[Billion’s PoV]
Nearly three days passed before I finally left the Ironhart settlement.
Looking back, I wasn’t entirely sure where the time had gone.
Every morning started with one conversation and somehow turned into ten more. Every afternoon became another collection of stories, arguments, explanations, and increasingly ridiculous questions from various members of my family who now wanted to know what exactly had happened to me after my parents died.
As it turned out, when someone unexpectedly returned from the dead after becoming a Saint, conquering galaxies, defeating Eternals, and generally behaving like a walking disaster, people tended to have questions.
A lot of questions.
I had spent the last three days recounting everything from my academy years to the fall of Holt, from the campaigns in the Blue Spiral Galaxy to the founding of the Order of Absolute. I spoke about Vaythos, Abor, the Emperor, my position as Guardian, my battles against the Eternals, my adventures with Steven and North, and countless other events that had shaped the course of my life.
Naturally, I had also exercised some discretion. Anything involving Amon was quietly omitted. Anything involving Theras mysteriously failed to appear in my stories.
Anything that might cause my mother to decide that following me around the galaxy with a sword was a reasonable parenting strategy was carefully removed.
I wasn’t lying. I was simply engaging in the ancient art of selective storytelling.
There was a difference.
At least that was what I kept telling myself.
The conversations weren’t limited to my experiences either. In return, my parents and grandparents spent countless hours filling in the gaps regarding everything that had happened after their deaths, introducing me to relatives I had never met, explaining old family histories, and revealing enough embarrassing stories about my father’s youth to provide me with entertainment for decades.
One evening had even been spent exploring Roland’s alcohol collection. That particular experience had been eye-opening.
I had expected a respectable collection. Perhaps a few hundred bottles.
Maybe a thousand if he was particularly serious about the hobby.
Instead, I discovered that my grandfather apparently approached alcohol with the same obsessive dedication most people reserved for cultivation.
Entire rooms had been converted into storage vaults.
Rare bottles from extinct civilizations sat beside drinks that had been aging longer than many kingdoms had existed.
At one point he proudly showed me a bottle that was apparently over twenty thousand years old.
I still wasn’t entirely convinced it qualified as alcohol anymore.
For all I knew it had achieved sentience. A few evenings later we had even sat together drinking while discussing my grandmother.
Those conversations had been surprisingly enjoyable.
Roland complained.
I listened.
Roland complained some more.
I listened some more.
Occasionally I pointed out that she was probably right. He usually responded by accusing me of betrayal.
The entire process felt oddly therapeutic.
Life here was peaceful.
And enough alcohol to make several empires nervous.
Unfortunately, peace had never been particularly good at lasting around me.
Sooner or later reality always caught up. There were still mysteries that needed answers. There were still enemies that needed dealing with.
And before moving forward with the plans Gerald and I had discussed regarding Verilux, there was one loose thread I wanted to investigate first.
The All-Knowing Eyes.
The rumored relic. The source of countless unanswered questions.
If even half the stories surrounding it were true, then it might finally provide some insight into how certain bloodlines had been tracked so efficiently by the Eternals.
More importantly, it might explain why my family had been targeted.
Which was why, early on the fourth morning, I found myself standing near the entrance of our residence while my parents prepared to begin another day of work.
"I’m heading out for a little while."
My mother glanced up from the documents she was reading.
"Where?"
"The library."
My answer was technically true.
Eventually.
Probably.
My father nodded absentmindedly.
"Get back for lunch. We have invited some friends over who want to meet you."
"I’ll try."
Neither of them seemed particularly concerned.
After all, I had spent several days wandering around the settlement already.
A library visit wasn’t exactly suspicious. The moment I stepped outside, however, I shifted directly across the settlement.
Space folded around me.
An instant later I appeared beside one of the large teleportation circles hidden within the Ironhart compound.
I hid myself from others.
Soul Force flowed silently through the formation beneath my feet. Ancient runes illuminated one after another before the entire platform activated.
Moments later space twisted.
The settlement disappeared.
And I found myself standing outside the Soul Sea.
A chuckle escaped me almost immediately.
Far behind me, hidden within the settlement itself, I could feel a familiar gaze.
The old grandmother.
Apparently becoming a Saint wasn’t enough to hide my movements from one of the strongest Saints in the family.
I could almost imagine her shaking her head. The thought only made me laugh harder.
At least she hadn’t told anyone.
Yet.
Turning away from the settlement, I launched myself into the sky.
The vast waters of the Soul Sea stretched endlessly beneath me as I accelerated toward Region Four.
The journey would normally take considerable time. For me, it was little more than a pleasant flight.
Especially because I had decided to make the trip productive.
Soul Force was useful.
More Soul Force was even better.
And the Soul Sea happened to contain an endless supply of creatures generous enough to donate theirs.
Very soon, I finally found my first volunteer. Far below the surface, something enormous moved through the depths.
A moment later the creature erupted upward.
The monster resembled a colossal eel covered in black armor. Hundreds of glowing eyes lined its body while rows of transparent fins extended from its sides like shattered blades.
The thing was hideous. Truly spectacularly hideous.
I wasn’t normally one to judge.
But whoever designed that creature had clearly been working through some issues. The monster sensed my presence and immediately charged.
Unfortunately for it, I was in a hurry.
Silver Soul Force ignited around my right fist. The surrounding space trembled.
Then I punched.
The result was somewhat predictable. The creature exploded. Its body disintegrated into countless fragments as silver energy tore through every portion of its existence.
A cloud of liberated Soul Force remained behind. I absorbed it casually and continued flying.
Several minutes later I encountered another.
This one resembled a giant crab.
A giant crab with six mouths.
And tentacles.
For some reason.
I wasn’t entirely sure why the tentacles were necessary. Apparently the Soul Sea occasionally became bored and started experimenting.
The creature emerged from beneath a cluster of floating islands and attempted to ambush me.
The attempt lasted approximately one second.
This time my word alone was enough.
"Explode."
Space compressed and exploded around the creature. The monster ceased existing.
Its Soul Force joined the growing reserves within my soul.
Honestly, the process was becoming routine.
By the time Region Four finally appeared on the horizon, I had accumulated a respectable amount of additional Soul Energy which was good enough.