Magus Supremacy-Chapter 892: Heavy Feelings

Chapter 892

In another cave... this one looked fundamentally different compared to the one Grey had initially arrived in.

While the first had been a cold, transitional threshold, this interior appeared more like a rudimentary living area.

Soft-looking foams had been arranged to form two makeshift mattresses against the jagged stone walls, providing a semblance of comfort in the subterranean gloom.

The cavern looked almost bare, save for a massive, flat-topped mound of rock positioned squarely in the center, serving as a functional table.

A few pieces of specialized equipment lay scattered in the corners of the room—tools and survival gear that didn’t particularly matter for the moment.

On the central rock mound, several cups sat beside a heavy ceramic jug.

The jug was filled with herbal tea, while the cups appeared stained and slightly warm, as if they had just been in constant use.

And that was because they had been used by the trio currently sitting around the stone table, resting directly on the bare, packed earth.

The sun had already dipped far below the horizon, casting the world outside into an orange-tinted twilight.

Grey had spent the better part of the day recounting the harrowing odyssey that had befallen him and how he had eventually found himself back in their company.

The dwarf and the elf had listened to his narrative with a heavy, respectful silence, never once interrupting the flow of his words.

Everything he described seemed like a dark epic ripped straight out of a tragic fantasy.

The death of a loved one?

Being violently transported to a parallel realm, the total loss of his identity, being adopted by a foreign family, and spiraling from one catastrophe to the next—all of it culminating in him ascending as the head of a powerful faction in another world entirely.

Grey had spared no gritty details, and now, he took a long, shaky breath.

He licked his parched, dry lips while watching Elara’s eyes well up with fresh tears at the sheer weight of his story.

Randin, on the other hand, wore a dark, somber expression as he surveyed the mage from head to toe, noting the hard lines of maturity that had etched themselves into the young man’s face.

’He has been through so much that I can’t even begin to comprehend it,’ Randin thought, his grip tightening on his knees.

’The sheer magnitude of the suffering he has endured is enough to completely shatter a seasoned adult, let alone an eighteen-year-old kid. This is beyond crazy.’

Grey let out a short, bitter chuckle as he tilted the jug, pouring the very last drop of lukewarm tea into his cup.

Lifting the vessel, he cradled it in both palms for a moment, his eyes twinkling with a strange, distant light before a pained smile tugged at his mouth.

"... And to think that when I first arrived in this land, you were the first one to describe the terrifying scale and magnitude of strength the Otherworlders possessed. Initially, I’ll admit, I didn’t truly care because... well, it wasn’t my business back then."

Staring into the depths of the cup to examine the murky brown liquid, a dark smirk curved his lips.

"I had to experience their cruelty in the most agonizing way possible. And now? Now, it is very much my business."

Gulping the liquid down in one defiant go, he let out a long, satisfied sigh before setting the cup down gently on the rock.

"Grey..." Elara softly called out, her voice barely a whisper.

She didn’t even know where to begin when it came to comforting the mage.

He had lost his mother, the very woman who had been the anchor of his soul.

Elara felt her own heart ache with a personal grief; Clara had been incredibly kind to her during their brief time together.

She remembered how the woman hadn’t even hesitated or considered that Elara was of a different race when her son brought a strange elf into her home.

She had cared for Elara like her own kin, ensuring the girl was comfortable and fed during every moment of her stay.

It had felt like being looked after by a long-lost relative or a second mother.

And now, to find out she was gone?

Elara didn’t even know how she was supposed to process the void that news left behind.

"Sigh... you don’t have to try to comfort me or feel bad for me, guys. I have long since accepted everything that transpired, and I’m actively working to ensure this same tragedy doesn’t occur again."

Grey paused for a heartbeat, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his hands into trembling fists.

"... I won’t allow myself to lose someone else I care about. Not ever again."

Sighing, Randin stretched out his thick hand to grab the jug, only to realize how light and empty it felt.

Shaking his head at the lack of more tea, he set it back down with a dull thud.

"Like you said; I won’t offer empty comfort. You’ve grown past needing it. But I do have a vital question to ask... what next?"

Grey smiled... a bitter one.

"For now, I just want to see my friends again. They are the closest thing to a family I have at the moment, which is why as soon as I recover my mana—which by my calculations should be by tomorrow—I will be departing from here to check up on them."

Elara looked in his direction, her expression clouding with a sudden realization.

"Grey? Have you forgotten?"

The mage lifted a brow, his curiosity piqued.

"Forgotten what?"

Elara sighed, her shoulders sagging slightly.

"It’s been a year and some months since anybody last laid eyes on you. You had mentioned that you were a student of a magical academy along with your companions.

By my estimates, they should have all graduated by now and dispersed across the land. How exactly are you going to locate them all?"

Grey shrugged, his confidence unshaken by the logistical nightmare.

"I will find a way. I always do."

Then, with a sudden realization of his own, he turned in Randin’s direction, his voice softening with concern.

"By the way; did you manage to find any more of your kind during my absence?"

A dark look creased the dwarf’s face as he stared down at the dirt floor while slowly shaking his head.

"I have roamed all around the planet along with Elara, yet I couldn’t find any signs of my people anywhere."

Clenching his hands into trembling fists, the dwarf spoke through gritted teeth, the weight of his solitude evident.

"It seems like I am the only one left of my kind in this world."

Grey’s gaze drifted upward toward the jagged, rocky ceiling of the cave.

"The Otherworlders have taken so much from so many people. This—this cycle has to stop soon; otherwise, more people will just be left broken and adrift."

A few seconds passed in a tense, heavy silence before Elara spoke up again, breaking the somber atmosphere.

"Uh... Grey?"

The Supreme Magus snapped out of his dark thoughts and looked in her direction.

"Hm?"

The elf twirled a lock of her long golden hair around her finger, a worried, hesitant look flickering across her delicate face.

"Can I ask for a favour?"

The mage nodded encouragingly, prompting her to continue.

"Since you mentioned that you are leaving to see your friends tomorrow, do you... uhm... do you mind dropping me off in the elven community? It’s been so, so long since I last saw my people, and I find myself yearning for the forests."

Grey blinked for a few seconds, a look of understanding dawning on him.

"Of course I will. You didn’t have to frame it as a favour because, sooner or later, I was going to head there too. I need to check up on Licht and old man Jankis to see how they’ve fared."

Elara beamed, her almond eyes twinkling with newfound excitement.

"Thank you, Grey! I will go get my things ready immediately."

The mage nodded, watching her retreat into the shadows of the cave as he began to mentalize the journey ahead.