I equipped two more enchanted rings to give myself access to the spells I had given to George, then I wondered if he would ever try to use them or even identify the rings themselves. I chuckled and kept walking as I changed out the ring with the Detect spell on it for a fresh one. I was a little sad that I didn't have access to my magic spells directly, and I had to attribute it to my own choice to suppress my power before being sent back.

I wonder if your current state affects the summoning spell? I asked myself. If I had let go just before the spell completed, would I have my full abilities or would I still have lost access to them, even though they aren't locked like the last time?

I used the Identify spell on myself and was extremely surprised by the results.

____

Name: Damon (Day Man) Smith (Last name applicable only on Home World)

Race: Human (Enhanced - god modified experiment - Stable Series 89,324,362)

Class: Devourer (Suspended - Not Applicable on Home World - Level 0 (99-99) )

Job: Pawn (of the gods)

Summon Status: 2, Suspended (Frequency - Once every 2 years or until needed)

____

Personal Status:

Body:

Strength

999 (-999)

Reflexes

999 (-999)

Recovery

999 (-999)

Agility

999 (-999)

Resilience

999 (-999)

Dexterity

999 (-999)

Mind:

Intelligence

999 (-999)

Charisma

999 (-999)

Alertness

999 (-999)

Intuition

999 (-999)

Wisdom

999 (-999)

Willpower

999 (-999)

Magic:

Mana

999 (-999)

Offensive

999 (-999)

Defensive

999 (-999)

____

I stopped walking, because I couldn't have been more wrong about it being my choice to suppress my power this time. I stared at the popup for the three minutes it stayed in front of me and then it disappeared. I switched rings and cast the Identify spell again, which seemed to have automatically used the upgraded version, and I checked myself over again.

It's still not showing the boosts from my enchanted rings. I thought and looked down at them. I wore eight of them, which was 160 points in both Strength and Vitality. If I was on anther world, that would be pretty pathetic in comparison to people that have had access to a level system their whole lives.

I didn't bother switching the ring again when the popup disappeared, since I had seen enough. No skill list popped up when I asked for it and I had to assume that it was like my stats. I had them and didn't have them at the same time. They must have been all zeroed out. I checked my inventory and nodded. All of the major magical things I had access to, like my damaged armor and my sword, were greyed out like the last time.

I took a deep breath and let it out. Well, there's nothing I can do with this information right now. I thought and started walking again. I was tempted to run and realized that I wasn't that far away from where I lived. I equipped my watch to check the time and looked at the face and laughed, because it had stopped working the moment it had been stored. I changed the date to the right one and then took out my cell phone and turned it on.

It vibrated in my hand for nearly ten minutes as hundreds upon hundreds of notifications of missed messages and calls popped up. I checked them over and nearly all of them were from my sister, Jenny. About ten percent were from Diane, and a couple percent were from Jenny's friends Susan and Kathy. Exactly six notices were from my mother, which was pretty much once a month to check up on me, like clockwork. It was nice that she did that, even though I wasn't able to answer.

The phone updated with the proper time, just after six in the morning, and I checked my watch. It was only a few minutes off and I didn't bother trying to change it. I was about to put the phone away into my pocket when it rang. I felt a little nervous to see who it was, then smiled when I saw the name and answered.

“Good morning, darling.” I said.

“DAMON!” Diane yelled into my ear and I had to hold the phone away slightly. “Oh god, oh god! You answered! You actually answered!”

“I only just got cell phone service back.” I said, truthfully. “I also got several hundred notifications of missed messages and calls.”

Diane let out a relieved laugh. “I definitely added to that, calling you twice a day.”

I quickly did the math in my head. Twice a day for six months was 60 calls a month, so that was 360 calls. If that was only about ten percent of Jenny's messages and calls... I sighed. Jenny was apparently relentless, because she had sent me over 3,600 messages and calls in six months.

“Everyone is going to be so happy that you're back.” Diane said. “I'm happy that you're back.”

“Me, too.” I said. “Do you mind if I pop in to see you?”

“Wh-what? Right now?” Diane asked, worry clear in her voice.

I stepped into the building where I lived and walked over to the elevator. “You don't want me to?”

Diane was quiet for a moment. “I... I do, but...”

I sighed, understanding immediately. “You have someone over.”

“Yes.” Diane said, her voice flat.

I had a flash of Divine Sight and it was me confronting her husband, right in front of Crystal, and telling him that I loved her more than he did and she wasn't even my daughter... and that I wanted her to be. A verbal fight was next, then a brief physical one, and I was arrested for assault and charged with domestic violence. I received a year in prison, because the judge wanted me to be an example of what not to do when confronting a married couple in order to steal the wife and child from another man.

“How long have you been sleeping with your husband this time?” I asked, even though that was a really stupid way to word that question.

Diane didn't say anything in response, which meant that she knew what I was asking.

“Wow. That long.” I said as I rode the elevator up to my apartment. “Can you at least tell me that he's not living there with you?”

Diane stayed quiet and I had to sigh this time.

“You're not wearing the ring anymore.” I said and she didn't respond. “Did you give Crystal the other ring?”

“She... she cried when I told her that you were going away for a while.” Diane said.

“That's a no, then.” I said, slightly angry. “The ring was supposed to reassure her, Diane. That's what it was for. I didn't want her to think I abandoned her.”

“She's a child. She doesn't understand that...”

“What? That I love her? That I regret that I had to leave and left her a special ring to keep for me until I came back, to prove that I was?” I asked as I opened my apartment door. “I gave you a ring, too.”

“I... I know... but...”

“But what? You missed me and took your awful husband back to your bed? How was that a good thing? For either of us?” I asked and I heard a soft sob on the phone. “I was really looking forward to seeing you when I got back. I worked hard to get back this quickly. I've even done some... questionable things... and I wanted to tell you all about it and then ask for... no, I was going to beg for your forgiveness.”

“D-Damon...”

“Yeah, this homecoming isn't anything like I had hoped.” I shut my door and locked it again. “I guess you won't be staying over anymore for date nights or stopping by with dinner when you used to always make extra for me, since you have someone there that eats it now.”

“I... Damon, I'm sorry. I... I have to deal with some things...”

“Yeah, I know.” I said. “Are you at least going to tell Crystal that I'm back?”

“I don't know.” Diane said and cried. “She won't understand that...”

“...you kept my promise to come back a secret from her. I get it. If she knew you did...” I paused and waited for a few moments as I had another flash of Divine Sight. “You're going to make me out to be the bad guy.”

Diane took in a sharp breath. “N-no, I... I just...”

“Yeah, you are. It's better if it's me, right? I'm the easily explainable excuse for everything you've done since I left.”

“Damon, don't... don't do this.” Diane said, halfheartedly.

“You're doing it already and we haven't even finished talking yet.” I said with a chuckle. “What do you want me to do, Diane? Do you want me to bust into your apartment and declare my desire to have you as my wife and Crystal as my daughter, even though you're already married and she already has a father?”

Diane let out another few sobs. “N-no, you... it would be bad for you if you do.”

“Oh, I know.” I said. “You don't think I haven't thought of doing exactly that since we met and I found out what your life was like?”

“Wh-what?”

“I've got the classic 'run in and be the hero' complex when it comes to you. I always have.” I said. “I've only ever wanted to help you. I love you and I only want what's best for you.”

“Damon...”

“All you needed to do was make a decision, one way or the other. I thought you had chosen to pick me and that made me really happy. Unfortunately, all you did was drag me along all this time until I had to leave... to protect you and everyone I care about... and you took your husband back as soon as I left.”

“No, I... not right away.”

“How long? A week? Two?” I asked. “The first time he came for visitation rights?”

Diane sobbed harder.

“Ah. Yeah. I guess that would do it.” I said.

“I'm... sorry.” Diane said, through her crying.

“So am I. More than I can ever tell you.” I said and then I remembered my flash of Divine Sight about us only ever sleeping together once, and I let out a long and drawn out sigh. I really hate that I didn't change that, even after all this time. I thought. “I want you to put the rings into an envelope and drop them into my mailbox.”

“No!” Diane exclaimed.

“Why? They apparently didn't mean anything to you.” I said and she didn't speak. “I want them back.”

“I... no, they mean... a lot...” Diane tried to say.

I had another flash of Divine Sight and saw where the rings were. “Jesus Christ, Diane!” I said in exasperation. “You let your husband pawn them, didn't you?”

“He needed money for...”

“I don't give a fuck what he needed the money for!” I said loudly. “That was MY ring! Do you know how much something like that was worth?”

“He got two grand for it.” Diane said.

“It was worth fifteen times that, goddammit!” I exclaimed and she started crying again. “You're not getting it back out, are you?”

“I can only afford the fees to keep it from being sold.” Diane said, sadly.

“You can afford the fees? What about your ass of a husband?” I asked and she didn't say anything. “Yeah, that figures.” I said and sighed. “Give me the pawn slip and...”

“He has it.” Diane said.

“Where is he now?” I asked.

“In bed.” Diane said.

“You snuck away to the spare bedroom to call me.” I said and she didn't say anything. “He doesn't ask where you go every morning?”

“I go to the bathroom every morning.” Diane took a quick breath and let it out. “Morning sickness.”

“Well, fuck.” I cursed and she started crying again.