150 years before the explosion - Coliseum

When the old man was young, he was a one of the first gladiators to battle in the coliseum in the capital of the Dragon Empire. Since he had inner mana but was born in the slums, the best way to earn money was to work in the recently build coliseum

And since his power, charisma and intelligence were great, he quickly became the strongest gladiator and people's favorite

So when he was suddenly asked to meet the current ruler of the colony and 4th prince of the Dragon empire, he was honored, but not surprised

He went thinking he would be asked(or forced) to do something to entertain the prince, and if he performed well, he would probably get some kind of reward

IF he had to choose between going or not going, the young gladiator would not go, since he earned quite well in the coliseum and fighting monsters or people in the coliseum was safer than the whims of a noble

Sadly, refusing a noble (especially since he was the local governor) would be a death sentence. Leaving him with the choice of going or running for his life

And since he was confident in his ability to get away from any kind of situation, he considered that it was better to try his luck with the prince and run away if things turned south

Soooo, he went to meet this 4th prince, hoping to safely entertain this spoiled brat, earn some money, and never be seen again

He got taken to the palace by carriage, forced to take a bath, change his clothes and warned to behave in front of the prince or else...

Making the young gladiator extremely angry, but thanks to the experience in the coliseum, where anger could lead to an early grave, he managed to keep it controlled

Then, after been properly dressed and prepared to meet the prince, some guards escorted him to a room, where he found the prince sitting on a chair while drinking something

The young gladiator fist impression was that he really looked like a prince. Dressed in fine clothes, not a scar on his hand or face, white skin as milk, and an aura of confidence and elegance

But what surprised the young gladiator the most was his eyes. Not in a sense that they were pretty or something like that, but the look they had

He couldn't understand what it was that surprised him, but deep down he knew this wasn't a spoiled brat, and after getting everyone present away from the room, and getting offered a drink and a place to sit by him, the young gladiator knew his suspicions were worse than he thought

"So, wanna help me rebel against my father?"(prince)

At that moment, he seriously lamented not running away when he could

100 years before the explosion - Battlefield

After reluctantly accepting the prince proposal, he became the captain of an special corp, entrusted with all kind of missions, going from supply transport to secret missions to key strategic ones. Basically, whatever kind of mission that needed to succed no matter what

And all of them were carried masterfully

And for some twist of fate or simple luck, both the prince and the ex-gladiator now captain, got along quite well, so they usually got together and chat about different stuff when they could, forming a friendship that lasted for years

Of course a lot of people were against this, making it a pain in the ass for both of them, but they still did it since they weren't the kind of men that would stop doing what they wanted just because other people opposed to it. If they weren't that kind of man, they wouldn't fight against the empire while having to worry about the elf, dwarves, beast man, demons and the other kingdom

But even with all these, their friendship and war went successfully for years, with some minor setbacks here and there. sadly, after 40 years of wars, the prince was killed in a successful attempt at his life, leaving all to his son and his friend to finish what he started

10 years later, in a final battle in an open plain, the empire, and the colony had their final fight, finally accomplishing the prince wish. That day a colony died, and a new empire was born, the Griffon empire

"Is it finally over"(soldier) asked the captain after the hard battle they just fought

"No, we are just beginning"(captain)

30 years before the explosion - Old man Store

After that battle, he became an adventure to get away from politics and help the kingdom stand on his feet after a long war. He accomplished many things as an adventure, but in the end he retired after 50 years of hard work and opened a simple store

At the beginning it was a place to sell all the stuff he got over the years, but thanks to his contacts, and unbelievable strength, he became a known figure in the underworld by getting rare stuff that were difficult to get, and at the same time, a force you don't want to mess with

So he spent most of the time at the store, with his contacts, and a few fights with thieves, or at the coliseum for fun. And It was at the store, 120 years after meeting his old friend, that he got to meet one of his descendants

It was there that he got the same proposition that he got 120 years ago, and for the same reasons, since this prince found out about him thanks to his fights at the coliseum(even if the was using a mask and a fake name so he wouldn't get found out)

But unlike last time, the old man refused without second thoughts

For starters, he was already an old man, so death didn't scare him that much. And the other reason was that he didn't like him that much

He had his great great grand father's eyes, his smarts, and his tenacity. All good qualities in a prince, but he lacked something that was, in the old man opinion, his great great grand father's best trait

So with the excuse of been too old, he refused the prince request

Luckily, he wasn't killed for the refusal, and the prince even managed to restore the kingdom to his former glory, and even surpass it by a large margin, making the old man glad that his old friend wish finally came through

10 years before the explosion - Coliseum

Even though he didn't regret not helping his old friend great great grandchildren, when he heard that his son was the champion of last year tournament and was going to take part again, he couldn't resist and went as a contestant

The quality of the participants were excellent since a lot of people entered the tournament to test this young prodigy, and even some to try to kill him

The old man even had to get a little serious sometimes, unlike the last few tournaments he won, reaching the finals after working out a little more than usual. The hype for that battle was unbelievable, and the price for the ticket went to an unbelievable amount, since everyone knew that the fight would be epic

And it was even better than they could ever imagine. The battle was an epic exchange of deadly blows that even caused cracks in the land, and no one could predict how it would end

Sadly, the battle did end, with a victory from the young prince. If the old man was 80 years younger, he would have won for sure, but with his old age, fighting a young man full of vitality was quite hard, even with all his years of experience. Still, if it was him 80 years younger while the prince was 10 years older......

Let's just say it would be on the same level as a war within legendary dragons, including the damage they would cause all around

It was a great fight, probably the best fight of his life even, making the old man deeply respect him as a warrior, and glad that a guy like him was in line to the throne but that was it

Even though he had his great great grand father's eye's, tenacity, talent, and confidence, he still lacked what made the old man be his friend for 40 years, and the best years of his life

3 years before the explosion - Old man store

The old man instantly recognized his old friend eyes. It took him years, but he knew they showed something similar to insanity that was what the old man considered a necessity to archieve great things

Only an insane person would try something over and over again expecting to get a different result, and only an insane person would succeed at it

What he didn't understand was why he was selling sleeping powder to him, and even one of the best he ever saw. It was like meeting a dragon and he suddenly sold you a magic staff

It made absolutely no sense, and that made the old man smile

Note: In case you are wondering, what the old man liked about his old friend was that he was fun. He may have been capable, and accomplish many things, but the reason he was his friend was because he always had fun while been with him. Sadly, the rest of his family was too serious

Well at least until he met the prince