"It must be your imagination," grinned Ori. "I am still eighteen like the last time we met!"

"I can see that," Arthur did not refute him, but the gray sideburns Ori had torn a hole in his heart. "I don't understand what happened."

"I can see that you had no time to understand," Ori walked toward Rae, who was struggling to stand up. "You are more ruthless than I remember you to be."

"I don't think I am the only person who has changed," he said as he looked at the runic circle. "You became a grandmaster, it seems."

"I had enough time and knowledge to advance my career," Ori crouched beside the bleeding Rae, and he took out an artifact with which he used to stab her. "We all did what we have to do," he said with sadness.

"You know him?" scowled Rae light from the artifact healed her wounds. "This bastard has a death wish. I will kill..."

"The two of you saved me before by working together," Ori told her. "You two are friends."

"Lies," she frowned. Arthur simply shrugged as he couldn't decide what they were, but they indeed worked together in their final moments on earth.

"What have you done to my powers?" Hel asked Ori, who turned toward her with a polite smile. Then, he bowed down.

"I apologize for taking your child. We have our reasons for that, but your child is unharmed in any way. Our medics are trying their best to make sure it was not affected by the evil scheme of the corrupted."

"Stop talking as if you did me a favor, human," Hel walked closer as her serpent hissed beneath her clothes. "Give me my child back, or I will kill you both."

"That is only natural," nodded Ori before he turned to Arthur. "Please follow us to the headquarters. I will explain everything over there."

"I think we should listen," Arthur turned to Hel, who seemed to consider the matter. "I know him from a long time ago, and I don't think that he means harm. Even if this was a trap, there is not a lot that they can do."

"Hah," Rae smirked as she looked at him. "Big words from someone who can't even use mana."

"Red," frowned Ori at her provocation. "This is not the behavior I asked regarding the Seika. I already told you that he was an ally."

"I am just..." Rae started to explain, but her eyes widened. Arthur was on the ground as he touched the runic lines. Ori was also shocked as he turned to look at him.

"My mana is back," Hel said as she clenched her fist. "It seems your tricks don't last for long, white human."

"I see," muttered Arthur with a smile. "We are not in a circle but are surrounded by it. You used runes to draw mana toward the outside, allowing to create a manaless field."

"Haha," laughed Ori helplessly. "I can't believe that I was the one to teach you about runes so long ago. You are still the genius who was crowned champion."

"This proves that they can't harm us," Arthur smiled as he reassured Hel, who nodded in understanding. "It is time to visit the Council of Recreation."

***

"Grandmaster Oriole, ascension," said Ori as they stood in front of a giant spatial door. A light appeared to verify his identity, scanning his head to toe.

"I didn't think you would use your real name," Arthur was amazed. "Maybe it is safer if you used an alias."

"I don't get to enjoy cool titles like Seika of Living Beings. The moment I appeared here, I was taken in by a blacksmith. I thought I was simply in a different place, not a different world."

"I appeared in a forest of druids," Arthur laughed.

"Well, it didn't exactly go well after that. The village I appeared at was close to the calamity gates, and it got wiped out by a horde of monsters."

Before Ori could continue explaining, the spatial door opened. The scenery beyond the door amazed Arthur and Hel alike because it looked like a mechanical city.

A long street greeted their way, filled with machinery and shining runes. Vehicles that looked like carriages ran without horses, and people flew across the skies.

"Welcome to Paradise," said Ori as he walked into the city. Arthur and Hel followed along, with Rae following after them. After they crossed the door, the noise of the city filled their ears.

"Are you sure that you can take us on now?" gloated Rae despite Ori glaring at her. Then, Ori waved his hand with a sigh, and Rae disappeared.

"Where did you send her?"

  "Back to her house," Ori looked embarrassed. "I tried to change her character, but it seems that it was drilled into her bones. I apologize, dear guests."

"I don't care," said Hel as she looked around the city. "Where is my child?"

"Please follow me," said Ori with a nod. The three of them walked through the city and got to meet countless people, who stared at them with curiosity. There was no fear or caution in their eyes, suggesting how safe this place was.

Arthur followed after Ori silently, looking at his friend's aged face. It was hard to believe that it had been twelve years since Ori arrived in this world and that he was still alive.

The case might not be the same if it was his family. His mother was a non-awakener, despite Arthur giving her a set of abilities that could help her. She was still even weaker than a neo-ranker.

"Are you worried?" Ori suddenly asked as he turned around. "There is no need to worry about your family. I don't think they were thrown into this world."

"What makes you say that?"

"I have yet to find a different person from that incident other than us three," he said with sadness. "I believe that we were not sent over here by the temporal divergence but by Ellen herself."

"Are you saying we are the only ones she sent to this world?" Arthur frowned. "That does not make sense. Why would she do that?"

"Maybe she knew we threatened her," Arthur could not see Ori's face, but his voice was shaky. "I don't know. I thought I knew her better than anyone, but the darkness changed us. I managed to be saved by you, but it was too late for her."

"I want to know what..."

"Let us talk about that later," Ori interrupted him. "I don't want your friend to destroy my city. We are here."

They stopped in front of a giant building full of moving gears and openings for the flying people to go in and out. All those who saw Ori bowed to him, and he did not reply as if he was used to it.

"You truly built a place for yourself," Arthur said as he imagined a future for his city too. Ori smiled but did not say anything, leading them to a door encrypted by runes.

"Grandmaster Oriole," he said again before touching the door. The runic lines moved, and gears began to turn as the door opened. A white room greeted them, filled with toys and drawings.

A child was sitting on the ground, playing with an older woman. Arthur realized it was none other than the hydra's child, but he looked normal now.

"Kaya!" Hel was the first to bolt into the room, stopping only a few meters away from her child. The child flinched before he turned to look at his mother before tears filled his eyes.

"We should give them some time alone," Ori said as he gestured for the caretaker to leave the room. "As for us," he turned to Arthur, "we need to talk."

***

"Welcome back, father!" Ark ran toward Ori the moment they walked into the pavilion. Their hug came as a surprise for Arthur, who was not used to the thought of Ori being a father.

"Have you finished your studies?" Ori said while squinting his eyes. "I hope you didn't skip them to play with your friend again."

"I would never!" said Ark offended as he glanced at Arthur. "Is he your friend, father? This man is so young."

"Well, life has a way," sighed Ori as he patted Ark's head. "Return to the lab for now. We need to have a word. Make sure to take your pills, okay?"

"Yes, father!" nodded Ark before running away. Oriole watched with the concern of a father, and Arthur was somehow proud to see his friend like that.

"Artificial life," said Ori with a complex gaze. "I always imagine the day where I don't have the supplies to keep him alive. Sometimes, I wonder if I did the right thing."

"I don't understand why you needed a replica," Arthur said. "I can only imagine the amount of effort and time consumed to create artificial life."

"There are reasons for that," said Oriole with a sigh.. "At the beginning, I created Ark to create organs for my body; my body is dying, so I needed a way to replace it."

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