Chapter 431: There is Always Hope

Chapter 431: There is Always Hope

Nightmares.

The phantom of a large leonine laughing before red skies. Dark rain and booming thunder. Blinding flashes of lightning. Jack running at full speed yet remaining in the same place, forced to watch as a young boy was shred to pieces by the razor-sharp falling rain.

“Dad!” the boy screamed.

“NOOO!”

His eyes snapped open. With a pained grunt, he grabbed his head. Tears had formed at some point—not of grief, but of frustration. The pain of being helpless.

Jack smashed a fist into a cabinet, tearing it to pieces. “No!” he roared again, his voice cracking the walls.

This was not the first time in Jack’s life that he experienced grief. His father had died a few years before the Integration. They had been very close—and that man, Eric Rust, was the person Jack’s son had been named after.

Yet, the difference between then and now was astounding. It was simply a different world, and not only because of the circumstances. Losing one’s father was painful, but it felt natural; the way things were supposed to be. It was a pain through which a person could grow and mature, a sort of rite of passage to true manhood.

But losing one’s son went against the natural order. It was not supposed to be experienced. While Jack’s heart had supported him last time, this time, it could not. It was unprepared. Bursts of agony shot through his brain. Grief and fury warred with guilt and fear, the slithering feeling of weakness numbing his limbs.

It was all a jumbled mess of feelings Jack had to unravel. He would be fine, eventually—he genuinely believed and hoped so. But, until then...

Why does it have to be so hard? he asked the sky he could no longer see.

His mind sought peace. It fell into the familiar routine of meditation, though it achieved little. The grief was insurmountable, at least for now—it was not something that could be overcome in a short period of time. Jack could only turn to bright thoughts. His son was gone, but he still had a daughter. A wife. A mother, a brother, friends, and a planet to protect.

And Eric had lived a good life, minus its last act.

How are they doing? Jack wondered, thinking back to the rest of his family. Eva Solvig had told him they were safe, and he didn’t dare doubt those words, but the circumstances of Eric’s kidnapping were still unknown to Jack.

Do they know? Do they think I am dead as well? Are they mourning, or are they struggling to become stronger?

Ebele is definitely cultivating. That girl is talented and hardworking—I only hope she doesn’t push herself too much. And Vivi... She’s a fighter as well. If she knows about my situation, I’m sure she’ll take the safety of Earth into her own hands. She’ll keep everyone safe until I can return.

Thinking about his family dispelled the darkness in Jack’s mind somewhat, giving him the power to consider other matters.

My Dao is cracked... he realized with sadness. He looked inside himself—the Dao Tree lay barren, its roots misshapen and unable to absorb the surrounding Dao efficiently. A massive crack ran down its trunk, even splitting apart the door of the Life Drop, and the five fruits on its branches were pale and lifeless, not glowing as they once had been. Even the Life Drop was unresponsive.

Now, his previously glorious days seemed like a dream of old, a memory of ages long past.

As Jack investigated his situation further, he discovered that his combat prowess had dropped from the early B-Grade to the peak C-Grade. It seemed small, but it was actually a tremendous drop—his current power was just a fraction of what it used to be.

Half of his losses were due to his Dao cracking. The rest was the price he paid when he overdrew himself to escape Eva Solvig’s grasp and rush into the black hole—a temporary, if severe weakening.

Thinking this far had left Jack exhausted. He opened his eyes and released a long sigh—though he saw the road ahead of him, that didn’t mean he could walk it. There was a great chance his Dao could never be repaired. If that was the case, he would be forced to live the rest of his life unable to make another breakthrough, and he would also be trapped inside this dark and stuffy Black Hole World.

Ten thousands years. That was the lifespan of a C-Grade, and that was the time he would remain alive for. Meanwhile, his friends and family would be unprotected in the outside world, forced to fend for themselves against the very powerful enemies that Jack had made them.

“I need some air,” he muttered, slowly rising to his feet. He walked to the door and opened it, greeted by the daedalus terrain of the Black Hole World. He was also greeted by Mia.

“Hey!” she said, rising from a chair she’d brought over and pocketing the small book she’d been reading.

Jack raised a brow. “What are you doing outside my door?”

“I’ve been asked to take care of you, silly. I couldn’t just leave you alone.”

“But why didn’t you wait inside? I have a living room.”

“You seemed like you didn’t want company.”

Jack was forced to nod. His mind had been a mess when he’d just left her and teleported inside. She’d judged correctly.

But how low he’d fallen, that he couldn’t even observe basic manners.

“How long was I inside?” he asked.

“Hmm? How long? We don’t measure time here. You were in, and now you’re out.”

“How can you not measure time?”

“It’s dangerous. Some of our ancestors were doing that but ended up killing themselves. In this world which never changes, keeping time only brings despair. It’s better to just live without a care, becoming one with the world around you, focusing on the present.”

Jack blinked. It was hard to associate such profound words with the innocent girl before him, but then again, this was her reality. A world that never changed, where every generation was as insignificant as the previous, leaving no imprint on the world as if they never existed.

“Then, how do you know it’s been a billion years?” he asked.

“Oh, there’s always an Elder entrusted with the important task of keeping time and recording history. In our generation, that’s Elder Vermont—the one you’ve already met.”

“I see...”

“Well, what are we up to now?” Mia asked. “You’re leaving the house. Do you want to go for a walk? Food? Tea? Maybe explore a bit, or see the Vortex, or the endless nothingness outside our world?”

Jack hadn’t planned on doing any of that. He just wanted some fresh air. However, since his mood was a bit better, he thought he might as well. “Let’s check out that nothingness,” he said. “It can’t be that bad.”