"The Return"

Near dusk, the sky was filled with the red and violet hues of the setting sun. A month had passed since Shin’ō's "death."

Somewhere in his hometown, Bezkon Arkogromov leaned casually against a wall, a confident smirk on his face. Effortlessly charming every girl who crossed his path. He’d turn heads left and right, but his eyes distant. Always looking at something far away...

Elsewhere, Helwin von Schattenreich walked calmly through a narrow street, beside a girl who held his hand. She had beautiful, long, shining light blue hair. She talked mindlessly to Helwin about the day, but his thoughts distant, he couldn't hear a single thing.

Far away, Jovino Delterragon slept comfortably in his room, tangled in his sheets. The pillows nowhere to be seen.

Half eaten snacks laying on his bed. His phone buzzed endlessly, playing an alarm that he'd never wake up to.

On a bullet train, Audaxor Noctusapius sat alone, a book resting in his hand. He turned each page slowly, eyes calm. The scenery raced past behind him, but his thoughts moved much slower.

Then everything changed...

The sun had nearly set, casting warm gold across the sky, but the moon hung dark and pitch black, hovering higher than usual.

Suddenly, a crack appeared above it.

A tear in the sky. No, in reality itself. Jagged and cracked, widened silently in the air. Purple light and slightly blue mist leaked out from it like ink in water. The clouds twisted unnaturally.

And then-.

A man stepped out.

Dark clothes, long windswept hair, eyes like darkness itself.

Shin’ō had returned.

"Finally, I'm back." He thought.

He pulled out a crystal blue stone rune from his inner pocket. "This better be worth it. I still can't believe I have to use such methods."

He raised his left arm upward and threw it in the air, chanting a spell. "Hear this call of mine, 'Time.'" The rune stopped mid air and turned to dust.

Everything froze.

Birds paused mid-air. The oceans stopped flowing. The world held its breath.

"Come forth, 'Castle Incarnate.'" He stretched his trembling arm forward.

A great stone pentagonal room materialized above the clouds, dark and still, untouched by wind. Five chairs surrounded a round table at its center. The room floated, as it seemed to be made of rough dark granite...

All four were instantly transported to it.

Bezkon and Helwin appeared with sharp confusion in their eyes. Audaxor closed his book, adjusting his glasses. Jovino was still asleep, his head slumped forward.

Bezkon elbowed him. "Wake up, sleepyhead. This isn’t a dream." He whispered in his ear.

Jovino still sleepy "…What? Is this heaven?"

They turned to see Shin’ō standing before the doors of the floating chamber, arms spread slightly. He bowed his head. "Welcome to our Fifth Council, gentlemen."

One by one, they entered. The stone chairs were each unique, made only for them. Shin'ō sat facing the door. To his left sat Helwin and Audaxor. And to his right sat Bezkon and Jovino.

The room was silent, like the pause before a storm.

"The Theory of Reincarnation worked. It's a success." Said Shin'ō, breaking the silence.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief over the success.

"Thank God, it worked." Audaxor replied.

"I thought you'd never come back." Bezkon said, relieved.

"The odds of you coming back were near 0. It's a miracle, Shin'ō." Helwin said, calmly.

"But I recommend that this should be closed. No one should know and suffer from this." Shin'ō said.

"What? Why? What do you mean suffer?" Audaxor questioned.

"No one deserves to go through what I have gone through. I'll tell you the details later." Shin'ō replied.

"We can't deny the man. He's saying this from experience." Helwin added.

"Alright. But don't forget to tell us the details " Audaxor replied

"Yes, I will not. By the way how much time has passed since I was gone?" Shin'ō asked.

Audaxor flipped through his notebook and said. "Today is 31 May 2025, 6:35 PM. It’s been 31 days since your “death.” You have missed all of summer vacation."

Shin'ō shocked, asked them. "Interesting. Anyways, what did you all do while I was gone?"

"Studied military tactics and trained my body. And watched anime." Audaxor said quickly.

"Trained in my hometown." Bezkon replied, leaning back.

"Slept. Trained. Watched anime." Jovino answered, still half sleeping.

"I also trained and watched anime. Got a girlfriend too." Helwin said, calm and cold.

"Now, it's your turn. Tell us the details, will you?" Asked Audaxor.

Shin’ō looked out through the window, into the clouds. "Tens of thousands of years passed. I lost count. I went to every world that held power, more than I can remember. Took what I could. Learned what I couldn't. Collected everything."

The room darkened slightly.

"At the end… I became so strong that I could have destroyed everything. That's when-" He stopped and looked at is hand.

Shin'ō thought to himself. "It's working... too well. I can barely feel any of my magic power. This heaviness, somehow it's physically restrictive.

Shin'ō spoke again. "I'll tell you all a story about what happened at my peak, before coming here..."

Flashback-

Shin'ō at the centre of the shattered planet was opening a portal, ready to return.

But before it could form fully, he froze.

Everything froze.

The space around him stopped...

"Fret not, mortal. I have come on the behalf of the worlds order." A calm, distorted and almost eldritch like voice spoke.

"I am an Angel. Mortals cannot fight against angels, or even fathom their power; It is the same for us against the Gods. As their blessed, we cannot oppose them or even compare our strength to them."

The supposed angel was impossibly tall, robed in shifting shapes, faceless. Shin'ō tried to speak, but he couldn't even move to make a sound. The Angel leaned in closer.

"But you are different... I don't know what you did in your adventure, but your strength rivals mine I'm certain. I could kill you right here if I wanted to. But, I'm only ordered to give you this warning.

The protected world you come from is far too weak, it has no power. If you return unchecked the world will collapse.

Now, seal away nearly all your power. And prepare for an event which will "Balance" out the power imbalance created due to you."

Then the Angel vanished.

Space resumed.

Back in the floating room, Shin’ō looked at his friends. "And Thus, my power is sealed."

Being woken up by Shin'ō story, Jovino asked. "So, how long until you break it?"

Shin'ō replied. "I don't know. Years. Maybe longer. I don’t know what happens next. But we’re in it together."

The others nodded. Quietly. Firmly.

The sky outside the room was gold with the sunset blazing across.

And thus, the Fifth Council began.