The Invincible Hero - Chapter 77

“Tomorrow, we will arrive at the secret realm.” A slender man with monkeyish features and a noble disposition began to speak. This person was Master Mounkeh of the Supreme Immortal Heavenly Rain Sect. Presently, Master Mounkeh was explaining to everyone the details of the secret realm. All the sect disciples and teachers were extremely excited!

Everyone except for Lorne was excited. The closer they drew to the secret realm the more he believed danger was afoot. Lorne listened to Master Mounkeh’s explanations with disinterest. He and BS42 were already devising plans to increase the safety of the two sects. He knew most people thought he was crazy, but he would take every precaution he could. If nothing happened then maybe he was wound too tight, but Lorne didn’t think he was wrong.

“Based on our investigation, this secret realm should be one created by the Ancient Emperor’s Clan,” Master Mounkeh began to give some background.

“The Ancient Emperor’s Clan? Are you sure?!” a student suddenly cried out.

“What’s the Ancient Emperor’s Clan?” another student asked his neighbor.

“I dunno,” he responded.

“The Ancient Emperor’s Clan was founded more than four million years ago and was the dominant force in this world. Eventually, however, the clan declined and vanished. There have always been rumors of a vast and hidden city of treasures. It is believed this secret realm is the treasure city of The Ancient Emperor’s Clan.” Master Mounkeh said.

“However, some concerns have been raised concerning this being a trap. Due to this fear, teams of four will enter the secret realm together. It is possible when you enter the secret realm you could be split from your team. If this happens you can find other students and masters using the Ping tablet which you will receive shortly. The Ping Tablet will act as a map showing you where you are in relation to other students and masters. You are represented by a yellow dot while red dots represent students and teachers.

Everyone is also instructed to bring your arms and defensive equipment. If you do not have any weapons, armor, talismans, or other offensive and defensive materials, you may check out some from the joint armory. We’ll be entering the secret realm in three hours, please make your preparations before then and gather in front of the cave.” Master Mounkeh finished speaking and dismissed the students to prepare.

Lorne spent the entire time using his Ridarn vision to scope out the cave. The problem was the secret realm was its own world so there was a spatial and temporal difference. This prohibited his Ridarn vision from fully working. However, he was able to see the energy flow lines and was surprised to see how strong the formations were. For a secret realm that was supposedly four million years old, it seemed surprisingly vigorous and new. The uneasiness in Lorne’s heart continued to grow. He realized, however, that if this were a plot the only way to overcome it was to go through it. Lorne readied himself for the worse.

Tower, B’riri, and Paneneko were similarly getting ready. They fixed their relationship with Lorne a long time ago, but everyone was already used to splitting up into their group of three with Lorne on his own.

“Are you looking forward to the new academy?” asked B’riri.

“I’m looking forward to a new home and increasing my forging ability. After this trip to the ancient realm, it will be time to start our family.” Tower responded.

“You two have been married for so many years, I thought you weren’t interested in having a family.” Paneneko chimed in happily.

“No, it always felt like we were being rushed to become powerful. With all of Lorne’s stories about Fiends and the possible imminent threat to our world, I just never felt I could focus on anything but becoming stronger.” Tower said.

“I think you’re afraid of kids!” Paneneko joked.

“Hah! I’ll have you know I’m very good with children. When I was a kid I had so many kids following me around calling me Big Brother. What’re a few kids? I’m the greatest blacksmith in the world!” Tower roared. B’riri laughed to the side.

She enjoyed these quiet moments. She had also changed from the rugged and fearless Amazon Warrior to a more contemplative and sedate scholar. That’s not to say she lost her edge in battle. No one dared to underestimate her.

“And what about you Paneneko, when will you settle down?” B’riri asked while laughing lightly.

“I don’t know, probably not for a while. I feel too restless to settle down.” Paneneko responded.

“You’re leaving?” B’riri asked.

Tower looked up from his tools to look at Paneneko.

“Probably. I’ll leave after the secret realm,” he said.

“Will you be going with Lorne?” Tower asked.

“No,” Paneko answered while shaking his head.

“You still resent him?” B’riri asked.

“No, but I don’t want to be around him either. I feel very uncomfortable when I’m around him,” he answered.

“What’s there to feel uncomfortable for? Lorne’s a pretty good person,” Tower said.

“I know, and I’ve already made my peace with him about my brother. This is something else, a feeling when I’m around him. I feel like…I feel…it’s like….”

“Like what?” asked B’riri.

Paneko’s face darkened and hatred appeared on his face. “I feel like, How dare he!” The room suddenly became icy as Paneneko stood there. Slowly he regained his bearing and withdrew his hatred and killing intent.

Tower observed him thoughtfully “Is it him?” he wondered quietly to himself.

“How dare he? How dare he what?” B’riri asked.

“I don’t know. When I’m with Lorne I start having these strong feelings of hatred, anger, and even gratitude. For a long time, I thought it was because of my brother. I don’t think that’s the case any longer but I’m not sure. I think it’s better to let him go his way as I go mine. I respect him, love him as a brother, but I also think I hate him,” Paneko concluded.

“Hmmm. Emotions, difficult.” Tower said.

“Emotions, difficult? What does that mean?!” B’riri looked at Tower with amusement and teasing.

“Have we gone back to the days of you grunting as means of communication?” B’riri asked.

“What grunting, I clearly spoke words,” Tower laughed. B’riri, Tower, and Paneneko laughed and kidded with one another for the rest of their remaining time.

Lorne sat quietly near the meeting point. BS42 made his way over to Lorne and joined him on the ground.

“After the secret realm, come what may, I’m leaving,” Lorne informed BS42.

“Leaving?” BS42 questioned Lorne with his gaze.

“Yes, I’m leaving and you’re staying.” Lorne said.

“Why?” asked BS42.

“Because you want to stay and I don’t. I want to explore and be on my own for a while. You don’t need to follow me everywhere I go. Master removed the seals from your soul and you’re free to do as you please. I want to leave and you want to stay, so stay,” Lorne said with a smile.

BS42 let out a long sigh and looked at his nephew.

“Ok, but I want a body,” he responded.

“Ok,” Lorne said.

After this, the pair say quietly together saying nothing else while enjoying the quiet before the storm.

The three hours was up and Master Mounkeh gathered everyone together.

“We will be entering the secret realm shortly. Everyone get to your teams and prepare for my signal.” Master Mounkeh commanded.

Lorne found his way over to Tower, B’riri, and Paneneko. He flashed all of them one of his smiles.

“You didn’t wear it?” asked Tower.

“I didn’t wear what?” A mighty voice came from the sky. All of the Masters and students looked to the heavens and saw a mighty figure. Floating high in the air, Lorne donned his Invincible Hero Costume Tower made for him. The blue and white costume with the interlocking “I” and “H” letters featured prominently. Standing in the air and looking down at everyone, Lorne gave everyone there a unique feeling.

They had all seen mighty warriors in amazing armor and it could make someone feel like a tiny existence when standing before them. It was different looking up at Lorne. The costume, the smile, and the confidence it all seemed so heroic. The young men felt their hot blood pumping, the women swooned, and the Masters smiled. Most of them, Master Mounkeh looked like he had ingested spider monkey excrement.

Lorne began to descend from the sky and as he did shouts erupted from the crowds.

“Invincible Hero, Invincible Hero, Invincible Hero!” They all shouted together. He waved at them and nodded finally landing next to Master Mounkeh.

Master Mounkeh still had the sour look on his face but tried to squeeze out a smile. This only made him look even more comical as if his lips couldn’t decide between smiling, disgust, or anger they just kept trembling and changing into differing odd shapes.

“Yes, thank you for that amusing display Master…” before he could finish, Lorne cut him off.

“Thank you, everyone, for the warm welcome. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for the introduction.” Lorne said. He was giving everyone the full treatment. He suddenly remembered his time on Earth as a Superhero, that was so long ago but it was truly a happy time in his life. He remembered for the first time in a long time what it felt like to inspire others. He felt confidence in himself and happiness.

He liked this feeling. Ever since he died the first time he was under a dark cloud. Everything that happened to him kept him under the dark cloud. He had forgotten the first rule of being a real hero, to laugh and smile. His laughter was a shield for those in fear, and his smile inspired hope. Everyone felt it, at first, this was all a joke, but suddenly an invincible aura of a hero began to flow out of Lorne in waves and everyone felt safe and hopeful.

“We are about to enter into a secret realm and it might be a trap. I used to tell my other Superhero friends on Earth “A strong arm, firm heart, and unbreakable will can overcome anything. Lend me your strong arms, firm your hearts, and let us join our wills together and overcome everything before us. I ask you, will you march into danger and face our enemies? Will you fight for Justice, will you fight to protect the week? Will you stand with me and be invincible heroes?!” Lorne roared his question.

Members of both sects roared together, “Yes! Let’s fight for Justice, let’s protect the weak, let’s stand together and be invincible heroes!”

Suddenly the secret realm opened and everyone joined together rushing into the realm together like a mighty army, and at the head of this army was Lorne, flying with his fist first. After everyone entered the entrance quietly closed.