'Do I choose the place then?'

'Since you are the one who invited us, you have the freedom of choice.'

'Okay then, I've made up my mind. Prepare for immediate transfer.'

Everyone gathered in the center of the room and within seconds, the transition circle formed. The view has completely changed; everyone is in a picturesque garden with a luxurious building in the middle such as the banquet halls for the nobles. Everyone was impressed by his choice and Albus stepped up to the side of his friend and former student.

'Well chosen, the silver dolphin is one of the finest restaurants in this Kingdom. It's been a while since I've eaten here.'

'I thought you'd like it, so let's go in.'

Maximus stepped forward before the others to reserve table enough for all of them in a private room so that their conversation does not leak out, as maintaining secrecy is a top priority in all his plans so far. As the prophecy said, the end will advance according to his future choices.

The receptionist asked the waiter to direct them to the room they had booked, which was on the first floor unlike the public hall on the ground floor. Many works of art and decorations on the walls with a few paintings from different countries have decorated the private rooms, giving each of them a very distinctive character of elegance and luxury. It was closer to a gallery palace or museum than to a restaurant and that made it even more special, the huge capital that was invested to construct such place.

The group was not really impressed, as each of them experienced luxurious places no less than this place, such as the palaces of the nobility, the royal halls, and others.

The waiter opened the door and asked the guests to enter and then each took a seat around the white table and decorated with silver threads on its side.

'May I take your orders?'

The waiter took a notebook and pen out of his inner pocket and turned the pages until he reached a blank page. He proceeded to take their requests one by one, without losing sight of details.

'The food will be ready in twenty minutes, enjoy your time until it arrives. Good evening.'

The server bent over and then turned around, leaving the room, closing the door behind him to keep guests’ privacy. Moments later, Maximus was the first to speak.

'We have plenty of time for the food to arrive, ask as many questions as you want and I will answer them.'

The others stared at each other and then all stared at the headmaster whose eyes were literally going to flare. In a tense voice, everyone spoke in one tone.

'Go-ahead first, Director, you are both the oldest and our teacher.'

'Good you understood my hint.'

"which hint, your face shows that you would have killed us if we hadn't. We're not really in a hurry."

'Just one question, tell me everything you have been hiding from me so far.'

'So, where do I start... I am not the Maximus you have known so far. To be precise I don't know how to call it, going back in time or coming from another timeline.'

No one interrupted him, they all listened with concentration to the story trying to understand and relate the events together. Their expressions were serious and it was not the right time to joke.

'The important thing is that eight years from now on the other timeline, me and seven people were instantly moved to a place the likes of which we had never seen before and which is not on our maps. It was a remote island that had not been set foot on by humans. At its center is a white hill of prickly roots and on one side a cave where there was a gate that we later called the Bloody Gate. Maybe you'll understand better by seeing it.'

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A hologram appeared at the center of the table, showing what Maximus had just talked about. Seeing it with your own eyes is more dazzling than imagining in your head, and with every word he says their curiosity grew little by little, waiting to hear more.

'Then we entered the gate and it was really another world, with people living, kingdoms, states and mysterious ruins and even demons. Each of us went through fights and difficulties and became stronger by ourselves or by cooperating on stronger enemies until we defeated or rather the others who were with me the enemy of that world: Sergey the soul reaper with huge difficulty, which opened the gate for us again to return.'

Among the words chosen by Maximus, the story was clear and understandable, but what raised the question was his saying: rather the others.

'What do you mean by others? Did something happen?'

'Each of us gained powers in that world and became stronger. Others were not special before they entered, they were closer to ordinary people before entering but they grew exponentially fast. I was strong since I entered I had a chance to become stronger but it was very expensive. If I had known it beforehand, I would have rejected this power.'

'Oh, the story is starting to get exciting now but that hasn't answered the previous question yet but has added another question. What is the source of your strength and what price did you pay?'

Albus was clever and prophetic; he analyzed the speech and compared it with what he had seen so far, and developed several hypotheses, waiting to be verified to find out the correct one between them.

'The strength I gained was comprehensive knowledge in various fields: techniques, skills, spells, recipes, curses and many more. However, the price I paid in return was that I could not fight to protect the world, if I participated, my very existence would be completely wiped out. This was the biggest regret I had in my previous life.'

'I finally knew it!!'

Both Albus and Emily arose from their seats in eagerness after finding a convincing answer to the question that haunted them.

'The reason you know so many strange techniques...'

'Your knowledge of chemistry and your improvement to my research... Finally I satisfied my curiosity.'

An adrenaline attack hit both of them, as those of the researcher's path seek to find an answer to each question. Finding an answer is like a prize for them and sometimes leads to excessive enthusiasm.

Mark, who had been silent all this time, uttered his first words.

'And what happened after you returned to our world?'

'A catastrophe struck a year before my return, almost thirteen years from now. It came in three phases as follows: natural disasters, droughts and famines for three years, after which unintelligent monsters began to spread out of caves and abandoned and forbidden areas around the world, their numbers were increasing day by day. In the third phase, the smart monsters came out and our fighting power was insufficient to confront them, and the forces of the world did not unite to confront them, which caused our end and my return in time after I was watching the world getting destroyed while unable to even fight.'

His comrades were moved by his story, which he carried alone until now, until now he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders alone.

'Don't worry, we're here to help.'

'We can convince the public and prepare for the disaster ahead of schedule'

'It was a good decision for you to tell us. We will take advantage of our communications and start preparations.'

Each of them gave his opinion and tried to help according to his ability until Maximus interrupted them again.

'You remember the Universal Declaration half a month ago, right?'

'Yes, and what about it?'

The heavenly magician pointed his finger at the director Albus.

'We received messages from all over the world, from kings and princes, from the powerful and the fighting masters, and the answer to the letters was the same: If you want an answer, attend the auction in Minas.'

'Aren't there four days left until the auction starts? Wait for a moment... You want to disclose your plan there when the world's powerful come together and thus save a lot of time.'

'You are a genius, Maximus!! You seem to have planned a lot of things but you haven't told us what date you went back in time.'

'I came back a month ago, 33 days to be precise.'

Many were impressed by its accuracy, but some questions remained unanswered. Albus volunteered to put it up because of his curiosity.

'You didn't tell us about something, who were your comrades in the other world?'

Maximus laughed at the question fiercely. No one understood why he was laughing until he answered the question and here was a little surprise...