章 22: CHAPTER 22: THE RETURN

David and Karine were currently sitting in his old pickup truck riding on the highway back to Three Rivers City. They were chatting away with each other. Karine was snuggled up against David even though there was a lot of room left on the bench seat. The morning had been great. David loved being in his old home and enjoyed seeing Karine and his mother getting along well. Both women had seemed to be really happy. As if to confirm their feelings, his mom and Karine had both cried and hugged each other when it came time to leave. It was epic.

After peaking in on her dreams, David felt like he had a little better understanding of Karine. She was a genuinely sweet woman with a very romantic ideals. David had difficulty understanding how such a woman grew up in the traumatic world that involved The Other. After realizing that the woman's actual personality didn't really get reflected in her sometimes cold and solemn demeanor, David started to realize how he had easily made wrong assumptions about her and gotten confused about her intent.

The already slight tug he felt in his heart had become of full out pull at its center. David was infatuated.

They had been talking continually throughout the drive.

"So your dad talked to you about me?" David asked Karine as she sat next to him holding his free hand with her hand on her lap.

"Yes, he had run into me at the house shortly after lunch yesterday. He said you did really well on the test, had exceptional talent in the darkness element and that they were going to develop a plan for getting you more involved in the business. He didn't elaborate much. How well did you do on the test?" Karine responded.

"I broke the soul-root stone," David said bluntly.

"What?" Karine said in a shout almost scaring David to drive off the road, " You broke the soul-root stone? Are you serious?"

"Yep, it just disintegrated into nothing," David confirmed while giving Karine's hand a squeeze.

"David, that isn't just exceptional. That is beyond exceptional. Even the family in The Other will probably hear about it. The only way a soul-root stone will break is if your ancestor was at least a demi-god."

"What?," David said. It seemed like they were going to keep shocking each other. "What the hell is a demi-god? Is that a Level Zero?"

"No David, that is a step beyond level Zero. My dad is a Level Zero and he wouldn't even had the chance against a demi-god in a fight. Demi-gods are really strong, but they are nothing compared to gods. The reason that our family has so much power is that our family's root goes back to the god level. My great-great grandfather, Kane Carmine, was very talented and broke through to god level long ago. My dad has only met him a few times on his trips to The Other."

"What? Your dad is a Level Zero? And, your great great grandfather is still alive? Wait, how old is he? God level?," David asked with an overwhelmed sound in his voice. He just didn't know enough about anything in this world.

"Yes, my dad is a level zero...and yes, my great great grandfather is still alive. He holds our clan together in The Other. If it wasn't for him, then our clan would probably be overrun with people contesting our power.....I think he around 2,000 years old. We are kind of a younger clan, since some human gods are a few thousand years older," Karine confirmed to David.

"Shit," David exclaimed, "people can live that long?...I really don't know much about The Other." All this information was too much for him. Maybe it was his carelessness, but he really didn't investigate The Other too much before. He should have known everything was going to get crazy when he first saw the half devil nurses.

"Yes, for someone at the god level, I have heard they can live for tens of thousands of years. Once you start cultivating, your life span will greatly increase as well. My dad is getting close to 80 years old now, but he only looks like he is in his 50s....and he is only at the high-Zero Level. Once he gets to peak Zero level, he will need to go to The Other for a chance at breaking through to Demi-god. It won't be long before he has to fake his death and go off to The Other to train permanently."

Seeing an funny look on David's face, she elaborated, "That kind of stuff isn't anything unordinary. All the gatekeepers try to keep The Other a secret to prevent everyone from knowing so they send people off when they start getting old. If the whole world knew, there would be chaos."

"So the Carmine family is able to control the gateway between Earth and The Other because of your great great grandfather's power on the other side," David stated the fact.

"Not just great great grandfather, but my entire family and it's forces. We are a pretty significant human force in The Other. Most of my dad's brothers are already demi-gods, " Karine said while sighing, "but even though we are powerful, the family is always under threat from other groups including those that originate from The Other. Most of them do not seem to like humans. The devils are the only group we somewhat get along with in the Other."

"Earth managed to luck out though," Karine continued, "we don't have anything valuable here except a large number of people. So, none of the other forces really want to come here for the most part. They just want to keep more of us out of The Other."

"So why is everyone here so anxious to control access to the other?" David asked. This question had been bothering him for some time. Maybe Karine would give him a good answer.

"Most forces on Earth want to get to The Other for two reasons: power and resources. For those of us that cultivate strength, the resources of The Other are almost a necessity. You can only reach a certain level with the resources on Earth. Overall, Earth just doesn't have anything special except our people and technology. The reason for the power struggle for the gateways is for the strong people to gain access the resources of The Other."

"When we get back, I'll have to ask my uncle to give you a few more books to read. He will probably try to get you to sign a contract first though. With you breaking the soul-root stone, they will definitely try to get you to be part of the family," Karine said laughingly.

"Uncle? I've never heard anyone mention your uncle," David said.

"You've met him silly. Mr. Gauge is my uncle. He is my mom's brother. He is just like her and is talented in darkness element so you might need to ask him for some pointers."

"Mr. Gauge is you uncle? I guess he does kinda looks similar to you a bit....you must take after your mom," David said.

"Yes," Karine said in a mournful tone.

Seeing that he brought up a rough subject, David changed the topic, "So, what's your favorite color?"

Karine laughed realizing what David was trying to do. The talk continued but most of the conversation shifted away from The Other. The drive went by relatively quickly as the continued to talk about their lives.

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After the long ride, David and Karine finally pulled up at the estate gate with the car full of guards right behind them. It was starting to get dark outside. When the guards in the gatehouse saw Karine in David's truck, they flagged them through to the house after exchanging a few odd looks. David pulled up and stopped out front of the house. David's old pickup didn't really fit in with the town cars and limos frequently parked outside of the mansion.

"So, what would your mom think of this ride in a truck?" Karine said as David helped her out of the driver side door. Pulling her into his embrace as he helped her down, David leaned forward and gave her a really long kiss. "She would probably say that she has high hopes for us as a couple," David said as Karine pulled away with a smile on her face.

"I still owe you a date. When do you want to go out?," David said walking Karine to the door.

The front door opened just after they finished with their kiss goodbye and Mr. Gauge was standing right in the doorway.

Karine says "Uncle Gauge, what are you doing standing at the door?"

Mr. Gauge says, "I told the guards to notify me when you arrived so that I could have a minute to speak with David. Why don't you go on along and let us have a chat?"

David and Karine were surprised. Speak to David? They both had a hope that is wasn't about their relationship. Karine had told David that she was sure that everyone knew something was going on after she ran off after him yesterday.

"Okay. David, remember to ask him about the books," Karine said hesitantly before squeezing David's hand and heading up the nearby staircase.

After Karine left, Mr. Gauge asked David to come inside for a quick chat. After a brief walk, they arrived in a small study off of the main entrance way.

"David, I hope your interest in Karine is honest. I really want to like you, but know that I do not like people upsetting my niece," Mr. Gauge spoke in a forceful manner.

"Mr. Gauge, I assure you that my intent is good. If you need to test me somehow, feel free.....You know I am good with tests, " David followed up while trying to make the tense talk loosen up a bit.

"Actually, that is the real reason why I was looking for you," Mr. Gauge confessed.

"With your talent level, the Carmine Corporation feels that you becoming more involved with our operations. In order to show our sincerity, Mr. Lester and I have laid out a pretty detailed training schedule for you at the request of Mr. Carmine. All of us would like you to progress as quickly as possible since it is good for both you and our family."

"I have prepared another employment contract to better reflect your ability. Please review it at your leisure. We will give you a week to decide what you intend to do."

Mr. Gauge handed a thick set of papers to David as they sat in the study.

"Before I sign anything, I would really like some more information on the entire situation as a whole. After speaking with Karine, I realize that I am quite lacking in knowledge about The Other. I don't want to make commitments to a world that I do not have anything more than basic information, " David said asserting his demand.

After staring at David for a second, Mr. Gauge smiled and walked over to a shelf in the study. He pulled two books from the shelf and handed them to David.

"Read these," Mr. Gauge said before turning to walk out of the room.

After leaving the room, David asked Mr. Gauge where the nearest restroom was located. He still had one thing to resolve before leaving the Carmine's house and now seemed like the perfect time.

Mr. Gauge pointed to a door across the entrance way then left David standing their under the watchful eyes of the two door attendants.

David walked over the the bathroom. He closed the door and turned off the light. Sitting on the floor in the bathroom, David closed his eyes and entered his dreamworld. His skill had progressed to the point that he could use it anytime he wanted. With a quick focus, a few orbs started to appear around him.

After looking around for a few minutes, David found the one orb he was trying to find. Charles was still locked in his dreamworld and was currently being treated in the Carmine's personal medical rooms. If they had known that he was the one behind all of the attempts at kidnapping Karine, he would already be dead. But David didn't want to tell them any of the information that he knew. This would involve him exposing his own secrets. He could resolve the matter for them in a few moments time.

Reaching out with his hand, he gripped Charles' dream orb and shattered it completely. After a brief absorption of power from the crushed orb, David exited his dreamworld, stood up, flipped on the light and walked out of the bathroom.

The Carmine's would probably just assume that Charles had died from a random issue. They will deal with the outcome of one of Karine's guards dying. David felt lucky that the final remaining piece to the previous threat had been handled so easily. He also felt extremely powerful....it seemed really easy to kill people in their dreams.

Overall, David had spent around 15 minutes in the bathroom. When he exited, the two staff members were looking at him funny.

"What?" David said, "It was a long drive." Then, he turned and walked out the front door.