The train plummeted from its mid-air flight and crashed heavily against the ground, causing people to fly off their seats and hit themselves against the walls and other seats. Even the conductors controlling the train were hit by the crash, but they still retained consciousness and struggled to use their Magic Enhanced Devices to stop the train’s movement, but the momentum was too much to make it stop.

Raze slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to find that inside the coach she was in, it looked like a scene out of a disaster, where people were lying face down or facing upward with closed eyes. Most of the passengers were knocked out by the sudden crash and banging their heads against the walls while others sported several bruises and cuts. Even members of the Nine Heroes of Legends were not spared from receiving injuries, with Vikram sporting a bloody nose, Maxwell a bloody lip, Martin clutching his stomach, Natsu rubbing his head, Fred clutching his side, William struggling to keep his consciousness intact, and Ward clutching his foot.

“W-What just… happened…?” She asked weakly, not understanding what had happened moments before.

“Are you alright?” A familiar voice asked from behind.

She looked sideways to see that Lakshman was right behind her, leaning his back against the side of the coach. It took her a second to realise that she had been sitting on his lap while he appeared to sport an injury to the head that was causing blood to seep out of his wound. From seeing that, it did not take her much to quickly guess that he had dived in to protect her at the last second before she collided against the coach wall.

“I’m sorry!” She exclaimed loudly, alarmed by the events that had happened. Quickly turning around to face him, she asked him, “Are you alright, hero?!”

She was a bit taken aback when she saw the bemused smile that he was wearing at that time. No sign of weakness or fear filled his face, but a calm look as he was sure she was safe. This act amazed her because never in her life had she witnessed a man risk his life like he did to help other people and feel relief from his success.

Even his calm and simple reply of, “I’m fine,” despite the bleeding he was having on his head amazed her even more. Then she was brought back to their predicament when he said, “Anyway, I believe we’re still far from safe.”

At his words, she remembered their problem and jumped to her feet unsteadily as the coach rocked sideways as the entire train raced towards the huge hole. She hurried over to the window and saw that their speed was slowly decreasing and guessed that the conductors were working hard to slow them down, but she also knew it was not enough as time and speed was against them.

“Damn! My nose hurts!” Vikram complained, clutching his bloody nose, where he had smacked it hard against the wall during the crash. He noticed the problem and asked Raze, “Don’t your people have some mechanism for this kind of situations to, you know, bring the train to a full stop?”

Before Raze could reply, Ward spoke telepathically and shocked the people as they were unaware of who they are.

“Physics doesn’t bend over to us, Vikram. This isn’t a game, and we’re not cartoon characters. This is real life, and physics dictates that the braking motion must be lesser than the speed in order to gradually slowly down. If they did as you suggested, then we’ll really be in real danger of flipping over and falling on our heads.”

“So… Is that good or bad?” Vikram asked, a look of amusement formed on his face.

Ward seemed to sigh as he closed his eyes and said telepathically, “In simple terms, we’re pretty much finished if the conductors act rashly or recklessly to stop us. We need a plan.”

“Oh! That’s not good!” Vikram said, becoming alarmed when he heard that. “What’re we supposed to do? We’re going way too fast!” When Ward shook his head without a solution to give, Vikram’s heart sank, and his head dropped a little in sadness as he muttered, “Man… I never thought my wildest dream would come true like this!”

“What dream?” Fred asked, who winced a little from his pain.

Vikram turned to him and said, “A few years ago, I watched a movie where two guys managed to stop a runaway train, and I thought how cool it would be to do that. It was just a childish thing to dream about, but… I honestly never hoped for this.”

“Hey…! Don’t be depressed, Vikram. We got super powers!” Fred said brightly, trying to create a positive mood.

“Super powers?” The Sonic Hero asked, raising an eyebrow. “Sure. I have the powers to run fast and maybe create sound, but that’s it! How are they supposed to help me in this situation, or are you telling me to run fast to prove the point that I can run faster than a train? Is that it?”

He was exasperated by his optimism and could not help himself from commenting like that in his depressed state. Fred looked helplessly towards Natsu for help, but the Zeklock Hero merely shook his head to not disturb Vikram. He clearly understood that the Sonic Hero was feeling depressed from many reasons right now.

At that moment, they heard a voice say, “All this bickering and blabbering. Pathetic.”

They turned and saw the speaker was none other than Gram, who looked completely okay judging from the way he stood at the exact same spot as before. He had his eyes closed, and had his arms folded in front of him, but he soon lifted his head and glared at them menacingly, causing a sudden pressure to fall inside the coach.

He suddenly unfolded his arms and said, “Move.”

A little taken aback, the people distanced themselves from him and allowed him some space to do whatever he was going to do. He unfolded his arms and instantly summoned his Hero Weapon, the Silver Sword, and he used it to cut open a hole large enough for him. To their shock, he jumped straight through it and landed on top of the coach’s roof, standing firmly against the wild cold wind that buffeted against him.

“Gram! What’re you doing?!” Natsu yelled out of the man hole in the roof, but his yell was lost in the sound made by the wild blowing wind.

The Tempest Hero pressed his feet firmly into the roof of the coach before kicking off, causing the roof to cave downward. He ran across the coach and leaped to reach the next coach and continued running, leaping between coaches to finally reach the front of the train. Once at the front, he kicked off into the air and soared several meters into the distance before landing on his feet, which got dragged on the metallic ground.

With his Hero Weapon still with him, he used it to stab into the metallic ground to stop his movement and turn around to face the oncoming train by placing himself between it and the huge hole. He straightened up and grabbed the hilt of his sword with both of his hand and shouted a technique name to activate it.

“Storm Wall!”

In an instant, the wind began to blow rapidly towards the train from where he stood, buffeting him from behind in the process. The train zoomed forward and the two forces collided against each other a few meters away from where Gram stood. Their clash caused a wild storm to suddenly erupt around them and shook the ground, crashing the metal in all places and causing the ground to dig a little downward.

The sudden clash of forces caused the occupants of each coach to get thrown forward and collapse on chairs or on each other. Natsu smacked his head against the side of a chair, causing him to clutch his head from the intense pain. It made him angry, he pressed his head against the side of the window to cried out in a furious voice.

“What the hell is he doing?!”

To Gram’s surprise, the train’s immense pushing force was so strong that Gram’s wind began to get pushed back. This automatically caused his sword and his feet to get dragged backwards while against the ground. If he gave in, he would fall and the train would run over him and that would be the end of that, but he was no ordinary warrior to fall so easily.

By fuelling all of his strength into his sword and exerting his energy, he managed to stop himself from being pushed backwards. Still, his situation was uneven as his legs shook and his hands trembled at the pressure that he was struggling to work in. Unlike others, Lakshman could guess what he was doing and silently observed with the application of the Zooming Force magic spell.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“At this rate, he’ll give up,” commented Asura inside of Lakshman’s head.

Lakshman did not comment as he knew it too but did not wish to voice it out like his past self. He understood that there was something more than just to save these people that made Gram suddenly leap into action. Guessing that he was part of that reason, he kept on watching for a few seconds longer to see how the prince from another world would fare. It took him almost a minute to come to the decision that Gram would waste himself with that hot-headed temper fuelling his current actions.

“I know he can do this, but… he’s not controlling himself. He needs something… different! Something… more,” muttered Lakshman with a worried look on his face.

Coming to a quick decision, he activated Telepathy spell a moment later and spoke telepathically directly into Gram’s mind, “That’s enough, Gram. I’ll handle this. You’re no match for it. You’re weak.”

Gram, who recognised the voice and registered the words he heard, widened his eyes in shock and became enraged. He did not go mad, but he began to think of all the training, all the praises, and all the support he received from both his family and subjects until now. Him feeling so frustrated and humiliated was because of Lakshman’s actions to hide his identity and his way of treating him during their battle was a lie.

The proud prince from another world, who had great confidence and was arrogant towards others, faced his first humiliation against a complete stranger. It made matters worse upon discovering that the stranger was none other than a king from another world because it made Gram feel as though the stranger had taken pity on him and went easy on him. It cast a great doubt in the prince’s mind about his capability, he began to live in denial because he was scared to admit that he was weak.

Lakshman understood this as he had faced several people in the past, mainly during the time that Mardana Kingdom’s prince waged war against the Floria Kingdom in order to take over it. So, in a way that would spur the Tempest Hero forward, he used arrogant rousing words that would greatly anger Gram and make him want to prove himself and, just as he planned, Gram took bait and began to show the full extent of what he was capable of doing.

“Weak, am I? No match for it, am I?” Gram slowly asked through gritted teeth before exerting the strength and energy he had unconsciously locked away when he was in turmoil over his capabilities. He stood his ground firmly, gripped the sword with firm hands and faced forward while shouting, “Stand… Strong…!”

As he resolved himself to stand firmly against the pushing force, his power dramatically increased to match that of the pushing force. The train’s momentum gradually decreased, and Gram matched his power’s output to match the opposing force in order to not cause a sudden explosion of wind and energy. Several minutes later, the train’s speed finally reached zero, and Gram deactivated his powers while breathing a deep sigh in relief and tiredness.

“Good. You’re not weak. You’re strong. Well done, Gram,” said Lakshman telepathically.

This surprised Gram, who had thought the king from another world is a conceited man that treated him badly. Still, being complemented softened his heart a little and, with one hand running his hair, he looked towards the train and grudgingly said, “Thanks.”

Lakshman, who had heard the words over the telepathy link that still connected them, smiled and nodded. From the very beginning, he knew Gram had the same potential like him to grow into a powerful man, but he was going about it in the wrong direction. The king from another world did not like Gram’s attitude, but he would really like to train this kind of man with so much potential because it would be a waste to not train considering how much help he had received help from three different masters in the past: Darian Ronald, Felix Phoron, and the man who raised him from the beginning, his father, Indra Chand.

“You think he’ll ask you to train him?” Asura asked curiously.

“He may be arrogant and prideful, but he’s no fool,” replied Lakshman with a small smile on his face.

Asura silently agreed with that statement, but one thing did puzzle him, and he asked, “But why did you suddenly feel like taking a student under your wing, especially this guy of all people?”

Lakshman smiled a little and thought, “He’s in a similar position like me, Asura. I got guidance when I needed it from three great people, so I wish to make them proud by taking this person in and turning him into a great man.”

“Okay. I guess you are obliged by them and want to return the favour in a different way, but are you positively sure? This guy is a completely arrogant, self-centred man!” Asura asked, a little bit of worry sounded in his voice.

He was concerned that his present self was going overboard with his desire to help others, but Lakshman understood that. Even Lakshman, at first after seeing the arrogant and self-centred behaviour of Gram, did not want to take him in as a student, but after watching him for the last week had changed his impression somewhat. It looked like the prince from another world could be reasoned with and that there possibly was hope to turn him into a good man.

“Besides, I don’t want to regret that I let the chance go to help a man when I could’ve,” thought Lakshman with a small smile. “If he turns out to be unbearable, then I’ll mind my own business, but I at least want to try.”

Asura sighed inside his mind and said, “You’re too merciful, Lakshman.”

“You’re right, Asura. I am soft,” replied Lakshman, admitting the one weakness he was unable to completely curve despite the many people telling him to change over the years. “But, I feel I did more good than bad by being that way. Don’t you agree?”

He was indirectly referring to Asura’s decision to make the world bow down to him, which resulted in him losing his entire family. Asura understood this and did not say anything as he knew his present self was correct. Despite this, he held his suspicions against Gram while Lakshman felt optimistic about the prince from another world.

While they were slowly getting out of the train, a long distance away from the train stood a group of people. They stood side by side and were staring in that direction without making a sound between them. As the people were leaving the trains and were being evacuated back to the city, one of the people turned to the rear and said quickly.

“Boss, we failed. They’re being rescued.”

In reply, the man seated in a chair with his face covered with a mask said, “No matter. We learnt something about one of those heroes. This is still a gain. There’s still next time.”

The group all chuckled simultaneously in a dark manner and turned to watch the passengers leave in complete silence.

***

Later, Raze got to the front of the train and got in touch with the conductors, who had already requested assistance from the capital city, which they had left minutes ago, to come to their aid. Help soon arrived and everyone was taken back to the city and were admitted to the hospital. A few hours later, the Nine Heroes of Legends and Raze were discharged after their minor injuries were taken care off by the proficient doctors.

The vehicle, which they had travelled in that morning, came to pick them up and it dropped them off at the castle. As it was lunch time, the traffic was minimum as everyone was already in shops having eating their meals. Once they arrived at the castle, Raze said she had to inform the royal family about what happened, so they split away from her and headed off towards their rooms to freshen up since they were tired from the experience they had a few hours ago.

“Boy, I wonder what’ll it be like tomorrow?” Asked Vikram with an air of apprehension.

“The day hasn’t ended yet,” replied Natsu, smiling to one side. “What you should really be wondering is what else we have to do today before the day ends.”

Vikram groaned after realising the fact pointed out by the Zeklock Hero and instantly became depressed. Other than Gram, who had gone silent again, the rest of them were happily talking to one another about the experience they had while moving through the regular transport and using the ID Cards, which they had handed over to Raze later since those belonged to the government.

“These were just given for your experience. Your own cards are currently being processed and will be delivered to you by tomorrow evening,” she had said in explanation to why they had to hand the cards over.

“What about the money we received at the reward ceremony?” Fred asked with curiosity written all over his face.

“Don’t worry. We will visit each of you when handing over the cards and will go through the step-by-step process in completing the deposit. It’s a fairly easy process, so no worries there,” she replied in a reassuring voice, which made Fred and the rest to smile in relief.

Once they reached the doors to each of their rooms, they casually bid their farewell and went into their rooms. Lakshman, closing the door to his room behind, let out a deep sigh and stretched his body, realising that the lack of training had slowly started to cause him to feel a little sluggish. Just as he decided on resuming his training from tomorrow onwards, there was a knock on his door, and he turned to open it, but he was surprise to find Gram waiting outside with a serious look on his face.

As he was wondering why such an unexpected person was there for, Gram spoke first by asking him, “Why did you goad me?”

Not understanding the question, Lakshman asked, “Huh,” with a puzzled look on his face.

Gram’s eyes narrowed, and he repeated, “Why did you goad me?” When Lakshman continued to look confused, Gram elaborated by saying, “Back there, when I was about to get defeated by the force of the train, you said words that were quite awful, but then I wondered why you were even telling me such when you’d obviously be there, saving me as if I was a helpless child and taking all the glory. You even complemented me afterwards. Why? Why’d you do it?”

Lakshman could feel the anger boiling inside each syllable that Gram uttered, making him understand how he was feeling. Gram eyed him shrewdly for a few seconds in silence before closing his eyes and sighing a little as if he was moving on from it.

“I don’t know what your intentions are, but it cleared my mind and let me focus. Thanks,” said Gram, his expression calming down somewhat but it still contained a bit of suspicion as he eyed Lakshman.

Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and just as he was about to close the door, Gram asked, “There’s just one thing.”

As the Solaris Hero waited patiently at the door, the Tempest Hero paused for a moment, looking as if he was choking on the words he was going to say. A moment later, his expression steadied as he resolved himself to saying them.

“As much as I dislike it,” he began, unable to contain his great dislike for what he was about to suggest, “but I want you to train me. I want to get stronger; maybe as strong as you, maybe more, and I realise I need an instructor. So, train me.”

Lakshman remained silent and watched the other person, whose body language showed that he pretty much demanding, rather than asking him. It reminded him of Asura’s cautious words as he questioned Lakshman’s intentions to train this man in the near future since he had potential in him for something greater despite being so arrogant. So, with his reply already set in place, Lakshman smiled and said only one word that sparked the beginning of many things.

“No.”