Ran was released from the hospital early the next morning. He looked around after leaving the hospital, noticing mystical, futuristic streets and places, as well as a city where the buildings and trees are magnificently intertwined, alive and sparkling with magic. Some structures are built of living trees, while others are made with nanotechnology. The people who live here wear a mishmash of clothes. Everyone is living in peaceful harmony, from medieval attire to cybernetic body enhancements.

Ran's eyes were illuminated by a ray of light. He tried to look up, covering it with his hand, to see where that ray of light came from. He saw Krea fighting Akana on a large tower that appeared to be the city's center.

"Krea and Akana?" "What are they fighting for? "

Not knowing what was happening between them, he tried to go to the tower and stop them from fighting, but a familiar voice called behind him.

"They’re training, do not worry."

“Mino-sensei. “

“It seems that you’re already fine now, Ran. “

“Yeah, thanks to you guys. “

"Great. So about your place, where you’re going to stay for now. Since I’m here, you can follow me all the way up there to the training house. That is also where your room will be. " After pointing his thumb near to the tower, Mino, along with Ran, went to the training house and led him the way to his room.

"I think these clothes would fit you." "I used to wear them when I was skinny and young." "Haha." "Good times." Mino giggled as he handed the clothes that he gave him to Ran.

“Uhm, thanks.”

After receiving the clothes, Ran left his room. He looked at Mino, who was sitting cross-legged on a couch, smoking a cigar.

He realized Mino-sensei wanted to talk about something important and was waiting for him to sit down in front of him.

He then sat on the other couch.

"So, about how you arrived here in this world: How did you even get here? Did you have a– some sort of a travel device that can walk through different worlds?" Mino asked after he had finished smoking.

"I really don't remember anything; I just woke up inside a steep mountain and found those guys." Ran replied as he confusedly looked at both of his hands while thinking back about what happened before he got here.

Interrupting their conversation, a glitchy voice of a woman that can be heard only from Ran’s mind calls him in a calm but glitchy tone.

"...Ra...n...!" The voice called out, vague and indistinct like a phone with bad reception.

"Who is that?" "Mother?" Ran frightenedly inquired, looking around the room anxiously for the source of that voice.

He felt pain in his head as a result of too much talking in his head, and his hands caught fire, and he lost control of himself.

The glitchy voice of a woman continued to speak in Ran's mind, but he couldn't understand what she was trying to say.

"Hey, what's up with you?" "Calm down," asked Mino-sensei.

Mino-sensei stood up and tried to keep Ran from moving too much, until Ran yelled and released a powerful, explosive aura that knocked Mino-sensei back a long distance.

"Mother,"

" I can't..."

"This pain," Ran complained, while he’s in constant pain and he’s out of control of his own power.

After being knocked away by Ran's immense power, Mino-sensei looked at Ran again and couldn't believe what he saw.

Looking at the foggy smoke caused by Ran’s destructive aura, he saw a silhouette of Ran who was painfully holding his head with a celestial ring surrounding him that resembles the First Ascendant’s celestial weapon, the Eight Phases of the Moon, and a cosmic orb floating behind him that resembles the First Descendant’s celestial bright sun, the Center of the Galaxy.

"It can't be," Mino-sensei murmured. "Could this be the power of both the Firsts?"

While the smoke from Ran's unleashing aura continues to envelop the area, Ran yells and rushes towards Mino-sensei, attempting to land a powerful punch.

Mino-sensei was still stunned by the fact that he couldn't move to avoid the attack.

But then he noticed that Ran's aura had changed from magnificently divine to a hellish blaze while rushing towards him. An aura that appears to be obstructing Ran's true powers.

Fortunately, Kez arrived, saved Mino-sensei and stopped Ran, then he blasted him away from them.

“Mino-sensei, are you okay?” asked Kez.

"I’m okay," Mino-sensei grunted while trying to stand up.

"What the hell did you do to sensei, huh?" grumbled Kez as he faced Ran, who had been knocked down and was leaning against the wall, looking down.

“Calm down, Kez.” said Mino.

“Calm down?” “Why would I?” “Did you even realize what he did to you?”

“Did you understand what I just said?”

“But–” “He was trying to– “

When Kez glanced again at Mino-sensei, he was terrified by his killer glare. That prompted him to decide to leave their training house.

He walked away, looking irritably at Ran, who was still in bad shape.

“Oh!" "And buy me some booze when you come back." "I’ve been thirsting for quite a long time now!” yelled Mino-sensei.

“Go buy it yourself, sensei!” Kez shouted back. “I’m gonna buy some food for lunch!”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Only the two of them remained in the training house.

Mino-sensei walked close to Ran, he gave him a hand so that he could stand up.

“Hey.” “Ran” “You okay, bud?” asked Mino-sensei.

“What’s happening to me?” Ran whimpered. “Sorry.” “I’m really sorry, sensei.”

Ran was furious at himself for what he had done to Mino-sensei.

He stood up, ran back to his room, and shut the door without looking back.

After gazing at him as he went inside to his room, Mino-sensei remembered someone who resembled Ran.

He was reminded of someone from his past. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the face of that man, but the only face he remembered that resembled Ran's was that of his only friend, Khan.

A valuable friend and an honorable Royal Knight of the First Leaders who secretly learnt the powers of both the Sun and the Moon, who fought with them against a planet-devouring Divinity during the invasion of Mayaria.

He remembered a conversation he had with Khan, who was about to leave the kingdom after Mino willingly took the place of being the Royal Knight of the Second Leaders.

Mino came across him on a cliff near the kingdom. He went there to accompany him while they had their final conversation.

"So, I believe this is your last day here serving the kingdom, right?" Mino asked as he approached Khan.

Khan nodded, his gaze fixed on the kingdom. "Well, since you're here and will be the one willing to take my place as the Royal Knight guarding the Second Leaders, I might as well pay a visit to my family that is living in another world."

"To your parents?" "You told me before that your parents died when you were young."

"No, you idiot." "My new family." "I need to return to her because I'll be caring for her when our baby is born." replied Khan, then smacked Mino on the head.

"Aww!" Mino shouted, fell down while holding his head in the area where he was hit.

"Wait, you have a family?" "That’s impossible!" "Did you cast a rune spell to make her fall in love with you?" Mino teasingly asked while in shock.

"You really are an idiot." Khan annoyingly replied, pulling Mino up from his fall, "But know this, Mino." "Even if I’m no longer here, I will still be doing some work for this kingdom." "Well, this is also my home, you know." "I will be preventing the Divinities from conquering other worlds and also here in Ecliptica, and will give you the information about what kind of Divinity you will be facing when the time comes that I can't come back quickly." "If my world, where my family lives, has been invaded by a Divinity, I will transport them here in Ecliptica." "Protect my family at all cost, you understand?" "Especially my son, Ran." Khan explained.

“No fair!” Mino complained. “What will I get after doing all of that?”

"That’s what God Slayers do, you fool!" Khan retorted. "If you abandon my request, I will tell Altha about all the pictures you secretly took and everything about her that you like–."

"OK!" "Fine!" "Fine!" "I understand now," Mino said, interrupting Khan's speech.

Refocusing his attention on the present, Mino-sensei opened his eyes, made a worried, fearful face, and began to be concerned about the secret that Khan suspected he might reveal to his fellow instructor, Altha of team Liquidflux.

Returning to the main point, now that Mino knows Ran is most likely Khan's son, he has no choice but to help Ran achieve his current goal, train him to become stronger, and find the person who cursed Ran, preventing him from using his true powers.

Also, there is one thing that Mino-sensei has been thinking about...

What happened now to Khan and Ran's mother in their world?

=≠=======================

BONUS

While repeatedly remembering and worrying about his secret that he revealed to Khan, Mino exited the training house and went for a short walk to get some fresh air, but he was interrupted by his fellow instructor, Altha-sensei.

"Mino-sensei," said Althea calmly.

"AAAH!" "Oh, i-it’s just you, A-Altha-sensei." spooked Mino-sensei, startled by the sudden appearance of Altha-sensei. “W-what seems to be the p-problem?

"Hmm, it appears that you're the one who has a problem here." Althea-sensei seriously replied. "Why are you so startled after meeting me?"

"N-No, I’m not!" "I was just s-shocked by how b-beautiful you are—not that I mean it emotionally! Please, don’t misunderstand what I’m trying to–!

"You really are an idiot." Altha-sensei disappointingly fumed, interrupting Mino-sensei’s answer.

"If you’re going anywhere that isn’t even important, just come with me and let’s eat lunch together." She added and held Mino-sensei tightly on his arm.

"But I really have something important to do," reassured Mino-sensei. "Altha-sensei!"

"Enough reasoning, Mino-sensei," babbled Altha-sensei. "I’m really hungry," she said, adding, "I might just eat you alive if you don’t accompany me."

=≠=======================

A little background on the characters who were heavily mentioned in this chapter.

Name: Ran

Title: the Arsonist

Power: Fire

Source of Power: Bloodline

Race: ?

Archetype: Fighter

Weapon/s: None

Glyph: Rune of Power

Name: Mino

Title: the Infernal Warden

Power: Magma, Insane Durability

Source of Power: Spirit

Race: Aspect

Archetype: Fighter, Vanguard

Weapon/s: None

Name: Khan

Title: the Royal Knight of the Firsts

Power: Sun & Moon Power?

Source of Power: Grace

Race: ?

Archetype: Specialist

Weapon/s: ?

Name: Altha

Title: the Liquid Weaver

Power: Liquid, Thermal Control

Source of Power: Bloodline

Race: Human

Archetype: Battlemage

Weapon/s: Ocean Capsule