Chapter 172

"BAANGG!"

"You're back!"

Dio was hit to the ground by a powerful hug as soon as he emerged from the other side of the portal.

It happened so quickly that not even his cloak or golem had time to react and defend him.

"Yes, Kori, I'm back."

Dio returned her hug gently while still on the ground.

Kori was genuinely happy about his return and couldn't contain the excitement in her hug.

After a few minutes like that, she stood up, and Dio blew on her face to move her long red hair away from his face.

"Where have you been? We searched for you all over the world!"

Koriand'r asked eagerly.

"I've been off-world, that's why none of you found me."

Dio explained.

"You went to another planet!?"

Koriand'r seemed even more excited to hear about his adventure.

"Starfire, get off him first."

A second familiar female voice.

"Okay."

Koriand'r floated off him and allowed him to stand up.

Raven was in front of him with her purple outfit on the grassy ground behind the Tower near the entrance.

"Welcome back."

Raven said this to him but showed no emotion.

"Now that you're standing, tell me everything."

Koriand'r interrupted.

"I will, but first, how long has it been since I disappeared?"

Dio asked, feeling a bit anxious about the answer.

It was dark when it happened, but now it's almost noon, and that doesn't mean much if he had been gone for days.

"Eight hours now."

Raven replied.

"Roy called us all back after examining the explosion site and finding nothing of you or that crazy British guy."

Koriand'r looked back behind her as she mentioned the explosion.

Dio looked too and saw the spot where he had opened the portal, which was altered by Constantine.

There was indeed a black mark in the shape of a circle at the site.

"While they searched the entire city, I tried to pick up some mystical signal but got nothing. The explosion somehow burned away any magical energy in the area, and the city was quiet with no sign of either of you."

Raven continued.

"After that, we asked for help from the League. Wonder Woman called Steve Trevor, and the search began."

Koriand'r filled in the rest.

"Correct, the search is still ongoing. We haven't informed anyone yet."

Raven reminded her and took out a phone from her purple cloak.

Dio felt more than relieved to know that so many people were searching all over the world for him.

It was an incredibly comforting feeling.

Dio often went into the Underworld or locked himself in his lab to learn alchemy, so the people close to him were used to going missing for days or weeks.

He would notify them or be ready to help if needed every time.

The problem this time was that there was a small explosion.

"Did Constantine not inform you guys that everything was okay? He left first."

Dio wasn't sure how time conversion worked, but he should have left before or at the same time as him.

"We didn't see him here. If he had, I would have punched him in the face. You don't manipulate a friend the way he did with you."

Koriand'r even clenched her fist as she said this.

"How do you know about that?"

Dio hadn't told them anything about it, and Roy wasn't with them at the time.

"The surveillance cameras. Alright, I've informed the whole team, they're on their way back."

Raven said that and put her phone away.

"I have to let my sister know; she must be literally climbing the walls by now."

Dio remembered that a bit worriedly.

He may be the cautious one in their family, but she's also super worried about him. She just doesn't like to say it out loud.

"We didn't tell her or her mother that you disappeared. We thought it best to wait at least a day."

"Thank you, Raven."

Dio sighed in relief.

He doubted Julia cared about his disappearance, but Vanessa was the one who mattered.

"Now, let's go inside and prepare something to eat while Dio tells us about his incredible new adventure!"

Koriand'r exclaimed, always excited about food and adventures.

...

Dio didn't immediately tell them what had happened. He wanted to tell everything only once when everyone was together.

He took a nice, long bath and joined the two of them at the kitchen table during this wait.

He asked the Aurae to prepare a meal fit for a king for them.

Dio wasn't hungry, but there's nothing better than eating something after taking a long bath to relax after a long journey.

During the meal, they received a notification from the Tower's system.

When he disappeared, the team and the League took control of cameras worldwide and set them to do facial recognition of him and Constantine.

He was just found in England, near a pub bar.

Morpheus was kind to them and placed them close to their homes.

Diana arrived during their little meal, very worried about him.

After some conversation and several assurances, he managed to calm her down and convince her to sit with them.

The team arrived at the Tower one by one in the living room, where everyone sat on the couch or stood close by, like Diana.

Dio started telling everyone what happened to him.

"I'm not sure if I'm worried or happy that you met your first god, it's kind of a rite of passage for every demigod."

Diana commented with a smile on her face.

Dio hadn't told her about his sister in the Underworld, so she didn't know about that.

He told everyone everything except for the part about the contract between him and Morpheus because that would stay between them.

Raven must have sensed something in him and gave him one of her looks, but she didn't say anything.

"Other realities are a bit beyond our scope to search."

Robin sighed.

"I'm sorry about that, Robin, but I was really happy to know that you guys were doing so much to find me."

Dio said that and gave them a smile of pure happiness.

"Of course we do, my friend, you're one of us."

Kaldur'ahm said.

"For sure you are, but did you bring us any souvenirs?"

Kid Flash asked.

"I was in a dream world, Wally. What should I bring you?"

"That's no excuse, dude."

"He got lucky, very lucky."

Raven said it in a sour mood.

"Yes, I did, I could have literally ended up anywhere or in any reality because of the little mess Constantine created."

Dio knew it couldn't have been luck to end up in the Dreaming, but destiny was at work.

"Everything turned out fine in the end, and our friend returned with more incredible stories of his feats."

Koriand'r smiled at him.

"Indeed, I found your encounter with a talking crow very interesting."

Kaldur'ahm commented.

"Don't forget about the werewolf, I didn't even know they existed for real!"

Wally said.

"We fought vampires once, why are you so surprised?"

Roy spoke up for the first time, more interested in the arrow he had in his hand than looking at him.

"The important thing is that he's back and well."

Diana put an end to the conversation.

"Did I cause a lot of trouble for the League?"

Dio asked her.

"No, only those who were free participated in the search, so there were no problems; don't worry about it."

"Please thank everyone who helped me."

Dio said to her.

"Of course, Dio."

After that, they started bombarding him with questions and asking for details about his adventure.

Dio answered them as best as he could until some of the Tower members had to leave for their patrols.

It was his turn to do the same, but Kid Flash was kind enough to switch places with him to take his spot and give me some time to rest.

Then Dio took Diana personally to the rooftop.

"Dio, you certainly know how to make me worried."

Diana told him.

"It wasn't my intention. If you want to take it out on someone, Constantine is in England now, most likely drinking."

Dio said while laughing.

"I'm heading there now."

Diana told him seriously.

Thgey said goodbye with a tight hug, and Diana said she was happy that he was okay, and then she flew away.

Dio turned around and went to the elevator on the rooftop, and as soon as he entered, Dick's image appeared on the screen above the floor buttons.

He took off his mask and was wearing sunglasses.

"What happened?"

Dio asked.

"Do you know why a house just appeared at the entrance of the Tower?"

Dick asked with confusion.

'House?'

'Oh, did she just show up?'

"Oh well, do you remember the house that Cain gave me?"

"What is it doing here!?"

"He kind of followed me, I forgot to mention that she can do that."

Dio explained.

"Magic! It's going to drive me crazy one day!"

Dick shouted and turned off the screen.

Immediately, Dio changed the elevator floor to the first, where the Tower's entrance was located.

Cain said the house would come out of the Dreaming once he called it, which he didn't think he did.

The house may have been so bored that it couldn't wait any longer and decided to come to me on its own.

That crazy idea actually makes sense.

Dio flew a bit above the ground to the glass entrance as soon as the elevator door opened, which opened on its own.

...

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