As Kai delved deeper into his search for any similarities between the two worlds and to search whether any senior sister or brother had come before him and influenced the world in any way, he found nothing.
Traditional history books had yielded nothing but dead ends. However, Now it seemed that senior Ragnar gave him some hope, and what was interesting was that he came around the point when the enigmatic Astral realm intruded on the daily lives of the people of this world and replaced their warm quilts of peaceful lives, with cold winds of reality of surviving another day, until some valiant champions stood up to its oppression.
As Kai continued to walk with his gaze fixed on the ground, an old man appeared from the opposite direction. The elderly figure leaned heavily on a crutch, his steps slow and deliberate, a silent testament to the weight of time that had borne down upon his once-vigorous frame, but now it seemed frail.
Tap!
Tap!
The old man's crutch, worn and scarred from years of use, tapped rhythmically against the floor of the small hallway.
As they both neared each other, Kai finally registered the rhythmic tapping sound in his ears. He finally looked up from the ground and his gaze met the old man's eyes.
In an instant, the realization hit him like a lightning bolt, but it was already too late to react. Both Kai and the old man tumbled to the ground, his books scattering around them.
Amid the scattered books and the unexpected collision, Kai quickly sprang into action, his concern for the elderly man overriding any frustration he might have felt.
The old man, struggling to regain his balance, managed to sit up with a grimace of pain, his crutch lying beside him. Kai extended a hand to help him up, offering a heartfelt apology, "I'm so sorry, sir. I should have been more aware of my surroundings."
'Dammit! I should have been more careful! but wait, why does he seem familiar to me?'
The old man, with a kind smile despite his discomfort, accepted Kai's assistance. "No need to worry, young man. These things happen. I appreciate your help," he replied with a gentle voice.
Then the old man looked at his face and smiled cheekily "Young people generally do this kind of trick with a girl or someone they like but you... have you taken a fancy to these old bones?"
"Uhh..." Kai was instantly thrown off guard by his statement.
The old man steadily stood up with the help of his crutch and patted Kai's back while smiling " Hehe, I am just joking young man, no need to worry so much, I have already lived my life"
"The name's Ryan by the way," said the old man and moved past him.
As the old man moved past him, Kai hurriedly gathered the fallen books, ensuring they were not damaged, and stood up and glanced in the direction the old man was going.
'He seems to be going towards the garden'
***
Kai was in his room, settling the books on the study table and examining them. His gaze was fixed on their cover pages but his mind was still on the old man. His face seemed a little too familiar to him but no matter how many times he tried to remember, he just couldn't figure out why the old man's face seemed familiar.
It was as if there was some kind of lock on his memories, which was preventing him from remembering. It was quite ironic to be honest, it was today only that he got the ability of indexing his memories but now he...
"Wait a second..."
Kai immediately searched his memories with the keyword 'family' and immediately information about his family came rushing into his mind.
He started sifting through his memories and suddenly his heart skipped a beat as he saw the face of Ryan in his memories.
It immediately struck him why he was feeling familiar with him, It was because Ryan had the face of his late grandfather.
Kai's heart raced as he tried to make sense of this development. Memories of his beloved grandfather, whom he had lost years ago, flooded his mind like a tidal wave. He remembered the warm smile, the twinkling eyes, and the countless stories his grandfather used to tell him when he was a child.
Tears welled up in Kai's eyes, but this was not the time for him to be crying. He had to find Ryan.
He looked up at the clock and saw that it had only been twenty minutes since their chance encounter.
'Ryan should still be in the garden' Kai thought.
"But I would have to hurry or else I will be late for my combat lessons!"
Kai immediately darted outside of his room and hastily found his way towards the garden, his heart pounding with anticipation and a sense of urgency. He couldn't believe that he had actually failed to recognise the face of his grandfather.
As Kai approached the garden, he spotted Ryan sitting on a weathered bench beneath a blossoming cherry blossom tree. The old man was lost in thought, staring at the flowers as if they held the answers to the mysteries of the universe.
"Ryan!" Kai called out as he approached, his voice filled with excitement and curiosity.
Ryan turned his head, his eyes crinkling into a smile as he saw Kai approaching. "Ah, so you have indeed taken a liking to these old bones"
"Uh..."
"Relax, I am just kidding. Come, have a seat" He shifted a little and offered Kai a seat.
'Damn this old man!'
"What is that you want to ask?" Ryan eyed him curiously.
"Why are you here, I mean..."
"Isn't it obvious that I am also going into the astral realm" Ryan cut him off abruptly and said in a gentle tone, his eyes forlorn.
"But I haven't seen you around during the combat lessons?" Kai immediately felt stupid for asking that question.
Ryan amused, looked at him with a smile. "These old bones of mine can't handle that much stress and besides I have already accepted my end"
Hearing that made Kai feel a little complicated, even though he had only met Ryan recently, he still felt bad about it.
"But that doesn't mean I need pity. Look at all these people passing by and looking at me with remorseful eyes."
"But don't you want to survive?" Kai asked