Portals!
This word weighed heavily on Tepo's mind. Back in the World of Endless Depth the portal marked the beginning of the end. When the portal opened, outsiders invaded, crazily slaughtering all humans.
Could something similar happen to the World of Carrying Winds? Although those strong warriors existed, the outsiders were branded too deeply in Tepo's mind. Their endless numbers might bring ruin to any world.
Tepo shuddered at the thought of it. Images flashed past his mind.
Didn't we also have our own strength? We had guns, which seemingly don't exist in the World of Carrying Winds. But we couldn't defend ourselves.
What if the outsiders exist somewhere out there? What if they are slaughtering worlds right now? What if they arrive here one day?
No! I can't let this happen! Not again! Not in this world, where superpowered warriors exist! I must become one of them! I swore to defend humanity! I swore when I took over Shev's duties. This is my purpose!
With each heavy breath Tepo's determination rose. The sharp gaze of an experienced killer returned. Killing intent rose in his mind. Instinctively he stimulated his soul.
Suddenly a picture of Tepo's body once again appeared in his mind. Shocked, he stared at a certain place on his chest. There, a golden circle waited quietly. The young man was confused, as he couldn't believe it. Wasn't this the object form his other life? Did it arrive together with him?
Curious but vigilant Tepmodus studied the golden circle. It was obvious that it had shrunken a lot. It laid quietly beneath his chest, giving of an exhausted feeling.
Even the symbols, which used to swim within the circle, had massively decreased in numbers. Now, only three of them remained. Although they didn't look blurry anymore, Tepo couldn't figure out anything about them.
Tepmodus didn't understand what had happened. Why had this circle fused with him? What did it want? What even was the circle?
Just as this thought came to the young man's mind, the circle reacted weakly. It sent out a stream of information. Although Tepo instinctively absorbed it with his soul, he only felt confused. He didn't understand anything.
He focused on the golden circle again. Did it seem annoyed? He didn't know why he thought so, but this was what Tepo perceived. Maybe this was the truth, as the weakened circle sent another batch of information.
This time it immediately transformed in his mind. A panel turned visible next to the image of Tepo's body.
>>> Core of Time <<<
Real name: Master of the everflowing, the immortal
Core rank: ??? Error
Core rank: damaged (3/100)
Core qualitiy: one star
Core level: 0
Host level: commoner (circleless)
Spells: none
Core abilities: none
>>> <<<
Tepo tried his best to understand what he saw. Was 'Core of Time' the name of the golden circle? The young man knew that every warrior relied on their core to grow stronger.
Not everyone could awaken a core though. Only those blessed with enough luck would awaken a core, enabling them to step on the path to power.
Therefore, every year an awakening ceremony would be held for all sixteen-year-old youths. This left Tepo confused, however, as he knew that his ceremony would be today. But what would happen to him, now that he already had a core?
The young man felt like trouble might be on its way, but he ignored it for now. Studying his core was the most important.
However, this might prove to be more difficult than he thought. His memories didn't hold much information about cores. For example, 'real name' stumped him completely. Tepo had no idea what it meant. After a few moments he gave up and focused on the other attributes.
Although he never learned about 'core ranks', with the information he had, he could at least guess that it corresponded to the symbols swimming within the circle.
The first time he saw the core, it contained thousands of runes. But now only three remained. It seems the core was heavily damaged when it brought him into this world.
'Core quality' and 'core level' also sounded logical. From Tepmodus' limited understanding those two represented the core's strength. Raising those also rose the warrior's level.
Circleless seemed to be the starting point. In Tepo's mind it was every child's dream to become a circled warrior, also called aspirant.
And last but not least the core listed all of Tepmodus' spells, which were obviously none right now. After all only aspirants could store spells in the segments of their circles, ready to unleash them at any time.
Familiarizing himself with his core, Tepo branded all the information in his mind. He wondered if it would have been possible to grow stronger in his old world too. He deemed that the likelihood for this was very high. They simply lacked the way to awaken one's core.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Tepo drove away this depressing thought. It was futile to lament about what could have been.
It was more important to focus on the present. Tepo felt slightly lost right now. He wasn't sure what path he could take. Since his mother was slightly overprotective, she had never endorsed any organizations to her son. Therefore, Tepo didn't have any connections to step onto the path of a warrior. He could only go with the flow.
And just as the young man was thinking about her, Reahva te Avatio was already standing outside her son's room. She had a frown on her young, fair face. Her long, brown hair was tied into a bun, as she already wore the violet-colored robes typical of an alchemist.
The normally gentle and calm woman was agitated at this moment. What was her son doing, wasting so much time? Today was such an important day. If he missed the ceremony, wouldn't he have to wait another year?
It couldn't be that he got cold feet, right? Although her son wasn't especially courageous, he couldn't cower today!
Not hearing anymore noise coming from the room, Reahva took a deep breath before knocking on the door.
"Tepo? Are you there? I'm coming in, ok?"
Tepmodus was still staring at the mirror when his mother's voice reached him. Suddenly his brain short circuited. Only now did it hit him. He had a mother in this life! The thought seemed so abstract until he heard the caring female voice now.
The door opened slightly as Tepo's body stiffened. It felt strange, seeing the tears welling up in his mirror image's eyes. Oh right. Those were his tears.
The coldblooded soldier, who had never cried since his parents died, suddenly couldn't hold back his tears two times on the same day. A chaotic mix of emotions swirled in Tepo's brain. Pictures of his old and new parents overlapped.
Finally, the door was opened completely. Reahva stepped into the room, reprimanding in a stern voice:
"Tepmodus! What are you doing?! You know today…"
Suddenly the woman's voice got stuck in her throat. Her gaze focused on her son, finding the tears in his eyes. Her stern gaze immediately melted. Her heart hurt. She was confused by the pain in her beloved Tepo's eyes.
Immediately she walked behind her son. Her arms wide open, she pulled the crying man into a big hug.
"There, there. Let it all out!"
Tepo's body shook. He hadn't felt such an embrace in so long. An embrace only a mother could give. The comfort and security. The feeling, that even if the whole world collapsed someone was there to hold it up.
Heart beating wildly, a smile formed on Tepmodus' face. He wondered how such frail arms could spend so much comfort.
He felt no awkwardness. It was as if he had known this woman his whole life. Strong feelings were anchored in his new memories, making him easily accept his family. Now if only his father was still alive, it would be perfect.
Tepo shook his head with melancholic eyes. He couldn't be too greedy. He already had gained so much.
Noticing that her son slowly calmed down, Reahva spoke caringly:
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were so anxious. You don't have to fear the ceremony, ok? Even if you can't awaken a core, life won't be over. You will still be my son! You will still be Tepmodus te Avatio! Never forget that, ok? I'm so proud of you!"
Listening to his mother's words, Tepo almost began crying again. Luckily, he could finally suppress it. Looking into his mother's eyes in the mirror, Tepo swore to himself that he would forever do everything he could to keep this woman happy.
He tried to speak solemnly, but only a hoarse voice came from his mouth:
"Thank you, mom. Don't worry. After today I will always protect you!"