Chapter 678 Who is Ryn?!

'WHO IS RYN?!'

Moranti's telepathic shout rang through Jack's mind, not letting Jack enough room for thought.

'Jack, who is Ryn?!' Moranti repeated, glaring angrily at Jack. 'Tell me!'

Sighing, Jack fell back onto the couch. 'Why did you bring him here? Leave him in Trodar till tomorrow. We don't need him--'

'Tell me, Jack. Just tell me!'

'... How about we both go back to Trodar?' Jack insisted, 'We'll talk there.'

'Fine!'

Moranti teleported the three back to Trodar without wasting another second. They appeared just beyond the gathering that was dying down. But the moment Moranti threw Tralbok back into the open courtyard, cheers filled the air as Rikko hurriedly hung the hostage god back up for everyone to hit like a piñata.

"Now talk!" roared Moranti while casting silence around the two, showing his uncharacteristically short temper and seriousness.

Jack scratched his head and asked, "Who told you? Zariff?"

"That doesn't matter, now talk!"

"Calm down and let me explain," reasoned Jack, waiting for Moranti to visibly start relaxing. It took a few moments but Moranti's breathing was almost back to normal and Jack assumed that's the best Moranti could manage without knowing more. "First off, he's not who you think he is. He's--"

"Is he Skaryn or not?!"

"No…" Jack sighed, seeing a lot of Moratni's pent-up restlessness subside. "Ryn isn't even his real name."

"Then why--"

"Because the best way to hide someone's identity is by assuming the identity of another," reasoned Jack. "Ryn is an alias and nothing more. Should he get caught, it would be better that he falsify his identity from the get-go, that way his true self can remain hidden at all cost."

"Then… who is he really? I want to see his real face."

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

Understanding Moratni's stubbornness, Jack teleported the two of them into his office for more privacy. "One second. Let me switch places."

Not understanding what Jack meant, Moratni was confused when Jack altered his robe to mimic the helmed swordsman's armor. When Jack next equipped an identical helmet, Moranti was puzzled further but said nothing to stop Jack.

A flash a purple light appeared as Jack vanished yet a figure in identical clothing was left standing in front of Moranti, only a bit taller and broader.

Before Moranti could say anything, the man's helmet was removed and revealed a dark-skinned face covered in illusory energy.

"Sk-Skaryn?" mumbled Moranti completely puzzled.

"Nope…" Shaking his head, that illusory energy poured over the man's entire body and changed the man's appearance to an equally familiar person. "Sorry you found out this way… I just need to hide the fact I have a second body and I felt doing this was the best way to scare the other gods in the case they destroy the helmet in battle."

"I-I… It makes sense, I guess…" Moranti sighed, fumbling his words and thoughts. "I never sensed it via the seal… So it makes sense why you're not… him."

"But you've got to admit, seeing that would terrify any of the other gods the moment they discover who I 'really am', right?"

"Yeah…" Moranti weakly laughed, trying to let his pounding heart calm down. "How did you know about his obsession with colada?"

"Moranti, there was an entire brand called 'Skaryn's' back in the day. It wasn't hard to learn for any ancient hero dedicated to learning Kartonian history and lore," stated Jack, ignoring the fact that it was merely the flavor text of that colada brand's many drinks.

"Right… I guess you have a point… And you've seen Skaryn personally… But you really pay attention to detail!" shouted Moranti, shaking his head to try and grasp the situation through laughter. "You even got the scar hidden in his eyebrow!"

"Who wouldn't?" laughed Jack. "Anyway… Would you mind playing along or acting like you never learned my 'name'?"

"Sure… I can call you that… But tell me… How did you know?"

"Know what?" asked Jack.

"How did you know about his last name? Or his nickname? He never shared that with anyone he wasn't extremely close to… Not even the other Chaotic gods know about those…"

"Like I said, never doubt the information gathering ability of an ancient hero dedicated to learning EVERYTHING about Kartonia, past, present, and future," Jack stated with a sly smile and a wink. "Don't tell me you don't believe me? If anything, your mutual seal is the best indicator of that… not to mention my skill with space magic, something Skaryn doesn't have..."

"You're right… Sorry, I just wasn't expecting a situation like this…" mumbled Moranti, getting quieter and quieter as his mind tried harder to return to reality.

"Don't worry about it." Smiling, Jack took out a few large kegs of the best Colada he had. "Here, take this as my apology. I recovered my ancient stash after raiding my own tomb in Earthen Keep."

"Thanks!" Immediately accepting the ancient liquor, Moranti tried harder to sway his mind back to what was logical. "I guess… we can get back to the party…"

"Go ahead. I've got a couple of things to handle before I head back to Glacier Reef."

"Okay… thanks for the drink!" As Moranti teleported away, he waved with a sad smile and disappointed eyes.

Now alone in the office, Jack's second body released a long sigh while scanning the room. Then, he took out the thirty sacred fruits he had picked earlier. The first bite brought a raging smile to his face. "So this is what we were missing…"

Quickly, all of the fruits were consumed and Jack's second body blinked back into his room at the Glacial Palace. After reequipping his roxite helmet and readjusting his body to Skaryn's proportions, another flash of spatial energy took place as the two body's swapped places.

Now back in his room without anyone else to interrupt him, Jack cast silence through the room and started thinking aloud to continue his brainstorming.

'What are those fruits, exactly? They should be from beyond Kartonia and they help our second ascension, right?'