"About that… The signal and message came from one of the deep space antennas in the Nether Regions."
The expressions of everyone took a dark turn, diminishing the joy they felt.
"The Nether Regions? A-are you sure?"
Julia stuttered, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"Positive. And I bet the signal took months to reach us."
James killed the last bit of happiness, replacing it with dread and uncertainty. Alex may be fine as he had proven to be unaffected by void energy.
But they were not so fortunate. Getting there in itself was going to be a problem as the Nether Regions were all the regions outside the bounds of the empire.
It was the region of death, plagued by daily cosmic waves and destructions of epic proportions.
Displacement of stars, planets, star systems and even entire galaxies was a common occurrence.
The void creatures in those regions were those at B-tier and above. Of course, the weaker ones also had their regions where they thrived.
Regardless, it was a danger zone marked as unfit for exploration. And while the resources there were unimaginable, hunters had to keep their lives first.
"Then how are we going to get him out of there?"
Julia sat down dejectedly. Even with all her craziness, she wouldn't venture there.
"We have to talk with your uncle to see the way forward," James added. "Maybe he can do something."
It was the only hope they had.
Ross was wondering what might happen to his friend if he were to encounter a very powerful void creature where he was.
Void energy may no longer be a threat, but the same couldn't be said about the void creatures and who knows what else.
'With no idea how strong he has gotten in these years, we can only hope he finds a way to avoid those monstrosities.'
While the signal came from the antenna around the area, it didn't exactly pinpoint where Alex was as it only acted as a receiver and transmitter of waves.
'This is going to take a miracle to pull off. And who knows how long it would take…' James thought in silence.
They would be arriving in the system soon, but James could already imagine the waves the message was already going to generate.
The SOS was a wide net broadcast, which meant anyone with a license to hunt, get that message as it was a call for help.
...…
"Dad!"
Olivia budged into her parent's home and frantically searched for her father. His younger brother was at the academy and she would be he received the news already.
"In here?"
Her father's reply came from the bedroom. Without delay, Oliva rushed there.
"Dad, you won't believe what I just received." She said with clear excitement and tears in her eyes.
Her mother was still in a comatose state, but the health officials said she was fine and would eventually wake up.
It might probably be from a stimulus, but they didn't know what that trigger was.
"What is it?"
William tilted his head as he hadn't seen his daughter or any of his remaining children this happy in a while. It had been that way since Alex… disappeared.
"It's Alexander. He's alive!"
She grabbed her father's shoulders and shook them, way too excited and happy for the old man. But the shocked expression on his face made him forget about everything else.
"Alexander…" He muttered in a daze.
"Yes!! Look, he even sent a message." A simple gesture from her watch brought out the video message.
William shed tears seeing his son's face and almost fell from his trembling legs if Olivia hadn't acted fast enough to catch him.
"Easy, Dad." Olivia said, unable to wipe the glow off her face. She understood how her father was feeling.
Glancing at her mom lying on the bed, she hoped her voice and the message she carried would have stirred some response from her, but nothing.
'Maybe only hearing his voice…'
Olivia turned to the screen and after making sure her father was ready, she allowed the message to play.
A few minutes and a lot of tears later, William couldn't help but call out his son's name.
"Ah…Alexander. My son is really alive."
He felt the part of him that died with Alex's disappearance awake anew. That small wish he held in his heart because the kids wouldn't give up until they found him came true.
Abruptly, William stood up almost falling again. His legs were still weak from the initial shock.
"Dad!" Olivia held onto his left arm, this time making sure not to let him go.
"Quick, we have to get to Mars and find Lord Zol."
He may not know exactly where Alexander was, but he knew only one man could help bring back his missing son.
"I agree, Dad. But who is going to watch over Mom?"
Olivia turned to look at her mother's sleeping face. It was a peaceful but pained expression.
"Oh right, call the hospital to send over a nurse."
Oliva nodded and guided her father to another seat while she quickly went to carry out the instruction.
One way or another, they were going to get their Alexander back and never let him go ever again. While the family were preparing to seek help, other forces were already on the move.
....
[Daniel, return to base as soon as possible. We're heading out.]
Daniel nodded with a serious expression, closed the secure channel and exited his post. After many years of remaining idle, it was time to make a move.
'The location might be dangerous, but if we don't move now, we might never get another chance.'
Daniel thought silently, shortly arriving at the Beta Orbital ring of Mars and undergoing the necessary procedure.
Alex may have been a valuable specimen before, but that value just went up. With him surviving a veiled space for that long, it was evident he was the key to unlocking the secrets of the veil.
Daniel located his spaceship and quickly left the system with no one finding his actions strange as it was normal for hunters to go in and out of the system.