Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1046  Truth of the World

After the First Emperor of the Empire of Space aka the 6th Hero of Space, stated his conditions as per their previous agreement… Omega was left shocked.

"Master, what does that mean? Why are we joining the Hero of Space's party?

Is there something I'm not aware of?" asked Omega to Kahn, still befuddled.

"Consider it as something unavoidable… something preordained." said Kahn and didn't complain.

When Miyamoto Musashi made this condition during their negotiation where Kahn proposed to be taught swordsmanship skills along with the knowledge of the Space Law… this bizarre demand left him gobsmacked too.

But then he remembered what Future Kahn told him. One of the things he had to do before the Great War officially began was also to forge ties with the Hero of Space.

In the original timeline, both the Martial Emperor and Hero of Space had an ambiguous relationship.

In Future Kahn's own words… they were neither friends nor enemies. On occasions, they joined forces but also fought against each other if the situation demanded it.

The surprising part of the negotiation was this condition was particularly relayed to Miyamoto Musashi by the God of Space himself.

So considering the future possibilities and things he was already told to do by the original Kahn, the current one accepted it without complaining.

Thus, he became fated to meet the Hero of Space many years before compared to the original timeline.

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In a couple of days, Kahn began his training montage.

He started learning samurai swordsmanship using Muramasa directly from the sword saint himself.

Omega on the other side, received the tutelage of the sword saint as the latter agreed to impart the dual-handed samurai swordsmanship technique called Niten Ichi-ryū.

[[Author: I'm purposefully skipping the training montage here because we've had a lot of them and you guys will blame me for another stretched-out arc if I write 10 chapters about the techniques, powers, skills, and achievements in detail.

I will only reveal them when necessary and at a proper time such as a fight or a plot incident. But do know that I shan't offer a detailed explanation and could completely skip over many of them since many readers find the info dump insufferable nowadays.]]

Meanwhile, Kahn also received lots of books and research material that the 6th Hero of Space wrote when he was alive.

It was all written in Kanji, a language Kravel didn't know of so his Gifts called 'Knowledge of All Languages known to War Deity' didn't work here.

Rather, it was Kahn's memories from Earth that helped him because, unlike 99% of weebs and otakus, he learned to speak, read, and write Japanese, which was derived from Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana. So he was fluent in it. This was also a blessing to Kahn in disguise because the entire Erdve Empire, which was reformed by Miyamoto Musashi who was summoned here more than 500 years ago, now spoke Japanese as their main language.

In a way, the Empire of Space was very similar to Edo-era Japan but obviously had its own unique cultural differences.

Weeks went by as their new training regime progressed.

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In the secluded realm forged by the sword saint's mastery, a quaint village nestled beside a winding river, frozen in the timeless embrace of its ancient allure. Here, amidst the ethereal beauty of a bygone era, the dual-sworded samurai materialized in his prime, a vision of formidable skill and unwavering resolve.

Clad in the traditional garb of the samurai, a striking blend of black and crimson, he stood with a commanding presence, his two katana blades resting resolutely at his left hip. His countenance bore the marks of a life steeped in honor and battle, a subtle beard framing rugged features that spoke of countless trials endured and victories won.

"I guess you've noticed it too after spending so much time in Vantrea." said the sword saint while showing Kahn the basics of an advanced swordsmanship technique. "Noticed what?" asked Kahn curiously.

"I didn't come across many cultures or countries during my era and the way to access information was very limited in those times… but even I could feel it." he elaborated.

Kahn nodded in return.

"In my time, we have something called the Internet.

It's an advanced communication network that can be accessed by anyone from any corner of the world with proper tools.

Not only that… you can gain access to any desirable information and even learn about current events such as wars or even genocide happening in faraway places like from a country that's on the other side of the world." he spoke about the marvel of technological advancement humans had achieved.

"Many cultures, religions, information, knowledge, and even their mythologies can be learned from a small device in your hand.

Humanity has progressed beyond your imagination." said Kahn.

"That sounds wonderful. But is it any better than Vantrea?" queried the sword saint with an expectant gaze.

Kahn gave it a thought and replied in a calm voice...

"Not really. Although the magic and world energy aren't there… Everything else is the same.

Even the sense of freedom and democracy is just a sham if you pay attention.

There are always people in power controlling everything and no one is truly free." revealed Kahn as he let out a sigh.

"Wars are waged to acquire land, resources such as oil and minerals, or just some made-up excuse like the country being invaded having 'things' that are a possible threat.

Humanity, as a species, has not changed at all. Just that most of the world is at peace but many still suffer and die no less than how it was during your time." he stated with a burdened voice.

"It's just that many people are too blind to see the reality or acknowledge it unless they're forced to experience it themselves.

The time I come from... at my side of the world, everyone was busy pretending to be morally superior than the other guy, yet absolutely doing nothing to change the world for the better."

This was what Kahn perceived of the era he lived on earth as Elric Johnson.

"The abstract of civilization called society is still pretentious, less bloody, but still pretentious.

There is no common ground until both sides benefit. The weak countries still suffer and the strong ones with more power still abuse others and call it… Freedom.

I wouldn't go as far as to call it pure evil; because if the roles were reversed, the oppressed would be the oppressor in the kind of world earth has become." he said without a bias.

"And funnily, the whole planet is in debt… as if it loaned money from some other planet in the solar system.

We work to live every day and survival is hard enough, no different than how it is in Vantrea." he said and continued emulating his new sword mentor's movements.

"I see. So it looks like I didn't miss much either way." said Miyamoto Musashi.

Kahn then spoke…

"However, since I'm from a generation who has access to a lot of information if one were to look for it…

I know a lot more than you when it comes to different cultures, religions, countries, history, languages, and mythologies as well as folklore.

I have some suspicions. And I hope you can clear them for me" he iterated and his expression turned somewhat anticipatory.

The sword saint nodded and replied...

"I know what you're going to ask."

Kahn's eyes widened.

"So it's true, isn't it?

Damn, there were so many obvious signs. I just didn't see it because a lot of media such as mangas, novels, and literature took inspiration from them.

I always wondered why this thing I read about in the history of the world, a particular empire, a person, a monster or an event… was here." said Kahn as a sense of revelation dawned on him.

The 6th Hero of Space nodded again and responded...

"I too experienced it many centuries ago.

There are simply way too many species, powers, skills, classes, societal hierarchy, places, and beings in this world that feel like they belong in our times instead."

"It all makes more sense now." spoke Kahn, his body shivering in anticipation and mild excitement.

"You're correct." spoke Miyamoto Musashi and made a firm declaration.

"Earth in itself… is a variant of Vantrea."