GUARDIAN OF THE END

'Can't I skip this floating through the void part?' Jason questioned.

The silver-haired boy was currently flying in a black place, or at least assumed he was since he couldn't see jack.

[ You are heading back to your main body. You can't expect someone to just zap you that easily. That will shock your mental condition as well as your soul. ]

'They can put me inside an elevator with some music.' Jason pointed out. 'But I guess this is pointless complaining.'

Jason calmly waited for him to reach his main body, which happened after five minutes later.

'I wonder how long I was out for…' Jason thought before opening his eyes.

He was currently staring at a plain white ceiling. A strange tightness was present in his body yet he did nothing against it.

Jason let himself get adjusted to being back in his original body before making a move. He slowly sat up and looked down at himself.

"What the fk?!" he immediately cursed after seeing the condition of his body.

He had grown tremendously and his body and developed a lot. His clothes were too short for his new developed body, thus explaining the tightness.

Suddenly, a pair of clothes appeared on his lap. They were plain black clothes and had nothing fancy about them.

Jason slowly stood up and looked around to see his new surroundings. He was present in a small white room devoid of any furniture.

A door was built in the western part of the room, marking it as the only exit. Once he had made sure that no one else was looking at him, Jason removed his clothes.

The moment he did this, he noticed that a strange black goo was covering his body. Simultaneously, two buckets of water appeared near Jason's feet.

He spent the next ten minutes cleaning himself and once he was done, Jason realized that his power had changed a bit.

Not only that but his mana sensing abilities had reached a new level as well. He could easily sense the particles of mana in his surroundings.

Jason also looked down at his body and observed that he was quite well built. Though he wasn't muscled extremely, he still had a lean strong body.

He walked up to one of the walls and hit it with hand. A small crater was created in the wall from his punch yet Jason didn't feel any pain.

'Strange…' Jason though before continuing to clean himself.

'Show me my status, system.'

< Error! Data needs to be collected before displaying status of the host's body. >

'Oh?' Jason raised an eyebrow.

[ You just came back into your body after a long time and the system wasn't active here. I will have to run a full scan on your body. Since many things could've changed, it will take at least thirty minutes to finish. ]

'Do it.' Jason instructed before wearing the clothes.

The new pair of clothes felt light on his body and were comfortable. Jason walked out of the room and entered a bigger hall.

,m This place was also white like the room and stretched on for at least a kilometer. It was quite narrow like it had been specifically built for just Jason to travel.

[ Looks like you can't exit this place now. The door behind you vanished. ] The system commented.

Jason looked back and confirmed its words. Turning back, he started walking with the goal of finding the others who had entered the chamber with him.

'It feels weird to suddenly look at the world from this level.' Jason commented.

Due to his sudden increase in height, it felt a little weird for him to look this tall.

Jason continued to walk down the hall before ending up at another door. He opened this door as well and crossed to the other side.

A jungle was present in front of him alongside two others figures. One of them was Orion while the other was Amber, or at least that's what Jason guessed.

"Hey guys," he greeted.

Amber looked like a fifteen year old girl. Her red hair had grown to her waist and were secured in a braid.

Her height had increased as well and she was only an inch shorter than Jason. As for the rest of her appearance…

[ Do you require my assistance in controlling your hormones? ] The system questioned in a teasing tone.

'Its not like that.' Jason replied in an annoyed tone.

However, he had to admit that Amber currently looked like a beauty. Her curves had developed in the right place, though they hadn't fully matured.

Her shirt, which was also black, loosely hung around her twin peaks. A set of tiny freckles had appeared on her nose and her eyes looked refreshed.

Jason could feel his heart beating a bit faster. It made him realize how much he hated teenage hormones at times.

Fortunately, his little brother wasn't that excited. Otherwise, he would have faced some major problems.

[ Ahem, maybe you both should start dating. ] The system said wisely. [ Both of you form quite a good pair.

'Its not a bad idea.' Jason, surprisingly, agreed. 'But before that, I will have to get things sorted. How much time has passed since we have been inside the chamber?'

[ Excuses… ]

'Hey, you can't expect a somewhat traumatized person to start dating another person after they have spent years away from the real world.'

[ First of all, everyone in this world has a bit of trauma. Second… I guess I shouldn't say more. Let your heart move where it wills. ] the system went silent.

Jason, on the other hand, remembered the time he had spent inside the chamber. He had to admit that he and Amber had grown a lot closer.

Not only that but he had also formed close relationships with the others, something he didn't think he would be able to do easily.

'One of my thresholds was to form bonds that I have never done before…'

Jason turned his gaze towards Orion who had also hit a growth spurt. However, he was at least half a feet shorter than both Jason and Amber.

His hair had grown down to the nape of his neck and he was fidgeting nervously. Jason realized that his own hair and grown a bit larger but weren't on the same level as Orion's.

"I guess we were inside that place for a long time." He commented while talking a look at their surroundings.

They were present in the same area they had stepped into with Albus. The chamber of rebirth was present behind them but unlike last time, the gates were closed shut.

"Do you think someone is gonna pick us up?" Orion questioned. "I don't think we can get back without the help of someone else."

'Can you sense Duphia's location?' Jason asked the system.

[ No, I can't. We are either too far away from it or there is an external power at work here. ]

'What about you Hestia?'

[ Its a mixture of both. According to my calculations, we are at least one light year away from Duphia, which is impossible. Some strange magic is at work here. ]

Jason sighed after hearing his guardian's words. Amber reacted in a similar manner which meant that she had asked Flamey to do the same thing.

"Phew, you must be the last batch."

The trio suddenly jumped when they heard a voice from behind. Upon looking back, they were met face to face with the principal of the Royal academy.

"You guys spent a lot of time there," Albus commented. "But I guess it was worth it. Your powers and bodies are proof of that."

Without explaining the real meaning behind his words, Albus snapped his fingers and teleported them out of the jungle.

The quartet landed directly in the infirmary situated at the academy.

"Why did you…" Jason had barely started speaking when a headache hit him.

His body felt light and his head was dizzy. He stumbled and barely prevent himself from falling by holding on to the edge of a bed.

The other two didn't fare well either.

"You have spent nearly five years inside that chamber. Your body needs to be treated medically. I won't be surprised if you get knocked out for at least ten more days." Albus explained. "Risa will take good care of you. I will go and report this to Zilan."

Jason couldn't even register the shock since he had already lost consciousness. All three of them were now lying on the floor unconsciously.

"Its been a long time, Jason." A beautiful woman with red-hair murmured.

A smile was visible on her face yet her green eyes contained a different kind of sadness.

Risa approached Jason and picked him from the ground. She gently placed him on the bed before doing the same with the other two children.

The heads of the other three families had requested her to take care of their children once they had gotten out of the chamber of rebirth.

Risa had accepted their request and had even taken care of Mila. Currently, the princess was with her family while Zeke was staying with his family.

'Maybe I should have stopped them from entering the chamber.' Risa thought while examining Jason's body. 'Maybe then…'

Her thought trailed off when she sensed the power inside Jason's dark mana core. She rubbed her eyes twice and pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't daydreaming.

Simultaneously, a bunch of system windows appeared in front of Jason's face.

< Ding! Main job class 'Child of Darkness' has evolved into 'Teenager of Darkness' >

< Your elemental affinity with the dark element has been upgraded due to the advancement of the class. >

< Current affinity: S grade >