The haven of New Stepolis was huge. Massive cruiser ships docked here daily and many an adventurer returned here from their adventures out at sea. It was here that Ysera found herself sitting on one of the docks by herself, looking out over the ocean. She just wanted to see some water again after leaving her beloved river behind.

The world was certainly different alright, and it was all quite a lot to take in. Stepolis had grown to be much bigger than it once was. On top of that, most of the old city was now apparently a very dangerous place. Her hometown of Beaver’s Dam on the Alina river was now abandoned and overgrown. The same fate had of course also befallen her shrine as well as the old temple that she and her sisters had worked so hard to build and help grow. Of course, all of the people she had known were now gone too. She was used to this though. After all, she had been a time elemental for 328 years before the great calamity. It was still sad to think about though.

And she had to face all of this alone. Lorelei, the Keeper of Bells, was still slumbering in her pagoda all the way in Nipshon, or Weebon as it was called now, on an island that had been taken over by pirates. Feline, the Keeper of Seasons was sleeping within her beloved valley, now covered in a perpetual snowstorm. Christine, the Keeper of Pendulums, was in her shrine up on Mount Hylio. A shrine that had apparently become invested with crystal basilisks over the years. It was unclear whether this was still the case, but it was better to be cautious.

And of course… there was Hestia, the Keeper of the Stars. Hestia… her lover. Her light. She was still sleeping within the old temple. Specifically, in a part of the temple that they were currently unable to reach… The temporal anomalies and eddies were far too dangerous for any mortal, and they were simply impenetrable for time elementals such as herself. This meant that Hestia was fine in there, but that she also couldn’t exactly come out if she did wake up on her own. The mere thought of her being stuck there caused tears to well up in her eyes. She missed her so much. A thousand years of separation was a very long time, even for a time elemental.

“There you are!” came a familiar voice from behind her. Turning around, she saw that it was Akita. “We’ve been looking all over for ya, Gigabyte.”

“Ah… I’m sorry,” Ysera stammered, soon standing up again and wiping the tears out of her eyes again.

Akita frowned for a moment but soon smiled broadly again. “Come, there’s something I wanna show you. Something I’ve been working on for ya,” she winked.

“I… see?” Ysera asked confused. The two then proceeded to walk back towards the church in silence.

The new keepers was certainly something that Ysera had to get used to as well. Bridget, the Keeper of Gears, was a kind-hearted woman. Since she was the first of the new bunch, she takes her role as Keeper very seriously. Perhaps a little too serious sometimes. Then again, it was refreshing to have a fellow level-headed Keeper around, unlike some of the others. Zexa Xeza for instance. The Keepers of the Dials. If Ysera had to describe them in one word, it would probably be ‘entitled’. They were nice and all, sure, but they were also very much aware of the fact that they were gold and silver. Always speaking in riddles, teasing the hell out of everyone and hiding behind their precious Julia whenever they went a bit too far. Still, they meant well, and they didn’t become keepers for no reason! Then there was Lavini, the Keeper of Glass. She was a refined lady hailing from a desert region in the south. Unlike the twins, she wasn’t very uppity about this. This probably had something to do with the fact that she was apparently once a mere street rat who was adopted. In fact, Ysera had actually seen Lavini hand out food to children on the street because of her own origin.

However, out of all the new keepers, she hadn’t really been able to talk to Akita all that well. The Keeper of Atomics certainly seemed like an outgoing partygal. She seemed to befriend everyone around her, and treated most people as if they were her playthings. All but Ysera that is. This probably had something to do with the fact that Akita ‘short-circuits’ when exposed to water. Something that Ysera as the Keeper of the Waters was all about. Ysera had certainly tried to befriend Akita, but she had simply always been quite hesitant. So why was Akita now, all of a sudden, reaching out to her?

“So… what is it you want to show me?” Ysera asked as they rounded another corner, breaking the silence.

“Juuuust something I’ve been working on, Gigabyte!” Akita grinned, her neon blue eyes simply sparkling.

Ysera raised an eyebrow. “And you made this… for me?”

“Yes! Sorta… you’ll see,” Akita laughed. Even now, as she was being her cheerful self, she still seemed to be walking at a safe distance from Ysera. Just as Ysera was about to comment on that, Akita spoke up again. “I… know we’ve not really talked yet since you’ve woken up.”

“Right…” Ysera muttered, looking down to the ground.

“Well, first, sorry about that. My fear programs kinda tend to go haywire around water and, well, sorta make me panic,” Akita explained, giggling nervously.

“Am I really that terrifying to you?” Ysera asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well… I mean… uh…” Akita stammered before sighing. “I’m bad at this, huh…”

Ysera simply nodded.

“Look… I’ve been meaning to approach and talk to you. I know that you would never hurt me, and that I have nothing to fear at all. I’ve been working hard to rewrite some of my emotional programs about it,” Akita explained, her usual playful tone a lot more serious now.

“What… does that mean?” Ysera asked.

“... It means that, since you joined, I’ve been trying to overcome my fear of water. Still haven’t found a way to actually make me immune, but, well, I also had to work my darndest to finish the thing I’m about to show you,” Akita explained.

Ysera gasped, halting her walking. “You… whoah…” she stammered. To think that Akita had worked so hard to try and approach her? She had seemed so distant for the longest time…

Akita grinned again then. “Come… we’re almost there,” she said.