Prologue Part 3
Kim Rok Soo* isn't really as surprised as he should be considering the fact that he is no longer where he was a moment ago, but taking into account all the crazy shit that has happened in his life so far, this probably isn't even the weirdest.
He figures it has something to do with Cale and the rather annoying God of Death since, just moments ago, he was sitting in front of a dark cintamani wondering how Cale and his friends were faring against that motherfucking sealed god (he hopes Cale was able to smack that fucker in the back really, really hard) and now he finds himself in what appears to be a very large cinema.
His observations of his surroundings are cut off by a quietly gasped out "Min Joon-hyung" and he looks over just in time to see an older version of Kim Min Ah run head first into an invisible barrier and grumble about it.
Following that, he looks over to see an older version of himself mention the barrier being the doing of whomever brought them here.
Those words cause a brief moment of chaos and angry shouts throughout the room. During which he makes eye contact with the older Kim Rok Soo.
He knows the second he looks into his eyes just who is looking back at him. That's the original Cale Henituse. The one that started Cale's journey in his new life. The one that gave Kim Rok Soo* the chance to have a life different than the one fate had laid out for him. While Cale had been the one to put in the blood, sweat, and tears (way too much blood, if you ask him), it was Kim Rok Soo that gave him the opportunity to do so. Having Cale's memories, he knows Cale didn't choose to go to another world of his own volition. That means it had to have been the original Cale to make that decision. The man now in Kim Rok Soo's body must have been the one to make a deal with the God of Death and that deal is what ultimately led to Cale taking the sealed god's test. His world's changed future is a result of that.
For that, he owes Kim Rok Soo a debt of gratitude that he can never pay back. After all, what could possibly equal the worth of the many lives he won't have to say goodbye to now?
Before he can say anything to Kim Rok Soo, Kim Min Ah demands some answers from him and with a tired, fed up sigh, Kim Rok Soo admits to probably knowing who brought them all here, but not what for.
Scritch. Scritch.
The sounds of writing fill the room before more answers can be demanded. Everyone's attention is drawn to the large screen at the front of the room and the words appearing on it.
"Welcome. Make yourselves comfortable and feel free to use the facilities. No harm will come to any of you here. Take this time to treat any wounds you may have, eat, drink, rest, or talk amongst yourselves. All will be explained once everyone has arrived. The barriers between sections will remain in place for safety and other reasons."
Those words seem to cause everyone's minds to fly into a panic. Questions and thoughts rushing through their minds rapidly. Kim Rok Soo* is no exception to that.
'Yep. It's definitely that bastard. Guess I should be grateful it's the God of Death and not the sealed god. It also said that others are coming. Does that mean Cale will be here? Will Choi Han and Alberu also come? Can I meet Cale's kids? I really want to meet them. They are really good for Cale. His new family as a whole is.'
CLAP.
The loud sound draws him out of his thoughts and he looks up to see Kim Rok Soo standing there, grin on his face and hands still together after clapping. A moment later he opens his mouth to speak.
"Well, I don't know about everyone else, but I'm starved. How about we go and see what tasty treats we can find over there?"
The happy smile on his face as he looks at the little girls makes Kim Rok Soo's* lips twitch up slightly as well. He is glad Kim Rok Soo has found happiness as well. It wouldn't sit right with him if the man that helped to give his world a better fate traded one sad lonely life for another.
Just as he has thought that, Kim Rok Soo makes eye contact with him again. The urge to mess with him at that moment was way too strong to pass up so he mouthed the words "Hello to the man who was Cale Henituse" and enjoyed the shocked look that spread across Kim Rok Soo's face.
He can tell what Kim Rok Soo is thinking at that moment. The words are practically written across his face.
'How the fuck does he know that?'
He answered that unasked question with a grin before turning away to let Kim Rok Soo stew in his existential crisis. While Kim Rok Soo's deal with the God of Death was ultimately beneficial to both Cale and himself, he is still a bit of a bastard for throwing poor Cale into a world about to descend into war and chaos to take care of the problems everyone else there failed to. He may be thankful to the man, but he is far too spiteful to let someone that messed with his people (and Cale is his people) get away without any sort of comeuppance.
It's a petty sort of revenge, but he figures Kim Rok Soo will find it amusing once he gets over the initial shock and they can have an actual talk with each other.
While he lets Kim Rok Soo stew, he takes the time to look around and see who exactly it is that was brought here with him.
He easily recognized everyone present in his section. Lee Soo Hyuk, Choi Jung Soo, Grandma Kim, the Lee* siblings, Park Jin Tae* and his lackey, Kim Min Ah* and her brother, Bae Puh Rum* and his uncle, the nut job Joo Ho-Shik, Jae Ha-Jung, Jang Man Soo, and a little more than a dozen others are here. All of whom have had more than just a causal interaction with Cale while he was in their world. That's just one more box checked on the this-has-Cale-written-all-over-it list.
Now that he is actively paying attention to those around him, he can hear the conversations taking place between the various groups that have formed.
"Why do some of those people look like older versions of people here on our side?"
"Did you see the way she looked at Min Joon-hyung?"
"Yeah, it was like she was surprised to see him again."
"Do you think they are their future selves?"
"Who do you think was writing on the screen?"
"Can we trust those words? It said we wouldn't get hurt here, but what if it was lying?"
"Have you tasted this? It's sooo good."
"I know. I'm going to stuff myself until I can't eat anymore."
"You have got to try this drink too."
Chuckling at the group over by the food and drinks, Kim Rok Soo* observed everyone to assess the overall mood of the room. The general feelings of the group were curious and somewhat nervous, but no one was outright panicking. That was good.
It's not like sudden strange things happening were new to their world. At least this one didn't come with terror, pain, and blood.
Done with his observations, he looked next to himself to see that both Lee Soo Hyuk* and Choi Jung Soo* are still sitting by his side.
Lee Soo Hyuk* smirked at him and asked, "Finally done figuring things out my dear dongsaeng?"
"I bet you already know what's going on," Choi Jung Soo* said.
"I'm sure it has something to do with our dongsaeng Cale," Lee Soo Hyuk* said while looking Kim Rok Soo* in the eye.
Lee Soo Hyuk* could tell that Kim Rok Soo* knew more than he did about Cale's secrets. That's why he knew Rok Soo* wasn't as clueless about what was going on as pretty much everyone else here. He just needed to coax the answers out of him.
"Haaa. That's what I figured as well. The Kim Rok Soo over there was probably referring to the God of Death when he spoke about the bastard that brought us here," Kim Rok Soo* replied.
It was at that moment that a sudden flash of light momentarily blinded everyone and interrupted the conversation between Rok Soo, Jung Soo, and Lee Soo Hyuk*.
It only lasted a moment and once everyone could see again, they were stunned silent.
The section of the room under the first group here was suddenly full of people. Unlike before though, they were not familiar people.
The unusual hair colors, styles of dress, and overall atmosphere around the group that had suddenly appeared just proved that they were definitely from a different world.
Kim Rok Soo* didn't recognize all of the people there, but he did see a few very familiar faces. He spotted Cale near the barrier separating the new arrivals from Kim Rok Soo's group and somewhat farther off he could see Choi Han, Rosalyn, and Lock. Alberu wasn't far from those three and off near Tasha was Mary in her usual black robe.
Now that he was actually looking for them, it was easy to notice that some individuals were missing and many of the ones there didn't look all that friendly or comfortable with each other. In fact, they looked a little younger than the last time he saw them (which wasn't exactly that long ago). Cale's hair was short and he was wearing an extremely fancy outfit. Definitely not something he would wear. He also had a bottle of alcohol in his hand and a flushed face. Putting all of that together with Cale's records of The Birth of a Hero and Kim Rok Soo* was pretty sure he was looking at the original, 18 year old, pre-regression Cale Henituse* from The Birth of a Hero.
That meant those Cale had saved would not be here. Kim Rok Soo* felt a pang in his chest at the thought of two kittens and a small dragon not being present. There was also a lack of Wolf children and young Tigers as well.
He took another look at who exactly was here. He could see the rest of the Henituse household, Hilsman, Hans, Ron, and Beacrox*. The King and the first three princes were present with the Knight Captain*. He could also see a few of the prominent nobles of each territory, some elves and dark elves, the dragons Cale was acquainted with, various people from the Eastern Continent, Gashan, some Whales, high ranking individuals from the Whipper Kingdom, Jungle, Empire, Breck and Caro Kingdoms, the North, and many more from both continents. They were all allies of Cale or people he had dealings with in one way or another.
The only problem was that the Cale* of that world hadn't brought them all together. They were not a united front.
Which means that chaos is soon to erupt in that section. At least half of the people there dislike (or downright hate) each other.
"Cale? Choi Han? Alberu?" Park Jin Tae* muttered confusedly.
With that, chaos was temporarily averted (but only very briefly) as everyone's attention focused on Park Jin Tae or one of the three individuals whose names he called.
The silence lasted only a moment before Choi Han* broke it rather violently.
