The storm clouds swirled overhead, forming an unnatural vortex that centered directly above the ruins. Elena hesitated at the edge of the clearing, looking back at Ryo even as she hurried Turner and the captured blood mages away.

"This isn't just some regional cult leader coming, is it?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," Ryo replied, his eyes fixed on the darkening sky. "This is something much older. Get them to safety. And Elena? If I'm not back by nightfall, get the town evacuated."

She nodded sharply and disappeared into the trees with her charges. Ryo rolled his shoulders, letting more of his suppressed power flow freely. The ground around him cracked slightly from the pressure.

"Well," he muttered to himself, "guess we're doing this the hard way."

The air split with a sound like tearing cloth, and a figure stepped through the gap between spaces. Tall, impossibly thin, and wearing robes that seemed to be made of shifting shadows, the being radiated ancient power that made even Ryo's considerable strength feel young in comparison.

"How interesting," the figure said, its voice carrying harmonics that hurt the ears. "I felt someone accessing powers that shouldn't exist in this world, but I didn't expect to find one of your kind here."

"And I didn't expect to find one of the Old Ones still walking around," Ryo replied calmly. "Shouldn't you all be sleeping beneath the earth or something suitably dramatic?"

The figure's laugh sent birds fleeing from nearby trees. "You speak boldly for someone so far from home. Tell me, little, what brings you to me? And why do you waste your 25 years just to open a tavern hahaha"

Ryo's eyes narrowed. This being knew what he was – was, beyond just his magical strength. That made things more complicated.

"I like it here," he said simply. "The beer's good perhaps you should try it for once, the people are nice, and until recently, no one bothered me."

"Ah, but you can't hide forever." The Old One gestured, and the very air seemed to warp around them, creating a pocket of isolated space. "Your kind never could. The power you carry demands to be used."

"I use plenty of power." Ryo maintained his casual tone even as he prepared several counter-spells. "You should see me light cooking fires. Very impressive."

The Old One moved closer, its form seeming to flicker between locations rather than walking. "You jest, but I can sense how it strains you to contain your true nature. The power of a world walker was meant to rule, not serve ale."

"Maybe that's why I contain it," Ryo countered. "Did you ever think that some of us don't want to shape realms?"

"What you want is irrelevant." The shadows around the Old One writhed. "The blood mages were crude tools, but they served their purpose. We needed to confirm what you were, and now..." It spread its arms, and the shadow robes billowed outward. "Now we can begin."

Ryo dropped all pretense of casualness. "Begin what?"

"The restoration, of course." The Old One's voice took on an almost fanatic quality. "This realm has grown too rigid, too set in its ways. It needs to be... refreshed. And your power will help us do that."

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"Let me guess," Ryo said dryly, "this 'refreshing' process involves lots of death and destruction?"

"Merely the breaking of shells to release new life." The Old One moved again, this time appearing behind Ryo. "You understand, surely? You've seen other worlds, other ways of being. This realm has grown stagnant. It needs to change."

Ryo didn't bother turning to face it. "And I'm guessing you and your friends will be in charge of this new, 'refreshed' world?"

"We are the Old Ones. We shaped this realm before humans learned to speak. It is our right."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Ryo sighed. "Well, since you know what I am, you probably know I can't let that happen."

The Old One's power surged, pressing down like a physical weight. "You cannot stop us, worldwalker. Even your kind must bow to—"

Ryo moved. Not with flickering shadow-steps like the Old One, but with pure, overwhelming speed and force. His fist, wrapped in enough concentrated magic to level a mountain, struck the ancient being square in the chest.

The Old One flew backward, crashing through several ruined walls before catching itself. Its shadow robes churned with agitation.

"That," it said, its harmonics becoming more discordant, "was unwise."

"Probably," Ryo agreed, settling into a fighting stance that would have looked very familiar to anyone from his original world. "But I've gotten kind of attached to this realm. The beer is good."

The Old One raised its hands, and reality itself seemed to bend. The pocket dimension around them began to fracture, showing glimpses of other spaces, and other possibilities. Shadows turned solid, the air became razor-sharp, and the very ground tried to swallow Ryo whole.

Ryo responded with pure, overwhelming force. His power exploded outward, not with any specific spell or technique, but as raw magical energy that simply refused to let reality be rewritten around it. The pocket dimension shuddered.

"Impossible," the Old One hissed. "No world walker should have this much—"

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Ryo pushed more power into his defense, forcing the warped reality back into proper shape. "Want to know my secret?"

He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he reached out with his power and did something that made the Old One's shadow form recoil – he began rewriting the fundamental rules of the pocket dimension they were fighting in.

"You see," Ryo continued conversationally as he worked, "most worldwalkers just visit other realms. But me? I died in my original world. Properly died. And when I arrived here..." He smiled, and there was nothing of the tavern keeper in it. "Well, let's just say the normal rules don't quite apply."

The Old One launched a barrage of attacks – spells that could erase matter, curses that could unravel souls, and pure destructive force that could shatter mountains. Ryo met each attack with calculated precision, using just enough power to neutralize them while continuing his manipulation of the pocket dimension.

"Stop this!" the Old One commanded, actual concern creeping into its voice. "You'll destabilize—"

"That's the idea." Ryo closed his fist, and the pocket dimension began to collapse inward. "See, you made this space to trap me. But thanks to my... unique situation, I can do more than just break out. I can turn it against you."

The Old One tried to teleport away, but Ryo had already sealed that option. The pocket dimension continued collapsing, forcing them closer together.

"This won't kill you," Ryo acknowledged. "But it will hurt. A lot. And it should make it very clear that this realm is under my control now."

"The others will come, you forget the deal?" the Old One snarled as the collapsing space began to crush its shadow form. "They will sense what you've done, what you are—"

"Good." Ryo's voice hardened. "Let them come. But not to this town. Not to these people. Or next time, I won't be so gentle."

With a final surge of power, he completed the collapse. The pocket dimension imploded with a sound like a thunderclap, releasing a shockwave that flattened trees for hundreds of meters. When the dust settled, the Old One was gone – not dead, but definitely banished and badly wounded.

Ryo stood alone in the devastated clearing, breathing heavily. Using that much power after so long hiding it felt like stretching muscles that had been cramped for years.

"Well," he said to the empty air, "guess I better head back and explain to everyone" He paused. "Wonder if they'll still want me to light the cooking fires?"

A distant roll of thunder answered him as the unnatural storm began to disperse. The sun broke through the clouds, illuminating the destroyed ruins and blast-flattened forest. Ryo looked at the devastation and sighed.

"Really should have just stayed in bed today."