In the middle of Los Angeles, there was a massive skyscraper that eclipsed all else. Its build was more futuristic and even the materials used to create it were better than those surrounding it. And the most astounding fact was that this skyscraper was erected in a mere week.
This was the headquarters of Asgard, where heroes gathered, and those who managed them worked.
On the top floor of this building, 3 old men sat around a table. By the solemn atmosphere that surrounded them, it was clear that they were having an important discussion.
"Yin Jian, what exactly happened yesterday? You made a fool out of yourself!" One of the old men said. His target was a familiar old man that Damien had met not too long ago.
"It wasn't my fault. I simply decided to step in and save a promising talent, but who knew that the one I would be facing is stronger than even me?"
The other two old men had grave looks on their faces. They had seen the broadcast of the event that took place, and they had seen the devastation that was caused.
"That boy was too strong. Perhaps only you could take him on, Xiao Zhen."
The two old men looked at the third among them. He was Xiao Zhen, the strongest of the 3.
"No, he is only at the early stages of Core Formation Realm, or what they call 3rd class on this planet. It is simply that his Dao comprehension is advanced enough to allow him to fight a small realm above his cultivation."
Yin Jian and the other old man looked at Xiao Zhen in shock. 'As expected, members of the big clans are a different breed.' Not only was he able to gauge the young man's cultivation level, but he had also been able to pinpoint the reason for his strength.
"This issue should be put on hold for now, as we have more important things to worry about. Qin Huo, how is the progress on the Mana Gathering Arrays proceeding?"
The third old man replied hastily. "The arrays have been set on the appropriate areas across the planet. It shouldn't take long for us to be able to activate the formation."
"Good. The Jade Heavenly Palace is getting restless. Smaller organizations like our Burning Sun Sect are being forced to take the brunt of their emotions. We must hurry and complete our mission on this planet before those from Niflheim beat us to it."
Yin Jian suddenly spoke up. "Have we figured out the origin world of those fiends?"
Xiao Zhen could only shake his head. "It is still unknown, but the school of study called Norse Mythology within this beginner world might be a clue. They took their name from this school immediately, and we only did the same out of convenience."
"On that note, this world truly is strange," chimed Qin Huo, "they even have knowledge similar to our own world, yet it seems to be regarded as fiction by the mortal populace here."
The other two nodded. They found that earth had a variety of cultures and mythology, some of which were eerily similar to other worlds. Yet, they also found that the denizens of earth did not know about the universe besides their own world.
"This world truly is strange. Although I reported this to the Sect Master, he was unbothered. It seems that the pressure from the Central Continent is becoming too overbearing."
Xiao Zhen looked out the window as he sighed. 'The mortals here are truly interesting. They don't have the mentality of cultivators, but they're still able to make such advancements.'
'It's for this reason that I'm glad those large sects and major clans from the Central Continent have no plans to ruin this world entirely. It'll merely have a setback of a decade or so.'
However, that was only if they succeeded. Those at Niflheim didn't seem to possess the same magnanimity. From what they'd seen in the past 3 years, their plans were much more nefarious.
Sighing once more, Xiao Zhen came out of his thoughts and looked back at his two colleagues. They were from smaller families, and as such weren't aware of the power structure in the grand scheme of things.
Still, they were people he trusted and saw as brothers. Carrying this sentiment in his heart, Xiao Zhen opened his mouth once again. After all, there were still many subjects to discuss.
***
Damien spent the next week in utter relaxation. For the first time in 4 years, he didn't feel the need to constantly train and move towards a purpose.
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Although he was aware of the Nox threat, he knew it wasn't immediate enough to move ceaselessly without rest. And now that he had finally returned to earth and done everything he needed to do, he felt unburdened.
In short, Damien didn't have anything to drive him anymore. Although he did have an ultimate goal to stand at the peak, it wasn't something that would force him to move.
And when Damien realized the comforts of laziness, he eased into it entirely. Currently, Damien was in his old room at his mother's house with the girls. This house wasn't the one he saw in his trial, as they had moved shortly after his dad's disappearance. Still, it was the house he had spent his high school years in, so it brought back memories.
With the bodies they had forged through tireless training, everyone in the room had extremely high metabolisms. And the result of this could be seen in the chip bags and snack wrappers that littered the room.
As for how they had been spending their days? Introducing Rose and Zara to anime, of course.
With their daily lives filled with action, the girls especially weren't interested in shonen. Damien was displeased that he couldn't catch up on the new gens that were releasing when he left earth, but he relented.
He was secretly a sucker for slice of life and romantic comedies, so he "begrudgingly" allowed them to watch these genres.
Rose was by Damien's side, cuddling up to him while she watched the tv with fascination. Although they had projector screens in Apeiron, they didn't have a profession like acting or animation. The entertainment industry was severely lacking.
Meanwhile, Elena was using Zara as a pillow and similarly staring at the screen. These two had gotten surprisingly close in the week they had known each other. Zara even let Elena act as she pleased without needing Damien's consent, unlike when she first met Rose.
The group dynamic was nice and didn't contain any awkwardness that Damien could feel, so he was happily enjoying his time, unaware of the silent war taking place in his vicinity.
After watching anime for a week, Rose had already understood the concept of Japanese harem anime, and since Elena was a native of earth and Damien's friend for so many years, she did too.
The two of them had made a silent agreement that acting in such a chaotic way would be idiotic, to say the least. It might even distract Damien from his goals, which was something neither wanted.
Elena had decided to give up on a relationship with Damien ever since she heard he was already taken, after all, she didn't have any dreams of being a homewrecker. Yet, for some unknown reason, Rose always found a reason to mess with her.
Even the way she cuddled with Damien at the moment, while seemingly innocent, was something she had done to tease Elena. She was truly enjoying the "big sister" role that she wanted to take.
Even though they wouldn't admit it when asked, and they were asked pretty often by Claire, neither of them would admit they were actually forming a good relationship. They were acting like friends who were so close they argued constantly.
The two had been like this all week. They would compete about the smallest things while doing their best not to alert Damien and the one who for the front seat view of all this was naturally Zara.
And she had to say that she was enjoying it. She didn't quite understand humans, but basing her assumptions and viewpoint on the anime she had watched in the past week, Zara was having a great time.
She still didn't know why they fought like this, but she sensed no ill will between them, making her ignore that question. She even wanted to participate in their stunts sometimes, but sadly she still didn't have a human form.
'When I reach 4th class and become like the beast empress, I'll fight with them too!'
If either Rose or Elena heard her thoughts, they'd probably burst out laughing, wondering how Zara would react if she knew why they were acting in such a way.
"Kids! Dinner's ready!" It wasn't only Damien's group that had seemingly regressed to their teenage years, Claire had joined them as well.
It mainly started after she realized how young she looked now, but she had been acting like the mother of young teens as if trying to make up for the 10 years she had been in her coma.
And like that, another 2 weeks passed.
It was approaching a month since Damien had returned to earth, but he was ignoring everything else and lazing around in his house.