Upon waking, Arthur had no sense of how long he had slept.
When he stepped out of his room in his residence on the planetoid within Barda's training pocket universe, the sound of rushing footsteps reached him and the door to the building was thrown open, and in a flash, someone tackled him to the ground in a hug.
A wry smile formed on his face as he reached out, running his fingers through the hair of the young woman holding him tightly, and said, "Seeing how much you've grown really makes the reality of how long has passed hit hard, huh?"
There was no immediate response, but after a few seconds, as he continued to run his hands through her lustrous black hair, a small voice finally spoke, "I missed you."
At this, Arthur smiled wryly, returning her hug fully, and said, "Missed you too, Elaine."
Indeed, the one who had rushed to him the moment he woke was Elaine, the Ancient-Breed godslayer he had rescued from the planet Solymus, who was the closest person to a daughter to him.
