Chapter 45: The Long Road Back

Sen looked up at the sky as the five suns shone down. He sighed to himself before looking ahead. The realm breach was a long way off.

Sen called his system to check—he had no weapons on him.

Weird, he thought. It’s been a while since I’ve walked this distance.

Sen looked up at the distance with a sigh and took another puff before walking forward.

Hmm. Damn it all. The sun was still shining, and even for an Eclipser, it was still a struggle. Not that it mattered—he had been in worse situations than this. But still, if it was one or two, I could take it. But five? Really, five? What exactly are you trying to hide?

Sen let out a long breath, but for him, it was more of a sigh about why he was even here. Right. Mom blackmailed him into coming. Ahh, next time I have to make sure she never finds me.

Then there is the matter of Rain. She has to be alive, right? I mean, that cold queen did not die when a Calamity-rank beast attacked, so what is an ocean to her, right? I just have to find her and save her. I just hope she is fine.

Weird way to talk to myself, but still, she has to be alright, right?

Sen looked around. There was no one around. He just sighed to himself again before walking forward.

It took a while, but Sen was able to make it to the breach. But if you’re asking, it felt like a century, but he made it. He sighed to himself before stepping out of the breach.

The poison air met him at once, but Sen did not bother with it. He was an Eclipser, after all. As he stepped out into the night, fresh poison air filled his lungs. He looked up at the moon that was shining down.

You know, Sen looked up at the moon. I would have been annoyed by that aura if I had missed it.

The Awakened, about to enter the breach to find the weapons, just looked at Sen like he had lost his mind, talking to the moon.

Sen smiled. What, am I the only one who missed it?

No one answered as they watched him.

Meanwhile, another Awakened was looking at him—he was wearing a silver mask. He looked at Sen, who was walking away, before looking at the small girl who was behind him, also in a silver mask, and asked, "Who is he?"

"Oh, that’s Sen. But what we are doing here has nothing to do with him."

The silver-masked man in a red cloak nodded. "So what are we here for?"

The girl in a mask pointed toward the breach. "There is something wrong with the system, and we came here to fix it."

The man just nodded as the two entered the breach.

---

Meanwhile, after Sen passed the checkpoint, he took his hover bike and sped through the wasteland desert that was District 12.

Just then, his wristband lit up. Sen looked down at it finally before turning it on, showing five missed calls. Sen set his hover bike to autopilot before turning on his holo comms.

Hmm. Two from Mom and three from Seraphina. Why would she be calling? I thought she was in the Astral Plane.

Sen took a deep breath before letting it go. He had to save Rain, so he found the contact he was looking for and called.

"Hello, boss. How can I help you?"

"Well, you know."

"Know what?"

Sen just sighed. "Look, I need my weapons sent here now."

"Sorry, sir. You do not have the authorization for us to release them to you, sir."

"Really, sis? Just send me my blade."

"Sorry, bro. Mom’s orders. And you know how she is if you don’t listen, right?"

"But try to understand. I have a friend to save, and the more time we spend on the phone, she could be saved, so please."

"You know the drill, bro. Ask Mom."

"Fine. Put her on the comms, then."

"Oh, she is out."

Sen just sighed. "So when will she be back?"

"I don’t know. Three days, maybe two."

Sen just sighed as the hover bike sped through District 12.

Sen sighed. "Fine. I am coming home."

"Okay. I will be expecting you."

"No, wait. I can’t use my ability."

"What? Why? Don’t you have any weapons?"

"If I did, I would not be asking for mine now, would I?"

"Don’t tell me you broke those blades."

Sen just sighed. "I didn’t mean to. It just happened."

"Well, do you know how hard it is to find material for those blades, right?"

Sen just sighed and looked away. "I know that. Never mind. You are of no help to me."

Sen wanted to cut the call, but before he could, the voice shot back. "Look, even if you take a transporter, it’s a one-and-a-half-day journey just to come. And by then, it will have been three days if you go back. So it’s either you find somewhere to stay and wait for Mom, or you just waste your time and come home."

Sen just sighed and cut the comms. "You’re no help."

As he hovered away, the wasteland turned into a broken city of skyscrapers, which were nothing but rubble and rust. As Sen moved forward, he called his system.

Name: Sen 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Astral Being: The Weeping Prism of the Primordial Rift

Class: Violet

Class Rank: Amber

Rank: Rank III — Eclipser

Astral Burden: The Anchor’s Torment

Current Requirement: [Active advancement requirement]

[ ABILITIES ]

Rank I (Awakened): Spatial Slash

Rank II (Resonant): Spatial Manipulation

Rank III (Eclipser): Non-Living Spatial Control

Sen tapped on his burden and read the description.

The contractor cannot safely channel or ground spatial abilities through their own flesh; attempting to tear space without a designated medium causes the physical body to experience localized spatial tearing, forcing a total reliance on a specialized focal weapon to anchor every movement of power.

Sen just sighed to himself. The drive is going to be a long one.