Time flowed continuously as the search for Alexander Gray continued with no hope in sight.
Hunters would be sent occasionally to explore random regions of the mapped universe and sometimes even venture towards the more dangerous regions of the universe.
But none of their searches yielded any results. There were no signs of Alex, dead or alive and people were beginning to lose hope.
The Order that had remained hidden since its creation took part in the search for Alexander as they believed only he held the keys to save their universe from damnation.
"I don't get why the higher-ups are making us search for Alexander when the chances of him being alive are nil."
"What's your complaint about? We've been given a job and we have to do it. Besides, you should know that The Order knows things that the empire could only dream about."
"Yeah…"
Even with all the efforts people put into finding this one person, both those with good intentions and those without, there were still no signs of him and in the blink of an awakened eye, four years passed.
And in those four years, a lot of things had changed.
Sarah had fallen into a coma and was now hospitalized while William became a shell of his former self.
But he stayed strong for his family as if he collapsed as well, there was no telling what would happen to their youngest.
Of course, Aaron had also followed in his brother's footsteps and became a student of the academy, and already in his second.
William couldn't convince him otherwise as he knew all too well what drove him to that path as both Ross and Julia still held on to hope that Alex was alive somewhere in the universe and was only waiting to be found.
Olivia found a good shoulder to lean on as she couldn't burden her family with her own grief. She was now married to a gentleman who went by the name of Shawn Trevor.
On the other hand, the academy had given up searching for Alex per the order from the higher-ups.
Julia and Ross had completed their training from the academy and could now be called hunters.
They graduated the best of their year as both achieved the level of a mid-tier Class D hunter, more than what most people achieve upon graduation.
With their Class D strength, Ross and Julia had the power to destroy small planets (mercury-sized) if they went all out in their attacks.
Add their Manastorm form to the equation and they could make Earth go boom.
Yes, they had gotten that strong.
Their determination to reach that level, sparked a fierce competition among their colleagues as it inspired many of them to follow in their footsteps, allowing some to reach the early stages of Class D themselves.
It was a remarkable achievement, but to those two, it was only a means to an end.
'Finally, we can now venture into the universe and find him, wherever he is…'
Ross thought with a clenched fist, his eyes burning with the determination to succeed.
He now stood at a height of 2.5 meters with a bulky build that made his presence awe-inspiring and domineering.
His body oozed with so much power and strength that, he could take on a high-tier Class D hunter with no problem.
While he still retained his young looks, there was no hint of childishness in his demeanour; he had become a man through and through. And even with the guilt he carried, he continued to move forward.
Julia on the other hand grew to become even more beautiful than before. She barely smiled since the incident and the perpetual cold air around her made it a challenge for others to get close to her.
She stood at a height of 1.8 meters, a normal height for awakened women and was just as strong as Ross.
Another thing that had changed in those years was Henry Younge. This young heir had remained in Sol System and continued his training there, all for the chance to get Julia to warm up to him.
What had begun as a challenge to win her over had grown to become genuine affection Henry never thought he would have for anyone.
And for that, he worked hard to prove himself; he worked on his attitude and arrogance.
He managed to get close to the two, accompanying them in group hunting and doing everything right.
Then, he gradually got them to open up to him as they engaged in conversations from time to time.
Naturally, he knew he couldn't take Alex's place in their hearts and he didn't want to.
He wanted to be seen as himself and what he desired was to make Julia fall in love with him.
Ross could see through Henry's thoughts but never gave it too much thought. He knew Julia well enough to know she wouldn't give him the time of day.
'But his efforts to change are commendable.'
...…
With nothing more holding the duo back, it was time for them to embark on their search for their friend.
For many years, Ross and Julia refused to give in to the words everyone said. They vehemently believed that Alex was still alive somewhere out there and it was up to them to find him.
Of course, Lord Zol had not stopped searching and while it wasn't as frequent as before, he still sent his men to explore random regions in the universe from time to time.
"Now that you two, or should I say three…"
Hunter Zol spoke and glanced at Henry who stood with Ross and Julia as the new addition to their team.
"… your first mission is to go hunt some void creatures."
"But unc—"
However, before Julia could speak against his decision, Zol shut her down.
"No buts, Julia. You may have gotten to the Class D rank, but you are still wet behind the ears, all of you.
"You need practical experience in hunting void creatures and surviving the void."
Zol explained with a serious expression and Ross had to agree with his words.
From everything he had learnt about outer space, it was not a friendly environment as anything could happen at any moment.
'Hang on buddy, I'm coming…'