Chapter 1

Ziv woke up immediately taking off the helmet part of his hazmat suit. He coughed up everything that was in his stomach. His ribs still hurt from the fall and going through the portal turned that pain all the way up to eleven. He wanted to scream, but he was still expelling everything in his stomach. He couldn't see, but it was blinding white light and his ears were ringing. He felt cold, but he could feel he was sweating. Ziv's stomach wouldn't calm down and the pain didn't stop.

He tried to catch his breath, until something fell on top of him. The little air he was able to get into his lungs was quickly erased. With the ground against his stomach he tried to turn to get whatever was on top of him off of him. He twisted his head to see a chunk of metal. It looked too… Blood.

It wasn't just metal, but some armor. There was a man on top of him squirming to get himself up. Then Ziv saw a man coming over with a sword, himself covered in blood as well.

There were many different people fighting around, but that one man was coming his way. Ziv wasn't sure if the one on top of him or the one coming over knew he was here, but he needed to figure all that out after. So he started kicking and hitting the man on top of him. It earned him an elbow into his side.

Thankfully that got the man up and with a dark grin, the man got a knife and was looking at Ziv and not the man coming near them. The worst part was his elbow went right into his wound on his side. It hurt, but not as much as the fear of that man with a weapon in his hand.

Humans were terrible. He knew that by leaving his home that if he ever encountered them, he would probably have to kill them. Didn't mean he had to like it. He tried to kick the man in his most vulnerable spot, but the man caught his leg and stabbed it.

Ziv screamed in agony and pushed back away from the man. His hand slid off… There was a dead man behind him. He sprained his hand, but there were more pressing matters now. He couldn't run away with a hole in his leg and his left wrist was barely looking better than the leg.

Anything that was near him, Ziv tried throwing whatever he could at the man. A helmet, a knife, even a hand. He grabbed whatever he could, but there was nothing left. He leapt at the man hoping in a futile attempt to fight back, but ended up being stabbed on his right shoulder.

It was ending for Ziv. He knew it, but he wanted to keep fighting back. One thing he did know was the human body. He had one more chance and if he took it and it worked… He would need to find out.

As the man crawled over to Ziv, he waited for the right moment. Getting ready to push off the ground. The man was within range, Ziv pushed his legs off the ground and rammed his head under the chin of the man.

All his energy went into that last push. The man was stunned and fell back. Then Ziv saw the knife fall out of his hands. Ziv wiggled over. He was tired. Even the adrenalin in his body couldn't help prevent his exhaustion and pain.

With his teeth, he picked up the dagger in his mouth. He tasted sweat and blood on it. The ground was soaked in blood. Some of it being his own. Then he twisted his body and head and ended up stabbing the man in the eye. He screeched and pulled back. The man grabbed Ziv's neck, as a last ditch effort and squeezed. Ziv couldn't even move his arms. He was broken at this point.

Then the man's head flew away, but the grip on Ziv was still strong. The man Ziv saw earlier walking over towards them both arrived and released Ziv from the man's death grip.

He fell back on the ground, before the man shouted towards the soldiers.

"Push them back! Let them run home to their dying nation!."

Then cracks and booms were heard in the distance. Greens, purples, reds lights sparked in the horizon. The man pulled Ziv into his arms.

"What are you doing here kid?"

Ziv saw a man rushing forth with a spear towards the two. He yelled at the man to turn around. Ziv fell to the ground, while the man blocked with a sword. If the man didn't help Ziv, then he would have been fine, but he was getting pushed back by the same kind of armor wearing enemy as the same man Ziv had fought only seconds ago.

To repay what the man did to help him, Ziv lunged with his own body at the man's leg. He barely moved the man, but in the next second the enemy was on the ground and Ziv's savior kicked the man before putting his sword in the man's skull.

"Thanks kid!" The man chimed in.

Ziv couldn't feel his arms or legs anymore. His vision was darkening.

"We need a healer over here!" The man called out and picked Ziv up in one arm and a sword in the other and started running. He flopped after each step, unable to control his limbs.

The scene he was able to see around him was terrible. A battle, thousands… People were dead and dying. The portal was his last chance at a life where he didn't have to die. Ending up here was possibly worse than dying back there. The pain he felt only moments ago was enough to tell him that.

He probably hadn't even been here longer than a minute. Everything happened so fast, that everything else around him was just a dream. A dream where he didn't have to think or do anything anymore. It was all over and he knew it.

Green.

A bright green light brought him out of his mind. It felt like his body was working overtime to heal his wounds.

"Hold him still!" Someone shouted. It wasn't directed at him, but he had moved at that moment. "What was a kid doing out there?" That definitely answered his question.

"Do you know what he's wearing?" A different voice popped up.

The man who had saved him was currently holding his body down. He could feel the energy leaving his muscles and going towards the affected areas where he had been injured. His side, before he had come here, his wrist, shoulder, and leg.

He screamed in agony again, but it was worse. Worse than being stabbed in the leg. He wanted to reach down and scratch it, but two people were holding him back.

"I don't know, but this kid put his life out there against The Legarians. He even saved my life."

"A real fighter…" The one that was producing that green light had said. "Just hang on a bit longer kid, I'm almost done."

Ziv wanted to sleep. To slip away. To die. Whatever this man was going to him was now putting energy back into him. Not much, but it felt easier to move.

"Done."

"Rewer, they just brought another batch in."

"You're with me." He pulled the guy next to him, then turned towards the man that had saved Ziv. "I leave that kid to you then."

"I won't let him end up near you again."

"You better." The two of them saluted to the man that saved Ziv and walked away.

The man carried Ziv out of… the infirmary? It was more of a tent than anything else. No infrastructure or semblance of efficiency. It was a mess like everything else was since Ziv stepped through the portal. The only thing he was currently missing was his helmet, but otherwise everything was with him. At least that he knew. He could feel his tech pad, his clothing and limbs. Everything felt like it was there.

"What's your name?" The man holding Ziv asked him.

There was no rush at the moment and Ziv now seemed to be in another tent. He didn't know how he got here. He didn't pass out or fall asleep, just that he was distracted. He didn't even feel the pain any more.

Not true, he tried to move and it came back.

"Kid?" The man got his attention as he set Ziv down on some bed.

"Sorry…"

"I doubt your name is Sorry kid. I'm Slacvis, and you are?"

"Ziv."

"Good name, Ziv. Can I ask what you were doing out there?"

"I don't know."

It wasn't like Ziv wanted to lie. He barely had time to process any of it. It even felt like a dream still, it had been no more than a ten minutes since he went through the portal. Probably less.

He didn't know what was going on, less of how to answer the man.

The man was kneeling in front of him, searching Ziv for the truth.

"What is that clothing you wear?"

"My hazmat suit…" Well, since everyone else was breathing normally it couldn't be bad. Then he thought about the humans around him. There were so many. He believed, like his parents, that there weren't many people left. If there was, not as many as he saw dead out in that area. That portal must have… it couldn't have been on the other side of the world. The clouds were still thick and the sky didn't match color. It was blue. Blue like those stories he had read.

These people fought with swords, could he have gone into the past? Obviously not with green lights that can heal wounds. Ziv was running his hand over where he had been stabbed in the leg. Magic? It didn't seem real and yet…

He laughed out loud. It was absurd. This whole thing. A portal under a building? A place with magic and swords? Were his parents even dead? Did he go mad after they had died? Was he even alive?

A loud noise filled the tent. Pain. It was back. Slacvis… the man who was 'totally' real, hit him. That horrible pain he felt a bit ago was gone and replaced by the stinging handprint on his face.

What if it was his mother hitting him to wake him up. Madness had gotten to him. No way any of this could be real. Fake pain brought on by a broken mind? Being stabbed…

Slacvis was shaking him now. He stopped laughing. Stared at the man…

"Are you even real?"

The man's face twisted into disgust. It was like his whole being became something that he needed to get away from before he would get infected. Like his father?

Ziv broke out in laughter again. It was hilarious. His dead father died of a virus. Was it real? Is this real? What is real? He might have read too many stories and lost it. His stomach started to hurt from laughing. Then he felt a sharp pain on his head, before losing consciousness.

---

When he woke up, his head and body ached. Everything caught up to him. The ceiling around him was covered in cloth. There was a crate nearby his head that had a lamp. An oil lamp with a small flame keeping the interior covered in a warm glow. The edges of the tent were covered in darkness.

He was thirsty and hungry. If this place was real or fake, he needed something to function. He needed to look for something to put in his mouth. He didn't feel crazy enough to eat his arms. Crazy… He let out a small chuckle.

"Magic…"

He took a moment to look at his tech pad on his wrist. From the time he went through the portal to now was about a five hour time difference. That guy had knocked him out. Sure he would have woken up within the next few minutes, but from what he had been through… He needed the rest.

He staggered out of the room in the tent. Yea, it had an attached room. Using the light from his tech pad he saw some bottles off to the side. Grabbing one, it sloshed with a liquid. Real or not, he needed to drink it. He uncorked it and to a quick whiff to determine what it was. The smell reminded him of sparkles. It was weird and yet didn't smell bad at all.

He chugged the whole bottle down. He grabbed the next and the next. After the third one, he felt his thirst subside enough to where he could focus on finding food now. He grabbed another bottle to bring with him and went looking for food.

That was actually the easier part. He sniffed the air as he got closer to the exit. He couldn't place the smell, but his mouth kept watering. As he opened the tent, he saw a bunch of fires around him. Campfires with different groupings of people gathered there eating.

It didn't look like anything he had ever eaten, but given the context of what his senses, he had to guess that it would be some type of meat. It intrigued him, but he stopped. If this was real, then could he trust these people? Slacvis was the only one he knew and even then he had no reason to care about him.

He arrived in a warzone. Now in an army camp. They could easily conscript him or kill him if he offered nothing to them. He stopped and started to sneak off into the shadows. He made sure the light on his tech pad was off and found a dark corner to hide in.

He needed food, so that was his first priority. He watched the people and saw where they were getting the food. He weaved around and passed the tents. Coming near people, he kept himself lower than normal. Each step, planned out based on what was ahead of him.

Moving over towards a barrel, he reached his hand in it. It had loaves of bread for the soldiers. He grabbed three of them. Quickly scarfing down two of them, before pushing out of the tent. His next priority was to flee. There wasn't much he could do other than that.

Watching some patrols of drunken people pass by, Ziv weaved through them. There were a few times people had looked his way only to believe that there was no way a kid was here and walked away barely able to keep balance. Or others that attempted to check out a sound he made only to not do a thorough job. There were so many tents that he had no idea if he would even be able to make it.

Thankfully it was dark out. That was his saving grace, but it all ended for him. He should have known going against trained soldiers was a bad idea. Maybe it was the way he was sneaking about or they had planned to kill him if he didn't become his slave… It didn't matter with a sword at his neck. Ziv glared down the man in front of him. Then he was quickly tackled to the ground by a man behind him. Removing the food and drink in his hands and tying them up. His legs and mouth were quickly bound as well.

"Trying to steal a mana potion, kid? You made the wrong choice." Then the soldier leaned in close to his ear. "If you were gonna do it, at least take more."

The one that tied him up started to drag him through the camp. He saw a bunch of people staring at him. Rocks in the ground kicked against his body, inflecting more wounds than he had before. The man who held his sword to his neck was just behind watching him, like the others.

"We caught a thief."

"The kid? What did he steal?

"He was trying to take a mana potion."

"Just one?"

"Yea."

The man with the rope laughed. The others joined in around him too.

"Even if it was just one, he would have been rich if he got away with it. Throw him in the cages for now."

"Yes Sir!"

After that little reprieve, Ziv was once again dragged through camp. Before he could get into any cages, the man pulling him was stopped by a familiar voice.

"What is that there?"

"A thief, Sir. We caught him stealing some bread and a mana potion."

The man got within view of Ziv. Due to the low light and the black hazmat suit, it might have been a bit difficult to even see him. Once he made the recognition that it was Ziv, he stood up.

"I'll take it from here."

"Sir?"

"It's fine now. Get back to your patrol."

"Yes, Sir"

The two left Ziv there, on the ground still tied up. He had no idea what was going on, but based on their behavior… This guy, Slacvis, had more authority than that previous man before him.

"We should talk."

He leaned down towards Ziv and untied him.

"What do you want to talk about?" Ziv was frustrated, tired, and angry. He only thought that what he drank was some wine. Medieval and fantasy people had wine. He never had any before, but it didn't change that he only drank it out of necessity. Then the fact that he got caught and dragged through the dirt and mud made it worse.

Sure he understood that he was the stranger here. He didn't know these people. Their culture, ideals, monetary values. He knew nothing. That in-it-of-itself frustrated him. A mana potion? Worth crazy amounts? Money and magic never existed to him. Only in fiction. Other than the pain, it was all known to him.

"One, your attitude. You stole something that did not belong to you and are acting like some spoiled brat. There are consequences for your actions."

"Then let me make this clear. I can apologize for stealing. I had no idea what it was, but it doesn't change that stealing is wrong. I know that well enough." He really had no one to steal from in his past, so he only based that on what he read in stories. "I was hungry and thirsty. I needed something. That is my excuse. So I am sorry that I took that stuff." He was sincere, but the way he voiced it didn't make it seem like it.

Then Slacvis looked at him. Like what he said was a puzzle that needed to be figured out.

"If you were thirsty, then why is this bottle still full." The guards had given Slacvis the potion. It was their 'proof' of his crime. Though why they didn't give it to the other guy they called 'Sir', didn't make sense. Then it hit him, the way the guy spoke about him stealing mana potions… he was probably going to steal it for himself. Either way he answered truthfully to Slacvis's question.

"I drank two before that. Again I had no idea. Naivety is my only excuse here."

That seemed to add to the puzzle. Slacvis's eyes kept trying to think it over.

Then Ziv saw something move in the shadow, behind Slacvis. He had spent about half an hour weaving through tents to know something was wrong. It was getting darker behind Slacvis. As he went through his memory over this past event, the light behind Slacvis was getting progressively less.

Danger.

His thinking stopped. Right now both of them were in danger. There was someone in the dark and things were about to go very, very badly.

Maybe it was a coincidence or just that his mind gave him a warning, but someone dressed in black sprinted out of the shadows. By seeing the person in the shadows, that person had initiated their attack.

Ziv knew he had no chance to fight the attacker. Slacvis was the fighter. If he could distract this assassin, then Slacvis would be able to kill the bad guy.

Ziv sprinted forward to ram into the sprinting assassin. Ziv was closer than the attacker, but shorter. He had no idea who would be first, but he had to try. In all honesty, Slacvis was a good person. He knew that in some part of him. Only acting out to the only person willing to listen to him. If he protected him, then his chances increased in living. There was no way he was going to take his chances with an unknown attacker.

Possibly the only reason, Slacvis didn't stop Ziv from moving was because of some little trust he had gathered since coming here. He was probably the reason why he had lowered his guard.

The two crashed into each other. The man toppled over Ziv, cracking some, if not all, of his ribs. Again, like when he got here, he had lost all the air in his lungs.

He ended up looking up at Slacvis who was wide eyed staring at Ziv as he pulled out his sword. He quickly attacked a different assassin that had come out from somewhere. Since he was busy fighting and alerting the camp of the enemies, Ziv had his own problems. The shortly stunned assassin on top of him was starting to move. He didn't want to end in a similar situation as before, even if it was already like it. So he used his elbow to hit the guy on top of him. Thankfully he just had cloth and no armor.

Then Ziv got the one up on him and wrapped his arms around the guy's neck and squeezed with everything he had. The assassin tried to break his grip, but as long as the assassin was still alive, Ziv kept a tight hold on the guy. Once Slacvis kills him and everything ends, only then will he release his grip.

The man flopped onto the ground, attempting to crush Ziv. It was a good technique that had Ziv gasping for air again. This time he coughed up blood. He felt like he was drowning now. He probably had a collapsed lung or it could have been punctured. Either way he didn't release his grip. If he was going to die, he was going to take this guy down with him.

Right now he thought this whole situation was very, very real. In this life and death situation, it was real. Real enough for him to be drowning in his own blood. All he could hear right now was his heart beat in his ears. The man slammed Ziv back into the ground.

The sound, his heartbeat he had been hearing just moments ago, stopped. He could hear the fighting, the man struggling in his arms, and even the blood he was coughing up, but not his heart beat. But he held on.

At that moment when everything around him stopped, Ziv was electrocuted. His suit was designed to shock his heat and revive him if it ever stopped. Of course chest compressions were necessary to get it started and the electrical shock was to regulate the heart. The suits were advanced enough where that wouldn't be a problem. But, and a big but, that was only if the hazmat suit was complete. His helmet was in a pile of dead bodies. It would have been able to regulate the pressure in the suite, restart the heart and then send the electrical shock to revive him.

So the only reason he would be shocked is if his heart was still beating, just irregularly. When it had stopped, that was before the shock. Then as the assassin, still on top of him, was crushing Ziv and beating him, he probably his chest hard enough to restart his heart. Honestly these thoughts were passing Ziv by fast, but slow enough that it was only to make sure what was happening.

Now there was one more thing about the suit, if complete could do. If he was wearing the helmet, it could give him oxygen. If I could even force it into his body. Since it would be a controlled environment essentially. Even if his heart was beating, he was still drowning. Soon his brain wouldn't be getting oxygen and he would die anyway.

The assassin in his arms just stopped moving, but Ziv didn't let go. Unconscious, dead, or feigning either, Ziv didn't know or care. He kept a hold on the man and wouldn't let go.

Then he could no longer get air into his lungs. His body started to freak out and he released his grip. Pushing the man off of himself and attempting to get any air in his body. He was trying to swim to the top of the bath, but he couldn't make it.

Even he knew that fight barely took a minute. Ziv could see Slacvis just finishing off last guy and reinforcements came. Slacvis ran over to him and picked him up and started running. Ziv kept clawing at his throat. Like the assassin was doing to him just moments ago. Perhaps it was a coincidence or it was not, but the only thing on Ziv's mind was the lack of oxygen his body needed.

Ziv was barely conscious at the point he saw that Rewer guy before. Time was nothing to Ziv. Air, he needed air.

Then the green light pulled him back from darkness once again. At the same time that happened his suit sent another shock to his heart. It made sense somewhat if magic was fixing his body and at the same time technology was watching over him.

Then the pain came back. So much in so little time. He wanted to be numb to it all, but he wasn't. It was worse. Like twelve pairs of ribs bones pain. If he had to state a good part about it all was the fact that he was now breathing. Though weirdly, he was coughing up blood. So how could he breath at the same time expel blood from his lungs? Magic. The only answer he needed right now.

"Slacvis I have never known you to be a liar. So why do I find the same kid you said wouldn't end up in front of me again?" Rewer sighed as Ziv screamed again. He closed his eyes for a moment to see the others holding him down with renewed effort. "What is happening out there?"

"Night attack. The Legarians sent assassins into the camp. Five of them were sent after me alone… well Ziv here took down one on his own."

"Seriously, he took down one of their famous assassins by himself?

"I was there Rewer. He saved my life again."

"For you to compliment this kid, he has to be some kind of legend. He can't be more than twelve years old either." Ziv's teeth were feeling pain like his chest. He must have chipped them or was currently crushing them from the pain he was feeling and this magic was healing them. "Hold him still!"

At this point the pain became too much and Ziv went out like a light.

---

As Ziv started to stir, he felt a calm hand on his chest.

"Don't move. I should have stopped you last time, but… excuses right? You saved my life again. I don't know why you did that, but thank you. Thank you for saving my life Ziv."

He didn't even get to open his eyes before he heard that from Slacvis. Ziv knew that he didn't save the man for any altruistic reasons. So he didn't say anything in return.

"Why were you there during the battle Ziv? I've been wondering that the whole time. When I first saw you, under that Legarian… the look in your eyes was of someone out of their depth. Then I saw your… fight against him. You didn't hold back at all."

"That's because he was going to kill me." Ziv coughed up that reply.

"That's true. That head butt was great. Looking back on it, you did give it your all. Fighting for your life. But the thing was that I saw you do the same thing for me. You ran right into a Legarian assassin. You caught him off guard, protected me, and ended up letting us capture him alive. I don't know if you know how hard it is to take those assassins alive, but you should know that in the whole empire that was the second time."

"No way."

"Actually I thought that too. A kid, taking down a grown man? Maybe you surprised him, but he should have seen you. So how did you do it? Then I thought you were a spy. It made sense at first. Why would a kid be on the battlefield, dressed in your 'hazmat suit'. It's just too absurd."

"I'm not a spy." He wasn't, but some of those things were a bit coincidental.

"I know, don't worry." He sighed like that was the last thing on his mind. I relived Ziv to hear that. "Remember Rewer? Well I had a talk with him about that. Your injuries… you should have died. There was no planning or anything that could make you a spy if you die. Then I asked him a question. Ziv, you said that you drank two of those mana potions right?"

"Yea…?" He didn't know where Slacvis was going with this, but it sounded like something in his favor.

"Most people cannot drink one potion. They need to possess mana. You drank two. That is impressive. Clearly the Legarians aren't going to be throwing away child mage that has a great amount of mana. So I asked Rewer to check your mana… he experienced feedback."

That was a strange word to hear, in this world. Especially where people aren't using any electrical equipment. None that he had seen anyway. It wasn't like that word was exclusive to him and his world. Who knows…

"If you don't know, feedback occurs when someone's mana pool is greater than another. At least double is when it happens. Now Rewer has a big mana pool in general. Even if he got feedback from you, it would be a small effect. It wasn't." Slacvis seemed to be getting a bit excited and Ziv was starting to rethink what in his favor was…

"He flew against the wall, that one there." He gestured with his head towards a wall, it was wooden, but it was splintered and cracked. They did a makeshift job attempting to cover the hole up. Since this wasn't a tent either, but a full fledged building it seemed, he had been out a while. Until he could check his tech pad, he wouldn't know for sure.

"You possess so much in your body that either you are a god…" He left that hanging in the air. Like waiting for Ziv to just say 'You got me.' "or just some random kid."

"You don't have to be disappointed about that."

"Well I know you're not just some random kid. Geeze you should be dead with the amount in your body. Honestly, you should be dead like five times over based on Rewer's estimate"

"What if I am dead?"

"Do you feel pain when you die?"

"Stop that!"

Slacvis pinched his cheek.

"How old are you anyway?"

"Ten."

"Ten years old? You're younger than I thought. I think it's worse that you are younger. I can't have a kid being the one that protects me. That's what my guard is for. I have a reputation to uphold."

"What kind of reputation is that?"

"The kind where I'm the general of this army."

Ziv didn't care about that or the smirk on his face.

"So?"

"Rewer is going to love that… Ziv, do you think what you see around you is real?"

"What?"

"You asked me if I was real, am I?

"You want to know? If I look at it logically, my mind tells me you are real. But can I believe the situation I've been put into…?"

That question was for himself. Did he really believe that magic was real? The portal? The pain? The pain was real. It's signals that are sent to his nervous system. His ribs were broken. He almost drowned in his own blood. He can still feel the phantom pain from that. Like every breath feels stifled, but air is going in and out just fine. Even if it was some hyper real hallucination, he might as well consider this real. If it proves not later, then he can worry about it then and the consequences.

"I guess…"

"I can't say I'm surprised that you thought about it after what you've been through, but I'm happy that you think so."

"So what happens now?"

"I would love to hear your story, but… Now? You need to rest. You've been asleep for a week. Well I had Rewer keep you down until I found out what to do with you."

"Are you going to share what that is?"

"Later."

---

Two days later, in a mansion of all places. Ziv was finally able to have a conversation with Slacvis. He spent the time mostly sleeping, eating and adjusting to his new situation.

He was in Slacvis' study sitting on the couch across from him. Slacvis was sitting in a comfortable leather as he learned, chair. It was on the other side of a coffee table. There was one story Ziv had read in the past and it described a similar version and design of the table. Although a post-apocalyptic setting set in a frozen tundra didn't match. The view outside of the window was grand. Blue sky's, green fields, meat! Lovely meat. The best thing about his new reality.

Or again his mind was just creating these things on the fly while he was in a catatonic state in his room. He was leaning closer on the side of reality though.

"Yes?"

"Will you tell me your story?"

"I heard you before, but I got distracted by the view. Did you know where I'm from the sky isn't even blue?" Ziv was planning to go all in with the truth. He was still wearing his tech pad and hazmat suit, but that wasn't from the lack of clothing. Slacvis went all out for him and brought a grand amount for him. In a way it was just a reminder for Ziv to wear it. Who knows, later he could change it.

There was one more thing he should point out. Back when he was looking at his tech pad, at the time. He thought it had only been a few hours since he had gone through the portal. In a way that was right. It wasn't until he took a closer look at the date that had him worried. If he was reading it right, which it is unlikely to be wrong, he was a little over three-thousand-four-hundred-and-seventy-eight years old. Dream or not, he was old. He almost started believing that he was a god.

"Where are you from then?"

"Well it wasn't really a place. Not a civilization, not a town or city. Just my home. My home where I lived with my… parents." He didn't want to say it, but he decided to be truthful before coming in here today. Regardless of the consequences. Slacvis was a good person and he would treat him as such. "They're gone now…"

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Anyway where I was from, there was no magic. The only magic I knew of was in fictional stories and when my mother did a sleight of hand trick to amazing me and my dad." Ziv noticed the disbelief show on Slacvis' face for a moment. "After they were gone, I set out on a journey. I didn't plan to last long. There was nothing for me left."

Pity… Even Ziv had trouble talking about that. It was reasonable Slacvis would show him it.

"I blew up my home, fell into a ruin, finished a scientist's research, stepped through a portal, spent thousands of years there and ended up on the battlefield. The same place where I met you."

"Wait… Hold on there. I feel like you're messing with me, but I can also tell that was the truth… Can you at least explain it a bit more?"

"Okay… I set up my house to detonate. After walking far away, I blew it up. The shock wave sent me down into a building. I went down to the basement. Saw dead bodies and a portal. They had all the machines set up and the place still worked. I finished their calculations with my superior technology and because I didn't plan on living any more I stepped through a portal. I ended up on the battlefield. Fought for my life, you save me, I saved you… bla bla bla…. Just yesterday I realized that when I looked at the time on my tech pad in the camp, five hours didn't pass but like thousands of years. So I'm actually older than you now, so you should respect your elders."

Fiction or not, Ziv never really had anyone to interact with. He was feeling a disconnect with reality, even if he was starting to accept it. These facts made him feel powerful. Untouchable. Even if he included the mana feedback thing. So he deserved to have a bit of fun. Slacvis was laughing across from him now. Even he thought it was funny. It was true, but funny.

"ha… ha… Being in my position is good to be able to tell lies. I know you said the truth, but it's so unbelievable. No wonder you didn't even think I was real. Even using pain to make me think it wasn't a dream wouldn't help. So maybe you are crazy and you believe everything you said or it is the truth. I'd like to believe it's the truth. It helps when I know that you have more mana and the potential to hold mana in your body than a mere human can handle."

"I'm human."

"An above average human, then. Good enough for you?"

"Works for me."

There was a bit of a pause after they both chuckled a bit.

"How about a deal then?"

"What if I adopted you?" Ziv didn't show any emotion, but he felt conflicted about it. His parents were his real parents. He would never forget them. Even if he lived in a family that wasn't his own, they would always be his mom and dad. Then another part was that he was alone in this world. There were a few people he knew and one of them was currently handing him the wrench so to speak. Offering him a way to live in this world and learn.

"What does that entail?"

"You would be considered my child and all the benefits that would come to. If you call me your parent or not, I hope that I could at least be your friend. I also offer you knowledge about a completely new world to you and I will help give you the tools to succeed here." He brought a large grin on his face. Ziv was surprised that his face didn't rip apart. "I don't know if you realize how big of a deal your mana is, but knowing that age of yours, makes a lot of sense. Actually you are probably going to out live me and this city. Probably the nation as well."

"What? I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood something."

"Yes, well with someone who was from a world with no magic, you wouldn't know. The amount of mana in your body affects your lifespan. Most humans don't have mana, and live about sixty years if they are not too healthy or others can live up to a hundred."

"That was standard where I was from too."

"Well mana doesn't just increase your life span. Based on the purity of it, it could even decrease your life. So you have a bit stacked against you at birth."

"Hold on. I used to read a lot of books. A lot. I read fictional stories where people have magic and get increased life spans, but what is this purity all about?"

"It isn't something you would normally have to worry about yet, but it applies heavily to you. You don't just have an abundance of mana, it is pure. That tea cup you are holding there? It is a very expensive item. Most people use it as a symbol of their vanity. Sure I could get a cheaper orb, but I got money to spend."

Ziv could easily use the word eccentric to describe him. Also wouldn't that make him vain? Anyway he took a look at the tea cup only to find that there was just tea floating above his hands. He could feel the cup, he could see the edge of the tea where it would be in the cup, but no cup.

"Your mana is so pure, the highest I'm guessing, could be higher who knows, that your cup is completely see through. Ziv you could easily rival the gods for your own position there or maybe even more powerful than them. I don't know, but compared to me… this nation itself, you could easily wipe this place off the map. Like sneezing. it just happens."

Morbid… but he could imagine it. Though this conversation wasn't helping his reality conundrum.

"Alright, I get it you think I'm powerful. Other than guessing you want me as an ally and to train me in some way so I don't 'sneeze', is that it?"

"Is that it? You want more? What about that lovely sky you were talking about. You can have that too if you want. You are powerful. I didn't just make that up, I'll have you know. I have proof, something I believe in with my eyes. That cup is proof. Watching Rewer slam into a wall and almost die from this impact was proof. This is real Ziv."

"Hey, you didn't say he almost died and I didn't mean it like that. Do you believe that having me, with all the power that I theoretically have, you don't want yourself?"

"Gods forbid. I have enough stress in my life, I don't to add a bigger target to my back." He paused and looked Ziv over. He said what Ziv was thinking about. "Don't worry about the others or Rewer in particular. He knows secrets need to be kept and he's my best friend. I would do the same for him."

"Let me get this straight. You want to adopt me, to teach me and help me in this world. To acknowledge my power and grow it, without anything in return?"

"Maybe I didn't make it clear before. I will be serious here, I want you to understand that. I'm growing old. I wasn't blessed with mana like you or Rewer. I will probably die before the both of you. I never found love with a partner. Rewer has been a close second to that role. But I do regret not having a child. Personally I always wanted a daughter, but you need someone. I would like to be someone you can lean on and help you. At least I want to be your friend. I did say that before and I meant it. You saved my life, you know. I didn't just save yours. You have my trust, my faith. I will protect you and I hope that just like before, with training, you can protect me too. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to, but I want to help in the least. What do you think?"

A mutual partnership? To be friends? To have a father again? Of course he wanted that, but no not a father. A friend, he never had one. He could learn, yes, he could. He could learn what it is like to have a friend and be one. Ziv already had his first steps as one, so why not a step further. He wouldn't meeting the guy that saved him from death either. He did owe Rewer a lot.

Maybe he didn't owe anyone anything. Given the situation, it could have been instinctual. But these people, Slacvis… He could be his friend. Even if the age difference was great… he was older than the guy. Not mentally of course.

"I would like to be your friend."

Slacvis smiled and Ziv mirrored him.

"Want a hug son?"

"Friend, not son."

"Handshake?"

"Sure…"