"Alex is coming…"
Her words left them both speechless. Olivia, still shaken, struggled to process her mother's statement.
To her, it sounded like the incoherent talk of someone just waking from a long coma. But William thought differently.
He stepped back slightly, his gaze sharp as he studied his wife. The faint smile on her lips hinted that she knew more than she was saying.
"What do you mean?" he asked, raising a brow.
It was strange enough that some mysterious energy had brought her back to life, but unlike Olivia, William's instincts were still intact. Something bigger was happening here.
"Exactly what it sounds like," she replied, her enigmatic smile unwavering. "I'm not entirely sure, but I felt Alex—his presence. Maybe in my consciousness, or my spirit? He mentioned something about entanglement."
Olivia finally lifted her head, her expression shifting as doubt gave way to curiosity. Maybe her mother's words weren't ramblings after all.
Sarah glanced at both of them, a reassuring warmth in her gaze. She looked out the window, her voice soft but confident. "It's going to be fine. You'll see."
William and Olivia exchanged puzzled looks before turning their attention back to her.
"Mom, can you tell us everything?" Olivia asked, moving to sit beside her on the bed while William pulled up a chair.
"Of course," Sarah said. But then her eyes flicked toward the doorway, and she smiled. "First, why don't you introduce me to our guest?"
They followed her gaze and saw Shawn standing quietly by the door. He had returned moments earlier but stayed back to give them some privacy.
"Hello, mother-in-law," Shawn said, stepping into the room with a faint smile.
...…..
A Few Days Later
Sol System, beyond the Oort Cloud, aboard James's ship.
Julia and her team had just returned from yet another gruelling battle with the void creatures lurking in their sector.
But as time went on, the reality became clearer—Class D hunters like them were becoming less effective. Stronger and more dangerous creatures were appearing with each encounter.
After a quick shower, Julia collapsed onto her bed, her body exhausted. Staring at the ceiling, she muttered, "So, this is where we're at, huh?"
She rolled onto her side, her thoughts clouded by the latest news.
"We're going to be left behind," she said softly, frustration lacing her tone. She recalled the reports that had been circulating among the hunters.
"With the completion of the void weapons and disruptors, I thought we'd finally be able to make a difference."
With a sigh, she prompted her system, and a holographic window appeared before her.
The latest file on the newly developed void technology and weaponry had been distributed to all qualified hunters.
Opening the document, she skimmed through the introduction. It detailed the researchers' process and how they had arrived at the breakthrough ideas that made the new tools possible.
The researchers had focused on voidsteel, theorizing that creating intermediaries to safely channel void energy would be more feasible than handling it directly.
With the help of skilled engineers, they designed a containment framework around voidsteel cores, using specialized conductors and algorithms to channel void energy outputs safely.
"I see," Julia muttered, slightly impressed. "The framework stabilizes void energy emissions, making it usable in weapons and veil disruptors."
Her knowledge from the academy, though basic, was enough to grasp the concept. Sciences weren't examinable, but they'd been part of her curriculum.
"These weapons are amazing. We won't have to expend so much of our own energy to kill those monsters. But the veil disruptors… Those are game-changers." She allowed herself a small smile.
Reading further, Julia absorbed the details. The disruptors used voidsteel cores to generate stabilizing fields around rifts, effectively halting their expansion and temporarily controlling veil tears.
"With these, we can seal smaller veil tears in the area. That'll ease some of the pressure on us."
Her thoughts were interrupted as a prompt appeared on her screen, and her AI assistant, Ices, spoke.
[Julia, you have a new message from James. It's addressed to all hunters.]
"Haa... Read it to me," she said, closing her eyes.
[A special mission is being organized to address the situation at the borders. As you know, our galaxy is close to the edges.]
"Yeah... but why tell me? Class D hunters like us wouldn't qualify anyway," Julia replied flatly.
[You're correct. However, once the mission begins, the defence of our home will fall to you and the others.]
"What?" Julia shot upright. "Are they taking everyone above Class D?"
[No. Only hunters from Class B and higher.]
"Class B, huh?" Julia frowned. "But would they really take everyone at those levels?"
[Of course not. A few will remain to safeguard the home systems.]
"Right…" Julia sighed and flopped back onto her bed. "When is this mission happening?"
[It's scheduled to start after sealing the veil tears around the system, which will take approximately three days.]
"By the end of the week, then," she muttered, calculating the timeline.
Her gaze fell to her hand, and she stared at it in silence. 'We're already struggling to stay useful…'
Her fingers curled into a fist. 'I—no, we—have to get stronger.'
...
Like Julia, all hunters across the Milky Way galaxy received news of the arrangement.
The introduction of void weapons and disruptors had made combating void creatures significantly easier.
Hunters could now sustain their Manastorm states more frequently, and veil tears in nearby regions were successfully sealed, albeit temporarily.
Within three days, most of the tears were closed, bringing a brief sense of calm to the star systems within the empire. However, the hunters knew it was only a matter of time before the next wave of chaos arrived.
Preparations for the next mission were already underway. Leading the operation were two S-Class hunters, Evelyn Stone and Charlotte Lane.
Charlotte had been temporarily stationed in the sector as a replacement for Zol. Until his recovery, she would serve as the sector's guardian.
With preparations complete, a sizable fleet of spaceships readied itself to head toward the borders.
The mission's objective was straightforward: reach the edges of the galaxy, eliminate as many void creatures as possible to slow their advance or completely halt it. And if the opportunity arose, take down the leading monster.