I still can't soft delete threads on my phone. Like the previous rewrite, former versions will be placed in spoiler tags.

Rewrite:

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"So where to, Maguro?" asked Cavaron as he, Maguro, Aimi, and Aomi were floating with a vast expanse he dubbed as "Hub Space".

Standing in front of the portal to Edeortha, Cavaron had decided to bring Aimi back to her home with the guidance of Maguro. Since Aimi and Maguro knew one another before, Maguro would no doubt know where Aimi lived.

"We will be heading towards the Terra parallel clusters." replied Maguro, "You should already know that Terran worlds are one of the few world types with many parallel worlds in existence. For what reason or why there are parallels, we have absolutely no idea."

"And so, for ease of travel, many of our kind who had visited such places would have anchors or some sort of ability to remind them and others which parallel they are." added Cavaron. Direction made no sense in Hub Space as there wasn't really any mark to tell directions with, be it landmarks or celestial bodies. Anybody within Hub Space must rely on their own abilities and masteries, capabilities to detect certain energies, or some other way of recognizing a portal. Wayfarers, like Cavaron in particular, are able to detect certain energies within a world, especially his own mana. Any place he had visited before, he will sense immediately. "Which parallel does Aimi belong to, again?"

"Terra parallel three." replied Maguro, "I already placed my own anchor there long before so this would be the best time to utilize it."

Maguro waved his hands towards a direction, and a stream of faint blue light appeared before them. The stream of light expanded to beyond what they could visually recognize into the vast expanse of Hub Space.

"This is my way of knowing where to go." said Maguro, "Like you, Cavaron, I use mana anchors to guide me, albeit more visually than yours. Well, let us go."

Maguro flew through Hub Space and followed his stream of mana, and Cavaron and the rest followed behind him. Passing by a multitude of portals that led to a myriad of worlds, Cavaron suddenly paused and looked at a nearby portal. Maguro and the others noticed him stop momentarily prompting Maguro to ask a question.

"Is something the matter, Cavaron?" asked Maguro, "Is that a familiar world to you?"

Cavaron looked back at Maguro, "My home world, Maguro."

Maguro and Aimi looked at each other, then Maguro looked at Cavaron.

"Would you like to visit?" asked Maguro, "Getting Aimi home isn't really that urgent after all."

"No need." replied Cavaron, "My home was already lost hundreds of years ago. I have nowhere to return to, apart from just being where I was born."

A hint of nostalgia appeared within his eyes. Sadly, neither of his Japanese companions noticed it. Cavaron recollected his thoughts and urged Maguro to resume being a guide.

"Still, what made you want to send Aimi back, Cavaron?" asked Maguro, "This is the first time you've done so."

"Can't a guy live his life on a whim?" replied Cavaron, "I mean, I have eternal youth. Heck, you, too. Besides, I need to replenish my stock of candy thrice fold. Terran candies are the best, after all."

"Thrice fold? How many did you finish?" asked Maguro with a raised brow.

"Not me, but Shamira." replied Cavaron, "Here's my entire stock."

Cavaron opened a portal into his inventory, and dumped out enough candy wrappers to fill an eight wheeled truck. Maguro and Aimi stared agape at the amount.

"Shamira finished all of that!?" cried Aimi, "Why does she look no different!?"

"I really envy that elemental." commented Cavaron, "Ethereal beings, like her, have no need for material vessels. Hell, they don't even get diabetes, get hungry, nor get thirsty. Only when their energies are affected will they experience a change."

As they traveled through Hub Space, they chatted regarding trivialities.

---

"We've arrived." said Maguro, "This is Aimi's home world. Ready?"

Cavaron and Maguro looked at Aimi for her decision. Lightly slapping her cheek, she nodded.

"Let's go in then." said Maguro as he led the two through the portal, "Welcome back home, Ai—"

"GET DOWN!!!"

At the same time as they passed through the portal, Cavaron sensed a high speed incoming object. Cavaron, with his strengthened self, used his lightning fast reflexes to push his companions to the ground. As they did so, a long cylindrical metal object zoomed past above them before landing on a faraway building.

"BOOOM!!!"

The cylindrical object exploded, and destroyed the building.

"That was a missile!?" cried Cavaron, "What the hell is going on here!?"

Cavaron looked at the two Japanese for an answer. Neither, however, knew how to answer as they stared gobsmacked at their surroundings.

The area they arrived at was a battlefield. Ruined buildings, explosions, destroyed armored vehicles, dead bodies, and other such atrocities littered the area.

"Shit! It hasn't been long since I met Aimi." cursed Cavaron, "Aimi! We're there any signs of a war about to happen in your world?"

Aimi was still stunned at seeing her surroundings. Dead humans, like her, were strewn about the area. Looking around, she eventually saw a small dismembered hand a few ways away from a burned teddy bear.

"Gueh..." vomited Aimi, "This... What is this...?"

Remembering what she did in Edeortha, and comparing it to the scenes before her, she didn't know how to react. This prompted Cavaron to pull her, and the others, back into Hub Space.

---

"Did you get a good look at where that place could be?" asked Cavaron to Maguro.

Maguro held his head trying to remember any landmarks he noticed, "Wait... The place was too ruined for me to recognize, but that missile was definitely Terran technology."

Aimi was seated, hugging her knees, in shock from what she saw. It would appear that seeing fellow humans destroyed to such an extent, disturbed her more than when she killed Azuals that looked closer to monsters.

Maguro suddenly looked up at Cavaron, "There was a piece of a structure that I recognized." he said, "It seemed similar to an Asian imperial palace. It could be in one of the Far East Asian countries."

Cavaron looked back at the portal, "When you first went through here, where did it send you?" he asked.

"I arrived in the snowy mountains of the Swiss Alps." replied Maguro, "The succeeding visits were also different from one another. Sometimes in Europe, others in the Americas, but more often that not, I arrive at an Asian country."

"Hrm... What was the last piece of news you've heard or read regarding this Terran parallel?" asked Cavaron, "And what Terran year was it?"

Maguro held his head as he scoured his memories, "The last time I was here was... around three years ago... Terran year 2013. The only notable piece of news I've read regarding that year was about the rising tensions between China and its neighbors in Asia."

"Let's assume that the place we arrived at was China." said Cavaron, "Were the tensions hot enough to warrant a war?"

"It didn't seem so but..." replied Maguro, "... I think it was a conflict regarding territories."

"Dammit. The same shit, again." cursed Cavaron, "Can't they just colonize some other planet in their system?"

"I doubt they have the technology to do so, yet." said Maguro, "Anyway, what do we do now? Do we continue sending Aimi home, or do we find another parallel where war hasn't touched it yet?"

"Maybe we should send her somewhere else." replied Cavaron, "Provided that the parallel has no existing Aoyama Aimi, presently."

"No! I want to see my home!" cried out Aimi, who finally recollected herself. Hugging Aomi, she said, "I want to find out if my family is safe. If my friends are safe. I won't leave until I know that nobody is waiting for me."

Tears in her eyes, she stated her intentions. Cavaron looked at the young Japanese girl, then looked at the portal. He, then, remembered that one portal they passed by on the way here.

"All right, let's get you home." said Cavaron.

"Are you sure that is wise?" asked Maguro.

"She said she wants to see her home, why should we deny her request?" replied Cavaron, "Don't worry, I'll protect her. I am capable of doing so already."

---

Having reentered the portal, Cavaron and his companions returned to the ruined city they first arrived at. Fires and explosions filled their surroundings, and numerous sounds of gunfire erupted everywhere in the distance around them. Occasionally, they would also hear powerful roars resounding around them as well as the screams of men and women.

"By the gods, this is the first time I entered right in the middle of a war." commented Cavaron, "Any idea where this place is, Maguro?"

Cavaron had willed his flames to create a protective dome around them. This dome disintegrated many of the stray bullets, missiles, rockets, or any projectile that flew towards them. Maguro inspected his surroundings in an unusually calm manner.

They also wore Terran clothing. Cavaron had slacks, sneakers, a polo shirt, and a red jacket wrapped around his waist. Maguro, instead of casual attire, was wearing a doctor's uniform and even had a stethoscope around his neck. Aimi wore her usual school uniform, and Aomi was wearing blue shortalls.

Occasionally, Maguro would ask Aimi to have Aomi dig around the area through the piles of debris and find whatever could tell them about where they were. For a while, they found nothing significant apart from destroyed building materials, concrete, glass, or metals.

"Maybe we should move somewhere else." said Maguro, "As long as we could find anything that uses the area's language, I will immediately know where we are."

"Wait, there are four people, three hundred meters to our right, headed towards our direction." warned Cavaron, "They seem to be increasing in speed."

Maguro was shocked when he heard this, "You can now find their precise location?"

"After getting the flame wholly, yeah." replied Cavaron, "Let us hide first... or better yet, stay still for me, will you?"

Cavaron willed his flames to envelop his companions. Once only their silhouette could be seen, Cavaron had a word in mind.

'Invisibility.' he thought, 'If I can change my color but can't change the others, perhaps I can place a layer to change how others see one another.'

The flames became a thin veil that surrounded his companions. In the eyes of Maguro and Aimi, everyone had gone invisible. For Cavaron, however, he could still see them for the others had gone translucent instead.

"I will be holding onto both of you, just in case." said Cavaron, "Aimi, hold onto Ao— or just let her follow your scent. Smell can't be blocked, huh?"

Cavaron found Aomi sniffing the air for Aimi. At first, the little girl panicked from seeing Aimi disappear but noticed that she could still catch Aimi's scent. Using her sense of smell, she eventually climbed atop Aimi's shoulders.

"Right then, let us see which of this world's race we will meet."

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Some points didn't change, some were added or removed.

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Former version:

Spoiler :

So Tropical Storm "Koppu" became a supertyphoon in the country suspending classes on all levels across the northern and central regions of the nation giving me some time to cook up a chapter. Strong winds literally tore through our windows, and some of our fiber cement walls got busted through by flying roofs.

Yes, flying roofs. Winds and gusts strong enough to rip houses apart... neighbors' houses. Not to mention intense downpours that make the Advent Children version of One Winged Angel a fitting background music while braving the storm.

That said, have a chapter.

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"So... Where the hell do you think we are, Maguro?" asked Cavaron.

Currently, they were in the middle of a ruined city. A ruined Terran city. Building materials of glass, steel, and stone were littered everywhere, and what seemed to be remains of tall buildings that reached high into the sky lay destroyed and abandoned. Roads of stone, bridges that go over many roads, and steel towers that gave off light lay tattered before them. At the same time, Cavaron and Maguro weren't in their usual attires.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Cavaron was wearing casual Terran clothing: an open blue checkered short-sleeved polo shirt with a white long-sleeved undershirt, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of socks, a pair of white sneakers, a black leather belt, and a red jacket tied around his waist. Maguro, however, was wearing a doctor's attire saying, "I am, after all, a healer by profession." as he changed his clothes. Aimi occasionally glanced at Cavaron's refreshing appearance.

"I'm trying to identify that by using these buildings as reference." replied Maguro, "Sadly, I have yet to see anything that bears the marks of their language. Architecture is one thing, but language is very unique to this kind of world. It also happens to be their one source of misunderstanding."

"Language, huh?" uttered Cavaron, "Speaking of language, do you know my language?"

Maguro momentarily looked at Cavaron before replying, "I am pretty sure I am speaking in Japanese, yet you hear me in your language, correct? And you are speaking in an unknown language, not of Terran origin, yet I hear and understand you perfectly. Strangely, we also have this strange ability to impart our knowledge through condensation of our mana. Of course, after doing so will give us a huge migraine as our minds are working triple time to process the information received."

"Interesting." commented Cavaron, "I remember that we didn't really have a name for my language, I was born in a small community, after all."

"You were a village boy, no?" asked Maguro, "And your home world wasn't really all that advanced yet, right?"

"Yeah, I was born in a small agricultural village." replied Cavaron, "The only source of information we had was from visiting scholars or merchants."

"Do you wish to return to your home?" asked Maguro.

Cavaron looked at Maguro, "It doesn't matter, anymore." he replied, "My home was already lost in a war hundreds of years ago. I guess becoming like this was both a boon and a curse."

While Cavaron and Maguro were conversing, Aimi was also helping out by having Aomi dig around piles of debris. Aomi, who was in her demihuman form, used her powerful beast claws to dig through the debris. After a while, Aomi dug out a metal plate from the debris. Aimi looked at it, and saw what appeared to be writing.

"Senpai! Sensei!" cried out Aimi, "We found something!"

Cavaron and Maguro paused their conversation and hurried over to the two girls. Arriving at where Aimi and Aomi were, Aimi held out the metal plate to Maguro for inspection.

"Huh, a street sign." commented Maguro, "Now, this writing system..."

"Wait. We have visitors." announced Cavaron, "Four people... To our right..."

Maguro stared at Cavaron, "You can know the direction, now?" and asked with disbelief, "How much power did you receive from that flame?"

"Shh, let's hide for now." replied Cavaron, "Or better yet, a good chance to test the limits of this flame.

Cavaron willed his flames to envelop him and his companions. Once enveloped, he thought, 'Invisibility.', and the flames dispersed to reveal an empty space. Empty to the naked eye, but they were still present and invisible.

"Hmm... Downside is that only I can detect the people I turn invisible." commented Cavaron, "Maguro, Aimi. I will holding onto both of you. Aimi, grab hold of Ao— or... Just let her sniff your location... So smell can't be hidden."

In Cavaron's eyes, his companions were merely translucent, but in the eyes of his companions, they were all invisible. As for Aomi, Cavaron found her sniffing the environment, and followed Aimi around. Cavaron held the hands of Maguro and Aimi to prevent them from drifting away from each other.

Cavaron drew close to both of his companions' ears and whispered, "We may be invisible, but since it can't cover our smell, I'm not too sure about sound. Let's just wait for our four visitors to arrive and leave before we leave ourselves."

They waited for the four people to arrive. After five minutes, they could hear the sound of gunfire and a powerful roar to their right. Hearing the roar, Cavaron frowned.

"Hrn, this is bad." he said, "From the previous four, it became ten, and the four are increasing in speed towards this place. That roar too. It doesn't sound like it came from a beast of this world, does it, Maguro?"

Maguro also frowned when he heard the roar, "Indeed." he replied, "The roar was too vicious for a Terran beast."

"Oh? Out of the ten, only six remain." said Cavaron, "I still hear gunfire but, I only hear one source. Whoops, they're here... By the gods! What the hell are those!?"

As soon as Cavaron saw the six arrive, he immediately realized something was wrong. One woman, a Terran woman, was fighting off five giant dog-like creatures. The dog like creatures bore resemblance to mythical wolves that guarded the gates of the underworld. With fiery red eyes, they hunted the woman down like a hungry pack.

Maguro's eyes went wide as he saw the woman. "Cavaron! We must act and save her!" he cried out.

"Say what, now?" replied Cavaron, "Is she someone you know?"

"Not personally." answered Maguro, "But that is a Japanese military uniform!"

Cavaron looked back at the woman. Indeed, she wore a military uniform with a camouflage pattern. On her sleeve was the flag of the sun sewn onto it. As of the moment, the woman was down on the ground with her sidearm pulled out, obviously a last stand to the death.

"Shit!" cursed Cavaron, "I'm pulling out a weapon of this world type from my travels. Grab whatever you want."

Cavaron drew a portal ring to his inventory, and poured out a pile of guns. From the pile, he pulled out an assault rifle and a handgun. Maguro, without bothering to inspect the weapons, felt free to pull out a submachine gun and another pistol. As for Aimi, she panicked when she saw them use guns. Instead, since she had no idea how to utilize guns, she used her bow instead.

"Dispel Invisibility!" shouted Cavaron, "Hey, bitches! Over here! RATATA! RATATA!"

Cavaron, like a trained marksman, shot in bursts, surprising Maguro and Aimi.

"How do you know trigger discipline?" asked Maguro, "How many Terran worlds or Terran people have you met?"

"Ha! You learn a lot once you go past five hundred years!" replied Cavaron, "I'm an old man in a sexy man's body!"

"Pfft!" burst out Aimi, "Ahahaha!"

"What? I am sexy." said Cavaron, "Anyway, short controlled bursts all the way! RATATA! RATATA!"

The dog-like creatures stopped attacking the woman, and turned their attention to Cavaron and his companions. With a howl, "AROOOOOOO..." three dogs engaged the newcomers.

"Incoming rabies!" shouted Cavaron, "Eat eight millimeters of Terran bullets! RATATA! RATATA!"

"Sheesh, I can't even take this seriously anymore." commented Maguro, "Uh-oh, BRRRRTTTTT! BRRRRRTTTTT!"

Just as Cavaron and Maguro's shots hit the dog-like creatures, the dogs merely flinched from the stopping power of the bullets. It halted them temporarily but they didn't fall.

"What! Conventional weapons didn't work!?" cried Cavaron, "No wonder only that woman remained. Shit! Maguro! I'm going far into the future for these!"

"What do you— a railgun!?" cried out Maguro as he saw a strange and huge gun in Cavaron's hands, "By the gods! How the hell did you get ahold of that!?"

"When you've passed eight hundred years, you get to collect a lot of crazy shit!" replied Cavaron, "Eat supercharged bullets going past Mach seven! VRRRRNG... SUPER ELECTROMAGNETIC WEAPON, RAILGUN! BANG!"

As Cavaron's railgun produced a bright light, high voltage electricity processed through the gun, and with a sonic boom, launched a five millimeters by ten millimeters tungsten bullet at hypersonic speeds at one dog-like creature. Everything happened in an instant. Due to the sonic boom, Cavaron was pushed back by half a meter as his feet dug into the asphalt, and the dog... the dog-like creature disintegrated into nothingness. In addition, a large hole tore through five consecutive buildings behind the disintegrated dog-like creature.

Seeing their fellow dog disappear into nothing after hearing the sound barrier rip apart, the dog-like creatures howled again, "AROOOOOO..." and subsequently retreated. Seeing the dog-like creatures retreat, Cavaron displaced his railgun, and dropped to the ground on his knees.

"I expected a somewhat soft recoil, but I didn't expect the boom to be THAT harsh." he commented, "Ouch... No wonder that was made for ship-to-ship combat."

"By the gods, man!" shouted Maguro, "Warn us the next time you use it."

"Hey, it was my first time using it!" replied Cavaron, "Although I did hear some physics tidbits, I didn't think Mach seven would be that bad! Anyway, what of the soldier woman?"

Maguro, although a bit pissed at Cavaron, recollected his composure upon hearing about the Japanese military woman. Although, it would seem the woman in question was alright, seeing as she was the one to approach Cavaron and the others while grasping her left shoulder. Her uniform was tattered, and she limped on the way to them.

"Dare da? Gaijin?" said the woman, "Ah, etto... [Do... do you understand me?]"

Cavaron looked at Maguro, "You talk to her, you're Japanese... Although Aimi is also one, but I doubt she could get the answers we need."

Maguro shrugged and began to talk to the woman, "Daijoubu ka?" and first asked if she was okay.

The woman was surprised to hear Maguro ask a question in Japanese, "Eh? Ah, ee, daijoubu. Dare ka?"

Maguro paused for a while to think, '"Dare", huh?' What should I say?' and looked at Cavaron, "She asked for who we are, what do I say?"

Cavaron made an annoyed expression, and pulled Maguro closer to him. "Can I do it? I wanna do it." and said.

"Do what?" asked Maguro and an expression of realization surfaced on his face, "You don't mean... but that will put her at risk! Us, as well!"

"Then hope that this flame of mine can wipe her memories of us." replied Cavaron, "I should have done this earlier, instead. Hey, you, stand still."

Cavaron approached the woman, and focused mana on his finger. His finger released a soft blue glow unseen by the woman, but clearly seen by Maguro and Aimi since the two watched every movement he did with his finger.

The woman stared at Cavaron, in wonder as to what he means to do to her. Arriving before the woman, he, in a split second, drew his finger onto the woman's forehead. Immediately after doing so, the woman dropped to the ground, grasped her head, and screamed in pain.

"AAAAAAHHHH!!!" she writhed as she received a massive migraine that lasted for a few seconds. Afterwards, she calmed down and looked at Cavaron.

"What the hell did you do to me!?" she screamed, "Who are you and what have you done!?"

"Oh, good." said Cavaron, "We can understand each other."

"Eh?" uttered the woman, shock could be clearly seen on her face, "What? How?"

The woman stared at Cavaron, stunned still at the events that had unfolded. Maguro, witnessing as such, rubbed his temple and sighed.

"Cavaron, I have no idea what you're planning, but you are to take full responsibility for this." said Maguro, "Whatever that will bear fruit due to the seeds you have sown, I want to take no part in it."

This time, the woman looked at Maguro, "Weren't you speaking in Japanese earlier? What is going on here!? Who are you people!?" Eventually, she found Aimi holding onto her bow.

Aimi, having realized the woman had noticed her waved a hello, "Hi."

Cavaron crouched down before the woman, "Who are we? To make it easier for you to understand, we are gods!" and announced with arms wide open.

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That one was a reference to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

Although I do have a Japanese Google Android Keypad, I'm too lazy to switch in-between languages when I type. So, romaji all the way.