Dimensional Descent

Leonel appeared in the world of white fog again. But, this time, there was an extra light.

The silver tablet began to vibrate, glowing with a fierce white that made Leonel squint.

Soon afterward, a figure began to form and the lights began to wane. It didn’t take Leonel much thought to recognize this figure, especially since he had consciously chosen this person to begin with.

Still, at that moment, Leonel couldn’t help but be slightly in relief. If who he was resurrecting was based on what he wanted and not what he needed, then it would most definitely be Rollan. Though they had only spent two years together, Leonel felt a sort of comradery that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Whenever Leonel looked at Rollan, he couldn’t help but think of James, his partner in crime for over a decade… Even though they had always had diametrically opposed personalities, they had always fit well together. Yet, after all this time, Leonel still didn’t know what caused it all to change.

Leonel’s thoughts on James, though, somewhat scared even himself.

When he remembered James, what he felt wasn’t an unwillingness or an unfortunate emotion. Rather, it was simply a fleeting memory almost as though he was remembering a city he had visited before or a car that had caught his attention on the side of the road.

He felt so detached from his former days with James that the recalling of the memories had become less of a function of emotion and more about just how good his mind was at recalling events. It was nothing more, and nothing less.

That said, Rollan was different. Leonel felt that he was the sort of man he would fight with to his final breath. And in those last moments, he had proved that without a shadow of a doubt.

‘Sit tight, Rollan. Soon I’ll be able to introduce you to my someone special too…’

This way, Leonel wouldn’t have to worry about the guilt he’d feel. Whether Rollan was available to be resurrected now or not, Elthor was still the correct option.

At that moment, the figure finally formed and Elthor’s face became clear.

All of Leonel’s excess thoughts stopped right then as he observed Elthor. The truth was that he wasn’t sure how this would go. He didn’t know if Elthor would still have his memories from the previous world or if he would be a blank slate.

The worst part was that even if Elthor did have his memories from the Zone world, there was no telling if he would view Leonel the same. After all, during these last two years, no one had called him Leonel even once no matter how many times he introduced himself. It made him feel as though he was playing a separate character other than himself. Leonel wouldn’t have even been surprised if this ‘character’ was available somewhere within the tablet to be resurrected.

Then there was the last potentially unfortunate circumstance. It was also possible that Elthor had his memories, remembered what happened, recognized Leonel, yet chose not to follow him.

This was a very real and distinct possibility that Leonel might have to face. Should it happen, he would have to simply accept it or do his best to convince Elthor.

Leonel’s eyes steeled with determination. If he wanted to be a King yet couldn’t even convince his first General to follow him, what kind of King could he possibly be? He might as well give up this impossible dream right here and now.

The lids of Elthor’s eyes opened. He looked around in confusion for a moment, a strong cognitive dissonance hitting him from all sides as though he couldn’t figure out what was going on.

When he saw Leonel before him, his eyes shot up in surprise.

“… General…?”

Elthor’s frown deepened. For some reason, he felt that calling Leonel this now felt inappropriate. Something had changed, something so fundamental that just that form of address alone left him with a bad taste in his mouth as though he had said something unforgivable.

“King.”

Elthor almost immediately changed his words. It felt subconscious, like the world itself was whispering it into his ear.

Leonel grinned. “I’m no King yet.”

“But…” Elthor’s mind still felt foggy.

The last he remembered was being dragged away by his Kingdom’s Generals. He had tried scratching and clawing, yet no matter what he did or what he tried, they were all too strong for him.

Ultimately, he had even lost to Leonel, and quite easily at that. Despite having access to Chaotic Particle Force, he had yet to truly grow into his ability. In addition, he was born in a Fifth Dimensional world and was the same age as Leonel.

After stepping out of the Zone, Leonel realized that the time had been one to one with the outside world. So, he had to accept at this moment that he was now truly two years older and had missed his own 21st birthday.

To Leonel, 21 was already an age he should be growing into true adulthood. But, to the Dimensional Verse, especially to a Fifth Dimensional world, even 60 was still considered young.

It was safe to say that if Elthor wanted to follow Leonel to the very end, he would have some growing to do. But, Leonel was confident that he’d be able to do it.

“What do you want in life, Elthor?”

“I…” Elthor struggled, remembering his father’s words.

Shouldn’t he be a King? He had to take on the burden of his people… He couldn’t disappoint his father.

However, just when he was going to say these words, he met Leonel’s light violet eyes and felt his heart tremble. For some reason, meeting this gaze, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t bring himself to lie.

“… I want to be a True King’s Saber. I want to live on the battlefield and become the weapon that shatters all obstacles. I want men who’ve soaked in a river of blood to run at the mention of my name!”

Leonel’s grin only became wider and wider.

“Elthor, are you willing to be my Saber?”

Elthor’s eyes glowed with a furious light.

“YES!”