Everything turned dark. It wasn’t just the lights that had vanished, but the sound. Complete silence. Kai felt himself let out a scream, but nothing came out. Nothing he could hear at least. His body stretched and pulled and shrunk back to normal. Seconds, maybe minutes later the world resumed. The lights and sound returned as if someone had flicked a switch.

Kai was on his knees and hands, gasping for breath. Eyes wide he stared at the stone flooring, his stare vacant.

“Always a few,” a man chuckled as he passed by Kai. The man’s boots made no sound on the stone.

But Kai barely heard the man. Now that he was free from the terrors of long-range space teleportation, his mind spun to the last words he had heard from Akane. “Goodluck... Ben.”

His heart raced. Even his breathing stopped, his mind too busy trying to contemplate what he had heard. “What did Akane call me? Did she really?” Black spots threatened his vision. His lungs were beginning to seize due to lack of air.

Without warning, a wet and rough sensation scraped against his arm. Twisting his head, he saw Asteria licking his arm. Concern was evident in her eyes. The sight of her brought clarity to his situation, freeing him from his self-induced panic.

“Safe?” Asteria’s childlike voice reached his mind.

Nodding his head, his breathing calmed. He was safe. No one knew of his former identity as Ben. Not even Akane. His face warmed slightly. He felt stupid, realizing he must have misheard her or projected his former name over his new one and didn’t realize it. He had never slipped up and exposed his past. That he remembered.

Still on his hands and knees, his anxiety had cleared. It was then he began noticing the new peculiar sensations surrounding him. The mana that permeated the air of this new world was so much denser than anything he had ever felt. The density of mana always fluctuated and was never the same. But this was the first time he had ever felt such a difference all at once. It was thick, as if the very air was saturated with it. Like a humid day but without the humidity.

With wobbly legs, he collected Asteria into his arms and stood. Immediately he became aware of the changes to his body. When his foot came down, it was heavier than he had intended. It also lacked any sound as it fell onto the stone. His body was also heavier than it had been on Eris. Not overly so that it would be dangerous for a mortal child, but noticeable enough to feel the difference. With his gravity magic, he had become sensitive to weight and pressure. It makes sense, the planet is larger so it should have more gravity than Eris. However, his instincts were telling him that the gravity was actually less than it should be for a planet this size.

His eyes were drawn to the grey walls and ceiling. There was no mortar between the stones, making it appear as one solid object. The sight reminded him of the exterior walls of the Ashbourne Capital. The difference was that runes and glyphs had been drawn across every surface including the floor and ceiling.

Kai watched with complete bewilderment as the runes shifted, turning one rune into a new one. Part of a rune traveled from the left wall, across the floor and to the opposite side. It was like a puzzle, realigning itself to make a new solution. He had no clue to any of their meaning, but even he could tell they were not even in the same league as the ones on his sword and armor. A powerful presence radiated from them, but it was so subtle and hidden that he wouldn’t have noticed, if not for the fact that he was examining them in detail. Identify gave him nothing.

“Clear the platform. Clear the platform,” a new squeaky voice entered his mind. Alarmed he looked around for the being in question but saw no obvious signs of them. Most of the other passengers had already exited the room except for the few young people still adjusting like him.

He proceeded to the exit, keeping a tight hold on Asteria. A mixture of nervousness and excitement flooded his being. He had made it to the largest planet in the Myriad of Worlds. To others of this modern day, it might not seem like a big deal, but to him, it was huge. After all he had died before humanity had ever found itself able to leave New Earth. Then he had come back to life almost 1200 years later, when interplanetary travel within the Myriad of Worlds was a common event. He wasn’t sure how he had died on New Earth, only to be reborn on Eris, but this was his first time traveling off planet while being alive or conscious of it.

Stepping through the doorway, Kai had to blink his eyes multiple times to make sure he was seeing things correctly. Beyond the door he had just passed, he had seen a simple empty hallway, but as he crossed the threshold into what should have been said hallway, he had found himself inside a massive room.

Thousands of beings were traversing the room. Kai stood stunned at the sight as his eyes shifted from one being to the next. Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, and Demons. He recognized many of the races by the description he had been told and the statues of the gods, but there were at least another two dozen he couldn’t figure out without identify.

[Giant - ???]

[Gnome – Adept Level 31]

[Insectoid - ???]

[Kobold - ???]

His mind spun at the wonders. All his life he had been surrounded by humans, only able to see humanity and the monsters that would threaten its existence, but now he could truly see the Myriad of Worlds for what it truly was. A place where all the species could come together and exist as one. A harmony that would have never existed without the gods.

Feeling a pinch on his arm, he realized Asteria had nipped him to break him out of his trance. He gave her a wide smile. He felt giddy with excitement. He proceeded to walk through the room to where multiple lines of species were. Above each line was a glyph that somehow, he knew in his mind to read guild. Guild? The next sign over read as business.

Taking out the slip of paper his father had given him, he read it over before placing it back into his pocket. The paper contained a list of instructions for him so he could arrive at his destination promptly and safely.

He stepped into the customs line, or the Titan Prime equivalent and passed through without any difficulties. He had been asked some questions by a Gnome which sat on a stool behind a counter which were about his intentions on Titan Prime.

Passing under a sign that read as “Trinity”, he exited the building. He couldn’t help but stop as his eyes went wide once more.

He found himself at the top of a long stairway that was nearly as wide as a city block. A few hundred stairs led down to a city. No. He wasn’t sure something of this magnitude could even be called a city. Stretching out beyond his vision was a civilization, so massive and daunting. Kai had never seen the likes of it before. It was literally an uncountable number of buildings and streets that stretched on past what he could see. It was the same on his left or right. Some areas appeared vacant of buildings, hosting open fields or trees but the majority of it was pure civilization on a scale beyond what he could imagine. Asteria perked up as she scanned the incredible sights too.

New worries formed as he thought about how the hell, he was supposed to navigate a city like this. Traveling through the colossal city would take days. The only saving grace was that this wasn’t the city he was supposed to be attending the academy in.

His eyes shifted up and he almost swore, “Holy...” Above him was the most mesmerizing sight. Planets orbited all over the sky. At a number he had never seen before. There was so many that there were barely any gaps between them. It was not only the quantity, but the closeness to which they orbited. On New Earth, humanity had seen the planets pass by all the time, but never had they been so awe-inspiring or as detailed as this. He watched with a smile on his face as a moon pass between Titan Prime and a large green planet passing overhead. Some planets moved slowly, barely making any distance in the sky, while others seemed to speed out of sight. Despite their being no visible sun, the city was bright as if the unseen sun was shining on it. Kai stayed there a few minutes enjoying the sights. There was no doubt he appeared as a tourist, but he couldn’t find himself caring.

Fifteen minutes later he moved on, carefully following his father’s written instructions and traveled to another building nearby with intercity teleporters that linked all the cities on Titan Prime.

The way his father explained it was that on Titan Prime, the civilized beings controlled two major territories of Kvenland and Eden. Kvenland was the civilization beacon of the Myriad of Worlds, whereas Eden conformed more with nature. But, both territories where just a small fraction of the colossal Titan Prime of which most remained to the wilds and monsters. Inside Kvenland, there were a total of 99 smaller territories that each could be a match in scale and size for multiple empires on Eris. But there would never be a comparison of power. Titan Prime was heralded to host the strongest beings in the known universe. The 99 territories stood separate and yet united despite their distance and the many different factions that ruled them. They were all ultimately apart of the same civilization but stood apart in other aspects that his father didn’t elaborate on.

Kai was to travel to the territory of Elderward and attend the Elderward Prime Academy. He had no choice or decision over the academy he was to attend, not that he aware of the difference. All he did know was his father had attended the same academy as a student, shortly after he came into his own magic. Once he arrived at the academy, he was somehow supposed to find a man named Niles Endo and proceed from there.

Asteria was quiet throughout their travels to the intercity teleporter and the time waiting for their turn to teleport.

Part of Kai felt guilty. Asteria had been dumped on him so quickly. A strange and unknown human to the young fox that she had only met the day prior. Now they were to be inseparable in their growth and adventure.

They remained silent and observed their surroundings with interest. Eventually it became their turn and they arrived at their second teleport station of the day. Exiting, he found one of the slow-moving giant planets above still dominate the sky, but his angle at which he viewed it was changed. Not significantly changed, but noticeable. The thought of having to travel all this distance without the ease and availability of these teleporters gave him pause. He imagined it would take weeks, if not months. Mass teleportation was literally a gift from the gods.

Kai followed signs down a designated path to a transportation hub. There he had to buy a ticket for a ride to the Academy. He covertly examined the other species. A dark green scaled bipedal creature had just walked by him. The strangest part of the being was its tail, which he admitted he observed longer than he should have. As if sensing his gaze, the reptilian creature turned its head and glared at him. From the being’s snout mouth a tongue flicked out and casually licked around its mouth.

[Lizardkin – Forging Level 73]

Kai got the impression that the being was either messing with him or found him appetizing. “Careful with your eyes... boy.” The lizard being hissed out that last part in what he considered a male lizard’s voice. “Lest you gain the attention of some being you do not want.” With that the lizard being turned around and continued its way, while Kai stood frozen at his first interaction with sentient being of another species, as long as he didn’t count the Kitsune.

“Grumpy,” Asteria said.

“Yes. Let’s try and see if we can get to the academy without offending anyone else,” Kai said gently. He ran his hand down Asteria’s head and back. Her fur was soft and smooth. Not comparable to the illustrious fur of Akane, but he had a feeling that might have something more to do with her realm than fur maintenance.

He followed the lizardman at a distance, not because he wanted to, but they just so happen to be traveling to the same area of the transportation hub. Getting in line behind the Lizardkin, Kai remained quiet as he observed the ongoings. He nearly let out an audible groan when he discovered the lizardkin was heading to the Elderward Prime Academy too. But that didn’t stop Asteria from groaning into his mind. “Uggh. Can we take a different ride. The lizard man smells,” she groaned.

Kai’s upper lifted with a small smile, but he said nothing in response.

“Destination?” the small sickly green being asked with pointed teeth. It appeared so thin and frail, and if Kai was being honest with himself, very hideous. He was having trouble determining if the being was old or young. Neither its voice nor face gave him any clue. It was all too alien. Its eyes remained focused on whatever it was doing behind the desk while it waited for an answer

[Goblin – Forging Level 96]

“Elderward Prime Academy.”

The goblin’s eyes flicked to his for a moment. With a snort it wrote something down. “The price of travel is four silvers.”

Passing the coins over, he received a ticket in return. Again, there was a glyph on it. It seemed like glyphs and runes played a major role and importance in society outside of Ashbourne Kingdom. The world he knew was expanding.