Once the audience with the king came to an end, the heroes were led away to a place that they will be residing in. The princess did not accompany them this time, stating that she must meet with some people for some discussions. Thus, the two parties went their own way and the royal guards led the heroes for a few minutes in silence before arriving at a corridor filled with doors.

The rooms, that were allocated for them within the castle, were looking magnificent, comfortable with all the household accessories, they did not complain one bit. So, each of them went into their room, investigated the rooms before stating their satisfaction and then shutting themselves in. A few Royal Guards remained stationed at that place for their safety, although, Vikram had joked that they were unnecessary due to being confident in their own abilities.

“If there really was a problem, then it’ll turn out that we’d come to help you than you helping us,” he said, making the Royal Guards smile, who took it as a joke rather than an insult.

“Perhaps, but it is still our duty to protect you in case of emergency situations,” replied the lead Royal Guard, to which Vikram nodded with a cheeky grin on his face. He focused on all of them and said, “Please see if your rooms are comfortable and if you need anything else, please feel free to request for it.”

William looked at the Royal Guard and asked, “What if the request is regarding women?”

The Royal Guard, understanding the meaning behind the question, and replied in a serious voice.

“If such a request is made, then you would be labelled a criminal and not a hero, sir. So, do be careful in what you request of us, alright?”

The way he ended his statement as a question and the look he gave them spoke volumes of how serious he was. This did not bother any of them since they were all young and had clear minds in comparison to the rest.

Vikram turned to see William sighing deeply in relief and asked curiously, “What? Were you disappointed?”

William rounded on him and said, “I’m a warrior! Women are the hope of the world! Anyone with such a request should be nailed to a stake and burned alive!”

Surprised by the unexpected seriousness, Vikram backed away while raising his hand as he said, “Okay! Okay! Geez! It was just wondering!”

“Don’t wonder! Use your head!” William retorted, making Vikram sigh and regret ever asking him such a question.

They each went into their rooms, inspected the insides of the room and were greatly satisfied by their findings. Their beds were really comfortable, the chairs were cushioned well, the lights were at the right brightness that did not hurt their eyes and the most important thing they were impressed was by the advanced technology of voice command to control the door lock, lights, the television provided in each room and so on.

“This luxury is more than what I expected,” commented Fred, looking contentedly at his room.

“I wish my world was this advanced!” Vikram said, looking a bit sad at the face of reality. Then, he quickly smiled and said, “Oh well! This is my world now, and I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this!”

“Don’t become a criminal,” commented Gram from the side.

The words shocked Vikram, and the Sonic Hero rounded on the Tempest Hero while asking in a furious voice, “I won’t become a criminal! Why’d you think I’ll become on? Ha? Come on! How’d you get such a thought?!”

Gram ignored him and yawned lightly before saying, “Well, I’m off to sleep since we got a long night ahead of us.”

“You’re right,” replied Maxwell, remembering the party the king will be holding a party that night. “It’s best to sleep now since we don’t know how long that party will last. How about the rest of you?”

“Indeed. In addition, I feel worn out so it’s a welcomed thought,” replied Ward telepathically.

“Yeah! I think a little privacy could do us good as well,” added Martin, wearing a small smile on his face.

“Hey! Don’t go, Gram! You haven’t answered my question!” Vikram called to Gram, who ignored him and shut his door soon after entering it.

William, seeing Vikram mumble to himself in anger, said bracingly, “Cheer up, kid. You can ask him again later.”

“Kid?!” Vikram exclaimed, looking alarmed and turning to give William a sharp look. “Do I look like a kid to you?”

“Well,” began William, looking at Vikram up and down before continuing to say, “your appearance doesn’t, but your attitude sure does.”

“Why you—?!” Vikram began furiously.

“Cut it out both of you!” Natsu said sharply, getting in between them. He gave them both a serious look while saying, “We’re all tired and deserve some rest. Okay? Go relax and calm down! Being hot headed will get us in trouble around here!”

Vikram stared at Natsu and then glared at William before walking into his room and closing the door shut.

William, as soon as the door shut, sighed and said, “Like I said, he’s a kid.”

Natsu shook his head and said, “I don’t know what it’s like to be in your time, but being so up front can cause you problems. Well, just be careful with it, alright?”

“I’m just being factful,” replied William, shrugging his shoulders and looking despondent.

Lakshman smiled at them all and said, “Alright, guys. Let’s get some rest. See you all in a few hours.” He turned to the lead Royal Guard and asked, “Will you come to get us?”

“Of course, sir. It’s our duty to prepare you for the night party,” the man replied, smiling at him.

Lakshman nodded in understanding and said, “That’s good. See you then.”

“Have a good rest, sirs,” the man said, and he nodded to the stationed Royal Guards before taking his leave.

Lakshman entered the room and closed the door and then said, “Lock.”

A loud click sound came from the door and Lakshman found that it was locked. Upon saying, “Unlock,” he found that the door would open once more. The lead Royal Guard had explained to them the voice commands to use. Smiling in satisfaction, Lakshman used the voice command to lock the door and headed over to flop down on the bed. It was really comfortable to lie there and felt as if he was going to drift off to sleep within seconds.

He lay in the bed, facing upward, when his expression suddenly changed, and he sat upright to shout, “Damn him!”

“What the?! Asura? When did you—?” Lakshman asked, his voice being heard inside his mind.

“Damn him! Damn him! Damn him!” Asura said fiercely, his voice getting louder with each shout. “How dare he try to make a move on another’s man’s woman?!”

Lakshman understood his feelings as he was also feeling the same, but knew they would not help him. So, he said, “Calm down, Asura.”

“Calm down?! How?! I’m angry!” Asura shouted, jumping to his feet and striding about the room. “I want to punch that bastard so much…! Really!” Then, he realised something and rounded on his other self by saying, “And you! Why are you telling me to calm down? Aren’t you the least bit angry?! She’s our wife!”

Feeling very annoyed, Lakshman burst out and shouted in his mind, “You think I’m not angry? Ah? You think I’m not upset at the thought that some random nobody is trying to aim for my wife?!” This made Asura go quiet as he was a little taken aback before Lakshman continued to say, “Asura, I’m angrier than you, but nothing will change. We can shout all we want, but it won’t help us. Instead, let’s focus on what we should do next! It’s a waste thinking of what somebody else’s doing as it’ll only distract us and waste our time!”

“That’s well and good, but I’m really, really angry! I want to break that bastard!”

“Asura!” Lakshman shouted in his mind, causing Asura to become startled. “Enough is enough, Asura! Because of that uncontrollable anger, many suffered at our hands! This time, let’s convert that anger to something good that helps us develop our relationship with Erza!”

Asura looked greatly troubled as his thoughts were shifting with his decision, and Lakshman encouraged him by saying, “You yourself said how bad you were back then, so let’s change that. Please. Let’s walk on the path of peace this time. Our wives will be happier with it.”

This calmed Asura somewhat and brought him to a decision, who sighed and said, “Fine, but I’m still not calm. Let’s see… You want me to channel it elsewhere, right? How about focus on opening a portal to our world?”

Lakshman was thoroughly bewildered by the suggestion, and he asked, “What’re you going to do? Activate World Transfer? Are you even sure it’ll work?”

“We won’t know until we try,” replied Asura, changing his stern look to that of confidence.

“I don’t know about this,” said Lakshman worriedly.

“Ah! You worry too much, Lakshman! We’re the Phoenix Titans, or did struggling to use power in this world scare you?”

“Kind of, yes. We don’t know the rules for power use in this world and using such a powerful technique… I don’t know what kind of effects it will have on us! So, I suggest being careful rather than going all extravagant.”

“It’s just us in this room. No one’s going to find out. See. Forcefield. Sound Zero,” said Asura, aiming his hand at the door.

In an instant, two barriers formed inside the room; one that does not let anything to leave or enter while the other mutes the sounds inside. Satisfied, Asura took a stance while Lakshman nervously watched him from the Unconscious World, worried about the repercussions. Sensing this, Asura smiled lightly and spoke in a soft voice.

“This is just an experiment that might not work, but we won’t know anything unless we try.”

Lakshman sighed and said, “You make a valid point. Fine, but I’ll take over and cancel it if it looks too dangerous! Got it?”

“As you wish. It’s your body after all,” replied Asura with a slight smile that showed a bit of sadness in it.

He shook his head and recovered from the initial sense of loss, and closed his eyes to focus on the location that he wants to open the portal at. World Transfer is a magic spell that works just like the Phoenix Portal and Transverse Portal, but instead of from place to place, it opens a hole between worlds. The only requirement it has were two things; one was that it requires a great amount of power and second, of all, the destination must be known and visualised correctly, otherwise, the chance of a mishap could be fatal for the travellers.

“Right!” Asura said, opening his eyes in a flash as he set his vision to the grassy field in front of their house. He aimed his hand in front of him and said, “World Transfer!”

In an instant, wind started blowing in the room from out of nowhere and the bedsheets, the curtains and the sofa covers got ruffled because of it. Soon, lightning began emit within the room from where he stood, causing everything else to go on and off every now and then. Energy was gathering rapidly in front of where he held his hand out, which quickly started to take the shape of a round circle.

For several seconds, the circle rotated round and round endlessly but nothing else happened. Realising he needs to push more power, Asura surged with power and exerted it to make the circle open up a portal from the room to the grassy field in front of their house back in their home world. His hand started to shake and sweat started to form all over his body while the portal struggled to open up while rotating around in circles.

He started to breathe quickly as he gritted his teeth and exerted all the power he could muster, causing the circle to finally spin rapidly until it formed a wide circle. Within it, blackness formed and seemed to open the portal back to his home world. However, it was small and not sufficient enough for him to enter. He pushed his powers desperately to open it further, but his breathing intensified and his eyes started to lose focus.

“Enough!” He suddenly shouted, causing the magic to get cancelled, allowing him to topple backwards and fall flat on the bed while heaving deep shuddering breaths. After a moment’s pause, Lakshman said, “Honestly! What were you doing?”

“I should be asking you that!” Asura retorted in his mind, his voice filled with anger at the sudden interruption. “I was this close to opening that portal, and you stopped me! Why? What’s gotten into you, Lakshman! We could’ve gone home!”

Lakshman was feeling out of breath and waited several seconds to recover his breath before finally saying, “That’s if we remained conscious after that stunt you just pulled! That portal took a massive amount of energy just to form and then more to finally open that small hole that no one could get through!”

“If I had more time—!” Asura began but Lakshman stopped him with a shout.

“Just look at our current state! Look at it!” He said, pointing to the amount of stress his body was going under and the fatigue he was suddenly experiencing from pushing his powers far greater than he should have. “This sort of recklessness will get us killed, Asura! Realise it already!”

Asura was momentarily baffled at the dawning realisation of what his actions were getting them into. Realising his mistake, he sighed and became disappointed at his failure, but it made his anger that much greater.

“I can’t believe this! We have the power to destroy worlds, but we can’t transfer between worlds? What sort of rubbish is this?”

“I don’t know,” replied Lakshman wearily, “and I don’t feel like knowing about it right now. I’m tired.”

“I was the one who used all that power though.”

“So, what? Taking over while in the midst of it transferred your stress over to me. So, in a way, this is my penalty for letting you go through with your crazy idea. I’m not going to do that again.”

Asura seemed to not mind as he said, “That’s fine. Your call.”

Lakshman nodded in satisfaction and said, “I’m going to sleep and recover so that I’m fresh and active for the night party.”

“You do that,” replied Asura, losing interest completely.

Feeling worn out, Lakshman rolled over and moved to lie down with his head on the provided pillows. The comfortable feeling was so great, the moment he closed his eyes, he instantly fell into a deep sleep. It was not until several hours later that he was awoken by the a ringing sound, as someone was trying to get his attention from outside the room.

Lakshman was in deep sleep and, so, missed the sounds. When the ringing sound continued to blare in the room, his mind slowly arose and he slowly opened his eyes to find himself feeling confused. For a moment, he believed he could not understand where he was until his mind became active and his eyes widened in realisation of the place he was at. When he heard the ringing sound once more, he sat upright and looked towards the door.

“View!” He called, remembering the command was used to show them who was standing outside.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then came the ringing sound once more. He did not understand why the voice command had failed when he suddenly remembered what Asura had done earlier.

“Oh! Forcefield and Sound Zero are still active! I completely forgot about those,” he said, smiling sheepishly at himself. After cancelling them, he finally said, “View!”

In an instant, a holographic presentation of the view from outside the room came into display. There, he saw that a well-dressed man wearing black and white was standing outside his room, holding a tray with a lid on the top. Feeling confused, he spoke in a loud voice so that the speaker picked up his voice and fed it to the outside for the butler to hear him.

“What is it?”

“Sir! I’ve come to take your measurements in order to prepare the garments to wear for you to attend tonight’s party,” the man replied courteously.

“Oh! Just a second!” Lakshman said, jumping off the bed and straightening his clothes by saying, “Unlock.”

As the door clicked, Asura spoke in his mind, “When did you start caring about appearances?”

“I didn’t really care much because of who I am, but this is different. I have an appearance of a dignified, respectful and handsome warrior that is also a hero. So, it’s only given that I try to look my best in front of others to make a good impression,” replied Lakshman, speaking in his mind to Asura so that the butler would not hear him.

“Oh? So, for once in your life, you’re actually going to attract and charm her into falling in love with you?” Asura asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. “I never thought we’d have to use physical attraction to get our way, but can you really call that love when they love your appearance and not your heart?”

Lakshman smiled to himself and thought, “I love my wife, and I’ll do whatever means necessary to acquire her, but I won’t force her even if she were to… to… reject me.”

His voice became tight at the words as such a thought caused him to shiver for a moment in fright. The only family he had left, other than his sisters and Mariana, was his wives and any one of them rejecting him would be fatal. As such, he believed to proceed with all his heart and acquire the love of his wife once again.

“Although, it does feel a little strange to make someone love me when they’re already my wife back in my world,” he thought finally, smiling at the silly situation he found himself under.

“Good luck with that. I’ll be supporting you from here,” replied Asura in a humours voice.

“You do that,” thought Lakshman with a confident smile on his face.

The butler proceeded to brandish a large object that was shaped like an orb, which whirred into live with a small mechanical sound when the butler pressed some buttons on the device attached to his wrist. He requested Lakshman to stand still and spread his arms out so that the robot could scan him and obtain his dimensions for his clothing. So, Lakshman did as he was told and the machine floated around, scanning his entire body with a laser light emitting from the scanning device shaped like a small orb, located at the front of the machine.

“Wow!” Lakshman said, amazed at the way the machine was floating around while scanning his body. “So, just like that, you can get my measurements? No need for tape measures at all?”

“Certainly not, sir,” the butler replied, shaking his head. “Using tape measures has long been forgotten, ever since the arrival of this 3D Hover Scanner. It helps us to quickly obtain the measurements from the person and then proceed to interact with our fabrication devices. We also use it for medical purposes to investigate any problems that might be occurring inside the victim’s body in order to cure them.”

“Nice! That sounds fantastic!” Lakshman replied, smiling broadly while feeling amazed with the advanced technology.

After a few more seconds of scanning, the butler seemed to decide that he had all the data he needed.

“Thank you very much for your cooperation, sir,” the butler said, smiling and recalling the machine back to the tray by pressing more buttons on his device. When it touched down and seemed to power off, he placed the lid back on it to cover it from view.

“How long will it take for you to prepare them?” Lakshman asked out of curiosity.

“Not long,” the butler replied, turning to smile warmly at the hero. “I will return with several selections within half-an-hour. In the meantime, please take a shower and be ready.”

“Wow. That’s fast!” Lakshman replied, making the man smile softly at him before taking his leave, closing the door lightly behind. After locking the door, Lakshman reactivated Sound Zero and muttered, “Technology sure makes everything easier.”

“Yes, but it makes people become lazy thanks to the lack of hard work involved,” replied Asura in his mind in a disapproving voice. “On top of that, he’s relying on that device to use magic on that thing. You’ve sensed it too, right?”

“Yeah. Magic Force is definitely involved in its execution,” said Lakshman, walking over and sitting down on the bed with his feet touching the floor. He pondered for a moment before saying, “They rely on those devices to use magic, almost as if they didn’t evolve like us to use magic by nature. However, their technological advancements are not something to ignore.”

“You might be right, but for all their advanced technology, they couldn’t deal with a single alien attack! Honestly, I find that appalling!” Asura said critically.

“Give it a rest,” said Lakshman, smiling genially. “These people haven’t encountered the problems of facing monsters daily, having to adventure out to earn a living and face enormous villains with unbelievable powers. So, I think it’s to be expected that they’d focus their technology towards the development of their civilisation.”

Asura chuckled but did not say anything as there was nothing to remark about his present self’s statement. It was indeed true that, now that they took notice, that everything in the room seemed to be filtered by something. The air felt fresh, cool and rather calming compared to how a room would normally feel like, even if it was looked after quite a bit. Lakshman noticed that a large horizontal object, wall mounted, was the one that was controlling the room’s atmosphere, temperature and humidity.

“Climate control… Interesting. Looks like there’s more to this world than I realised,” commented Lakshman, walking over to inspect the large object with interest.

“Whatever. Go have your bath because that guy will be back soon, and he looked like one of those strict time followers,” stated Asura in a stern voice.

Nodding in agreement, Lakshman ventured into the attached bathroom and was marvelled by its beauty. The whole room seems to shine as it was elegantly built with beautiful sections, making it a whole new experience for him. Operating the bath was also new to him because it operated on voice command, allowing him to control the temperature of the water just by saying the name of the temperature he wanted.

The water supply was also voice controlled, allowing water to flow through the shower head when he said, “Flow,” and would stop when he said, “Stop.” Even the soap that he used created more bubbles than he had ever experienced with the ones he used back in his home world.

“I could get used to this,” he said casually while in the midst of his bath.

“Please don’t because you’ll clearly regret returning,” said Asura sternly, making Lakshman laugh.

It took him several minutes, as he was enjoying the bath, before finally coming out just as the ringing sound came from the door. He deactivated Sound Zero and unlocked the door, allowing the butler walk in, carrying five differently made clothes that were both rich in look, grand in design and fashionable in style. There was even a cape attached to the back side of the clothes, making him realise these were party clothes befitting of a hero.

“Sir, I would like to introduce the beautician, Audrina,” the butler said, turning towards the door and saying, “Please come in, Miss Audrina.”

At his call, a lady with extravagant beauty entered the room, followed by three other women that were clearly her assistants. At first sight, Lakshman thought she was beautiful, with the style and movement she performed with each stride, but quickly realised the amount of substance on her face that seemed somewhat unnatural. It made him realise that she was wearing a thick layer of makeup to make her looks all the more beautiful than they originally were.

The woman, Audrina, was wearing black shaded glasses that gave her a great sense of pride and confidence. However, upon setting her eyes on him, she instantly froze and slowly took her glasses off to goggle at him with a look of wonder on her face.

“Oh wow. A handsome young man,” she commented, a bright smile forming on her face. “The most handsome person I’ve ever met. What’s your name?”

Lakshman was disturbed, both by her complimenting his facial features and her sudden desire to know his name. Thankfully, he was saved the trouble when the butler introduced Lakshman to the lady wearing a lot of makeup as the Solaris Hero, Asura.

She looked at him with an expression of wonder and said, in a quiet voice, “I see. Asura. It’s a nice name. I’ll remember it.”

Inwardly, he shuddered at the way she said it with such a longing look in her eyes, which made him think, “Oh man! She’s disturbing!”

“Yes. This woman is certainly different,” replied Asura, agreeing with his other self, “but keep your cool and act calm.”

He tried his best to make a good fake smile and said, “Nice to meet you, Miss Audrina.”

She lifted a finger and weaved it in front of her while saying, “Tat. Tat. Not good, young man. Call me Audrina.”

He blinked once at her in surprise before slowly saying, “Y-Yes… Nice to meet you, Audrina.” As she beamed at him, he thought, “Oh man! Is she trying to hit on me? Seriously? She is dangerous!”

“Now! It’s time!” She said and clapped her hands, turning to focus on her three attendants. “Ladies, if you please?”

Nodding wordlessly at her request, they instantly placed the briefcases they were carrying on the floor. After straightening up, they clicked several times on the devices attached on their wrists and pointed at the cases. In an instant, the three cases started to transform into a portal parlour, containing all the materials, creams, powders and the kit that was used for makeup purposes.

Once it was readied, the three girls stepped back and took on a ready stance, putting on aprons to protect their clothing.

Audrina turned to Lakshman with a beaming smile and said, “Asura! We’re ready. Come on over and take a seat right here,” and she patted the comfortable looking chair as an indication.

Lakshman remained frozen on the spot, stunned by what he was seeing. It slowly dawned on him what they were about to do to him, which made him remember what the butler had said when he welcomed the four women into the room.

“Beautician.”

He looked at the and then at her, who was showing him a bright smile, and asked, “Are you… going to use make up on me?”

“Of course!” She said firmly, rising her tightly clenched fists with determination. “It’s number one rule for any person to appear the best that they could possibly be at parties! That’s why, god has graced us with the knowledge to improve ourselves by using these things. Now, it’s your turn to appear more handsome than you had ever been in your whole life! You will be truly beautiful!”

Lakshman’s eyes shot up at that statement, and fuel was added to the fire by Asura’s next comment, which he said while chuckling with laughter.

“So…! Beautiful hero, please go on ahead and become more beautiful than you ever were!”

Anger suddenly surged within him and his face contorted into fury as he shouted, “No…! No way…! Hell no!”