Eternal Myth of Arcana

"...Sigh...fine. He is mine, and I will come for him after his four years at the Academy are completed. Deal concluded. You can get lost from my city now" She said and turned around to leave the room. She took one last glance at me and then left.

"Phew..." I took a deep breath as she finally left.

"Whistle~ yo kid, congrats! You got a crazy lover on your tail now, hahahaha~" Zypher laughed as he saw my awkward reaction. I wondered if this man was being sarcastic or factual.

"That...was so wicked!" Sarah finally recovered as she tried to process the things that just transpired.

I just took a pack of ice cream and ate as I was feeling anxious for some reason.

I noticed Zypher looking at me intensely as if trying to find something.

"Hmm...what did she see in you kid?" He muttered in a wondering tone.

"Well, whatever. You saved us billions, hehe. As a reward, I will give you direct entry into the Academy, and your education will be free of cost," Zypher declared as he patted me on my back while laughing.

"Well, it's time for us to leave so...*snap*"

With a snap of his finger, the illusory force field around enveloped us instantly as suddenly, we appeared at the crossroads of a dark valley hidden by the thick mist and eerie darkness.

'Teleportation...space affinity?'

I thought in enlightenment.

"Big bro, father went back?" Sarah asked. I could see her sweating face as she tried hard to look normal. I don't blame her, nor have I tried to make fun of her. Even an experienced man like me cannot help but shiver in that lady's presence.

"Yep. An urgent thing needs to be taken care of. I will take you to the Academy from here on," Zypher said as he looked at the surroundings and then turned his head above where eerie dark trees and vines spread all over the place. The canopy of the forest was so thin that it made it impossible for even a small ounce of light to enter the valley.

"Big bro, who was that lady? She... seemed so powerful..." Sarah asked as he shivered while remembering her.

"She? She is Hana Arasaka. Well, you might be more familiar with her title, 'Death Queen'. She is the only person in this entire world who has Death affinity at her disposal. She is a Tier 9 Deviant. *Sigh* You better gear up yourself in these four years at Academy kid...or you are screwed, hehe..." Zypher said as he pointed at me while laughing.

'Is this guy a lunatic? Always laughing like an idiot...'

I wondered.

"She...was so damn cool. I want to become just like her" Sarah stated as she clenched her fists. She seems to feel motivated to see such a strong female deviant who can stand face-to-face against Zypher without flinching. Within the Federation, not many can have such courage and power.

"What does she need from me?" I asked as I felt confused about her demand. The deal between two powerhouses like her and Zypher wouldn't be meager enough to settle on a nobody like me. There must be something important that she wanted me to pay for the deal.

"No idea. Only she knows what she saw in you that made her replace a Tier 9 artifact with you. All I can do is give you four years to become powerful to defend yourself against her when she comes to claim you. In the end, I have an entire federation to look after so I can't just gamble the future or millions of innocent to defend you"

I knew that I could only rely on myself. Besides, I was planning to enter the Academy anyway but this Hana thing just dropped out of nowhere.

'Death affinity...death affinity...wait! Can she...somehow sense the anomaly of my reincarnation? After all, reincarnation is closely related to death, right? Or maybe even worse...she can sense the presence of the system in me?'

I tried to race my brain, but only questions popped up with more thoughts.

We walked through the dark valley as I enlightened the way with my fire. We kept walking through the dark valley that looked more and more eerie with each passing minute, but thankfully, we managed to pass through without any hiccups. Reason? Well, we were walking beside a walking calamity, so who or what dares to approach us? Even a complete idiot or lunatic would sense an immensely strong presence of Zypher and run away as far as possible.

Thanks to him, we crossed the dark valley after walking for half an hour, but suddenly, I noticed that the intensity of my fire had decreased. I wasn't running out of mana because I used an extremely basic form of fire to illuminate the surroundings, but the change surprised me.

"Oh, it's time. The buff effect from my dad is wearing off now." Sarah stated as he noticed the change.

"What do you mean?" I asked confusedly.

"Despite being Tier 1 newly awakened deviant, you fought Tier 2 monsters and managed to kill some...that is because dad has a blessing that temporarily increases the Tier of a target by one rank. Now, the time limit is over, and you will be back to your usual Tier 1 power scaling," Sarah stated.

'Eh? Then...I was being arrogant and happy for nothin'?!'

I thought with frustration but I only nodded at her words in understanding. Fernandez's skill or ability, whatever it is, works as a buff effect that temporarily increases someone's rank by one whole tier, but now that the time limit is over, my power scaling will significantly decrease as it will return to its original Tier, Tier 1.

Changes were indeed subtle, but I could feel as if my body felt a little heavier and slower compared to before. My mana reserves also decreased as they returned to Tier 1 scaling and my senses also dulled a little. But, it's also a great experience and opportunity as I managed to experience the qualitative changes of a Tier 2 Devaint, so it will be going to help me in my advancement when the time comes.

"Well, kiddos~ we are here~" Zypher's cheerful tone pulled us out of our thoughts as I looked at the vertical gap in the dungeon at the end of the valley. It exuded a strange pull and weird feeling around it that made me throw up while just looking at it.

"It's a secret gap that is connected the the Luna City mountain range. Use this in the future if you want to experience an adventurous journey, okay~" Zypher said as he entered the gap with a casual expression and disappeared.

Sarah and I also followed behind as we jumped into the pitch-black gap.

I had a strong feeling of nausea, but I managed to recover as soon as I stepped on the ground below me. I approached Zypher and Sarah and followed their gaze to see the vast city skyline in the distance. Massive skyscrapers and a beautiful city brimming with nightlife welcomed my sight.

'So, this is the Luna City...'

This is the capital city of the United Federation. Even more importantly...the place where my parents are.

*whoosh*

Suddenly, we were enveloped by the illusory force field and teleported to a parking space where a man stood beside a black vintage muscle car, clad in formal clothes and a long grey overcoat. His messy hair and bothered look gave him a burly appearance.

*phew*

He took the cigarette out of his mouth as he looked at us with an annoyed look.

"The fuck took you so long?" He spoke in an annoyed, raspy tone.