Takana is very happy. He'd thought of meeting his parents all this time but the experience was a mix between excitement and fear; getting to tell them what had happened after so long is amazing, but frightening trying to explain how things were without full context. Wrestling a troll was something most low-ranked adventurers had to do on their path to ranking up, for example, but the very idea of wrestling a troll on Earth even in the best case interpretation of them would seem silly.
Honestly, it is pretty silly to wrestle something eight feet tall and with a physique built for war. But Takana is one of the few who earned the title and raised his rank that way so it's not as if it's impossible. He'd done that when he was still around level 15, though; if he fights a troll with his current strength, he could easily lift and throw it without using magic.
"So diseases are fought in this world? We only ever used magic or potions."
Syltia's jaw drops at the idea, whilst Takana's mother is completely oblivious to her lack of understanding with a smile.
"Yes! I've personally defeated two of them with cures! Currently we're pursuing a lead in combatting a form of muscular cancer, though; it'll be a long battle but we hope to eliminate the damage and loss of life it causes within the next two years."
His mom hadn't changed much in her older age, but Karma Takanagi had certainly improved her ability to talk with others. Back in his childhood, he remembers the days that his father would have to stand up for her because she lacked the spine to communicate with her then-bosses. Memories from back then are sparse, but it wasn't until they founded their company together that her troubles with communication were resolved.
Karma and his wife are sharing one end of his sofa in their bemused chat, whilst he and his father sit across from each other. The conversation going on made it hard for them to join in, but it did give him time to realize just how much his father changed over the years.
"You're stronger."
Takana nods, taking another glance at his wife before fully turning his attention toward Michael.
"It's hard to stay weak when you're faced with adversity every day. Most of the time I traveled around in Morkannon was spent amongst different races. Even when I was with the humans on that side it wasn't the same as being here."
His father thinks of that situation and the small smile adorning his face fades. "It's good that you grew up well despite that. We never wanted you to be away from us... if we'd known what would happen, we'd have never had you board the Mystique."
It's obviously a false premise to worry about that. Takana doesn't want his father to dwell on that part and does see the chain of thought looming behind it.
"It'd have happened no matter what. The effect didn't take all five of us from random chance; it was simply convenient that the Great One had all of us off-shore in a place we could easily go missing so it jumped on it."
Syltia looks over at the mention of the Great One, inevitably pulling both women back into the conversation.
"Great One," his mother repeats. "Is that also a god?"
Takana nods, looking toward her this time and clasping his hands together. "Yeah. The Great One is the High God of Morkannon; they're a god so powerful that even the gods don't know how to comprehend them, granting them the name Great One. I only have met them a handful of times and they appeared as a blinding light."
His wife shifts over to his side, taking his left hand in hers and meeting his gaze. She knew he disliked talking about this from having shared this story in front of her a handful of times already.
"The first time is when all of us came over. After that... it was when I lost my friends Valour, Tallstride, and Alex."
The last name makes his parents stiffen, his father looking away but his mother leaning closer and setting a hand on his thigh.
"By Alex... do you mean the woman who would babysit and care for you?"
Takana nods, watching his mother slip back and lower her head. Both of his parents had no doubt come to terms with the death of their old friend, but seeing him may have given them hope.
Alex was the only member of the crew who perished for good in the other world. Reincarnation and revival are possible within certain conditions, but the truth is that it is largely a difficult task that needs the body to be well-preserved. The rules for it require one of the gods to aid you and at the time Alex died his level was too low to have garnered their attention. The loss of Valour was simple: Valour was a pirate king who was the only help he had in his teenage adventures and had always felt obligated to protect him due to magical contracting. Despite the situation, the two of them bonded but ultimately parted when Valour lured a pack of direwolves that found the two to save him. Tallstride was a young elf who apprenticed with Yohan who fell during a siege; he may have been able to save Tallstride, but Takana was put into a coma and awoke too late to ask Slath for his help.
In a way, that had been a blessing; if he used a favor from Slath, it'd have been impossible to request the contract for Syltia.
"Alex's death... came early when we crossed over. She was the one who adapted the fastest among all of us; when others were just getting the tutorial finished, she had already reached level five and was growing all of her skills passively. Despite how she was held back by us, she stayed and took care of me. She taught me how to use the system and helped me become an adventurer. During one of my first quests, I was captured... and she came to rescue me."
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Takana groans and writhes in his bonds. The young boy's gear lay battered and strewn around him, each piece peeled and tossed aside after his defeat as the bandits decided what they wanted to loot.
The leader of the bandit party was a massive half-blood orc; unlike the majority of his lot who were easy fights for Takana, he had completely bested him and captured the boy.
"You'll fetch a nice penny," he grunts. "All your gear, too. One of you humans'll be a pretty popular slave in this part of the world."
Takana grits his teeth and sits upright despite his wounds, snarling in defiance at the large bandit but being defeated with his unshaken laugh.
"Of course, I bet you'll be pretty good for whatever or whoever buys you. The real question'll be if they wanna train you to be some bedchamber slave or a manual labor slave. I'd bet on the prior with how the sick fucks are at the slavemarket."
His defiant energy wavers in the face of the man's words. "Miss Alex won't let that happen. She's coming to save me!"
The orc smirks, his lower set of tusked teeth becoming more revealed as his lips pull back.
"Yeah, I know. You're going to bring that dusky-skinned Slath slut right to me. I look forward to what she'll do to me... for me when I beat her."
The massive orc clambers up to his feet, retrieving his massive axe and shield and walking past Takana. The cell doors shut and the torch is extinguished, leaving Takana in the darkness.
Just as the sounds of magical explosions rung through the entire cave network.
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"Alex was captured," Takana continues, the memory passing through his mind despite his best effort to suppress it. "And it was all my fault. She was... treated very horribly before the end. She used a spell that destroyed her body and scattered her soul into fragments to sacrifice herself and save us. Even then, she only did enough damage to give me an opening. The Great One personally connected Slath and me when she perished, allowing me the chance to contract Syltia and summon her. With her help, I was able to avenge Alex... but since that day, I've only found a handful of her soul's fragments. It was one reason why I wanted to link the worlds; with the worlds linked, I could ask for help from those on Earth in my search. The humans of the other world aren't able to interact with the system as well as we can, so their levels are limited. But in exchange, anyone who crosses over wouldn't be able to return until their level rises above 100. Even with great luck, that took me a long time. But anyone who's worthy to cross over will have me looking over them."
Karma and Michael are silent after all of this information, whilst Syltia rests her horned head against the side of his. The warmth from her horns spreads comfortingly through him, the bond of lovers making her body's abilities take on their familiar helping nature. It was the death of Alex that let the two meet again after that first day where she beat him senseless, so in a way, their relationship is just another thing she saved that day. Alex had acted as a second mother to him and all of her help to this day was something that greatly weighed on his conscience.
If Takana hadn't been so foolish and just listened to her, she might still be alive. He and Syltia may have still inevitably bonded and formed a contract, ultimately leading the two to the same path they chose now, without the loss of his mentor and his parents' friend.
"I didn't know much about her on this side," Takana admits, wrapping an arm around Syltia. "But I know you two were close with her. I'm sorry I couldn't keep her safe like the others."
Michael quickly raises his right hand to stop his son. "Takana, don't think like that. You're wrong: Alex is our friend, but she chose to save you. Don't dishonor her by feeling that it's your fault."
"He's right, Takana; Alex always wanted to help us with you since the day she was forced to retire from sports. She always insisted that she owed your father and me for all the times we supported her trips, but wouldn't ever listen when we said otherwise. I-I... she was your godmother, in a way, b-but she didn't once expect anything or ask for something herself."
Takana looks between the two and finally toward the floor.
"I didn't think of how she might have seen it much, but... is death really okay just to save me?"
Memories of battlefields throughout his life are all he needs to reflect on that question. Although it was the deaths of his friends that shook him to the point the Great One had to intervene to right his path, countless had died trying to protect him for one reason or another. Soldiers assigned to guard him on the battlefield, mages killed granting him protections from monstrous beings, and even demigods similar to his wife who fell in his battle against Morkannon the Fell God.
All of those deaths, though, had been wrought in ways that didn't impact him. They were allies but people he hadn't even got the names of in most situations. Alex was someone who'd been with him for a large portion of his life and he saw her death in the most personal light when she sacrificed herself to save him. Getting over or moving beyond it isn't something so simple even after all these years, but his parents' words do help bring him some resolution.
Bonding like this is what Alex would have wanted. She may not have known if it was possible to come back to Earth, but she gave Takana the chance. Making Earth a better place is still one of his more grand goals, but the personal pursuit to save Alex's soul at the very least is something he won't give up. His parents didn't tell him to abandon it, so they must at least be accepting of it whether or not they feel bad shifting that weight on him.
"Mother... father... the truth is that I wanted to see you two first for a reason. I brought extras incase you had any other children while I was gone, but..."
His eyes glow and he reaches outward, accessing his wormhole-like inventory for all but a few seconds before he withdraws two vials.
"What is that?"
Karma leans forward despite her husband's question, settling glasses on and adjusting them to properly look the vials over. "Liquid medicine?"
Takana nods.
"Specifically, these potions can be used to bring someone to level 100. I only have five of them, but I gathered them so I could ensure my family and a few friends travel between both worlds as they want. You won't have any skills, but your stats alone will be high enough that you'd become resistant to most firearms and low-power explosions."
His mom's jaw drops and his father clearly is shaken from this, but he doesn't stop there.
"On top of that, you shouldn't be harmed by any traditional flames or heat. Your blemishes like scars will be cured, too. It's not as if you'd be immortal, but higher levels promote better vitality and most high-leveled being in Morkannon live on an average of twice as long, so... the likelihood of you outliving all of your friends would also be high. It's not as if it's something ideal in that regard... but that's why I wanted to give it to you. The promise of adventure on the other side is no doubt great, but removing you from your company wouldn't be something good for either of you. With this, you'd have great troubles later in life much like I'll suffer... but you'll be able to freely move between the worlds with the World Engine's aid. It'll allow your company to have a base on both sides."
Takana sets the vials down on the small table between them, relaxing and cuddling his wife with a final sigh.
"In short: my first hope is to give you something Alex would've wanted you to have. With this, you two will become the first two from Earth to willingly cross from Earth to Morkannon. And with it, you'll be able to accomplish your dreams of bringing great change. The choice is up to you two now."