"And you never felt alone in all that time?"
William asked his son a moment later. Being trapped in that space for so long must have been traumatizing for Alex. He might not have mentioned it, but William felt his son might have been.
"No, Dad. To be honest, everything feels like it's only been a few months." He stated, surprising everyone.
"Months?" Olivia voiced with wide eyes and he nodded. "When I realized void energy was what I needed, I closed my eyes and cultivated, and when I had my first breakthrough, it was as if only a few hours had gone by.
"It isn't that time flowed differently in there… it was just that I kinda lost myself." He explained and Ross and Aaron nodded.
"I know what you mean?" Ross agreed, prompting the others to turn to him. "Every awakened experiences this, so it's not surprising. The only thing that is not fitting is that you only broke through once in those four years."
"I'm not sure. I think it has to do with the energy itself as we barely know anything about it. Even the mana we use, we barely know much about it." Alex guessed.
"Mm," Ross nodded and then sat forward and narrowed his eyes at his friend. "So, how strong are you right now?"
His question got everyone curious as Alex left out the fighting bits of his adventure. Cultivating for that long and crossing literal galaxies to reach home was no small feat.
Ross could already guess the level he must already be at. It caused his heart to race excitedly and in anticipation.
Alex smiled at their curious expressions. "Well, I mentioned meeting and the others, right?" He asked. He didn't want to tell them directly.
They nodded and Alex went ahead and gave another clue. "They were on a mission to do something, right?" He asked again and this time Olivia wasn't having it.
"Spit it out already. I don't like the games." She snorted, making Alex chuckle.
"Fine." He sighed and went straight to the point. "Their mission was to go clear the approaching army of void creatures, but I got there first and…." He still left the words hanging, building suspense.
"And….?"
"I wiped them out before they got there." He finally said and their expressions were priceless. 'That's the right expression.' He nodded in satisfaction.
But then he noticed Ross's expression grow grim. "Alex… you're not saying…" He didn't finish his question but Alex knew what he wanted to say.
"Yes, Ross. I killed the Class S monster as well…." He stated flatly like it was no big deal.
But his family and friends begged to differ. They knew exactly how terrifying that monstrosity was. For crying out loud, Class S hunters were scared of that thing.
Yet, Alex was saying he killed one of those things. Several gulps resounded as they exchanged looks, digesting his words. Aaron on the other hand wanted to know more.
"Was it difficult? You didn't get hurt, did you?" The hurting part got Sarah's attention as she was not really clear on how dangerous the S-Class were as she was comatose for the most part.
"To be honest… It was a disappointment." Alex replied, knowing very well he was breaking their sense of reality.
Ross felt his body tremble slightly after hearing those words. Aaron stared at his brother with stars in his eyes while Olivia shook her head at his smug grin.
William's image of his son completely broke and changed at that moment. "y-you're not joking, right?" he had to be sure what he heard was true. Not that he doubted him, but that was… something unbelievable.
"It's not a joke, Dad." Alex shook his head. "Maybe in the beginning we were evenly matched. But as the fight progressed, my strength continued to increase until the creature was no longer a match."
"Do you even realize what you're saying?" Ross clenched his fist, his body already feeling pumped up. "Even Class S hunters have difficulty facing them. Even…"
Ross wanted to add but stopped himself. However, Alex noticed how the mode changed when Ross stopped.
"Why? What happened?" Alex narrowed his eyes. "Is there something I don't know?" He looked around, seeing everyone lower their heads, except for his mother.
"Haa… Alex, things haven't been the same for a while now." William sighed. "Did you notice how most of the streets are empty with barely anyone walking around?" He asked and Alex nodded.
"Well, that's because…" He began and turned to Ross to continue. He was a hunter and knew more than he did.
Alex turned to his best friend as Ross explained the changes that had happened over the past six months since they returned from searching for Alex.
And the more Alex heard, the more he furrowed his brows. Things were finally making sense—why the void creatures behaved the way they did, why there were so many of them and the emergence of the Class S. But what shook him was hearing about Lord Zol.
"I see…"
Now he knew why he didn't see Lord Zol on the ship he returned with. 'Things are progressing faster now. And if the S Class are already emerging, it wouldn't be long before more dangerous ones arrive.'
Alex pondered, recalling the origin space and the eventual fate of the universes. 'Maybe this is why I can use void energy given its effectiveness against the creatures and the fact that my potential is off the charts. It would have been easier if there were more like me.'
The universe was huge and even with their technology, humans haven't explored every bit.
That meant there were areas out there crawling with hundreds or even thousands of those Class S.
'I have to continue growing strong. There's no telling how this might play out if I become laid-back.'
His gaze shifted to Julia in his arms. He held her tighter and the girl smiled slightly, prompting a smile from him.
The family observed silently as Alex thought about the situation. Alex then raised his head and looked at everyone. He had made his decision.
"I am here now..." Alex said with a serious look. "There is still so much to learn about myself and what I can do. From the moment I survived that cosmic mana wave… I was never the same."
"Maybe this is why…"