Chapter 1096: I Am Alive
Slowly, I wrapped my arms around her.
For several moments neither of us spoke. My mother continued holding onto me as though she was afraid that the moment she let go, I would disappear again. Years of separation, uncertainty, and grief had been compressed into a single embrace, and I could feel every bit of it in the way her hands refused to loosen their grip.
Then a thought finally occurred to me.
A very important thought.
"Mom."
She didn’t answer immediately. I felt her shake her head against my shoulder.
"No."
The response confused me.
I pulled back slightly.
"No?"
"You don’t get to say anything yet."
Fresh tears escaped despite her attempt to stop them.
"I have spent years wondering what happened to you."
The guilt in her eyes made my chest tighten.
"You should have had a life, Billion."
I glanced toward Julius.
My father looked no better. The relief of seeing me had been completely overshadowed by the belief that I had somehow died and arrived here after them.
Neither of them were seeing a miracle. They were seeing a tragedy.
I couldn’t help it. A laugh escaped me.
Both of them froze. My mother blinked.
Julius frowned.
I shook my head.
"No wonder Roland told me this would be difficult."
Neither of them seemed to understand. I looked between them.
Then sighed.
"Mom."
"What?"
"I’m not dead."
The silence that followed was almost impressive.
My mother stared.
Julius stared.
Even several nearby members of the hunting team stared. I was fairly certain the entire camp had stopped breathing.
Eventually my mother spoke.
"What?"
I pointed at myself.
"I’m alive."
My father looked genuinely offended.
"That is not how this works."
"What?"
"The Null Realm."
He gestured vaguely around us.
"You die. Then you arrive here."
"Normally, yes."
"Then how are you here?"
I shrugged.
"That’s the part that takes a while to explain."
My mother narrowed her eyes. The expression looked so familiar that I nearly laughed again.
"Billion."
"Yes?"
"If this is some kind of joke, now is not the time."
"It’s not a joke."
I hesitated. Then pointed toward her.
"Why don’t you actually check?"
That got their attention.
"You’re both Transcendents. Stop looking at me with your eyes and actually examine me."
For several seconds neither of them reacted. Then understanding slowly appeared.
My mother’s eyes widened first. Julius followed a moment later.
Soul perception expanded. I felt both of them probing my existence properly for the first time since the reunion began.
The reaction was immediate. Their expressions changed.
Shock returned.
Then confusion.
Then complete disbelief.
My mother actually took a step backward. Julius looked as though someone had hit him with a mountain.
"You’re..."
His voice failed him.
I smiled.
"Alive."
The word seemed to echo through the silence. My mother checked again.
Then again. Every examination reached the same conclusion.
I possessed a living body. Everything about me was unmistakably alive.
The realization shattered what little composure remained. Fresh tears filled her eyes.
This time they weren’t born from grief. They were born from relief.
"This....."
Her hand flew to her mouth.
Julius looked equally stunned.
"No."
He shook his head. Then laughed.
Then shook his head again.
"That’s impossible."
"I know."
"That’s completely impossible."
"I know."
"Billion, that’s not how reality works."
"I am aware."
For several seconds he simply stared at me. Then suddenly he was laughing. The kind of laugh that escaped when a person had reached the point where reality no longer made any sense.
My mother was crying openly now.
Happy tears.
Disbelieving tears.
The kind that appeared when hope became too large to contain. Without warning she threw her arms around me again.
This time the embrace felt different. The grief was gone.
The guilt was gone. What remained was pure relief.
"You idiot."
Her voice trembled.
"You absolute idiot."
I smiled despite myself.
"Good to see you too."
A second later Julius joined us.
The old man wrapped both of us in a hug that was far less dignified than he would ever admit later.
Actually, judging by the moisture in his eyes, he had probably crossed that line several minutes ago.
When we finally separated, neither of them stopped staring at me.
My mother looked as though she was afraid blinking might somehow cause me to vanish.
Julius wasn’t much better.
Both of them seemed caught somewhere between joy and disbelief. Eventually my father pointed at me.
"You are explaining everything."
"I figured."
"Everything."
"That’s the plan."
"From the beginning."
I sighed dramatically.
"That could take a few days."
My mother immediately grabbed my arm again. Not because she thought I was dead anymore.
Because she clearly wasn’t planning on letting me out of her sight anytime soon.
My mother wiped at her eyes before shaking her head in disbelief.
"You’re alive. Somehow you’re alive."
Her gaze moved over me again, as though she still expected the truth to change if she looked closely enough.
"And on top of that, you’ve become a Saint."
She let out a helpless laugh.
"Billion, what in the world has happened to you?"
Before I could answer, Julius suddenly turned around.
"Everyone!"
His voice boomed across the entire outpost. Every member of the hunting team immediately looked toward him.
Julius pointed directly at me with all the subtlety of a charging war beast.
"You see this man?"
My father grinned.
"This is my son!"
The grin widened further.
"And he’s a Saint!"
For a second nobody reacted.
Then the entire outpost erupted.
Cheers, laughter, disbelief, and dozens of overlapping voices exploded from every direction as people tried to process what they had just heard.
Julius looked thoroughly pleased with himself.
Which lasted exactly three seconds.
Smack.
A hand struck the back of his head.
"Ow!"
My father spun around. Roland stood behind him.
"Idiot," my grandfather said. "You’ve completely lost your composure."
Julius rubbed the back of his head.
"Father?"
He blinked.
"Why are you here?"
Roland stared at him for several seconds.
"Sometimes I genuinely wonder how you survive."
"What?"
"Who do you think brought him here?"
Julius opened his mouth.
"Oh."
Roland rolled his eyes.
"Yes, oh."
My mother laughed despite herself. Roland immediately walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
The pride on his face wasn’t even remotely hidden.
"Unlike some people, I had the sense to recognize greatness when I saw it."
"Father..."
Roland ignored him.
"Do you have any idea how wonderful this is?"
He looked around at everyone.
"My grandson is a Saint."
Then he nodded to himself.
"Excellent."
"Excellent?" Julius repeated.
"Absolutely excellent."
Roland folded his arms.
"Now I can finally retire."
I blinked.
"You were planning to retire?"
"Of course."
"Since when?"
"Since approximately ten seconds ago."
The old man looked completely serious.
"Why should I continue dealing with problems when I have a Saint for a grandson?"
He pointed at me.
"That’s your job now."
"What?"
"I’m going to enjoy my life."
"Grandfather—"
"No."
He raised a hand.
"I’ve earned this. And this time I mean it."
Nobody believed him.
Judging by the laughter spreading through the outpost, everyone else knew it too.