Shortly after their brief conversation back in the forest, Kronos had promptly guided Tanjo to the current point of interest: Furusato.
The jet-black-haired boy felt odd; he was supposedly in an alternate universe, one that was tied to his own, a concept that was never even conceived for years. In complete honesty, Tanjo had no clue as to what to expect. How much was different? Where were the people he knew? Did they even exist in this universe?
Habitually, Tanjo reached for his mask from under his cloak, only to be halted by the blue-haired God of Time. "Keep your mask off, Tanjo. You'll draw suspicion; you aren't known here—not a soul thinks of you as Lucifer's successor; nobody knows about the Aura Amalgamation."
That stopped the boy. "I didn't even think about that…"
"There's a lot that you'll notice, and fast. As a matter of fact, we've arrived, so you can see for yourself." Kronos spoke plainly, pausing in his step.
Within the next few seconds, Tanjo caught up to where Kronos stood, momentarily eyeing the God of Time before trailing his blue eyes elsewhere, his eyelids widening greatly at a new and shocking sight.
"Woah… that's definitely the same village, all right…"
In plain sight, a large village with a massive castle in the center thrived, flourishing with life. The stunning aspect of the sight was what it lacked: destruction. This was the village of Furusato, which Tanjo previously knew as a place of ruin.
Kronos looked toward the boy and said, "I already know what should occur in the future, but, with Derrien running out, things can change, so I want to quickly take the chance to say, do not act out—you'll see things that will undoubtedly... surprise you, to say the least."
A feeling of discomfort had embedded itself in Tanjo since he arrived, but Kronos' words only solidified it to a further degree. Though, to another degree, it's understandable.
"I reckon that I'll be fine, Kronos. Busy yourself with finding Derrien, and I'll just do what you want me to do: explore... I hope this is worth it." Tanjo mumbled, persuading himself to walk toward Furusato, incredibly weirded out by its prosperous state.
The God of Time remained still, his eyes glued to the teenage boy ambling away. Kronos only wished for Tanjo to benefit from the dimensional excursion, but it would only take one problem for everything to go awry. Everything depended on Tanjo as of right now, whether he was in this alternate universe or his own.
'You're on your own for now, Tanjo. Behave…' Kronos thought, before being enveloped by a profusion of spatial rifts via Disruption of Reality.
XXX
Back in Tanjo's original universe, Kaminari Nozomu and Asami were still conversing, residing in the lightning wielder's home. In mere minutes, the encounter between the two had transitioned from sour to questionable, with the primary focus pertaining to the whereabouts of Tanjo Nozomu.
"So… he's your apprentice, huh? How'd that happen?" Nozomu initiated a new topic, his eyes trained on the woman.
Asami shifted slightly before speaking, "He... uh... found me. He was apparently told who I was by somebody and requested that I teach him a thing or two. It was mainly about controlling his Aura Amalgamation—though I had to figure that out on my own."
"What has he been doing, then?" Nozomu inquired, "how have you been training him?"
Asami scratched her head absently. "I originally had him exhaust himself, trying to get him to use all four of the Aura Senses to let him actually be able to utilize each of them without just shooting one of the four arbitrarily. Then, I made him perform basic exercises."
Nozomu took a moment to process the new information, inhaling deeply.
"If it was training that he wanted, he got more than enough at the academy. He's looking for something more, however." Nozomu voiced, sitting down on his blue chair.
Now it was Asami's turn for questioning:
"Is he… your actual son? I don't see any resemblance." The cloaked woman began with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry if it's a bit personal."
"No," Nozomu answered, "he's not related to me."
The blue-haired woman hummed. "So where are his parents?"
"Dead. Murdered the day he was born." Nozomu replied with utmost brevity, his eyes darkening subtly.
Naturally, the conversation stopped for a few moments. Tanjo had never told Asami that his parents were dead, but did the boy know that his guardian was a Tansu vessel? Abruptly, a burst of realization struck the blue-haired woman.
"...Does Tanjo know that?"
The wielder of lightning shook his head. "No, he does not."
"Does he see you as his dad?" Asami queried further, curiosity lingering in every word.
Nozomu leaned back into his chair. "No, I don't think so. He refers to me as "Old Man.""
Asami chuckled. "Low blow."
"Yes, it is."
Silence ensued once more. Everything that was happening felt immensely strange and the two of them were aware.
"Can't believe it's been roughly thirty years since we were all a group." Asami grinned, attempting to turn amicable.
Old Man Nozomu perked up. "Reminiscing? I wouldn't exactly call our childhoods confined in a small village a good one."
True to Nozomu's words, growing up in Tokuni, the small village that trapped the Tansu vessels as kids, was far from pleasant. However, the group of kids banded together and relied on each other.
At least they did until one unfortunate day.
"You know, I ran into him not too long ago. Imawashiki." Asami revealed, sighing. "Definitely not the same boy we grew up with…"
Nozomu was quiet, refusing to add any input of his own to the conversation. Apparently, speaking of the fiery individual, Imawashiki rubbed the wielder of lightning the wrong way. Memories flashed within the man's head, both from his youth and from recent times. It was still hard to believe that Imawashiki was in Buraun, launching an attack on Tanjo's school.
"Because he isn't the same boy at all, Asami. He's Imawashiki, not 'him.'" Nozomu claimed, rubbing his fingers together mindlessly.
The cloaked woman smiled, albeit her countenance vastly contrasting her internal feelings. "Yeah… can't disagree with you there, Kaminari."
Asami then slumped over, her hands covering her face.
"Jeez. What's happening in this world?"
XXX
This alternate universe was mighty strange to Tanjo Nozomu. Currently, the teenage boy walks through the village of Furusato, the very same village that, in his original universe, had dead bodies lining every pathway and buildings that had crumbled and been abandoned for years, not to mention the vile rogues that lived there. But now, it was the perfect village. It was definitely better than Buraun by a significant margin.
A moment later, Tanjo spotted a big sign hoisted above a home with the words 'I love Furusato' inscribed onto the wood. It was ironic because Tanjo hated the place. Resented it with every fiber of his being.
Everything seemed so happy and spectacular in this village. It made Tanjo's skin crawl. The Furusato he knew was only affiliated with death and corruption—and the unbearable pain accompanying them. It was hard for the boy to simply understand what was happening, though Tanjo remained diligent about what Kronos had told him. Don't act out.
"Did you guys hear that the prince is returning to Furusato today?" A random villager could be heard, garnering Tanjo's attention.
"Yeah! He beat that Phoenix dude once again! I'm not sure what we would do without him!" Another villager hollered energetically, pumping their fists.
"He needs to stop hiding that little brother of his! What is he, sixteen now?" A new voice said.
"Who, Kenji? I heard that the prince shelters him from the public a lot!"
Tanjo, despite tuning into the civilians' conversations, started thinking to himself. This village did have a castle, so it's reasonable to assume that there was some kind of royalty instated, a high power. Were kings and queens the same as those in his world?
Shortly after, Tanjo resumed his stroll around the village, proceeding to gaze at everything he could find. It was odd that Kronos tasked the boy with acting as a tourist, as if the village was some kind of attraction—although, to Tanjo, it basically was. A morbid one. A brighter version of the place that tortured him so cruelly in his universe.
Eventually, after meandering through the alternate Furusato, Tanjo arrived at the village's castle. It was identical to the one that the teenager had entered to save Mizuki, except for the fact that it was no longer dilapidated.
"Look! Our king is here!" A villager screamed in delight, his face brightening.
In response, Tanjo's eyes darted everywhere in search of the village's king, momentarily unable to see anyone specific. Then, after a wave of screams and exuberant clapping, Tanjo saw the king.
"ORITSU! NOTICE ME!" A crazed villager shouted, waving their hands above their head.
The king that was receiving all of this attention was a middle-aged man with a beard covering the bottom half of his face, his visage calm and collected, and his genteel smile generating a feeling of benevolence. The man was distanced from the rest of the people, standing at the front entrance of the castle.
"King Ketsueki! Where is your son!? Has he returned after his intense battle with the tyrant Phoenix!?"
"How is Hana Ketsueki, Your Majesty!?"
Unfortunately, the king could not hear these questions as the crowd hollered at the top of their lungs; most questions or potentially cohesive statements were merely drowned out in the mass excitement.
"Oritsu Ketsueki? Wasn't he a past ruler of some village back in my world?" Tanjo asked rhetorically, craning his head to the side in wonder.
*WHOOSH!*
Unexpectedly, a roaring sound of wind pierced the ears of everyone in the area, taking the entire village by surprise. Within a second, a large gust of wind was expelled outward, nearly knocking every person to the ground.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" A horrifyingly familiar voice boomed.
Tanjo's eyes widened, fear crawling up his back.
"Your prince is home!"
Returning his blue eyes to the front of the village castle, Tanjo felt hatred and horror vibrate his whole body.
The supposed prince of Furusato, smiling happily with bright green eyes and brown hair, was none other than the man who ripped Tanjo's skin from his bones, the sinister rogue that haunted the teenage boy's mind.
And the village chanted his name.
"Regashi! Regashi! Regashi!"
Tanjo's mind broke.
XXX
Boom! Second chapter of the volume done and we're off to a quickly-paced but good start! Everything may feel fast, but I promise that everything will be handled accordingly! How is it that Regashi, the Regashi that rules the Furusato Unit in Tanjo's home universe, is now the happy prince of the rejuvenated Furusato? Stay tuned to find out!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_