Cara's mind unclouded and her memories returned in force; she grit her teeth to stymie the headaches. She wanted to cry out but she didn't want to show any more weakness to Zara.

Cara had too many things she wanted to know, but mostly she wanted to know how someone without inner cultivation like Zara could cast a soul-based attack.

"Zara, please explain to me everything you know about this shield. It goes against everything I know," said Cara as she released her disciple and stepped back a bit.

"Y-yes, Teacher," Zara replied, her eyes swimming. "The idea for the shield was brought to us by Aria and Arc. You know during your last year with us how they vanished for a few months to do some 'errands'?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Well, during those months they went somewhere really far away, so far the Heavenward Great Tracking Spell couldn't follow them.."

"Then they left the Plane," said Cara, interrupting for a moment. "If the Heavenward GTS couldn't track them, then they left that universe entirely. To be honest, until my reincarnation, I didn't even think other universes existed.."

"They knew something Teacher didn't know?" Zara quipped.

"I guess. Anyways, continue."

"Ah, yes okay. They came back to us with a strange artifact and some spell models. Anyone could cast these spells no matter their cultivation-base or their skills. All they required was an infusion of tremendous amounts of Qi.

"The spell model they gave us was amazing, beyond anything I'd ever seen. The rest of us all worked tirelessly once we knew to set everything up. We found a pregnant woman with great genes who was willing to give up her child to us, we set up several failsafes to trap your soul in a gem in case things went wrong.."

"You were going to trap my soul in a gem?!" Cara jumped with fright. What kind of life would she be living now had *that* happened?

"It would have only been temporary, Teacher," said Zara. "The gem would house you until we could find another body. The shield would allow you to fuse your soul with almost any body perfectly, making it entirely your own. With the shield you wouldn't suffer the Soul Declines."

"That's one thing I've been wondering. Do you know how the shield is keeping me from suffering the Declines?" Cara asked.

"No. Only Aria understands the shield enough. Ye or Arc might know that much, though. But here's the problem, Teacher. Your soul didn't go into the body we chose. It vanished entirely and we couldn't find you."

"So you all messed with some experimental technology and soul techniques and lost your Teacher's soul.." said Cara, her voice laced with disappointment.

"It wasn't experimental!" Zara snapped. "We tested the techniques on a few other volunteers beforehand. I think someone sabotaged us."

A light shined in Cara's eyes. Things started to click into place and she mumbled under her breath for a moment. She pinched the skin between her brows.

"So you think there's a traitor among my Disciples who wanted to get rid of me?" Cara asked after a moment of thought.

"Yes. It's why I wanted you to forget about your last life and just live happy here. If you go back.. I can't explain it, but I just feel like something awful will happen. You're safe here, though."

"The mana is poison to meridians," said Cara in a low voice. "The only ones who could come over here are you, Gen, or Arc.. and Gen has an Elemental Palace cultivation that might get destroyed by the mana too. So it's you or Arc."

"Arc needs to stay to keep the others safe. Once you died the Rodan Emperor collected all the other known Ascendants to match us.."

"That bastard Roark, why would he need to match my disciples? He was one of my best friends," said Cara.

"When you died he accused us of killing you, because of the debacle with the Soul Shield. He's boxed our countries in and holds a tight border. He doesn't attack though, because he knows Arc could wipe them.." Zara trailed off.

"But if Arc leaves the Plane to come here, then they have an advantage on all of you. Do they have anyone that could match Tuku, though? He's also gone beyond Ascendant.."

"Roark's brother Jared Rodan passed the Ascendant Tribulation just a week after you died. That was why their Empire even started to harass us. They haven't done much, but their trade embargoes are hurting the lower level cultivators. There are also skirmishes and bad blood along the borders, but no one above Transformation has actually done battle yet."

Cara wanted to curse. She knew her death would change the world, but she didn't expect things to take such a strange turn. During her life she was known as The Sage because she bridged so many countries and cultures, she served as the glue to hold the world together. Now it seems like all she did was put her disciples on the backfoot.

Arc and Tuku wouldn't wipe Rodan from the map. Cara knew them too well. Both of those boys liked Roark and fought with him during the Battle of Yama's Invasion. They would take a defensive stance only and let the situation play out.

They'd probably let Aria grow a bit more and have her solve the problems. Tuku always did look up to Aria as his big sister, even after his cultivation surpassed her.

"Okay. I know the situation, and I understand why you attacked me," said Cara, clearing her thoughts. "But now we need to discuss your punishment, our relationship moving forwards, and how we're going to deal with the 'traitor' among the Twelve."

When Cara said the word 'Traitor' she laced it with sarcasm. She had a solid idea of what happened, now.

She trusted her disciples completely. Even after Zara's betrayal.. Zara did what she did to protect Cara, to protect The Sage.

And Cara was almost certain that whoever sent her soul out of The Plane did so for a similar reason.

Of the disciples, Aria, Arc, and Tuku were the strongest and most likely candidates for such a thing. To alter a joint technique without the others knowing, and to do it in such a subtle way that Cara's soul was 'lost' to a different world..

Zara didn't know about the 'Other Plane', only that the GTS couldn't follow. Only Aria and Arc traveled to other worlds.

Cara smiled.

Zara shrank down and made herself look small. She wanted to retort, to say: 'didn't you forgive me? Why do I need to be punished?'

But she couldn't voice her concerns. She was stronger than her Teacher and could easily overpower her.. But her heart couldn't manage it again. There was a difference between a subtle subterfuge like a soul attack and actually physically restraining someone.

Zara wasn't certain if her heart could handle that. So she decided to go along. To just deal with whatever punishment her Teacher gave her..

"Your punishment," said Cara, her voice severe and sharp, so harsh it sent shivers down Zara's spine, "Is to carry all of our luggage when we explore this world as we travel."

The air deflated out of Zara's figurative tires. A few tears ran down her face and she threw her head back in laughter.

She wondered why she had been afraid at all, in the first place. She knew her Teacher well. She knew someone known as 'The Sage' of all things wouldn't be unreasonable.

"Oh," said Cara, interrupting Zara's thoughts, "And you are not to harm anyone unless I give you express permission. Even if they are rude to me, or disrespect me.."

"No!" Zara's voice thundered and her head snapped down to look into her teacher's eyes. "Teacher, I can't let the natives of this world do anything disrespectful to you. It took all I had not to outright murder that last group that was confronting you when I arrived."

"Well, the way I see it," said Cara, "Is you can either accept this condition, or we can not travel together."

"If I want to follow you, Teacher, you can't stop me. I'm strong enough.."

"Zara! Haven't you hurt me enough?" Cara's words split the air like lightning. The temperature of the room dropped. Cara's face twisted in agony. "I've always thought of you as my daughter. Please, just do this for me? Is it really so hard to go along with what I've asked?"

Zara stood still for a moment and her eyes darkened. She clenched her fists tight and her hands shook. "Fine," she said after a moment. "But I draw the line myself. If anyone tries to harm you I will erase them."

"I need to cultivate, Zara," said Cara, "I need to fight some battles on my own to reinforce my cultivation. A tiger raised in a glass cage will never be able to hunt in the wild. We're exploring a whole new world, a place with new Paths to Power. I can't let you try to 'raise me' as a paper tiger."

Zara blew air out of her nose and her cheeks puffed up. Her eyes trembled with determination. "Fine. But I swear, if something goes wrong, I'll drag you back to this tree-house, even against your will. I've already got a Golem Army filling these woods. Not even Arc would willingly fight my entire deployed Array and Alchemical creations head on. This place is safe."

Cara smiled as her disciple finally bowed out. Once more she wrapped Zara in a hug.

"Then, let's prepare. I want to finally see the Tin City," said Cara.

"You're forgetting, Teacher. You also said we need to decide on how to deal with the Traitor..." Zara interjected as they released each other.

"Ah that, well I have an idea already."

"What's the idea?"

"I just need to get really, really strong in this world before going back home," said Cara with a grin.

"..." Zara paused for a moment, opened her mouth to say something, but didn't say a word. She held a finger up but still couldn't find a reply.

"Speechless? I know it's a simple plan, but sometimes simple is best," Cara laughed.

A warm sun dawned on Tin's Soldier Garden, and two women prepared several bags for the day ahead. Adventure and a new world awaited them.