Reincarnated Hero System

"Not in the slightest, but I trust in you, or more accurately, I trust in the power your real body possesses that can bring us back in record time."

Jamie rolled his eyes, unimpressed by the reasoning, but before he could respond, Arthur thrust his fist forward, his expression expectant.

"A reunion it is. What do you guys think?"

Beatrix's expression immediately brightened, practically bouncing on her feet as she eagerly reached forward.

"Oh, me, me, me, me! I'm in!" She grinned and bumped her fist against Arthur's.

The others hesitated only briefly before eventually following along, stacking their fists together in agreement.

Arthur smirked at the sight. "Well, I guess that's the plan. Let's go fight another planet next time."

"Oi! Don't jinx it!" Evan instantly retorted, eliciting laughter from everyone.

But just as he spoke, a strange pulse of cosmic energy flowed through the area, wrapping around each of their outstretched hands and 'binding' them.

Jamie's eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he didn't hesitate to reach out telepathically to the only person he could think of who might be behind it.

[What the hell are you doing, Ranus?]

The answer came almost immediately, the amused and slightly condescending tone of the Eternal Reality echoing in Jamie's mind as if he had been expecting the question.

[You and your little group… the combination of all of you from different universes and different times… somehow managed to create one of the most entertaining things I've had the pleasure of witnessing in quite a while.

So, I simply made it a little easier for your reunion to become a reality.

After all, the boy's words might as well have been a binding vow, and with all of you agreeing to it so readily, you've essentially sealed the deal.

If the conditions are ever met, you will reunite, whether you want to or not.]

Once he'd said his piece, Ranus cut off the telepathic link, leaving Jamie frowning in irritation.

Arthur, who had also noticed the strange flow of cosmic energy, turned to Jamie and asked, "What was that?"

Jamie sighed softly before shaking his head, brushing off the irritation that lingered.

"No, nothing, just Ranus being an idiot, as usual."

"Ranus?" Arthur echoed, his expression remaining curious.

Jamie waved him off casually to drop the topic.

"It's nothing important, don't worry about it."

Arthur, however, wasn't convinced and looked like he wanted to ask more, but after a brief silence, he seemed to change his mind. Instead, he lifted his right hand and began pressing a sequence of buttons on the Cosmic Teleporter strapped to his arm.

The gathering of spatial law energy around his arm as he entered the commands didn't go unnoticed by those nearby.

Seeing the source, Artemisia tilted her head slightly in curiosity as she asked.

"What are you doing?"

Before Arthur could answer, the space behind him distorted, cracks spreading outward in every direction as a vast swirling portal of energy began to take shape, pulsing with powerful cosmic energy.

The others instinctively stepped back, their eyes widening in surprise at the sheer intensity of the energy radiating from the portal that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Is that…?"

Evan muttered quietly, a glimmer of recognition crossing his eyes as he stared at the sight before him.

Arthur glanced his way before shifting his focus back to the expanding portal and replied,

"Yes. A Cosmic Gate to another Universe."

His tone was calm as always, even when speaking of something that would sound absurd to most.

"It's not fully formed yet, since leaving a Universe is far more complicated than most would expect. Right now, the gate is attempting to connect with the space-time continuum of the destination Universe, and that process is going to take a while."

That was why he had begun its generation now. By the time their farewells were done, it would be ready.

Beatrix watched the swirling mass of colours, her gaze thoughtful as she studied the shifting streams of energy weaving within the Cosmic Gate.

Arthur, noticing her curiosity, gestured toward it.

"You can get closer if you want. It's not going to pull you in or anything—unless you actually touch it, of course. Don't do that. I have no idea what would happen if you did."

Beatrix shot him a deadpan look and crossed her arms. "Yeah, Arthur, I don't think I'm going to risk my arm touching something that can transport someone to an entirely different universe. No, thank you very much."

Arthur chuckled and shrugged, but before he could respond, Evan spoke up.

"So, though I can't see it, I know that thing is gathering an absurd amount of cosmic energy."

Arthur turned to Evan, his expression—one that practically said It's called a Cosmic Gate, of course, it does—shifting into realisation.

Noticing this, Evan laughed and continued.

"Arthur, I think you just helped the universe do its job of gathering way more than necessary. In fact…"

He trailed off as he slowly looked down at himself.

The others followed his gaze and immediately noticed the faint, nearly imperceptible layer of blue light starting to shimmer around his body, a blend of temporal and spatial law energies, exactly what was needed to send him back to the future.

Just then, Jamie seemed to notice something, catching Artemisia's attention, but before she could comment, a portal appeared and a goddess stepped out, dressed in a black maid-like outfit.

The goddess's expression immediately turned to one of shock, not because of Jamie, but the immense Cosmic Gate behind Arthur, sensing its overwhelming law energy.

Arthur casually explained it was just a gate to another universe, leaving her staring at him incredulously.

At this, Beatrix burst out laughing.

"Hah! Arthur, you're the first person besides Mom and Uncle Jamie to actually make Aunt Mei's expression change this much in a short time!"

The goddess Beatrix called 'Aunt Mei' slowly blinked, then sighed, shifting her attention to Jamie and bowing slightly in respect before turning to face Artemisia and Beatrix.

"Young ladies, it's time."

Artemisia sighed softly and nodded in acknowledgement, while Beatrix's expression immediately dropped, her usual enthusiasm replaced by reluctance.

Without hesitating, she turned to Alvey and ran toward him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. Despite being able to stop her, Alvey didn't. He simply stood there, letting her hug him as much as she wanted.

The moment was short-lived, however, as the ever-composed Artemisia reached forward, grabbed Beatrix by the collar, and effortlessly pulled her away.

Looking at the others, she nodded lightly and said, "See you guys later."

She then dragged Beatrix toward the spatial gate, though Beatrix still managed to wave enthusiastically as she called out, "Bye!"

It only took a second for them to step through the portal and vanish, leaving behind Arthur, Alvey, McEnda, Jamie, and Evan.

◇　◇　◇

The group of seven had dwindled to five, and it looked like Jamie would be the next to leave.

His body, made of cosmic energy, began to dissolve, turning translucent as he noticed it and smiled wryly, then addressed Alvey McEnda.

"The others already know about my departure. My 'Demon King' Authority would be active for a few years, tell them it's a little parting gift."

McEnda's eyes widened at the words. If Jamie's Authority remained active after his departure, the other Race Kings wouldn't realise he was gone for quite some time.

That would give Gozon much more time to redistribute the resources and territories under his control and manage the reactions of the other Intergalactic Hegemons when Jamie's absence eventually became known.

"I've made plans for special support for you, Alvey. I believe in your potential, and I've ensured you'll receive the help you need to realise it."

Alvey's eyes grew slightly wider, and he bowed.

"Thank you, Your Excellency."

Jamie chuckled softly.

"Don't worry about it. Old folks like us need to support kids like you to grow up."

His body continued to fade as he spoke, his right arm dissolving first into wisps of cosmic energy.

At the same time, the space behind Evan tore open, creating a jagged rift in reality. Chains of sky-blue temporal energy shot out, wrapping around him.

Evan looked down at the glowing chains and sighed.

"I didn't miss this."

Arthur laughed at the universe's forceful way of dragging Evan back in time, while Jamie grinned and said,

"Next time, come of your own volition. That way, you can choose how you leave."

Evan rolled his eyes and replied, "Yeah, even if I could travel on my own, I don't think I'd willingly go back 10,000 years in time. Unless, of course, someone's trying to kill past me or something."

Arthur and Jamie exchanged glances at that response.

"You know..." Arthur mused.

"He actually has a point," Jamie agreed.

As their conversation ended, another Cosmic Gate appeared behind Jamie.

Unlike the massive portal Arthur had created earlier with the Cosmic Teleporter, this one was smaller but radiated the same powerful energy, an exit from this Universe into another.

Unlike Arthur's Cosmic Teleporter, which required time to connect to its destination, Jamie's gate was instantaneous.

It was just a fragment of his soul returning to its origin, a journey that had already begun the moment he arrived. The connection between his soul fragment and his true self had always been there, ready to pull him back when necessary.

"Wow, you guys get Cosmic Gates, while I get a rift in space. This is like the third one already, and I know there's a fourth waiting for me back home." Evan grumbled under his breath.

Arthur caught his words and shot him an incredulous look.

"Dude, did you just spoil the last arc of your current Volume?"

"Not really. The Volume has 'Rifts in Space' in the name, so they already know this isn't the last one." Evan replied with a shrug.

"Fair point."

Arthur nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm kinda torn on the name for my next PART. This one's Exodus, so I really want the next to have something to do with 'Levites' or something…"

Arthur's muttering caught Jamie's attention, and he turned to him with a knowing look.

"I see what you did there. Genesis, Exodus, 'Levites'…"

Arthur chuckled, and at that moment, the final chain of time wrapped around Evan's torso.

Jamie, whose body had almost completely faded, raised his left hand and flashed a peace sign with his last two fingers.

"See you around."

""Yeah. See you around."" Arthur and Evan replied.

The moment they spoke, everything happened simultaneously.

Jamie's body fully disintegrated, collapsing into a swirling mass of cosmic energy before being drawn into his cosmic gate.

At the same time, the chains of time yanked Evan backwards, dragging him into the spatial rift.

Arthur leapt into the Cosmic Gate behind him, mirroring Jamie's peace sign before vanishing into the portal.

Only McEnda and Alvey remained, watching as the last traces of their departing companions disappeared into the vastness of space.

◇　◇　◇

And then there were two.

Alvey sighed softly, crossing his arms. "Well… It's back to just us."

McEnda chuckled lightly. "Yeah, just us."

As they lingered among the fading traces of spatiotemporal energy, McEnda spoke again.

"You know, Alvey… I'm going to push for us not to go along with the final plan for this planet."

"…what?"

Alvey's eyes widened in surprise. Of all people, he hadn't expected that from McEnda.

And judging by the slight smirk on his friend's face, the Archdemon clearly knew exactly how shocked he was.

"It's a Prime World, you know? A few more centuries, and it would be of help to Gozon."

Alvey reminded McEnda of Aramis' value to Gozon's cause, but that didn't sway him.

"I know. But my decision stands. Let's leave it as a World of Memories."

"World of Memories, huh? Has a nice ring to it."

Alvey nodded, watching the dense cosmic energy around them slowly fade. He then patted McEnda on the back and said,

"If that's your decision, then we'd better start laying the groundwork now."

McEnda sighed and shook his head with a grin. Back to work for us, huh?"

"Back to work."

With that, the two demons turned and walked away, their choice altering Aramis' fate forever.