In the first world, Arius sat on the edge of a high rooftop, contemplating Nahira's private armies stretching out before him as they trained and displayed their power. He said to himself in a calm yet contemptuous voice: "A pathetic army… there is no real discipline here, not like my army. Still, if I possessed such numbers of soldiers… would anyone be able to stand in my way?"
He raised his eyes toward the sky, swallowed by a deep sense of boredom, then whispered with an air of confidence and dominance: "I feel so bored, this place is so dull… it's time for some entertainment."
He raised his hand and summoned Rhinos: "Listen to me carefully, Rhinos. I am being watched from every direction, and movement will be difficult… but what I want from you is to take 7,000 energy soldiers with you and scatter into space. I want you to look for a specific matter, and I will remain in contact with you to guide you."
Rhinos bowed respectfully without uttering a word, then vanished with the soldiers, slipping through the rifts that Dark had precisely crafted for them. Arius nodded with satisfaction and said: "Very well… 3,000 soldiers remain with me; I will assign them tasks later."
He smiled to himself and said: "It's time to have a little fun."
He descended toward one of the military bases, where a number of Nahira's soldiers were training. He walked among them confidently, holding his head high and wearing a calm yet power-charged smile: "Hello."
The soldiers looked up at him, exchanging glances before one of them said: "Uh… you're that person Lady Nahira spoke about on the massive hologram that day."
Arius smiled and said, "Yes, it is I, in the flesh," as if he couldn't care less, adding coldly: "Yes… that is me. But tell me… who is the strongest person here among you?"
The soldiers exchanged glances again, then pointed to an agent sitting in the corner of the hall: "That man… he is the strongest."
Arius stepped toward him and offered a calm greeting: "Hello, sir."
The agent raised his head, his eyes as sharp as knives, and said sternly: "What do you want, boy?"
Arius gave a half-smirk and said in a calm yet defiant voice: "Actually, I want something simple… I want you to fight me here, right now."
Everyone froze for a moment, shocked by what they had just heard, before a faint laughter broke out among them, astonished by Arius's confidence, as if his words alone filled them with a mixture of bewilderment and awe.
The agent stood up slowly, his eyes full of warning and anger, and said in a sharp, dry voice: "Boy… it seems you do not know who I am… so I will let you go without a fight."
Arius smiled a calm smile, laced with a hint of defiance, and said coldly: "No, I will not go. I want to fight you… I am terribly bored and I need someone I can amuse myself with."
The agent felt provocation surging within him, so he quickly closed the distance, gripped Arius's shoulder tightly, and yelled: "What did you say, boy? Amuse yourself with me? Take this!" Then, he threw a punch at him with utter violence.
But Arius, with absolute calmness, raised his finger and stopped the punch in mid-air, saying with a smile: "A good attempt, my friend… but I am not afraid of punches like this. This would only frighten a child… as for me, I want a real challenge!"
The agent's rage ignited, and he began attacking Arius violently, each strike faster than the last. However, Arius, with a flashing movement swifter than everything around him, delivered a blow that no one could see clearly. His strike sent the agent flying, shattering a nearby hut from the sheer force, like a passing leaf in a storm.
Arius landed lightly on the ground and turned his gaze to the soldiers standing behind him. They stood there frozen in shock, their eyes wide and their hearts trembling from the impact of what they had witnessed. Arius smiled a wicked smile at them and said: "Do you want to play too?"
The moment they heard Arius's words, the soldiers all withdrew, running away and leaving him alone in his place. Arius wondered slightly, shaking his head gently as he said: "Ah, damn it… they fled. Whom am I going to have fun with now?"
Suddenly, he heard a voice calling him from behind. He turned around quickly to find a young man standing at a distance, holding his hat in his hand, his eyes filled with respect and shyness: "Excuse me!"
Arius looked at him in surprise: "Hello… why didn't you run away with the rest?"
The young man bowed slightly, removed his hat, and said in a sincere tone: "I am sorry to disturb you… but… are you truly Arius?"
Arius froze for a moment, examining the young man carefully, then said slowly: "Yes… I am Arius. And who are you? And how do you know my name?"
The young man laughed lightly, his eyes sparkling with memories: "Really… did you forget me just like that? I am your friend… Ramin."
Arius opened his eyes wide, unable to believe what he was hearing, and said in amazement: "Ramin… is it really you, Ramin?"
Ramin smiled and said calmly: "Yes, my friend… it's me."
Arius looked at him, unable to credit his own eyes: "Wow… I didn't believe you had grown up, and look at yourself, man, you've become… taller and stronger… believe me, I wouldn't have really recognized you if you hadn't told me."
The two stood for a moment, staring at each other, the air around them charged with astonishment and nostalgia, as if everything around them had stopped for a second, leaving the echo of this old friendship pulsing powerfully in the heart of the moment.
The two embraced in a long, longing hug, a hug that blended the emotions of the seventeen years that had separated them, as if time had stopped between their arms, with no sound except the heartbeats reminding them that they had never lost that friendship, despite all that had passed.
After moments of silence, Arius breathed deeply and said in a voice full of nostalgia:
"Man… believe me, I was truly bewildered by what happened to you. I thought I had lost you forever."
Ramin smiled calmly, patting his friend's shoulder, and said:
"And I never imagined that I would see you again… especially in a place like this. It has been seventeen years since the last time I saw you… but look at yourself, you haven't changed much."
Arius laughed lightly and said:
"Yes, I went through many circumstances, my friend… but look at you! The last time I saw you, you were my current age, and now you've become a man in every sense of the word."
Then he tilted his head slightly, smiling, and joked:
"Wait… let me guess, your age now is… twenty-eight? Right?"
Ramin laughed and said:
"Ha, indeed that's correct. It seems you are still as good at guessing as you always were. But you, on your part, look as though you are still a teenager!"
Arius smiled and said with a calmness laced with bitterness:
"That's because I actually am a teenager… I am only sixteen years old now."
Ramin's eyes widened in silent astonishment, and he didn't know what to say for a moment, then he said:
"Sixteen?… That's impossible, how? A long time has passed!"
Arius laughed a little and said:
"My story is long, Ramin, but believe me… I myself didn't expect to live through all this. There are things that cannot be easily explained."
Ramin stepped closer to him and said with a warm smile:
"Well, it seems we need a long time to talk. Come, let's continue our conversation in a quieter place."
Then the two raised their heads toward the sky and took off at a staggering speed, piercing through the clouds until they reached one of the high rooftops in the city surrounding Nahira's grand palace. They sat there, the wind stirring their hair while the city lights sparkled below them.
Ramin said, looking at the luminous horizon:
"You know, my friend… I didn't believe my eyes when I saw you. In fact, they told us that you died after falling into that ill-fated pit years ago. They even held a real funeral for you."
Arius fell silent for a moment, his gaze turning mysterious and deep, before he said in a low but steady voice:
"You know, Ramin… I am grateful for that pit. If I hadn't fallen into it… I might now either be living the same humiliation and insult I used to live before, or perhaps I would have been truly dead a long time ago. My fall there was not the end… but a new beginning. It was the key to my escape from what I used to be."
Ramin contemplated his friend in silence, sensing something strange, a mixture of unfamiliarity and admiration. He saw in Arius's eyes something he had never seen before… a dark depth resembling the sky before a storm, and a calm confidence pulsing from his words as if stemming from a heavy, untold past.
The two sat on the edge of the roof, the wind whipping against their clothes, looking toward the distant horizon, while Ramin thought to himself:
"What has Arius gone through… to become like this? This is not the friend I used to know… this is someone who walked out of hell and returned alive."
At that moment, the city was sinking into the silence of the day, but in Arius's eyes… there was a spark of something greater to come.
Ramin sighed slowly, then looked at Arius with eyes full of curiosity and concern, and said:
"Tell me, my friend… won't your return here bring back everything you went through in the past? Won't it be a reason for what happened to you to repeat itself?"
Arius smiled a calm smile and answered in a low but confident voice:
"In fact, things are different… the Arius in front of you now is not the same person you saw seventeen years ago. In the past, I lacked power, so I was helpless before everyone, feeble and powerless… but now, I possess power, and much more than that. Believe me, a day will come when you will see me avenging myself on everyone who humiliated me… keep these words in your mind."
Ramin hesitated for a moment, then said seriously:
"Do you truly believe you are capable of facing Lady Nahira?"
Arius's eyes looked toward the distant horizon, and he fell silent for a bit before saying:
"Currently… I don't think so. I know she possesses incredible power, and that she is capable of crushing anything in the blink of an eye if she wishes. In the past, when she used to crush me, I was certain she was only taking it easy on me. Therefore, now… Nahira is not among my targets at all, and it is best for me to stay away from any trouble with her."
Ramin smiled gently and said:
"You really have changed…"
Arius raised his eyebrow inquiringly:
"And how so?"
Ramin laughed a little and said:
"If you had the same past personality, you would have said that you would do anything to defeat your opponent no matter how strong they were, and you were always reckless without thinking… but now, you seem wiser and more cautious."
Arius looked at him deeply and said calmly:
"The truth is… it's not just about me as a personality, but about the circumstances you go through. Wherever you are, believe me, you will change with time… and I admit, I have changed a lot in another place, and I hope I never lose this part of me."
Ramin smiled and said sincerely:
"I hope to see that place which changed you so."
Arius smiled too and said with a slight grin:
"Believe me… it is a nice place, with good people whom you might like if you met them."
Ramin replied, smiling:
"I believe you, my friend… and I hope to meet those you speak of one day."
Arius smiled with a slight sadness and said:
"I hope so… but for me, it might be difficult currently."
As they sat on the roof, a silence fell between them, carrying the weight of the past, the ambitions of the present, and the threads of future hope that had not yet been discovered.
The two moved on their way amidst the golden sunbeams that were filtering through the trees and the small houses along the hills, while Arius listened attentively to the ring of Ramin's voice as he explained the details of his new life. Ramin said, smiling:
"I now live in one of the eastern neighborhoods within the continent belonging to the grand capital, and I have married and have two beautiful children."
Arius raised his eyebrows in surprise, with a smile reflecting his admiration:
"Ha… so you've become a father and a husband? Your family is very lucky to have you, man."
Ramin laughed lightly and said:
"Rather, I am the lucky one to have them."
A few minutes later, the two reached a small wooden house, overlooking the grand capital and its towering buildings from one side, and a village where the simple common people lived from the other. Arius looked around in admiration and said:
"Wow… is this your house? It's very beautiful!"
Ramin answered as he opened the door of the house with a smile:
"Come on, please come in, lunch is ready."
As soon as they entered, Ramin's children greeted them with immense joy. The two little ones shouted with glee:
"Welcome back, Father!"
Ramin smiled and said:
"Children, I have a special guest with me… my dear friend whom I have been telling you about for a long time."
The children turned to Arius and said cheerfully:
"Welcome, Uncle! Father has told us a lot about you and what you used to do together."
Arius smiled warmly and said:
"I am honored to meet you, children… my name is Arius."
The boy replied with a smile:
"I am Ryan."
And the girl said with innocence:
"And I am Rin."
Arius approached them, stretching out his hand to pat their heads gently, saying:
"Your names are very beautiful."
Then everyone went inside, where Ramin's wife, Dayana, stood smiling and greeting Arius:
"Welcome, guest!"
Ramin said:
"Dayana, this is my friend Arius whom I used to tell you about."
They exchanged greetings with a friendly smile, then Ramin said, gesturing to Arius:
"Come, sit here."
Arius sat on the couch, and the two children sat beside him, their eyes sparkling with admiration and fascination, while Arius smiled at them calmly, sensing the warmth of the family and the spirit of love that permeated the place.
Arius smiled shyly, trying to evade some embarrassment, while the children sat around him with endless curiosity. Ryan said excitedly:
"Uncle… is it true that you and my father used to cause riots in the city streets in the past? And say that you would become the rulers of the world?"
Arius laughed lightly, a hint of embarrassment appearing on his face:
"Yes… we used to do that just for entertainment when we were young."
Rin intervened quickly, pulling Arius's shirt innocently, saying:
"Uncle… did you really used to claim that you were wanted criminals with huge rewards?"
Arius looked at Ramin, smiling with embarrassment, and said to the girl:
"Yes, my little one, we used to play like that too."
Ramin laughed and said, smiling:
"Tell them, Arius, about whose idea it was to throw the bottle of skin dye at one of the capital's nobles in broad daylight!"
The two children were amazed with joy:
"Did you really do that?"
Arius smiled and said:
"Yes, we did it."
Ryan asked in astonishment:
"And whose idea was it?"
Arius laughed and said:
"It was my idea!"
Everyone laughed heartily, and Ramin said, smiling:
"You know, little ones? All the crazy ideas we used to do… your uncle Arius was the one who came up with them, and I was just executing and going with him toward trouble, even though I was an obedient and polite boy."
Arius smiled and said, laughing:
"But I was the one who used to rescue you from high places when you would get stuck and get scared of coming down like children!"
Everyone laughed at those memories, and Ramin said:
"Yes… what days those were!"
Rin looked curiously at Arius and asked him:
"Uncle… where have you been all this time?"
Arius looked at her seriously for a moment, then said:
"The truth is… I was out of the country, in a very distant place, and I only returned recently."
Ramin intervened quickly to save the situation with a smile:
"Ah… he was away on business… and he finished it now, and just returned to us."
Ryan looked in wonder:
"But Father, you told us that Uncle Arius died a long time ago!"
Ramin smiled in confusion, trying to calm the situation:
"Yes, that… was an old story… don't worry, everything is fine now."
A mixture of astonishment and curiosity appeared on the children's faces, while Arius sat smiling between them, sensing the warmth of the moment and the family spirit that brought him back to the past with its beautiful memories.
Arius smiled calmly as he saw the looks of curiosity sparkling in the children's eyes, then said in a warm voice bearing a trace of mystery:
"The truth, my little ones… yes, I was dead, but not a real death as everyone thinks."
The children exchanged glances in astonishment, before one of them asked in a hesitant voice:
"What do you mean, Uncle? How can you be dead and not dead?"
Arius laughed lightly, then squatted in front of them, placing his hand on one of their heads, and said:
"I was on a secret mission… a mission to save this world. And for it to succeed, I had to disappear completely, even from my dearest friends. Therefore, a rumor spread that I was dead, so that no one would know what I was planning."
Signs of amazement were drawn on their small faces, and one of them said with enthusiasm:
"You mean like the superheroes who disappear in the shadow?"
Arius laughed again and said in a slightly sarcastic tone:
"No, I am not a superhero… and I don't really like them. But I admire what they do sometimes, just no more."
Everyone burst out laughing, as if this moment of warmth had removed all that remained of the past's weight. Then Dayana's voice came from inside, calling them gently:
"Come on everyone! Food is ready!"
Everyone sat around the table, and the atmosphere was full of laughter and calm breaths. Simple yet precious moments, as if time had stopped out of respect for them.
After eating, they all sat in the outdoor garden, while Arius played with the two little ones under the soft lights of the sunset, a sincere smile on his face that was rarely seen by anyone.
Dayana looked at her husband Ramin and said with a calm smile:
"He is a truly wonderful person… he possesses a presence unlike anyone else."
Ramin answered her as he contemplated the scene before him:
"I know… I didn't believe he returned until I saw him with my own eyes. He defied the impossible and returned from among the ashes, not as a loser, but as the winner he always dreamed to be. I hope to see him achieve everything he aspires to… and to be a part of that journey of his, or a simple reason for his arrival at his goal."
Then he added in a voice full of gratitude:
"He was always there for me… even when I was outcast and weak, he was the only one who extended his hand to me. He wasn't just a friend… but the brother my mother didn't give birth to."
Dayana put her head on his shoulder and said gently:
"Darling… I hope you achieve your dreams together."
Ramin pressed her to his chest and whispered, smiling:
"And I hope that too… from the bottom of my heart."
Under the warm glow of the sunset that filled the sky with its golden and orange colors, everyone sat in a quiet silence, enjoying the gentle moment that gathered them after a long separation. But this calmness did not last long; suddenly Arius's phone rang, and the call was from Nahira's assistant, asking him to return to the palace immediately.
Ramin raised his eyebrows, inquiring:
"What's the matter, Arius?"
Arius stood firmly, his eyes contemplating the horizon for a moment before answering in a calm voice:
"It seems I have to go now… I received a call to return immediately, Nahira wants me for an important matter."
Ramin trembled slightly out of anxiety and said firmly:
"Be careful… those people are not ones you can lower your guard before."
Arius smiled with mischief and calmness, then said:
"I know that… nonetheless, I must leave now."
Little Ryan smiled hesitantly, looking at his uncle:
"Uncle Arius… will we see you again?"
Arius bent forward, placing his hand on Ryan's head, his eyes sparkling with warmth:
"Of course you will see me soon… and I promise you that I will take you with me to fly to any place you want."
Then he paused for a moment and pointed to Ramin with a wide smile:
"Ah, a reminder, Ramin… allow me this."
An astonishment mixed with admiration appeared on Ramin's face:
"What is it?"
Arius suddenly brought out four energy soldiers from his body, and everyone froze in astonishment before the amazing sight, as it appeared as though the soldiers were born from Arius's pure energy.
Arius said with calmness and power:
"Listen to me, Ramin… do you allow me to keep these soldiers with you to protect your family from any danger or any threat?"
Ramin smiled reassuringly:
"Of course… do what you wish, my brother."
Arius laughed lightly and said:
"Well… not only this, but I will be able to communicate with you through them as well. Don't worry, they are obedient and trustworthy soldiers."
Astonishment appeared on the faces of the two children, Ryan and Rin, and they said together:
"Wow… this is something extraordinary!"
Arius issued his orders to the soldiers, commanding each one of them to stay inside the body of one of Ramin's family members to be the first line of defense. In a flashing moment, each soldier entered inside the body of the person assigned to protect them.
Arius said, smiling:
"They will come out whenever you want… and now, it's time for my departure."
He bid everyone farewell quickly, then rose into the sky in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a silvery trail of his energy, while Ramin stood staring at the sky in astonishment and admiration, saying with a smile:
"How amazing you are, man… haha!"
The air was whispering with the scent of the sunset, and the four soldiers inside their bodies, as a silent protection, were sending Arius's energy for safety and reassurance, while Arius moved away, heading toward his next mission with an unshakable confidence.