On any other day, Esae and Tae would've happily taken this kind of responsibility. 

They were avid readers of manga and whatnot. So naturally, they would love to live their lives like their favourite characters.

However, when faced with something of this scale in actuality, their guts seemed to shrink. It seemed like they would ask for anything to go back to their normal monotonous lives once again. No matter how boring it was, it was definitely better than hearing the world was going to end and there was nothing they could do about it.

Yes, as hard as it was for them to believe, they would rather have the comfort of the sofa than hear about their dimension getting destroyed. And it wasn’t just their dimension, other dimensions would also be affected by the after-effects.

They simply couldn’t play the hero even if they wanted to. It was out of their hands. After all, this wasn’t a mere story where the main character would get a cheat sheet or an S class skill that would put them at an astronomical advantage to others.

This wasn’t a story where they knew the future, neither did they have any ability to alter it.

There would be no magical hero to save the day. A long sigh was let out by Esae and Tae, followed by Jay’s casual interrogation of Nova.

“So how long do we have to stay here?” 

“Well, for now, till the agency has tracked down the ASR. I’m sorry but if you were any other IEs we could’ve let you all go but you guys are important,” She said looking back at Esae and Tae.

“…Something to do with Tae’s father, I believe?” 

Tae’s ears perked up at the mention of his father.

“Yes, unfortunately. I am sorry I won’t be able to elaborate more.”

Seeing Tae’s reaction from the corner of his eyes, Esae said, “It’s okay. We’ll wait for the investigation to get over. We can’t know anything for certain until it is over.”

Tae’s eyes fell to the ground.

“Yes, that would be for the best,” Nova replied. 

Jay and Esae could tell that she wasn’t particularly keen on answering further questions and was just trying to sound as polite as possible.

“So we’ll be staying here for a few days then?” Jay asked

“I suppose so; the investigation might take up to a week. Though that's the maximum amount of time, so don’t worry, you’ll be back before you know it.” She flashed one of her famous smiles.

Even though it was a warm bright smile, it did not change the atmosphere. In her defence she tried her best.  Reaching a white metallic door, Nova stopped abruptly. She punched a code on a blue holographic pad that was in place of the door handle. She showed them the code for their convenience.

Opening the door she said, “This is a temporary room for now. Someone will drop by and hand over the bracelets. Until then, please try not to have any contact.”

“After we have sorted out some things, you’ll be taken to a secure facility…most probably the Betan Embassy.”

The three men could say nothing but have enervated expressions.

It was truly a lot to take in for one day. They stepped inside reluctantly, only to be greeted by a room that was painted in a beautiful shade of pearl white from ceiling to floor. It had quite a modernistic touch to it. The walls were covered in Modern art, and bookcases were lined alongside it. A coffee table, in the middle of the room surrounded by a lavender coloured sofa set, stood on a rectangular textured rug.

The room was decorated with flowers and a small snack bar was situated at one corner of the room. They dubiously walked around, then looked back at Nova.

“Oh and don’t worry about your work and college. We took care of it. We sent a notice to both of your colleges that you won't be able to attend for a while.”

She looked at Jay next,“And to your work too. Your shop has been closed off properly as well. Nothing missing or stolen. A notice has been sent to your other work too- so no payment will be docked.” She smiled again.

The door was closed and the three of them were left alone in the room feeling muddled and disoriented.

Jay took a seat on the sofa. He sunk into it comfortably and sighed. It was the only comfort of the day. He took out his phone and switched it on. There was no signal. He put it back in his pocket defeatedly.

Recounting the events of the day he couldn’t really believe what they had gotten into. He went over everything Reina, Nova, and Anakin had explained to them.

He remembered how, ever since he was a little boy, he’d be so engrossed in the different aspects of life- from the workings of the universe to philosophy, and even Fine arts.

He looked back at those days where a little boy with dirt blond hair, would spend his free time reading books and watching documentaries. It boggled his tiny mind- So many possibilities and so many mysteries, all waiting to be unraveled. Jay laid his head on the backrest of the sofa and stared at the ceiling.

He remembered how there was an article he had read, not long ago, about the Multiverse theory. He found it so fascinating, he even forced Esae to read it.

Yet after knowing that it actually exists, he couldn’t almost fathom it.

On top of that, there was another piece of information that was bothering him- Tae’s father. Reina had mentioned him a while ago. 

If it is who he thought it was, then…

No…I shouldn't get my hopes up. It's useless... It’s definitely not him… Even if it was-

He slowly closed his eyes, breathing softly. 

On the other side of the room, Tae clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. He finally had some time to breathe and process everything in. However, this didn’t mean his mind would be at peace. 

First, he found his "doppelgänger" at a shop who happens to have contact with him and they ended up causing a very perilous phenomenon; then he met two people part of a secret organisation claiming he was from a different dimension altogether, and then he met his …dad’s friend- someone he had only seen in pictures.

To top it off- there was now suspicion over his father being part of some anti-government group. He cursed internally at his father- why didn’t he tell him anything.

He started to wonder whether or not his father played any part in this. 

No matter how much thought he gave in to it, he landed on the same conclusion every time.

 His dad must have been part of the uprising and the ASR. 

But there was no point in moping around, things would get nowhere by blaming Reina and Anakin for being merciless with the facts.

Waking towards the bookshelves, he wondered why he couldn’t remember much of Alpha.

 Taking a trip down memory lane, only fragments of disjointed memories lingered in his mind.

Yellowish skies, a desolate place and….

Chaos - the only word imprinted in his mind about his past.