Victor entered the kitchen quietly, his footsteps making no sound against the polished floor. The rich, savory aroma of home-cooked food filled the air, carrying a warmth that felt entirely foreign to him. For someone who had spent years conquering realms and shedding the blood of cosmic horrors, this simple scent carried a strange weight.
He had never truly tasted his mother’s cooking before. Growing up amidst emotional distance and cold silence, he had harbored deep resentment toward his father and had remained a complete stranger to his sister. They shared blood, yet they had been nothing more than occupants of the same house.
He looked at the woman standing by the stove, carefully stirring a pot with practiced ease.
"Hello mom. How have you been?" he asked softly, his voice devoid of the commanding edge it usually held before.
Tiana froze mid-motion. The wooden spoon in her hand almost slipped into the pot as she turned around slowly. The moment her eyes landed on Victor, tears welled up instantly and spilled down her cheeks. She did not care about his status as a supreme entity or the cosmic power he commanded. To her, he was simply the son who had returned home.
She hurriedly rushed toward him, wrapping her arms around his frame and clinging to him tightly. "Son, finally I can see you. Thank God you are safe and sound," she sobbed, her body trembling with overwhelming emotion.
Victor let out a soft laugh and returned the embrace gently, careful not to exert even a fraction of his monstrous strength. "What could happen to me? I am strong, you know?"
Tiana pulled back slightly, wiping her tears with the back of her hand while looking up at him with immense pride. "Yeah, I know. I am so proud of you. Wait a bit, the cooking is almost done. Can you call Noelle?"
"Yes, please. I am very hungry," Victor replied, a light smile gracing his features. In reality, he had long since transcended the basic biological need for sustenance, but the thought of sharing a meal with his mother made the prospect irresistible.
"Hahaha, come back here in five minutes," she said, her expression softening. She turned back toward the stove before adding offhandedly, "Oh, call your dad as well."
The words left her mouth before she could stop them, and she froze instantly, realizing what she had just said. Her face turned pale with worry as she hurriedly turned back to Victor. "Umm, I am sorry. You don’t have to if you don’t want to meet him."
Victor looked at her panicked expression and simply smiled, shaking his head. "It is okay. I don’t hate him anymore. I just don’t feel anything toward him."
Unbeknownst to them, Robert had already stepped into the hallway near the kitchen, hoping to catch a glimpse of his son. The moment Victor’s cold, indifferent words reached his ears, an sharp, agonizing pain pierced his chest.
He felt as though a blade had been plunged into his heart, yet he knew he had no right to complain. He remained completely silent, retreating a few steps back into the shadows as Victor turned around and walked toward the training room.
Inside the residence’s private training area, the air was dense with concentrated mana. A young girl stood in the center of the room, her forehead glistening with sweat as she carefully channeled her magic, entirely absorbed in her practice.
"Oh? You have progressed quite well. Already an elite rank mage," a familiar voice echoed from the doorway.
Noelle halted her spell instantly, the glowing orb of magic dissipating into thin air. She snapped her head toward the entrance, her eyes widening in disbelief. The moment she saw Victor standing there, all her composure vanished. She moved like a flash, running straight across the room and throwing her arms around his waist.
"Brother! When did you come?" she asked, looking up at him with pure excitement shining in her eyes.
"Just arrived. Come to the dining room. I will help you with your practice later," Victor said, patting her head gently.
"Really?" Her eyes lit up instantly, bright with anticipation.
"Really," Victor nodded.
The two of them walked back to the dining hall together, where Tiana had already set the table with an extraordinary feast. Robert took a seat at the far end, remaining quiet and respectful, while Noelle chattered endlessly about her daily training.
For the first time in their lives, the family shared a truly sumptuous meal together. Tiana watched her husband, daughter, and son sitting around the same table, tears of pure joy brimming in her eyes once more. Her heart was completely full, without a single regret remaining.
As the meal concluded and the plates were cleared, Victor looked across the table at his mother. "We will go to the Morningstar family for the marriage proposal soon."
Tiana snapped out of her emotional state, her eyes sparking with enthusiasm. "Okay, but we will need to buy many gifts before we go. Let us go shopping in the evening!"
Noelle practically bounced out of her chair with excitement. "Yes! Yes! Let us go shopping!"
Victor chuckled at their enthusiasm and stood up from his chair. "Very well."
He left the dining room and returned to his private quarters, closing the door behind him. Stepping toward the center of the room, he sat cross-legged on the quiet floor. He wanted to create some chaos essence.
"Master, do you want to enter the Aether Realm?" Astrion asked.
"Hmm? What is that?", Victor asked with intrigue.
"The Aether Realm is a dimension made purely of spiritual power. Countless life forms enter there with their consciousness. It functions like a virtual universe on a far higher scale. You can meet people from different universes, even creatures from the Chaos Sea," Astrion explained slowly.
His curiosity was thoroughly piqued as he continued. "Is there anything special there?"
"Yes, master," Astrion replied promptly. "Countless rare treasures appear there that are otherwise nearly impossible to find in the material world. Furthermore, you are about to become a World Realm being, which means you need to construct your inner world.
You might be able to find the absolute best foundational resources to build your inner world there. Besides, there are resources that can significantly aid your cultivation in the later realms as well."
"If that place is so remarkable, let us visit it right now. How do I enter?" Victor asked.
"Let me teach you the technique. With it, you will be able to connect your mind directly to the Aether Realm," Astrion said.
In the very next instant, an intricate memory stream flowed into Victor’s mind, detailing the operational method of the technique. Because his talent and comprehension were utterly monstrous, the technique was far from complex in his eyes. He mastered the mental path almost immediately, channeling his spiritual energy according to the specified flow.
Closing his eyes, he projected his consciousness outward, seeking the frequency of the ethereal domain. Immediately, he felt his mind transcend the physical boundaries of normal space and time. His awareness surged upward, shooting through a dense layer of pure white clouds before bursting into a completely vibrant, high-dimensional realm.
When he opened his eyes, the sensory overload was immediate. He found himself standing on a paved street inside a massive, bustling metropolis that stretched beyond the horizon. Looking down at his shoulder, he noticed Astrion sitting there, taking the form of a small, cat-sized creature with two distinct heads looking in different directions.
"So this is the Aether Realm?" Victor mused aloud, sweeping his gaze across the surreal architecture and strange beings walking past.
"Hey brother, are you new here?" a voice suddenly called out from nearby.
Victor turned his head left and right, looking around at eye level, but saw no one standing beside him.
"Hey bro, look lower!" the voice called out again, sounding slightly annoyed.
Victor tilted his head downward and finally spotted the speaker. Standing barely up to his waist was a small, green-skinned goblin wearing leather armor, grinning broadly up at him.
"Who are you?" Victor asked, looking down at the small creature with mild curiosity.
"I am Dublin. And who might you be?" the goblin introduced himself cheerfully, folding his arms over his chest.
"I am Victor," he replied simply.
"Nice to meet you, Victor! Where did you come from? Are you from a known cosmos, or a rogue universe?" Dublin asked, tilting his head with genuine curiosity.
"Huh?" Victor blinked, momentarily confused by the terminology.
"Uh, I am sorry, master. I forgot to mention this earlier," Astrion’s voice sounded directly in Victor’s mind. "Your home universe is technically classified as a rogue universe. A cosmos is a massive cluster of multiple universes that are directly connected and aligned with each other under grand factions."
"Oh, so that is how it works," Victor thought silently, nodding to himself before looking back down at the goblin. "I am from a rogue universe."
Dublin gasped slightly, his small eyes widening before he broke into an even larger grin. "Then you are exceptionally lucky! Today happens to be the day the grand Resource Tower opens its doors to newcomers. Let us enter the tower together! If you can ascend all the way to the tenth level, you can gain precious resources that will aid your cultivation all the way up to becoming a Cosmic Realm being, or perhaps even reaching the Cosmic God Realm!" Dublin explained with intense excitement, pointing toward a colossal spire towering over the center of the city.
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