Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1767  The Unspoken Question

After a surprisingly peaceful and deeply restorative event at the beach, the sands of time were finally running out. There was now only one single day left before the dimensional cooldown expired, and because of that impending deadline, the group of Pagna warriors was traveling back to the main capital city. Traveling comfortably via a sleek, high-speed, magic-powered train, they were making incredibly good time as the lush Alterian countryside blurred past the glass windows.

Once they safely got back to the city center, they would spend one final, grand meal with the local mages and allies they had bled and fought side-by-side with to accomplish everything they had. And then, when the sun rose the very next day, it was officially time for them to say their final goodbyes and activate the Golden Globe.

Yet, within the luxurious, velvet-lined train carriage, there was a heavy, hushed conversation buzzing among everyone. They all had the exact same burning thought resting heavily on their minds, but no one wanted to say it out loud.

At one spacious table where six heavily armed people could comfortably be seated, Alba took a stealthy peek behind her shoulder. She could clearly see Raze sleeping peacefully away, his head resting gently against the vibrating glass window, sitting right next to a quietly reading Liam.

“No one has actually asked him yet, right?” Alba whispered, leaning into the center of the table. “About what he officially plans to do tomorrow?”

“No,” Cronker replied, keeping his voice low and crossing his arms. “I’ve deliberately kept some of my most perceptive students hovering around him for the last few days, just to see if anyone was bold enough to broach the subject. But it appears absolutely no one is brave enough to demand the answer from the Dark Magus.”

“It’s pretty obvious what he’s going to do, isn’t it?” Reno said matter-of-factly, looking out the window. “Alterian is his true home. This is exactly where he grew up, this is where his magical roots are, and this is where his people are. He just liberated the entire dimension. He will undoubtedly stay here in Alterian to lead them.”

“Do you really think so?” Lilly replied, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “It might have technically been where he grew up, but he practically hates this place and the miserable memories attached to it. He only ever came back here to violently exact his revenge and kill the Grand Magus.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly as if Pagna treated him any better,” Kizer added grimly, resting his hand on the hilt of his heavy sword. “The very moment he had originally arrived in Pagna, there was an incredibly large amount of enemies actively trying to hunt him down and kill him. Sure, right now he has acquired such terrifying status and god-like power that only absolute fools would ever be willing to mess with him… but I highly doubt he has fond, warm memories of the Pagna martial arts world either.”

The heavy issue hanging in the air was that nearly everyone who had risked their lives to come to Alterian to help Raze desperately wanted him to come back home with them. But they also deeply respected him, and they didn’t want to selfishly influence his life decision too much. They truly wanted him to freely do exactly as he wished. But they were also terrified that maybe Raze hadn’t realized it himself yet—that it would be vastly better for his soul if he simply stayed in Pagna with the friends who actually loved him, rather than the dimension that betrayed him.

“I personally think Raze will come back with us, though. If anything, he absolutely has to, right? He has his sister waiting for him,” Alba said, her voice filled with hope. “So he would at least come back to ensure she’s safe, right?”

The others nodded and agreed for a fleeting second, but a heavy silence quickly fell over the table. They weren’t too sure. Because at the end of the day, they all knew the complicated truth: Safa wasn’t his actual, biological sister. And now that he had violently completed his lifelong revenge, that fabricated, protective duty tying him to Pagna wasn’t an absolute chain anymore. He didn’t mathematically have to return for her.

That was exactly when Alba had heard enough speculation. She stood up, smoothing out her clothes, and walked deliberately over to the adjacent table situated right next to hers.

“Well, you’ve been quietly listening to exactly what we’ve been talking about over here, right? And I know you’re just as anxious and curious as the rest of us,” Alba said, looking down at the young woman sitting alone. “So we have absolutely no choice. You’re the one that has to go and ask him.”

“Me…? Why me?” Rayna asked, her eyes widening in sheer panic as her face flushed.

“Well, isn’t it glaringly obvious?” Alba said, a slight, teasing smirk crossing her lips despite the serious situation. “Because technically, you are his wife. You need to ask him right now to definitively find out whether or not he’s going to come back to Pagna with you. If he isn’t, then you politically need to have some sort of official divorce or annulment arranged, right? So, logically, you are the absolute only one here with a perfect, bulletproof excuse to actually ask him.”

Alba had made quite a solid, pragmatic point—one that Rayna simply couldn’t logically refute. So, all she did for the rest of the agonizing train journey was sit in nervous silence, her heart hammering in her chest, desperately wondering exactly how she could possibly ask the most powerful man in the world if he was going to abandon her.

When the large group finally arrived back at the bustling capital city, they were escorted to a towering, incredibly luxurious hotel where absolutely everything was paid for them by the newly established Alterian council. It was perfectly situated right in the center of the city, so they could safely go wherever they wished for their final night.

Those few Alterian mages that were genuinely close to Raze were staying at the grand hotel as well, so that the next morning they could privately say their goodbyes to him. This way, the Pagna warriors could just quietly activate the Golden Globe and leave directly from the secured hotel without making a , emotional scene in front of the recovering public.

When everyone was busy checking into their lavish suites and organizing their heavy gear in the lobby, that’s exactly when Rayna swallowed her fear. She thought it was the absolute right time to finally approach Raze before he disappeared.

She walked up just as he was speaking to his second-in-command.

“Hey, I’m going to go off into the city by myself for a little bit. I’ll be back in time for the grand meal tonight, but just let me know through the comms if there is anything urgent that comes up,” Raze said to Liam, adjusting the dark coat over his shoulders.

“Wait!” Rayna suddenly blurted out.

She lunged forward, grabbing the fabric of his sleeve before she could lose her nerve. Raze stopped and looked back at her, his dark eyes unreadable.

Rayna’s heart raced, but she held his gaze. “Do you mind… if I come with you?”

**