Anthony appeared within the Null Family Estate, particularly within his room; he dulled his presence so the guards wouldn’t come rushing in, thinking it was an intruder of some sort. With a mere thought, a glass of juice appeared in his hand as he sipped it with a calm expression; the next moment, a faint smile appeared on his lips for an unknown reason.

His mind couldn’t help but shift to Aaaninja, Lucian, Aura Nova, and Kingsley. ’I wonder how far each of them has progressed at this moment,’ he thought as he remained seated, certain that each of them was currently using some form of time dilation chamber to shorten the time of their growth.

At the thought of a time dilation chamber, his thoughts shifted to the First Supreme Monarch, whom Aaaninja had assisted with his own personal insight into time. ’I wonder how far that guy has progressed,’ Anthony thought to himself.

His gaze tore to the side, his eyes crossing millions of kilometres in an instant as he watched the Domain Rulers flicker through buildings and vaults before anyone could even blink or notice their presence.

"Quite a nice scene, don’t you think?" a voice came from the side within Anthony’s room, clearly referring to the Domain Rulers’ ongoing pillaging.

Anthony froze in his seat; with his All-Seeing Eyes, Sense Domain, and other abilities all active in real time, he hadn’t sensed this presence at all. His head immediately snapped in the direction of the voice, and the moment he saw who it was, his eyes widened in pure, unadulterated shock.

The being, the owner of the voice, was pitch black like the void itself, possessing a humanoid shape without eyes, without a mouth, or practically any form of facial feature. Across the pitch-black, human-shaped body were endless shining dots that seemed to represent each ever-expanding multiverse.

It was ???

"It’s been a while, Anthony," ??? spoke in a calm tone; although he didn’t possess a mouth, a smile still somehow manifested upon his face.

Anthony didn’t know what to say, nor did he know how to react. He had only ever met ??? once in his entire life, and that was after his death, when ??? had granted him reincarnation. Anthony could still remember that moment as clearly as if it had happened just yesterday.

"I never thought I would see you again," Anthony finally spoke as he found his voice. After meeting ??? twenty years ago, the being had said they would only meet again when Anthony reached his level, and throughout the past twenty years, they had only communicated through the system, yet now, the being was here in person.

"I never thought so too," ??? spoke with a soft sigh as he leaned back into his seat, "but I’ve been on quite the adventure, so I decided to come visit as a form of break," ??? replied casually.

Anthony arched an eyebrow. "Adventure?" he asked, confused. ??? was practically all-knowing, what kind of adventure could he possibly go on?

But the adventure ??? referred to was his search for an author called LORDTEE, a search that had led him into nothing but repeated dead ends, as though he was chasing something that didn’t exist at all.

"So, how’s life going? Enjoying reincarnation?" ??? asked as he faced Anthony, meeting his sky-blue eyes.

At that question, Anthony immediately rose to his feet, bowing deeply as he spoke, "Thank you. Without you, I would have been lost in an endless expanse or something far worse," he raised his head slightly, "thank you for giving me such a loving family, thank you for this life, thank you for the cheats, thank you for everything," he met ???’s gaze as he spoke with sincerity.

In the past, whenever he wanted to thank ??? for anything, he would always bow in a random direction since he and ??? had only ever communicated through the system in the form of text, but now... he could finally bow before the one who had made it all possible.

??? remained silent for a moment before smiling as he spoke, "The last time we met, do you remember your final words?" he asked.

"Thank you?" Anthony replied, slightly uncertain.

??? nodded. "Of all the people I’ve reincarnated, you are the only one who has ever said the words ’thank you’ when I asked for their final statement, and even now, twenty years later, we meet again and you are still thanking me," ??? stated as he shook his head lightly.

Anthony smiled as he responded, "Well, I’m simply grateful, that’s all."

"And I appreciate that. Although I’m all-powerful and all that, a simple ’thank you’ may seem insignificant, but it truly goes a long way," ??? replied.

"Well... my time here is almost up. This visit was sudden and entirely unplanned, so don’t expect me to come again anytime soon," ??? spoke as he rose to his feet and stretched as though he were some ordinary old man.

"You are leaving already?" Anthony asked, clearly surprised.

"Like I said, I only came to take a break, nothing more. And now, I’m done," ??? replied casually.

"But you haven’t even been here for more than five minutes," Anthony pointed out.

"Your perception of time and mine are entirely different, Anthony," ??? replied.

Anthony’s lips twitched slightly, as though he had just heard the most ridiculous excuse in existence. He let out a small sigh before speaking, "It was nice seeing you again after twenty years," a genuine smile appearing on his lips.

"If you want me to visit again, give me some grandkids. I already have their first birthday presents wrapped and ready," ??? intoned.

Anthony simply shook his head, choosing not to respond, as this wasn’t the first time ??? had made such a statement.

"Later," ??? said, and in the very next instant, he vanished from where he stood as though he had never existed there to begin with.

Anthony remained standing in silence for a moment, a faint smile forming on his lips as ??? departed. This visit had been just as sudden as their first meeting, unexpected and abrupt.

’Grandkids, huh?’ Anthony thought to himself, as he had never truly considered the idea before; he still felt far too young to have a child at this stage.

’He already has their gifts prepared...’ Anthony mused inwardly as he shook his head lightly.

[Ding]

[??? says that the first time you both met, you expressed gratitude, and now, after twenty years, you have done so again without being prompted. ??? says he values gratitude, and thus, he shall bestow upon you a Gift]

Anthony was momentarily stunned by the message, a wide smile slowly forming on his lips as he read through the system notification.

[??? says you should look forward to it]

[??? says Over and Out]

And with that, the system message vanished completely, as though it had never appeared at all.

___

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The day was too stressful to write, so I planned on not typing today (as announced on my Discord). But thanks to Aaaninja’s Magic Castle, this author decided to push through the tiredness and type. Thank you, Your Majesty; Aaaninja.

Thanks for reading.