Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 461: Returning to Earth

Jack decided not to kill every Emberheart. However, he had promised to erase that name off the galaxy, so he forced them to change their last names. The Emberheart family renamed itself to Openchest, completely humiliating themselves in the process. It was a choice for survival—those who refused to accept the change, almost a quarter of the adult population, were honorably executed by the family themselves.

It was not an easy period for the former Emberheart family. Those proud leonines had never had to bow their heads before. However, for their children to survive, they steeled their hearts and did it.

On that day, the name Emberheart finally disappeared from the Milky Way galaxy. Jack also instated an order that anyone found using that last name was to be captured, leonine or otherwise. And so, his oath to Eric was fulfilled, through not in the way anyone expected.

Jack had basically conquered the Animal Kingdom. He fell onto the surface of Animal Planet, spreading his aura with no one daring to match him. Children gazed at him with awe—adults felt terror through their closed shutters. He didn’t plan to mistreat the Kingdom—didn’t plan to become like them. He would simply distance himself from the matters of the Milky Way, letting things progress as they would.

After conquering the Kingdom and destroying his pursuers in the Hand of God, Jack still had six days remaining before the Heavenly Spoon Sovereign was set to arrive. He planned to publicize his location and wait for someone with the teleporter frequency of Earth to come to him. Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary. He found Shol in the dungeons of Animal Planet. The monk was safe, if a bit famished. He’d been here all along, captured by the Kingdom a little before Jack’s return to the galaxy.

“It’s been a while, brother,” Jack said with a smile, walking through a jail door. A skinny man awaited him, rubbing his wrists. His poor health did nothing to affect his good mood.

“Jack!” he exclaimed, rushing forward to hug his savior. “Is it true?” he asked. “Did you really defeat the Animal Kingdom?”

“Every Elder, Ancestor, and Supreme Ancestor,” Jack replied. “Along with some Envoys from the Hand of God.”

“But that’s… That’s amazing!” Shol shook his head, still stuck in disbelief. “I can’t believe that my little F-Grade disciple made it this far.”

“It’s okay. They didn’t mistreat me too much. I’m fine.”

The last thing Jack did before leaving Animal Planet was release every war criminal they kept. The vast majority were just captured rebels—people who deserved to be free. He also inspected the Kingdom’s vast treasuries, taking everything that caught his eye. Some treasures were more interesting than others, but he put them aside for later, just as he had with the space rings of Eva Solvig and the other Envoy.

The Kingdom was once again humiliated, but there was nothing they could do about it. Rumors about disbanding their faction were already in circulation. Jack and his bros finally took off, leaving behind a broken empire overrun with rebels.

In the near future, the Animal Kingdom would formally dissolve, breaking into numerous smaller factions which escaped to other constellations. The former Animal Kingdom constellation would be renamed the Bare Fist constellation, in honor of Jack, and would be led by a coalition of forces—at least for a while.

But Jack neither knew about these nor did he care. His job was done. Instead, he traveled to the nearest teleporter hub—Derion, the poison planet.

Earth had changed its teleporter frequency after Artus Emberheart’s raid. Shol hadn’t visited since then, but thankfully, the professor had thought ahead. She’d had him memorize a set of frequencies, saying that if they had to change for any reason, they’d use some of the other frequencies in the set. Therefore, Shol only needed a little experimenting to find the right frequency and connect to Earth.

Jack took a deep breath, staring at the spinning purple vortex. So many feelings warred inside him—anxiety, excitement, worry, guilt… He hadn’t seen his family in five years. He had no idea how they would react. How he would react.

However, he knew it would all be fine. After that knot in his heart had been resolved, he felt reborn. At peace. The happiness and sadness of life washed over him, but he remained tranquil. The worst was behind him. Whatever happened next, he could deal with it.

A hand fell on his shoulders. “You got this, bro.”

Jack turned, smiling. “Thanks, Brock.”

The two of them stepped into the teleporter, followed by Gan Salin, Nauja, and Shol. As for Bomn and Vashter, they’d decided to stay, taking the Trampling Ram and assisting the constellation however they could.

Stars spun around them. The galaxy became a speeding blur, and before long, Jack’s feet rested solidly on grass. He breathed in that so familiar air. Tall trees lay strewn ahead of him, crowded by brorilla guards ready to fight.

The moment they saw him, they paused mid-assault. Then, they let out a joyful cry which spread over the trees, scaring away the birds. They rushed to hug them all.

Jack laughed. “We’re back!”

A new cry responded to the brorillas. Harambe fell from the sky and slammed against the ground. His fur had developed gray tufts, and his eyes were darker than they used to be—but he’d reached the D-Grade, so he would live for many, many years.

Brock stepped out to meet him. He’d grown. At only a couple feet shorter, he seemed like a copy of his father when standing face to face. He smiled. “Hello, Father,” he said. “Your son is back.”

Harambe tried really hard to keep a straight face. He couldn’t. Tears marred his manly face, and he lunged towards his son, wrapping him in a tight embrace. The relief he exuded was otherworldly. Even Brock was touched—he froze for a moment, then his hands wrapped around his father’s back and held him tightly.

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Everyone else stayed silent for this reunion. However, a third cry cut through the air as a black form hurtled towards them at supersonic speed. It came to a stop ahead of Jack, the force of its extinguished momentum blowing everyone’s clothes backward.

Jack laid his eyes on a tall, dark-skinned woman. Her hair reached her shoulders, fluttering in the wind, while a red and blue robe covered her body. She remained opposite Jack, staring at him. She said no words—but her eyes spoke more than her mouth ever could. In those eyes, Jack could see relief, anger, hesitation. She didn’t know how to react, how to greet him, what she felt. The time they’d spent apart had been so much that even their current relationship was unclear. She’d looked forward to this moment so much, but now that it unexpectedly arrived, she was afraid.

Facing her alternating feelings, Jack smiled and stepped forward. He stood right in front of her—and she did not push him away. He ran a hand over her cheek. “I’m sorry for making you worry, my love,” he said. “I’m back.”

She lost her breath. “Welcome home…” she finally managed to say before Jack drew her into a warm kiss containing all his loneliness, his despair, his need for her, how much he’d missed her. She melted in his arms, and he on her lips. They hugged, completely forgetting about everyone else that was present.

It was only a bit later that they simultaneously realized what they were doing. Vivi tried to pull back, but Jack smiled into her eyes. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’m really happy to see you. Have you been well?”

“Kind of. Have you?”

“Kind of.”

They smiled, sharing each other’s pain, and only then did they withdraw. Jack looked around, finding many familiar faces staring at them. Even Edgar had arrived—a scholarly man with a sharp beard and an air of confidence. His eyes hadn’t lost their spark. If anything, they shone even brighter.

As Jack was about to go over and greet him, however, he noticed someone else. A little girl, barely six or seven years old, staring at him from behind a tree. Straight black hair fell over her dark skin, while her wide olive eyes were glued on Jack. He could see so many things in those eyes—and it pained him that beneath everything else hid hardness. This girl was growing fine, as well as she could without him.

Jack smiled warmly. “Hi, Ebele.” He spread his arms.

Her hesitation melted. The hardness in her eyes receded, and she bolted into his arms, almost throwing him backward. Her little arms wrapped tightly around his chest. “Dad!” she squealed, bursting into tears. Jack placed a hand on the back of his daughter’s head, holding her tenderly.

“I’m sorry,” he said with tears in his eyes. “I’m back.”

She buried her face in his chest, crying her heart out, releasing five long years of worries. Her father was here. It was like a heavy weight had been lifted off her small chest, letting her breathe normally for the first time in a long while.

Jack didn’t speak anymore. He could sense that his daughter had endured more things than a child was supposed to… But, he was here now. At least for a while. He would do his best to make up for his years of absence.

“Jack,” Vivi whispered by his side. “There is something you should know. About Eric…”

“I know,” Jack replied calmly. “He is gone. I’m sorry.”

He watched her eyes fall into grief. It wasn’t that she didn’t expect this—ever since Eric had been kidnapped a year and a half ago, she knew this was by the far the likeliest scenario. She and everyone else had prepared themselves. It was just that she’d always held out a little bit of hope. Now, hearing the decisive truth, that final strand of hope disappeared and left her wallowing in darkness.

Her eyes turned red. Jack felt Ebele clench his chest even tighter, her muffled sobs turning sadder. He closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do. Death was a part of life—it wasn’t something he could punch away, no matter how hard he tried.

“Let’s go,” he said softly. He wrapped both his wife and daughter in a spatial distortion and teleported directly into their living room. Vivi stumbled in surprise. Ebele hadn’t even realized they’d moved. When she raised her head to look around, she released a small yelp.

“Let me tell you everything,” Jack said, sitting them both down. He detailed his experiences since he’d last left them. The Green Dragon hidden realm, his three years of cultivation there, then his return to the Milky Way and his attempts to reach Earth. He spoke about Eric’s passing, not going into detail, then narrated his experience in the Black Hole World. Finally, he told them how he’d destroyed the Animal Kingdom and Hand of God branch in the Milky Way.

The two women listened, not commenting much.

“What about you?” Jack finally asked.

Vivi told him about the years they’d spent on Earth. How the professor—Jack’s mother—had stepped down from running the planet and retired to a small cottage nearby. How Vivi had taken over, working herself to the bone to enhance the power of Earthen cultivators.

“We even discovered the C-Grade Dungeon of this planet,” she said. “A huge ocean deep underground. It circles almost the entire planet—its volume is many times greater than all the surface oceans combined.”

“Really?” Jack asked. “Are there many new species there?”

“Well, there are some.”

He nodded. A C-Grade Dungeon wouldn’t do much for him anymore. He still had to develop his ninth fruit and receive the rest of the levels from the battle, but… Those could wait. He didn’t have too much time here. He would spend it all with his family.

“And you, Ebele?” he asked.

“I practiced,” she said. “I learned languages, martial arts, I tempered my body. I want to become strong.”

Jack couldn’t help the sad smile on his face. He felt proud, but also deeply distraught. The life of a cultivator was not easy. It saddened him to imagine his daughter going through the same things he had. The life and death battles, the danger, the pain, the tribulations, the loneliness… Her simple words, “I want to become strong,” contained more depth than her mind was currently able to fit.

However, he realized by now that it was pointless to dictate another person’s path, even if it was his daughter. Everyone had their own destiny. All he could do was help her traverse it as best as possible.

“Okay,” he replied, not showing any of his feelings. “Daddy will train with you a bit, okay?”

Her face brightened up.

“Will you stay for long, Jack?” Vivi asked.

“No…” he replied. “I must go soon. They will come to pick me up, and I can’t say no.”

Her disappointment was evident. “How long?”

“Six days.”

“Six days!? You’ve been gone for five years and you’re only staying for six days!?”

It was understandable that she was upset. Even Ebele was surprised. This really was too little time.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Jack said. “I can alter the flow of time now. It’s useless for cultivating, but when it comes to spending time together, I can make it last three times as long.”

Vivi pouted. “It’s still not enough…”

“It never could be,” he replied, then sighed. “I missed you too, Vivi. Both of you. I hate that I will have to leave again soon, but it is what I must do. Let’s just spend this time together, okay? Please…”

Both looked into his eyes. Ebele nodded with understanding. “Okay!”