Training with Azel turned out to provide new insights to Ryan. The divine power given to Ryan by Chronos was the same yet different from what the other Guardians possessed.

And there was another fact that Azel possesses that leaves Ryan astonished. It turned out that Azel was already 158 years old. And his appearance looked like he's still twenty-four years old. He has a gift that allows him to live a long life and made him difficult to kill. Every time he got killed, he would come back to life in a way that was hard to comprehend with common sense.

The one who gave him those powers was Quetzalcoatl, the god of the Aztecs.

This god in mythology also granted similar powers in legendary tales to Tlacaélel, but Tlacaélel had to make a blood sacrifice to Quetzalcoatl. Ryan then became curious about what kind of sacrifice Azel had to make.

He dared to ask Azel, "Is there a sacrifice you have to make to Quetzalcoatl for the price of him giving you the power?"

Azel laughed and replied casually, "Yeah, I just can't have a wife."

Ryan was bewildered. Having to live without family for hundreds, even maybe thousands of years?

Ryan glanced at Azel suspiciously, "Not allowed to have a wife, but allowed to have many girlfriends? Or even a partner?"

Azel laughed. "That's right. So until now, I've just been taking it easy. Live your life as best as you can, even you feel that this gift from the gods is very though and can completely change your life."

Ryan nodded and etched Azel's words in his mind. People say that the words of the elders are indeed based on real experiences and are worthy of being used as a reference.

"Do you probably know what I have to sacrifice because I received power from Chronos?" Ryan asked.

Azel thought for a moment, then answered the question. "Two things' for sure, you won't be able to age and you won't be able to socialize with normal humans anymore. Then, maybe, you have to constantly connect with the flow of time, so your consciousness is the consciousness of everything happening in this world."

Ryan shuddered. The thought that he would become something "Omniscient" made him sigh deeply.

"Now back to the difference between the Divine Power you possess and the Divine Power held by The Guardians. You can manipulate the fabric of time, while The Guardians can only guard it," Azel said, seeing Ryan's anxiety.

Ryan asked confusedly, "What do you mean?"

"Normal Guardians can move through space and time, whether to the past, present, or future. They can also protect the timeline and fix minor distortions," Azel replied.

"Whereas you, as the future Emperor of Time, have greater powers, such as creating new timelines or branches of reality. You can merge and even delete existing timelines. And lastly, you can bend or manipulate the flow of time, for example, slowing down or speeding up time," he continued.

Ryan still looked confused. Azel chuckled, "You'll understand once you've practiced it."

Ryan nodded.

"Okay. Now I will teach you the basics of applying Divine Power. I have seen that your Mana Core has developed well. It will make things easier. Later, your Divine Core will form and develop on its own, along with your training related to Divine Power." Azel said.

Azel also taught how to project oneself and separate from the physical body, to enter the Timestream. Ryan struggled to master this basic technique because he was too tense and couldn't focus, haunted by many events that had befallen him in just a few days.

***

At dinner time, when Ryan was also sitting alone, Rohan approached him again. This time he came in a friendly manner and didn't act like a thug, and without his followers who usually followed him everywhere like a tail.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Hi, Ryan," he greeted. He then sat in the chair in front of Ryan.

"Hi, Rohan. Please sit down," he replied with a hint of sarcasm.

Rohan grinned. "Let me introduce myself again, my name is Rohan. I am of West Asian descent, specifically Indian. Because I received power from Agni, the God of Fire, I have the elemental power of Fire," Rohan explained without Ryan asking.

Ryan just stared at Rohan and went back to his meal.

Rohan's jaw clenched without Ryan seeing it. He was very angry because Ryan always ignored him. In fact, almost all the Initiates' students at The Arena obey him. He hides his anger.

"You know, Ryan. Actually, I came here because Agni wants to meet you. But not here," said Rohan.

Ryan lifted his head and looked at Rohan in 'I don't believe you at all' expression.

Rohan, who saw Ryan not believing him, took something out of his shirt pocket. A piece of cloth with the Agni symbol and writing made of fire, inscribed;

हम अहं सं भेंटं कर्तुं इच्छामि, रयान लेन

Ryan, who understands various ancient languages, immediately recognized the writing. It means, 'I want to meet you, Ryan Lane'. And it was written in Sanskrit.

He lifted the cloth, and he stared at Rohan, who was staring back into his eyes. Rohan did not lie, actually, Agni often resides within Rohan's body, you could say he is half-god. Therefore, he could create the Seal himself.

Ryan returned the seal to Rohan. "Alright. When?" he asked.

"When you are free. After dinner, can you meet with him?" Rohan asked.

Ryan thought for a moment, then replied, "Yes."

"Alright, we will meet him after dinner. I will take you to meet him," said Rohan enthusiastically.

Ryan just nodded slowly. In his heart, he already felt that something was off, but Agni's Seal was not man-made. He is an archaeologist, so at least he can distinguish it.

***

They walked down the corridor towards the forest that was still within the area of The Arena. The Water Tower was visible not far from the edge of the forest. Rohan made an excuse, saying that Agni didn't want anyone to see him, so he chose a secluded place.

The Initiates who saw them walking together whispered among themselves. They thought that Rohan would bully Ryan, or that Ryan had already become friends with Rohan.

Rohan walked past them without paying attention, but Ryan heard what they were talking about. He thought, if Rohan really was going to bully him, he would face him alone. He didn't want to involve Fenrir over trivial matters.

When they reached the edge of the forest, Rohan told Ryan to wait for Agni. However, after a while, Agni still did not appear. What appeared instead were Rohan's henchmen.

Rohan stood in front of Ryan with his hands on his hips. "You have been disrespectful to me, ruler of The Arena. This time you will feel the consequences."

He signaled his subordinates to attack Ryan. Ryan tried to fight back with all his might. He used Mana, but because he had no experience or foundation in martial arts, his face and body quickly became bruised and battered.

Left punch, right punch, kick, block, he tried to throw them at his assailants. However, what he faced were the Initiates who had been training since childhood in The Arena. And he has only been training for three days.

Not once did he call Fenrir to save him.

Until he saw an opportunity and pushed one of his attackers down. Ryan managed to break free from the crowd of his attackers. However, not long after, his attackers managed to catch him again and beat him.

Suddenly, a large serpent made of water floated and spun around, striking Ryan's attackers. The attackers fell and groaned in pain.

Rohan, who had been laughing while watching Ryan get beaten, became furious because of that interruption.

"Jiali! Why are you meddling in my business?!" he shouted angrily.

The person called Jiali then appeared from behind the trees. A young woman aged around eighteen to twenty years, with silver hair and green eyes. Her oriental face makes her look beautiful.

Jiali chuckled. "What's wrong if I meddle in your affairs?"

Rohan, in anger, without saying another word, conjured a fire snake from the air and hurled it towards Jiali.

Jiali casually created a shield of water, causing the fire snake to bounce off and disappear.

"Why did you gang up on him?" Jiali asked.

"We were just helping him practice!" Rohan defended himself, still angry. In The Arena, Rohan's level was still far below Jiali's. In short, Jiali was stronger than Rohan.

Rohan tried to attack again by throwing fireballs at Jiali. The fireballs shot quickly towards the beautiful girl.

However, Jiali easily created swords from water and struck down every fireball thrown by Rohan.

"Don't you think about what would happen if Lord Fenrir found out you guys are beating him?" Jiali asked again.

"He won't know. We will heal him after we finish training him." Rohan gritted his teeth.

But, a loud growl was heard from behind him. Rohan turned around in surprise.

Fenrir was growling at him.