“Uh… Hi there, Alistair. My name’s Asura,” replied Lakshman, doing his best to smile when he did not feel like it.

“Oh. That’s a good name. Asura… Who was it that gave you such a name? You… or something else…?” Alistair asked with a shrew look on his face.

This made Lakshman blink in surprise and speak a few seconds later.

“Ah. My parents gave it to me.”

“Oh. Your parents, then why did you hesitate?”

“Um… You surprised me by suddenly asking who gave me my name when it’s obviously my parents.”

“Right. That is a normal assumption, but I believe something else,” replied Alistair and looked intently at him.

Lakshman gulped and stared back at him in surprise while thinking, “This is bad! He’s almost onto us, but how?! How can he know when I don’t detect any kind of mind reading magic or the such!”

“Keep your cool! Acting strange will only make things complicated,” suggested Asura from deep within him. “He can’t know that there are currently two souls inhabiting this body, so he’s probably just playing a prank on us. Keep your cool and respond normally.”

“Easier said that done! He nearly got me by his first response!” Lakshman thought in an anxious voice. “Still, it’s like you said, he shouldn’t be able see into us without some sort of magic spell that I’d obviously sense.”

Back in the present, Lakshman hesitantly asked, “Um… I don’t understand what you mean…”

Alistair continued to look shrewdly at him before leaning back and laughing really loudly.

“Just kidding!” He said finally, startling Lakshman into staring at him with both of his eyebrows raised. Winking at the youth before him, he said, “Sorry if I startled you, but I wanted to see your reaction to something totally unexpected and unbelievable.”

“A test?” Lakshman asked in disbelief while inwardly sighing in relief. “Whatever for… sir?”

It took the Solaris Hero a moment to add the last word because he was not in the habit of using it with anyone. He is, after all, the Phoenix Titan and the King of Floria Kingdom back in his world and such necessities were never asked off him.

“Just a moment,” said Alistair, and he turned towards the door before clapping his hands twice. A moment later, the stationed Royal Guards came in, and he told them, “Fetch me a chair.”

They quickly moved across the room to grab a chair and place it inside the sectioned room that Lakshman was in. After dismissing them, Alistair adjusted the chair and sat down, crossing his legs in the process and leaned back to look coolly at the hero.

“Firstly, thank you for coming to my aide back there when the conviction of that traitor was about to label me as the culprit,” said Alistair, bowing his head a little. “If you hadn’t interfered when you did and caught that man in his deed, I would have had to struggle in proving my innocence.”

“It’s fine, sir. I wanted to help since you were acting on good intentions,” replied Lakshman with a smile.

“Ah. I appreciate that you understood,” replied Alistair, smiling back at him. “Second of all, I apologize if my previous conduct hurt your feelings. I only wanted to test you to see the kind of man you were.”

“It’s fine,” said Lakshman shortly, sighing inwardly at the tension he had endured moments before.

Alistair looked intently at him for a moment before saying, “Well, I was observing everyone in that hall, and I was amazed by the diverse group of heroes that the princess summoned. Really remarkable kind of people that are quite twisted in their own way.”

Lakshman blinked twice and asked, “Twisted? What do you mean?”

“Mmm… Let’s start with the Tempest Hero. I believe his name is Gram. He seems the type that would follow rules and uphold justice at the cost of lives, the Sonic Hero is a youth that’s filled with girls and adventure in his head, the Titanium Hero seems the kind that values money, the Dynamism Hero lacks confidence in himself, Gundas Hero is a follower of freedom, the Bulwark Hero is a friendly nice person, the Walmeky Hero is the silent and composed one, and the Zeklock Hero seems to be the brightest one among your group.”

Lakshman was amazed by the analysis this man had on the other heroes, which he also shared himself.

“How did you—?” He began.

He stopped when Alistair pointed a finger at him and said, “As for you; you’re a liar.”

For a moment, there was silence in the room before Lakshman asked, “Sorry? I’m a liar?” He looked thoroughly bewildered and, once again, he became extremely worried as he said, “When have I lied?”

“For starters, your name,” said Alistair, eying him with a look of interest. “Asura is not your real name, is it? In addition to that, you’re also lying about your power.”

“What?” Lakshman asked, blinking once this time. He slowly began, “I never—!”

“Don’t try to fool me, young man. I’m not them,” replied Alistair, and the pressure in the air began to thicken as he eyed the hero with a serious look in his eyes. “You may have deceived them, but I saw what you did. Summoning many copies of yourself, then used them to fight against the wave and made them vanish the moment the wave died. Even the fact that the only damage you took was that severe burn, I’m not a fool to put the dots together.”

“What?!” Lakshman thought inwardly while keeping his expressions in check. “How can he…? I mean, how did he know?! How can he even see in that blinding light? It was so immense, there’s no way anyone could’ve seen what had happened!”

“I can see that you’re clearly surprised, so let me explain,” said Alistair and indicated at himself. “You see, young man, I am a minister with the power to check anyone I deem untrustworthy and know their motives to keep my people safe and aide the king towards peace.”

While he spoke, an aura of golden light seemed to surround him and threw a sharp shadow over his form. This gave him an appearance of a powerful and wise man that had a gaze that would pierce through one’s self and look at them in their deepest parts.

“Someone, like you, aren’t new to me, but I am only laying off because I owe you for supporting me. So, to honor your aide, I will not question your lies or what you’re hiding.”

The man’s statement was a clear threat to Lakshman, which implied, “Next time, if the chance arises, I will get you.”

Suddenly, as quickly as the pressure appeared, it suddenly vanished and the room felt normal once more. A moment later, Alistair rose to his feet and returned to smiling down at the young man sitting on the bed with an injured arm.

“Well, then, I must take my leave and get back to my duties. I have tons of paperwork and signatures to place, and all the while, more and more keep coming up,” he said and sighed heavily. Then, he looked down at Lakshman and smiled while saying, “Anyway, recover soon because you’ll be attending the academy soon with the rest of the heroes.”

“Academy? Why?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“To learn about our world obviously,” replied Alistair with a grin. “It’s worrisome that nine people, from another world, who don’t know anything about our world, can help to the best of their abilities. That’s why, we decided that having you enroll in the Hero Academy and learn about our society before you’re given your hero duties is better. A knowledgeable man is wiser than a blind man?”

“That depends on the circumstances,” replied Lakshman, causing Alistair to look interested. “If a blind man is trained, you’ll find that he’s superior to a knowledgeable man. Why? It’s because he has the senses that others don’t have and they give him the advantage over everyone else.”

He spoke from experience after witnessing Amaranda Lefrity, was both blind and mute. Despite her problematic predicament that would have stopped her growth, she persisted in training herself and mastering her magic to the point of joining the well respected and feared group known as the Nine Pillars of Power and came to be known as the Magic Titan. Even her race, who had shunned her for her weaknesses, praised her for being one of their strongest clansmen.

Alistair, for a fraction of a second, widened his eyes after digesting those words before quickly widening his smile and saying, “Oh... My… Goodness!” He suddenly leaned towards Lakshman in excitement and said, “That’s fantastic! This is the first time I had ever heard someone praise the blind for their capabilities! Indeed! You certainly are a hero, so why, when you have such a great character in you, why are you hiding yourself?”

Lakshman did not say anything, but merely looked up at the older man with a serious face that had traces of sadness.

The older man nodded, seeming to understand the implications as he said, “You don’t need to say. Your expression speaks louder than words.” He suddenly looked like he was thinking about something before he extended his hand towards Lakshman and said, “I change my mind. While I am unhappy about you lying, I will let it go in the realization that you are a good man, so ask me for any sort of help you need. Alright?”

“Huh?” Lakshman asked, looking thoroughly bewildered.

“Don’t be surprised, accept it with open arms,” said Alistair with a wink. “I find it a waste to treat someone as wise as you as an enemy because of a silly reason of lying. I mean, at some stage in our lives, we did lie to hide the truth to help, save or protect. From your gesture, I feel you’re hiding it for similar reasons, but that’s none of my business. I believe sticking one’s noses out of other people’s properties is a good idea. What do you say?”

Lakshman was very taken aback by this sudden change of persona in the person before him. The serious attitude he once surrounded by was suddenly transformed into something with great light, energy and hope. It was as if the serious man was nothing but an illusion and this was Alistair’s true self as a man, eager to help those with a good heart.

“Thank you… sir,” said Lakshman, adding “sir” at the last second and made a mental note to add it continuously from here on when he spoke to people of higher authority than him as a show of respect. Then, he added, “Though, I hope the day never comes for me to ask for your help. I like to deal with things on my own.”

Alistair smiled graciously at him and said, “Very well. Now, get a well-deserved rest, and I’ll see you another time. Goodbye.”

With that parting words, he turned around and moved towards the exit of the hospital room. However, as he was half-way there, Lakshman called him to stop.

“Wait a minute, sir. I have one question,” said Lakshman, and when Alistair turned to face him, Lakshman wore a questioning look on his face and asked, “How did you know? I mean, how were you able to see all of that?”

For a moment, Alistair seemed to be puzzled by the question. Then, clarity appeared on his face when he fathomed the question he was being asked. So, with a faint smile on his face, he replied in the simplest words one can reply with.

“My eyes are not blind like theirs.”

Thus, he concluded his stay and turned around to leave through the exit. Lakshman watched him go, a wonderous look forming on his face as he understood the depth of the older man’s words.

“My eyes are not bling like theirs,” he thought, parsing the words to digest their underlining meaning. “It’s strange. Everyone, who were in that party, had eyes to see with, so what did he mean by that statement?”

“Maybe he’s referring to some kind of magic he possessed? A skill? An ability?” Asura suggested some ideas.

The words “An ability” suddenly clicked something in Lakshman’s mind and made him realize something, so he muttered, “Could it be…? The ability to see through deception and into one’s true self… There’s no way, but… the possibility’s there. Even so, it’s so rare and hard to believe someone has that ability since it was just something written in legends. What do you think, Asura?”

“I think you’re thinking in the right way,” responded Asura, giving his current self his vote of confidence.

Lakshman nodded and, in a firm voice, muttered, “Yes. There’s no mistaking it. Alistair has the All Seeing Eyes.”

There was a momentary pause before Asura asked, “True, and I think he was testing us the whole time. If he really had those eyes, that means he was able to see into the future of the conversation he had with you. Surely, from his behavior so far, everything went as he expected, but he became surprised when you supported the blind people.”

“I think there’s a limit to what he can perceive with the All Seeing Eyes, limits such as time, energy, stamina and so on. Perhaps the future itself isn’t completely pre-determined as things can change in between,” said Lakshman, thinking deeply about his conversation with Alistair and found his mannerism intriguing. “For certain extent, he knew of how the conversation would go, but got completely surprised by my statement about the blind people.”

“My guess is that he probably saw that you agreed with him, something I would’ve clearly done and it threw him off. I’ll bet my life that he was prepared to detain us if we failed his test judging from his behavior so far.”

“Oh well,” said Lakshman and shrugged his shoulders, “At least, now, he seems to have some faith in me and having such a man as an ally is something I most welcome.” Then, he fell back onto his pillow and muttered, “Besides, I need to prepare myself in order to attend this Hero Academy since we, the Nine Heroes of Legends, will be the center of attention.”

“Yeah, but last time, you got it easy when Venezuela confessed her proposal for marriage with you when the two of you were still studying at Astral Academy. This time, however, it’s in your hands to put the effort and work hard to make Erza confess to you. Do you get it?”

“Dammit, Asura! Stop making it sound more difficult than it already is!” Lakshman muttered in annoyance, causing his ancient self to let out a humorous laughter.