"Most people in this world believe it was created by the seven gods, but that isn’t the case."
Absalom tilted his head to the side. A soft breeze passed through them as he used the starry projection between his palms to envelop the space around them.
Hinata saw nothing at first, just complete darkness. In an instant, glimring stars filled the void, illuminating it enough for him to catch the figure of Absalom.
"Where are we?"
Absalom smirked. "My little projection of the universe." He raised a finger and pointed to a distant star. "That over there is our world." His hand shifted to another. "That right there is the place where most heroes co from."
Hinata’s gaze followed Absalom’s finger as he explained the world. As his eyes darted around, they landed on a few glitches forming above them. Curious, he asked, "What’s that?"
Absalom raised his gaze toward it and nodded. "That over there is the barrier leading to the immortal realm."
"The immortal realm?"
Absalom soon began to explain everything he knew about the mortal and the immortal realm.
At the dawn of ti, nothing existed. Over ti, however, because nothingness existed, balance started to take shape, and that balance brought about sothing — because there cannot truly be nothing if there isn’t also sothing.
That sothing was what everyone knew as the starry plains.
The first starry plains were filled with an energy known as aether, and that aether slowly created not just planets but living beings too, beings who would later be known as the first immortals.
After the first immortals were made, they used aether to create other immortals and nad the area they inhabited the immortal realm.
As years passed, though, aether, the energy of the beginning, started to fade. The first immortals decided to use the empty space in the starry plains to create the mortal realm, sealing it off with an aether barrier.
The reason they did this was simple: as long as mortals lived and worshipped, or used the powers granted by the immortals, which was mana, a weaker version of aether, then aether would never be exhausted in the immortal realm.
Since the first immortals created the mortal realm in such a way that more planets would continue forming, they decided to establish a branch of low-ranked immortals whose purpose was to oversee these worlds. These people were who n called gods.
Absalom sighed, then grinned. "It was after I discovered all of this that I even had the morale to take on the gods. If I can’t defeat weak immortals, how could I ever call myself strong?"
Hinata thought for a long mont, finding the information overwhelming. "Wait, so the difference between a mortal and an immortal is aether?"
Absalom nodded. "If a mortal began using aether instead of mana, they too would one day ascend beyond the barrier and beco a true immortal. Alas, no one, not even , has managed it."
"Then," Hinata said, resting his hands beneath his chin, "does that an the immortals also use our power system?"
Absalom shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. "No. The reason mortals use such a hazardous power system is so they can never find a way to use aether or discover a unique path."
"A unique path?"
"Yes. A unique path. You might not know this since you’re new to this world, but every god has their own."
His voice grew colder. "The Demon God may use demonic energy, but even he has his own distinct way of wielding it. The sa applies to all other gods. Without a unique path, aether will never react to you."
He paused briefly before continuing. "That’s why talent users like myself have a higher chance of becoming immortals than others. Since you inherited that from and awakened your own unique class, you now have a real chance at ascension."
Hinata held Absalom’s gaze, which was practically sparkling. "I’m not planning on becoming an immortal," he said plainly. "My goal is to return ho."
Absalom stared at him for a long mont before shaking his head. "I won’t stop you. However, I’ll tell you one thing." He paused. "You’ll find that goal almost impossible to accomplish the longer ti passes."
Hinata clenched his teeth, then steadied himself with a quiet smile. "Don’t worry. I’ll find my way back ho."
Absalom, noticing the tension gathering in the air, dismissed his projection. The next mont, they were back in the narrow canyon.
He glanced at Hinata, whose face was downcast, hair falling across his features, then sighed. "I’ll give you so ti to process what I’ve told you. Absorb it well, since it’ll help you grow."
Hinata stayed completely still, partly to digest and further understand Absalom’s words, and partly because he was simply exhausted.
Finding himself in another world with no way to return ho was the most painful feeling one could endure.
Perhaps he was one of those people who poured everything into family and friends and beca lost the mont they were no longer there.
Hinata felt his heart squeeze tight. Tears were threatening to spill from his eyes, but instead a soft chuckle escaped him.
’Why am I giving up already?’
It didn’t matter what Absalom said about whether he would complete his goal or not. After all, he had always been the type to defy what others thought of him.
’Yeah. One step at a ti.’
His gaze sharpened as he lifted his chin.
Just as he began to settle, a thought he had desperately tried to push down ca creeping back into his head.
The Dragonforge family.
If it wasn’t for them, he wouldn’t have been separated from his classmates to begin with. If it wasn’t for them, he wouldn’t have suffered through all those loops.
... If it wasn’t for them, he would never have had such a burden placed on his shoulders!
If they were the cause of all his suffering, why exactly was he smiling with them and helping them?
He had promised himself to treat all life as equal. Wasn’t he doing the opposite by not avenging all the summoned heroes and everyone who died at their hands?
What if he hadn’t had the grit to kill those cultists and adapt back then? Wouldn’t he have been dead too?
Even after he escaped, they still tried to kill him. Even after he won the battle, he still had to marry the person who had raped him.
What if he had died in the chamber? What if Tamara had won? What if Lilith had trapped him inside that pathetic nightmare?
All these questions rang through his head until, finally, they fell silent, and his mind beca completely tranquil.
’This is their fault, isn’t it?’ he thought, drawing a shallow breath. ’Why have I been friendly with my butchers?’
His calm gaze drifted to Absalom, who was stirring sothing over a magical pot.
Though he was completely composed on the outside, sothing inside him had already co loose. That inner voice had narrowed to a single, screaming word he didn’t want to acknowledge.
He rose to his feet slowly and headed toward Absalom, who quickly turned around to face him.
"What happened?"
Hinata shook his head, his eyes narrowed and dark. "Nothing. I just wanted to ask if you have a journal where you wrote everything you wanted to teach ."
Absalom’s brows knitted together. "I do, but wouldn’t it be better if I helped you through it?"
Hinata smiled, his head tilting a little to the side. "Don’t worry, I’m a genius. I can teach myself, and the war is almost starting."
Absalom frowned slightly, but Hinata’s words were too accurate for him to argue with. "You kids these days are so impatient."
He moved toward the back of the rock and produced an old journal. "Take it. It has everything you need."
Hinata smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He took the book and quickly stored it in his dinsion space before turning to leave.
"You’re going just like that?"
He raised a hand toward Absalom without looking back. "Yes. I need to do sothing."
Absalom turned back to what he was doing, only to feel a cold sweat trace down his spine.
He whipped his head to the side. "Wait, Nishikawa Hinata."
Hinata tilted his head just enough to see Absalom over his shoulder.
Seeing the young man’s cold eyes, Absalom suddenly rembered that Hinata had never actually agreed to his request. His gaze shifted slightly, and he noticed that Hinata had already crossed past the rune.
He swallowed hard, then asked in a low, hoarse tone, "You’ll take care of my daughter and my family, right?"
A stillness settled over Hinata.
Then, slowly, a faint smile ford on his lips.
His heart was beating faster than it ever had, and he felt his adrenaline spike.
Deep within his soul, only that one thought remained.
He opened his mouth slowly, letting Absalom read his lips.
Veins rose along the old man’s face as he read the words:
"No."
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