Author's Preface
Darrien stood in the middle of the street, holding the Minotaur’s severed head up like a trophy, a crooked grin on his face despite the exhaustion written all over him. Around them, the chaos of the fight slowly settled. Bodies were being checked, wounds treated, Nomi weaving between both teams, her glow flickering as she healed what she could. Once everyone was stabilized, they spread out, moving through the wreckage and debris, searching for any sign of the missing team.
High above them, Olivia remained where she was, watching. She hadn’t moved since the moment the Minotaur fell. “Still watching?” The voice came from behind her. Arthur stepped forward, coming to stand beside her at the edge of the rooftop. Olivia glanced at him. “How are the chopper pilots?”
“I got them out first thing when I got here." Arthur gave a small nod, his gaze drifting down toward the street below. “Do pray tell... why are we still up here? Instead of letting those kids know the few remaining survivors of the missing team have been found?”
Olivia didn’t answer right away. Instead, her eyes shifted back toward Blue. “What has your son told you about him?” she asked. Arthur let out a quiet breath. “Not much. Just that we need to protect him. Grayson and Titus seem to be messing with him in their own ways.”
Olivia’s gaze sharpened slightly. “Either Aaron is lying,” she said, “or Titus and Grayson know a lot more about that boy than they’re letting on.” Arthur remained silent. “They struggled against that Minotaur. Every one of them.” Her eyes narrowed slightly as she thought back on it. “Then I felt it.” Arthur glanced at her.
“His power. From here.” She paused for a moment. “It was… almost calming. And then the next second, he cut its head off.” Arthur looked back down at the street.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Olivia said. “But I’m going to find out.”
A faint smile touched Arthur’s face. “Ohh, I’m sure you will.” He stepped forward, lifting his staff. “Well then, for now, let’s go meet them, shall we?” The air around them shifted. Wind gathered without warning, spiraling upward into a tight, controlled current. In the next instant, it surged outward, forming a narrow column that wrapped around both of them. Then they were lifted. The wind carried them down from the rooftop smoothly, setting them gently at the edge of the street where Eve and Derek’s team had gathered. The moment their feet touched the ground everything stilled. Blue glanced over and immediately saw Darrien. The Minotaur’s head was now tucked awkwardly behind his back, like he was hiding something he wasn’t supposed to have. Blue blinked… then let out a short laugh. “…What are you doing, man?”
Darrien didn’t look at him at first. “Those are two of the executives,” he muttered under his breath. “Olivia, the assassin, and Aaron’s dad.” He shifted slightly, trying to keep the head out of view. “He’s ranked like… what, thirty globally? One of the strongest mages around.” He paused. Then he glanced at Chris. “Yo,” he said quietly, “stand in front of me so they don’t see me.”
Chris didn’t move. He just looked at him. “…You’re serious?” Darrien adjusted his stance, still trying to hide the head. “Dead serious. I'm already in too deep.”
Derek stepped forward, straightening himself as Arthur and Olivia approached. “Ah… I thought the executives were clearing S-ra-” Olivia walked past him without so much as a glance. Arthur followed right behind her. Derek stood there for a second, the rest of his sentence dying in his throat. Samantha let out a small laugh. Cynthia covered her mouth, trying not to. Even Eve couldn’t help the faint smile that crossed her face. As the two closed in on Blue, Darrien, and Chris. Darrien made his move. In a split second, he vanished. That was it. A split second. Olivia moved just as quickly and caught him immediately. One moment he was gone... the next he was back, held in place, the Minotaur’s head still in his hands. Darrien looked up at her. Then, without hesitation, tossed the head aside. “Oh-shit-I uh… was just cleaning up.” Olivia released him. A small smirk tugged at her expression before she turned and continued forward, toward Blue. “Show me,” Olivia said.
Blue looked over at Darrien, exhausted and confused. Darrien shrugged. “Show me,” Olivia repeated, her tone sharper now as she stepped closer. Her hand started to reach for him. Arthur moved as he caught her wrist and pulled her back before she could touch Blue.
“I’m sorry, young man,” he said calmly. “She’s just excited about what she saw.” Arthur turned to both teams. “The remaining members of the missing team have been recovered. As well as the chopper pilots. You all did well. Head back to the checkpoint.”
Olivia appeared behind Darrien. “My dear brother.” In an instant, Darrien disappeared along with Olivia and Arthur.
By the time both teams cleared the area, the sun had already started to fall. Both teams made their way back toward the checkpoint. Exhaustion hung over them. No one really spoke, especially Derek and his team.
By the time Eve’s group reached the checkpoint, the sun had dipped lower, casting long shadows across the staging area. They gathered around Chris’s truck. One by one, they climbed into the bed. Samantha immediately went for the cooler tucked beneath a tarp... Chris’s hidden stash. She cracked it open, a faint layer of frost clinging to the cans, her doing. Ice magic made sure they always had cold beer after missions. Right as she grabbed one Darrien dropped into the truck bed like he’d fallen straight from the sky. Everyone jumped slightly. Then relaxed.
“What the hell, man? You didn’t even try to stop her?” Darrien yelled as he picked himself up. Laughter broke out across the group.
Chris cut it off. “Alright. Enough.” His tone shifted, he was serious. He looked at Blue. “I know it’s on everyone’s mind. So can we address the elephant in the truck bed. First what the hell was that power, and how did you know what that thing was?”
Blue hesitated. His eyes flicked to Eve. She met his gaze. “You have to trust them sometime, Blue,” she said softly.
He exhaled. “My system… It’s not the same as yours.”
Darrien leaned back slightly. “… Bro, the more you talk, the more I feel like I got isekai’d into a different dimension.”
“Shut up for once, Darrien,” Chris snapped.
Cynthia leaned forward slightly. “What do you mean?” Blue rubbed the back of his neck. “Truthfully? I didn’t even know it was different until I got back to Earth.” He paused. “I know why now… but I still don’t fully understand it.”
Samantha popped her can open and took a long drink. “Get to the point, kid,” she said. “I want to go home.”
Blue nodded. “I’m the Golden Gods’ champion.” He let that sit for a moment waiting for any type of response. “That Minotaur was an Old God. It was using a god named Hatred’s power.” He glanced down at his hands briefly. “The gold you saw in my qi… that’s divine energy. I can only use it for a short time.” No one interrupted. “My system doesn’t show me stats, It… guides me.” He hesitated slightly. “Right now, it’s guiding me to find a pendant.” His head lowered. “…Which I haven’t been able to do.”
“What?” Darrien said. Blue looked back up. “I didn’t want to tell you all this because… I won’t be on this team forever. I’m going to start my own guild,” he said. “I’ve got other things I need to do here. And eventually… I have to go back to Murim.”
He looked around at all of them. “So… please. Keep this between us. I’m serious.”
Eve cleared her throat. “I’m going with him,” she said. “When the time comes.”
Darrien grinned. “Can’t leave your boyfriend behind huh?”
Cynthia smacked his arm. Then she looked back at Eve and Blue. “Eve,” she said, “we’re your team. Not the guild’s.” She glanced at the others briefly. “So if you go… I think I can speak for everyone, we go.” She looked back at Blue. “And whatever this is… whatever you’re carrying… we’ll help.”
Chris stood up. “She’s right.” He crossed his arms. “To be honest… if it wasn’t for you, we’d be laid out just like Derek’s team.” He shook his head once. “I don’t know about all this god and champion stuff. But after what I saw today? Hard to argue with it.” He looked at Eve. “So yeah. We’re with you.”
Darrien let out a short laugh. “You idiots.” He shook his head. “Don’t you know he has to be a ranker to start a guild?”
Samantha looked up from her drink. “Then we make him one.” She shrugged. “Buckeye Guild’s boring anyway. Following Blue sounds more fun.”
Blue looked at all five of them. “…Thank you.” Chris tossed him a beer. Blue caught it, popped it open. Darrien suddenly hopped up. “So… who’s volunteering to tell my sister when the time comes?” Without hesitation every single finger pointed at Blue.