章 12: New Objective

[Valley of Peace]

Aiden is sitting under the shade of a tree, enjoying the peaches of wisdom he brought from the Jade Palace. As he savors the fruit, his mind fills with memories of the past few days.

It's been four days since he left the palace, and since then, he's been exploring the Valley of Peace, reconnecting with the world around him. He's spent time with the locals, touring every corner of the valley, observing daily life, and, of course, indulging in the local food.

Since his arrival, the enthusiasm of the villagers has been palpable. Rumors about him—a great master from a hidden species—spread quickly, and they greeted him with a mix of respect and curiosity. His first stop after descending from the palace was the restaurant of an old goose and his adopted son, a young panda.

When he arrived, Mr. Ping greeted him with a wide smile and special attention.

"Come in, come in!" the goose exclaimed, visibly excited to welcome the human master to his restaurant.

Suddenly, Mr. Ping stopped, as if a thought had interrupted him. He remembered the rumors about Aiden, a member of a hidden species, and realized that could mean he might not have any money.

"Wait... you have money, right?!" he asked, pointing at him with one of his feathers and squinting his eyes.

Aiden didn't answer with words. Instead, he pulled out a small bag and shook it, letting the sound of the coins he'd earned at the Jade Palace resonate in the air.

"Excellent!" the goose exclaimed, visibly relieved. Without wasting any time, he led him to a table in the center of the restaurant, in a strategic spot where everyone could see him. "This will attract many customers," he said out loud, not bothering to hide his words.

Aiden wasn't bothered in the slightest; he simply sat down and started to try a little bit of everything in front of him. Although the dishes didn't contain red meat, there was, curiously, fish, and the food was as good as he had expected. However, a slight disappointment crept in as he noticed that the next Dragon Warrior wasn't in the restaurant, as he had anticipated.

Even after a long while there, he doesn't show up, but Aiden decides not to worry too much about it. He knows his days of rest are limited, and he's not about to just wait around to see him.

When he finishes, he pays the bill and leaves the restaurant, using the rest of the day to explore the town. However, he quickly runs out of new places to see. With no fixed direction, he decides to leave the town behind and move on from the valley. Over the next four days, he travels from village to village, meets new people, and tries all kinds of food. He lives day by day, enjoying what he can, until he finally runs out of money.

Back in the present, Aiden is still sitting under the tree, savoring the peaches and enjoying the peace of the valley. He doesn't have to wait much longer. In the blink of an eye, a portal opens in front of him, and without warning, it sucks him in, taking him to another destination.

[The Void - Throne of Nannyra]

Aiden opens his eyes and finds himself back in front of the imposing throne of Nannyra. She's there, sitting with an air of superiority, watching him with a satisfied smile. Noticing him, she begins to clap enthusiastically, breaking the silence with her applause.

"Clap, clap, clap! Well done, two for two," Nannyra says with an approving smile as she watches him. "I hope you've rested, because I've got a new mission ready for you." In front of her, a screen activates quickly, showing the image of a new world.

But before she can continue, Nannyra halts her speech when she notices that Aiden has raised his hand. She narrows her eyes, her expression one of impatience. "Better not be complaints," she warns, her tone grave and firm. "Or else…" she adds, pointing to a vortex that suddenly appears in a corner of the room, with a neon sign that reads: "The Void / Dump."

"It's not a complaint," Aiden replies, keeping calm. "More like questions... and a request."

Nannyra sighs loudly, clearly annoyed by the interruption. She rolls her eyes before crossing her arms. "Speak…" she responds with a dismissive tone, hoping he finishes quickly.

"Do all these trips to different worlds have any purpose?" Aiden asks, his voice filled with expectation as he watches Nannyra.

"No," she answers without flinching, her tone cold and direct. "There's no purpose, no mission, no mystery. You go to those worlds because it amuses me. We ruin some plots, improve others… that's it," her voice is almost indifferent.

Aiden simply nods, accepting the answer. "Do I get any reward for all this?"

"No," Nannyra responds with the same lack of emotion, not even bothering to give a more detailed explanation.

Aiden frowns, pressing on. "Can I get one?"

"Like what?" Nannyra responds, raising an eyebrow, clearly amused by the question. "A system? A sage that talks to you in your mind every ten seconds? A complicated stats system?" Her tone turns mocking. "That's a waste of time. You already have your certificates. If some god offers you a level-up system and makes you think it's benefiting you, they're lying. You'd just be their toy, like a video game character they watch slowly grow for fun. At least I'm honest; you know you're my toy, and I say it to your face, not like those cowards."

Aiden watches her in silence, processing her words. "So… are there other gods who could take me in?"

Nannyra looks away, refusing to answer. "Next question," she says with an impatient tone, clearly avoiding the topic.

"So, no reward?" Aiden insists.

"I'll think about it," Nannyra responds curtly. "Now, let's get back to the important stuff."

Suddenly, the throne room darkens completely. Out of nowhere, a table appears, and Aiden finds himself sitting in front of it. A faint light rises above them, dimly illuminating the scene.

[Image]

Nannyra appears again, this time dressed in an elegant black suit. With a casual gesture, she pulls a folder from nowhere, places it on the table in front of Aiden, and slides it toward him. "This is your next mission, 007," she says with a touch of seriousness in her voice.

Aiden takes the folder and begins reading it while Nannyra continues speaking. "Your new identity is Aiden, Recruiter of New Talent for the company 'Green Couture,' run by Nannyra: genius, millionaire, playboy, and philanthropist."

As he flips through the pages, Aiden glances at the company's history: founded 30 years ago, it appeared out of nowhere and quickly became one of the best in multiple fields.

"Everything's in your hands, 007. Finish the mission… or the world will explode," Nannyra declares, adopting a serious tone.

Aiden raises an eyebrow, looking at Nannyra with skepticism. "Really?"

"No… well, maybe," Nannyra responds with a shrug, as if it's not her problem. "I'm not sure. But good luck and safe travels."

With those words, a portal appears behind Aiden, engulfs him in an instant, and drags him out of the throne room, leaving it empty and once again shrouded in darkness.

[The Burrow - 0:00 ???]

In the Burrow, a place outside of time and space, Alix Kubdel, better known as Bunnyx, the bearer of the Rabbit Miraculous, carefully monitors the flow of temporal continuity, making sure that every event happens at its precise moment. "Everything happens as it should, and when it should," she tells herself, feeling proud of her impeccable work. But the calm doesn't last long.

Suddenly, all the screens turn a glaring red, and the Burrow's system goes into a state of maximum alert. In an instant, other versions of Bunnyx, from different futures, appear around her, each with the same concerned expression on their face.

"What's happening?" asks one of the Bunnyxs, furrowing her brow.

"Aren't you, the ones from the future, supposed to know?" Bunnyx responds, confused.

"We have no idea. This has never happened before!" replies a future Bunnyx, her voice filled with evident tension. Without wasting time, they all begin to check the screens and monitoring systems.

After a few moments of frantic searching, one of them exclaims: "Here it is!" All the Bunnyxs turn their gaze toward one of the screens, where the image of a young man with white hair appears amidst the broadcasts.

"Who is he?" asks another Bunnyx, curious.

"I have no idea… but we'll find out," declares the future Bunnyx as she attempts to cross a portal to investigate the stranger's identity. However, as she steps toward the portal, she is violently rejected, as if an invisible barrier prevents her from passing.

"What happened?" asks one of the Bunnyxs, surprised and growing anxious.

"The portal rejected me. Access is blocked…" replies the affected Bunnyx, looking at her other versions with a mix of disbelief and fear.

The Bunnyxs look at each other, puzzled. The idea of blocked access in the Burrow is unheard of to them. Just then, a blurry image begins to overlay on all the portals.

[Image]

"What do we do now?" asks the youngest Bunnyx.

"We watch," replies the older Bunnyx, with a serious expression. "We watch… and hope for the best."

-/-

Author's Note: Why so short? Honestly, this wasn't a planned chapter, I wrote it today because I thought it would be fun and because people were asking questions about it. I hope this helps. Anyway, I've got around 11k words edited, and I think I still have about 5k more to go, but I think I'll start posting what I have. Leave a comment, maybe it'll encourage me to post another chapter.