Helot, Firetannk, and JJ proceeded out of the room while the body of the Asura slave slowly disappeared into the 4th dimension. JJ was a naturally curious girl and she had many questions she wanted to ask Helot about M. However, as brash and hot-headed as she was, she was not too keen on prying into the privacy of someone who may or may not have her best interests at heart.

Then she remembered that to M, she may as well not have any privacy. Not to mention all that he had made her go through. After remembering those two points, she decided to go for it anyway.

“Hey Helot, just who is M?” JJ asked the short and stout goblin walking in front of her.

The goblin turned around, looked at JJ, and hesitantly replied, “that is a loaded question there, my friend. I’m not too sure you want to know the answer.”

“If I’m to be M’s companion, shouldn’t I at least get to know the guy? At least a little bit? He knows everything about me, but I literally know nothing about him.”

By now the three figures had halted. Firetank, who couldn’t care less about this topic interjected before anyone else could say anything. “As much as I like to learn about others....not. I do love killing a lot more. If you two are going to stay here and chat, how about I go on ahead?”

“Go on ahead, Firetank. We shouldn’t be long.”

A happy fire-lizard waltzed along down the path and entered into the next room. Followed by a few shots of fireballs. JJ turned again to Helot with an expression of anticipation. Helot once again hesitated then sighed before saying anything.

“Let me start with something you are a little bit more familiar with. Do you know how vast this universe is?”

“Really, really big?”

“That is a massive understatement. You should know that when M transported you here, he was traveling faster than the speed of light. However, even if he could live for half a billion more years, he would not be able to explore it all. Much less the infinite number of universes out there.”

“You’re blowing my mind right now, how powerful are 4-dimensional beings?”

“Heh, to 4D beings, even reversing time is as easy as blinking is for you! However, a much more average person like M is plenty strong enough that 3D beings would consider him a god in this plane of existence.”

“The most impressive thing I’ve seen M do on this planet is wiping out that entire dungeon in one hit. Although I suppose that isn’t much considering they were all beginner-level monsters.”

“It is more nuanced than that. Allow me to enlighten you on a race that once called themselves the Maieeds. They loved only 3 things in life; fucking, fighting, and feasting. In that order too. Well, they weren’t exactly bright but compared to you Earth people, they were slightly more advanced.”

“What happened to them?”

“Well, let’s just say one day a 4-Dimensional being descended upon their world. That visitor was appalled at the treatment that she had received and…”

“...and what?”

“She...castrated...the...entire planet,” Helot said as he looked away from JJ’s gaze.

“You mean…” JJ could not even get the words out of her mouth.

“Yeah, one moment they had their gonads, the next, they had no nads. That is not a common behavior of all 4D beings, that particular individual was quite sadistic. Unfortunately for you, M will sometimes go to even more extremes to get what he wants. It’s an on-off thing for him.”

“Is that the end of the story? They all died out?”

“Indeed that is the case. I’ve only heard stories, but in the few centuries following that incident, there was an insane number of cults, live sacrifices, murders, and all that bad stuff. I assume that with the fate of the Maieeds’ sealed, they had no longer any reason to hold back on their desires and fears. Also, they couldn’t really “do it” anymore so that may have been a part of the reason as well.”

“Surely that isn’t the case. If that is true, then doesn’t that mean that one 4D being is capable of causing the extinction of an entire species?”

“Correct, sort of. She did cause the extinction of the Maieeds race, but she didn’t stop there. She also “castrated” or whatever the biological version of that to all forms of life on that planet. Flora, fauna, even the microorganisms invisible to your naked eye. That is just how powerful M can be. Imagine that. An entire planet, plenty powerful already, completely and utterly dead within a couple of centuries.”

“...This is all a lot to take in.”

“Well, I did warn you did I not?”

“You warned me against hearing about M’s past. Not… not whatever the hell that was.” JJ said while still trying to comprehend the absurdity that she had just been told.”

“Oh yeah. I suppose you are right. If you can’t even stomach that story, then you really don’t want to hear about M.”

“Just give me a sec,” JJ held her hand to cover her mouth. Her stomach was churning, mind racing, and a million thoughts clouding her brain. After a moment, she decided to press on with this conversation. After all, she doubted M would ever tell her anything about his past personally. Plus, who knew if M even needed 2 months to explore this vast world. He could’ve done it in a few seconds and just taken the rest of the time off. She nodded to indicate that she wanted to know more.

“Are you sure? There are even heavier and darker elements to what I am about to tell you. I’m not sure if you should be hearing stuff like this.”

“It’s fine, I’m fine,” Though that was what she said, she could not even wholeheartedly bring herself to believe it. There was no doubt that Helot knew, but he did not stop.

“Look, M is a very complex person. By your standards, his past actions would be considered one that borders psychopathic. I suppose you deserve to know a little bit.” Helot beckoned JJ to have a seat on a few nearby stones. If they were to talk about M, then it was best to take it slow.

After the two of them were seated, JJ took a small breath in and prepared to listen to whatever horrible thing that was going to be revealed about M.

“First off, do you remember where the name M comes from?”

“When the two of us first met, he mentioned that the M stood for Magellan?”

“Correct, Magellan is the name of perhaps the greatest conquerer that your Earth has ever produced. Baron Magellan to be more precise.”

“I don’t really remember him, what makes him so impressive?”

“The reason for that is simple, he hasn’t been on Earth in well over a millennia and a half. This Baron Magellan fellow died on November 31st, 2020. Fought his way through Planet 4 to return back to Earth. M was with Baron for a little while when he returned in 2150. It took no less than 10 years for Baron to almost single-handedly take over the planet.”

“Hang on, I remember part of this from my learning institution. Wasn’t Baron the one who caused the greatest genocide event in recorded history?”

“Yes, do you remember who took him down?”

“It was someone by the name of Roxi, right? The records aren’t too clear on what happened, but it seems like they were quite close. That was how she was able to assassinate him.”

“...Well, yes and no. Yes, they were close. No, she did not assassinate him. Allow me to shatter your world once again. That Roxi girl, that fake assassination, that was nothing more than a plot to force humanity onto the path of survival.”

“Survival? From...ourselves?”

“No, from the alien invasion in which humanity was nearly wiped out. Even with 1,000 years of preparation, you Earthlings still almost didn’t make it.”

“Are you saying that we would have been wiped out if had not been for those two?”

“If those two had not helped you out, then it would have only taken half a dozen spaceships of their estimated 20 million fleet to subdue Earth. Likely less if they wanted an extinction of the human race. So yeah, the survival of the human race is thanks to those two.”

“...That’s incredible… But what exactly was the point of the genocide?” JJ had nothing else to say.

“There is no right answer to that question. I have my opinions on that matter and I’m sure that you have yours. One more thing, that Roxi lady is your ancestor. Her blood runs through your veins.”

“...What? Are you saying that my family has had a hand in all of this? That’s impossible! My parents have never said anything about this matter!” JJ was in absolute disbelief.

“Oh, but that is the truth. Now that you know this part, we can move onto the most important part of this. Baron and M have made a pact together. The two of them wish to grow stronger, but to accomplish that, Baron needs soldiers, good soldiers, strong soldiers, obedient soldiers, etc.”

“...Then is that where I come in? Is that what this is all for? All this just so I can become a soldier for Baron?”

“...Sort of. You’re smart, one of only a handful to figure it out. However, you’re a member of the almighty Blaze clan. A clan that has not only managed to create a miracle once but twice. Baron and M have high hopes for you.”

“Is that why M has chosen me to come live this life? This life I have yearned for?”

“You must not mistake their intentions. They are in an arms race at the moment. One that encompasses half of your local supercluster of galaxies. Not only are they limited in their choices on how to further their ambitions, but their options are also quickly dwindling. Baron is one of the best the human race has to offer in order to cement humanity’s place on the intergalactic map.”

“I don’t even know what that means!”

“You will understand soon enough when you go to meet up with Baron.”

“...What if this is not what I want?”

“It does not matter. There is no way for you to resist the power and influence of M. That is the only reason I am allowed to give all of this information to you.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that I kind of want to meet Baron now. I suppose this journey has just gotten that much more interesting.”

“I’m glad you feel that way because M can change your mind in a million different ways.”

“Well, that’s good to know. One last question then. Do my parents know about all of this craziness that is happening in this universe?”

“No, your great grandfather made the decision to abandon that lifestyle and live a normal life instead.”

“I see. This has been informative, let’s get back to the dungeon. This has been a rather a heavy topic and I’d like to drown out these thoughts with senseless violence now.”

“If you say so,” Helot said and got up from the boulder. Both of them walked through the rooms where there was the most destruction and in a few minutes caught up to Firetank who was having the time of his life.

After noticing the pair, he looked up and asked, “you two done with whatever it is you were talking about?”

“Yes, JJ now understands what she is here for.”

“Yeah, let’s go kill a few monsters and see if I can clear my mind.”

“You got it, boss. I think we are almost at the final room.”

“Alright, let’s go kill that monster like we did that Asura slave.”

The three of them charged in and finished off the manticore that was in the room swiftly. Perhaps it was the pent up stress of hearing what Helot had told her, or perhaps she was more motivated than before. Either way, she now knew what her current objective was. It was to meet with Baron.