Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

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A group of people were gathered in front of a small house. One side of the house led to a jungle and the other side led to a hill with a strange structure on top of it. "It's the house you told us about? It's smaller than I imagined!"

"Haha!"

At the blonde boy's remark, the young man with long, light-brown hair chuckled gently and stepped forward. Searching through his loose robe, he took out a pair of keys and stood in front of the door. The hand holding the keys paused midway as he stared at the keyhole in a daze. "...."

It's been many years since he left this house to look for a certain man, and here he was, back at the house, without even a single clue about the said person's whereabouts. All the flowers in the garden had withered, the grass was covering the whole place, and the house looked old and damaged. Anyone could say that no one has set foot here in ages.

He visited two other structures, researched the universal powers mentioned by Roy, learned how to wield that power and use it, learned a lot of new knowledge in his journey, and did a lot of different jobs, but nothing led him any closer to Roy's current location. He found a lot of friends in his years of traveling. There was this blonde dude, who despite having a rich merchant father, ran away from his house in search of adventure. While being best friends, Reynold couldn't deny that this boy was a fool. There were also other people. A few of his students tagged along, saying that they wanted to learn more from him. There was a child he picked up from the slums and two beggar siblings he rescued from hunger. They all tagged along for various reasons, following Reynold around in his journey. Reynold wasn't alone anymore nor was he as helpless as he used to be, yet, he didn't give up on his search for the red-haired immortal. Despite having so many people surrounding him all the time, deep down, a huge hole in his heart has always remained empty.

"Heeeyyy what are you thinking so seriously about?"

With a pat on his shoulders, Reynold snapped out of his thoughts. He sent a glare at his friend before looking back at the door again. With a slight nervousness in his heart, Reynold thrust the key into its place and pushed the door open. Dust and dirt scattered around as he sat foot into the house that he left more than ten years ago. The inside of the house was filled with spiderwebs and was covered in a thick layer of dust. The first thing that came into one's view was the small table placed near the entrance. On top of the table sat a piece of paper under a layer of thin clothes to prevent it from being dirty and something to prevent wind from blowing it away.

"....."

Reynold stood at the door, watching the scene that was the same as when he left the house. On the letter, his handwriting was visible. There was nothing else added to it, nor was it moved even the slightest. The faint hope and the little expectation he had died down in his heart again like in the past ten years. "What's with that pitiful face you are making? Move aside!"

"Eww! This place is so dirty!"

"Master, is this our new house? How long are we going to stay here?"

He watched his group rush into the house and begin the clean-up process immediately, planning their lunch while deciding the tasks. The atmosphere was as lively as it's always been. "Cough."

Without even looking at his wet hands, he hurriedly whipped his mouth off the blood, but his actions were already under close watch of the others. "He threw up blood again!"

One of the children shouted and the other ran to him. Arthur, his blonde friend, approached him and grabbed his arms, pulling him inside the house while nagging under his breath. "Go get some rest before you fucking collapse again, dumbass!"

"Yeah, take him away."

"He'll slow us down, luck him down somewhere."

A faint smile was visible on the feeble young man's face, but he didn't seem happy at all. It was the same kind of smile he'd sometimes make while looking at the night sky. "...."

When he opened his eyes, he was staring at a white ceiling. His limbs were numb and his mind was foggy. For a long time, he couldn't comprehend the situation he was in, lost and confused. "I'm Kairen..." he muttered after a few minutes. "Kairen. Kairen. Kairen Stayton..."

His identity and memories gradually pushed away the dreams he had, clearing the fog in his head and erasing his confusion. Kairen shifted his gaze to the window. Various gates were floating high up in the sky, giving off an ominous vibe. 'I guess everyone is busy right now.'

The fact that even Aaron wasn't at his side meant that the others were struggling to take care of the situation, yet the hospital was calm. He could see no collapsed buildings nor hear any screams or panicked voices. Didn't that mean that everything was under control? It was good, then.

'I think the gates are gathering more energy...'

Was it because he half-assed his job, or was another element involved? Could it be that, from the start, it was Samuel's plot to mess with this world using those gates? Was there a way for him to find out? He needed to do the mission that was given to him by... Roy...

"Haaaah!"

Kairen spat out a sight, rose his itchy body up, and stood on his feet by leaning on the serum stand. He stumbled out of the room and wandered into the hallway until arriving at a specific room. Kairen carefully opened the door and walked inside. "Hmm... Hello..."

A young man with slightly curly dark-brown hair was sleeping on the bed.