Even though the sun rose quite some time ago, it was still dark out within the forest. There was no clear path through the undergrowth in this part of the Agrean forest since it was seldom traversed by merchants or patrol squads. Nevertheless, Kiefer had easily levelled the ground and cleared a small path wide enough for the carriage to pass through the last 4 days of their journey.

It was quite evident the way they came through, with a trail of smooth earthen ground behind the carriage and dense untouched forest ground in front. Right at this moment though, they were in a small clearing that Kiefer had prepared where they had spent the night. The campfire was smouldering and on its last breath, cinders barely staying alive in this cold. Dirty pots were strewn on the ground next to the campfire as snow was falling into the clearing where there were no trees to shelter the family.

Kiefer climbed out the rear of the carriage where they had slept for the night, his feet sinking into the fresh snow. There, Isana was packing up the pots and pans after washing them in a basin of water that Kiefer had prepared and kept warm last night. The water was meant for morning tea but now it was dirty and greasy. Kiefer smiled, and pulled out another steel jug from hi PD as he cast a mall flame to heat up the snow he gathered within. Within minutes Feir started waking up from the aroma of the tea that Isana and Kiefer were enjoying.

Stretching and yawning while letting his tongue hang from his jaws, Feir hopped off from the roof of the carriage where he slept and shook off the snow that had gathered on his grey fur. On the wooden roof of the carriage was a circular spot that was not covered in snow.

Having stashed everything away in their PD, Kiefer climbed up onto the driver’s seat and started the carriage moving once more, simultaneously ripping trees out of the ground in front of them and packing the uneven ground into a smooth path with his mana ropes. Isana was in the carriage looking out the back where they left footprints and wheel tracks in the snow.

Finally arriving at a familiar location a few hours later, Kiefer stopped to let the horses rehydrate. There he was, standing next to a river that led to a sheer vertical drop some distance away. There was a thin layer of ice hugging the banks where the water flow was quite slow, while the middle of the river was rushing past rapidly. The distant roar of the waterfall could be heard and just being there woke Sher up from her slumber.

Below the waterfall was Sher’s lake and the irrigation canal that Kiefer had dug out. Kiefer stood over the waterfall, remembering his arduous first week after Grandu transported him here. Right below, was the tiny cave where he had hit the ground after a botched skydiving experience. He remembered his first shelter, the mana poisoning, the trenitt that ate his shelter and the fight with Sher.

“Is something wrong?” Isana questioned, sticking her head out the carriage, watching Kiefer deliberate over the waterfall.

“Master is feeling homesick.” Sher chimed in. “This is where he first arrived in Aioa after he died in his world. I think he is remembering what happened before he arrived here.”

Isana turned back to look at Kiefer, carefully observing his facial expressions. Kiefer had a longing look in his eye, staring at the waterfall like it was something that he could not reach. He smiled slightly, a solemn sad smile that pierced Isana’s heart. Then, as his eyes met Isana’s, the smile turned brighter and he made his way back to the carriage.

“Do you miss your home?” Isana asked, the conversation about returning to Kiefer’s world re-emerging in her head, the worries resurfacing.

“Yes.” Kiefer replied, looking back at the waterfall. “But if I had the choice to stay here with you, or go back to earth alone, I’d choose you.” He continued, quelling Isana’s worries.

“Why don’t we take a break here? You can tell me more about your world.” Isana suggested, to which Sher and Feir immediately perked up. They were eager to learn more about their master, to understand the man that came to overpower them and care for them.

“Sure why not?” Kiefer smiled back sweetly, taking out a trough filled with horse feed and placing it in front of the horses. He returned into the carriage and sat cross legged on the soft blanket across from Isana. Sher was leaning next to Isana while Feir was on her lap.

“My world used to be like Aioa, except without titans, mana and mages. However, that was probably several hundred years before I was born. The only intelligent species were humans. We did not have elfs, dwarves or demi-humans. Instead of magic, we had science. It helped us understand ourselves, others and our surroundings. We developed tools to help us advance and to make our lives more comfortable. Great machines capable to mining what would take a hundred miners a month within a day. Special equipment that helped us look into the stars and study not just what was limited to our planet, but many other planets beyond our galaxy.” (Kiefer)

“Galacksy?” Isana asked? Never having heard that term before.

“Yes galaxy. It is what our planet and probably this planet too belongs too. We each have our own galaxies. Imagine if Aioa were a grain of sand, then the galaxy it is in would probably be bigger than this whole planet.” (Kiefer)

“Wow, soo big!!” Sher exclaimed, excited by the new knowledge.

“Yes it is. It is a constant reminder to my race that no matter our achievements, we are merely insignificant beings carrying out our lives in a grand universe that is beyond our understanding. It serves to humble us as we learn more. My job was to learn and discover things previously unknown to the world. There is a saying that goes like this – the more we know, the more we know just how much we don’t know.”

“The more we know the more we don’t know?” Sher chimed in, trying to make sense of what Kiefer said. Kiefer simply ignored her and kept going.

“Then we studied the really small, to try to understand how and why things work the way they do. Why we exist, how it all began, what affects us and how we can use the knowledge to help humanity. Everything was an effort to improve our lives and extend our influence.” (Kiefer)

“Hmm.. sounds like a great place to be living in. it sounds so civilised and peaceful.” Isana commented, imagining a perfect world without any conflicts.

“It is, in some parts of the world. Conflict and war has always been a key part of my planet’s history. There will always be people with different ideologies and goals. It is not as peaceful as you think. To make matters worse, because we are so advanced, we put our knowledge to use in the worst possible ways, making massive weapons that could wipe out the earth of all life several times over.” Kiefer corrected Isana, who seemed shocked at the thought of global destruction in an instance.

“What about you? What’s your home like Isana?” Kiefer asked in return.

“Well, there is nothing much to say really. It’s just a cave where I usually sleep in. Everything is white there, except the sky where sometimes, there are pretty lights that I can watch. There are no humans in the north, just dwarves that live underground. There are plenty of wyverns though, and they all listen to me.” Isana described, thinking back of the mountain that she had left more than a year ago.

“And what about plants? Are there any animals other than wyverns?” Kiefer asked, now interested in the place he was about to visit.

“There are a few trees here and there but not enough to form a forest. We have snow berries that grow in thorny bushes. Other than that, it’s mostly just sparsely spread bushes and small plants that can resist the cold. There is one animal that most of the others feed on. They are called Pingest, and they look like trenitts, but only with 2 eyes and no tail. They are pure white and their teeth could bite through rock if need be. Their skin is tough but their flesh is delicious. Most wyverns and seraplors choose to hunt these little creatures. But these buggers don’t go down without a fight. They will often bite their attackers so hard their predator ends up howling in pain and releasing their jaws.” Isana mused, thinking back on a memory that Kiefer had no knowledge on.

“Well, you’ll understand when you get there. It’s not as desolate as you might think, and once you go underground, you will be able to meet the geniuses who actually built small towns and villages underground.” Isana continued.

*grrooowwlll……*

Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the deep menacing growl that interrupted their conversation. There they saw Feir sitting up with his tail tucked between his hind legs. His chin was down and he looked up at Kiefer and Isana with puppy eyes.

“Sorry master… I couldn’t help it… I’m a little hungry.” Feir apologised, making Isana chuckle while Kiefer just smiled.

“That’s fine. It’s almost lunch time anyway. How about I catch some fresh fish and Isana and Sher can whip something up fast?” Kiefer addressed the group, to which Feir nodded vigorously while Isana got up to climb out the carriage.

Hovering above the lake where Sher used to call her home, Kiefer sent out a wave of mana to sense for any large fish within the water. However, something seemed off and he kept sending out wave after wave to confirm that he had not imagined it. Confused and curious, Kiefer lowered himself and stepped into the cavern behind the waterfall once more. This was the first time he had re-entered the cave ever since he left it.

There, coming from within the depths of the cave, was a mana signature that seemed to completely cancel out his mana wave. It felt like the time he stumbled across the spatial barrier around Arigan. Kiefer cautiously made his way into the dimly lit cavern, the only light coming from what was reflected off the water surface outside.

There was a familiar feel of gravel and rocks below his feet, the constant dripping of cold river water from the roof. A steady chilly winter breeze blowing in puffs of water mist from the waterfall enveloped the cavern’s airspace. The last time he was here, Kiefer was completely naked, just torn away from his family. And yet now, he was lavishly dressed, and together with his new family.

Kiefer readied himself for battle, wondering if it was another magical beast that that taken up residence in this cave. His mana wave could only distinguish between living and non-living things based on the amount of his mana particles that were converted away. He did not know what to expect, feeling exactly like he did when he first landed here.

As Kiefer made a final corner, there he saw on the ledge where he had fallen, the cause of the feedback from his mana wave. There was absolutely nothing but air. He sent out yet another pulse and sure enough, the very spot on the stone ledge completely annihilated the mana particles in his pulse, as if it was a void that sucked all mana in.

Waving his hand over the ledge, sitting on it and standing up to look at it again, Kiefer could find nothing wrong with the particular spot. There was absolutely nothing wrong except for the mana disappearance.

“No frikkin way… it couldn’t be” Kiefer thought, a sudden idea developing in his head. “It couldn’t have been this simple.”

Pausing and considering his options, he decided to just go for it and see what happens. Not even considering returning to inform Isana, Kiefer was overwhelmed by his new discovery and urge to test out his new hypothesis. He opened a PD above the ledge, in the space where the feedback from his pulse came from. However, only a familiar white space greeted him. It was still just his PD and nothing more.

Rethinking his methods, Kiefer began spreading out his mana to coat the entirety of the cave. With what he was about to do, he did not like the idea of the cave collapsing down on him and bringing the torrential force of the cold river and waterfall down along with the cave. Once the mana barrier was laid out, Kiefer concentrated on the same spot above the ledge and took a deep breath.

Concentrating his mana particles in a point, he compressed and crushed them, opening a small singularity. Immediately, air within the cavern started being sucked in, bringing in a rain of cold water from the entrance. He extended the black point into a vertical line and opened it from the middle like undoing a zip. Eventually, there, above the ledge, was a black circle that had the markings of what resembled a PD.

“No way. I can’t believe it worked.” Kiefer muttered out loud, staring into the new portal he had ripped in spacetime. Instead of the pure white canvas that greeted him every time he opened the PD, this time, he was staring at a dark ocean surface, with slow rippling waves from about 50m in the air. However, the surprising thing though was not the ocean surface. It was the single crescent moon that was reflected off the water surface.