500th Time Reborn, A World Only Known By Women: The Karma System

The room was dimly lit with a few candles, and there were no windows. The only door was the one we had come in. There were no other furnishings in the room, and the walls were bare. It looked more like a dungeon than a temple.

"Galio?" The girl named Lya asked, looking at me with a confused expression.

"Yes, I am Galio," I said, and I could see the girls start to relax a little bit.

"The Galio?" Lya asked, and I nodded. "But, you're different."

"I am in a new form," I said, and the girls all started to talk at once.

"Be quiet!" Mishal said, and they all quieted down. "Where is Kira? And why has the Queen prevented anyone from talking to Galio?!"

"Kira is with the Queen. And the Queen has forbidden anyone from talking to Galio because she is a traitor." Lya said, and the girls all started talking again.

"Be quiet!" Mishal said, and they all quieted down. "Galio is not a traitor. She is here to help us."

This was not how I had envisioned things to go. The Queen had already branded me a traitor, but for what, and what purpose? Preventing everyone from talking to me was also highly suspicious.

"What do you mean the Queen has forbidden anyone from talking to me?" I asked, and Lya looked at Mishal.

"The Queen is worried that you will betray us. She has asked that we not speak to you or even acknowledge your presence." Lya said, and I could see the fear in her eyes.

"And why would I betray you?" I asked, and Lya shrugged.

"I don't know. All I know is that the Queen is very worried about you, and she doesn't want anyone to get hurt." Lya said, and I could see the truth in her words.

"I see," I said, and I could feel the anger rising in me.

The Queen had branded me a traitor without even knowing who I was or what I was capable of. She was obviously afraid of me, but she was also afraid of something else.

Xena. the same one from my dreams; friend turned Blood Witch. She would be at the root of this, but how was I supposed to play this? Did I just go to the castle and turn myself in? It wasn't like anyone could hold me, not even a goddess, so turning myself in was the easiest route.

The easiest wasn't always the best one, and in this case, there were other people to consider as well. If they tried to do something to me, could I stop it without hurting someone else?

Why did this have to get so complicated now?

There was just over a day left before I needed to take on the Riftwalker, and now I needed to deal with this. If I left this alone now, Xena was sure to make things nearly impossible without direct force. I needed to consider some options and maybe hold myself back for now. This was all aggravating, but this might not be these people's fault.

"Mishal, I think it's time we left," I said, and Mishal nodded.

"I'm sorry, Galio. I thought you would be welcomed here." Mishal said after we got back outside.

,m "I hope you just misjudged your friends there. They didn't really seem that friendly," I said as we stopped in the alley.

"Those people are not friends. Most of them I have never seen before, so they will be fresh hatchlings. I only know Lya and Kira, but they are both the two that run the place. It is disturbing that the Queen took Kira into her castle. They must be very worried about you," Mishal explained, and I nodded.

"I think that we should part ways here. I am not really sure what is going to happen up there. This seems like a trap that I need to walk into," I explained, trying to look, but as a cat, it was hard to see over the building, and the stream was still pretty thick.

"No, I will stay by your side. I told you that I would be your guild. I am an outcast here, just like you are now. Going together will be fine, and you are a god after all, or at least that is what you keep saying," Mishal said with a small smile.

"Fair enough. You are right, and I should be able to handle anything that comes my way," I said, but the image of Tallia crossed my mind in a flash.

I shook my head and paused. There had to be a better way of doing this.

Xena would hold nothing back, and I needed to be prepared for that. If she was there, I would kill her no matter what, but if she was a public figure, I would have to lure her out, or I would be marked as a criminal even further. I might solve one problem, but that would make interacting with the Peekaan in the future nearly impossible.

"Galio?" Mishal asked, and I took in a deep breath and then let it out. This was not like before, and I was not going to lose anyone else.

I jumped up into Mishal's arms and looked up at her.

"If you are coming with me, you do what I say and nothing else, got it? Either that or I will go alone," I said, and Mishal nodded.

"Yes, I will listen to what you say. I am glad that you are taking this seriously now," Mishal said as she started to walk back out to the street.

"I just want to do this in the best way possible. That is what I want, but I hardly get what I want when I come to the winds of fate," I said.

I just got what I deserved, or that was what it was starting to feel like as I started to piece my life back together.