Nagini teleported us to her pocket dimension. I crossed my arms and looked around noticing the locations were different. We were in an arena and Nagini looked at me.
"Welcome to the Infinite Realm. In the Old World there was an organization I was a part of called the Infinity Council. This Realm is only full of old memories now, but you can still interact with the members of the Infinity Council here." Nagini said.
"How far does this place go? How vast or deep is this place go?" I asked.
"It goes as far as you can go. It's called the Infinite Realm for a reason. There are only 14 members of the Infinity Council though...and you may become a potential member of the council. All you have to do to make it is defeat me in battle, but obviously you can't do that as you are nor do we have that time to do so. This Realm can train you though since the each memory of this location has multiple waves of enemies for you to fight. You would also be surprised to know who are some of the members of the organization as well." Nagini explained.
"I see. Well if that's the case, I'd love to begin this process. I will heighten my abilities no matter what I have to do to do it." I said then smiled.
Nagini nodded and smiled then held her hand out, summoning a portal. "Then enter through this portal and your trial shall begin. If you can make it through eight arenas then you pass. You have an entire day to do so. Take all the time you need to rest if you need to."
I nodded then walked forward to the portal then entered the portal. I exited the portal into the first arena. The first arena was in a ruined street with broken highways and destroyed buildings.
"This place...It looks like Yukihori before it was rebuilt into this futuristic version. Is this the Old World version of Yukihori..?" I asked myself then walked forward and looked around.
I stopped walking, seeing monsters being summoned in front of me. They looked different from the Fell Beasts I was used to. They were human sized ravens that looked more evil than normal.
"These monsters are called Corrupted Tengus. These are the Fallen. They are much stronger than the Fell Beasts and have more abilities than your average foes. Here...weakness is imaginary. You mustn't have it if you want to reach your max potential. Be brave. Be confident. Be strong. If things get too bad, I can always teleport us back to the lab and we can try again." Nagini's voice said to me.
I summoned my weapon then changed it into a katana. "We won't be needing that." I smiled and the Eyes of Raijin formed in my eyes.
I dashed forward and vanished, leaving behind an afterimage then rapidly slashed at the Tengus then appeared once more then my lightning hands slashed with a giant katana, blowing them away. They squawked then disappeared in a puff of purple smoke then more Fallen were summoned. This time they were zombies. One of them carried a giant hammer and the other carried a katana.
I dashed to the zombie with the katana then vanished and attempted to attack her, but she dodged my attack, catching me off guard. I appeared and looked back at the zombie.
"The Fallen aren't dumb. They are used to the godly speeds of the Ruler of Raijin and Overlord of Thunder. You have to do more than be fast and hit hard in these cases. You'll have to use strategies to confuse the fast zombie named Killkill." Nagini informed.
I looked at the zombie then my eyes shined. I slid backwards then vanished and moved around her, leaving behind afterimages then appeared in front of Killkill with my back turned then held out a thumbs down. "Disappear." I said then a barrage of hidden slashes struck the zombie.
I looked back and noticed the zombie had fell to her knees then laid on her side and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. I dashed to the other zombie and went for an attack, but she slammed her hammer on the ground and rock spikes shot out towards me. I grunted and dodged them then turned my katana into a lance and threw it like a javelin. My lance struck the face of the zombie then disappeared. The zombie fell down and died, disappearing.
"Huh. Good job, I expected nothin less from the Ruler of Raijin and Overlord of Thunder." Nagini said.
I walked forward and looked around then noticed how empty the streets were. The Old World version of Yukihori looked no different from the present Yukihori. The Fallen Overlord really did a number on this place. As I looked around I noticed a woman on the ground.
"Even though these are memories, you can interact with them in this Realm. They will not change anything about the present day version of the person, but you'll learn a lot about their past." Nagini said.
I nodded and rushed to help the woman. I looked at the woman and noticed her appearance more clearly. She had on a blue long sleeve qipao with a red phoenix design on the side, black leggings, and wore black leather boots. Her skin was pale and her hair was dark blue with black highlights that was styled in one long braid with a knife tied to the end of her braid.
"Liao Ru..?" I looked surprised. I crouched down and checked her pulse. She barely had a pulse and I didn't want to leave her here to die. I used my electricity to jolt her body and she grunted. I did it again and she coughed as her heart began beating regularly once again and her brain activity returned.
She opened her eyes to look at me and sat up quickly. "Nǐ shì shuí..?"
I tilted my head, not understanding what she said. I didn't speak mandarin nor could understand it, but I did the best I could to communicate with her. "I..don't speak...mandarin. I speak Japanese and English."
Liao Ru looked at me. She looked at the ground then back at me. "I...speak...ah... Japanese. Am learning...English."
I nodded then helped her up then we walked off together. I might as well learn all I can about the Old World while I could. Maybe I can learn new techniques if I'm lucky enough. It was time for me to learn about the Old World. "Hey...to start, my name is Hisumi Ishida."
"Hisumi...Ishida. I will remember. I am Liao Ru." Liao Ru said then nodded.
"What year are we in?" I asked.
"This is year 1638." Liao Ru answered.
I was 440 years in the past. The Infinity Council existed for that long...Further proves Liao Ru's immortality and eternal youth.
I looked at Liao as we walked then looked back ahead. "What's going on here? Why is Yukihori destroyed?" I asked.
"The European Forces name...ah Legion have attacked us to find the Key of Origin. I don't know why...but they are strong. I need to find my allies...and stop Legion." Liao Ru answered.
'Key of Origin..?' I thought to myself. 'As of now, I am only aware of eight Rulers...Maybe they are after one of the Sovereigns. It would only make sense for them to be after a Sovereign, but did they know about them at this time..?'
I noticed another portal open in front of me. I took Liao Ru's hand then we hurried to the portal, entering inside and exiting into another part of the city. I looked around and noticed the Mishiyo Tower was standing as tall as ever. Since Sumi's parents owned the tower it was safe to assume her ancestors did also.
"The Mishiyo Tower. That Tower is full of...evil. It goes against all Judgement stands for and full of corruption. The woman who owns tower is a cult leader...She leads the Punishing Flames. We have to stop her.." Liao Ru said then hurried off.
"Hey! Wait! Nagini, changing events, does that do anything in the present reality?" I asked.
Nagini appeared beside me in her tiny fairy form. "Canonically Liao Ru does kill the cult leader, but soon dies from the hands of the Overlord of Thunder. Changing this event will not change something in the present reality. You are free to do whatever you wish, but this is to help you heighten your abilities."
"Alright." I nodded then rushed after Liao Ru and noticed her being swarmed by multiple Fallen. I summoned by lance and rushed into battle to assist Liao Ru.
We dealt with the Fallen, but the battle wasn't easy. The Fallen seemed to become a lot harder to fight than the first few Fallen I faced earlier. Liao Ru made her gauntlets disappear and she sighed softly. I looked at my hand then closed my eyes. I didn't feel any stronger, but I knew it would take time before I finally realized my true potential and reach my zenith.
"A fine performance, Number IV." A woman said and walked towards us.
"Number VI." Liao responded.
I looked at the woman and noticed her appearance. She had on a white and red kimono with a red ribbon bow tied around her waist. Her hair was a light pink and tied in a low side ponytail, her eyes were a magenta color and she carried a katana on her side. Immediately after seeing her appearance, I knew exactly who it was.
"Misao..." I said to myself and was surprised that she was also one of the members of the Infinity Council.