Chapter 274 A Bit Late Return

After he vanished, I observed those Deaths of Duality before moving towards them and touching them with my hands. There was a slight confusion on my face as…

'That guy who looked like he was from my future was sure about me not getting the Deaths of Duality… Or was he lying?' I questioned as the surrounding space slowly began turning blurry before I found myself back at the centre of the floating island.

I looked back to find the Gate of the Dungeon of Chaos missing and I closed my eyes for a few moments before I sighed and then moved out of there, slowly reaching the edge of the floating island.

So many things happened in the Dungeon of Chaos this time that my head started hurting, even when I tried to think about it. All my skills were beyond polished and I gained an enormous boost in power level as well, along with the improved Deaths Of Duality.

But why does it feel like I am still weak? Is that because of the enemies I am about to face? Or is it because of the emotions I gained back?

'So many questions and no answers, huh?' I sighed before jumping off the island and letting myself fall freely in the air. As I was falling, I recalled the last time I did this.

I lost against Lucas… then I chose to give up. I lost Lucia… Or more like I finally realised that I had lost her. But… What were those faces mom made… Whenever she heard about Lucia, her face turned sad… Even that old man spoke something about her…

["Perhaps… that girl has played too much with your mind… Well, she had her reasons too, so I can't really blame her…]

'What reasons… was there something that I didn't know?' I thought as I closed my eyes before I recalled a certain name from mom's mouth…

[Poor Valencia]

'Valencia… who is she? Is it Lucia's real name?... Damn it!' I was getting annoyed. Even after dying once because of her, I still can't get her out of my mind. Especially because of my emotions getting unlocked, I was getting more and more agitated whenever I thought of her.

-BOOM!!! I fell on the ground, creating a huge crater before I let myself lay on the ground for a while. I just lay there for the time being and I felt a couple of monsters moving in my direction.

"Chains of Darkness," I muttered as the chains of Deaths of Duality increased in length before covering the whole area and then trapping the monsters around. Then they slowly started absorbing the monster's energy before reducing their grade to below C-Grade.

I then stood up with a jump as I patted myself to clear the dust that got on my clothes before I turned off my Reaper form. With my base strength, using this power would be overkill, so I shall just let it be this way.

From there I moved towards the place where Theia was supposed to teach the others…. I wonder how many days have passed and how much have they improved.

Observing the surrounding scenery as I ran through the forest, I saw some unique sceneries that reminded me of my days in the Netherrealm in the past timeline. Despite being dangerous, it has its own beauty to it.

Enjoying the scenery and absorbing the monsters that came along my way, I kept running from one island to another. While Netherrealm was a dark place, I never found it to be not lively. Except the Lower World, where the monsters are continuously taking birth. That's a place where it is always gloomy as you get to face what the desires might give birth to…

'Almost there,' I thought as I looked at the castle at a distance where Theia was supposed to be. Running through the woods and the deserts, I finally reached that place.

Moving inside that castle, I slowly looked around, wondering where they should be, however it seemed I need not search for long as I found a familiar face walking towards me.

"Linda. You look… different?" I spoke as I observed Linda walking in front of me. There was no physical change, but… she was much brighter… and stronger than before.

"Zero… is that you?" a surprised expression formed on her face before a smile blossomed on her face as she spoke again,"you are back! Where were you all this time? Everyone kept waiting for you for a long time, you know?"

I observed her with a curious expression before asking,"how much time has passed since I was gone?" and she pondered a little as she began calculating and then she spoke,

"About 7 months, I think? Maybe 6? Well, it is more than 6 for sure."

A surprised expression came on my face as I wondered exactly how much time I spent in that dungeon. I calculated that it took me about 3 months to reach the 99th floor.. Then I lost track of time on floor 99…

'So it took me 3 months to overcome all that sadness, huh? I wonder if it is too long… or was it kind of less compared to how much I had on my mind? Well, whatever,' I sighed before asking,

"Well, I guess that really was long. So, how is your training going on? You look quite strong now."

I spoke as I observed her, making her chuckle a little as she nodded before speaking,"being a Traveller, I could harness energy from Netherrealm along with energy gained from Planet Vermillion. With my System, it was easy to use both the energy in the best way possible so I kind of got a lot stronger in this short time… though it seems like I still can't hold a candle to you… or more like your power is finally showing rather than being hidden."

I nodded, as I knew that being an S4 Rank is going to be easily noticed here. Though her growth, the fact that she reached S-Grade, wasn't something to scoff at either.

'Hmmm… wait a sec…' a sudden thought emerged in my mind before I asked her,

"How did those guys leave? Did Theia help them?"

It wasn't really that easy to get out of here, you know? Even for me, it was almost impossible to return last time…

"Oh! That. Your friend Valencia helped them out," she spoke with a smile.

"Huh?" I looked at her with my eyes widening slowly.