Chapter 701: Reunion and Setting Off

"It just happened, what can I say?" Grey replied with an awkward laugh.

None of the elders believed him, but Grey had no plans to explain the Chaos Emperor to people he had just met.

"Everyone has their secrets, and I won't pry into yours." The Sect Leader said.

"Thanks, that saves me a lot of trouble."

Grey had expected more questions after giving such a poor excuse. Since the man was willing to leave it alone, he moved on before anyone else could ask.

"Why were those cultists attacking your sect?"

"Come inside, we can discuss it there."

The Sect Leader led them into the central hall while the guards checked the damage outside. An attendant brought tea after everyone sat down, with Alissa and Eterna taking the seats beside Grey.

"The Devil Cult started attacking our members outside the sect." The Sect Leader explained.

"Were they trying to steal something?" Grey asked.

"We thought so at first, but they kept coming even after we changed our routes. When we sent elders to guard our people, they sent stronger men after them."

"How long has that been going on?"

"Long enough that we stopped letting our younger members leave alone, and now they've attacked the sect itself."

The damage outside showed how far things had gone. Grey had helped drive them off this time, but he had his own people to think about before getting involved in a sect war.

"Okay, then can you help me arrange a meeting with the Red King?"

The Sect Leader had not expected that question.

"You want to meet the Red King?"

"I have a few things to ask him."

"I've never met him myself." The Sect Leader admitted. "Even getting a reply from his palace is difficult."

Grey frowned at that answer, but the man spoke again before he could ask about another route.

"That doesn't mean you can't meet him, your strength should be enough to catch his attention."

"The power I used outside?"

"Yes, only the Red King has reached the 14th Rank among the powers based in this realm."

The Sect Leader was at the third level of the 13th Rank's third sub-level. That placed him near the top of the realm, but he still had not crossed the gap separating him from the king.

Grey was glad he had let the Chaos Emperor help earlier. It might save him the trouble of trying to get into the palace on his own.

"Then could you send a request for me?"

"I can ask, though you'll have to wait for his reply."

"That's fine, and thanks for letting the others stay here while I was missing."

"Of course, they've been welcome guests."

The Sect Leader had been less welcoming when Tharos first brought them in. He had told the group that they could not stay for long unless they joined the sect.

That had changed once he learned more about them.

Several were much stronger than he expected from new arrivals, and he could not judge Ouroboros at all. Tharos had also told him about the young man separated from them during ascension.

Grey had already been able to fight at the peak of the 13th Rank's first sub-level before he arrived. Yet the power he used outside the gate had gone far beyond that.

The Sect Leader was glad he had given their stay some thought before sending them away.

"I'll contact the palace now, Tharos can take you to the guest rooms."

Grey thanked him and left with the others. Once they reached their rooms, he closed a barrier around them so nobody outside could hear.

"Now tell us what happened." Alissa said. "You disappeared while I was still holding you."

"The Higher Realm's consciousness tried to reject me."

"What consciousness?" Ouroboros asked with a confused look on her face.

"Haaa." He sighed hearing her answer.

Grey had expected that answer, though he would have preferred a different one.

"The one that was in charge of the Higher Realm."

"I've never heard of such a being, Kiddo."

"Neither has anyone else I've asked, but I spoke to it."

Ouroboros let him explain.

"It trapped me in the Ascension Space and tried to force me out, so I released Nexus Energy."

"What happened then?" Eterna asked.

"It started apologizing."

"That sounds about right." Ouroboros said with a burst of laughter.

"It also gave me energy as payment for the trouble, which I used to reach the peak of the 11th Rank."

"You had time to advance while you were lost?" Alissa asked.

"I had to wait for something else, so I made use of it."

Grey would tell them about the forest later. First, he needed to explain why nobody remembered the being that had given him that energy.

"Right after it paid me, the golden space started breaking apart."

Grey recalled how its voice had cut off before the space around him returned to normal.

"I called for it afterward, but it was gone. The Dao of Space later told me it had never existed."

Ouroboros could not help him with that.

"As far as I remember, there has never been a consciousness ruling this whole realm."

"The World Tree and Finality told me the same thing."

"Even Finality?" Ouroboros asked.

Grey nodded and explained that the other Daos knew nothing about it either. He still had the energy it had given him, yet nobody could remember where it had come from.

Then, he unleashed the Chaos Emperor from his inner heaven. He didn't plan on keeping this as a secret. They were people he could trust. Lyris naturally wasn't here so he didn't need to care about her.

"Oh and the the Chaos Emperor woke up."

Alissa had known Grey was gathering the fragments, but she had not expected this to happen while they were apart. The Emperor's figure rose above the pages before she could ask anything.

He was about to greet them when he noticed Ouroboros.

"Are you the legendary Ouroboros Dragon?"

Ouroboros smiled at his reaction.

"Greetings, Chaos Emperor. You were quite strong back then."

"It's an honor to meet you."

"If you had completed your Chaos State, you could have even beaten me."

Grey was surprised to hear her admit that. The Emperor had told him what that final step could have done, but hearing it from Ouroboros made the loss seem worse.

"I was close, but the Paragons didn't give me time to finish." The Emperor replied.

"You might get another chance now." Ouroboros said with a smile.

Grey brought them back to the reason he had revealed the Chaos Emperor.

"He remembers the Higher Realm's consciousness."

Ouroboros turned to the Emperor.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, it existed before I died."

"I have no memory of it at all."

"Neither do the others Lord Grey asked, though I don't know why I was spared."

Grey had hoped the two might know something he had missed. Instead, Ouroboros was just as confused as the Emperor had been when he first heard about it.

"The Paragons left a seal on his remains." Grey explained. "That might have kept him from being affected or.... maybe it was just my energy I guess?"

"It might have, but I can't be sure." The Emperor said.

"Then don't assume it will protect you again." Ouroboros replied. "We don't even know what caused this and we need to get to the bottom of this."

Grey agreed with that much.

His Nexus Energy had protected him from many things, but he still knew too little about what had happened during ascension. He wanted to ask the Red King before trying to reach Zenith Heaven.

"The Dao of Space sent me out after that, and I landed in a sealed forest." Grey said.

"Was that why we couldn't reach you?" Eterna asked.

"It might explain part of it, but I couldn't contact you after leaving either."

Alissa held his arm while he told them how he had searched for a way to find the sect. She had trusted him to stay alive, but hearing how much had gone wrong made her glad the search was over.

A message from outside interrupted them before Grey could explain how he had met Lily.

He opened the door and found the Sect Leader waiting.

"The Red King wants to see us."

"Already?" Grey asked.

"Yes, and he wants us to leave at once."

The Sect Leader sounded surprised by his own answer.

"Usually, he doesn't take our calls himself. This time he answered before I had even finished explaining the request to the palace staff."

"Did he say why?" Grey asked.

"No, he just told me to bring you."

Grey had wanted a quick reply, though he had not expected it to be quite that quick. He would ask the king himself once they arrived.

The Chaos Emperor returned to the Lesser Heaven Space as Grey opened the barrier around the room.

"What are we waiting for?" Grey asked. "Let's go."

Alissa kept hold of his arm, and Eterna joined him on the other side. Grey let them stay there as they followed the Sect Leader toward the waiting vessel.