Two hours later...
[Master Rin! Master Rin! MASTER RIN!!!]
"What is it, Artemis?!" I asked with a yawn as I rubbed my eyes and saw that it was mid-morning, which was a bit unexpected as I thought it would have already been midday.
But that is beside the point: why do I remember an old lady trying to feed me soup?
[Nothing, Master Rin, I just wanted to check and see if you were still alive, so considering you are would you like to begin Project Restoration?]
"Sure… why not? Also, next time you try to take the innocent life of a young man, could you please warn me ahead of time? So that I can better prepare myself for what a crazy robot deems light."
[Hmm, now that isn't polite, however, at least you had a couple of minutes to prepare compared to others, I know. But no, I gave you too little time and the pain somehow scared you to death to the point you short-circuited.]
"Artemis, just how was that a little pain?! When it felt like you injected my system with a million volts of electricity," I replied as I got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom to relieve myself.
[Aww, is Master Rin, scared of a little pain? Sigh, next time I'll tone it down a bit, so you don't black out and scream like a little bitch again.]
Flush.
"You know what, fuck you, Artemis, and I assure you I won't be doing this again," Rin muttered as he washed his hands before drying them off using a nearby towel.
[Welp, if there is one thing I could tell you, baby boy, this won't be the first nor the last time this will happen. So, I'd grow some balls and stop being a bitch, baby boy! Plus, you are stuck with me until the day you die, so good luck trying to run away, Renny Pooh. Haha! Nevertheless, while that was fun... this truly will be an exceptional year!]
"Tsk, why can't I ever seem to have a normal day?" Rin sighed as he exited the bathroom and jumped back into his bed.
[But on a serious note, quit whining for this is not a good look on your resume, my good sir, and start meditating! So, we can begin Project Restoration and finish it before next Sunday.]
'Sigh, so life will never return to how it was before, huh?' Rin thought as he closed his eyes and sat criss-cross apple sauce. Before performing some deep inhales followed by slow exhales to relax his body.
Which caused the air inside his room to shift as various dots of light manifested around him like stars each one brighter and more pellucid than the last.
30 minutes later...
"Hey, Artemis, what did you mean by this was going to be an exceptional year earlier?" I wondered as I opened my eyes, leading to the light show and vague manifestations around me to disappear into thin air.
[Well, if truth be told, Master Rin why wouldn't this be an exceptional year? Considering how much you accomplished in such a short timeframe and what's on the horizon for us.]
Artemis said mysteriously after noticing the changes occurring in Destiny, Fate, and Karma following their return from Dream World.
"While true I don't think that's the only reason why you said that Artemis," Rin questioned as he tried to make Artemis spill the beans.
[It was... for a person's start tells you a lot about their ending, even though things could always change.]
"Come on now, Artemis, just tell me the truth… plus, are we not brothers? So, tell me as this is a judgment-free zone," Rin egged on with a smile as he tried to make Artemis cough up whatever he was trying to hide.
[Well, since you insisted, something tells me this shall be a year to remember. So, I'd hurry up and ascend for the Gate of $%@!^&* shall soon descend, Rin, and you wouldn't want to miss this opportunity.]
"Oh, well it seems, I have a lot of work on my hands than if this gate can even incite you. But for real what is the backstory of this mysterious gate?" I asked while looking through the school's Instagram to see if anything interesting happened while I was away.
[Sigh... at times, I forget what a hassle it is to speak with mortals, but for your information this isn't just some gate, Master Rin. But one of the three fabled Soul Gates of Hex Solomon, a mystical and excentric figure from a forgone era who excelled in the dark arts and the matters concerning the soul. So, on that note, I'd try everything in your power to leave this backwater realm in 5~10 years, so that we can make it in time.]
"Oh, well then why didn't you say that the first time, Artemis? And what's Project Restoration by the way?" I asked after realizing nothing important or exciting happened on campus.
[I tried but since you are still considered a mortal by Heaven's standpoint, you couldn't hear me. Nevertheless, Project Restoration is the restoration of your cultivation with fewer kinks in your body, soul, and mind, before we ascend to Multiverse Y.]
'Hmm okay, so how do you plan to reduce the kinks in my cultivation, Artemis?' I asked curiously as I perked my ears and placed my phone on DND.
[Well, for starters let's open your Seven Celestial Stars before doing anything else.]
'Wait, wait it's possible to open your Seven Celestial Stars before Mortal Warrier?! I thought you could only do that after you became either a Demonic Cultivator or a Demigod.'
[While true, that is only for those who haven't yet refined their body to True God, and since you are a part of those select few this process is sufficiently easier to do. While a tad more dangerous than usual, for once you begin, you can't stop until you have filled the First Celestial Star. So do be warned, Master Rin, now before we start what star do you plan to do first?]
"Well, initially... um, Pharaoh and I wanted to create a Varick Star Body and open all Seven Celestial Stars at once," Rin responded as he scratched his head with a silly grin.
[Rin, are you aware that you would have to endure the weight of forty-nine mega-stars to accomplish something like that? While simultaneously needing to extract, transform, and refine energy from each star and that's only the bare minimum as we haven't even accounted for the fact, that we are nowhere near a Varrick Star Region!]
"So, scratch that idea and pick an easier choice, Artemis."
[Yes, Rin for only a fool would think they could bear the weight of forty-nine mega-stars when not even a King could handle just one mega-star.]
"Okay, then what do you suggest we do, Artemis?"
[Go to a gravity chamber and refine your body under the weight of a hundred planet Earths and then come and talk to me about Project Restoration. While I sort some things out with your schedule and diet, for the grueling week ahead as some idiot wants to die sooner than later.]
"Roger, sir!"
[... Just get out my face before I kill you myself, Master Rin!]
Whoosh. Thud. Click.
[Finally, some peace and silence... sigh, how do I break the news to this young man?]
"What news, sir?" Rin asked curiously as he stopped in his tracks just as he was about to leave the dorm and make his way to the training center.
"None of your business, cadet! Now skedaddle and get to work and that's an order or else!"
"My fault, sir, and it won't happen again." Rin smiled as he chuckled.