The ocean currents were quite wild, and a storm was brewing.
Nima took over the navigation since she knew the most about geography among us, but with no records available, we didn't know what to expect.
It was as if this island didn't exist and there was nothing there.
However, since there was only one current going in one direction, our only problem was to avoid sinking in the strong current before reaching our destination.
The waves were very high and nearly pushed the boat underwater.
So, Algris, Bente, and I had to run across the entire deck, bailing out the water with buckets.
It was exhausting, of course, but just when the waves started to calm down a bit and we thought it was over, we realized that the water wasn't moving at all.
We had entered a calm area with no currents, which meant the water was completely still.
We thought we were lucky to have a motor, but when we tried to start it, we found that it wouldn't turn on. So, we grabbed the oars and had to row ourselves.
After half an hour, we checked how far we had come, and it was maybe 50 meters, which really got on my nerves.
So, I took a stick and, using a small fraction of its power, shot it about 1.5 kilometers away and teleported myself and the entire ship to the stick.
I did this four times until suddenly we found ourselves and the ship on dry land.
We were all quite confused because there was nothing in sight, and suddenly our ship was sitting on land.
We got off the ship, intending to take the most important things with us, when Nima, who was the first to step out, called us all over, saying, <"Jun, quick, someone is here">.
With a serious expression, the three of us were in front of Nima within a second.
The three of us stood side by side, ready to fight an entire army.
Only one person stood before us, but through my KIE, I could sense around 3,000 people surrounding us.
With a serious look and tone, I asked the person in front of us, <"What do you want?">
<"The question is rather, what do you want, and who are you?">, asked the old man with a smile.
<"That's none of your business! I have an issue to resolve on this island.">, I replied stubbornly.
There was a brief silence, but then the old man made the first move by getting into a fighting stance, upon which I disappeared before his eyes and reappeared behind him.
He didn't notice me at first, but I whispered into his ear from behind, <"All 3,000 of your friends are currently asleep and will wake up soon. However, I won't allow you to wake up again if you make one wrong move.">
The old man said hysterically, <"Then kill me, I'm ready to die for our mission, but we will never lose! You will perish!">
<"What mission?">, I asked him, intrigued.
<"You know exactly what I mean. We will bring down the government and reclaim our peace!">, shouted the man.
I explained to him, <"We are not from the government. On the contrary, I want to destroy the government. But that doesn't change the fact that you haven't answered my question.">
<"You want to destroy the government? Could it be that someone sent you?">, the old man asked me, but since I still hadn't received an answer to my question, I repeated myself loudly, <"ANSWER MY QUESTION!">
<"GERMO! We belong to Germo. We are a revolutionary army fighting for the freedom and justice that the governments have taken from the people. We no longer want to live in humiliation. Our families are being killed before our eyes, and we are not willing to accept that.">, the old man told me.
Surprised but relieved, I let go of the old man and said to him, <"You're the ones my mother talked about. I've finally found you.">
<"Your mother? Could it be? Was your mother Aura by any chance?">, the man asked.
Surprised, I responded, <"Yes, but how do you know her name, who are you?">
<"She is my daughter. That means you are my grandson.">, said the old man in a trembling voice and turned to embrace me.
I got slightly teary-eyed and lowered my head as I apologized to him, <"I couldn't protect Mother, and she was murdered before my eyes.">
He held me tightly and said, <"It's not your fault, you couldn't do anything. We should have been there for you.">, at that moment, Nima came running from behind as she had overheard everything and embraced our grandpa, crying.
He turned to her, stroked her head, and said, <"You must be Nima; you've grown so much. Come to your Grandpa Jinsei.">
It was a moment of both joy and sorrow.
After a while, when everyone had woken up and the situation had calmed down, and Grandpa Jinsei had explained everything to the others, Nima and I talked with Grandpa Jinsei for some time.
During the conversation, Grandpa Jinsei told us that they had been waiting for my arrival and that they had been here for years preparing for the final battle.
But they couldn't just go into battle because they lacked strength and resources, among other things.
He continued with his explanation, saying that above the starry sky, which is visible every night, there is another world, and this is kept secret by the government.
The only way up or down is through the giant tree that holds up the sky and the world above.
It's a kind of elevator that only selected people are allowed to use, as it is closely monitored by the government.
<"What you both must have noticed is that the tree is on the other side of the Earth.">, said Grandpa Jinsei, which made my heart ache for a moment because I thought we'd have to return to the place where I lost Mother, but he continued, saying, <"This passage can only be accessed through an entrance here in Luceli. The passage leads directly into the tree's interior. We had been hiding here, waiting for you to come, but for 4 years, the government hasn't come out of the entrance again. When we sent spies, they said that inside the tree, the guards are standing ready as if they were waiting for something. When they discovered our spies, they did nothing but stand there and wait. But we don't know what made them act that way and what awaits us above. But now that you're here, nothing can stop us anymore.">
<"I have two things. The first question is, why were you waiting for me? Several situations could have prevented me from reaching this place, and besides, I might be too weak. So why were you waiting for me specifically?">
<"There is a legend, Jun. No one knows where it comes from or who wrote it, but it is said that at a time when injustice is at its peak, someone will come. Someone who will turn the amount of injustice that exists on Earth into an Earth with an equal amount of justice as there is injustice. The Earth will be filled with justice as it was filled with injustice. He will restore everything to the people, but… ah, never mind. That's the reason why we waited for you.">
<"I still don't understand why me?">, I asked again.
<"Jun, there's one thing you need to learn. Things happen that you sometimes won't understand, but that doesn't mean they're bad. We humans don't have control over everything. So, in the end, whether it's good or bad, you'll have to figure that out, but for now, accept the situation and try to make the best of it. What we can influence, we should influence. So, if you always try your best, no matter what happens, even if everything seems to be going wrong, the end won't be bad, even if the journey was.">
I wasn't satisfied with the answer, but I accepted it since Grandpa Jinsei didn't want to tell me for some reason.
<"The second question is about my father. My journey actually started, among other things, to find my father. But since he hasn't shown up so far, I expect the worst.">, I asked Grandpa Jinsei.
< "Unfortunately, your fear is correct, but I want to tell you how we lost your father. Your father, since he was a child, wanted nothing more than a normal family, but I raised him only for this war, which is why he left you shortly after your birth, Nima. Thanks to your father's help, we liberated some countries that were oppressed and enslaved by the government and managed to push the government back so far that it even withdrew completely. We became overconfident and wanted to storm the passage to the upper world all at once. What we didn't know, since we had never been there, was that it was very well secured. So well secured, with such strong troops, that almost all the members of our unit died. There were only a handful who survived, but your father was not among them, despite being the strongest. We had never seen anyone as strong as him. The 5 people who survived came back and told what had happened to your father. They said < "Your father refused to give up and thus allowed us to escape. Because we were too weak, he died. But we saw him just before his end go to the tree wall, covered in blood, stretch his hands towards the tree and hold his head against it, saying that he was sorry and that you should take good care of your family. When we looked closer, we saw that you were standing there and, just like your father, holding your head against the tree and crying. But you unfortunately couldn't hear or see him. Afterwards, we fled back through the gate to Luceli and prepared for defense, but no one has come out of there since." >. Your father always talked about you and missed you very much." >, replied Grandpa Jinsei. >
I said coldly to Grandpa Jinsei < "It's not your fault. I would have done the same if I were in Father's situation." >
< "Just so you know, you are too weak. I will not go up there with you." >, I added.
< "But..." >, Grandpa Jinsei started to reply, but I interrupted him and said < "I have lost enough people because I didn't think things through. Not this time. I have decided that no one under my protection will die. To ensure that, none of you will come along." >
< "I understand." >, said Grandpa Jinsei, noticing my sadness behind my stern look.
We spent a few more pleasant days getting to know each other until the day came when Algris, Bente, and I set off.
Nima was the only one who knew, so that no one would follow us.
I knelt before Nima and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
Then I took her in my arms and said < "I love you, Nima. Take good care of Grandpa, the old guy can barely stand on his feet." >
Nima laughed and cried at the same time and said to me as she tried to wipe away her tears < "Jun, this feels like a farewell. I don't want to lose you too. Please don't leave me behind no matter what happens, okay?" >, and extended her pinky finger as a promise.
I promised her and set off with Algris and Bente.
When we stood before the entrance, we looked at it and it appeared to be a huge gate.
We entered it, and it felt like we were traveling through time.
Around us were white lines that seemed to move quickly, but everything felt normal.
Suddenly, we flew out the other side of the gate and, as I looked up, I was astonished.
I wondered what was going on, as we were back home.
I recognized the fields and could see the village houses from a distance.
But when I went towards the village, there was an invisible wall that prevented me from going any further.
At that moment, I remembered the story of my father that Grandpa Jinsei had told me.
< "So we have arrived inside the tree." >, I said, looking into the distance where about 150 soldiers stood and two special individuals who seemed to be their leaders.
They had already spotted us and looked down on us as we approached them.
Algris asked me < "Leave the big one of the two commanders to me. I have the desire to show him true greatness after he looked down on me from up there." >
< "Then leave the other one, the one with the bald head, to me. I don't know why, but he just won't let me look away." >, said Bente, pointing to the shiny bald head.
< "Then I'll clear the stage for you." >, I said and ran towards the soldiers. However, since I wanted to warm up a bit just in case, I entered into a Taijitsu fight.
The soldiers laughed and said < "He doesn't seriously intend to take on 150 soldiers alone." >, but I jumped into the middle of the crowd and defeated each one of them.
It was a very fluid fight, beautifully executed.
I was very focused yet calm and composed.
When the fight ended, I sat on the pile of unconscious soldiers and looked up at the two commanders while saying < "You two take care of these two here." >
Then Bente and Algris fought, and they won effortlessly and quickly.
What fascinated me repeatedly was Algris, as he still hadn't learned KIE mastery and yet easily defeated someone with KIE mastery.
But the two fights were secondary to me, as I might be looking at my village for the last time.
< "After all this time, I've done nothing but cause more damage than help. I've simply lost more than I've gained since leaving here." >, I thought.
As I sank into self-pity, Bente and Algris, who had finished their fights, called out to me < "Come on, Jun, we can finally go to the upper world. The two are done for." >
As we passed by the two commanders, the bald one said with his last strength < "You will not survive there. We have sent someone to inform our emperor. I don't know why, but my emperor has been waiting years for your arrival and has prepared everything to fight against you. When you step through the gate and into the upper world, an army of 100,000 men will await you. Even if you survive that, there's still the emperor's right hand and the emperor himself. You have no chance." >
< "If we were so easy to defeat, your emperor wouldn't have spent years preparing for our arrival." >, I retorted, breaking his neck as I walked over him, heading towards the gate.
< "Let's end this once and for all" >, I said before we all took the first step into the upper world.