For several seconds she remained completely motionless while the ripple expanded farther and farther through the Blue Spiral Galaxy, racing through star systems and void routes with impossible speed.
Then suddenly her eyes opened.
"It reached the outer boundary."
The next moment she waved her hand and space folded around all of us.
And suddenly we stood within the void itself near the outer edge of the Blue Spiral where the Crimson Zone had been slowly consuming the galaxy for years.
The crimson mist stretched endlessly before us.
Then the ripple arrived.
The moment the crimson-gold wave touched the advancing mist, countless runes bloomed across space itself like stars igniting one after another. A shield began forming directly before our eyes, continuously, expanding outward in every direction while layers of ancient inscriptions spread across its surface.
The barrier stretched farther.
And farther.
Until it became impossible to properly comprehend its scale anymore.
The Crimson Zone pushed against it violently at certain points, crimson mist surging like a living tide trying to force itself deeper into the galaxy, but the shield held firm while the runes burned brighter with every impact.
Slowly, steadily, the entire visible boundary of the Blue Spiral sealed beneath the crimson-gold barrier.
And finally, the advance stopped.
For a long moment none of us spoke.
We simply stood there watching the endless shield spread across the galaxy while the Crimson Zone remained trapped beyond it for the first time in countless years.
Relief slowly spread across everyone’s expressions. Beside me, North moved slightly closer while staring silently at the shield.
Vivi smiled softly while the light of the barrier reflected in her violet eyes.
"The Blue Spiral is finally completely safe from one of the dangers atleast," she whispered.
*********
By the time we returned to Abor, the atmosphere around everyone had changed completely. Even Ragnar looked strangely relaxed while walking back through the streets of the capital city, although he still loudly insisted that the barrier deserved a proper celebration involving alcohol and several destroyed mountains.
Eventually I sent everyone back to the core. Primus left first after reminding me that the academy construction would be completed within the month. Even Vivi eventually excused herself after lingering around a little longer than normal.
"Try not to disappear into another world again without informing anyone this time," she said while narrowing her violet eyes at me.
"Well you have your eyes everywhere don’t you."
She sighed dramatically before vanishing through space itself. North and I remained standing near the balcony overlooking the glowing capital city of Abor. The noise from earlier had faded now, replaced by the calmer atmosphere of late evening while distant lights stretched endlessly beneath the night sky and the cool breeze moved softly through the streets below.
North leaned lightly against the railing while looking toward the city before finally turning her head toward me.
"You know," she said quietly, "your grandmother has been waiting for you the entire day."
I looked at her.
"She kept pretending she wasn’t worried," North continued with a faint smile, "but every day she would ask Vivi whether you had returned yet."
I chuckled softly hearing that.
"She even refused to sleep properly," North added while shaking her head slightly. "She said if her grandson was returning after disappearing into another world, then she would personally make dinner for him."
That actually made me pause for a second. Then North stepped closer beside me.
"So," she said while lightly nudging my shoulder, "before you go back to conquering galaxies and terrifying gods again... maybe go home first."
I smiled faintly.
"Yeah," I replied quietly while looking toward the distant lights of Abor again. "That sounds good."
Soon we arrived at the place she was staying and as always grandmother insisted on cooking personally despite the absurd number of servants available within Abor now, and after enough arguing from her side and surrender from ours, the three of us eventually ended up seated around a smaller dining table near the open balcony of the house while the night breeze drifted softly through the room.
Grandmother placed another plate in front of me before shaking her head.
"You became thinner."
I stared at her blankly.
"That is just not possible. I have barely gone for a month and conquered a world while doing that."
"And apparently forgot how to eat properly while doing it."
North immediately failed to hide her smile.
I sighed. "You too?"
"Oh no," North replied while leaning slightly against the chair beside me. "Tonight I’m definitely on her side."
Grandmother looked entirely too pleased hearing that.
"Good," she said before finally sitting down herself. "At least someone here has common sense."
For a while the conversation remained simple. Mostly small things. Stories about Abor, people asking about me while I was gone, Ragnar accidentally terrifying half a district during training, and Ash apparently disappearing for three weeks before casually returning like nothing happened.
Then somehow the discussion shifted toward my childhood. Which immediately became dangerous.
North realized that too late.
"You know," Grandmother said while looking toward her with a suspiciously innocent expression, "he was actually a very troublesome child."
I narrowed my eyes immediately.
She ignored me completely.
"When he was around six," she continued calmly, "he once tried to create a fire technique after secretly reading one of his father’s books."
North looked interested instantly.
"Oh?"
"He gathered all the neighborhood children," Grandmother continued while struggling not to laugh already, "made them sit in a circle, then told them he had discovered how to absorb fire energy faster."
North was openly smiling now.
I rubbed my forehead slowly.
"He then made them breathe together for almost three hours," Grandmother said proudly, "until every single one of them fainted from exhaustion."
North chuckled immediately.
"I was experimenting," I defended myself.
"You were six."
"It was still valid research."
Grandmother pointed at me dramatically.
"You see? He still says things like this."
North laughed harder while I just leaned back in defeat.
"And that wasn’t even the worst one," Grandmother continued while clearly enjoying herself now. "There was also the time he tried sneaking outside the city because he believed there was a hidden dragon cave nearby."
North looked toward me again. "Please tell me you didn’t."
"I absolutely did. I heard the stories so Steve and I tried to find it."
Grandmother nodded immediately.
"He disappeared for almost an entire day. We searched everywhere thinking something terrible had happened." She paused before smiling faintly at the memory. "In the end we found him asleep near the outer gate because he got tired halfway through the journey."
"This dinner was a mistake."
"No," Grandmother said softly this time while looking at me properly. "This is the first peaceful dinner we’ve had in a very long time."
Then Grandmother reached over and placed one hand lightly over mine.
"North told me you are going to Rank up soon. You’ve carried enough burdens already," she said quietly. "So at least tonight... just stay home."
I looked at her for a moment before nodding slowly.