During the battle in the Karmic Zone, BS42 was fighting for the survival of the Samsara Pod. Initially, Lorne entered the Karmic Zone and everything was sent into chaos. The ship was instantly damaged and cracks began to appear throughout. The exterior shell of the ship had a major crack and materials were spewing out of it.
Almost instantly, the wraith form of the soul armor Big Bear created for Lorne was activated. With the activation of the armor, Lorne's soul, and everything in it was safe. BS42 was relieved and got to work on emergency repairs. Lorne had perfected his body's cultivation and it started wreaking havoc with the Samsara pod.
During the thousands of years of Lorne's training, BS42 underwent training of his own. He also activated several other experts that were in soul form. He made each person a Warbox, but as part of his agreement with Master River; BS42 first allowed his master to remove all of the soul seals. Those who wished to continue to serve did so. There were quite a few who chose to leave, however, those who remained were the true idealists. They also begged for training from Master River in their fields. He agreed.
In short, BS42 assembled an elite science and research team. BS42 wasn't sure why Master River was so willing to teach everyone. The only person he could really see as deserving the training is Lorne. Even though Lorne wasn't a true inhabitant of their universe, Master River treated him as one.
Master River surprised BS42 one day by pulling him aside and revealing his intentions.
"Heken, I want to share with you my intentions regarding Lorne as well as you and your colleagues. It must seem strange to you that I would accept so many foreign entities as my disciples." Master River said to BS42 quietly.
"I had wondered, Master." Responded BS42 to Master River.
"The training that I'm giving Lorne is not usual to this low tear realm. I'm actually training Lorne for life in a higher realm," began Master River.
"A higher realm?" asked BS42.
"Yes, a higher realm. In truth, I find Lorne to be a very special person. His values are very similar to my own. It is hard for me to find satisfying disciples, but Lorne and Big Bear are two of my favorite students. Not because of their strength but because of what they do with their strength." Master River revealed to BS42.
BS42 silently considered his Master's words. It was true that Lorne didn't really behave as others with immense power. He seemed to see himself more as a protector than a ruler. This wasn't something that his father the Emperor would be happy to hear. However, BS42 also came to appreciate this characteristic in Lorne. Weren't there enough guys in the universe who wanted to rule everyone? Shouldn't there be people wanting to protect the universe instead of ruling it?
"Anyway," said Master River as he brought BS42 back to the conversation.
"I have trained him so that his ascension will be inevitable. I know what he's about to face. He probably won't win if he doesn't do something desperate. The 'desperate' thing he does will likely lead to his ascension to a higher realm.
You'll be there with him, he'll need you as he ascends. You and your team will have your hands full exploring a higher realm. I want you to take care of Lorne until we're able to reunite. Would you do this?" Master River asked BS42.
"I will naturally do this. Not only is Lorne my nephew, he is a prince of the Zimwarn Empire. Even if not for these two reasons then I would do it because I owe my brother for betraying him. Even if I didn't have this reason, I feel the same as you. He's a unique fellow if only more people were willing to worry about their fellow being, what kind of wonderful multi-verse would we live in? I want to see him grow stronger and see what he does with his strength." BS42 said to his Master.
Master River smiled at his disciple.
"I knew I was right about you; you are truly a good man. You are unnecessarily hard on yourself; you weren't without reason for taking the actions you did. However, I won't spend any time on this point. I have gifts for you." Master River said.
"Gifts?" asked BS42.
Master River and BS42 continued to talk as Master River brought out various items for BS42.
Now that the Samsara pod was in danger of being destroyed, BS42 retrieved the first gift his Master gave him. BS42 opened a cylinder he retrieved from his spatial belt. Out of the cylinder flowed a translucent liquid that set off. Going to performs its task without BS42 needing to instruct it.
Although the spiritual armor Big Bear created for Lorne was meant to protect his soul, it had unforeseen consequences. The biggest flaw was that it blocked Lorne and BS42 from communicating with each other. On the positive side, it was extremely durable. It was able of protecting Lorne's soul even in the harshest environment.
The translucent liquid flowed on the outside and attached itself to the main hull and then connected to Big Bear's soul armor. The liquid seemed to create a sealant around the ship as the cracks in the ship started filling in.
In the past, when a Samsara pod encountered such severe destruction, it was time to get a new pod, but Master River with his knowledge of the higher levels taught BS42 how to create this sealant. It was more than just a sealant, it was a seal and repair liquid. It worked by first spreading out to seal the various cracks and then could attach to soul armor or other soul treasures and use it to repair the ship.
Along with the sealant, BS42 activated the Tool Boxes. Tool Boxes were complete AI systems without souls. They were light portable mechanics with every imaginable tool. The Tool Boxes looked like floating rectangular blocks without the slightest crack or crevice. However, when they were working a tool could open anywhere on the body of the Tool Box. Nearly two hundred Tool Boxes flew throughout the Samsara Pod to begin repair work.
"I wonder when we'll be able to talk to Lorne? It could be years." BS42 thought to himself.
***
General Tower, a young twenty-something-year-old warrior; tall as the sky with sinewy muscles and a look in his eye that was so hard it could split diamond; walked towards the battlefield from the medical tent. He guided two young men, Malkus and Paneneko Gun, and found horses for the three of them. With new horses and their weapons ready, the three warriors rode to the battle.
The three men rode hard to the battle. It was clear that chaos overtook the battlefield. General Tower looked at the fight and as he rode towards the battlefield he began to understand the situation. As he examined the battlefield, he noticed the enemy's general at the back of the battle calmly giving out orders.
Pointing toward the general, Tower explained what they were about to do to his new subordinates.
"We're going to take that guy's head. Any problems?" Tower asked.
"None," the brothers replied.
It sounded simple to say, but in order to get to the enemy general, it meant they would need to cut a path through all the fighting. General Tower pulled out a longsword, Malkus pulled out a spear, and Paneneko used a halberd. The three rode in a triangle formation into the fighting and began to slash, hack, and stab their way through the fighting.
Of course, the enemy wasn't going to make it easy for them. When the enemy soldiers noticed the trio they immediately teamed up to try and kill the deadly trio. At first, the way the sword, spear, and halberd flew about it was like a deadly mower.
Eventually, the horses were killed and the three warriors were forced to the ground. Without slowing down, Malkus and Paneneko switched to short swords. You might think that after losing their horses, the trio was slowed, but they were better able to make use of the chaos of battle as they pushed their way forward.
Soon, the three became like a rotating triangle of death. No one could get close enough to kill them. If you were close enough to kill them, you would find yourself drawing your last breath. It almost seemed like the three fighters shared a psychic connection as they fought. It was as if they were reading one another's minds as they fought together seamlessly.
As they ripped through the enemy lines and killed soldier after soldier they started to grab the attention of both sides. The enemy general was trying to direct men to slow the trio down. They required more attention than he could afford to spend. He knew they were coming for him. Normally, he wouldn't mind, such warriors were usually just suicidal or overestimated their abilities. Such warriors were usually quickly killed.
Not these three warriors. The general was actually worried about them, but what could he do? The three seemed unstoppable and the more he focused on them; the more he lost control of the battlefield in other areas.
The forces supporting the three warriors saw how effective their teamwork was. Their own main general started taking advantage of the opportunities afforded him by the actions of Tower. At first, no one knew who the three were, but finally, everyone shockingly realized that two of the three warriors were the ones everyone thought had died earlier that day.
Tower had also been injured earlier, but no one knew how bad it was. Still, this general was personally leading the charge even after receiving grave wounds.
The person most interested in the appearance of the three was a spectator who sat in the tent with the Duke of Chikra. The spectator was a cultivator who often visited battlefields looking for talents for the sects. His name is Master Shannon.
Master Shannon was enthralled by the performance of the three warriors. The three of them together were unstoppable. If one of their team were missing they wouldn't be nearly as powerful. However, even considering the skills as individuals, he realized that these men should be in the Martial Origin stage at the perfect-tier of the Fighter realm. With just a little push, they would be in the Student stage of Martial Origin. This was impressive.
Most of the talents he recruited were at most around Martial Origins mid-tier Fighter realm. The three young men he observed were all very young, the two young black men looked to be in their teens, and the large fighter couldn't be older than twenty-five.
As Master Shannon continued to watch the trio, a thought occurred to him.
"I thought those three died earlier." Master Shannon said.