Near the central courtyard of the city’s newly completed administrative complex, the air buzzed with anticipation.

Sunlight filtered through the canopy of tall trees surrounding the complex, turning the stone paved paths a warm gold. Dozens of citizens walked the nearby streets, but they kept a respectful distance, not because of fear, but because the courtyard currently held six people whose combined presence could shake kingdoms.

Finn lounged against a marble pillar with his arms crossed, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. Leon stood beside him, his posture was straight and serious as always. Eva sat at the edge of a fountain kicking her legs lightly, while Natalya paced slow circles around them, restless as a cat. While Sophia leaned over a railing, idly twirling a pebble with wind manipulation.

Lisa also stood among them, she was now a beautiful young lady with her long hair falling down her back. She was the only one who was at the Archmage realm, but she didn’t seem bothered. Finn and the others spoiled her so much she sometimes forgot she would even need to cultivate.

Finn and the others had recently entered the Sage rank, making them the strongest mages known to common people. With the help of the resources they gathered in the Ancient realm and their White grade talent it was a lot easier for them to step into this realm. 

And since Lisa was the youngest among them, they doted on her and showered her with resources they got from the Ancient realm, which helped her advance in the mage realms extremely fast. 

…

In Thyrandel, most people had never heard about Transcended rank mages or martial artists, as they generally don’t appear before people and are the hidden powerhouses only a few empires had.

Arkanis had mainly two empires The Aurelian Imperium and The Obsidian Throne spanning huge areas, and several smaller kingdoms. The top powers of Arkanis consist of The Order of the Church and the two empires, with the church having two and each of the empires only had a single Transcended rank mage or martial artist, showing how rare it is to reach this rank.

And right now, the whole group looked extremely excited, almost giddy. Because Selene had told them the news of Arthur’s return.

Finn exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I swear, if that guy is still stronger than us, I’m flipping a table.”

Sophia snorted. “You wish, do you think Arthur had less resources than us to advance?”

Hearing that Finn scratched the back of his head and nodded absentmindedly.

Eva smiled. “I still think he’s gonna freak out when he sees how strong we got in such a short time.”

Natalya tilted her head. “Do you think he’ll be surprised or just say something like, ‘Nice, good job,’ and move on?”

Lisa, who was standing near them, hugged a small notebook to her chest. She always carried one to sketch things or write weird ideas in it. She bit her lip gently and asked. “He’ll… remember me, right?”

Finn turned to her immediately, his expression softening a bit. “Lisa, come on. Of course he will, do you really think he could ever forget about you?”

Lisa nodded, but her fingers tightened around her notebook anyway.

Eva bounced on her heels from the fountain and asked. “You think they’re already on the way?”

As if answering her words, Lisa looked towards the main gate of the administrative building and froze.

She wasn’t the strongest among them, but she was the most sensitive when it came to sensing the presence of people.

“I…I can feel Selene approaching,” Lisa murmured, her eyes widening in anticipation.

Everyone turned, and that was when the doors to the administrative building opened.

Selene stepped out first with her usual composed and regal look, but with an unmistakable softness around her eyes.

And right behind her… Arthur followed her into the courtyard.

Lisa’s breath hitched, Finn’s jaw dropped. Natalya smiled instantly, her eyes brightening. Sophia let out a tiny squeak of excitement, and even Leon’s calm façade cracked into a deep grin.

Eva whispered, “Why is he looking the same as before, it’s as if he hadn’t aged a single day… that’s just unfair.”

Arthur looked around, taking them all in. For a second, his heart felt full in a way no power-ups could ever replicate.

And the moment Finn came out of his stupor, he didn’t wait another second. He launched himself and slammed into Arthur with a hug so strong that the stone beneath them cracked.

Arthur laughed and hugged him back. “Nice to see you too, Finn.”

Leon followed, pulling him into a quieter, but just as genuine, embrace. “Welcome home.” Arthur clapped Leon’s back as he continued. “I missed you, man.”

Sophia hopped on her toes. “My turn, my turn!” She squeezed Arthur in a hug and nearly lifted him off the ground.

Natalya and Eva also followed with a calm nod before hugging him too. “Took you long enough.”

Arthur greeted them, then he looked past them toward the shy girl trying to hide behind Natalya.

It was Lisa. Even though Lisa has turned out to be a beautiful young lady, and not the cute little bundle of joy who wasn’t even able to pronounce his name properly anymore. He couldn’t mistake her for someone else.

He watched as she peeked out from behind Nat’s shoulder, meeting his eyes. Her lips trembled, and she looked unsure, hopeful, but nervous. 

She had not seen Arthur for a long time, so she appeared shy to approach him, but she desperately wanted to go and embrace him like the others.

Seeing Lisa hesitating Arthur’s expression softened immediately. He stepped past the others and approached her.

“Lisa…”

The moment he said her name, she froze. She tried to open her mouth but no words came out.

She hadn’t seen him for almost thirty years. She wasn’t the tiny girl anymore, but the emotions inside her were the same as back then.

So when Arthur reached out and gently patted her head…

Every memory she’d held tightly for decades came crashing back.

She remembered how he carried her on his shoulders, and roamed the streets of Avalon. How he always slowed his steps so she could keep up.

And her eyes started to well up with tears instantly.

Arthur, seeing Lisa about to burst out crying, “Ah…hey, hey…” pulled her into a hug, patted her back to comfort her and murmured. “Don’t worry. I’m back.”

But it did just the opposite and Lisa burst out crying. She clutched his shirt tightly and cried into his chest, her shoulders shaking like all the years she’d held herself together were finally catching up.

The rest of the group deadpanned at Arthur collectively.

Finn rubbed his forehead. “Bro… you made her cry in five seconds of your arrival.”

Arthur looked at them helplessly as if to imply ‘What did he do wrong?’ while still comforting Lisa. 

Lisa eventually calmed down after a few minutes, sniffling into a handkerchief Leon handed her. Eva rubbed her back while Finn pretended not to cry himself.

They all moved to sit under a tall tree where its leaves rustled gently in the breeze, and the fountain nearby made the place peaceful.

For hours they shared their stories and adventures in the Ancient Realm, the battles they fought, the monsters they defeated, the treasures they found. Finn boasted about his new sword technique. 

Eva bragged about beating Natalya in a duel, but Natalya claimed it was because she slipped. Sophia rolled her eyes through all of it. Lisa shared drawings of the Ancient Realm landscapes she made after hearing their description of the place.

Arthur listened to everything, laughter echoing every few minutes. He told them about the spatial crack, about the time dilation there, but edited out the gory part.

As the sun slowly dipped toward the horizon and the courtyard turned golden-orange, the group eventually began returning to their rooms.

Only two figures rose together and flew towards the sky, it was Arthur and Selene.

The wind brushed past them ruffling their hair as they flew above the city, hand in hand. The city lay beneath them like a jewel due night lights, with people moving through wide streets and the marketplace appearing lively.

Selene leaned her head slightly on his shoulder. “Why are you quiet?”

Arthur watched the sprawling city below, and said in a low voice. “Just… taking it all in.”

Selene squeezed his hand gently.

Then Arthur looked at her. “Hey… Selene?”

“Yes?” she asked.

“…Do you want to go to my universe?”

Selene blinked in confusion, she tilted her head slightly. “You mean the world you’re from?”

Arthur nodded, and her golden eyes widened with excitement like a child discovering something new.

“Yes!” she said instantly. “I want to see it.”

Arthur gave a small relieved laugh. “I thought you’d hesitate.”

“Why would I?” she asked, smiling softly. “Wherever you go… I’ll follow you.”

Arthur didn’t trust himself to verbally react to that one, his heart already skipped a beat. So instead, he pulled out the Obelisk.

Selene’s eyes sparkled immediately with curiosity. “What is that?”

“It’s the device that lets me travel between worlds,” Arthur said. “I used it when I got here.”

Selene’s curiosity only grew. “Your technology is truly absurd.”

“You haven’t seen everything yet,” he said with a grin.

He held the Obelisk and used Technopathy to activate it, as the artifact responded. Space around them began to distort, forming a portal just big enough for the two of them.

Selene’s fingers tightened around Arthur’s arm.

He took a deep breath. His heart was pounding heavily against his chest. Because, if more than thirty years passed here… Then who knew what happened in his original universe?

Arthur pushed the thought aside for the moment. He couldn’t crumble before he even saw the truth.

He glanced at Selene, and she gave him a reassuring nod, and he squeezed her hand back.

“…Here we go.”

Arthur stepped forward with Selene at his side. And together, they walked into the portal.

***

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