Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Epilogue: Thank You for Everything

A man rested on a lush hill, arms crossed behind his head. He enjoyed the wind, the sun, the grass blades caressing his back. His eyes were closed in happiness—or, more probably, he was asleep.

“Hey Dad,” a woman said, manifesting beside him. She seemed in her late twenties, but that was definitely not the case.

The man cracked open an eye and smiled. “Ebele,” he said.

“Mom says dinner is ready,” the woman said, “but you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

Jack laughed. “It’s not often that my adventuring daughter comes to visit,” he said. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Shall we?”

“Not yet. Lie down, Ebele. It’s important to appreciate the little joys of life every once in a while.”

Ebele hesitated, but finally joined Jack in lounging on the grass. He sensed her fidgeting but let the minutes pass in silence.

“It’s nice,” she finally said when she’d adjusted. She took a deep breath. “I should do this more often.”

Jack smiled. He looked up at the sun. The real sun. He’d long moved Earth back to its original place in the solar system, no longer wary of hidden enemies. His mind ran back to the end of the Crusade fifty years ago, when he earned true freedom for himself and the universe.

The cultivators of the Immortal army surrendered after news of his victory spread. Even their five remaining Archons did so. Of those, a couple later chose to escape in distant parts of the universe, but Jack put them out of his mind. They’d never dare to return.

All the surrendered cultivators were imprisoned and their backgrounds looked into. They were fairly judged. Those who committed atrocities under the Immortals were executed, but their families were spared—that was the term of their surrender. As for the innocent ones, they were simply let go. No need to foster more hatred.

He often relaxed by himself and mused about everything he’d been through. His entire cultivation journey up to defeating Enas had lasted only thirty years, but it felt like several lifetimes compressed into one. The Integration, the tournament, Trial Planet, his guerilla warfare on Hell, the Cathedral, the Green Dragon Realm, losing his son and finding himself, the war against the Animal Kingdom, the Space Monster World, the Second Crusade... His life still felt like a dream.

I should write a book, he mused sometimes. An autobiography. He wasn’t in a hurry, however. His life was far from over.

Of all the people who were part of his adventures, from beginning to end, he remembered them all. Maybe they would no longer walk together, but they would forever be part of each other. He’d never forget them, and he hoped they wouldn’t either.

“Thank you for everything...” he whispered in the air occasionally, even when no one could hear him.

The professor had passed away ten years after the final war—while Jack had the power to reverse death, to a degree, he viewed it as deeply disrespectful to a life well lived. He let his mother rest, visiting her grave regularly.

“We die to live,” he’d say when people asked him about that, refusing to elaborate.

He still looked at the sky sometimes, pondering the true secrets of the universe. Were there more universes out there, scattered in the dimensional sea? S-Grade existences roaming the true berth of the cosmos? Were there realms beyond the S-Grade?

He did not know the answers, nor did the God clones in the Space Monster World, but he knew he’d find out. When the time came, his main body would break into the S-Grade and leave this universe behind. As for what would happen afterward... Jack really looked forward to finding out. Worst case, if there weren’t any more universes, he’d make them.

But not in haste. Jack had been through a lot, and in the end, he emerged victorious. He’d earned his rest. He would enjoy it.

And the future would always come.

THE END