“Hey! Wake up! You’re sleeping too comfortably for a guy on the run! Seriously! Wake up already!”
Lakshman felt himself being shaken awake by an unknown individual whose voice he did not recognise. Still, he felt himself stirring before he opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the white sky of his Unconscious World.
The first thing he soon after waking up was by exclaiming, “Wow!”
He quickly sat upright and muttered, “What the heck am I doing here?”
In reply, the unknown voice responded with, “Hey! You’ve finally woken up! I’m glad!”
He glanced around to see where the voice was coming from, but it looked as though it was coming from everywhere. The voice echoed all around him, making it difficult for him to pinpoint the exact location of the owner of the voice. He instantly became defensive, leaping through the air and landing on his feet to stand on guard as he felt he must have been taken over by an unknown individual while he was sleeping.
“Whoever you are, show yourself!” He commanded, glancing around at his surroundings waiting for her to appear.
He heard her sigh and say, “Geez. Men. They’re all so rough, but I like your attitude,” and a sparkle of light appeared in front of him. It formed into a ball, which exploded to reveal a small figure that was surrounded by a glowing brilliant light while it sprouted wings out of her back. She raised her head and blinked twice at him before giving him a big grin and exclaiming, “Wooo! Here I am!”
Lakshman blinked at the stranger in amazement, and his mouth hung open a little as he was astonished by the race she belonged to.
“A pixie?” He asked uncertainly.
Instantly, she put on a pouting face and waved her finger at him in a disapproving manner.
“How rude?!” She exclaimed to match her behaviour. “I’m a fairy, thank you very much! Get your terminology right!”
“Oh. Sorry,” apologised Lakshman quickly, realising he had offended the fairy girl. “It’s just that fairies are usually a lot bigger in my world and pixies tend to appear this small, so… sorry.”
He finished lamely, she looked at him in annoyance and said, “So, if I take on my true form, you’ll believe me then? Fine,” and, with a poof of smoke, she changed into an adult version of herself. “Well? How do I look?”
He blinked at her in surprise before honestly saying, “Yeah. You’re a fairy alright. Sorry about my earlier assumption.”
She nodded in acceptance and said, “It’s quite alright,” before there was another poof of smoke before she changed back into her small form. Looking at her hands, she became frustrated and exclaimed, “Aww! Come on! As soon as I took on my true form, I change back to this? I hate this!”
Lakshman looked sympathetic with her predicament, but he was burning with questions and fired away the first one by asking her, “So, what are you doing here so deep in my mind?”
She looked up at him in surprise asked, “Of course I’d be able to come here. We’re partners, silly.”
“Partners?” He asked, blinking in surprise and looking confused. “I don’t get it. How are we partners?”
His question made her sigh and look sadly up at him before replying, “I’m the manifestation of your Hero Weapon, Solaris Hero, although, I would prefer to call you hero instead. You okay with that, hero?”
“Yeah. Fine,” he said distractedly, startled by the revelation of her to be his Hero Weapon, the golden spear.
He briefly thought about what she said and wondered whether she was the same as his wives, Tetra and Silvera as he never heard knew any fairies that could become weapons. However, he surmised that his knowledge about the fairies was minimal because he had ever only met them once and that was during his time living as Asura in the ancient times.
“Are you like a sealed fairy or something?” He asked curiously.
“What?” She asked, looking confused, and he explained about Tetra and Silvera being Sacred Spirits that could transform into weapons. Nodding in understanding, she finally shook her head in disagreement and said, “No. I’m not capable of transforming into a weapon or taking on our original forms in this world, especially when there is such a lack of resources for us to depend on. That’s why I can only appear in your mind like this,” and she looked depressed. “So, I suppose the term Sealed Fairy does indicate me and my sisters that are with the other heroes.”
Lakshman widened his eyes in astonishment and said, “I see! Is that why we’re able to use our specific powers that are unique to each of us? It’s because of the power related to you?”
The fairy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and said, “I thought you’re smart, but you certainly prove that you’ve got much to learn.”
“Huh?” He asked, looking abashed. “I’m wrong?”
She nodded and replied, “Yes. It’s not our power you’re utilising, it’s your own power that you’re utilising that lay dormant within all of you. The only thing those weapons do is provide you with the ability to converse using this world’s language and control your power by bringing it out even without the supply chain of resources from the environment of this world. So, you see, it’s your powers you’re using, not ours. We’re just mediums to assist you in controlling it.”
He looked surprised when she finished her explanation, and he said, “I see. No wonder I was able to use my full powers much easier when the weapon was with me, but then how come you’re in my head instead of being with the weapon?”
The fairy shook her head and suddenly became frustrated by all the questions and said, “You’re asking me too many questions in one go! Now isn’t the time for it! You have to wake up! You’re on the run, remember!”
Lakshman became shocked by her statement and asked, “I’m on the run? From whom?”
“The government obviously!” She replied, and when he looked blankly at her, she realised something and looked towards his left. “Oh…! It must’ve been him who did it then.”
He blinked at her in surprise and looked to his right to find Asura lying there with his eyes closed and apparently sleeping peacefully.
“Asura!” Lakshman exclaimed, and he quickly moved over to him and began to shake him back and forth in an attempt to wake him up. “What’re you doing unconscious? Wake up!” When his past-self remained motionless while sleeping peacefully, his current-self looked alarmed and turned back to the fairy to ask her, “Can you tell me what happened because my memory feels a little hazy?”
She nodded and told him of the events that had occurred after he was knocked out, where Asura had separated himself from their Hero Weapon and, as a demonstration of his power, knocked out Cyde, his platoon, and all the Royal Guards stationed at the castle that rushed in the moment they heard the commotion. After that, she explained about the threatening dialogue that Asura left with the king before biding his farewell and escaping from there.
“So, you see, you’re on the run from the government,” finished the fairy, looking sympathetically at him. “Um…? Hero?”
Lakshman had gone stiff from the shock of learning about the situation that he was in, with his eyes widening to the max and the colour draining from his face. She noticed this and decided to break him out of it by shoving him from the back and causing him to become startled before coming to his senses. Then he looked back at his past-self, grabbed him by his collar and began jerking him back and forth with great frustration.
“What the hell did you do after knocking me out?!” He exclaimed with great anger. “You’ve put us both in trouble! Dammit, Asura! I always told you to think straight!”
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Just then, he felt his sleeve being pulled and turned to see the fairy pulling him as hard as he could.
“Now’s not the time to be worrying about it! You have to wake up because some stranger carried you away after that person flew as far as he could and collapsed,” she informed him urgently.
“Oh,” said Lakshman, and he let go of Asura, who fell flatly and landed softly on the smooth grass. “Okay. I’ll see what’s going on.”
He threw one fleeting glance at his past self and instantly became frustrated, but he controlled his emotions and closed his eyes, vanishing from that place as he rose to take charge of his body. When he next opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at the ceiling of a house before glancing sideways to see that he was lying down in a large living room. The moment he tried moving, he winced at the pain his body from the multiple bruises and cuts he sported.
Ignoring the pain, he pushed himself to sit upright on the small bed type he had been lying on when a stranger walked into the room from a side entrance. He had been looking down at the bundle of wrappings in his hand before he glanced at him and looked surprised when he found Lakshman awake and sitting upright.
“Oh! You’re awake,” the man said, sounding pleased, “and you managed to move in your current condition. Great!”
Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and replied, “This is nothing compared to near death experiences I’ve had in the past.”
“Wow,” the man said in awe. “Just what kind of life did you have? You sound miserable.”
That made Lakshman chuckle and ask, “It’ll become fine when you’re strong and become accustomed to danger. Anyway, are you the one that rescued me earlier when I collapsed?”
“Indeed, that was me,” the other person replied, moving towards the king from another world and beginning to unwrap the bundle of wrappings. “Now, stay still while I wrap these around your wounds.”
Lakshman immediately raised his hand in objection and said, “No need,” and he placed a hand on his left arm before activating his magic. In an instant, he began to glow in a bright green light that surprised his rescuer.
“You can also heal yourself. That’s so convenient,” said the stranger, looking impressed as he set the bundle of wrappings down and taking a seat opposite him.
“You can’t do the same with your M.E.D?” Lakshman asked, looking at the wrist band the man was wearing on his right arm.
“Are you kidding me?” The stranger asked in an exasperated voice. “It’s costly to install healing functions into my M.E.D. Comparatively, it’s much cheaper to just go and visit a doctor.”
Lakshman chuckled and asked, “I see. So, who are you?”
The man raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked, “Don’t you remember?” When Lakshman looked quizzically at him, the man realised something and asked, “You don’t remember anything that happened when you crashed?”
Lakshman, who had no idea what had occurred until he was woken up by a fairy, decided to act his part by replying, “Sorry. My memory’s all hazy from collapsing here that I must’ve forgotten.”
“Makes sense since you were pretty worn out,” the man replied, smiling a little. “Anyway, my name’s Ram Shankar, and I am known as the Infinity Hero!”
His proclamation of the title of him being a hero startled the Solaris Hero, making him raise an eyebrow in surprise.
“Infinity Hero?” He repeated, looking confused. “You’re also a hero? But I thought there were only nine heroes, basically the Nine Heroes of Legends.”
The stranger, whose name was now known as Ram Shankar, laughed and said, “Yeah. You’re right. Mine’s just a title that I received in a game.”
Looking a little confused, Lakshman admitted, “I don’t understand,” while raising an eyebrow, wondering what sort of game it was that Ram played that would make him proclaim himself to be a hero.
Ram seemed to ponder for a moment before saying, “It’s a long story, and it all started 200-years-ago.”
At his statement, Lakshman was so shocked that he stared at Ram with widened eyes and asked, “What?! 200-years-ago?! You’ve been alive for that long?!”
“Well,” began Ram hesitantly, scratching the side of his head and smiling sadly at him, “you could say I’ve been alive all this time, although, it was mostly in a virtual environment for while my body was put into hibernation for all these years.”
“You mean you’ve been trapped in this… virtual environment for… more than 200 years?” Lakshman asked to clarify, and Ram nodded in assent. This amazed Lakshman, who smiled a little and said, “Wow. That’s 190 years longer than what I experienced in the past.”
“Really? You were trapped in a virtual world and put to sleep for a really long time too?” Ram asked, looking interested as he leaned forward hopefully.
“No,” replied Lakshman, shaking his head and smiled sadly at him. “It was different.”
Before he could go on, there was the sound of footsteps from somewhere upstairs when a female voice asked, “Has the stranger woken up yet, Ram?”
“He sure did,” replied Ram with a smile, turning to look towards the stairs leading to the floor above them.
Upon hearing his statement, the owner of the footsteps walked quickly and clambered down the stairs to appear and ask, “Really?” When she saw Ram seated opposite the stranger, and that the man was glowing in a green light, she widened her eyes and exclaimed, “Wow!”
Lakshman smiled at her and asked Ram, “Who is she?”
“She’s my wife,” he said, smiling and introducing his wife. “Her name’s Aimi. Say hello, Aimi.”
“Hi… um… stranger,” she replied weakly, feeling nervous as she did not know his name. She looked accusingly at her husband and asked, “Tell me his name?”
“His name?” Ram asked, looking surprised as he realised, he did not know the stranger’s name either. He turned to the person he rescued and asked, “I forgot to ask but what’s your name?”
“Lakshman Chand,” replied the king from another world with a smile.
Ram blinked in surprise before repeating in a questioning manner, “Laxman?”
“Lakshman,” corrected Lakshman with a small smile, knowing full well that Ram and his wife would have difficulty pronouncing his name right. Sure enough, they looked at each other and were trying to figure out how to say it, making Lakshman chuckle and say, “If it’s too much trouble pronouncing it, just call me Lucky.”
“Lucky?” Ram asked, looking amazed.
“Is it like the meaning of your name?” Aimi asked, which surprised Lakshman.
“How did you know?” He asked her, looking amazed.
She grinned and replied, “Ram here also shares a name with a good meaning. It basically means charming and handsome, which he is,” and she finished by looking fondly at her husband.
Her husband waved his hand casually with a smile and said, “You exaggerate, Aimi.” Then he turned to Lakshman and asked, “So, Lucky, how come you were so exhausted and wounded? Did something happen bad happen to you, like robberies or bullying?”
Lakshman shook his head and as he was about to respond, they heard the ring of a bell coming from the entrance of the house. Ram smiled and apologised to him before rising to his feet and walking towards the entrance to see who their visitors were. Soon enough, they heard three voices chatting excitedly and laughing before Ram returned with two other men following right behind him. One was a tall man and the other was a short stockier man, and they were speaking in a casual manner with Ram.
“And you should’ve seen that idiot’s face! It was hilarious!” The shorter man exclaimed before laughing again.
When the attention of the two men shifted from Ram, to Aimi, and then to Lakshman, they instantly froze in shock. It appeared as though they could not believe they were seeing what their eyes were seeing, causing Lakshman, Ram, and Aimi to look puzzled by the expression on their faces.
“What’s wrong, you two?” Ram asked in a puzzled voice.
“What’s wrong, you ask?!” The taller man exclaimed, looking at him in disbelief.
The shorter man pointed at Lakshman and exclaimed, “I can’t believe he’s here! What’s he doing here?!”
While Ram stared at them with a frown on his face, Aimi asked them, “Do you know him?”
“Do we know him?! We met him a while ago!” The shorter man exclaimed, looking shocked beyond belief at seeing Lakshman there.
“Don’t you two know who he is?” The taller man asked, and caused both Ram and Aimi to glance at each other in puzzlement. The man shook his head in disbelief and pointed at Lakshman before saying, “He’s the Solaris Hero!”
His announcement made Ram to widen his eyes in shock while Aimi to cover her mouth in astonishment. They slowly turned towards Lakshman, who felt a change in the atmosphere in the room as a strange tension filled the air. He stopped healing and narrowed his eyes, ready to escape from them despite his Elemental Sense not triggering an alarm in him of an enemy attack.
The taller man turned to look at Lakshman and asked, “Have you forgotten us in just two days?”
Lakshman narrowing his eyes as he tried remembering who they were, feeling as though he had met them not too long ago. Seeing him taking time to remember them, the taller man sighed in exasperation while the shorter gaped at him in disbelief.
“We’re the two you released when we got captured! Remember?” The shorter man asked.
His statement finally clicked, and Lakshman remembered the two masked members of the criminal organisation known as the Raven’s Guild. Then he compared them to these two strangers and finally realised they were the same people.
“W-What’re you doing here?” He asked them, a look of astonishment on his face.
“That should be our question!” The shorter man retorted in an exasperated voice.
“Yes! What are you doing in our leader’s home?” The taller man asked with narrowed eyes.
“Your leader’s house?” Lakshman asked, blinking in surprise as a realisation slowly dawned on him, and he slowly asked them, “Wait…? Y-You don’t mean…?”
The taller man nodded and indicated towards Ram while declaring, “He is the leader of the Raven’s Guild, Ram Shankar!”
The declaration of the Raven’s Guild’s leader took Lakshman by surprise, and he turned to look at the young man in amazement. Ram, who had remained silent up until that point, let out a light chuckle and looked towards the man he had rescued not too long ago.
“I see,” said Ram slowly, smiling warmly at him. “This is indeed a strange way for us to meet, hero.”