Aias: from a world of kaijus to a world of fantasy and magic

After saying goodbye to Aria, telling her that we'll talk later if the matter I had to deal with wasn't that urgent, I walked off, making sure she wouldn't follow me—only to realize, unfortunately, that she was.

Sighing internally, I wonder how I should approach this so this doesn't become awkward. Maybe I should confront her directly or just let her follow. No, those two are just a pain for me to do.

Maybe… why don't I… just lose her?

Kinwall's shop was tucked away in a secluded back alley, where hardly anyone wanted to pass through. So if I wanted to lose her, I'd need a crowd. Quickly picking up my pace, I made my way toward Athrun, but I detoured onto a bustling main street lined with shops and teeming with people on the way.

Quickly taking off my cloak, I inverted it, from black to grey, and put on my hood during the quick moments Aria loses sight of me.

Then, blending myself through the crowd and walking a couple of streets down, followed by turning right onto the neighboring street, where there weren't that many people walking down it, and where the back alley Kinwalls shop used to be.

Checking again that I wasn't being followed, I confirmed that I had lost Aria, so I made my way without much worry.

Passing by Hutch's shop and to the back alley, I make another turn and look at where Kinwall's shop was.

I saw a man with a black hood covering his face, and noticing my gaze, he turned to look at me and smiled aloofly.

"Ah, your eyes are different colors again, blue like last time."

Walking up to me as he said that, he examined my expressionless face, specifically my eyes, closely with a finger on his chin.

"How strange. But anyway, how are you?"

"Good, but why are you mentioning my eyes of all things again?"

"Just curious."

"Curious about what?"

"Can't say, but are you sure your father is Margrave Lucendi Lucis, or are you sure your mother is Marchioness Morwenn Elza?"

Again with that? Why is he asking if I'm a legitimate child? My mother is a materialistic, pretentious, self-absorbed fool who only ever cares about flaunting her wealth. She is not loyal to my father at all, but the thing about her is that she is just smart enough to know what she could get away with and not. Cheating on my father would ruin everything she's worked so hard to cling to over something idiotic like that. And as for my father, it isn't even a question; being the power-hungry fool that he is, having an illegitimate offspring would not be a benefit to him.

So saying no and telling him that, he then asks the following question.

"Hmmm…" rubbing his chin, "Then have you found a similar place to the one in the Dradevow dungeon?"

"No, why does it have to relate to my eye's color changing?"

Jeez, sensing his thoughts, I couldn't get an idea of a reason he is so fixated with my eyes, but I sensed that he was looking at a connection of some kind, maybe a familiarity.

So, stopping mana from flowing throughout my body, I blink and turn the pupils of my eyes back to their original color, red.

"Because I can switch between eye colors now."

Still sensing his thought and now reaction, I notice that he seems surprised under his aloof smile. It wasn't that he didn't expect me to do something like that, but rather that it caught him off guard, as if he knew it was possible and didn't think I could do it.

"You don't say. I've never seen that before. How did you do that?"

Hearing what he said, that felt faintly like a lie, so trying to probe him some more, I answered honestly by saying.

"By controlling the output of my mana to the absolute bare minimum, just enough to change the color of my eyes."

"Really, that is really impressive. Did you learn how to do it yourself?"

"No, I had help from Emma. She taught me a lot, but the eye color change was more of a byproduct of using my mana channels as extra storage."

"Mana channels? Why would you do something like that? Isn't that really painful to burn your mana channels instead of just letting your mana pool grow naturally?"

Shrugging my shoulder, "Not really, you know how I unlock my magic and also my mana nature during my fight with Boras?"

"Yes, I am aware."

"Well, you see, one of my mana natures allows me to absorb mana from any source, like other people's spells and even monsters. During my fight, I inadvertently absorb quite a lot of mana from the monster cores you've given me, and that, inadvertently, burns my own mana channels due to the sheer amount of mana I absorb. So, no, I didn't really do it on purpose. But I had to learn how to use it because I needed a way to drastically expand my mana capacity."

"Huh? Why do you need to do that?'

Sensing his question, it felt like it was a nail in a coffin to confirm something beyond a shadow of a doubt. So, wanting to test him, because he clearly knew something I didn't, something I sensed that definitely could be related to me.

"Because for some reason or another, I can't use normal lightning magic, only magic infused with my mana nature."

Immediately, he just stared at me, blankly, but the most surprising part was that his typical smile was gone, replaced with a blank one.

I don't know what exactly was going through his mind, but I could tell from his eyes that he was going through many, and I mean many, thoughts right now.

Giving him a minute to think, his aloof smile came back, but for some reason, he began looking at me differently, ever so slightly.

I don't know what that is all about, but not trying to waste any more time, and already saying enough for one day, I changed the subject by asking.

"Anyways, so why did you call for me? And is everyone else here in Farsbarow?"

Answering me, he said.

"Everyone is still in Acton; it's just me, and I want to discuss the passageway you've found." Walking out of the back alley we're in, he then said.

"Come, let's take a walk as we talk."

Huh? But why?

Getting a read on his aloof smile, he hid his inner thoughts well, but I sensed there was something to it, which I could infer that much without reading him; however, it was for something completely different from what we are going to talk about between us.

Seeing me there, standing there still, he pulled out a necklace of some kind and said.

"Don't worry about our conversation being overheard. I've got this nifty artifact over here that makes sure our conversation won't be heard by anyone besides us."

Following him, a bit dubious of the artifact he was dangling in front of me, he then began explaining why he asked to talk with me.

"Sorry, but I couldn't send a letter. Couldn't risk it, you see. I want to keep the passageway you found a secret, since it would be quite the discovery in Acton if word got out. But the main reason I came here is because it seems that we can't open the second door."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Continuing to read him and paying attention to the slightest change in his words, I sensed there was more to it, though I couldn't get much more than that.

"The second door?"

"Yes, like I said, it seems to be locked."

"Have you tried breaking through it?"

"No, that seems too risky since I don't know what would happen if we do."

Hearing what Athrun said, I was relieved that they didn't open it that way. I didn't want them to start looting whatever was inside, mainly because of the automatic security system activating if they did. Fortunately, I put the medical center in hibernation; however, it doesn't mean that it cannot turn on, but it just means that it takes a lot longer to do so to get everything up and running, which could still pose a danger to them despite their skill.

"So, you've come all this way here to ask me how I open it?"

"Yes, I would like to know that."

"Then, I'm afraid that I don't know as well. Like I said when I told you originally, after I fell unconscious, I then woke up in a strange place that vaguely looked like a hospital, with no one around."

"I see, but is there anything else you remember after and before you fell unconscious?"

"Hmm…" Pretending to remember something, I said. "Well, I was really heavily injured after I fought that Drake. And before I collapse, it's a bit hazy, but I remember the first door opening, followed by hearing something coming out."

Intrigued by my answer, Athrun asks what kind of noise and how injured I was.

"I don't know how to describe it, but the best I could describe it was like a humming of some kind."

"Interesting."

Following up with an answer for his next question, I warn him before he tries anything dumb. "Athrun, if I know what you're thinking, don't try to have Cor hurt himself to get in. I had really severe injuries and burns after fighting that Drake, so don't try it even if Sarah can heal him after if it doesn't work."

Saying that to him, I told him another lie since I didn't want him to know any more than he had to. And if, in the event that it works, since Base 38's medical center has been in this world for an unknown amount of time, I don't want Cor trashing the place.

The actual reason is the Ori energy being detected in the boss room, so the AI there sent a drone to investigate. If I tell him that, then he would get suspicious of how I know that, which may or may not lead to him knowing that I was not from this world.

So far, I don't really have an issue with people finding out that I got reincarnated into this world, but I can't be too careful about it because if I found Base 38 Medical Center, then who knows what else I would find from my world in this one.

Thinking that, having weaponry from my world in this one, and this world being filled with kingdoms that typically go to war with each other on the regular, would not mix well at all. Granted, things like guns won't really change much, but I know how to operate and have administrative access to the much, much, much more devastating weapons.

It would make me a target if people were to suddenly find more places like Base 38 that somehow show up in this world, which I feel like there are definitely going to be more of in my future, because Base 38 is not the only base that got swallowed up by a spatial ball.

"Hmm… well, that is a shame, but do you mind coming with us anyway after your situation is sorted out?"

Deciding on a response, I said, "Maybe, but that's like a few months from now at least."

Saying that bought me some time to think of an excuse not to go with him, and for them not to go to Base 38's medical center forcibly.

"Well, that is a shame."

Feeling like that was his actual emotion, he then said.

"Hmm… I guess you're right, but in the meantime, have this."

Taking something out of his pocket, he presented me with a small, slim, white rectangular thing of some kind.

"This is a communication artifact; we can contact each other with it. I have my own. Here's how it works."

Proceeding to pull it from end to end, expanding it, he then proceeds to show me how it works, which… which… which… I stood there, absolutely overwhelmed by what I saw. It wasn't because it was a smartphone but because of the fact that it was in a language I am all too familiar with.

That can't be. I don't recognize the model, nor why it could work when Athrun said I could communicate with him using it, since there isn't any infrastructure in this world to connect with it, but that thing was definitely from my world.

Stopping as I did, he asked what was wrong, and I stood there for a moment, no, two, processing it all because he definitely got that from another base that got hit by a spatial ball.

With my voice and face devoid of any emotion, more than they already are, so absolutely no one knows what I was thinking, I ask.

"That's really a rare device. How the heck did you get something like that? I doubt my family, before I ran away, could barely afford such a thing."

Continuing smile, aloofly, he said. "We found it in a dungeon, I believe, similar to the one you found."

"Really, why haven't I heard of it? It must have been massive news."

Asking that, I'd sense that what he said was a lie for some reason.

"Well, we keep it a secret, you know? Got to keep it hidden if you want to make a lot of money. Plus, that place is, how do I put this, dangerous even for us to go to; even Cor had to stop playing around if we wanted to get there."

"Really? ... I guess you're right."

Again, hearing what he said, it was another lie, though in the last part, I sensed there was some truth to it.

"Anyways, here, take it."

Handing it over to me after showing me how everything worked, I took it and pretended to play with it, practicing what Athrun had taught me.

"Huh… you seem to be a quick learner."

Putting the phone away in my pocket carefully, Athrun suddenly swerved his head as if he was directly looking at someone.

"Ah, there you are, Philip, no… Edwen."

Aria's perspective

Tailing Blake after he told her that he had an urgent matter to deal with, she grew worried that it might be bad, especially so when Blake said that it was a private matter he had to deal with and didn't tell her anything.

She thought that she should follow him, just in case he needed it, especially with the type of connections she could ask for.

With that in mind, she continued tailing Blake, following him down the street until he turned onto a main street. For a few seconds, she lost sight of him, and when she made the turn onto the main street, she blinked, followed by a couple more blinks, looking through the crowd of people, seeing that Blake had completely vanished into thin air.

Searching through the crowd more desperately, she couldn't find Blake till she heard a familiar voice.

"Ilesha, what are you doing here?"

Hearing Edwens' voice, calling out her alias, she turned to him, also surprised.

"Ed—I mean Philip, what are you doing here? I thought you were sleeping in, with everyone else, today?"

Under Aria's inquisitive and suspicious gaze, Edwen's face revealed his thoughts much too easily.

Though Aria wasn't really exerting much pressure, Edwen caved in under her gaze and sighed, saying the actual reason he wasn't sleeping in, expecting her to scold him for not telling.

"I'm here to help, umm… find Alan's sister with a lead we've stumbled upon."

"What?!!! Why didn't you tell me?"

Shocked and shouting it out loud, which got some stares from the people passing by.

Seeing her start to pout, he quickly started explaining.

"You see, we've got a lead from someone working in the guild that he saw someone resembling Rita. We're trying to find out the inn Rita may have stayed at."

Not looking her in the eyes, feeling guilty for not telling her, he quickly added, not wanting to incur any more of what he thought was her ire.

"We didn't tell you because you said you were busy, and we didn't think it would lead anywhere."

As he said that, a thought came to his mind. "Wait, Ilesha, why does it seem like you were following someone? Don't tell me, you were following Blake, weren't you?"

Now, with that question, the roles were reversed, and Edwen looked at Aria with suspicion.

"Well, I… I… I…" deflating as she attempted to think up an excuse but came up with nothing, she eventually admitted. "I was following Blake."

Raising one of his eyebrows, Edwen looked not too pleased about it, not because of her tailing Blake, but because of the fact that Aria was showing concern over Blake, which he quickly grew jealous of, for him to take Aria's attention.

"He said that something urgent came up as we walked past each other by the adventurer guild. He seemed like he was in a real hurry because he didn't have time for a quick chat, so I… I… decided to follow him just in case he needed our help."

Finally admitting that out, Aria did not look at him directly, to which Edwen looked at her feeble, tiny self and took a big sigh.

"I told him to go that way; I saw him invert his cloak to change it into a grey one."

Pointing in the direction Blake went, Edwen then said.

"Are you sure you want to find him?"

Nodding her head up and down, Edwen reluctantly pointed in the direction where he last saw Blake going, but he warned.

"I doubt we would be able to find him."

Hearing that, she puffed up and said, a bit defiant with Edwens' pragmatic words.

"We still have to try."

So saying that and going together, they make their way through the crowd to find where Blake had gone. However, after looking around for close to 15 minutes, they couldn't see him.

"Huh… We lost him; do you see him anywhere?"

"No."

Shaking her head, no, Edwen responded with a sigh.

"Let me try and sense for his mana signature; maybe we could find him there, but I doubt it would work."

Doing just that, Edwen closes his eyes as his hair glows golden. Looking for any traces of Blake's mana, he had low expectations until he picked up on a mana signature he did not expect to see.

Immediately turning his head in that direction because he was really close, practically next to them, he saw Blake, talking to…

That face, recognizing it anywhere, though his eyes and hair are a different color, he knew it was him, and a single word leaked out of his mouth.

"Uncle?"