The journey back was faster than even Adrian expected.
When he had traveled to the Edge, it had taken him days of continuous warping, folding layer upon layer of space to move through the galaxy.
But now, the return, even with him carrying the Celestials, took only hours.
He didn't even notice the way the void bent around him differently, the subtle ease in every blink across light-years.
Even his mastery over space had refined itself without him even noticing.
The Celestials floated beside him, carried within the gentle embrace of his domain.
...
As the Origin Capital came into view, the Six Celestials fell into stunned silence.
Before them, the entire star system glowed under the veil of a colossal formation. Seventy worlds orbited in perfect harmony around the central construct.
Selric whispered, almost in disbelief, "He really… built all this."
Max shook his head slowly. "I knew Earth would endure. But this…"
"This is beyond enduring," Ilyas finished. "This is thriving."
...
When they arrived at the Origin Construct, the remaining Celestials were already waiting.
Aurelia, Draven, Septimus, Cassian, and Lucian stood at the edge of the landing platform, their expressions bright with anticipation.
Draven's loud voice was the first to break the silence.
"Oh, you've got to be joking! Elliot and Ilyas? They ascended before me?"
Elliot grinned, stepping forward with exaggerated confidence. "Jealousy doesn't suit you, Draven."
Ilyas laughed, replying with mock seriousness, "Don't be jealous just because the galaxy finally recognized our brilliance."
Draven groaned, throwing his hands up. "Adrian, hurry up and comprehend Blood already, so I can beat these idiots!"
The others burst into laughter.
Septimus moved forward, his eyes fixed on Selric. The two men stopped before each other, and for a moment, neither spoke. Then Septimus pulled him into an embrace, gripping his shoulder tightly.
Septimus smiled, "You look old."
"You look worse."
Cassian smiled quietly beside Aurelia, who stood at the edge, watching everything unfold. Her expression was calm, but Adrian caught the faint tremor in her hands.
To the five Celestials who had remained outside, only a few months had passed since they last saw the others. But for the six who had been trapped inside that structure, thousands of years had gone by.
Time was different for both, yet the reunion carried weight beyond words.
Orin clasped Lucian's arm. Max pulled Draven into a headlock despite his protests.
Adrian stood among them quietly, content just to watch.
They had all carried Earth's hope across the stars. Now, finally, they were together again.
After a while, Adrian excused himself. "I'll be back soon."
Aurelia glanced at him. "Where are you going?"
He turned away, his gaze drifting toward the distant void. There was still something left undone.
"To bring Earth home."
...
Hours later, the stars shifted as Adrian approached Earth.
The planet was located so far that it had taken them nearly four months of travel when he journeyed to the galaxy for the first time. Now, with his speed, he arrived at Earth in just a few hours.
He floated before it, seeing it was the same as before. Of course, nothing would change; it hadn't even been a year since he left. But things had changed so much for him.
The blue marble hung in the void, fragile and beautiful. Clouds drifted across continents. Oceans shimmered beneath the sun's light. Somewhere down there, people lived, unaware of how much the galaxy had shifted around them.
Moments later, a silver streak ascended from the planet.
Sentinel.
He emerged from the atmosphere, his expression calm but curious.
"Adrian… you've returned."
Sentinel had no idea what had happened in the galaxy. No matter what, he could not have expected the things to happen within just this small time. He merely thought Adrian was back to deliver resources or check on Earth's safety.
But Adrian said, "I'm here to move Earth."
Sentinel blinked. "Move… Earth?"
"To the Origin Capital."
The old guardian's brow furrowed. "What is that?"
Adrian smiled faintly. He didn't explain. Instead, he lifted his hand, and a white-grey sphere of light emerged, floating toward Sentinel.
"Everything will make sense after this."
Sentinel touched the sphere.
The moment he did, his mind flooded with everything: Adrian's journey to the galaxy, the battles, the birth of the Origin Clan, the Origin Net, the formation, the battle with the Demon Lord, and finally, the Edge of the galaxy and the things that happened there.
All of it burned through Sentinel's thoughts in the span of seconds.
Flashes of Adrian standing in the void, erasing fleets with a word. The formation spanning seventy worlds. The Demon Lord's death. The Guardian Spirit's question.
When it ended, the old guardian stood still, stunned beyond words.
It took him minutes before he finally whispered, "…You really did it."
Adrian nodded. "Elder, return to the planet. I'll move Earth to its new place. Everyone is waiting."
Sentinel could only nod, still overwhelmed. He descended slowly, silver light fading as he re-entered the atmosphere.
Adrian watched him go, then turned his gaze to Earth.
He extended his hand.
He wrapped the planet in a translucent sphere of spatial essence, cradling it with gravity threads that distributed force evenly across its surface. To anyone on the planet, it would feel like nothing but a passing breeze.
Then he moved. Adrian carried Earth across the galaxy.
...
Hours later, Earth vanished from its orbit and reappeared in the Origin System.
He placed it near the Origin Construct, closer than any other planet. The perfect place for the world that birthed him.
The formation above pulsed once, recognizing the new arrival, and threads of white-grey light extended gently, weaving Earth into the network.
Adrian floated above his homeworld, watching as it settled into its new orbit.
Earth shone blue and green beneath the light of a new sun.
"Welcome home," he murmured.
...
The eleven Celestials were already waiting in the Origin Construct.
They stood gazing out toward the void where Adrian had departed hours ago. None of them spoke. They simply watched, waiting for the moment that would change everything.
Then the void shimmered.
Earth appeared.
The blue-green marble materialized in orbit, cradled within threads of spatial essence. The formation above pulsed once, recognizing the arrival, and white-grey light wove gently around the planet, welcoming it home.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Ilyas exhaled, his breath trembling. "That's… that's Earth."
Max's voice cracked. "After all this time…"
Selric stepped forward, pressing his hand against the viewing panel. His eyes glistened. "We left it so long ago."
Draven said nothing. He simply stared, his jaw tight, his fists clenched at his sides.
Aurelia turned away, covering her mouth with one hand. Her shoulders shook.
Cassian placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're home."
She nodded, unable to speak.
...
Minutes later, they descended together.
When they broke through Earth's atmosphere, the wind rushed past them, familiar and warm.
They landed on solid ground.
Grass beneath their feet. The scent of soil and rain in the air. The distant hum of cities beyond the horizon.
Ilyas knelt, pressing his palm flat against the earth. His voice was soft, almost reverent. "It still looks the same… but we've changed too much."
Orin crouched beside him, running his fingers through the grass. "We've been gone for millennia. And yet…"
"It waited," Elliot finished quietly.
Gary stood apart from the others, his gaze sweeping across the landscape. His fists trembled at his sides. "We thought we'd never see it again."
Max laughed, though his voice broke halfway through. "I thought I'd forgotten what it felt like."
Draven looked up at the sky, his expression unreadable. "I didn't think I'd ever stand here again."
Selric rose slowly, his eyes distant. "We left as protectors. We return as strangers."
Aurelia turned toward Adrian, her voice steady despite the tears on her face. "Thank you."
He nodded once. "Let's go."
...
Adrian guided them to the Central Tower of the EUO headquarters.
Inside, the upper levels, all twelve Celestials gathered there.
Sentinel stood at the center of the room, his silver hair gleaming beneath the soft light. When the others entered, he looked up, and for the first time in ages, he smiled.
Not the weary, patient smile of a guardian who had carried the weight of the world alone.
But a genuine, unguarded smile.
One by one, they embraced him.
Aurelia was the last. She stopped before him, her expression soft, hesitant. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Sentinel reached out, pulling her into his arms.
"Welcome home," he whispered.
She buried her face against his shoulder.
The others gathered around them, laughing, exchanging memories that stretched across centuries. Stories of battles fought, of loneliness endured.
Adrian stood near the edge of the room, watching them quietly.
Kael appeared beside him, "They've been waiting for this moment for a long time."
...
That evening, the news spread.
Across every city, every settlement, the return of the Celestials lit up every screen.
Broadcasts played on loop, footage of the twelve legends standing together on Earth's soil for the first time in millennia. Anchors stammered through their reports, unable to contain their awe.
"The Celestials have returned—"
"—after thousands of years—"
"—Earth's greatest heroes, reunited at last—"
From every continent, every city, millions watched.
Families gathered around their screens. Defenders stood at attention in their barracks, saluting images of the twelve. Children who had only heard stories in classrooms now saw the legends with their own eyes.
Humanity rejoiced.
At the grand plaza outside the Central Tower, tens of thousands of Defenders stood gathered, their cheers echoing across the skies.
Banners waved. Chants rose. The air itself seemed to hum with celebration.
And at the edge of the stage, Adrian stood with his parents, Kael, and Selena. They watched silently as the Celestials stepped forward, symbols of a legacy that had endured for ages.
The crowd roared.
Adrian looked out at the sea of faces, at the Defenders with whom he had fought together.
It felt like ages since he had seen them.
In a way, it was true. The time burn had made him experience thousands of years compressed into moments. And even before that, his journey had carried him so far, so fast, that the distance between him and everyone else had grown wider with every step.
He studied their faces, their expressions bright with hope and admiration.
But then a different thought hit him, "I can't even feel the air they breathe anymore, have I gone too far?"
He had climbed too quickly. Too far.
He didn't even know how to measure his strength anymore. The galaxy's classifications meant nothing to him.
And somewhere, beyond Stellar, beyond the limits of the galaxy, there was still a higher realm, the Astral Stage.
He didn't know if anyone in this galaxy had ever reached it. But he knew one thing, he could never overestimate himself.
That was something he could deal with later, but right now, right at this moment, his thoughts were different, "The higher I rise… the farther they fall behind."
His gaze drifted to the Celestials on the stage, to his parents standing beside him, to Kael and Selena.
All of them were strong. All of them had fought beside him, bled beside him.
At this moment, they didn't give the same feel of distance, but what if the distance started to grow?
He thought of his journey till now. When he was a Defender just on Earth, he had fought to protect the people. He had wanted to remove the helplessness and raise Earth's flag to the stars.
When he reached the galaxy, he built the Origin Clan and did exactly as he promised. His journey had never been about personal strength alone.
But still…
Now he felt the distance growing between him and others. He felt the faint tug of separation, the quiet understanding that one day, even they wouldn't be able to follow where he was headed.
In that moment, he felt that even if he could walk alone to the peak, it would mean nothing if his people were left behind.
What he truly desired now was to journey with them together.
"But is that something even possible?"
Even the empires and top clans' warriors in the galaxy were stuck at SSS-rank, their destinies capped by what was deemed "natural.".
Even if one wanted to ascend to stellar, it was so hard, and it's significantly harder for a being to comprehend a second affinity.
And then there was the astral stage. Even tho he didn't know what it was exactly, maybe he could reach it one day…
But what about others? Could they do the same? Could he continue his journey with everyone?
But then, Adrian remembered the Guardian Spirit's words, echoing faintly in his mind.
True evolution begins when you doubt existence itself.
If he must doubt existence itself, then why not doubt this?
Why accept the idea that strength must separate him from his people?
Why should he believe what others believed to be just 'natural'? Why can't he break that and shape a path where all could ascend together?
He looked up at the stars above the Origin Capital, watching the formation pulse.
A faint smile curved on his lips.
"A single star burns bright," he said quietly. "But a constellation… lasts forever."
Kael glanced at him. "What was that?"
Adrian shook his head. "Nothing. Just… thinking."
Thomas clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. They're waiting for you."
Adrian turned back toward the stage, where the Celestials stood beneath the roaring crowd.
And beneath the endless cosmic sky, the founder of the Origin Clan swore to himself that he would find a way, no matter how impossible, to rise together with those who followed him.
Not as a god above them, but as a light among many.
He didn't know it then, but this decision would be the first ripple in a wave that would one day shake existence itself.