Jake slowly opened his eyes.
For a moment, everything felt… wrong.
The air.
The ground.
Even his own body.
Joshen stood a few steps away, staring at him with the same confused expression.
They both looked down at themselves.
A long silence followed.
Then Jake sighed.
"…Of course."
Joshen frowned.
"What?"
Jake rubbed his face.
"We're not in our own bodies again."
Joshen blinked.
He looked down again.
Then at Jake.
Then back at himself.
"…You have got to be kidding me."
Jake suddenly froze.
He looked around the sanctuary carefully.
The stone walls.
The burning torches.
The quiet wind passing through the open entrance.
Then his eyes widened slightly.
"Wait."
Joshen raised an eyebrow.
"What now?"
Jake pointed outside.
"I know this place."
Joshen folded his arms.
"Oh really? That's fantastic. Please tell me this isn't another one of your 'long stories.'"
Jake ignored the sarcasm.
"I've been here before."
Joshen laughed.
"Sure you have."
Jake shook his head.
"No. I'm serious."
He took a slow breath.
"I was here during my trial."
Joshen stopped laughing.
"A trial?"
Jake nodded.
"Yeah."
He glanced toward the outside again.
"This is where I was with the Barbarian of Pride."
Jake looked at him seriously.
"Joshen. This isn't the time to fool around."
Joshen noticed the change in Jake's tone.
Jake continued.
"When you entered that world in my body… it was only four days for you."
Joshen nodded slowly.
Jake's voice became heavier.
"But for me… it was much longer."
Joshen frowned slightly.
"And now we've also been here for four days."
Jake looked toward the horizon outside the sanctuary.
"Imagine how much time has passed in the real world."
Then he added quietly:
"And there's going to be a war soon."
Joshen didn't respond.
But inside his mind, a thought appeared.
Kame never told me anything about this.
Jake started walking toward the exit.
"Come on."
Joshen followed him.
As they stepped outside the sanctuary—
A massive presence immediately filled the air.
Standing ahead of them was a towering figure.
The Barbarian of Pride.
His enormous body radiated a terrifying force that seemed to press down on the ground itself.
His sharp eyes locked onto them.
"Ohhh…"
His deep voice echoed through the air.
"So you finally came."
Then he looked closer.
His brow furrowed.
"But wait…"
His gaze settled on Jake.
"Who is this young Kame?"
Jake raised a hand.
"Okay, first of all—"
He pointed at himself.
"I am not Kame."
Then he pointed at Joshen.
"I am Jake."
Then he paused.
"Actually… no."
He sighed.
"This is complicated."
Pride stared at him silently.
Jake tried again.
"I mean, I was the same person who was with you from the beginning but—"
Pride suddenly interrupted.
"I don't care."
The air grew heavier.
"Whoever you are, it doesn't matter."
His voice became serious.
"We need you."
Jake blinked.
"The war is about to begin."
Jake froze.
Pride continued.
"Your friends Catia and Josehen have completed their training."
Jake was about to respond—
But something suddenly clicked in his mind.
"Wait."
Pride looked at him.
Jake frowned.
"What about the third trial?"
Pride raised an eyebrow.
"The third trial?"
Jake nodded.
"You told me there were three trials after I passed the first one."
Pride stared at him for a moment.
Then he slowly shook his head.
"Young boy…"
"There was only one trial."
Jake blinked.
"What?"
Pride crossed his arms.
"But… I understand now."
"This is a rare case."
Jake waited.
Pride continued.
"Sometimes… a person experiences multiple stages within a single trial."
"You were never in different trials."
"You were always inside the first one."
Joshen stood behind Jake, listening quietly.
Outwardly he looked bored.
But inside…
He felt the tension.
Suddenly—
A loud ROARING SOUND echoed through the sky.
Something was flying toward them.
Rock music blasted loudly from the machine.
Jake squinted.
"What the hell…?"
A strange flying device descended from the sky and landed nearby.
Sitting on top of it—
Catia.
And Josehen.
The original Kame.
Jake's eyes widened.
They looked at each other for a moment.
Then everyone started laughing in disbelief.
After everything that had happened—
They were finally together again.
Jake, Joshen, and Kame stood side by side for the first time.
Soon after, they explained everything to Catia.
How the body swapping had happened.
And Joshen had even ended up in the world Jake originally came from.
Catia listened carefully.
Joshen suddenly pointed at the flying machine.
"What is this cool device you guys came in?"
Jake grinned.
Catia crossed her arms proudly.
"You weren't the only one training."
Before anyone could continue—
Pride suddenly stepped forward.
His voice echoed like thunder.
"Enough."
Everyone went silent.
Pride looked at them all.
"Enjoy your reunion while you can."
Then he turned and began walking away.
"In three days…"
"The Great War will begin."
He stopped and glanced back at them.
"Come to the base."
The wind grew stronger around them.
The trial…
Was finally over.
But the real battle—
Was about to start.