Seeing Liam step out of the stone tablet's world, Luna growled cheerfully and pounced on him. Even though the fox knew that this time he was not going anywhere, she couldn't help but feel anxious when they were separated.
"I am here. I am here." Liam laughed as he patted the little thing. "I am here and we are going home."
Luna blinked as she looked at Liam. "Master, you formed a mana core so fast?"
Liam nodded. In fact, he hadn't formed one but three cores in total. By the time he had finished forming the ice core, the nether core had already taken shape. There were now three condensed balls of immense energy simply hanging around near Liam's heart.
"I am not able to sense anything?" Luna curiously tried to sense the presence of mana in Liam's body.
Hmm? Liam pondered why that would be as he was currently not putting any effort into hiding his aura. Perhaps it was another function of the fruit embedded in his heart.
But Liam did not care about these things at the moment.
It was time to get back.
His expression turned serious as he looked at the fox and said, "Luna, we need to go back. Can you activate your teleportation skill now?"
Luna's ears perked up, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Master!" She also couldn't wait to get back home. While this world was good, she was getting a bit homesick.
Liam took a deep breath, his mind momentarily drifting to the countless things he had to face once back on Earth. But he couldn't delay any longer; he had to confront Crawford and reclaim his world.
"Let's do it now, Luna. We've waited long enough," Liam said decisively.
Luna's tails swished in excitement as she began to focus. Her form shimmered with a mystical light, and a portal started to form in front of them. The air around them vibrated with severe mana fluctuations, pulling in mana from everywhere as the portal stabilized.
Liam took one last look at the world he was leaving behind. This place had truly been a stepping stone for him in every way.
He had gained strength and allies, and he had finally managed to find the thing that he was lacking the most. Now there was nothing to hold him back.
He stepped into the portal, along with Luna as light engulfed them completely.
For a moment, there was a sensation of being nowhere and everywhere at once, a fleeting glimpse into the vastness of the cosmos.
And then, just as suddenly, they were standing on solid ground.
Liam opened his eyes, his heart beating rapidly. Not out of the joy of finally returning home but out of fear and nervousness. What if he was too late?
He was powerful now. More powerful than he had ever been before but what if all of that meant nothing?
He was almost afraid to see what was around him.
Was the teleportation successful? Did they get back to the right place? Was everyone still alive? Were they well? Was his sister alright? Was Shen Yue suffering?
So many thoughts bombarded his mind.
However, when Liam opened his eyes, he was utterly shocked. So much so that he immediately opened his system interface to take a look.
[Ding! Current Location: Earth, Planet 2343AS3u45i]
This confirmed that he was indeed back on Earth but how could this be? There was no relief or happiness on Liam's face as a look of dread gripped him.
As he took in the surroundings, it was as if his worst nightmare had come true.
He was finally back where he belonged but it was no longer the same place. It was dark, gloomy, reeking of corruption and desperation. It was filled with nether.
The once familiar landscape of Earth was now a twisted vista of despair.
The sky, shrouded in a sickly hue of purples and blacks, churned with clouds that seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it.
The air was thick, heavy with a sense of malevolence and decay. The very ground beneath Liam's feet felt tainted, everything corrupted.
"Master..." Luna's voice was a mix of confusion and concern. She too saw the profound change that had befallen their world with her maw wide open.
Liam's fists clenched tightly. This was not the homecoming he had envisioned. His eyes darted around, searching for any sign of life, any hint of resistance against the darkness that had engulfed his world.
"There's so much nether energy," Liam whispered, his voice barely above a murmur.
The realization hit him hard. This was not supposed to happen. He was anxious about so many things but this hadn't been one of them.
"How the hell did this happen?" Liam growled in anger. He had stopped them. He had stopped the array. He had protected the world tree. He had done everything. So why?
Just as his mind and his emotions were about to run berserk, Liam all of a sudden felt a faint voice in his mind—something called out to him.
Liam froze. He stopped letting himself get consumed and properly focused. However, it was not the voice that caught his attention first. It was something else.
Liam immediately blasted off the ground, shooting into the sky like a rocket. Luna followed him and she stopped right next to him. The two of them hovered mid-air as they watched the scene in front of them in utter dread.
What the hell? Their world had somehow become fat?
Liam was now genuinely confused as he couldn't help but feel the vastness of their world. Earth that should have been of a particular size was now several folds bigger as if it had somehow gotten bigger and coughed up more landmass and waterbodies out of thin air.
More importantly, all of it was dripping with the rotting energy of death, nether?
Liam frowned. No. He could sense it. There was a boundary.
Throwing all caution to the wind, he frantically flew eastward when finally he saw the proof with his very own eyes. There was nether, but there was also life on the planet.