Oliver made his way to the permanent gate at the centre of the military base. Soon, a large parabolic arch came into his view.
The arch was a hundred meters wide, constructed entirely of metal, and was glowing in a pale blue light.
It was a marvel of tech and magic.
Yes, magic.
That was the only way to describe how the gate works.
Although humans have a vague understanding of the principle behind it, they can only keep the gate open by using a special material found on Second Earth, known as a void stone.
The exact mechanism behind the void stone and why it can transform standard gates into permanent ones remains a subject of ongoing study to this day. And there would be no scientific breakthrough on that front for the foreseeable future.
The only reason humanity discovered that the void stone interacted with the gate and stabilised it was when they transported a large quantity of it through one of the open gates. If they hadn't found it out, there would have never been any permanent gates that connected Earth with Second Earth.
'Void stones are rare and found in limited quantities in ancient ruins across the second Earth. Due to their use, they are strictly regulated. No one person, business, or entity could buy and sell it.'
'However, villains, the lawless bunch, would still get their hands on a few and would stabilise smaller gates to gain their entry to the second earth.'
'Which also means demons would use those gates.'
'There were a lot of people screwing over the entire world.' Oliver thought.
In the past, he was also one of the people who screwed over the world. In his defence, he really didn't like the way the government was locking down the distribution of void stones. They were certainly acting like thugs. And as a villain, he couldn't use the government facility to go to Second Earth and had to rely on some other means.
'I can't blame myself for being resourceful.'
'But at the end of the day, the government can't be blamed either.'
'After all, just because I didn't like how the government was controlling nuclear tech doesn't mean I would like everyone to have it. The void stones were on par with nuclear tech if misused because there were other uses to void stones that humans have yet to uncover.'
'Anyway, I should think about it later.'
The inside of the arch showed disturbing swirls of lights that twisted and mixed in an unrecognisable pattern.
'The same as I remember it.' Oliver said to himself and walked towards it.
Currently, dozens of people were walking towards it, just as he was.
Security personnel stood by to protect the gate.
As Oliver walked closer, he noticed trucks moving into the gate and disappearing through a separate path nearby.
The gate was used in a way that half of it was used for outgoing traffic and the other for incoming.
Oliver was using the outgoing side, in which a segment was allocated for people.
After waiting in a queue for a few minutes, Oliver reached the exit.
His identity was quickly verified, and he was asked to pass through the swirling lights of the gate.
Oliver nodded and entered the gate.
*Swish*
His vision blurred as random lights entered his eyes. He couldn't focus on anything, and he felt his senses close off.
However, that feeling lasted only for a second as his foot landed on the other side of the gate.
*Swoosh*
The light that was twisting unwound itself as the other side came into his view.
*Whoo*
Oliver breathed out and took in a fresh gulp of air.
"I am back." He muttered in a fantastic mood.
After returning to the past, he finally returned to Earth.
The faint yet familiar breath of air lifted his mood as he strode towards the exit.
—
The Federation.
A logistical powerhouse made up of more than fifty scattered city-states that were once countries of their own. It was the only entity that spans all five continents and is directly connected with every other country.
Oliver was a citizen of the Federation. He took his first step on Earth, watching the blue flag of the Federation blowing in the wind.
The flag had a blue background and fifty-six white stars of varying sizes in a circular formation around a small white star in the centre.
There were thin, barely visible lines connecting the stars to the star in the centre.
At a glance, the stars look a little disorganised and cluttered. But it was the true nature of the Federation. The position of each star was chosen by the then countries, now states of the federation.
Oliver walked briskly out of the area where the gate was.
It was like leaving an airport. He had to go through some formalities.
Within a few minutes, he reached the exit.
"Huh!"
Suddenly, his eyes caught two people standing near the exit.
"Mom! Dad!"
He never expected to see his mother and father there.
"Well, I forgot that it was customary for parents to come and welcome their children after they return from military training," Oliver muttered as if he were talking about someone else.
The closer he walked to the exit, the clearer the faces of his parents became.
It all felt a little unreal for Oliver.
He felt a little bit lost.
Suddenly, he saw his mother walk closer and stuffed a sweet in his mouth. Then, she hugged him gently.
For a second, Oliver felt his eyes turn watery. Immediately, he did everything to stop the flow of water. He was friggin too old to cry.
Like always, he suppressed his emotions with his iron will.
Similar to him, other students were exiting the gate. And their parents were rushing in and stuffing their mouths with sweets too.
All of them were laughing and smiling, and he was the only one desperately trying to hold back his tears.
"Mom."
"Dad." Oliver looked at his father, who sandwiched him in a hug.
It was a little embarrassing for him, but he let them hug him.
"Ah!" Suddenly, he remembered something and took out a small card from his pocket.
"Dad, it's for you." He said and handed over the card, which had something scribbled on it.
"What is it?"
Both of them released him and asked.
"It's the autograph I got from Thunder Emperor. He is the headmaster of the military academy."
The gift was unexpected, and his father was an avid fan of Thunder Emperor. Immediately, his father's face broke out in a smile.
The new mushroom farmer quickly brought it closer to take a look.
"AH! It's real." He said, forgetting his age.
"Of course it is," Oliver said.
Meanwhile, Maya, Oliver's mother, looked at it and smiled.
Her usually moody son looked much better than she had expected after completing military training. She was happy.