With a sigh of relief, Tanjo Nozomu kneeled down and cupped a small handful of water, raising the clear liquid to his mouth and slurping it down. The boy only had so many chances to either eat or drink, especially being a rogue. Asami was Tanjo's primary source of food, as she usually has a stash of treats and other desirable items.
As of late, it has also been relieving for the boy to not wear his mask for multiple hours at a time. Sweating in it was not fun, and it hindered his sight by a slim margin. Though the sacrifice of wearing the mask for extended periods of time was worth it, the last thing Tanjo wished for was to be identified and unfortunately bring down his home village.
Ever since Tanjo became a rogue, he has had much more time and freedom to practice his control over his Aura Amalgamation. Gingerly, the boy dragged his fingers across the blue headband wrapped around his head, his eyes softening. It was greatly saddening to depart from his friends; Old Man Nozomu was probably immensely angry after failing to bring Tanjo back home.
Tanjo could not thank Ms. Tassei enough for preventing a fight between him and Nozomu.
*SNAP!*
The sound of a twig snapping could be heard, alerting Tanjo. Instinctually, the boy swiftly donned his mask and began sensing who was in the vicinity, whether they were an animal or a person.
To Tanjo's surprise, it was no animal or person—but a god.
"Kronos?" Tanjo voiced, gradually removing his mask.
After intentionally garnering Tanjo's attention, the blue-haired god stepped out from the shadow he previously stood in, his arms by his side.
"Long time no see, Tanjo. I had the honor of watching you train earlier. I'm glad that you're the warrior I found." Kronos complemented, confusing the boy standing before him.
Tanjo quirked a brow. "You're buttering me up for something, you never compliment me."
Kronos hummed and said, "But I know it's working."
"...It is. What do you want?"
The God of Time folded his arms into his chest, his long sleeves falling loosely. Kronos knew that Tanjo would catch onto his unsuspected compliment, but, as a being who controls time, he still knew that the boy would soften up. It was baffling how starved Tanjo was of social interaction.
"It appears that we need to… speed things up." Kronos admitted, his tone bereft of any exuberance.
The jet-black-haired boy was perplexed. "Speed things up…? Are you referring to my training? You already are having me work as fast as possible to grow stronger, so what now?"
"Not about your training, Tanjo." The god quickly clarified, his eyes locking with the boy's.
Tanjo's shoulders lowered. "Then, what are you thinking of?"
"You're still massively reluctant about training, Tanjo. Sure, you want to grow strong for your own ambitions, but you need to be made aware of why I need you to continue. Do you know why I'm gone all the time?" Kronos stated, ending with a question.
The boy shrugged. "Why would I know? You're more cryptic than anything."
"I've been hunting someone, Tanjo," Kronos revealed, "and I finally found him; however, I also learned what he's planning."
Tanjo's face fell. "You're being cryptic again! Give me more information than that! Who is 'he' and what is he planning?"
The god sighed and continued, "He's another one of the remaining gods, if he can be referred to as one. Derrien is his name; he is more commonly known as the Failed God. He's been missing ever since the Keisan War and is incredibly dangerous to not only your universe but all of them."
"Why does that involve me? You still haven't answered as to what he's planning, either." Tanjo replied, growing annoyed.
"You need to be taught patience." Kronos' left eye twitched.
"And you need to stop speaking so shortly!"
The God of Time exhaled. "Fine. I know you remember that brown-haired guy from Furusato. You met him when trying to find Mizuki."
"What about him?" Tanjo queried tersely, his eyes narrowing at the mentioning of the man that tortured him.
"Derrien is the god who granted that man his uncanny abilities, as he did with a number of other people. One of them is someone close to you: Suru Tassei." Kronos informed the jet-black-haired boy, watching his shock.
Tanjo looked downward, pensive. "That would explain their unique powers, I guess. So, what, is he just going around giving people deadly abilities?"
"Originally, yes—but, now he plans to exact revenge on both gods and organisms from all universes by tearing everything asunder, ironically using the organisms themselves." Kronos answered, his tone grave.
Tanjo perked up. "Why don't you take care of him yourself since you know where he's at? Surely you're stronger than me."
"This will assist you in becoming stronger as well as facilitating your determination in moving forward, Tanjo. You're still naive as they come, ignorant to so much." Kronos said bluntly.
The boy reflected for a brief moment, his eyes lighting up. "What about Asami? She'll be concerned if I just disappear."
"Not if you're only gone for a few hours. Once you enter a different universe, time is either narrowed or expedited. In this case, time will be narrowed, meaning that if you stayed in the alternate universe for a day, you'd only be gone for approximately five hours."
Tanjo huffed. "That's still a long time."
"It's the best you're getting."
The two then stood in silence, the gravity of the situation dawning on Tanjo immediately. Every time Tanjo encountered Kronos, it was inevitable that the blue-haired god would introduce something unheard of—something that would seem impossible. Now, Kronos was suggesting that Tanjo enter an alternate universe to find and subdue a god! The poor boy was still a rookie!
Tanjo turned to Kronos and asked, "You already know my answer, don't you?"
Kronos nodded.
The boy sighed. "When are we leaving, then?"
XXX
Asami was currently munching on a small bar of chocolate. It was true that she had a stash, but there was no way in the world that she would reveal all of her delectable treats. A girl had to have a few secrets, after all.
It had been a few minutes since Tanjo had left to stretch his legs, but the teenager had never traversed out of her range of being able to sense him. The cloaked woman typically kept tabs on her little apprentice since he was so inexperienced and would probably end up dead if a stray warrior were to coincidentally find him.
Well, maybe he wasn't that inexperienced—Tanjo did manage to flee from High-Class rogues back in Furusato and temporarily fight off the red-headed rogue with the demonic eyes and flashy pentagrams.
Okay, he was not inexperienced. Asami had just never had an apprentice before, much less someone who did not cower in fear before her upon seeing her incredible power. Having a living Tansu beast inside your soul had its benefits, but the negatives pulled their own weight, too.
"...Maybe I will share the rest of my stash… He's been kind enough, at least."
Suddenly, Asami's eyes widened. Tanjo's Aura Sense abruptly vanished from her detection, as if the boy had just teleported far away.
"Tanjo!?"
In an instant, the blue-haired woman dashed off the mountaintop where she was training the boy and into the forest, her eyes darting everywhere. Asami was practically invisible with the speed she traveled, flickering through the plethora of woodland trees.
In a fraction of a second, Asami had watched as a small tendril of what resembled a fissure in the air dissipated entirely, her eyes widening.
That was the exact spot Tanjo's Aura Sense vanished.
"DAMNIT!"
XXX
All right, hear me out: this will conclude this volume… I've been trapped behind some stuff and just starting a whole new volume will really just give me more room and let me introduce everything I've wanted for months now. Not too long ago, it was just warriors and rogues, now we have gods and alternate universes? I need to be able to introduce these things normally. A new volume will really permit me to do such things. So, give me some time and I'll have it all down pat!
Have A Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_