Chapter 2

The walls of the room pressed in around them, the air thick with the scent of something herbal and medicinal making Ruben fully believe that they have to be in some type of hospital. 

Ruben sat on the edge of his bed. His shoulders itched. He just stared at the floor, the polished stone tiles reflecting the dim glow of the hovering orb that had drafted back into the room. 

Corbin was already on his feet, pacing like a caged animal, his bare feet slapping against the cold floor. His curls were a wild mess, and his dark eyes burned with a fury that hadn't dimmed since the moment he woke up. 

He stopped abruptly, spinning on his heel to face the old man lounging in the doorway. 

"Where the hell are we?" Corbin demanded, his voice sharp enough to cut glass. 

Dario Kosta didn't flinch. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, the gold stars on his cuffs glinting under the soft light. His expression was unreadable, amused maybe, or just indifferent. Like he was seeing this scene play out, like watching the same character trope on tv for the hundredth time. 

Ruben stayed silent. He wasn't in the mood to talk. His head was still swimming, flashes of blood and broken glass flickering behind his eyelids every time he blinked. His hands felt heavy, like they weren't his own. 

Dario pushed off the doorframe and stepped fully into the room. "Branneth," he said, as if that explained everything. "Capital of Ostara." 

Ruben's brow furrowed. He had never heard of such a place, but it sounded like it would be somewhere in western europe. Ruben's voice came out hoarse. "Are we in Europe?" 

Dario's eyebrows shot up. Then, without warning, he laughed, a deep, rolling sound that filled the room. "Europe?" He shook his head, still grinning. "Never heard of it." 

Corbin's face twisted. "Bullshit," he spat. "It covers most of the goddamn world map!" 

Dario's smirk didn't waver. "I don't know what maps you've been looking at but it is certainly not covered by a land called 'Europe'." 

Ruben's stomach dropped. 

That floating thing that Ruben had spotted when he had first woken up appeared again, floating around the older man in the room. Ruben watched it warily. It had a weird sheen to it, it didn't look like anything he had seen before, more so like a concept project instead. 

It hovered around like it was alive. 

"You know what this is?" Dario asked, nodding towards it. 

Corbin didn't answer. Ruben swallowed. "No." 

"Skye." Dario said. "Nanotech surveillance. They're everywhere here in this country. Eyes in the sky watching everything you do." 

Corbin scoffed. "If that existed, crime would be damn near extinct. My family's rich. I'd know if something like that were real, my Ma would have been using them." 

Dario shrugged. "They're not sanctioned to be used by every country. And Branneth's got more Skye's than any other city on the continent. Still doesn't stop people from being people." 

"Fuck!" Corbin's hands clenched into fists. "Stop with this cryptic shit and tell us where we actually are!" 

Dario tilted his head, considering them both. Then, in a tone that was almost playful he asked. "What do you remember last? Before waking up here?" 

Silence. 

Ruben's throat tightened. All he could see was blood, his father's blood, smeared across his knuckles, dripping onto the rocks by the river. His stomach turned. 

Corbin, for the first time since he'd woken up, looked shaken. His scowl faltered, his voice dropping to a mutter. "Fire…" 

Dario hummed. "No fires big enough to matter in the last two weeks." 

Ruben forced out his words. "Car accidents?" 

"Same answer." 

Corbin's breath hitched. His hands rose to grip his own hair, fingers tangling in his curls. "What the fuck did you do to us?" 

Dario's expression didn't change, but something in his eyes sharpened. He didn't answer right away, letting the question hang in the air like smoke. Then, smoothly, he shifted the conversation, answering questions they hadn't asked yet, cutting off protests before they could form. Every word was calculated and effortless. 

"You were dead." 

Ruben's blood ran cold. 

Corbin froze. "What?" 

Dario's voice was matter-of-fact. "I found you both by the lake in Vaelmoor forest. No pulse, no breath. Then…" he snapped his fingers. "... you woke up. Which means you've awakened an Ego. And I wanna see it." 

Corbin's face twisted. "Break it down simple, old man." His voice cracked on the last words. Tears welled in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. 

Dario obliged. "Six-point-seven billion humans in this world. Fifteen percent have paranormal abilities, Egos. To get one, you have to die with extreme trauma and regret. Even then, chances are less than one percent." He paused, studying them. "No records of you two existing. That's a problem." 

Ruben's hands shook. His dad. His brother. Maya. If he were dead, if he'd killed his father, what would their lives be like? They wouldn't even have someone to throw their anger at like he did. 

The thought made his chest ache. He hated his dad. He did. But the idea of Isaiah growing up without a father, it made something ugly curl in his gut. 

Corbin didn't seem to be handling himself any better. "What about Blue Castle Junior High?" he demanded. "The students, my…" he cut himself off, jaw clenching. 

Dario shook his head. "No school by that name here." 

Silence. 

Then, with a sigh, Dario straightened. "Here's how this is gonna go. If we can't find any relatives for you boys, you're sticking with me." 

Ruben didn't argue. Going back wouldn't even be an option. He was a murderer, he would spend time in prison and come back to nothing. If the chance to go back even existed, he wouldn't want to go. 

Corbin, for once in the short time Ruben knew him, didn't yell. 

Dario took that as agreement. 

***

This was an entirely different world. The point was made clear to them. They were not in reach of their old home. Ruben didn't argue. There was no point. And even if some miracle path back to his old world opened up, he wouldn't take it. 

He had already crossed the line there, one stained in his father's blood, and there was no stepping over it again. 

The weight of what he had done was still violently settling in his bones, cold and unshakable. He was a murderer. 

There was nothing. No records, no traces, no flicker of their existence in this world's databases. And Dario was supposedly of an extremely high rank in the government too so he confirmed it for them. 

It was as if they had been carved from the void itself. And so, with a bureaucratic shrug, the powers that be handed them over to Dario Kosta, temporary guardian. 

They followed him through the building, a sprawling monolith of polished stone and gleaming metal, its halls wide enough to fit a small army. Everywhere they walked, people stopped. Not in fear, but in reverence. Men and women in crisp, formal attire turned as Dario Kosta passed, their voices layering over one another in a chorus of greetings. 

"Warlord Kosta! Another flawless operation I hear." 

"The Star of Ostara shines as bright as ever." 

Dario acknowledged them with a lazy wave or a smirk, never breaking stride. Ruben kept his head down, but he could feel the eyes on them, curious. Whispers slithered in their wake. 

"Who are they?" 

"His children?" 

"Nah. Too young. Maybe Grandchildren." 

The questions went unanswered. Ruben never knew his grandparents on either side. He didn't even know if they were alive, but he didn't care either, if they were never mentioned before then he just didn't see them as important. 

Dario didn't slow, he didn't explain to anyone either. 

They reached the elevator, its doors sliding open with a hushed chime. The inside was mirrored, throwing Ruben's reflection back at him, hollow-eyed, tense, looking like a ghost wearing borrowed clothes. He almost didn't recognize himself. 

As the elevator began to descend, Ruben decided to speak up. "What's a Paladin?" 

Dario leaned against the railing, arms crossed. "Government-sanctioned Ego users," he said, that didn't explain much, Ruben just stared while Corbin gave him a side-eye, Dario sighed. "People like me. We're registered, trained, and sent out to deal with things like phantasms." 

Corbin's brow furrowed. "What's a phantasm?" 

Dario blinked, then let out a short, incredulous laugh. "You're serious?" 

"Do I look like I'm joking?" 

"Monsters," Dario said, tilting his head. "Born from human fear and all that ugly shit. They feed on it and grow stronger from it. And if left alone, they'll rip apart entire cities just to keep the nightmare going." 

Ruben's stomach twisted. It sounded like something out of a bad horror movie. But then again, so did waking up in another world. 

Like Re:Zero. 

The elevator doors opened, revealing a sleek, black vehicle idling at the curb. It looked like someone had taken a military jeep and fused it with a spaceship, angular, armoured, its windows tinted to near-opacity. The doors unlocked with a quiet thunk as they approached. 

Inside, the seats were upholstered in deep crimson leather, the dashboard a seamless panel of glowing blue holograms. Ruben ran a hand over the armrest, it was cool to the touch, humming faintly with some unseen energy. Corbin slid in beside him, his scowl deepening as he took in the interior. 

"Where are we going now?" he demanded. 

Dario settled into the front seat, stretching his legs. "Home. Mine, specifically. Since I'm your guardian now, you'll be living with me." 

The car pulled away from the curb, smooth as oil on water. Ruben watched the city blur past the window, towering spires of glass and steel, neon signs flickering in a language that just looked like it was English. It was bright. And even with that similarity, things still felt alien. 

He turned back to Dario. "Why are you doing this?" 

Dario didn't look at him. "Doing what?" 

"Taking us in. You're… important. People treat you like you're some kind of celebrity, maybe even more than that. Wouldn't they have questions?" 

"Let them." 

Ruben's fingers dug into the leather. "That's not an answer." 

For the first time, Dario's smirk faded. He glanced at Ruben in the rearview mirror, his eyes sharp. "You want the truth? Fine. The moment you two woke up with Egos, you have to register with the BPA. But you also become targets, not just for the government, but for any power hungry bastard who thinks they can use you." He turned back to the road. "I won't claim to be doing this out of kindness. But the alternative is much worse." 

Ruben leaned back, unsatisfied but unwilling to push further. The answer was honest, so he was fine with that. 

Corbin seized the silence. "So since we died and got these Ego things, I'm guessing you're expecting us to become Paladin." 

Dario didn't answer immediately. The car hummed around them, the cityscape giving way to sprawling hills and dense forests. Then, quietly, he said, "You don't have to." 

Corbin blinked. "What?" 

"You don't have to become paladins," Dario repeated. "I'm not here to recruit you. I just don't want you stumbling down the wrong path." 

Ruben frowned. There was something about the way Dario said it, like he was bracing for an argument. 

"And what's the 'wrong path?'" Corbin sneered. 

Dario's grip tightened on the wheel. "Most people who awaken Egos don't join the BPA. They don't get an Ego without going through hell. So tell me, why would someone who's been hurt their whole life suddenly decide to help others, when they finally have the power to take whatever they want?" 

"Cause they don't want others going through that." Ruben said. 

Dario looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "That was a rhetorical question, kid." 

Corbin sneered. They both understood. Of course they did. Ruben had spent years drowning in his own rage, his own helplessness. If he had woken up with power back then he doesn't know what he would have done with it after trying to intimidate his father. 

The car slid through a tunnel, its walls lined with bioluminescent strips that cast an eerie blue glow over the interior. When they emerged, the landscape had shifted entirely, rolling hills, dense forests, a road that wound through the trees like a serpent. 

Half an hour later, the gates appeared. 

They were massive, wrought iron and gold, towering over the road like the jaws of some great beast. Dario rolled down his window and pressed his palm against a sensor embedded in the stone pillar. The gates groaned open, revealing a path lined with cherry blossoms, their petals drifting lazily to the ground. 

The mansion, no, the estate, loomed ahead, a sprawling monument of white stone and arched windows. It wasn't just a house. It was a fortress. A kingdom. 

The car came to a stop in a circular driveway, the gravel crunching beneath the tires. Ruben stepped out, his breath catching. The front courtyard was a work of art, a mosaic of marble and emerald grass, fountains bubbling with crystal-clear water. The air smelled like jasmine and other types of flowers. It smelled alive and refreshing. 

Dario stretched, rolling his shoulders. "Welcome home." he said, grinning. "For now, at least." 

Ruben stared up at the mansion, its windows reflecting the setting sun like a hundred watching eyes. He didn't know what to say. 

Corbin, eloquent as ever, summed it up perfectly. 

"What the fuck."