As Roman mentioned Christianity, a hush fell over the group, the weight of his words hanging in the air. He could tell that the names of gods like Athena and Zeus sparked recognition, but the concept of a single “true and living God" seemed foreign to his friends. Jessika for instance paused at the word true making it seem like her goddess wasn’t true. That thought honestly made her very angry but she held her tongue.
Master Wong was the first to break the silence, his eyes narrowing in contemplation. “It’s fascinating how different worlds can carry the echoes of the same deities, yet interpret them so differently. I’ve heard many travelers from other worlds mention similar gods, but this... Christianity you speak of sounds unique.”
Roman nodded slowly. “Yeah, it is. In my world, Christianity teaches that God is the creator of everything. It’s not a pantheon of gods, but one all-powerful, all-knowing God. I can’t say I’ve been the best at following His teachings lately, but I still hold onto my faith.”
Lexi, who had been silent, finally spoke up, her voice soft but curious. “So… in your world, you follow one God, but here we have many. Do you think your God is here too?”
Roman smiled warmly at her. “Yes, I know for a fact He is. From the moment I got here, I could hear and feel His presence. It’s the only way I’ve made it through. It’s how I knew I could trust you guys with my secrets and my life. Sometimes I hear a calm, still voice guiding me, but most of the time it’s just a feeling of warmth blooming in my heart, and I just know…” He trailed off, searching for the right words. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how else to describe it.”
Lexi's expression softened as she listened, her curiosity mingling with a quiet respect for Roman’s faith. “That sounds... comforting,” she said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”
“It is,” Roman agreed, a gentle smile on his face. “It gives me peace, even in the middle of all this craziness. I may not fully understand why I was brought here, but I know I’m not alone.”
Master Wong watched Roman carefully, his expression contemplative. “Faith is a powerful thing, Roman. And it seems that your faith, much like your abilities, has guided you through unimaginable challenges. But faith also requires balance, much like the power you are learning to wield.”
Roman nodded, appreciating the wisdom in Wong’s words. “Yeah, I get that. Just like with my chi and mana, I need to find balance in everything.”
Seth broke the thoughtful silence with a chuckle. “You know, all this talk of gods and balance is making my head spin. You’re strong, man, and whether that’s because of your God or because you’re just a beast, I’m glad we’ve got you on our side.”
Roman laughed, feeling the tension ease. “Thanks, Seth. But I still have a lot to learn.”
Master Wong folded his arms and smiled knowingly. “Indeed, Roman. The journey ahead will test you in ways you have not yet imagined. The ability to balance your faith, chi, and mana will make you formidable—but it will also carry great responsibility.”
Roman took a deep breath, the weight of that responsibility settling on him. “I understand, Master Wong. I’ll do my best.”
“Good,” Wong said, his tone both gentle and firm.
“Well if we’re done talking…” Roman said and starts to hop from foot to foot like a boxer…or his favorite anime protagonist. “I’m itching to fight and I saw a few gigantic monsters out there. Hey who won the bet by the way?” he asked Seth
“You did.” Seth grumbled but answered honestly.
“Wanna go double or nothing and I will only fight using magic? No weapons.” Roman goaded.
“No! I’ve already seen that your magic is the only thing that is effective against them and now its gotten stronger! Do you think I’m dumb?!” Seth yelled and Roman chuckled.
“I had to try.” He grinned loving the feeling he got when he was able to joke around with these guys. It felt right. “Hey! That feeling I was telling you about is back. So I guess its confirmed that I’m supposed to be part of this party. And if I remember correctly, master Wong didn’t you say that people in my party get exponentially stronger?”
“Indeed. But that might be after you ascend to your true power.. I am not sure.” Master Wong answered.
“Well either way those monsters have to die before we can go get the answers we need so…lets get to it.” He said and pushed off his right foot with everything he had, practically teleporting from his spot and over the wall. His momentum too him a good hundred feet away from the wall before his body started feeling gravity’s effects and he started to plummet to the ground. He activated Kinetic Absorption and grinned when he crashed into the ground causing another crater. He jumped from the hole and pictured himself as a firebender as he shot bursts and torrents of flames with each punch and kick. Each move caused the fire to spread farther and farther out as he focused on pushing more mana into it. One trick he had discovered while Jessika was teaching him about mana that he didn’t want to rub in her face. Mana was everywhere and in everything so once she taught him to find and feel it, he could automatically attune his core to pull it into himself as it cycled his qi. As his qi moved, it pulled substantial amounts of mana with it.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
He chuckled to himself. “I’m such a cheat code!”
He continued fighting, pushing himself and his mana use, trying new ideas of how to use the mana. Can I create like an Ultimate Skill?! He thought to himself and gasped. One of those monster skills that drank all remaining mana and could only be used once per day type of thing… He pictured what that would be. Most games for fire it would be like a huge fire tornado or like meteors falling to devastate everything…meteors! Let me ask Jessika if that’s a thing first.
He jumped and pushed off with two twin jets of flames behind him as he flew to the walls where Jessika was hurling attacks down.
“Jessika!” He called out when he was close enough.
“What?!” She yelled.
“Are there such things as Ultimate Skills? Like a skill so big and devastating it can only be used once?” He asked.
“Yeah but you have to reach Mastery rank in your element to unlock it. But then again you’re a freak so I guess you could just create one.” She spat to him in what he thought was fake envy which made him laugh but was really residual anger from his earlier statement but his laughter got to her after a few seconds. She grinned too, her earlier anger melting away.
“SO I’m gonna do it…Is there anyway to confirm that there is nobody out there that is friendly? I’ll try to aim it as far away as I can so I don’t hit the walls by accident.”
“What are you about to do?!” Jessika asked in panic.
“Meteor Shower.” He grinned.
“What?! What even is that?”
“Yall don’t know what meteors are? Have you ever had huge burning rocks fall from the sky?” he asked.
“I have heard of that happening once.” Master Wong said. “They called it a falling star.”
“That’s weird how could…meteors are like space debris but when they get into the atmosphere of a planet they start falling down at incredible speeds which causes them to be coated in flames. When they impact they could destroy entire cities…continents if its big enough.”
“Oh they come from space, then that is why we haven’t seen them. There is a barrier that was placed by Athena around the world that keep the World Eater monsters away.” Jessika answered.
“World Eater or most commonly called Void Beasts. They are huge beasts that exit in the darkness of space. We were attacked a few times by them, and each time Otherworlders like yourself rose to protect us and defeated them…maybe…maybe that is why you are here now?” Master Wong asked in awe.
“You think one of those things might be coming and that is why I was brought to this world?” Roman asked half scared and half excited at the thought of fighting a space monster.
“Yes! From what I can remember each time we learned of an Otherworlder a Void Beast appeared within their lifetime…the reason it hasn’t stuck out is because some of them lived hundreds of years!” Master Wong practically shouted.
“Oh that’s crazy!” Jessika gasped.
“Is there anything you can check to confirm that? Like yall have any records?” Roman asked.
“Yes! I will go confirm it!” He said and ran off, a lot faster than his old body should allow…a lot faster actually. Roman thought as he looked on in shock as the man moved like the Cheetah.
“Ok back to my ultimate skill.” He grinned.
“Please don’t over do it!” Jessika pleaded. “Just remember that your power is insane so dial it all the way back!”
“Ok I’ll only do about 60 percent?” He asked.
“Maybe 30.” Lexi offered as she approached. Roman smiled over at her.
“Ok I’ll do it at only 25 percent first shot ok?” He asked and she smiled back.
“Ugh, so now you two shared a bed and were all cuddly this is gonna be a regular occurrence?!” Jessika spat in disgust. Both Roman and Lexi blushed and turned to deny her but she already jumped off the wall to fight.
Roman just turned back and lifted his hands..too embarrassed to say anything. He pictured three meteors evenly spaced and falling out into the opening almost to the rear of the monsters which was probably a good mile away. He pushed as much mana as he could to make it work, hands and lips trembling at the sheer effort it took to hold the mental picture. It was as if the more he tried to hold it it slipped from his hands like an oiled fish. After a while of struggling, he finally felt it, it felt right like he had the right amount of mana and focus to make it work. He took sort of a mental picture for next time and lowered his hands and internally shouted ‘Meteor Shower” to initiate the attack. The sky immediately darkened and he heard screams of terror from behind him as the soldiers saw what was happening.
“Shoulda probably warned them too huh?” He mumbled and Lexi standing behind him chuckled.
“You think?” She laughed.
The sky now brightening due to the flames now coating the giant boulders falling from the sky until it started to look like there were three suns. Even the monsters were scared and tried to scatter but there had been so many of them and all pushing in the same direction that there wasn’t much they could do now. Roman focused on the first meteor to see if there was anything he could do to affect them now of if it was a cast and forget type of spell. He focused on it and pushed to make it go faster and soon it doubled the distance between it and the nearest one. And finally it hit the ground, the boom and shockwave not reaching them for a few seconds but when it did, it almost knocked them all off their feet. A huge explosion that looked like a bomb went off erupted and flames shot out in all directions along with molten rock like shrapnel. Then…the next two hit.
“Ok yeah that’s too much.” Roman said when he was able to speak again a good 30 seconds after the third shockwave hit him. He looked down at the devastation and had trouble making anything out because of the dust and smoke but he knew for sure that one attack took out maybe 70 percent of the monsters in one go and the rest didn’t look like spring chickens.
“T-that was only 25%?” Jessika asked in astonishment.
“Might have been closer to 35, I had a lot of trouble pulling the mana back once it started.” Roman explained.
“Yeah next time how bout we stick to about 5%?” Lexi said and patted him on the arm.
“Yeah I think you’re right.”