Haru: Eden.

Amaterasu stepped forward and touched Haru's shoulder, then extended his right arm and placed the palm of his hand just inches from Akira's face, who was still looking at him petrified.

-Zen Retsu. -exclaimed the god.

Haru and Akira's eyes turned white and both boys raised their heads at the same time, pointing at the cloud that had been split in two just above them moments before.

Everything went black for a few seconds.

-So, this is how I'm going to die," Haru thought.

Suddenly he saw himself floating and travelling through a tunnel of light. It was similar to the wormholes Haru had seen in science fiction movies.

His sister Akira was apparently unconscious but travelling with him through the mysterious tunnel.

After a while, the path suddenly split in two and his sister went down another fork in the tunnel.

Haru lost consciousness again only to regain it seconds later. His head felt a little light. It didn't take her long to realise that she was no longer on the ground.

When he opened his eyes and saw the landscape he was in, he couldn't believe it.

Before him appeared a vast meadow surrounded by cherry blossom trees, in the background, floating islands and snow-capped mountains higher than Mount Fuji and above, a deep blue, clear sky that almost looked painted.

Haru was standing on a hill on which, just a few metres away, stood a citadel with glass walls. The citadel was besieged by hundreds of enemies below the hill, each dressed in very strange armour. They resembled the western medieval armour Haru had seen in his world history books, but these were translucent. Moreover, the warriors did not use conventional weapons, everything they wielded was as translucent as their armour, they almost looked like holographic swords and shields, like in those virtual reality role-playing games that Haru loved.

He immediately realised, these were illusionary weapons.

If this were an RPG, those warriors would probably be of a hybrid class, they're melee wizards," he thought. Based on the knowledge he had gained from these games.

Haru gained momentum and climbed the glass wall of the citadel, which was only five feet high from where he stood.

He leapt from it onto the battlefield. The drop was over 20 metres but Haru knew that the whole place, as real as it seemed, was just an illusion of the strange man who called himself Amaterasu. Or so he thought.

He had put thousands of hours into various virtual reality mmo's and knew exactly how to distinguish between the real and the fictional, and he also knew what to do in a pitched battle.

Haru was the dark knight, one of the most famous users on the Japanese server of the virtual reality mmorpg video game Aon Online, after all.

-Crimson Red," he exclaimed, hoping that his favourite Aon Online summon would do some good in the world he found himself in.

Extending his right arm as he ran towards the enemies, a translucent, crimson red katana materialised in his hands.

A group of warriors who had already noticed his presence charged at him with their spears and illusory swords.

Haru continued to advance towards them, defeating each one with precise movements worthy of a professional fencer, showing no mercy, convincing himself that it was all just a cheap copy of his favourite video game.

-The commander did not warn us that there would be a captain of order here! -said one of the warriors, moments before his armour was penetrated with a ****** from Haru's sword.

I don't think he is a captain of order, his aura is very strange, almost non-existent. -Another replied before his head flew through the air and he dematerialised.

Haru continued to swat enemies like flies. Ignoring what they were saying.

-These npcs can talk very well, they are well programmed, maybe I underestimate this Amaterasu guy. However, I don't see any interface, no menu available. Maybe they require specific voice commands that I'm not familiar with," he thought, as he kept making almost mechanical movements, dodging thrusts and power-packed punches.

More than 10 minutes had passed and the boy was already beginning to attract attention on the battlefield. Soldiers from both sides around him had laid down their weapons and called a truce of sorts to gather around him and watch him fight. Even some of his own side had challenged him.

They all commented on his abilities and had various theories about where he came from. Most of them said he was a new captain that the council had not told them about. Perhaps, they thought, they wanted to allow him to make a triumphal entrance to show his might.

One of them, whom Haru disarmed in a few seconds, knelt down and made his illusory weapon disappear.

-Boy, forgive the boldness, but it's more than clear that you're not a captain of order, your null aura proves it to me. Or, at least let me know your name before you eliminate me. Said the warrior.

-I am Haru, Haru Mikka, pleased to meet you.

Having said this, he eliminated him on the spot with a quick slash to the neck.

A commotion broke out among the crowd surrounding Haru. One of them, who was dressed differently from the rest, with a red bandana on his head and a white kimono, mentioned that he had heard the name from Captain Amaterasu the day before.

A warrior beside him in a red kimono said that the captain had told him about possible recruits in the land a week ago.

He made his way through the soldiers and stepped forward. -Haru and Akira, of course. You must be Haru, welcome to Eden! My name is Tsuyugomi, this here is my younger brother Hikaru. -Said the boy in the red kimono excitedly.

-Eden?

Before Haru could add to the conversation, a portal of light opened in the middle of the field and the image of Captain Amaterasu appeared.

-Nightwolves, I see you have already met the new recruit. Sorry to interrupt but I took the liberty of throwing him on the training battlefield to confirm my suspicions.

Everyone in the camp stopped and looked at the large image of the captain in front of them. Tsuyugomi walked up to him and asked quizzically, "So, what were your suspicions, Captain?

-Haru has a natural talent for combat, no, for years he has been unknowingly training with video games, at which he is a prodigy.

This boy here you see has never been in actual combat or used magic, he has lived on earth as an ordinary human with his family and yet he has been able to wipe the floor with some of our most skilled fighters. What does that tell you?

There was a stony silence and everyone looked at each other's faces. The word human rang a bell, and it was not a good one.

One of the recruits raised his hand and Amaterasu nodded. -Captain, pardon my boldness, but wasn't earth that planet of underdeveloped apes that worshipped us as gods? How is it possible that someone like this boy could come from such a despicable place?

-Amaterasu laughed and then his tone changed. -You are out of the order soldier, we do not tolerate classism and racism here. Tsuyugomi, do me a favour and disconnect him.

Tsuyugomi leapt more than three metres and landed lightly on the ground twenty centimetres away from the recruit, then gave him a small blow on the back of the head and he dematerialised, retaining an expression of horror and regret until the last moment.

-Thank you very much, Tsuyu. Now if you will allow me to continue. -said Amaterasu.

-This boy and his sister, whom you will meet later, are humans born and raised on earth, but their father was one of us. You know perfectly well that we are in no position to exclude potential warriors, don't you?

Humans are no longer the underdeveloped species they used to be thousands of years ago when we first visited earth. With their current technology they could rival any of you. And it is because of that technology that allows them to create the illusion of another reality, that this boy is able to manipulate the force and the sword with such finesse and precision. That's what I meant when I said he trained his whole life with video games, apparently that's what they call their alternate realities.

If I brought him into the battlefield unannounced, it's because we knew what he was capable of and I didn't want him to be judged just because of his human origin.

Haru did not know what to think. -What did he say about my father? What does he mean by training battle? I have eliminated several of them. This is not an illusion at all. It seems to have some reality to it. Maybe it's a parallel world or a mirror world? -he wondered.

Amaterasu turned his attention to Haru, who was completely lost.

-I know you're confused," said Amaterasu, "but we've been watching you and your sister for years and we knew you were a fan of Aon Online and that, my boy, makes you an excellent warrior in our world. You didn't hesitate for a second to summon and it came up instantly, simply because you truly believed this was another game of yours.

Amaterasu continued, "Listen, this is reality, or at least part of it. We could call it a mirror world. Here we gods, as they call us in your world, train and prepare for combat using all our abilities without having to suffer any danger. Well, this is really a way of oversimplifying the true nature of Eden, but you will understand in time.

But if you come with us, you will not only be able to master your full power in Eden, but also in the real world. The fact that you are able to release the force here, tells us that the necessary flame is already in you and you just have to learn to channel it.

-I agree. -Haru replied without hesitation.

-Well, that was easier than we thought, wasn't it, Mr. Amaterasu? said Tsuyugomi, the vice-captain of the order of the night wolves, with a chuckle.

Amaterasu laughed and then ordered. -Show Haru what a god is capable of.

Haru's right eye glowed crimson red, like his Katana. He began to feel an indescribable pressure in his chest, which quickly pervaded the whole place. All the recruits around him, including Tsuyugomi's younger brother Hikaru, dropped to their knees and lost their breath for a few seconds, as if they had just undergone a great physical exertion.

-Ignition. -Tsuyugomi exclaimed. The golden aura around him increased and a silver-tipped golden spear materialised in his hands. He looked at Haru and smiled.

Haru had never been intimidated by anyone on Aon Online, not even when he was still a low-level noob, and as far as he was concerned, he was actually not far from Aon. His body felt just as light as when he first logged into the game interface, it was just a matter of getting used to it, he thought.

Besides, he had already faced players more powerful than him in the same way. It was as if the world that he had always been so engrossed in highlighting finally came to life and he was one of the stars.

-Crimson Black Knight. -He whispered. The purple jumper he was wearing disappeared and in its place materialized a jet black metal armor that joined his attire along with a black uniform with some vinotint decorations on top. In his right hand the katana had transformed into an even larger one than before, with a black blade and a red hilt with black diamond decorations. And on his head, with the hood of his jumper no longer covering him, two small black horns emerged from which emanated an aura as red and dazzling as that of his right eye.

-So this is the true form of your soul," said Tsuyugomi as he got into a battle stance and took the momentum to pounce on the boy, now a warrior to be feared, worthy of being the top ranking of Aon Online.

All the recruits around looked at both of them with admiration and awe. Even Amaterasu, who knew Haru's capabilities, did not expect him to be able to confidently unleash so much power in the same way he already did in Aon. He knew he still had a long way to go and in reality he probably wouldn't even be able to materialise a simple weapon, but Eden showed everyone the true capacity of a soul and its form. And in this reality, that boy could rival even the captains of order.

-Get ready. -Haru said, calmly, as the flame in his right eye flared even brighter.

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