My Talent's Name Is Generator

Chapter 1208: Meeting

North gave her a flat look. ”You learned how to think differently because of Billion. You also had an entire galaxy supporting your growth. You can’t expect every powerful person you encounter to immediately understand the same things you do.”

Steve nodded. ”Most people don’t suddenly change their worldview just because someone stronger tells them to. Those two girls had existed as the consciousness of this galaxy for who knows how long. Their entire existence was tied to this place. From their perspective, surrendering to you wasn’t simply losing a battle. It meant giving up everything they were.”

Vivi fell silent for a moment.

She seemed to consider his words seriously before muttering, ”But I would’ve treated them well.”

North smiled faintly. ”I’m sure you would have.”

I could see the realization settling into her expression. She had spent so much time alongside me that she had gradually begun taking certain things for granted. Her understanding of strength, alliances, evolution, and even the larger conflict had been shaped by everything she had experienced since meeting me. The two manifestations had not possessed any of that.

Vivi eventually stood up and dusted off her clothes.

”Fine,” she said, though she still sounded slightly dissatisfied. ”Next time I’ll try explaining more.”

North and Steve smiled.

North looked toward the devastated battlefield and then toward Vivi. ”Although perhaps we should find someone else to conquer before you start giving another lecture.”

The three of them had just begun discussing where they should go next when I finally decided that I had watched enough. I suppressed the smile that had been threatening to appear on my face and stepped forward, allowing a trace of my presence to spread through the surrounding space.

”Vivi, you have grown strong.”

My voice was calm, but the effect was immediate.

Vivi froze.

Steve’s hand instantly moved toward his sword, while North’s entire body tensed as she turned toward the source of the voice. The three of them stared at the empty space behind them, their expressions changing from confusion to disbelief.

Then I slowly stepped out of the void.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Vivi’s eyes widened until they were almost comically large. Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. Steve simply stared at me as though he was trying to determine whether what stood before him was actually real. North’s expression was the most difficult to read. Shock flashed through her eyes, followed by disbelief, and then something far more emotional.

”Billion?”

Steve was the first to speak.

I smiled.

”Long time no see.”

The next instant, Vivi disappeared.

She crossed the distance between us in a blur and crashed directly into me, wrapping both arms around my waist. Her face buried itself against my chest as she held me tightly, and I could feel her body trembling slightly.

”You idiot!”

Her muffled voice came against my chest.

”You disappeared into the Null Realm!”

I laughed softly and placed a hand on her head, gently rubbing her hair.

”I’m back, aren’t I?”

She pulled away just enough to look at me, her eyes already slightly red.

”You didn’t even tell us what happened.”

”I didn’t exactly have the opportunity.”

Her expression was somewhere between anger and relief, and despite everything, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

Then I heard hurried footsteps behind her.

North didn’t say anything.

She simply reached me and threw her arms around me.

The impact forced me to take half a step backward, but I immediately wrapped my arms around her. She held me tightly, almost as though she was making certain that I was actually there and wouldn’t disappear again. For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then she pulled back, grabbed the front of my clothes, and kissed me.

It was not a gentle greeting.

All the worry and anticipation she had apparently been carrying since I entered the Null Realm poured into that single moment. When she finally pulled away, her forehead remained against mine, and her breathing was slightly uneven.

”You took too long,” she whispered.

I smiled.

”Sorry about that. Some things took too much time.”

Her eyes moved across my face, carefully checking me as though looking for injuries.

”Are you alright?”

”I’m fine.”

”Really?”

”Really.”

She stared at me for another moment before finally embracing me again, this time more quietly.

Steve stood a short distance away, watching the entire exchange with an expression that slowly shifted from shock to amusement.

He folded his arms.

”Well, I suppose that answers whether you’re actually alive.”

I looked toward him.

”That’s all I get?”

Steve laughed and walked toward me.

”Do you have any idea how annoying it was having to listen to these two worry about you?”

Vivi immediately protested.

”I wasn’t worried!”

Steve glanced at her.

”You were running around trying to increase your strength for him. We all know that.”

I laughed as Steve finally reached me and we clasped each other’s forearms before pulling each other into a brief embrace.

”It’s good to see you, brother,” he said quietly.

”You too.”

For a moment, the four of us simply stood there.

After everything that had happened in the Null Realm, after the battles, the contracts, the Wardens, and everything I had nearly lost, this ordinary moment felt strangely precious.

North was still standing beside me, her hand wrapped around my arm. Vivi had recovered enough to return to her usual attitude, though she remained unusually close. Steve was studying me carefully, and I knew exactly what he was thinking.

”You really did come back different,” he finally said.

I smiled.

”Offcourse. You don’t expect me to remain weak while you are going around trying to increase your strength.”

Steve’s expression became serious.

”We know you went to the Null Realm. But that’s about all we knew. What happened there?”

I looked at the three of them.

”Where should I even start?”

”Start with whether you survived,” North said. ”Then explain why you took so damn long.”

I chuckled.

”Fair enough.”

I glanced toward the ruined battlefield around us before continuing.

We spent the next several hours together, and during that time I told them everything that had happened in the Null Realm, though I deliberately left out certain details that were better kept to myself.

I explained how the Null Realm was structured, how the Wardens governed it, and how their authority differed from ordinary laws and domains.

I told them about the Twelfth Soul Current, the trial we had entered, and the dangers we had faced inside it, as well as how I had eventually managed to overcome Verilux and destroy the contract that had bound the Prime Territory to the Eternals.

I also told them about meeting the Wardens and the conflict that had unfolded around the contract, though I kept the existence of the Twelfth Current and some of its deeper secrets vague.

Most importantly, I told them about my parents. I explained that they were alive within the Null Realm, that I had finally met them after all these years, and that they had chosen to remain there rather than return to the world of the living. I told them enough for them to understand that I had finally found the answers I had been searching for, and that the fear of losing my family to the Eternals was no longer hanging over me.