The pendant

"Oh great, it's still standing."

Of course, standing in the open yard of a little house was Teke taking in the nostalgic moment. It was a lot to take in because technically speaking, he hadn't been home for more than ten years. In his past life, his home was collateral damage just like the ones in the city because of the aftermath of the beam hitting the earth's core from right above White Stone City.

As Teke stepped into the apartment, he took in sights that he expected to see, nothing was out of place and everything was normal.

"The cooker's still switched on, Dad's cup of tea's still warm, albeit slightly. Everything's perfectly matched, no signs of forced entry, they just simply vanished. Astonishing, does that mean this could happen to me also, forced teleportation? But where to? And why?"

From the living room to the kitchen to his sister's bedroom, Teke examined every single detail and still concluded that nothing was out of place, it seemed his family was going about their day in a normal manner when all of a sudden, things weren't so normal anymore.

*sigh*

"It's been over ten years since I saw any of them, I miss them so much. I haven't been filial, I swear on every single cell of my being that I'll find you guys, and if even a single hair is harmed, I will burn down the universe."

His grievance was ten years old already and it seemed it would only keep growing.

After examining everything to the littlest detail, Teke took a detour to his room, there was a little possession he'd lost early on in his past that held a lot of emotions and meant the world to him.

Entering his room Teke murmured, "Thank goodness I'm not a slob, at least I have where to sleep tonight but first, I think I put it on top of my drawer yeah, how weird would it be if my pendant got teleported away too?"

*sigh*

"There you are, you belong with me. I'll never, let you out of my sight again."

For as long as Teke could remember, he had always worn his pendant around his neck. He treated it as a family heirloom, his father told him that he'd worn it around his neck since the moment he opened his eyes in this world. It was a pendant passed down the family line for decades. His father always told him it was special and although Teke agreed, he had actually never felt anything out of the ordinary from it, so when he was going out for lunch with a girl he knew from his past life, he didn't mind taking it off for a short period of time because of the contrast the scarlet red ruby had with his clothes. He'd thought he'd come get it after having a good time on his date but he never got the chance to after the city was destroyed only a few hours later.

Although he did get to see the pendant later, that was during the final battle after he became the Queen mother's champion. It was that and the pendant that gave him the ability to skip tiers and kill legions of demigods and half-step immortals. But it was already too late, the pendant was already damaged and couldn't even exhibit ten percent of its capabilities.

This time, it was different though. He got a do and what's more, he got the pendant from day one. This was the foundation on which he'd build his power.

Teke put the precious pendant around his neck and finally felt safe even if that feeling was temporary. Contrary to what one might expect, the pendant didn't immediately boost the strength pooled up in his body. In fact, there was no fluctuation at all and it only seemed like he was wearing a red piece of stone tied to a string.

It was completely expected though, the earth was still evolving and her evolution would only be complete when they came back from the game space. Until then, this was just a mana-less world and all the pendant could provide him was the feeling of nostalgia.

Clearing the random thoughts from his head, Teke proceeded to do some light exercises. Working out was all he had and all he'd been doing from his past life and he'd continue the tradition. Other than keeping fit, it killed his boredom and helped him rein in his borderless thoughts. After the quick workout, he took a shower to wash away the impurities his body had gathered. It must be mentioned that after his tribulation, Teke looked like a giant mold of charcoal. His bald skull had already started sprouting hair strands and if given a few hours would surely grow into a lush mane.

Looking up at the ceiling above his bed, Teke thought to himself what drastic changes his actions of the last few hours would cause and how far he could take advantage of his memories before the butterfly effect rendered them worthless.

He went through his memories, sorted out important details, and made up his mind on what his first step should be.

"Well in conclusion I should first get some sleep, as for the things of the future, well they'd remain in the future. And yes of course, as for when I wake up? Ah yes, that's when the grind starts, no patience of course, they wouldn't want us earthlings to be too prepared. I'm really looking forward to entering the game space this time hehe."