"Earth is on the 3rd galaxy?" Ning asked with surprise.
<Yes>
Ning had never thought about going back to Earth, but… it seemed it was on the way to Kumia. Would he want to go back now?
"No," Ning said resolutely. "I can't go to Earth right now. I will visit later after I go back and find everyone in Kumia."
"It's not like I have anyth—"
His parents… or at least, their grave. He wanted to visit that at least if he could. He wanted to meet his parents.
His parents… who were they again? Vague silhouettes of faces appeared on his mind but nothing specific. It had been way too long for him to remember what they looked like.
If anything, he had likely forgotten their faces back when he was on Earth itself.
Ning shook his head. He couldn't think about that for now. "System, put my Memories of Earth into the auto-buy behind Talent," he said.
<Confirmed>
He could get them immediately as it wouldn't cost much, but he didn't want to deal with that at the moment.
He thought about something the system mentioned for a while and asked, "how long has it been since I left earth? In terms of Earth time."
<6 years, 2 months, and 10 days>
"What the… HUH?" Ning couldn't help but shout out loud. It had been almost 3000 years since he left earth… and it had only been 6 years? He found it a little hard to believe.
"What was the time difference again? 1:365?" he asked.
<1:387 at the moment and increasing>
"Why the hell is there such a difference?" Ning asked. "Is the galaxy Earth is in that massive?"
<No. In fact, the galaxy is less than half the mass of the galaxy Kumia is in.>
"Then why?" Ning asked. If the mass was smaller, shouldn't time have moved faster there? The system was somehow contradicting its own words.
<Because that galaxy's mass is being influenced by something else>
"… something else? What is something else?" Ning asked curiously.
<Multiple Universes>
<There are currently multiple universes on route to collide with this one. The point of contact is the galaxy Earth is in.>
<Thus, their mass is currently affecting Earth and the galaxy by a large, abnormal amount that would otherwise be impossible.>
Ning didn't think for a while. Universes colliding with each other… what was there to think about?
He nodded to himself for a few seconds and finally said, "wait what?"
"What the fuck? Universes colliding? If that happens, won't we all die?" Ning asked.
<You are an Energy. You cannot die>
"I know! I meant we, as in the entire population of the universe," Ning shouted.
<No. Universes colliding is a common event in all of the multiverse. Rather than colliding, you can think of Universes brushing past each other.>
<There will be some location that takes some damage, but most won't suffer at all.>
"Huh? So they are colliding, but just a bit?" Ning asked.
<Yes, and they will pass through each other.>
"How does that work?" Ning asked.
<Your human mind will not be able to comprehend how two universes exist in relation to each other and explaining it will cost an incredible amount of energy.>
"Alright, never mind then," Ning said. 'Damn, Universe colliding, what sort of catastrophic event is that?' he wondered.
"Oh right, do you know when it will happen?" Ning asked.
<The closest one is 100 thousand years away from colliding>
"Oh," Ning said. That…was a lot of time. Humanity would all die by then for sure or move on to the stars and hopefully the other galaxies.
"100,000 years is a lot of time any—" he stopped speaking. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. The system didn't specify the location of the time.
"System," he asked. "When you say 100,000 years, what galaxy are you basing that time off of?"
<I'm basing it on the time you are experiencing at the moment>
Ning sighed. "In other words, how long before this other universe collides with earth in Earth's time?" Ning asked.
<About 50 years>
'That's so close,' Ning thought to himself.
<It is in fact even closer>
<As the universe comes closer, the time on earth will slow down even further until the universes collide>
<In reality, it will be closer to 20 years for someone in earth>
"Well, shit," Ning thought. He didn't know what else to think. The system was right. Just learning about these things was hard enough to absorb, learning how universes worked in a multiverse would surely be worse for him.
He closed his eyes and slumped back on the sofa for a bit as the wind and thunder raged in the storm outside. Rain continuously hit the window in his room, reminding him of what was happening outside.
After a bit of contemplation, he finally opened his eyes. "I would love to visit Earth, but I can't wait around to watch the universe collide. I need to go visit my people first and foremost," He thought.
"That's right. After I rejoin with them, I am free to do whatever I want," he thought.
Thinking about Kumia and the others there, Ning felt happy. No, he felt excited. He couldn't wait to get back to them, and then go roam the stars as he pleased.
Until then, they would have to wait a bit. Not long, just a bit.
A smile appeared on Ning's face as he saw the rain and thunder stop outside.
He had been lost in his mind for a long while, learning about all these things had been straining, but now, he felt relieved.
So, he smiled.
He turned around to look at the clock near his bed. It was about the same time as when the schedule told him to wake up.
'Right,' he thought. 'Let's forget about everything not related to Vilmore for now.'
"I should go get something to eat before I go train," he said out loud. "It's going to be a long day."
