Wanda and Natasha rushed into Rowan's arms the moment they saw him.
"Where have you been? You vanished for months. We couldn't reach you at all." Natasha's voice trembled as she pressed her face into his chest, her eyes glistening with tears. Wanda did not cry, but the mist in her eyes said everything. Their longing for him had clearly built up far beyond what they had ever admitted.
Rowan wrapped his arms around them gently. "I'm back now. And look at you, Wanda. You broke through to Planetary Level Three. Impressive."
He studied her with genuine surprise. Months ago, he had left Wanda a set of basic cultivation manuals from the Inkfall Star lineage: the Foundation 312 Forms, the Foundation 186 Forms, and the Mental Initiate Techniques. These were the most fundamental methods in that galaxy, considered basic training for even the least gifted beginners.
Yet Wanda, starting from zero, had pushed herself to Planetary Level Three in mere months. Her physical body had also advanced through the Wood-Soul Crystals he left behind, reaching Apprentice Rank Nine. It meant she'd gone from a fledgling fighter to the very peak of the apprentice stage. She must have been using her remaining crystals very wisely.
"Planetary Level Three?" Wanda blinked at Rowan, momentarily forgetting her sadness. Natasha, too, tilted her head in confusion.
They remembered the strange crystals Rowan had left behind, but the terminology was new to them.
"Come to the living room. I'll explain everything clearly."
Once they sat down, Rowan laid out the entire cultivation system of the Swallowed Stars universe, at least up to the Immortal Stage.
Natasha's jaw dropped as she held a hand over her mouth. "You are telling us that an Immortal can wipe out an entire galaxy? That kind of power… that surpasses even gods."
In her mind, Thor was already comparable to a deity, yet even he could not destroy a planet with ease. But Rowan spoke of beings far beyond that, beings who could reshape star systems and tear apart galaxies as if they were made of glass.
More than that, the concept of eternal youth and limitless lifespan sent shivers of excitement through both of them.
"We… we can really reach that level someday?" Natasha whispered with yearning.
Before Rowan could answer, Wanda looked up with red eyes and clutched his sleeve. "Master… does that mean I can stay with you forever?"
Her voice was small, but her longing was clear. She had always followed him with unwavering devotion. If she became an Immortal, she could finally be strong enough to stand beside him rather than behind him.
Rowan chuckled softly. "You haven't changed at all."
"I want to be strong too." Natasha added, her tone firm. She hated that Rowan would disappear for months at a time, vanishing into places she couldn't reach. She remembered clearly the night before he left, when she had given everything she had, desperately hoping to keep him by her side a little longer.
But she still underestimated Rowan's stamina.
When she woke up, he was already gone.
She knew his strength was the reason he left so often. They simply could not keep up with him. Even if she could now level a city with a single strike, to someone like Rowan it was still not enough.
Natasha trained fiercely for months with the Wood-Soul Crystals and the secret manuals he left behind. As a result, she had reached Planetary Level Three herself, strong enough to match or even overpower Thor. His lightning could barely affect her now.
"What's your attribute?" Rowan asked her.
At the Planetary stage, each cultivator awakened an elemental affinity, a step toward understanding deeper cosmic laws.
"Mine is ice." Natasha raised her hand.
A surge of frost burst from her fingertips, freezing the room in an instant. Frost crept across the sofas, the walls, the floor, covering everything in white as the temperature dropped sharply.
Rowan raised an eyebrow. "Not bad."
Natasha grinned proudly. "Watch this."
She thrust both palms toward a wall. A massive wave of ice roared forward, instantly freezing an entire section of the living room into a solid block of shimmering blue crystal. Frost hung in the air like glittering dust.
Rowan sighed internally. Good demonstration, terrible location.
Wanda laughed and then asked timidly, "Master, why don't I have an attribute? I feel very powerful, but not like her."
"That's because you haven't reached the true Planetary realm yet," Rowan said. "Your body is still at Apprentice Level Nine, but your soul has already reached Planetary Level Four. That's why you can fly naturally without any equipment."
Then he frowned. "I gave each of you ten Wood-Soul Crystals. You should have already advanced. Where did they go?"
Natasha and Wanda exchanged uneasy glances.
"Speak," Rowan said. "Don't hide anything from me."
Wanda raised her hand like a child caught stealing cookies. "Shuri… used them."
Rowan blinked. "What?"
Natasha sighed. "She was trying to replicate the Wood-Soul Crystals. She used up hers, then borrowed ours. Twenty crystals total."
Rowan groaned and rubbed his forehead. Of course he had forgotten about Shuri. Her genius in biotechnology and energy manipulation rivaled the greatest minds in multiple universes. After replicating the Heart-Shaped Herb perfectly, she naturally attempted the same with the Wood-Soul Crystals.
But those were condensed cosmic energy. Replicating them was like trying to craft a nuclear star core with tweezers.
"She used everything?" Rowan asked helplessly.
Natasha nodded harder. "The company needed money."
Rowan raised a brow.
Natasha explained, "Kro Industries fell into massive debt. Customers placed huge preorders for Level Six, Seven, and Ten Kro-Metal, and none of it arrived. The overdue compensation alone exceeded five hundred billion. Tony covered three hundred billion or the company would have collapsed."
Rowan winced. So this was the price of being a hands-off boss.
"With no alternatives," Natasha continued, "Shuri began selling Heart-Shaped Herb. Wakanda now has dozens of enhanced warriors. She and her brother are the strongest. She is at the peak of Warrior level. They sold thirty-one doses for ten billion each. That money pulled us back from bankruptcy."
Rowan sighed. So this was the disaster he'd left behind.
"I won't blame her," he said. "This is my fault. I ran the company worse than a ghost."
Natasha nodded. "There's more. A giant serpent-like monster appeared off the west coast. I tried to deal with it, but it hides ten thousand meters underwater. I can't dive that deep."
Rowan froze.
A serpent.
From Swallowed Stars.
His expression darkened. "That creature… is mine. I'll deal with it."
He stood and brushed off his clothes. "I'll go to the company first. I'll stay on Earth for a while."
The moment those words left his mouth, Wanda and Natasha lit up like children given gifts.
Rowan smiled faintly, snapped his fingers, and used the Infinity Gauntlet to open a golden portal.
He stepped through.
…
In the heart of New York, inside Kro Industries' towering headquarters, Sharon Carter sat at her desk, brows furrowed as she reviewed another problematic report.
"What has you so absorbed?"
The sudden voice behind her made her jump. Instinct took over, and she whipped out her foldable blade forged from Level Ten Kro-Metal, slashing backward with full force.
A crisp metallic ring echoed through the office.
Rowan held the blade between two fingers.
Sharon's eyes widened. Then recognition hit her, and her expression melted.
"Rowan!"
"You almost cut off your boss's head. That's not something we put in the employee handbook." Rowan laughed.
A heartbeat later, Sharon threw herself into his arms, trembling slightly.
"You've been gone so long. I've been trying so hard to keep everything running."
She had lost weight. Her eyes were tired. Rowan felt a rare pang of guilt. He had left the entire company on her shoulders, then vanished without warning, leaving her to face criticism, debt, and chaos.
He held her close, his voice low. "Thank you. Truly."
She tightened her grip, burying her face into his chest as if she finally allowed herself to collapse.
And Rowan held her without speaking, knowing he owed her far more than words.