The sun had risen to its zenith by the time Aryan finished his explanation of the past. He had spoken of a world remade by fire and blood, of lost years and brutal new powers. The air in the gazebo was thick with the weight of his words.
Anand, meanwhile, calmly finished his breakfast, his focus unwavering as he wiped his mouth with a clean cloth. He seemed to have absorbed every shocking detail, yet his mind was on a different, more immediate matter.
"What date is today?" he asked, his voice casual, as if asking about the weather.
The question hung in the air, a stark contrast to the grim history Aryan had just recounted.
Aryan, caught off guard by the mundane query, simply answered.
"It's the 28th of March, 2207," Aryan said, a long sigh escaping his lips. "We are currently in the City of Eclipse, in the Sharon Spire. So, what are we going to do now?"
The sheer weight of the date, 27 March 2207, had finally settled in. Anand looked down at his hands, at the two strange rings on his fingers. He had no memory of the world that was, but he could feel a power coiled within him, a power that felt alien and untamed. Before he could even begin to comprehend the world Aryan had described, he knew he had to gain control of this force.
Without looking at Aryan, he spoke, his voice calm and steady, as if making the most natural request. "Get a house in the outskirts of the city. It would be good if it's near a jungle or a place where no one comes. Hire some maids and a chef specializing in post-gate Indian cuisine.people who can keep their mouth shut."
Aryan stared at him, flabbergasted. He had just delivered half a century of history, a tale of monsters, bloodshed, and a world remade, and the persons first command was a list of domestic chores.
"Anything else?" Aryan asked, a tight mixture of confusion and disbelief in his voice.
Anand finally looked at him, his expression an indifferent mask. "I need new clothes."
He rose from his seat, took a few steps toward the garden's exit before pausing. From over his shoulder, he spoke, almost lazily:
"Oh… there should be a testing facility nearby, right?"
Aryan blinked at the sudden change in tone. "Y–yes, there is. Just around the corner from here."
A slow grin curved across Anand's face, sharp and mischievous.
"Good. Let's pay it a visit first."
Without waiting for an answer, he resumed walking, the grin never leaving his lips.
Aryan scrambled after him, half-curious, half-nervous, as if he'd just been pulled into something he wasn't ready for.
Anand and Aryan stepped out of the hotel.
The city beyond was a vision of the future — towers of glass and alloy that gleamed under the pale-blue sky, their surfaces etched with glowing runes of reinforcement. Floating boards projected news, dungeon clearances, and guild rankings high above the streets. The air hummed with patrol drones, their sleek bodies marked with guild crests rather than government seals. On the wide roads below, armored transports and luxury rides cruised smoothly, engines humming with energy far different from what Anand remembered.
For a moment, Anand paused, simply admiring the sight. So this is what civilization became after the gates, he thought.
Aryan moved ahead toward the curb, where a car waited — sleek, dark, low-bodied. At first glance, it looked almost ordinary, like a luxury sedan from the mid-21st century.
Anand smirked. "You still stuck in the past? I thought you had better taste."
Aryan gave him a bland look. "It only looks like that on the outside. The interior is custom-built. Powered by beast core and aether current. Even the lowest of these costs hundreds of millions."
He ran a hand lightly along the hood. "Mana-compression exhaust. Reinforced alloy plating. Fully bulletproof, explosion resistant. The shielding can withstand direct strikes from Rank VI monsters. On the road, it can outrun most drones, even an awakened up to Rank V."
Anand leaned back, eyes narrowing slightly. "I know about beast cores. But this… Aether Current you mentioned earlier — what is it?"
Aryan hesitated, his hands pausing on the wheel before he started the car. The low hum of the engine filled the silence.
"It's not something you can hold, like a core," he said slowly. "Think of it as the bloodstream of this world. A flow of raw energy that seeps out of the Gates and circulates everywhere — in the air, the ground, even inside us."
Anand's gaze sharpened. "So it's the foundation."
"Exactly." Aryan nodded. "Beast cores are just crystallized fragments of it. But the Current itself… it's alive, in a way. Some say it responds to willpower. Others believe it's trying to reshape the world into something new. Whatever it is — every awakened power, every artifact, every monster — all of it traces back to the Aether Current."
A faint smile tugged at Anand's lips. "The world's veins, then. Whoever controls the Current… controls everything."
Aryan swallowed hard, gripping the wheel tighter. "That's why so many are trying. And why the wars never stop."