The sun hit his eyes when he opened them.
For a moment, Lu Shenyi.. no Aran said nothing.. just stared at the empty sky, its glare washing out the city below. The memory still clung to his head like smoke blood, betrayal, and curses sharp enough to crack stone. He clicked his tongue softly.
"Still haunting me to this day, huh…"
"Those three.. I promised them that I will protect them but at last... The heart keeps changing"
"One minute they're your best friends the next day they see you as a hateful enemy"
He closed his eyes again, and let out a small laugh...
He opened his eyes again to see the sun still rising up
"No matter where I am, whether gazing the moon or watching the sun goes up then later down.. it's all beautiful.. just a distraction to keep away all the headaches"
Sighh
Short while Aran finally stood up and walked among the streets in Miami.. Seeing all the fancy cars and admired them one by one as he walks past it.
...
..
"Hut!"
The shout cut through the afternoon air.
The players on the field exploded into motion with their cleats digging into the grass, helmets clashing, bodies pushing against one another. The offensive line held their ground, muscles straining as the quarterback stepped back, eyes darting left and right.
He scanned the field, pressure closing in. Then in a quick breath, he made a decision, he pulled his arm back and threw.
The football spiraled through the air, spinning perfectly against the glare of the sun. The receiver sprinted down the right side, defenders closing fast. For a moment, it seemed impossible and then boom his hands found the ball.
A clean catch.
"Shit-"
He stumbled once, then broke free, running past the line as the crowd roared. The referee's whistle cut through the cheers.
Touchdown!
The sound of joy, laughter, and celebration filled the air.
"THAT'S MY MAN!"
"GOOD FUCKING JOB JAMES!"
"AWOO AWWOO"
Next to Aran was full of college guys, it seems that the one that scored was their friend and they was cheering for him
The group beside him was all noise and laughter, college guys in jerseys, holding drinks, their voices fucked up from shouting. They jumped and shoved each other, pride written all over their faces as their friend celebrated on the field.
Aran just stood there, hands in his pockets, watching it all. The crowd's excitement rolled over him like waves.
One of the guys noticed him, the long hair catching the light, eyes distant, posture too calm for the chaos around.
"Yo, old man," the student said, grinning. "You a scout or somethin'? You've been standing there like a statue, bro!"
Aran blinked, and turned his head towards the student that was speaking to him, and then gave him a look.
"If I were scouting for someone, I'd probably pick you to be in a girl scout"
The whole group erupted.
"DAMN! He got you good, dude!"
"Bro just cooked you with a straight face!"
"A girl scout ha! You hearing this, Matt?"
After than the group was still laughing at the guy, Aran took out his phone, switched to his camera
"I'm not that old looking"
Little while later
The game was now over after the referee blew his whistle indicating that the time was over.
The one that scored earlier won, and the group of college students went down and congratulate him.. Aran just stood up and left the stadium with a can of coke
He bought a hotdog and a taco preparing to gobble it all down as he sat in the bench, hoping nothing interrupts-
Woosh
"For someone that has immense strength and power, you truly don't care about anything else"
The portal closed with a faint, almost silent snap of air. The Ancient One sat next to Aran on the bench, her robes flowing neatly over the wood, instantly making the busy street corner feel like a quiet temple
Aran stopped, the hotdog inches from his mouth. He glanced at her, then shrugged, and took a large bite.
"I care about this hotdog," he said around a mouthful of chili and bun. "It's got good snap. You want a bite? I'm not offering the taco, that's mine"
The Ancient One's lips quirked into the faintest of smiles.
"I appreciate the offer, Lu Shenyi. I have already sampled a few of the world's current culinary offerings. I find the simple 'bagel with cream cheese' quite profound"
"See? You're already having fun," Aran replied, wiping a dash of mustard from his chin.
"You were doing all that 'watching the veil of fate' nonsense for centuries. Good to know you're finally enjoying the texture of bread"
"But seriously.. What brings the sorcerer supreme to my humble presence?" Aran turned to her and took another bite of the hotdog nonchalantly not even bothered to wipe the mustard on his cheeks.
"I am here to inquire about that place you sealed"
She stated, her gaze steady. "I have observed the residual energy from your arrival for weeks. Your method of travel and your abilities.. they resonate with something very old. Something referred to in our oldest texts, particularly those regarding Eastern celestial mythology"
"I looked into the core of your 'Qi' and 'Nascent Soul' concepts. On this Earth, these ideas are largely contained within Eastern fantasy literature, wuxia, and xianxia media. Yet, your abilities are quite real. What I sensed in Pennsylvania was the abrupt silencing of a massive, non-magical energy surge, followed by a seal I could not pierce."
She leaned forward slightly. "What exactly did you seal, Lu Shenyi?"
Aran finished his hotdog and tossed the wrapper away. He picked up the taco.
"It's a secret realm"
The Ancient One narrowed her eyes marginally. "A pocket dimension, violently torn into our reality. A new world tethered to the old."
"Exactly," Aran confirmed. "My teleportation array was hijacked by the Space Stone, and that ripped a chunk of my world the Tianmen Continent through the void and dropped it in the woods."
"And the seal?"
"It's not just to hide it," Aran explained, tracing a pattern on the taco wrapper with his finger. "It ensures that only someone with a particular affinity or, frankly, stupid luck will stumble across it. It's waiting for the right person, or perhaps the fated person"
He then continued. "There's a inheritance inside the realm, a method to reach Nascent Soul Realm"
The Ancient One remained perfectly still, her mind rapidly processing the concept of a fictional power scale being entirely real. "This Nascent Soul, can you describe its nature?"
Aran shifted on the bench. "In the Cultivation World, we advance through stages by refining our Qi a life energy. It's a harsh, ruthless system. We start small, at things like Qi Refining, then build up to the Foundation Establishment stage"
He held up his hand, ticking off fingers.
"The real turning point is the Golden Core stage. That's where you solidify your power, your will, your literally entire being into a literal core of power inside you. Think of it as a permanent energy source, far beyond anything on this world. The Secret Realm, however, grants the next step"
The next level of power.." the Ancient One acknowledged, though she now grasped it, this was more than a mere power.
"The next level of existence," Aran corrected. "The Nascent Soul stage. That's when the 'Soul' detaches from the body, achieving a nascent form of immortality. A Nascent Soul cultivator can survive the destruction of their physical body. They are essentially demigods in my old world-"
"You know this taco is really good, as expected of texas, maybe it'll be better if I eat one in mexico"
The Ancient One just stared at Aran
Aran locked eyes with her, his expression now serious.
"The Secret Realm holds the method to jump from Golden Core to Nascent Soul. If someone from your world, someone powerful, found it, well.. you'll know how it goes but don't worry. The place is filled with traps that are designed for Golden Core cultivators and also some powerful creatures"
Aran stated plainly. "So a random SHIELD agent or even one of your less experienced sorcerers would be dead the moment they took a step inside. And the moment that realm is exposed, this world will be thrown into a different kind of chaos"
The Ancient One closed her eyes. "This is a danger on a scale I cannot ignore. The residual energy from the anomaly is drawing attention from organizations that deal in exotic power"
Aran let out a small chuckle
"It's fine.. my seals completely covered it, even if they somehow got in, the creatures inside wouldn't able to go out"
He leaned back on the bench after finishing his taco. "So let them search, they're wasting their time and taxpayer money.. It's a complete dead end"
"I am one of the best Array Formation Master in Tianmen, if we don't include the mishap ehem,then it's all fine.. like I said only the chosen one or with dumb luck can go through it"
(Au: i forgot about this fanfic, short story I tripped on a rock.. got crippled nah jk I've just been busy with uni and still am.. So expect long disappearance from me. Another factor is lack of motivation.. yea.. , and as of writing this, the sun is about to rise so I'm heading to sleep gn <3)