Ethan slowly woke up, his entire body aching like never before. He grunted as he slowly rose from his bed, looking around to see that he was no longer in his bed on the farm, but still in the futuristic trappings of the world that he had came to. It had appeared that things were no dream. His eyes glanced over at a tube in which Vatara had been held. She was left to sit in the strange liquids, her body completely asleep as she absorbed their regenerative juices. "She's hurt bad. But she'll live."

There he went again. Even though it was clear that he was concerned, Saraz maintained a stoic look. Ethan had met people like him in high school, people who on the inside were in great pain but were incapable of showing it. He had spent his entire life learning to hide his emotions that he never truly understood the struggle of those who could display to others physically and tonally what they really felt.

Ethan weakly turned his attention to the source of the voice. It was Saraz. In spite of the injuries that he sustained, he appeared to be in the same condition that they first met. "We Enduri...endure."

The raven haired man's eyes lit up slightly at the mention of that race. Woden was a member of that clan of beings. "You asked me to fight your war...who is it that I'm fighting against?"

The redhead let out a sigh. "Long ago, before the human race was sired there was a group of beings known as the World Shapers. They were the most advanced race of their time and even now their technology is heavily coveted. They held the ability to seed worlds with life and create new races. One of these races was the Enduri. They were beings gifted with all kinds of talents that manifested themselves in strange and great powers. They needed not to create great spacefaring technology or weapons...for their bodies could travel through the stars and their powers were the greatest weapons in the cosmos. The Enduri spread throughout the universe and stole technology from other races to build their empire."

Ethan sat up from his bed. "What happened to them? How come I've never heard of these beings?"

"You have heard of them. Their stories are recorded in the mythologies of your various Earth cultures. All echoes that were changed over time. They became so prideful with their natural abilities that they claimed themselves to be gods and demanded the worship of other races. For a time they were successful in this endeavor. However, the World Shapers had seen the suffering of their other creations at the hands of the Enduri and seeded a new being not born of flesh but of pure energy to defeat them: the Nethel. The Nethel were created to destroy the Enduri and at the behest of their fathers the two races waged war. Both races were brought to near extinction once the war ended and at the command of the World Shapers the war was ended and both were exiled to separate worlds."

"Why not just call on the Nethel to help fight against Woden?"

"The homeworld of the Enduri is well known but the Nethel vanished from history. Ethan, one of your ancestors came from this race of beings. I had thought that bringing you to the present would be the end of Woden...my father."

Ethan placed a hand on his forehead. This was a lot to take in. Especially for such a simple man like himself. "I have questions but...I think we've all had a hell of a day so I think I'll pass for now."

The redhead smiled at Ethan. "There's something I think that you should see."

The two of them walked outside of the hospital building that they had been confined to. They had found themselves in another section of the city that hadn't been damaged from the battle, although the desolated sector could be seen from miles away. The future was a strange looking place. Great and mighty white spires soared into the skies and everywhere one walked there was some form of technology. Metal had taken prominence over plants, but a few remained here and there for aesthetic purposes. The streets were littered with vehicles that resembled Ford Seattle-ites. Colorful streaks were spread across almost universally white or beige buildings which were near uniform in aesthetic. Flying machines with wide, wing-like solar sails coated the skies with traffic. The streets were filled not just with men but all kinds of strange aliens from across the cosmos, with the Earth having been transformed into a bigger melting pot of culture than it ever had been before.

The two then came to an elongated building that resembled a longhouse, but far larger and more futuristic looking. It was surrounded by water on all sides with three circular floral gardens proceeding the path to the entrance. Once they entered the building Ethan went to see a rather plain looking interior with a series of golden platforms displaying various holograms. The raven haired male had to admit that the museums he had seen back home were much more impressive with the variety they had in display. The place seemed to sell itself entirely on the novelty of hyper-realistic moving images. But Ethan much preferred a well made wax statue himself.

They walked over to a counter where a woman sat in a crescent chair. There were two antennae sticking out from the top with the arm of the chair possessing a gold typewriter with a light attached to it. "We'll take Platform E-1. Lightcaster Program."

The woman nodded and typed on the keys with lightning speed. "All ready for you, monsieur," she spoke in a sweet and tender voice.

The two made their way to the platform, with a flash of light a large light induced image appeared. Ethan had to admit he was much more impressed up close with the hologram than he was before. Perhaps it was because he was so initially distant from them that he couldn't truly appreciate how hyperrealistic they were.

A man with androgynous features formed out from the light. He had long, onyx hair that drifted down to the ends of his back. A black leather bodysuit was tightly bound to his body through a series of straps with silver buckles tied to every inch of the attire. His face was as pale as the moon and his eyes were yellow as gold. Around him suddenly manifested several other figures that he didn't recognize and lifelike cinematics of great battles fought long ago played out.

Ethan looked up solemnly at the display in spite of its hopeful and empowering aura. "Do I really go on to inspire others? Being the first? You saw me out there...I turned into a monster and started destroying everything. I can't even remember half the things I did when I became that...that thing."

"Without us interfering with the timeline, you became the hero you see before you much later in life due to your mother's insistence of hiding your powers. I theorized that your Nethel abilities must have been hindered because you rarely applied them. It's more than likely that energy form became completely suppressed by the time your brain completed development. It's part of the reason why nobody here recognizes you despite your fame."

"If you changed my past how come the future hasn't changed? Shouldn't everything be different now?"

Saraz shook his head. "Think of time as a beach of sorts. It will take months for the 'wave' of alteration to hit the 'shore' of the timeline. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to correct any alterations to the timeline."

Ethan stepped back and just looked up at the sky through the glass ceiling. At the very least that thing didn't seem to change. "Y'know...growing up I always thought my entire life was going to be living in my cute little town. I spent so many months fretting about a big city...and now I'm in an even bigger one and wrapped up in some...crazy cosmic war. Doesn't that make you feel small? All this space-time crap?"

"No," Saraz bluntly replied.

The two glanced at each other for a moment before their gazes separated. The ginger scratched his chin as he began to search for the right words. "When I decided I didn't want to be like the other Enduri...to not be like my father...I always thought less of myself because I was defying my destiny. In a way, I made myself feel small."

The pair were silent with each other as they let both of their confessions sink in. Their moment was interrupted by loud footsteps echoing throughout the metallic floor. A woman came between them, alluring in the extreme. She was a vermillion skinned woman with thick, wavy black hair. She wore an amethyst gem on her forehead. Upon her chest she wore a metallic bra that only covered the midsection of her breasts. On her knees, wrists, and thighs were matching bracelets. She wore a metallic undergarment that had a purple cloth that hung down to her knees. In spite of her provocative appearance there was hardly anything sultry about her tone or aura. She carried herself with the professionalism of an office worker.

"Excuse me Saraz, I-"

Ethan's face turned just as red as the extraterrestrial in front of him. Vatara's outfit may have raised a few brows in his conservative valued town but this was a whole other extreme. He immediately took off his jacket and offered it to the lady.

She raised a confused and annoyed eyebrow at the human. "Does my body offend you?" she asked with a tinge of venom in her voice.

Saraz placed a hand on Ethan's chest before he could say or do anything too stupid. "He comes from a place far more ignorant than this one. He doesn't share the same values as we do."

The raven haired man had realized his mistake and promptly bowed his head in apology before putting his jacket back on. "Forgive me, miss. It's just not what I'm used to. I shouldn't be telling a lady what she can and can't wear."

Saraz gave Ethan a nod of approval before glancing back to the crimson woman. "What is it you wanted to tell me, Narsei?"

"The Time-Lanes have all been closed off. None of our time travel devices can go back or forwards in time. On top of the 500 casualties suffered yesterday, the 400 injured, we have another 400 that are stranded in various points in history."

The ginger shook his head worriedly. "Father is trying to isolate us and prevent any advanced maneuvering. Ethan, if we don't manage to kill my father and end his grip on time itself...the changes I made to the timeline will be permanent. You will vanish from history and this organization will collapse. Leaving no check on my father to wreak havoc across the entire universe."

Narsei looked on in horror of this new revelation and grasped Saraz firmly. "Enduri...what have you done?!"

"Call a meeting for the squadron. I will explain everything there."