RETURN TICKET

NOTE: I HAVE UPDATED AIDEN'S PIC IN THE ILLUSTRATIONS CHAPTER.

(Aiden's POV)

'How long has it been? 100 years, Nah, Definitely more.' Aiden thought while laying on a cloud bed.

'How did my mother look? Many memories have become blurry. How much longer do I have to go through this and why do I need to know all those things. Are they turning me into a spy?' He had gotten tired of this place.

Xavier taught him how to use weapons like Guns, sword, spear,bow and many more. His teachings were not limited to those, there was hand-to-hand combat, war tactics, Driving, parkour, mountain climbing, even swimming.

When Xavier told Aiden about the things he was going to teach, Aiden became highly interested. Come on, would there be a boy or man, who hadn't had a chunibyo about fighting the bad guys and saving people. But the first class was more than enough for Aiden to regret being interested

Aiden thought about his first combat class on swords. His body was full of cuts and blood. He remembered getting wounded by Xavier's sword and screaming only to find that Xavier had put another mark on his body during that time. That was a time that Aiden can describe only as 'hell', it was filled with pain and mental fatigue. Aiden's mind was wandering about the possibilities of his upcoming duel with Xavier. They had engaged in duels before but for 4 of them, there was a spectator. Today's duel is going to be like that, where both he and Xavier will fight with all their might in front of Solarius, and a win in it will give him his return ticket.

A cloud came near Aiden's face and started to make a really annoying noise.

"I woke up. Now stop it." As if understanding Aiden's words it stopped and moved away.

Aiden decided to do some warm up before the duel. After some time a door materialized and Solarius walked through it followed by Xavier.

"Good luck boy." He said and walked to a floating cloud, which has the shape of a reclining chair, got hold of a popcorn and started eating.

'His certainly looks like a psycho villain.'

"Thanks for the compliment." Solarius said. Aiden ignored him and focused on getting ready for the duel.

Aiden can be seen with a katana in his right hand and a wakizashi in his left hand, wearing a leather armor with chain mail. Opposite him was Xavier wearing a golden metal armor and a longsword in his hand. They heard a clap from the side indicating the start of the duel.

Xavier made the first move advancing with deliberate steps, his armor clinking with each movement. The sound of metal clashing filled the room.Xavier moved his longsword, his strikes focusing on strength and precision but Aiden's Swift movements allowed him to evade them. The katana danced in his hands, deflecting each attack with calculated fitness.

As the duel intensified, it became clear that Xavier's sheer strength was a force to be reckoned with. His powerful swings forced Aiden into a defensive stance, Aiden's hands started to ache while his katana struggled to parry the relentless assault. Sweat dripped from Aiden's face as he countered with swift, measured strikes of his own.

The wakizashi came into play as Aiden sought to exploit openings in Xavier's defenses. Xavier however, proved resilient, using the length of his longsword to keep Aiden at a distance. Aiden's movements became more desperate, the weight of the longsword proving challenging to counter. With a strong blow, Xavier knocked the wakizashi from Aiden's hand, leaving him with only the katana. This made Aiden's confidence to shake but only to be replaced with determination. 'Today I am going home' he thought. Determination filled his eyes as he adapted to the changing dynamics.

At this time if Aiden had looked at Solarius, he could see a face filled with pride and genuine confidence.

The tide of battle seemed to shift, Xavier pressing his advantage. Aiden's katana parried blows with the precision of a master swordsman, but the relentless assault took its toll. A deep cut adorned Aiden's cheek, a proof to the opponents unyielding strength and experience. But Aiden was not ready to be defeated, his hands started to move with a new found agility. Xavier, surprised by the unexpected change in Aiden's movements, started to press hard. Aiden, seeing his plan working, moved to the next part. Aiden carefully started moving to his desired position, slowly not giving any doubt to Xavier. Xavier pulled his sword to his right to strike Aiden, Aiden instead of side stepping or parrying, rolled below it. Xavier changed his sword tregectory and slashed to his right with a 90 degree turn. His sword met Aiden's katana only to realize he had lost. Aiden's left hand now carries his wakizashi, its blade resting on Xavier's right wrist, separated by a golden shield.

"That's not fair, I want revenge for all the pain he had put me through." Aiden screamed, turning towards solarius.

There Solarius stood on the ground with an appreciative smile.

"Aiden, you did good. I will come back shortly to send you off." He said and walked out through a door on his side.

Aiden stood there, like a statue. His heart filled with happiness.

" Why am I happy? Is it because I can go home now or is it because.." Aiden stopped and looked towards where Solarius had left.

Aiden returned his swords and armor to the cloud, who came to collect it.

" Thanks buddy." He said to the cloud, who moved away without batting an eye.

He walked towards Xavier. Xavier got rid of his armor and turned towards Aiden.

"What?" He asked.

"Did you forget? You promised to answer my question, if I beat you."

"My promise was to answer only a single question and I will be the one choosing which one to answer."

"Fine."

"You asked about why you didn't hear about a god named Solarius before?"

Aiden nodded.

"There is an ancient rule forbidding the pantheon of gods having jurisdiction over a world from being worshiped in that world."

Aiden felt like that was a necessary rule to promote equality. And doesn't it mean there are different groups of gods.

"So, there are other groups of gods."

"Mm" Xavier nodded

Aiden opened his mouth to ask more but was interrupted by Xavier.

"Don't ask more. I have answered one of your questions."

"Fine."

After some silence Aiden asked.

"Will you miss me?"

"No."

The answer was the same as Aiden expected but it still made him angry.

"Fine,I won't miss you either." Aiden said looking at Xavier's emotionless face. His face was always neutral, Aiden had never seen him get angry or smile. Aiden had once asked about it but Xavier's reply was vague. He said " I chose to be like this."

"Boy are you ready to leave?" Aiden heard Solarius's voice from behind.

"Yes." He replied.

"Remember, don't make my girl cry."

Solarius raised his hand to Aiden's head.

"Wait, how will I recognize her?"

"She will be the first person you will see on the other side. She is there, waiting to thank you."

Then Aiden received a tap on his head and everything went dark.

(General POV)

After Aiden disappeared from the room a young man appeared beside Solarius. He had long crimson hair and eyes, his body packed with muscles and face carrying a serious expression.

"Finally, you let me inside, father. Did you send him back?" He said to Solarius.

"Yes." Solarius replied

"Father, Are you sure about this? Wouldn't it be better if one of us went there possessing his body?"

"Ares, You only look at the small picture. Think about its adverse effects. It will cause the boy's soul to split and I think you know how bad it can be. It may also greatly affect the one possessing the body. If that God goes out of control for one second it may even lead to the end of that world."

Ares first looked at Xavier, who shifted his look to the ground. After that he looked back at Solarius and said.

"I am sorry father."

"Don't be, learn from it."

"Ofcourse father, but why do you want to involve Anna in it?"

"Son, a good punishment must teach what is wrong and what is right. He can teach her how she is meant to be."

"But father.."

" No but, It was you and your mother who spoiled her."

"I am sorry father."

"You better be."

"Then I will take my leave." Ares said and Solarius nodded.

After Ares left Xavier said.

"Lord, I deeply apologize for all the problems because of me."

"No one has absolute control over fate my boy, We can't blame anybody. Focus on what you can do now."

"Yes my lord."

"I hope the boy to effectively use the gift I have prepared for him.