A few days later…
Since Cassandra's enlightening discussion with Alex, the catwoman had returned to her planet to contemplate the many things they discussed.
Simple things a person could easily dismiss were what made them so complex to accept and comprehend.
With a clear path towards godhood, Cassandra intended to do all she could to break through. But this required void energy; another concern she raised during their long talk.
Alex had pretty much sealed the entire universe, barely leaving any room for outside interference. With the veil tears closed, getting the vast supply of void energy would be a problem.
Fortunately for her, all she needed was Alexander's permission to open new ones and close them as soon as she was done.
....
Alex was once again back home, lazying around doing nothing. Luckily for him, his father was off work today and could keep him company.
With the power to be everywhere and anywhere in the universe at the same time, Alex still had one clone dedicated to mentoring his students, Aaron included.
He continued to take them on trips across the stars, creating new environments to stimulate the potential of the students. His methods proved to work as the more void creatures the students faced, the more experienced they got.
It also didn't hurt as the students were gaining wealth, more than enough to be their startup capital once they acquired their licence to be hunters/explorers.
"Son?" William called out softly, lifting his head from his news hologram. The duo were in the living room and on separate sofas with Alex lying comfortably in his.
"Mm?" Alex lazily replied, opening one eye to look at his old man.
"You are the one behind all these new discoveries, aren't you." He stated more than asked. "I don't think I've heard of such places existing before."
The news he was reading had all the latest information about what the empire was up to. Since the madness was brought to an end and exploration missions brought back, almost new discoveries were being made every day.
Places never heard of before were being found, and they were what a normal hunter would call heaven for cultivating.
Honestly, it was absurd.
Every new discovery made brought thousands of questions. And these questions led to new innovations and inventions that better pushed humanity's evolution forward.
It was the dawning of a new era, and a prosperous one at that.
Alex closed his eyes as a small smile graced his features. With both hands behind his head, Alex was the literal description of carefree.
"It's about time we evolved, Dad." Alex replied. "All I am doing is providing the environment. It's up to the rest of humanity to grow from the experience."
Hearing Alex's response, William couldn't help but feel his chest brimming with pride. He still woke up on some days and thought all that was happening was a dream.
But time had proven it was all real, and that it was all Alexander's doing, his son's doing. Naturally, he knew it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but the overall atmosphere in the universe was filled with a sense of hope and new beginnings.
'Well, I'm glad you're doing this for all of humanity." William said. "We have lived through the thick and thin of it, and although many lives were lost along the way, their sacrifices weren't in vain." The light of reminiscence shone in his eyes.
'Don't worry, Dad." Alex said as he slowly got up from his sleeping posture. "I'll make sure things remain this way…" His gaze turned to a certain direction, a small smile blooming on his face.
"Mm… I know you will." His father nodded in satisfaction but then noticed Alex's behaviour. "Is there something that has caught your attention?" Alex only acted that way when he was looking at something beyond his capabilities.
"Yeah… Ross will be opening his eyes soon." Turning to face his father, he added. "I can still stay here, but someone said they were getting sick of my face." He made a not-so-subtle gesture towards the stairs.
"Haha… Of course." Willaim shook his head. "Extend my hellos to him and tell him to visit soon."
"Sure." Alex nodded as he moved towards the door but didn't immediately step out. "I will probably spend some time in outer space. Call me if you need anything, Dad."
"Yeah, take care."
...…
Alex appeared inside the sealed space Ross used as his cultivation haven. Within this small sealed space was so much mana that it was visible to the naked eye, swirling around like fog.
He watched closely as trace amounts of mana entered into Ross's manitoria. Reaching full capacity without any room for expansion signalled the arrival of an awakened at the A-Tier.
The mana circulated through Ross's mana circulatory system at extremely fast speed as it tried to find more room for storage.
However, reaching that point meant arriving at a stage where simply absorbing the surrounding energies wasn't going to cut it.
One's ability to grasp and comprehend concepts was what defined the stages beyond the A-Tier.
The very last circulation came to an end as a powerful pulse, accompanied by the red and blue of his flames erupted from Ross's body. It shook the sealed space and dispersed the surrounding mana for trillions of kilometres in all directions.
Ross's presence grew heavy and oppressive, domineeringly so. However, it did nothing to stir Alex, not even the clothes he wore.
Following the thunderous eruption of his aura and flames, his enhanced senses gushed out like a torrential wave, sweeping and taking everything in its surroundings.
The one-horned immediately noticed the person in front of him before he even opened his eyes. A small smile at the corner of his lips and twitching muscles told Alex what his friend was about to do.
'Come on, buddy.' Alex mused with a grin. 'Here I am…Show me something good.'
As if on cue, Ross's eyes snapped open, blazing with powerful flames that twisted and warped space like a mirage.
He abruptly appeared slightly above Alexander, his entire body flaming. A right fist descended towards Alex with the fury of a fiery god.