Author's Note: "Bob" is a nickname for "Robert" in the West. The main character will often to be referred to as such by those close to him.
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Did you think this story would have continued from there? Brought you through when the Brothers were younger? Did you think it would be following them on their grand adventures, slaying monsters, kings, demons, and even Gods? Their rise and fall?
No.
That isn't this type of story.
All of that has already happened.
A new tale begins now.
Because this isn't the story of three young brothers setting out into an unknown world to become legends.
It's the story of what happens when the legends are already old.
When every mountain worth climbing has been climbed. When every enemy worth beating has already been defeated. When the names of those who once stood beside you have faded from history, and the kingdoms you fought to protect have risen, fallen, and been forgotten.
The Brothers had reached the end of their adventure long ago.
Or at least, that was what they believed.
For thousands of years, they had stood at the summit of the world, so far beyond ordinary men that there was little left capable of surprising them. They had fought creatures thought immortal, challenged the very Gods that created them, wandered lands that weren't on any maps...
There were no more mysteries.
There were no more great enemies.
There was nothing left to discover.
And then, one of the three Brothers disappeared.
Not defeated.
Not killed.
Simply gone.
The Brothers would feel emotions they had long forgotten.
Tension. Unease. Worry.
They would realize the world they thought they had conquered was only a very small part of something much greater.
The legends they had spent their lives creating? It was merely the prologue.
Because sometimes the greatest adventure doesn't begin when a hero discovers how powerful he can become...
It begins when someone who believes he has seen everything finally discovers just how little he knows.
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Chapter 5
3rd of July, Year 3321 — Present Day
"It should be somewhere around here…"
A plump man sat himself down on a boulder near a riverbed. Sweat trickled down his face—he had obviously exerted himself quite a bit during a long journey.
"It's been way too long for me to even remember the last time I was here," the plump man lamented as he surveyed his surroundings with nostalgia in his eyes.
"Indeed it has. It seems Hemps Village is nothing but dust now…" another voice calmly sighed from behind.
The plump man jumped, surprised at the presence of someone else.
"Whoaa! Didn't even sense ya there! You always were the best of us. I'm a bit frustrated to see that hasn't changed, Brother Bob," the plump man chuckled.
Robert walked up to Brother Matt and embraced him with a bright smile on his face.
It had been an absurd number of years since they had last seen each other, and the warmth of their embrace reflected that.
"You always did call me Bob, didn't ya? I almost forgot that name..." Sighed Robert.
"How long have ya been waiting here for?" asked Matt.
"Only a few hours. I figured you would take the longest to show since your stamina has always sucked. I see that hasn't changed, based on the sweat trickling down your face. Such a short run got you that exhausted?"
Bob chuckled with a mocking smile on his face.
Matt grinned. They had often teased each other like this as children.
"Yeah, well, it's been a while…" sighed Matt as he patted his well-nurtured belly.
Truthfully, the journey both men had made was nothing short of impossible, even for those at their level. It had only been a few weeks, and both of them had covered a distance of more than a million miles through nothing but their own strength.
The village of Hemps, or what was left of it, was extremely remote. The world was frighteningly large, and they had long since left this desolate area of the world many years ago.
There was almost nothing left of Hemps from their recollection. A few extremely vague remnants remained from some of the more durable materials used for their structures, but even those were covered with foliage and barely discernible.
"I'm surprised you beat Dylan here, though… You didn't see him, did you?" Bob inquired with a curious look on his face.
"Nope. I was surprised too when I didn't feel his response to ours. I felt your blade right away when you unleashed your energy in response to mine… but nothing from him."
Matt had a confused look on his face.
Many years ago, right before the brothers each went their separate ways into seclusion, they made a vow.
Their power had reached a level that was no longer permitted.
Whenever they released more than 20% of their true power, they felt a painful sensation building up within them. It was as if the heavens of this world were rejecting their power and trying to seal it.
They had also, at that time, just finished a war where the aggressor wanted to unearth the secret to their power.
Many lives were lost due to this crusade.
As a result, they made a vow.
The vow was that they would not use more than 20% of their true power ever again unless under exceedingly extraordinary circumstances. If the day ever came when one of them revealed themselves, the others would respond with revelations of their own, and they would meet at the site where their journey started…
Hemps Village.
They even went as far as to forcibly seal away a portion of each of their powers and disperse it into the earth.
The flora and fauna in the region instantly grew, reaching untold heights and taking on unimaginably beautiful colors. That region of the world became known as a "holy land" for ordinary cultivators due to the powerful effects that training in the region would have on a person's progress because of the brothers' energy.
The brothers had been through many hardships together, and they were very close. As such, this vow was extremely important to each of them, and they knew that none of them would ever renege on it.
But if so, where was Brother Dylan, and why had he not responded by revealing himself as well?
It was impossible that they simply did not notice it, or that Dylan was somewhere too far away. With the strength that each of the brothers possessed, they could easily reveal themselves to each other even from the very opposite ends of the earth, and with their extraordinary senses, it was impossible for them to miss it.
"Maybe he just got sidetracked," pondered Bob. "We should stick around here for a few days. It would give us a chance to catch up as well."
Matt smiled and nodded his head as he gestured for his brother to sit down next to him.
…
Matt and Bob had been exchanging stories of the years they had spent apart for over a week now. Even though they laughed and jeered at each other's deeds and misfortunes, seemingly in good spirits, a worried frown crept onto Bob's face.
"It's been far too long… Even if he was sidetracked, he should be here by now."
Bob rose to his feet and looked around, wondering.
With a light huff, he rose into the sky and emanated a warm glow with his eyes closed.
The brothers had long possessed the ability of flight but had kept it a secret from the world all these years. Based on Bob's actions, it was clear he was trying to sense Dylan.
He eventually descended back down to the ground with a furrowed brow.
"Even sensing with my bloodline, I wasn't able to catch any signs of him as far as I could reach… That could only mean that he is either in seclusion somewhere and has intentionally sealed off his aura, or… he's no longer on this plane…"
Matt jumped in shock, then shook his head.
It was definitely possible that he was in seclusion, although unlikely. It was a common practice for even ordinary mortals to lock themselves away in seclusion to fortify their minds. With the power that the brothers possessed, it would not be a challenge for Dylan to seal off his aura as well if he did not want to be disturbed.
The concerning part, however, was that there was simply no need for any of the brothers to seclude themselves.
With the power they possessed, who could challenge them?
What need did they have anymore to train?
It was nonsensical.
Even if he had, for some reason, voluntarily suppressed his aura, through resonating their bloodline as brothers, surely they would have been able to sense even a tiny fraction of the other's aura.
With that scenario seemingly dispelled, the only plausible scenario was that Dylan was no longer on this plane…
"I think we should check 'that place' before we jump to any wild conclusions," Matt suggested.
Bob frowned in response.
He knew exactly where Matt was referring to, and he was not particularly fond of that region.
Auxtralia.
Auxtralia was an extremely remote island in the southern half of the world. Surrounded by water and a seemingly insurmountable distance away, not many ever dared to venture to that corner of the world.
The country was also fraught with danger.
Legendary-tier spirit beasts roamed the lands freely. Spiders, scorpions, bears, alligators… Spirit beasts in Auxtralia took many forms and possessed many different traits, but they were all extremely powerful, such that even the brothers would avoid them if they had the option.
This was where Brother Dylan had exclaimed that he was heading after they made their vow.
Dylan had always valued living a peaceful life, and he knew that the chances of him being disturbed by others would be minimal in a region like that. As a result, he chose to seclude himself in Auxtralia for the coming years.
"Guess we have no choice… Let's head out. It's a long journey."
And with that, the two brothers leapt off the ground and disappeared into the clouds faster than the blink of an eye.