It was fun teasing the Creator and getting to learn from an experienced soul, but Null knew it was time to leave after all was said and done.
With Void back in commission, they could return to the real world after a quick brush up on the matters of extraplanar travel.
"From what I can tell, Void used the innate connection between him and It to find this hidden space that was likely born from Its mind," the Creator spoke his inference.
"His mind? So that means It lost a fraction of Its mind at the cost of sealing away the only things that kept him company," Null tried to wrap his head around things.
"One cannot understand the mind of an existence like It. It's best to just focus on what we can do in the present," the Creator said, "And what we can do is leave this empty place and return to our plane."
"He's right," Ego spoke up, "We've spent enough time here as is. Plus, we don't know how the others have been since we left so abruptly."
"Yeah, I miss 'em too. At least we got to know some other friends while we were here. And on top of that, we're breaking them out of this prison."
Ego shifted in form and color after that as the Emotions grew excited at the notion.
They were still present while fused with Ego, but it was up to them to dictate the capacity at which they revealed themselves.
The influence of the spirit liquor allowed for the subdued Emotions to encroach on the outside due to the inebriated state Ego was put under.
From then on, Ego had to put their focus on restraining the Emotions and only allowing them to flow and express them naturally.
"Now that we're done teaching Void more about his abilities, let's get out of here and return home," Null said.
The one in question was messing around with himself as he tried absorbing something like he was taught.
"We already told you that you can't absorb anything in here. Just wait until you bring us back home, okay?"
Void's head was drooped down, but he still replied, "Alright. I will bring us out of here."
The Creator had already bestowed the information he promised to both Ego and Void, so it was all up to Void now to complete things.
He had learned to absorb energy and trace the connections he had in grand scheme the cosmos.
The Creator and Null even discussed the ways he could sense the star charts of the areas he could transport them to without having them trapped somewhere unknown.
Once they were certain that Void was moderately prepped and ready to go, they left Null's mind space and prepared themself for what was to come.
"You've got this bud," Null consoled Void lest he have any concerns.
Void nodded in response before enveloping him and taking him away from the blank plane.
---
On the other side, the crew had undergone substantial growth after an entire year of uninhibited research, training, fighting, and stealing.
They made sure to add communication features to their ships so that they could come into contact with each other as needed, but they had not yet gotten any portable devices.
Barter's Ruler had made sure to keep Klein and Z'oelo on the right track when delving into the matters of Universal Rules.
They had yet to fully lean into a certain field of power, but Klein had successfully begun advanced manipulation and Z'oelo had learnt to channel his ki into his livelli.
The two both had incredible bloodlines and were the strongest for their age in their respective worlds, so they had much to aspire to become in the future.
Hard work did not always cut it; having special heritages made them explode with potential.
Unbeknownst to them, Null made it back to the original plane and cheered when he noticed his surroundings.
'We made it back successfully!'
He took note of Void's state being once more in decline, but knew that a little break and some spirit energy would have him back at his peak in no time.
"Just do as you were taught and absorb some energy, okay?"
Void did not respond and just did as Null said.
'For now, I should probably stop by the Wanderer's Guild Headquarters to see if the guys are still here.'
He waited a little so that Void could finish revitalizing himself before allowing him to join him as the vortex that constantly absorbed spirit energy to satiate itself and in turn power Null's abilities.
Very quickly, he used the violet propulsion like he was used to and observed the way the cosmic structure lit up to signify Rejection alongside other Emotions giving part of their power to fuel the emotion-based ability.
After a short flight, he was back at the headquarters and asked one of the front desk workers about the members of his crew and was told that Barter's Ruler and Theef had just completed a mission and were returning soon.
'Great! I can't wait to see them after being transported for as long as I was. Hmm. I wonder how long it was out here?'
He chatted a bit longer with the desk clerk and was surprised to find out that it had been roughly a year since he departed.
'A whole year! It only felt like a few days at most while I was back there. Time must have flowed differently compared to here.'
He imagined all of the changes that had to occur while the Emotions were trapped inside the portion of Its mind.
'To think time would flow slower there to the point where a year passes like nothing. Still, how long would that mean they waited there for me to rescue them? Millenia at the least.'
While he was lost in thought, two familiar figures strolled into the building and upon noticing the absent-minded Null ran up to greet him.
Theef took him up in a big hug, "Took you long enough ya bastard!"
Barter's Ruler resorted to giving him a punch to the shoulder, "What he said."
"It's not like I wanted to disappear out of the blue! You can talk to Void about it later but just know that we're alright. We accidentally visited a portion of Its mind full of Emotions— basically a bunch of pseudo-gods!"
They gave a pause out of consideration for the shocking information, but Theef broke the silence by laughing, "Yeah? Well, wanna take a gander at these babies?!"
He opened his palms and a tendril spat out a total of five objects including a transparent piece.
Null focused on the energies emitted by the treasures and soon linked them to Barter's Ruler's golden coin, "You did not... and five of them. Holy shit!"
"We found it much easier after plundering the first," Barter's Ruler knew the surprise was warranted.
"What do each of them correspond to? What powers do they give? Show me! Show me," Null was all too happy for his friend to have finally gained power relevant to his nature after only a year's worth of time spent.
"Save it for later," Theef reabsorbed the treasures and calmed Null down, "We've got to pick up the babes of the group and head to this Hallowed Plane you were talking about before you left, right?"
Null was back to himself after being told off and agreed, "You're right. It's been long enough, and Void's got more of a bearing on his powers, so we're good to go. I wonder how it's been for the other three."
"I'd say you're in for a treat," Theef smiled.
"He's right. I've been urging them to focus on what's most important to them and they've been working at astronomical paces to realize their own Universal Rules," Barter's Ruler seemed really proud of the two.
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go grab them!"
Once back on the ship, Null was told how to use the communication features of the ship and got into contact with both Klein and Z'oelo.
"Gosh! Has it already been a year? I've been so absorbed with research and experimentation that I lost track of the time. I really need a watch," Klein had enormous bags under his eyes as he spoke through the speaker.
"It's been hell for me at least! Hey, Null. Y'think you could teach me about ki since you seem to be knowledgeable on things related to energy," Z'oelo was smiling even though he was complaining.
Null loved the fact that he was back with his crew, "As soon as I head over, I'd love to help you guys with whatever troubles you got! I even have a special someone with a ton of experience to help out."
The Creator's carefree smile vanished inside Null's mind when he heard him speak the last sentence, 'Seems like I've become the sensei for this motley crew,' he though as he continued to stroke his beard leisurely.
The ship soon landed on Mamon after no time at all and Klein was scooped up along with his equipment and some other things to last with him for a prolonged period of time.
The Allbeast jumped on Null who eagerly ruffled the fur and feathers of each of the forms they took in their excitement.
"Were you good to Klein while I was away? Were you?"
A series of coos and yips erupted from the Allbeast as they jumped to Klein and licked him.
"There's the licking. I told you before, no licking," Klein fell to the floor trying to avoid the Allbeast's tongue.
He was laughing all the while though.
Then it was time to pick up Z'oelo on Lokhil where the Shetavi civilization was warned of their arrival by Z'oelo.
He had substantially less to bring with him than Klein, but it was a surprise to see Muni's physical form floating alongside him controlled by Muni herself.
It turned out that he was not the only one working hard.
'As the only female member of the crew, the least I could do is pull my own weight," Muni triumphantly swung her physical form around while her spirit sat on Z'oelo's shoulder.
"I've even trained my hand-to-hand combat with some of the people in the Brawler Clan. Oh yeah, you've gotta show me something about ki. It's practically a weaker version of spirit energy if you think about it."
"Yeah. I'll be sure to help you out. I'm just glad to be back considering it's been a while for you guys."
The feeling was mutual as the rest of the crew had been separated for the duration of the year up to their own devices.
It was nice for the whole crew to be back together and with a goal in mind.
'After this, we'll be on our own in another plane. Let's enjoy this moment while it lasts," Null thought to himself