It was time to head back to Earth. Zane and friends were laden with treasure. A wealth of Weapon Souls, for one—but they’d also picked up tons of random treasures too. Blocks of quality Spirit Steel ore, golden apples, essence-rich honeys. Some Law Fruit and the like too. And with his soul fatigue waning, Zane was just about ready to upgrade his Vital Organs.

There was lots to do in the way of upgrades. But they missed Earth—it was quickly decided they could finish things up there. The journey was over.

Zane felt a warm burst of pride in his chest thinking of each one of them, at the progress they had all made. He tried to communicate this to them by giving Evan and Avery head-pats, and Reina a kiss. He was pretty sure they got the idea.

They went back through the portal in good spirits.

Home at last.

***

The Superdungeon had ended.

Emeka Eze was breathing heavily, streaks of steaming purple blood spattered down his gauntlets, a zombie’s head still crushed in one fist.

He looked around.

The scene had changed.

It was no longer an infernal graveyard. A rocky plateau stretched all around him, fading into clear blue sky. Giant reddish rocks dotted the landscape, streaked with white. Trees like big fuzzy umbrellas dotted the yellow grass, going on and on…

It was home.

He blinked.

The zombie head dropped slowly to the ground. The Concepts on his gauntlet winked out.

His elite warriors gasped and shouted all around him, like they could hardly believe they were back. Then they started to cheer.

Eze looked to the skies in silence. Then smiled, just a little.

“Well done,” he said quietly, to no-one in particular.

***

Vanessa Volkova blinked, looked around. Staff still thrust forward, gales of sub-zero winds blasting out, blanketing the world with Nascent powers… but rather than strike a mossy underground cave, her attack crashed over barren tundra. A few nearby Giant Polar Bears yawned, looked up at her befuddled.

She looked back, just as befuddled.

“…It’s over?” she whispered.

Beside her, Cain Hastings sank to his knees. Shook his fists at the skies, mustache trembling.

“It’s over!” he cried, and burst into manly tears.

***

All over the world, across gates strewn across Earth—across South America and Asia and Oceania, even the poles—the heroes of Earth returned.

Almost all of them were high-Core. Looking haggard and relieved at once. And after that initial shock had faded, one question lingered on all their minds.

Who had done it? Who had been the one to make it through?

But like Eze they all knew, deep-down, even before the notification popped up to confirm it. They had seen it happen time and time again. The people of Earth knew that when you needed him most, Zane Walker would not fail.

Then another System notification popped up. Before every living person on Earth.

The Integration is now complete.

Welcome, Planet Earth, to the Universe. Congratulations.

The grace period has begun.

Earth shall retain System protections for the next 30 days. In that time, no high-tier Dungeons, Monster Waves, or rogue Named Monsters will be permitted to pass into this sector.

In 10 days’ time, external Factions will be permitted to offer contracts to Earth’s inhabitants. It is advised to take their offers within the grace period. Joining a Faction means that Faction offer resources to help fend off external threats.

Only Earth-grade Beacons can receive offers from external Factions.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

For many, the notifications brought on a new set of concerns.

But those could wait for later.

There were 10 days yet before the next phase of things were set to begin, it seemed...

There was time to celebrate.

***

“They're home, ladies and gentlemen!” crowed Tyler, anchor newscaster for the World Ranker Network—Earth’s #1 broadcast station. Looking very shiny with his waxed blond hair and spiffy bowtie.

“After weeks enduring unimaginable trials—trials which tested them limits—Earth’s finest have returned!”

A set of stills flashed across Channel 1’s projection.

A gasping Cristina Dos Santos and her hunters in torn bloody furs, stumbling out of a mossy portal gate. It took them a few moments to recognize the hundred-foot-tall trees of her home Faction, deep in the Amazon jungle. Then the cheering showered down from skyscraper treehouses, from the vine-bridges up above, followed by waves of flower-petals… she sank to her knees, like she could hardly believe her eyes.

The scene shifted to show a very tall lithe man, South Korea’s #1, Jin Seo, speeding through the skies—his usually silky-straight hair in a shaggy mess. His eyes were a little red.

He touched down in the rolling hills of his hometown, looking like he had just woken up from a dream. He got a little color back in his face when he saw two little girls running over to hug him at full speed—“It’s the first time they’ve seen dad in weeks!” said Tyler.

“Aww! Isn’t that wonderful?” said Becca, on the other line. “These past few days it's like Earth has been one big party everywhere you look!”

The image changed— the Spitfire Monk hoisted on the backs of his fellow monks, laughing and drinking from a gourd, sloshing wine all over himself. A flood of red robes parading down a thousand-odd temple steps. Firecrackers lit the air.

It changed again to show sandstone megaliths emptied out into broad sun-baked streets. Explosions of color puffing up, bursts of pastel smoke, wine-corks flying everywhere… Emeka Eze himself watched from a high balcony, separated from it all.

“Not a fan of all the noise and the touching, it seems,” chuckled Tyler.

“But look—he’s smiling!” said Becca. “Even the Touch of Death can’t help but feel it.”

The scene changed to the Norwegian coastline, where a hefty Jarl Erik was laughing heartily, trying to drink his almost-as-hefty lieutenants under a giant wood log of a table. In the distance steam rose over giant lake hot-springs; fireworks exploded overhead…

“Everywhere you see, though,” said Tyler. “You’ll hear them raising their glasses to one man—”

“Three cheers for the Savage Sage!” bellowed Jarl Erik, as though on cue. The vikings around him all cheered, clanking their tankards. Becca laughed.

“Especially on the west coast—his own territory…”

Scenes popped up of the beaches of the San Diego sub-Faction—stuffed full of boisterous crowds. Crowds spilling onto oceanfront villas, spilling out onto docked party-galleons, drinking alien spiced wines to their hearts' content. The festivities even spilled out into the sea—giant turtles floated in the distance. Teams played volleyball on their backs with twenty-foot-tall magic bubbles.

Chants kept popping up—“Savage Sage! Savage Sage!”

The scenes kept shifting to different parts of the Luminous Faction—chunks of the Sierra Nevadas and the Cascades floated into view. Tribes in furs roasted truck-sized legs of fatty meat around bonfires. An ice sculpture had gone up of Zane, looking quite dashing and handsome. In the festivities one of the revelers chucked a snowball too hard, which blasted the statue square in the face. The statue keeled over. When they put it back upright they found his nose had been taken clean off.

The scene shifted to show the tribe’s leader, a little wrinkly old man. “We decided not to repair the damage to the statue’s face,” said the old man, nodding wisely. “It is now even more true to the spirit of Zane.’”

The scene shifted one last time, resolving to a live image.

“It’s been a wild few days!” said Becca, breathless and flushed. “Things are finally starting to settle a little…”

She was standing in what seemed to be a city square. A place with warm medieval aesthetics—all wood and cobble, but set on skyscrapers that would’ve dwarfed any pre-Integration city. There was something at once quaint yet magnificent to the place.

A fountain so big it could’ve been a geyser roared up at the center of the square; children were laughing, splashing through it. Lush oaks lined the sides, leaves fluttering softly in the breeze. It was a lovely summer’s day.

“I’m reporting to you live just outside Luminous Faction headquarters!” said Becca. “It’s the first summit of world leaders since the Superdungeon’s conclusion…”

Scenes flickered up. One of Reina meeting with a long line of World Rankers in a well-lit wood hall. Among them were Vanessa Volkova in a light elegant dress, the French mage Maxime Legrande in a fluffy royal-purple robe, Yuki the Sky Painter in casual streetwear, D’Angelo Hall in a business suit, a delegation of Pacific Islanders, and on and on…

There was lots of courtesies. Reina accepted it all, smiling, laughing, nodding, making the right small-talk, looking quite comfortable—the embodiment of grace. Zane, meanwhile, blinked next to her. He was mostly just a big body standing there, looking slightly awkward, like he was not sure quite what to do with his arms and legs. He let her do most of the talking.

Most of the top Rankers paid their respects to him too, one by one. A few of the lesser World Rankers openly stared, like they were looking at some mythical beast. Zane scratched his head.

“Later, a select council of top Rankers met to discuss what Earth’s future would look like now that the crisis has passed.”

The scene shifted again to show a grand hall, sunlight streaking through a glass roof. Reina stood at a podium, giving a speech. There was lots of nodding.

“They’re all keeping a close eye on what comes next! Nothing’s been finalized— they anticipate huge shifts to come when the Great Factions make their offers… but as one of the few reporters given access to this meeting, I can share some exclusive news! They’re all very committed to protecting Earth no matter what happens.”

“Well, that sure is a relief,” chuckled Tyler.

“Zane was quite clear on this,” continued Becca. “He seems to be taking up his mantle as Earth’s protector—and he’s taking it quite seriously! I got a chance to snag an exclusive interview with him about it. When asked why, he shrugged and said he didn’t want to leave his friends. And, I quote, ‘I like it here.’ Then he walked away.”

“Ah!” said Tyler. A pause. “…Well, fair enough!”

“The day closed out with a private seminar on the mechanics of the Nascent Soul, held by Zane, with Faction Head Reina as a translator. I interviewed an anonymous World Ranker who said it involved lots of sand-castle-making.”

“What?” said Tyler.

“I think it’s code for something,” said Becca. “Regardless—whatever it was, it seemed to work out splendidly! Most of the top Rankers I spoke to seemed quite keen to start working on their breakthroughs… suffice it to say—Earth’s future is looking bright!”