Chapter 2: Anew

Seeing that his persona might just aggravate Dragan, he decided to ask Momus to get back into his sea of souls. And he agreed, surprisingly, but not before insulting him, saying, "At least you know when to back down. You understand that I am way more perfect than you'll ever be, and know that I am superior than you in terms of, well, everything!"

As anyone might've guessed, Shin was not fond of his persona.

Dragan looked at him with eyes of pity, and said, "Personas are not normally like that, they are loyal to their master and would never insult them. But your persona, Momus, is a bit different than them; he is prideful, boastful, arrogant, and overall obnoxious."

He just sighed, "Is there any way I can obtain other personas besides him?" He asked.

"I don't know, I just know that once you obtain an arcana card, you will awaken your persona. Gaining other personas is something I don't know of, only Master Zane knows how. For that, I apologize," He said, a bit sorry that he couldn't know more.

"No, no, don't worry about it," He said, brushing it off.

"Hmm, you're a good kid, despite your parents' failure in your upbringing," He said.

As he was about to reply, he felt the sharp pang of headache in his head.

"Aaaahh!!" He almost kneeled as something slowly changed in his head.

"Shin! Shin! What's happening to you!?" Dragan said, worried. The old man felt something within Shin change; something is rearranging his sea of souls and mental prowess!

Shinseifi Oda has never felt this kind of pain before. It was excruciatingly painful. It was as if something was splitting his head into two. Then, he saw them, images; cards.

In his head, a single card was formed with the information about his persona, Momus. And around the corner of his vision, his status screen changed to just options.

[Fusion]

[Persona Compendium]

[Status]

[Locked]

[Locked]

'Fusion…? Persona Compendium…? What are… those…'

His consciousness slowly faded, and he fell to the ground again.

(10 Days Later)

Dragan sipped on his teacup as he sat on the chair, in front of him being the table. He was in his indoor pool, relaxing. Then he remembered about Shin.

It's been days since he fell to a deep sleep, and the old man knew why that was. Shin's desired ability is gaming, and when he gave him the ability to summon personas, the two powers somehow fused into one, creating a massively strong ability that could spell doom to a universe if Shin uses it for destroying. But he knows he won't do it, the teen is simply someone yearning for freedom, that's why he offed himself by falling off a building.

He knows how his mind works. Shinseigi Oda is someone who overthinks too much, and found out the true nature of his world; greedy and hypocritical. The greed of humans in his world was too much to bear, along with the fact that one day, he will become a hypocrite, just like every human in that world. While Shin might say otherwise, he is empathetic and that's why he felt hopeless when he realized that he didn't have the power to save humans from their own hands.

That's what he was missing; power. If Shin had power, he would've been able to change the world for the better. He is smart, smarter than the norm, and he is capable of much more than that. So Shin isn't a threat, but still someone worth looking out for.

As for freedom, since young, Shin had always wanted that. The old man has read into his memories, that's why he knew that.

Shin was always ordered around by others, telling him that he should become something he doesn't want to. Expectations were put on top of his already failing mental health, and nobody cared about that, not even his own family.

"Mortals are simply too careless. If they raised Shin right, he would've never had to kill himself and he would've been able to change their world for the better. But it's good that he's already here, he could now venture to the lands he never knew he could venture into," Dragan said as he allowed a soft smile to embrace his face.

(With Shin)

He had woken up minutes ago, and was now in surprise as he looked into his new ability.

"Fusion? I can fuse personas now? That's a real surprise. Now I'll just have to find out how to gain more personas and maybe I'll be able to fuse Momus with another persona," Honestly, he didn't like the sharp mouth of his persona, it was way too annoying.

Then I heard a voice in my head.

[Hey! What do you mean by that!? You cannot get rid of me, moron. I'm your original persona, and if you choose to dispose of me, you might as well be throwing yourself into the thrash. Remember the vow? I am thou…]

"And thou art I…" He muttered unconsciously.

[See? Anyway, for some reason, after the Death Arcana fused into that other ability of yours, I am now able to see my own status screen. Weird, to be honest, since I'm seeing my abilities here. I think you're also able to peek into my status screen, just pull out the card in your sea of souls]

'Hmm, card?' He asked him.

[The card, you insufferable moron! Just think about it and it'll appear!]

'Card… card… card… Hn, now I remember.'

A card appeared on top of his hands with the same color as the Death Arcana card but with different contents. This one shows the image of Momus with his stats and abilities in it.

Name: Momus

Arcana: Death

Race: Deity

Level: 1 – [Experience – 0%]

STR – 20

MAG – 15

END – 10

AGI – 20

LUK - 5

{Abilities}

[Flame]

[Perfect Lie]

[Power Punch]

Next Ability – [Lightning Bolt – Level 30]

__

'Three abilities? That's it?' He mocked him in his head, but he was also wondering why Momus' arcana is death. He wanted to ask him about that but decided against it, lest he touches some secret that he wasn't supposed to know. He cannot ruin his relationship with his persona now, can he?

[Tch, shut it. Even I won't stand for this imperfection! Go, go into this tower and maybe you'll be able to earn those EXP for me to level up!]

'No, not now. Let's wait for a few days more,' Shin said to him in his thoughts.

[Fine…] Momus grumbled.

'But anyway, how do you know all this? Like how I can see your stats and such?' Shin asked about his persona.

[After that other ability of yours fused with the arcana, loads of information was forced into my mind. I think it should've been yours but since you were unconscious at the time, it gave it to me instead]

'Hmm, can you tell me everything you know?'

[Yes], that somehow sounded as a grumble, [This will be long. First, with me as your equipped persona, you can use my abilities and obtain my stats. For example, with my twenty STR, you could probably lift a ton or two. Your physical strength at the moment is twenty times that of the regular mortal man. Second, you can only hold three cards of personas, and to increase that, you'll have to level up. Third, when you level up, you won't receive stat points as how it should've been with your previous ability.]

[Fourth, you won't be able to equip multiple personas at the same time or you'll pass out. But you can equip another persona once every fifty levels, and you'll also be able to receive their abilities and strength just like mine. Fifth, you'll be able to obtain personas by defeating monsters in the tower of arcana. I don't know how, and I definitely don't know why, but that's just what was said to me. But it's not that it's a sure thing, there's a chance you could obtain another persona by killing a monster there, and it's pretty low. And finally, sixth, once you fuse a persona, you'll still be able to get them in the persona compendium but with a small price]

"What price?" Shin asked.

[It is said in any currency. Like yen, dollars, pesos, yuan, etc. And the higher the status of a persona, the higher the price. Any more questions? Hmm?]

He had a lot of questions, but decided to keep it for another time, like why is he so compliant or who told him all that, and he knew that this was not everything, but he just said, "Not anymore, thank you."

[You better f*cking be]

He shook his head, and turned to look at the ethereal options in the corner of his vision.

[Fusion]

[Persona Compendium]

[Status]

[Locked]

[Locked]

_

He picked [Status] using the power of his mind, and his status screen appeared before him.

Name: Shinseigi Oda

Level – 1 [Experience – 0%]

Persona Slots: 3 [Next Slot – Level 10]

{Persona} [Can Only Equip 1 Persona] [Next – Level 50]

[Momus, The God of Fun] -Equipped-

_

'Hmm, so my status is really gone. But that's not important, my persona can be a substitute for that. What's important is what I should do next. In a few days or so, I should be able to go into the tower of arcana, but then what? Fight some monsters, get some personas? Oh yeah! Dragan said that I could go to other worlds, I should go and talk to him soon.'

After deciding on what to do next, he got out of the bed he was lying on and the moment his left foot touched the ground, something happened…

*Boom!!*

He made a large noise just trying to walk!

'That's right! My strength is twenty times stronger than before thanks to the power boost of Momus, and I cannot control it yet!' He slapped himself on the forehead as he cursed himself for not thinking.

But thankfully, he doesn't need to get out of his bed now since he just made a large noise, Dragan should be on his way here.

And as he expected, Dragan came into his room, worried.

"What happened?" The old man asked.

He shook his head, and said, "Nothing. I was just surprised with the sudden boost in my physical strength, but everything should be alright now. I can control it a little but I shouldn't be making those booming sounds anytime soon."

The old man sighed in relief, and said, "You worried me for a moment. I thought something happened. Anyway, how are you? Tell me if there's something wrong with you."

"For one, I'm not feeling hungry nor thirsty," He said after some time.

"Oh, that's because you're currently in your spirit form right now. Your physical body died, and only your soul remains. And in my mansion, you can take a physical form even when you're just a soul," He answered.

Shin nodded, "Hmm, I expected as much. But I would like to ask if I could live in your mansion for a few days before leaving?" He said.

"Don't worry, you can live here however many years you want. I have servants here but they don't do much because there aren't any guests coming here often, and I do my own chores instead of them. With you here, you could liven up the place a bit. After all, my servants here have stayed as hermits for quite some time, you could broaden their knowledge with the things back in your world," He said to me.

"Are your servants' humans?" He asked with skepticism since he might be pushed to spend his time with literal demons if he didn't know about it. There's no saying what a deity could have as servants.

"No. They're just heavenly demons, demonic angels, and immortals. You have nothing to worry about!" He said.

He immediately said, "On second thought, maybe I'll visit the tower of arcana and see what's up!"

The old man chuckled, "Hahaha, okay, okay. Follow me," He gestured for him to follow.

(Scene Change)

After Dragan gave him a new set of clothes, which are from his own picking, he can satisfyingly say that these are the best clothes he's ever had. Basically, what he chose is a black hoodie, sweatpants, underwear, and a single pair of good running shoes. The old man also let him choose what weapon he should use for the tower, and, as cliché as it sounds, he chose a katana. The katana was not powerful by any means, but it is useful and he has trained in kendo when he was a child, though his skills might've gotten pretty rusty.

The tower was actually located in the old man's mansion. He said that he built a 3-kilometer-long hallway leading to the tower from his mansion, and we walked through all that. Even though it was long, he had a fun conversation with the old deity.

It seems like Dragan knows a lot about almost everything. Medicine, technology, philosophy, and many, many more. It was like the old man was a walking library; there's just so much knowledge within him.

He told Shin about the worlds he had seen. He once ventured into a world where only 10 isles exist. In that world, humans have figured out how to live longer and can live as long as 2000 years. But it came with a great price. The old generation wrecked the world and their moon after centuries of wars. The moon was shattered and was slowly falling towards that world of theirs. Almost every land was sunk under their great technology war, with almost nothing remaining.

But in those 10 islands people exist. Each aisle represents their ages. From 1 to 100 and to 900 to 1000 to 2000. Each number of isles is where those people happily live. They party all night long with no worries, and when dawn comes, they work together to build the greatest spaceship ever introduced by mankind.

That ship was going to lift them all up away from their destroyed home, but it failed. All of them died in the end. It didn't fail to lift them up from their previous home, but it failed to find a new home. Mankind died when they lost hope for a new home. And slowly, they withered away from despair.

It was a sad tale of a ruined civilization, and after the old man ended his tale, Shin was a bit sad for them. But that sadness was fleeting because they had arrived at their destination.

In front of them were two simple wooden doors, and the old man opened them.

There, he saw a staircase leading to a velvet door. The surroundings didn't have anything to show except for their velvet color, and the huge device around the corner.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing at the device.

"That's a teleportation device. Every floor in the tower has something like that. It will save your previous location and teleport you back here, into this entrance," He explained.

He nodded, and looked forward. That door is definitely the entrance to the insides of the tower. He just needs to step in there and he'll be able to use his newfound powers.

When he was but a mortal, only capable of sleeping and shitting, he felt helpless from the world. He was powerless; worthless. He was smart, a genius, yet even he couldn't fight against the world. No one helped him, no one was with him, no one tried to help him, and he had realized a long time ago that he was all alone in that world.

But now, since he has all of this power, maybe he won't need anyone to help him. With just him alone, and his persona, he could become something more.

Dragan looked at him, and then said, "Are you going to climb now? Or should we wait for another day? It's understandable since you just woke up from your 10-day-coma."

Shin shook his head, "No, I'll do this now. I'm not afraid of death, not anymore. I've died once, what is it for me if I died once more?" These were just words of self-encouragement, he knew that. Deep down, he was still scared of dying. He was scared of feeling that pain; the pain of death.

He gripped the katana he was holding as he felt his right hand shake. He was nervous, and he could feel Dragan's gaze on him.

"You know, you don't have to do this now," He said.

Shinseigi shook his head, and the shaking lessened as he said, "No. If I want to be something more, then I'll have to take this first step. It's the only way I can prove myself."

"To whom, might I ask?"

"Myself," He answered with a mutter.

Closing his eyes in understanding, Dragan said, "I see… then, go on. What are you waiting for?"

"Just… after this, would you let me explore another world?"

"You've asked this before. My answer is still yes. Now, off you go," The old man said.

He nodded, and he took the first step into the staircase. He felt an invisible pressure on my back but he ignored it as he climbed up the stairs. Each and every step, the pressure increased, yet he seemingly ignored it. It was not physically pressuring him but his mind. His mental self was being pressured, yet he ignored it as he persevered.

Soon, he reached the top, drenched in sweat. And with one last look to Dragan, he opened the velvet door and entered it.

(Scene Change)

He arrived in a velvet-colored hallway, with carpets as its floor. He turned around to see if the door was there, but to his expectations, it was gone. The door disappeared, or maybe it just teleported him here? He may be new to this kind of power but if everything can exist in the infinite universe with just the thoughts of people, then anything can exist.

Even monsters.

"Glugluglu…" He heard something. He turned to his left and saw three hallways leading to left, right, and just in front of him. He saw the shadow of something in the left hallway, and he narrowed his eyes. Then he heard Momus.

[To summon me for battle, you'll just need to say my name. Remember that, Shinseigi Oda]

He nodded, and slowly approached the shadow in the distant corner. As he walked, he felt no nervousness, unlike before, but instead, he felt like he was a hard-toned warrior, ready to battle his enemies to his death.

He hid just in the corner of the left hallway, waiting for the shadow to come so that he could ambush it. Slowly, the shadow moved as it made strange noises. It moved in his direction, and slowly, time came to a halt for him. His eyes dilated, his legs grew blue veins along with his right hand as he pushed himself to his limit.

Then, it showed up. It was a blob around his height. It hasn't noticed him yet, so he took this chance.

In a single span of a second, something flashed. He, specifically, flashed before his enemy with his long sword already swung. His enemy was wounded but not severely as he barely missed the head.

[Use Flame, it's weak to fire]

'Got it!'

"GLURAAAA!!" The blob-like thingy roared as it charged at him.

He held out his left hand, and said, "Flame!" And a fireball appeared on the tip of his palm, before it was launched towards the blob-thingy in such a great speed!

*BOOM!*

"KURRAAAAA."

The fireball hit the blob-thingy, and the fire exploded, swallowing the blob as it screeched. But it couldn't fight back against the fire before it died from his pyromancy.

He looked at his status, and saw his experience gauge at 100 percent before he leveled up. As soon as he leveled up, his mind seemed… clearer. It was as if he took some miracle drug and he could think better than before!

[Level: 2] [Experience: 33.7%]

'What is this? Momus, explain this!' He said in his head, containing his surprise since a tiny bit of noise could attract some monsters towards him.

He heard a sigh before, [You see, after taking away your ability to add points to your stats, the fusion then gave you the ability to have a clearer mind after leveling up. It's automatic so you won't have to add points to anything. And to answer any more of your future questions, this thing is the reason you can hold more personas after achieving certain levels. To hold personas and equip multiple of them, you will have to have a stronger mind. The stronger your mind, the more you will grow].

He nodded at that, feeling satisfied with the answers he received.

Now, he needs to stay focused.

He continued to scour the first floor of the tower, trying to find monsters to fight so that he could level up more.

"Raaahh…" He heard a terrifying moan somewhere in the corners of the floor. Just like last time, he saw a shadow from the distance but this time, it was humanoid shaped.

He heard footsteps… no, he heard someone dragging their legs limply.

'What kind of monster is that this time?' He wondered as he approached the next hallway, gripping his katana tightly and readying his other hand to use the ability of Momus.

"Raaahh…"

He was stunned because… that did not come from the other hallway.

Turning around, he blocked a slash from a long sword behind him with his katana. He took a look at the monster in front of him, and noticed that it looked quite similar to normal people except it had red pulsating spikes behind its back and a bird mask covering its face. Narrowing his eyes, he pushed the sword away and retreated to his back. But he still kept his vigilance for the other monster in the other hallway.

[That's a ghoul. With your level at the moment, you cannot get hit by that thing behind its back. It's called, "Kagune" and it can pierce you as easily as a knife could to a paper. Be careful about its strength too, since it is roughly half your strength], Momus warned him.

Nodding at that, he analyzed his opponent, carefully looking at its every move with his sharp eyes.

He slowly treaded around the ghoul, until he stopped as the ghoul charged towards him, wildly slashing its sword.

He took a deep breath, before squatting a little and sheathed his katana while still holding the handle. He gripped the handle of his katana tightly, and as the ghoul charged at him, he closed his eyes.

As a kendo prodigy, he was capable of doing a lot more than just slashing his sword. And one of the techniques he learned and re-created is called "Tensai no Ken" ("A Prodigy's Sword").

It is a variation of quick draw, Iaijutsu. The difference between the two is…

"Graaahh!!" The ghoul roared as it rushed at him with its sword in hand. The moment the ghoul entered his field of sensory, and, in a split second, he released his breath as his sword made an audible *click*.

The ghoul stayed in its rushing position for a bit before all four of its limbs fell apart along with its head, killing it permanently.

Yes, he has mastered this variation of Iaijutsu to the point of being able to make multiple slashes in less than the blink of an eye. Though, just a single use of this technique was able to exhaust him of all of his strength, but that was in the past. Now, he is stronger than ever before, and he can feel that he could use this technique a dozen times before he is out of energy.

He didn't use this earlier to the blob-thingy because it was unnecessary as it was too weak.

[Hmm, impressive. At least you're capable of defending yourself even when you were just a simple human], Momus stated in praise of his skill.

"Thank you," He said as he sheathed his weapon, "Now, let's keep going."

He saw the body of the ghoul slowly disperse into nothingness, and it dropped a… velvet card? He picked it up, and saw that it was another status card, but instead of Momus, it was that of the ghoul he just killed. The image in the card was that of a 30-year-old man who has black hair, black eyes, red mouth, and pale skin. This time, however, the ghoul didn't have his bird mask that covered the entirety of his face.

__

Name: Dae

Race: Ghoul

Arcana: Death

Level: 5 – [Experience – 0%]

STR – 10

MAG – 7

END – 8

AGI – 9

LUK - 3

{Abilities}

[Impale]

__

'Hmm, so this is what he meant when he said that I could get personas from the tower, though the chances are low. This is just my second kill, and I already gained another persona. Maybe he was wrong? No, this must be the so-called, Beginner's Luck,' Shin said in his thoughts.

[A ghoul as your second persona? That's… great, at least. Like my stats, you'll also gain his even when he is not equipped but you cannot use his abilities and skills unless you equip him. Hmph, I'm stronger and better than him anyway], Momus said, boasting yet again.

"Yeah, but how can I put him in my sea of souls?" He asked.

[Just crush the card and that ghoul will appear here. But if he's annoying, I will personally kill him]

Ignoring the God of Fun, he crushed the card and it shattered like glass. Something shattered inside his head, and another voice beside Momus was heard.

[Thank you, benefactor. I am Dae from Kyoto, Japan, and you saved me from the endless darkness that surrounded me, and for that, my loyalty will always be with you. Use me as you would like] A man's gentle voice sounded in his head.

A ghoul from Kyoto, Japan? Ah! That one anime called "Tokyo Ghoul" must be his world! But questions like that will be for later, what Shin wanted to know was what he said.

"The endless darkness that surrounded you? What do you mean by that?" He asked the ghoul persona.

[It's a bit hard to explain, benefactor, but it basically prevented me from gaining consciousness. I was in that berserk state for far too long and I could barely remember anything. But the moment I awoke, I knew that you were the one who saved me. For that, again, I thank you]

Shin nodded at that, politely accepting the older man's gratitude.

"Graaahh!!"

As he was about to say something, though, he sensed something behind him and immediately unsheathed his katana before turning around, stabbing another masked ghoul in the heart, who was just about to pierce him with its sword.

While his sword skewered into the chest of the ghoul, he dragged his katana inside the ghoul upwards, where he cut its upper body into two.

He looked at the corpse, and only now he noticed his lack of disgust when looking at the cut body of a humanoid being. He didn't feel sympathy for the ghoul, and he wondered when he had become so jaded. Was he like this even before, when he was just a regular prodigious human? Maybe it's how his brain just works, or maybe not? Was gaining these powers affected his way of thinking? Did it alter his brain somehow?

[Stop overthinking things, it's pathetic], He heard Momus say that with a hint of disgust in his voice.

He shook his head, and sighed, "I guess you're right. It is pathetic. But, let me ask one thing; did someone alter my head, Momus?"

Silence ensued for a moment, before he heard him speak.

[No, no one. Almost every emotion in yourself had been toned down to the minimum since you lost your physical body, and the you currently are just a soul. A physical soul but a soul nonetheless. But you don't have to worry; your emotions will return to normal once you gain a physical body]

He nodded, "Hmm, does that mean I cannot feel anything?"

[Have you been listening, moron? Let's put your emotions into percentage. When you killed yourself, for dumb reasons might I add, you lost ninety percent of your emotions, with only ten percent remaining. Does that answer it?]

"Yes."

Shin shook his head, ridding him of the useless thoughts he may have. He just looked forward, and continued his exploits.

Though, he could hear in the back of his mind, Momus and Dae arguing about something. It was barely audible, so he couldn't hear it.

Time slowly passed, and without noticing it, 3 hours had passed after he entered the tower. Yet, even after all that, he has not found a single persona to add into his sea of souls and the staircase that leads to the second floor. He has defeated almost 40 enemies and he has leveled up to level 15, meaning he is now able to equip 4 personas.

Momus also leveled up to level 20, and this is his stats:

__

Name: Momus

Arcana: Death

Race: Deity

Level: 20 – [Experience – 47%]

STR – 30

MAG – 25

END – 13

AGI – 27

LUK - 8

{Abilities}

[Flame]

[Perfect Lie]

[Power Punch]

Next Ability – [Lightning Bolt – Level 30]

__

Apparently, Momus' explained that he is a Strength, Magic, and Speed type persona, so his END and LUK is vastly lower than his 3 other stats. There are many types of personas, many having one only good stat and the rest straight up awful. He is quite lucky with Momus since he has 3 powerful stats.

And also, when a persona levels up, the stats they are given is by random. They could receive 5 stats, randomize between their stats, or they could just receive 1 stat, which is a bit unfair but okay.

Anyway, he is currently treading in the hallways of this strange floor and he has yet to encounter a powerful opponent to actually make him a bit tired, which is good since he is still not that powerful yet.

But then, in the distance, he saw a white light on the corner of the hallway. He narrowed his eyes, and carefully approached it, holding his katana in case something pops up.

As he neared that bright corner, he was surprised to see the same teleporting device from the entrance. He saw that the light was coming from the halos that surrounded it.

[What? Are you going to return to the entrance?], Momus asked him.

He thought about it, and saw that the only logical thing to do at the moment was return. This was just a test run anyway, he'll come back later for the upper floors.

"Yes, since we couldn't find the stairs that lead to the upper floor. And also, I am quite excited about visiting other worlds such as the Elemental Nations or the Yorbian and Azian Continents. It's been a… dream of mine," He said, pressing the button he saw on the side of the teleporting device. Just seeing the device was more than enough for him to roughly figure out how it works.

[Tch, we could at least grow stronger here. You're too hasty!]

"And you're a killjoy. Besides, you're my persona, right? You should have the same interests as me," He said as he stepped into the device's glass floor.

[Hmph!]

He just shook his head, before a blinding light engulfed his entire being.

(Scene Change)

He opened his eyes, only to see Dragan in front of him, smiling a bit.

"So, how was your adventure to the tower?" The old man asked, a bit intrigued.

"I leveled a few times and obtained a new persona, whose name is Dae and is a ghoul persona," He said, revealing the old man a velvet card that suddenly appeared in his left hand.

Dragan nodded, and said, "Good, good. Three minutes have only passed and yet you have already obtained a persona."

'Hmm?'

"Three minutes? I've been there for three hours, Dragan-san," He said, a bit confused.

The interest in his eyes glowed in the form of a glint, as he said, "Really now? So an hour in the tower is only a minute outside? Interesting, I didn't know that."

He was a bit surprised with that but that is good news since he could stay there for a year and only 365 minutes would pass outside, and that is roughly around a quarter of a day. That's his biggest advantage; time. With time, he could do everything. As long as he has time, everything is alright.

He shook his head, and said, "Whatever your children did, Dragan-san, at least it works in my favor."

He just nodded, "Mhm, good. At least my stupid children did something right. Anyway, you said earlier that you wanted to go to another world, right?"

Shin nodded, feeling a bit of excitement inside him, "Yes!"

"Then, let's not waste any time. Here," He gave him a ring that has a gem that mirrors the color of the galaxy, "This ring is important, with this, you will be able to teleport back here at any time. Only you can use it and no one else. If you somehow lose it, it will return back to you since it is connected to your soul."

The ring landed on his hand, and he looked at it, feeling a bit of a connection with it. He put it on his index finger, and it fit perfectly.

Then, a portal appeared beside him as the old man waved his hand.

"This portal will take you to a version of the elemental nations and some things may not be the same as you've seen in those fictional shows you've seen. I'm sure you already know what to do, right?"

"Yeah, I just need to go through this portal, right?" He replied, nearing the portal, almost touching it.

Nodding, Dragan then grew a serious look on his face, and warned Shin, "This world is not the fun and go lucky world you've watched; this world is more dangerous than you can imagine. You will encounter the people you despise the most in there; liars, hypocrites, corrupted nations and leaders, idiots managing an entire country, and many, many more. All of them will always be around you, and, just a piece of advice from an old man; accept the fact that these types of people will always exist, if not, you'll just become like them."

A thoughtful look appeared on the young man, having realized that this old man's words are right.

He looked at the old man, and said, "I'll try, but see you for now," Shin jumped through the portal, not knowing the tragedies and adventures he will go through, yet still going through it without the fear of the unknown.

The old man was left alone with his thoughts as the portal in front of him collapsed. He put a smile on his face, and whispered, "Well, I hope you succeed."

(Scene Change)

[Elemental Nation, 1997, October 20]

[Current Location: Outskirts of The Fire Country]

A boy no older than 9 was silently sleeping right beside a tree in the sea of forests. As the boy slowly opened his eyes, he narrowed it. He flexes his arms for a second, before standing up and turning around the tree behind him.

He lightly slapped the lower part of the tree, and the entire tree shook wildly, before countless leaves fell.

"Hmm, so my strength is still within this small body?" He said, feeling a little bit of pain in his left hand after doing that.

[Don't just blindly hit things, Shinseigi. Every time you hit something, some of the damage also rebounds back to you. You should know that!]

"I know; I was just testing my strength. It seems like my strength is too strong. A single light tap was more than enough for me to leave a deep hand print on the trunk of this tree," He said while flexing his left hand.

[Idiot. Just… try to be a little vigilant. If you die, I die. Remember that, Shinseigi Oda!], Momus said to him, warning him.

[Can't you be a little respectful to our benefactor? Without him, we would never have existed in the first place], Dae said as respectfully as possible.

[Shut your mouth, lest I get fed up with it!]

Ignoring his two bickering personas, he looked around, and looked, and looked, yet he only found an endless stream of trees. But as he squinted his eyes a little, he saw a road a few hundred meters away from him.

Oh yeah, the more he levels up, the more his sight also increases along with his mind. It seems like his mind and sight is connected in some way.

"I should go there, it might lead to a civilization," He said