to remember me by.

Back in the relative safety of the inn room, I turned to Zephyra. "What was all that about? What was wrong?"

"Your world… it was strange," she said, breathing heavily.

"Strange how?"

"There was no natural Aether," she explained, her eyes wide. "I felt it the moment we arrived. It was like the entire universe was… empty."

"The concept of Aether doesn't exist in our world," I said slowly, the pieces beginning to click into place. "I guess that means it's not there. Is that a bad thing?"

"It's a catastrophic thing!" she replied. "Don't you remember what I told you? Aether is the very essence that constitutes our bodies. We require a constant, ambient supply to survive. Without any natural Aether to absorb, our bodies begin to consume their own reserves just to maintain existence. We would have used up everything we had in a matter of minutes, with nothing left to open a gate home. A few more moments in your world, and we would have died!"

The realization struck the room with the force of a physical blow. My gaze drifted to Ms. Latina. She was staring at the floorboards, her expression unreadable. Her one burning hope, to return to her own world, had just been extinguished.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Latina," I murmured, at a loss for what else to say.

"No, it's alright," she said, her voice soft but steady. "I was being hasty. It doesn't matter anymore. I apologize for putting us all in danger." She sounded dejected, yet there was a new resilience in her tone that hadn't been there before. I wondered what had caused the shift.

"Don't blame yourself," I said. "It was a good opportunity to test the theory. No harm done."

"Thank you."

With one crisis averted, it was time to address another.

"By the way, Zephyra," I began, "what's the deal with you now? You said I sealed you inside me. How did you suddenly appear with the others during the summoning?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "But when you were being summoned, a powerful force shattered the seal and stabilized your incomplete transfer. I was freed from that bleak, lonely space. It was no different from a prison. Now, even though I'm still bound to you, at least I can perceive the world freely."

Something shattered the seal. The beam of light from the summoning circle. It had to be. She had appeared right after. Had I inadvertently fixed my own botched magical state just by being in the right place at the right time? What a coincidence.

"What do you mean, 'bound'?" I asked. "Is that why you've been following us?"

"It's true. I am tethered to your essence and cannot move far from your side," she said, her voice tinged with reluctance. "As I said before, you've taken everything from me, and I don't know how to break this connection. Even if I could, without my Aether, I would be nothing more than a helpless, ethereal spirit. For now, staying with you is my only viable option."

"So…" Kyoto interjected bluntly, "you two are in a master-slave relationship?"

"S-slave?" Zephyra stammered, her cheeks flushing. "That's… not entirely inaccurate." She looked down, her sorrow palpable.

"Uwaaah! A real, live Goddess, and she's all ours!" Kyoto cheered, completely failing to read the room. "Score!" There were times when the man was unbelievably tactless.

"Hmph." She cast her gaze downward, her dejected frown somehow making her look more endearing.

"You will not be treated like a slave!" Ms. Latina declared, stepping forward and placing a comforting hand on Zephyra's shoulder. Unlike Kyoto, she was a bastion of empathy. "Right, Axel?"

"Absolutely," I agreed, giving Kyoto a light smack on the back of his head. "You'll never be a slave to us. Besides, you were a goddess. Even without your power, you must know things about this world that could help us. You could be our all-knowing, living Google."

"Something like that," she mumbled.

"Alright then," I said, rubbing my hands together. "How about it?"

"I can assist you with the fundamental laws of this world, its history, and the principles of magic," she clarified. "But I cannot provide much help with what you might call 'common knowledge.'"

"Huh? Why not?" I asked, confused. "I thought you were the goddess of this world."

"I was, but I resided in a separate divine realm. I have never walked this planet myself. My only connection was observing and hearing the people who prayed in my name."

"So you can't tell us where any secret treasures are hidden?" Kyoto asked hopefully.

"I cannot."

"What about sensitive information we could use to blackmail the world's leaders?" I tried.

"I would not know."

"Up-to-date market prices so we don't get scammed?" Kyoto pressed.

"I'm sorry."

"What kind of military strength and technology do the various nations possess?" I asked.

"Uuuh…"

Kyoto and I looked at each other, then back at her. "That's pretty… useless, isn't it?" we said in unison.

"UWAAAAA!" she wailed, burying her face in Ms. Latina's shoulder and bursting into tears.

"You two!" Ms. Latina scolded, patting Zephyra's back soothingly.

"We're sorry for being blunt," I said, "but sugarcoating it wouldn't change the facts."

"Uuu," she sniffled, looking up with tear-filled eyes. "I can teach you all sorts of spells."

My ears perked up. "You mean we can learn any kind of magic?"

"You can," she confirmed. "My knowledge of how to learn them is still intact. I can only be your guide, however; you must still meet the learning requirements on your own."

"That's still amazing!" Kyoto was ecstatic once more.

"Yeah," I added, a grin spreading across my face. "That will be incredibly useful." In a world that ran on magic, having a divine tutor was a game-changing advantage.

"Then it's settled. Welcome to the team, Miss Former Goddess. Let's do a proper reintroduction. I'm Rylan Maxton, Half-FSA. Most people call me Axel, but Rylan or Max works too."

It felt like the right moment to solidify our strange little group. Zephyra, the newest member, went next.

"As I mentioned, I am Zephyra Lixil Linuel Makia. I was once worshipped as the Goddess Zephyra," she said, her expression brightening a little.

"Are there many people named Zephyra in this world?" I asked, sensing a potential problem.

"No, not at all. The name is sacred and practically forbidden for mortals. Why do you ask?" She tilted her head, tapping a finger against her cheek.

"It would be bad if we called you Zephyra in public, even if people can't see you. We should probably give you a nickname. How about Lilu, or Vivi?"

"Mmm!" She beamed, a genuine, joyous smile that suited her far better than her earlier sorrow. "I like them! Please, call me Lilu or Vivi from now on!"

"I'm Matsuyama Kenji," Kyoto said next. "But you can just call me Kenji. No need for the family name."

"Kyoto sounds better," I said casually. "I'm sticking with it."

"Hey! Can't you at least call me Ken?"

"Nope. Kyoto is a good name. You look like a city boy, so it fits. Besides, you picked it yourself."

"Oh. Well, I guess I did," he conceded.

"Ms. Latina, how about you?" I asked, turning to her.

"Please, don't call me Latina," she said softly. "I am of Latin heritage from Valenzia, but I have a proper name."

"Alright," I said gently. "What is it?"

"It's…" She hesitated, as if the word was a weight on her tongue. "Amara." As she spoke her own name, a shadow of pain crossed her face.

"You don't seem happy about it. Is something wrong?" I asked, ready to drop the subject if it was too personal.

"The person who gave me that name… I despise him," she said, her voice tight with grief. "It's a polluted name, tied to old wounds. But it's also the name the people I cared for used to call me."

"I see," I said, thinking for a moment. "Why not alter it slightly?"

"Alter it?"

"Yes. Change it just enough so that it's no longer the name from the person you hate, but still recognizable to the memory of those you love. Something like… Emara." I watched her expression as the idea settled. "By changing just one letter, you reclaim it. It becomes your own. Different, yet similar. A new name for a new life."