Chapter 25: Yamamoto - a few months ago

Yamamoto was returning from his workout, his muscles feeling sore, which he enjoyed. It made him forget about his condition. He stopped at an intersection. He was listening to music, slightly stretching his neck. A school kid was crossing at a red light, reading something on their phone. The kid froze.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yamamoto saw a car about to crash into the kid. Before he could comprehend what was happening, his legs moved on a pure instinct and he pushed the kid out of harm's way.

When he woke up, he saw a purple sky with stars brighter than any he had seen in his life. He was lying among clouds that formed a ground softer than anything he had experienced.

"So, I guess I died, or maybe I'm in a coma. Hmmm..." he thought for a second. "Still worth it!" he shrugged.

"What is worth it?" Yamamoto saw a beautiful woman standing not far from him. Her face was veiled, and she looked like she had stepped out of a painting of an angel. He stood up and bowed.

"I took a hit instead of someone else. Considering I had maybe two years to live and the person in front of me had a whole life ahead, it was most likely a worthy exchange. So, no regrets." The man smiled with the brightest smile ever.

"And if you weren't sick?" the woman asked him. That was an uncommon reaction for the otherworlders appearing in her domain.

"Would have done the same. It's the role of men to protect women and children, even if that means covering for their mistakes. Though it would have been a sad day for my family." From his mouth, that sounded like something self-evident. "My name is Kento Yamamoto. May I ask yours?"

"I am the goddess of death and rebirth, Noritz." The goddess was slightly stunned by his behavior.”And here I thought gentlemen had died out on Terra Mundus."

"Thanks for the compliment. It's nice to meet you. How may I assist you?" Yamamoto looked genuine. He was not like anyone she had guided to Terra Arcana for years.

He acted like a gentleman and looked handsome. His skin was marked by the sun, and his body was hardened by steel. Despite having just moved here he radiated an aura of a developed hero, an aura of masculinity and gentleness. This aura made Noritz curious, but she proceeded with the protocol.

"You were chosen. You will be summoned to another world to become a hero. Here, it is my responsibility to mend the minds and souls and prepare them for their arrival. As well as to all heroes, I will grant you a boon that will aid you in your new life. In your new life, you will no longer be bound by limitations of growth in power like normal humans, nor will you suffer from the affliction you had." Noritz repeated the prepared words.

"What's the goal?" The man was focused.

"You will learn of it on your arrival." The goddess couldn't shift her gaze from him; she was glad she was wearing a veil.

"And what kind of place will I be summoned to?"

"Sadly, I can't tell, aside from that it's a world where humans live and magic of different kinds exists."

"Are there others being summoned?" Yamamoto inquired.

"Yes, there will be a few more." Noritz sighed. It was going to be another anti-hero ability requested.

He looked at his body, which felt a few years younger and stronger, within human capabilities, but closer to an Olympic athlete. He didn't need Noritz to tell him about the limits; he felt them very well. They were quite hard to comprehend, though.

With enough practice, he could turn his body to be tougher than steel and stronger than a plane, and if he trained his mind, he could overcome those limits too. He was far from that, but it was achievable with enough practice and determination.

He knew he wasn't suffering from the tumor as there was no tinnitus in his ears that had accompanied him for the last few months. He felt that he was healthy the moment he woke up. "Give it to someone who would deserve it and might need it more."

The man radiated confidence. Noritz's eyes widened under the veil. "Repeat that again?"

"I don't need it. I have the power of my will and my body behind me with only the sky as the limit."

"But, why?" Noritz wasn't used to gifts being rejected. "They are quite universal. Each summoned hero gets one. An artifact like a weapon, an item from your world operating in the world of arcane magic, or a repository of scientific knowledge imprinted in you. An ability that slightly alters reality."

Yamamoto was smiling. "I already have the greatest gift. It's hard to explain, but whatever you are offering doesn't feel earned. I want to focus on this." He lifted his hand in front of him. He smiled, seeing no tremor. He slowly formed it into a fist and held it tight to sense his power.

Noritz felt that power too. It was a weak, insignificant power. A drop in a sea compared to hers, but it shone, radiating gentle light. The man had attuned to his magic before he even arrived to Terra Arcana.

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She felt that he was too good of a person to be true. His confidence, selflessness, and gentleness were too much to withstand. Heroes rarely crossed into her realm. It was unbearable to be in his radiating aura. But it was not the amount of the magic. It was the color of it.

He shone gold like the sun, reminding her of something long lost, something which she was reminded of too much, a wound that was not allowed to properly heal.

For a second she thought it was That person’s reincarnation, but that was impossible and Yamamoto’s glow was different. Not to mention that That person lost the golden glow a long time ago.

The more she looked the more she could see how the glow was different, but she still longed for it and desired its wielder.

"There is something I need help with..." Noritz averted her gaze, pretending to be shy. "It's so lonely in here; people take me for granted as if I owe them. You are the first one who asked me what you can do for me, not what I can do for you. Can you spend a bit of time with me?"

"That's not an issue. What do you have on your mind?"

"Well," she gently moved her hand on his chest. "There is something on my mind. If you don't mind." She wanted to be slightly selfish for a bit.

"I won’t." This was neither the first time nor the hundredth that a woman had shown interest in him. “That was unexpected,” he thought to himself. This was the first time that a goddess was interested.

_____

When Yamamoto woke up, he was in a magical circle drawn on the floor. Completely naked, Noritz was not in his arms anymore. He was in a circular room with a wooden floor and walls made from big stones with no gaps between them.

“You are finally awake! Even yesterday's storm didn’t wake you up!” - an old man in a wizard’s hat greeted him, offering a cloak. ”Welcome Hero!”

Yamamoto looked around. He relaxed when he saw no women in the room.

“I am Kento, nice to meet you. Do you have any clothes my size by chance?" he responded in a language he didn't know and grabbed the cloak putting it on. It felt strange to him, he used his first name to introduce himself even though he didn't even know this Westerner old man.

“Ledas Sanders, follow me to the dressing room.” The mage looked old and frail, but Yamamoto had heard of mages in fantasy: the older mage usually meant a stronger one.

The house where he was summoned looked like a wizard’s tower from books and anime. It was still raining outside when he found barely fitting clothes in one of the wardrobes.

“You hungry?” Mage inquired.

“No sir, Why have you summoned me?” Yamamoto was straightforward as always.

“Before we go to that I have a few questions I wanted to ask. Where are you from, Yamamoto?”

“Tokyo, Japan. Though I was born in Okinawa.”

“Who won, axis or allies?” the mage asked with great interest.

“Allies.” Well, that was a strange question.

“Good! And Fascists in Japan?” the old mage’s mood was quickly improving.

“Destroyed. Lost. Why are you asking me history questions?” Yamamoto was startled.

“And Hitler?”

“If I remember correctly, he shot himself when Berlin fell” Yamamoto was having trouble recalling the contents of his school history class.

“What about the USSR?”

“Doesn’t exist anymore. Why are you asking these questions, again?”

The mage was livid.

“Forget that I asked. I just had too many questions haunting me for decades.”

“Were you…?”

“A participant of the war, but I didn’t summon you here to ask you questions.”

“Well, that’s good. I don’t enjoy talking about history and politics. Too often that leads to conflicts. If you want to know, our country didn’t participate in wars for 80 years.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear. Let me explain why you are here. This world is changing. Countries got access to summoning rituals and are doing them left and right, boosting their military power, and starting wars. No one cares about the possible coming of the end times, neither the upcoming rebirth of the Lord of The Wicked nor the prophecy unleashing the God of Thunder, they all ignore the old me.” the mage took a long pause.

“And what is your cause?” the summoned hero was unsure of what the old man wanted.

“I am too old to defeat the Lord of The Wicked again, but the younger generation of heroes might stand a chance. That’s if they stop killing each other on behalf of petty kings, of course. I need someone to prevent that. So, will you join the cause?”

‘By this god of thunder, you mean Zeus from Greek mythology?’

“No, I mean the god of tyranny”

“Who’s that?”

The Archmage did not respond for a whole minute.

“That will be for another day. The old me rumbled too much. I think one task at a time would be more easy.”

“Agree. The world war and this Wicked Lord sound like more immediate tasks.”

The mage exhaled audibly, “So, I see you are up to the task. That was easier than I expected.”

“And what if a summoned hero doesn’t agree?” Yamamoto asked out of curiosity.

“There are a few ways that were used when others and I were summoned years ago. It's a long story. Prepare yourself.”