Kent Nelson, contrary to what those in his circle deemed him as, was not a lazy person. Sure, the tower of Fate piled up continuously with scrolls and magic books that must be sorted, artefacrs thar must be dated and protected and the required general cleanliness. He was the keeper of the tower and the protector of the Helmet of fate so basically all that was hs responsibility.
Of course , if Nabu still controlled his body then it would have been the Lord of Order's task, but since Kent hang up the proverbial cape, he needed to step up.
But he didn't . Not because he was lazy, but because he just loved enjoying himself a little more. He allocated more time towards recreation than work, and it bore fruits. He was a hundred and four years old and still going strong. What was his secret ?
Enjoying himself.
The main source of enjoyment was derived from his walks.
He really enjoyed those walks. It was a major bonding time with his beloved Inza, just strolling around gazing at nature and finding joy in their own company. Even now, years after her death he still kept the tradition going, though with her absence it had gotten out of hand, so much so that his android friend, Red Tornado had raised it so many times the once sorcerer supreme had lost count.
Usually his walk about had no meaning and no end goal. He just got up and went for a walk. Those were harmless. It was the ones like now that Red Tornado complained about, the ones that had purpose.
He stood at the opposite side of a school, between him and a road. Taking a cloth from his pocket and wiping his brow, he held a chuckle at the thought of Nabu. No doubt the Lord of Order would pop multiple veins if he knew where he was currently.
Shinjuku city , Japan. All the way from Salem. He almost burst into giggles at that. Perhaps it was his old age that was getting to him, but scrarch Nabu, the entire justice league would throw a tantrum when they learnt he left the tower of Fate unattended to.
But his presence here was necessary. It was fate.
Okay, that he chuckled to. His wordplay had not deteriorated with age.
Of course , he knew he was in Shinjuku, in front of a school, hejust didn't know his way around Shinjuku. He didn't even know which school he teleported to. All he knew was he was where he needed to be and again , he turned out to be correct.
Children, teenager mostly, walked around, socializing with each other and being the occasional public nuances. They were everywhere, a given since the school day had just ended and the bell was still ringing from inside, but from th crowd of students, he was looking for someone from among them. Contrary to the implied difficulty, all it took was a simple turn of the head and he spotted his target, easily. To everyone else, he was young boy, ranging on fourteen and fifteen years, snow white hair with blue eyes, soft complexion and ordinary child wear consisting of a hoodie and shorts with white sneakers, but to the eyes of the cosmically enlightened such as himself , the boy was the definition of the big empty.
He radiated nothing. Everyone else radiated something but he didn't.
And he was staring right back.
Kent raised his eyebrow at him. The boy raised his own back. He had white eyelashes. In a word full of superheroes, the surprising thing was that white eyebrows surprised him. The boy crossed the road and Kent had to hold back a whistle. Everything the boy did in that short intance spelled out 'purpose' in big words, from the way he walked, the way he swung his arms, each step he took. They were disciplined and refined and coated with such an absurd amount of confidence all the world class models combined would never hope to come close.
No doubt about it, this kid was warrior.
He stood in front of the sorcerer supreme and they stared at each other. Then he spoke, In English , surprisingly which put Kent in a pouty mood. He wanted to flex his Japanese.
"Who are you? And what's with that look on your face?" he asked.
"Kent Nelson." Kent answered " and the look on my face is what I call the lady charmer. Ladies couldn't resist it back in my time, still can't"
"Aren't you like a thousand years old geezer?"
"And yet I look this good, what are the odds." he said with a smirk.The boy sighed and shook his head but Kent could see the suppressed smile. Whoever this boy was, he understood annoying humor.
"You're here for me. What do you want?"
"To know you."
"Why? I mean, your presence here is quite purposeful. You came here looking for me, so something must have made you aware of me." He said, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Well, I just happened to know you exist , but you are a special person." he pulled out the amulet of Anubis.
"Cursed tool." the boy said.
"Uuuuh, no" Kent responded "not cursed, but special its a tool of fate, one of the tools of the superhero Doctor Fate. A little bit unhinged with the death theme it has going on , but it definitely gets the work done. I brought it here to confirm something ."
"And what's that?"
"You're a transmigrated soul. You lived once in a place elsewhere and died. Your lack of innocence was what made me aware."
"Whoa, lack of innocence, dude-"
" Basically , the younger you are the more full you are, full of potential , full of hope and joy. The older you grow the more aware you become of the unfairness of reality and the more innocence you loose and the emptier you become. Doesn't make much sense but that's oneway to see it, because you my friend...wow, can't pull the age card, damn, I really enjoyed that card, anyway, you my friend are nothing but void. And that void has the potential to be filled with both chaos and order."
"Well, you're right, I am a transmigrated soul. I lived, fought, died and was reborn in this new universe. Its a boring life, I'm an orphan with no friends but its peaceful. And its a second chance to be normal, to not be the strongest one."
"The strongest one huh, must have been quite a life." Kent said, then stepped forward" Come with me Satoru Gojo. Let me teach you how to tap into that void within you."
"Jeez, how much did that amulet show you?"
"Only the important parts. What do you say, honored one."
"That was the highlight of arrogance." he said with a chuckle.
"But rightly placed." Kent said" You were the strongest one."
"I like you Kent. New life, new adventure , why not. It sounds fun"