《The Last Walker》 Prologue - Glioblastoma multiforme Prologue Glioblastoma Multiforme The wheezing of the worn-out ceiling fan. The bright white yet dusty walls filled with framed papers. The droplets of sweat on his fat face surfing down, hugging his hairy double chin. It¡¯s slowly moving up and down. In fact, it¡¯s more like jiggling. I don¡¯t know wh-! ¡°Mr-Mr. Adam, you with me? As I was saying, we¡¯re out of options here, I am really sorry. You could spend a fortune but only to prolong the inevitable. Go home, have some rest and think about the changes you are about to face in the upcoming period of your life. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have a long day ahead of me.¡± I looked at the fat man, who was sweating profusely without an apparent reason. I didn¡¯t say a word back. Instead, I just took the scrambled papers and shoved them into my backpack. Then, turned my back and reached the door knob, quickly going out of the room. I saw faces, lots of them. Some are staring at me, some are sympathetic, some are angry, but all of these faces have something in common; all of these faces are hopeless. Full of despair, void of joy and void of life. I got out of the building and got into my car, which was still on the loan. Then, like a machine following orders, I wrongfully repeated,¡°Go home, rest and think about a better way to die.¡± You know what they say about the moment before you die, when your life flashes in front of your eyes in just a moment? I discovered that you don¡¯t need a bullet kissing your forehead for that to happen; words are just as powerful as it to grant you that effect. Flashes of crawling on the floor, a mother¡¯s embrace, the first day at school, a first kiss, a college graduation party, crushed dreams, a dull job and a day that has been repeated for eight years. Wake up, go to work, do your job like a mule, go back home and find something that makes the pain go away; your drug. In my case, computer games and reading, if you didn¡¯t count crying yourself to sleep. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s time for regrets. I mean, I signed up for this. I could¡¯ve been an engineer or technician or something, something that paid well, but zoology? As a major, even if it¡¯s a useless decision in this fucked up third world country I was born in. I ended up sitting behind a desk in a dull job, how naive I was, but I can¡¯t help the loving nature. It fascinated me since I was a child. To me, animals represent purity and innocence, something humans definitely lacked, at least, after a certain age. I chose to leave my parents¡¯ home, become independent and chose the daily life grind only to become a small gear in the big ugly machine. I didn¡¯t choose this, though. I didn¡¯t choose this big patch on my head¡¯s MRI, these rebellious cells breeding in my thinkbox. A fourth stage brain cancer. Well, at least I now know why the insane headaches, which usually ends with mini-blackouts, are happening more often. Oh well, I¡¯m not fond of dying in a hospital bed, thus I decided that I¡¯ll take the pain and do what every death sentenced man would want to do, try to live whatever life I have left to the fullest, spend like a millionaire, love like Casanova, and pray like a prophet. I couldn¡¯t help but let my tears flow. No use holding them now. There is nothing to do. Whispers came out of my salty mouth, trying to give me false hopes. ¡°I...¡± sniff¡± If I can go back in time, I would live my life as I like. I wouldn¡¯t be the person I am. If¡­ If ¡°sniff¡± I can go back in time, I would be ¡°sniff¡± ¡­ free.¡± The tears kept flowing for a while, washing away a fraction of my depression, allowing me to keep going even for a little while. I started my car and drove by the river. The sun was setting and the view was mesmerizing so I thought why not enjoy the world I¡¯m about to leave. So I parked the bucket of bolts, sat on the grass and looked up at the sky before exclaiming, ¡°Wow!¡± It is truly beautiful, a sunny day with a refreshing breeze and white clou¡­ white clouds? The clouds are¡­ purple? Suddenly, the clouds started to spread, blocking the sunlight and filling the view with purple mist. What is happening? Is this some kind of those climate wonders, like the auroras I see on the internet, or maybe some kind of biological weapon? Maybe, the judgment day? People around me are staring stupefied at the sky, some had already begun to panic. Tremors, big ones, started vibrating my world,the buildings were falling down like sand castles hit by strong wind and booming sounds accompanied by dust clouds filled the air, it was happening so fast my tumored brain was finding it hard to process. Then came the loudest screech I have ever heard in the entirety of the 30 years I have lived, a screech so loud that it made an unearthly melody with the millions of glass shards it produced. People started holding their heads in a futile fight against the orchestrated sounds of doom, blood started gushing from their noses, ears, and even eyes and God knows what else, some are down spasming. I looked in awe while all I¡¯m having is a small nosebleed. Meanwhile, an old friend of mine had come, greeting me! I did not miss you one bit, the tumor is hugging my brain again, giving me the unbearable familiar headache, then the blackout will soon follow. My vision is becoming blurry, all I can see is hazy purple, all I can smell is blood, all I can taste is rust and all I hear is screams and crashes. So this is how I die¡­ though to be honest, it¡¯s better than someone discovering my smelly bloated corpse in my apartment. So, this is my fate. I wonder what I¡¯m going to do in my afterlife. I really hope it exists. I¡¯m not a religious person, but I believe in god. I wish I was a more pious person, I wish I traveled the whole world, I wish I¡¯ve felt the warmth of a woman, I wish many things, thinking too fast, but¡­ now, all I can do is-. What is THAT? Before I go out, drowning in my speedy thoughts, I see something that makes every hair on my body stand straight up like a soldier during a sudden morning drill, snapping my conscious back to reality. In my blurry vision, I see the sky getting torn, something is carving it with what it seems like tendrils, tearing it like a piece of cloth, the tear is getting bigger and bigger until I see something more, an eye, a gigantic eye emerged behind the tear, staring into my soul. ¡°Man¡­ I have to stop watching these Japanese cartoons,¡± I thought while staring at the hallucination. My eyelids were giving up, but the shock kept it resistant. The tendrils started moving, slinking themselves and beginning a straight path towards... ME? Too fast for my brain to process it enveloped me, sinking into my limbs but I couldn¡¯t feel any pain for some reason, less than that a second later I was floating, then shooting up towards the sky at incredible speed. I tried focusing on anything to save myself, panicking and squirming, but suddenly I realized it¡¯s useless. Why should I resist, I¡¯m dead anyway, I¡¯m really tired of all this shit, I should just let go. I stopped resisting my eyelids, and everything suddenly went dark.
A friend of mine once told me a very shocking story. One day, he was working his night shift at the hospital. The ambulance brought a dying man. well, more like a torso than a man. His arms and legs were sawed off, his genitals removed violently, he was missing his eyes and tongue, his ears were burned with what seems to be an iron. what is more shocking is that this man was kept alive on purpose. He said later that he heard that this man pissed off some really powerful people, and this was their way of revenge. It was so fucked up. I never thought this level of cruelty existed, and my friend was messing with me with some twisted imagination of his, until today. I felt like waking up tofaint vibration sounds while I was floating in the air. I can¡¯t feel anything but in the blurred vision of the corner of my left eye,I saw subtle movements. The drowsiness faded away. And I saw what a veteranhorror movie director would kill to even imagine. I saw three small floatingfigures who looks like a giant jellyfish with an eye in the middle of their what seems to be a diamond shaped head, with thousands of tendrils coming out of their bodies, much like the giant thing that dragged me into the purple sky. Then I looked down, I saw ¡­ nothing! no arms, no legs, not even my genitals, a slight burning sensation in my head, it seems I pissed off some powerful ... aliens? I think that moment I had like a brain freeze or something, for I couldn¡¯t translate any of this. Other than the burning sensation in my head, I don¡¯t feel any pain and I didn¡¯t see a drop of blood. Suddenly, a tsunami of emotions burst within me, and before it swept me away, everything went dark. No, I didn¡¯t faint yet, but it seems like I don¡¯t have my left eye anymore. All I could feel now was the extreme shock, panic, fear, anger, as I was slowly being dismembered, disassembled, disconnected. I hear a loud booming sound on the horizon, probably louder since I feel I¡¯m missing my pinna too, the buzzing sound of the vibrations is getting more frequent, then I fade again into nothingness.
*** Earlier *** ¡°Increase dismantling operation speed by thirty eight percent, we don¡¯t have time! They found our whereabouts faster than we calculated¡±, said one of the strange figures slightly moving its blue body. ¡°As ordered, 214n6355 remains. Extracting second visual receptor in 7n78,¡± continued the figure to the other two. ¡°The walker is regaining conscious. His heart rate is increasing rapidly.¡± ¡°Take out the secondary visual receptor, now!¡± said a reddish figure, issuing an order. ¡°As your order,¡± replied the blue figure. *BOOM!* ¡°They¡¯re here! Release the essence!¡± commanded the third figure. It looked transparent and had a superior commanding aura than the other two. ¡°But if we forced the essence, the walker might reject it and die,¡± said the blue figure. ¡°We do not have time. Calculating risks...¡± said reddish one, quietly.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Release the essence. Inject yoctobots and... implement the coordinator,¡± added the transparent figure. ¡°The coordinator? Matriarch, without the coordinator we cannot¡­ this is ¡­¡± said the blue one. ¡°We did not come all this way from the other end of the universe, after eons of searching for the right planet and the compatible specimen to back away now. This is their last hope. I know how precious the coordinator is, but it¡¯s a sacrifice we must make. Now, augment the walker again. Inject yoctobots and install the coordinator,¡± said the Matriarch, they would not fail. ¡°What about the anomaly in his head? We need time to stud¨C,¡± the blue figure retorted. ¡°The coordinator will figure something out about it later, now do as you¡¯re told!¡±, said the supposed leader. ¡°Yes, Matriarch,¡± replied blue, finally backing down. ¡°After you are done seal the walker until the coordinator activates and initiate phase 8442¡±, said the matriarch, leaving the area as she prepared. ¡°As you ordered, Matriarch,¡± both the blue and red figure said in unison and started doing what they were told.
I regained conscious, floating in my world of darkness, feeling weightlessness, limbless and senseless. What was this weird incomprehensible symbols that appeared in my head? I only saw it with the back of my mind since I have no eyes, it looks like lines of code in some alien programming language. ¡°So, it wasn¡¯t a dream,¡± I murmured. ¡°Earthling¡­¡± a monotonic voice buzzed in my head. ¡°WHAT THE FUCK?¡± I shouted, flinching. ¡°Fuck, modern earthen language, refers to the act of sexual intercourse and commonly used to express disdain, the term is also used to-¡± the monotonic voice started to explain. ¡°SHUT UP¡± I shouted, interrupting, trying to gather my thoughts on what the hell this voice was. ¡°What are you?¡± I asked, trying to calm myself. ¡°I am the coordinator,¡± came the voice in an instant after. ¡°Coordinator, wha¡ª!¡° ¡°I am, what you call on earth, an artificial intelligence, or AI for short. Compared to, what you call the most advanced AI here on this planet, codename ALICE, I am more sophisticated by¨C¡± ¡°¨Cthe number presented is above the level of your current comprehension level,¡± said the coordinator. ¡°So¡­? What are you doing here in my head?¡± I asked, recovering from my initial shock and slowly regaining my rationality. ¡°I was implanted within your cerebral cortex to distribute the terra essence within this vessel, coordinate the yoctobots within it and help you survive what is to come until you fulfill your purpose¡±. ¡° Yocto what?... p-purpose?¡± I said questioning the AI. ¡°Machines regulating your body and maintaining the essence strands. Your purpose is to exist, until the time comes,¡± replied the AI, quickly. ¡°What machines, what time and what essence?¡± I asked, feeling confused as the words came out of my mouth, at least that was what I thought. ¡°You cannot know at this point in time,¡± replied the coordinator, which seemed to me like a colder voice than before. So, I have some sort of micro machines in my body and a super advanced AI in my head that¡¯s telling me some nonsense. What¡¯s ALICE anyway? I¡¯ve only heard rumors but how does it know that kind of knowledge? I thought to myself. ¡°Correction. Yocta machines. The usage of micro machines stopped centuries ago and my database contains a carbon updated copy of terra¡¯s all eleven layers¡¯ information networks. The internet as earthlings call it, or at least what they call the first layer,¡± informed the coordinator. ¡°So, you know everything about the plane... WAIT! Did you just read my thoughts?¡± I asked, shocked by the fact that he just replied to something that didn¡¯t come out of my mouth. ¡°Yes. I can read the neuro-signals in your brain and translate it to data And no, I am not offended by what you just thought right now. Also, I don¡¯t have a mother,¡± the coordinator said, adding more to my uneasiness. ¡°Sorry! I didn¡¯t mean it!¡± I said, feeling myself blushing, which was a good sign that I still have blood circulating in the husk that is my body at the moment. ¡°Do not be. We were communicating by thought from the start of the conversation.¡± Pausing for a moment, I focused a bit on my mouth and noticed that I didn¡¯t have my tongue and my teeth. All I could produce was some incomprehensible sounds through my vocal cords. I think I¡¯m more tolerant to shocks now than before. ¡°So, coordinator, might you explain to me why you aliens made me like this? What do you want with me? Are you experimenting on m¨C?¡° *FIZZZZZZ!* The sound of a metal getting melted down can be heard in the room I¡¯m in, followed by muffled footsteps. Then, an otherworldly feminine voice echoed in my head. ¡°Hello! ADAM?¡± ¡°Great. Now, everybody is a mind reader now,¡± I replied, clearly pissed off. ¡°What are you talking about, Adam? I am merely using telepathy to communicate with you,¡± replied the unknown person, in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked, trying to communicate with her. ¡°My name is Ijna Alaaly, commander of this sector under the banner of the Noran race, and we are here to save you,¡± said Ijna, with a serious tone that sounded a lot like a veteran soldier. ¡°Save me from what? I am perfectly fine,¡± I said, sarcastically, thinking about my husk looking body. ¡°I am sorry, Adam. We were late. The Exorians got to you before us, but we will fix everything these monsters have done to you. Do not worry, Adam. We have the technology to regenerate the damage that they have done to your body and even cure your cancer But tell me, Adam¡­ What were you talking about when you said everybody is a mind reader?¡± ¡°Do not tell her,¡± I heard the coordinator, in the back of my head. ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Because, she is the enemy, my enemy, and your enemy,¡± replied the AI. ¡°Well coordinator, they didn¡¯t at least cut me up like I was some sort of burger,¡± I told the coordinator with a defiant tone. ¡°I warn you, earthling. if you tell¨C!¡± ¡°They implanted an AI in my head, and machines, also something called essence¡± I started spilling everything to Ijna. ¡°Earthling, that is not the correct choice to make. This counterintuit¨C!¡± said the AI, a hint of begging in his voice in my mind. ¡°Adam, Exorian AI cannot read minds. Did you speak with it?¡± Ijna asked, sounding intrigued. ¡°Yes. This damn coordinator keeps saying weir¨C!¡± At that moment, I heard a loud gasp after mentioning the word coordinator. ¡°HAAD BLK¡¯TAAA,¡± she screamed, ordering what sounds like more soldiers. Loud explosion sounds, followed by what seemed to be a sound of a beast in pain, the explosions are reaching where I am quickly from all side as my half ear can listen, everything started shaking while Ijna still screaming orders.
So, I¡¯m falling at the moment, probably the alien ship exploded, to be honest, I am really sick of this shit. Cancer, aliens, dismemberment, machines and AIs in my head, now I really wish to die, this is too overwhelming, I can smell burning flesh, probably mine, dropping from way too high up, for some reason the pain is suppressed by something. the feeling of my flesh peeling yet regenerating in an instant, that¡¯s probably something the machines in my body is doing, but why? why would they dismember me, yet keep me alive? So many questions, but I don¡¯t need answers now. Soon everything will be over; soon I will find peace within death¡¯s embrace. The fresh air of the sea suddenly hit my nostrils, I wonder how my lungs are keeping up with this fall.They shouldn¡¯t, yet... I don¡¯t really care. Soon. Soon I will be released Soon I will be free. I hit the ocean very hard, my body should explode from the impact, yet the wounds instantly close ¡°So they won¡¯t let me die yet! Bastards, my best hope now is drowning.¡± I stop resisting the salty water filling my insides, I keep sinking, my mind is fading and a curl of satisfaction forms on my lips! Finally, death!
*** 2.4 kilometers undersea, Atlantic Ocean floor *** [dipnoi] [hadal amphipod] [gastropod] ¡°Cordi, what did she say?¡± the coordinator heard the unconscious Adam. ¡°She said. ¡°seize him¡±, Adam.¡± replied the coordinator. ¡°OH¡­ bitch. Thanks Cordi¡± said the still unconscious Adam. ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Sleep well, Planet Walker. Your journey has just begun,¡± whispered the coordinator. StealthEdit V6.2 13feb17. Please move along, you didn''t actually read that line-paranoid author 01- Men and Monsters Chapter one Men and Monsters Hello! My name is Adam. I am an almost 30 year old desk clerk, and¡­ I¡¯m hanging from a tree using my tail, eating some tasty fruit. I¡¯m snapping into a fawn¡¯s neck and rolling in the river. I¡¯m soaring in the sky, leading my flock to a far destination. I¡¯m sucking blood under a hair strand from an old man¡¯s nape. I¡¯m standing tall in a rain forest, flexing my branches while feeling small insects marching on my bark. I¡¯m slithering on an ocean floor, burrowing myself in wait for prey. I am¡­ I am walking a barren earth with an army of giants with big, long heads, holding weird guns. I¡¯m facing throngs of insects like monsters that are blasting the horde with laser-like bullets that leaves small mushroom clouds, huge craters and thousands of dead insect monsters. This is so different from what I had in mind regarding the afterlife. This feels like a loop of the nearly endless perspectives of creatures I know most of, along with a mixture of feelings that were weird to me. The oddest perspective I have is about these giants. They look human but way bigger and the shapes of their heads are kind of funny. The weapons and armors they are wearing look like pieces from a sci-fi movie. If this is truly the afterlife, endless points of view of every single creature on earth and god knows what else, then¡­ this is fucking boring.
**North of the gray sea ¨C relic hunters guild branch 23:35** ¡°Grobo, what¡¯s all this fuss about?¡± A tall thin man in purple robes said, who had a thin mustache and monocle that seemed to be embedded in his skin. ¡°Sir, the deep-sea excavation found some interesting haul this time. Less than 3000 kilometers deep, we found a dead body of what seems to be a human, missing almost all of its limbs. It is enclosed by a kind of biological gel with some weird wires running through it and tendrils coming out of it. It seems that its purpose is to preserve the body,¡± said Grobo, enthusiastically. ¡°Intriguing. Show me where this body is,¡± said the thin man, also known as Bertini Dolciano, the head of the Gray Sea Branch of the Relic Hunters Guild. The Relic Hunters Guild was an organization that mainly excavated deep sea levels in search of lost technology left by The Great War 1500 years ago that happened on earth, leaving it as a barren planet that can¡¯t support life. The humans were on the brink of extinction if it were not for the Noran Empire¡¯s help terraforming the planet, saving the human race from extinction, taking it under the protection of the empire. In a small room stood Bertini, Grobo and five other men in white coats that gave them the look of scientists. ¡°Cut the membrane, carefully. I want it intact as much as possible,¡± said Bertini, sounding somewhat commanding. One of the scientist began waving his hands and made particular finger movement on a screen. A robotic arm started forming a light blue ray, cut into the wire filled gel membrane and revealed the dead limbless human inside. ¡°Scan the body. I don¡¯t want anything funny to happen,¡± said Bertini. ¡°Yes sir. We¡¯re on it,¡± replied another scientist, who was in front of the computer controlling the robotic arms. ¡°Starting scan in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1...¡± announced the soldier. ¡°Sir, it is 100% a normal human being, and he¡¯s deceased. We are not detecting any signs of life,¡± said the technician, with a hint of relief on his face. ¡°Ok people. Great job. It¡¯s getting late. Ice the body and the membrane. Tomorrow morning, we continue working after transferring it to a bigger lab,¡± said Bertini, with a tear forming in the corner of his eyes from the constant yawning, a result of him staying up this late. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±
**North of the gray sea ¨C relic hunters guild branch 03:22** I woke up to the coordinator''s voice calling my name along with a throbbing pain in my head and an inability to breathe. I literally felt like a mummy that came to life, which, as it turned out, happened to be somewhat true. ¡°Coordinator? Am I not dead? What¡¯s happening? I''m not breathing! It¡¯s freezing! I''m starving! I feel like shit. Did you follow me to the afterlife?¡± I asked, panicking in my state of utter confusion. ¡°You did not die in the first-place, Adam, and I know that you want to¡­ nickname me. So, Cordi will be acceptable and I also adjusted my personality to suit your preferences,¡± replied the coordinator, with a surprisingly warm reassuring voice that sounded like an expert butler. Getting over my confusion, I kept asking Cordi about what happened after I presumably died. It explained that I was in deep sleep for, to my shock, more than 1500 years ¡­ Deep in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after it initiated a detonation protocol to escape the Noran forces. Apparently,I was picked up by some humans in an excavation and we are now in a place that used to be Italy back when I was¡­ alive. Cordi tricked them into thinking that I was dead. They were interested in some membrane that was adding a layer of protection and nourishment to me while I was slumbering. ¡°Cordi, how¡¯s it that I¡¯m still alive after all this time in a freezing cold ocean floor for 1500 years? Are you kidding me and what happened to the this Ijna woman and the jellyfish people? With this useless body, how am I going to??!¡± ¡°Adam, all your questions will be answered in time, but for now, you should save what little energy you have that I¡¯m directing into your brain to get out of this situation. I can¡¯t manipulate the essence with these low energy levels you have. Now, we have to get out of this facility,¡± echoed Cordi, in my head. Regaining my sense of rationality, the innate urge to preserve my life kicked in. Like a cornered animal, I wanted to live. ¡°O-Ok, Cordi. What s-should we d-do?¡± ¡°I will draw a three-dimensional graphical interface in your head of the room we are in, and I will direct all of the remaining energy left to your core muscles which have 96% less mass now due to your hibernation. So, with the assistance of yoctobots, I will tell you to fling yourself to the tub next to you, the tub that contains the membrane that was enveloping you. It should have sufficient nourishment for the next part of the plan.¡± The lines of alien codes in the back of my head started morphing into some 3D projection of a room. I was sitting on some kind of a table emitting some kind of freezing smoky substance. Next to me Is something like a fish tank containing what looks like a bed sheet... thing. So, from what Cordi says, I have to eat that? As planned, I felt a sudden surge of energy within my body, and I braced myself while tightening my whole body, or what¡¯s left of it. Then, with a popping sound followed by a small splash, I landed in the tub next to the membrane, sinking into some smelly liquid. I thought I was going to drown, but I turned out to be fine for some reason. ¡°Adam, you need to eat this membrane in order for me to collect enough energy,¡± said Cordi, with a stern voice I didn¡¯t pay attention and starting devouring the icky substance, sucking it with my mouth directly into my stomach without even chewing it, not that I have any teeth for that matter. It tasted like jello, fish, and rubber. It was so bad, I wanted to throw it up, but I couldn¡¯t allow it. I was so hungry, even dirt would make my mouth water. With the last piece coming down from my mouth into my stomach, I felt a burning sensation in the lower part of my body and it got more intense by the second. [Siphonaptera] [ Panthera tigris] [Homo sapien] *CRACK* WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! *CRACK* *CRACK* AHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!. ¡°PLEASE STOP, PLEASE¡± I gurgled, screaming from pain. ¡°CORDIIII,¡± I roared, anger flaring inside me, feeling like I experienced death many times over the last few minutes. This pain was impossible to imagine.¡°I know, Adam. I apologize, but it had to be done,¡± whispered the AI in an apologetic tone. Now I¡¯m experiencing the weirdest feeling ever. I just grew legs, which definitely doesn¡¯t feel like legs. ¡°Now, Adam, we don¡¯t have enough energy to do the rest. Get out of the container, and follow my instructions carefully,¡± echoed Cordi. I mentally nodded and climbed out of the smelly tub, but as soon as I got out, I fell down like a newborn animal. These are not legs, it¡¯s something¡­ more. I stood up bit by bit, trying to adapt to a new pair of weird legs. In a few minutes, I was walking straight. I was shocked that I was able to rotate my joint 180 degrees.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°That¡¯s just weird,¡± I thought. Trying to follow the 3D projection in my mind, Cordi marked the door. So I walked up to it only to find that it had no knob or handle. As soon as I thought about asking Cordi, the door slid opened. ¡°Apologies for the delay. I was hacking the facility security¡¯s subsystems,¡± said Cordi while the door finished opening. ¡°Now, run, Adam.¡± The 3D room view turned into a bird¡¯s-eye view of the facility. I started moving my legs faster to run, but in less than a second, I shot out like a speeding bullet and hit a wall. ¡°Ouch! What the fuck is this?¡± I thought, coping with the pain of smashing into the wall. ¡°Easy, Adam. These legs are not the same as the pair you used to have. It will take some time for you to get used to it, but for now, take it slowly.¡± I tried jogging. Same result, way too fast. So, I tried walking a bit faster than normal. It was manageable. ¡°Cordi, how fast am I going?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°41.258 - 48.115 kilometers / hour¡± answered Cordi, nonchalantly. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°O-Ok, Cordi, can you put something like a speed meter so I can see how fast am I going? This would make things a bit easier.¡± A speed meter with the number 44.245 going up and down appeared in my vision. After that, I started navigating through the facility following the map Cordi drew in my head. Soon, I reached a bigger door at the end of the map. On its side, I identified as sentry bots from my memories of games and movies, which Cordi probably hacked too. The big door opened and the map disappeared, dragging me back to my dark world and taking a bit of the joy I had being able to navigate away with it. ¡°Do not worry, Adam. We will fix that soon,¡± said Cordi, reassuringly before saying, ¡°It seems that we are in some sort of remote location. One moment.¡± A road-like interface appeared in my vision. It wasn¡¯t as detailed as the facility map, but it was still easy to navigate. ¡°Now, Adam, run!¡± echoed Cordi, enthusiasm filled in its voice. I felt my lip curl as soon as the AI said that. After a small boom, I found myself dashing like a bullet train. I looked at the speed meter and was shocked. I was running at 450 km/h, easily. Turning around proved a bit harder to grasp, but my excitement got over me and I kept speeding, paying no attention to the freezing cold wind hitting my naked body. After running for what felt like miles, signs of civilization began to appear gradually. A coastal medium-sized city by what the map was showing. From what I was seeing on the map, it had an amazing master plan; colossal buildings stacked in a neat circular way surrounded by a river line followed by another circular line of buildings and repeats for more lines. In the center of the city was a huge circular building which looked like the point around which the whole city revolved around. Neat. I mentally whistled in awe at this masterpiece city plan. I didn¡¯t want to contact civilization in this sorry state of mine, so I kept my distance from the city. ¡°What¡¯s the name of the city, and what¡¯s this huge building?¡± I asked, curiously. ¡°The city of Neo Roma, and this building is called The Flavian Amphitheatre. The Colosseum,¡± replied Cordi. ¡°Oh! That makes sense. You said we¡¯re in Italy, so I wonder if they have??¡± ¡°Adam, several vehicles are approaching at high speed,¡± said Cordi, sounding distressed. As soon as I heard Cordi, five red dots appeared on my map. I picked up speed, trying to avoid them, but they located me anyways. How did they find me so fast? I kept on trying to get away as far away as I possibly could from my pursuers. ¡°They are tracking your bio signatures. Energy levels are dangerously low. Probability of escaping is low. I advise hiding underwater,¡± stated Cordi. Panicking, I sped up to the direction of the sea. My speed meter showing 485 km/h, yet they were rapidly approaching. My only hope of shaking them off of my tail was to jump into the sea and somehow survive. I didn¡¯t know how, but I could miraculously breathe in water, like i did in the fishtank. The sea finally came into my map view. A toothless grin appeared on my face. I put every single ounce of strength that I had into my legs and jumped into the air. ¡°WHAAAAAAAAA!!!¡± For a moment, the world around me went silent and as chilly air hit me, I closed my nonexistent eyes. Bliss that I had never felt before filled my heart. ¡°So this is what feels like to be free, ¡± I mumbled, soaring through the cold weather. My heart felt so warm, it could fill an entire universe with hope. These words actually came from my mouth this time. They may be somehow incomprehensible in the form of language, but it¡¯s the first time words came out from my heart, and not my brain. ¡°Cordi, show altitude,¡± I demanded, trying to contain my excitement. It seemed that I jumped way too high up. A whooping 560 appeared in an altitude meter in my vision. It wouldn¡¯t matter if I fell into the sea from that altitude, I¡¯ve done worse. As soon as I started falling, bracing for a big splash, something that felt like a net covered me. In an instant, I felt myself flying back away from the sea. I started to panic like crazy. ¡°Adam, stop moving,¡± Cordi¡¯s voice came in vain. I started kicking and squirming, only to get myself more entangled in the net. Suddenly I was hit with what I thought to be a lightning strike; I think thousands of volts surged through me. I started to smell burned flesh. Losing control, my body spasming like a belly dancer, the resistance stopped. I was dragged into some flying machine¡¯s cargo bay. Where I lost conscious.
*** Bertini Dolciano¡¯s POV *** I finally caught that damned thing. I have no idea how it escaped the facility, but the son of a bitch fried the entire system, including all the cameras footage. Good thing we have cloud backup on our data, or we would have been utterly fucked. I hate to admit it, but I had to resort to hiring bounty hunters. Those brainless boneheads only know two things, combat¡­ and money. No matter, it seems that they caught it, but the dumbasses didn¡¯t have to fry the damn thing, I hope it¡¯s not dead. I¡¯m gonna take my time cutting the fuck out of it. I will know how it grew legs and where it took the membrane. WHRRRRRRRRRR! BOOM! ¡°What in the fucking hell? ¡°I heard Galavie, a huge, bulky, battle scarred ex-military man and the leader of the bounty hunter team shout, watching the hovercraft that caught the thing crash into the rocky coast beneath. ¡°All teams, prepare for emergency landing! Now!¡± Galavie kept shouting, his face about to explode from shock and anger. All four crafts landed near the crashed one, soldiers pouring out from them. I approached Galavie who just ordered one of the soldiers to check on the pilot. Galavie kept swearing and shouting until all teams formed around the fallen craft.The soldier came back saying that everyone in the craft ... To me and Galavie¡¯s shock ¡­. wass dead. Their brains splattered all over the craft, more like they blew up. For some weird reason, Galavie kept silent for a while, then ordered the soldiers to open up the craft¡¯s cargo bay where this thing was in. After moments of hesitation, the soldiers went and opened the cargo bay, and, contrary to my expectations, the thing was still lying there, covered by the net and not moving a muscle. Per Galavie¡¯s orders, soldiers went inside and dragged it out of the craft. The smell was horrible; burnt rotten flesh. Some of the soldiers, at least, the human ones, started wincing and covering their noses. One of them came with a life scanner and ran it across the body. ¡°No signs of life, sir,¡± shouted the soldier, scanning the assumed corpse. ¡°Captain Galavie, this thing is not dead. I fell for the same trick back in the lab,¡± I said to the unexpectedly calm Galavie. ¡°One way to be sure then. You, empty a mag into it¡¯s head,¡± ordered Galavie, the soldier still holding the life scanner. ¡°Captain, you can¡¯t. I need the bod?!¡± ¡°Shut up! This shit probably did something, something that killed eight of my finest troops! You won¡¯t speak another word!¡± Galavie shouted, spraying my face with spit. As soon as the soldier took out his rifle and pointed it to the thing¡¯s face, the atmosphere changed. Weird vibration filled the air, the monster¡¯s corpse starting elevating and shaking. The soldier, next to it, started trembling, tossing his weapon aside and dropping on his knees. Confused, I looked in Galavie¡¯s direction only to see his eyes gleaming with fear. Suddenly, he took a deep breath. filling his lungs with the chilly night air and shouted that which almost made my knees give way. ¡°PSYCHIC ATTACK! EVERYONE! RUN!¡± Everyone started panicking. I dashed away as much as I could before there was an explosion behind me. BOOOOOOOM! I was lying down while my head was in a messed up state. My vision became blurry while insanely loud whistling sounds rang in my ears. I tried to focus and looked towards the thing, only to find it lying there motionless. The soldier, next to him, had a hole the size of a fist in his head, his eyes are out of the sockets and blood was gushing out of every single pore in his body. Half of the soldiers were lying there, motionless The other half was on their knees holding their heads and trembling like children that just had terrible nightmares. The air was full of blood particles dancing in front of the rays of the rising sun. I looked beside me only to find Galavie lying down on his back with his face in a bloody mess. It seemed that like he was alive and conscious. He reached out to his earpiece and hardly moved his lips while making barely audible sounds. ¡°C-C-Code P-Purple¡­ R-Requesting assistance on my lo-location¡­ B-Bring the S-Spettro t-team...¡± the captain said, before losing conscious. I looked into my digital monocle and found that my vitals weren¡¯t that great either. I sent Grobo an urgent message asking for immediate dispatch of the medical team to my location before following Galavie into the nothingness.
*** Adam POV *** I suddenly opened my eyes and saw that I was standing near my apartment door. My heart was beating at a lightning fast pace. I opened the door and found that everything was where I had left it. Looking at the mirror near the entrance, I could see myself¡­ a whole. My arms and legs. My everything was there like it originally was. I put my keys on the counter, put away my shoes and had a huge sigh of relief. ¡°So, all this shit was a dream¡­ That was fucking¡­ intense,¡± I whispered, in amazement. I began walking into my living room, readying myself to continue my dull daily routine of watching the news after coming home. When I turned around, my jaw dropped. The living room wasn¡¯t there. It was a¡­ cage! I looked from outside it and saw nothing but the back of my big couch and shut down TV. Cautiously, I began to walk to the cage¡¯s door. There was no keyhole nor knob or handle. I just gave it a little push and it opened. I approached the couch and¡­ ¡°What the f?!¡± I shouted, but I stopped my sentence midway because of what was in front of me. A little girl, not older than six, sitting comfortably on the couch and giving me a childish grin while moving her feet in a playful manner. She had white eyebrows, eyelashes and a shoulder length white hair tied in a ponytail with a bow that looked like a skull of some creature. She wore a plain black dress and had a pair of small feet covered by flip-flops. Her eyes were dark as the night with no white at all, which gave her an extraterrestrial look. ¡°Come, Adam. Sit,¡± she ordered me in a playful manner. Like an obedient dog, I followed silently and sat on the couch beside her. ¡°You¡¯re probably gonna ask who I am, what I¡¯m doing here, what this cage cage... blah blah blah,¡± said the girl, her tone was older than what she looked to be. Then she giggled in a strange manner. I did some motions that barely came close to nodding. ¡°Hehe. Lets watch some TV, Adam,¡± said the weird little girl, pointing her head to the now switching on TV. I was neither able to open my mouth nor close my eyes at what we were watching. Floating in the air was a man, surrounded by colored jellyfish aliens who were producing vibrating sounds. A blue one was dismembering him with tendrils coming out of its body. Just by touching a limb, the limb disintegrates into particles, while a red, and what seems like a transparent one, watched the process. The man suddenly woke up and the one eye he had shot open. It was scanning his surroundings. Yet after some vibrating sound, he lost the eye he had with a touch of the blue jellyfish¡¯s tendrail. ¡°Ooh! Exorians. They grow up so fast,¡° she sniffled. ¡± Boooriiing, Let''s switch the channel!¡± the little girl said, wiping the fake tears in a dramatic way like a mother watching her children. A scene of a white room where the limbless bald man was laying down on a table appeared on the screen. Next to him was a fish tank with something that looked like innards of an animal. The man somehow flung himself into the tank and started devouring the stuff in a gross manner. Suddenly, he started wailing and gurgling as some sort of legs grew out of his waist. ¡°Boooooooooooriiiiiiiing¡± the little girl said with a pouting voice, switching the channel with a slight movement of her head. The next channel showed a running creature, with the body of the man who was on previous channels. He was running so fast with happiness showing on his eyeless face. ¡°Yeaaaah. That¡¯s way better,¡± cheered the weird girl, sitting next to me on the couch while her feet moved faster, showing her increased excitement. The man jumped as high as a skyscraper, with a blissful expression on his face, readying himself to take a dip in the sea. Suddenly, a net enveloped the man. He started resisting and moving around until the net¡¯s color changed to light blue and electric sparks started engulfing the scene and the man stopped moving, smoke coming from his burnt flesh. ¡°Ewww¡­ Gross¡­ Switch,¡± the girl said, making a disgusted look on her small face. ¡°Ooh! Ooh! This is my favorite part!¡± the girl shouted, arriving at a new channel. Suddenly, she stood up and started jumping on the couch while signaling me to stop looking at her and focusing on the screen. I saw a group of futuristic soldiers standing near some crashed military craft. The man¡¯s body was lying there like a dead animal. A bulky soldier, that looked like their leader, said something and a soldier took out his weapon and pointed it to the dead man. Suddenly, the man floated and the soldier threw his weapon away and got down on his knees. Bluish energy bursts followed and everyone turned to run away. ¡°SERVES YOU RIGHT SUCKAAAASSSS!!!¡± she yelled. The girl¡¯s excitement peaked, she started jumping madly, punching and kicking the air, then posing like some anime character, all of which made me chuckle a bit. After she calmed down a bit and sat down, she looked at me with a stern eye and started talking with a voice way too mature for her. ¡°Yes, Adam. You are in a state of dream. Everything you have been through was real. I don¡¯t have a name, and for what I am, that is a little complicated But to simplify it, for now, I am a part of you. We grew up together, shared moments together, laughed and cried together, we witnessed the best and worst moments of your life¡­ together. ¡°I am, what you have been calling, Cancer.¡± I started shivering, not believing what was happening nor what this little girl was saying to me, but as soon as I started opening my mouth, she continued. ¡°No, Adam. I am not a cancer, not a tumor, not some merely mutated cells, I am much¡­ much more¡­ I have existed since the first human treaded earth billions of years ago, as for why are we in a cage ¨C¡± black tears started pouring down her eyes, giving her a look that you see only in horror films. ¡°- you are the one trapping me here. You are not strong enough yet to break this cage,¡± she said, emitting a sad tone in her voice. ¡°H-How can I g?!¡± I tried to speak, but she was way faster. ¡°Thank you for the visit, Adam. I really had fun being here with you. You should go now and remember to visit me again,¡± interrupted the girl, wiping her black tears and snot, making her face messier. She led me to the door and waved goodbye, leaving me in a confused state thinking about what she just said. Then the light in the room was no more and everything became dark.
*** Neo Roma ¨C The bounty hunters headquarters 03:22 *** There stood 3 men. Bertini Dolciano, head of the relic hunters guild and the one who issued the bounty of the creature lying there in front of the three men.Beside him, stood Captain Galavie, the leader of the bounty hunter squad that had captured the creature after losing more than half of it¡¯s force to the creature¡¯s psychic attack.The third was a middle aged bald man with a stern face, wearing futuristic armor with lines of light running through it and holding the helmet under his arm. This man is called Vega Atifo, the leader of the spettro team and commander of the bounty hunters organization running in Neo Roma. They just came back from a mission that most people believed to be impossible. Capturing a Grokati overlord without suffering any loss, which is a miracle since the Grokati, especially their overlord¡¯s, are extremely powerful with a nearly indestructible body. The Spettro team was a specialized unit for working with psychic users in head hunts. Their reputation was well known in the city as the strongest and most elite team, being able to deal even with the most dangerous of foes. ¡°A-Are you sure the device you put around his head will work, Vega? I know well about psypressors, but that attack was nothing like I¡¯ve ever seen before. Some of the men got their heads blown off for God¡¯s sake!¡± Bertini said, looking really worried. ¡°I saw the projections, Bertini, and I¡¯ve been through much worse than this. The suppressor can handle an attack that disintegrates people, not merely just blowing their heads off, ¡± replied Vega, his voice filled with calm. ¡°What are we gonna do about this monster then? We already refunded your credits, Bertini, since it¡¯s too dangerous to release this thing even near the city. You saw how fast it was, and what it was capable of. We should dispose of it immediately,¡± said Galavie in a rough voice, frowning at the body in front of the three of them. ¡°Ending it would definitely be a waste, and it wasted a lot of our men. Killing it would be an act of mercy?!¡± said Vega, deep in his thoughts, before continuing. ¡°We throw him in the colosseum, along with that Grokati overlord. That would make quite the show,¡± stated Vega with a small grin on his face and eyes gleaming like a madman. StealthEdit V1.07 13feb17. Please move along, you didn''t actually read that line-paranoid author 02- Are you not Entertained? Chapter Two Are you not Entertained? I woke up to darkness, something metallic restraining me from neck to toe. Something that felt like an upside-down bowl was covering my head. My back stuck to a wall like a cocoon, I couldn¡¯t feel my feet touching the ground. It seems that they still let me live even after I somehow killed so many of them, but why? ¡°Man, I¡¯m starving, Cordi?¡± I thought, hearing my bowels growl. ¡°BUHAHAHAHA! ETO KROMA BALADIE!¡± I heard a thunderous voice echo inside the room, I could determine that its source was way up on an opposite wall. ¡°CORDI!¡± I shouted, panicking, I couldn¡¯t find the only thing I had talked with in the past few days. Yet nothing came. I felt loneliness, I felt... fear. I heard a door sliding open, and the sound of rolling wheels followed by mechanical beeping sounds. Suddenly I felt a rubbery tube enter my mouth, pushing some slimy paste into me, probably them feeding me for something. With a mad grin, I started sucking the substance like mad, putting everything I had into devouring as much as possible, because I knew I needed energy to be able to do anything. The machine started to clank and beep more frequently, trying to snatch back the tube out from my mouth. I locked my gums on the tube, feeling my stomach bloat. I wasn¡¯t hungry anymore, but I wanted to take as much energy as I could. ¡°BUHAHAHAHA, ETO MAS¡¯ALA BROOMO. HAHAHA,¡± the thunderous laugh echoed out again. It seemed that I had devoured the entire cell¡¯s food for the day. I loosened my jaws, and the machine retracted the tube, rolling out of the room faster than it rolled in. I burped unintentionally. ¡°MUALA ETO DIAGRO, BUAHAHAHAHA,¡± the loud voice kept laughing and shouting words that I didn¡¯t understand. I ignored the voice, feeling energy seeping back into my body. I heard the door sliding again, then a single footstep followed by many others, entering the room, stopping in front of me, Then the man, whose footsteps reached me first, spoke. He sounded like the leader of the group. ¡°Do you understand what am I saying?¡± the man said to me in a cold voice. I nodded, hearing some of the people present gasping in astonishment. ¡°So, the monster has a brain after all.¡± The man snorted. ¡°Do you know where you are?¡± he continued. I shook my head, so confirming to everyone present that I understood what the man was saying. ¡°Are you human?¡± said the man, interrupting the faint murmurs around the room. I nodded. The man paused for a while, probably scanning my shackled body with his eyes. ¡°Can you speak?¡± asked the man suddenly. ¡°Cordi! Where the fuck are you?¡± I thought in desperation, not knowing what to do. ¡°Oh! You have neither a tongue nor teeth. I bet you can speak, but I doubt we¡¯ll be able to understand anything, but it¡¯s not like it matters now,¡± said the leader, ¡°But allow me to introduce myself. ¡°My name is Vega Atifo, and you are in the great colosseum of New Roma, and are about to participate in the next show,¡± he continued. I could hear a hint of joy in his voice. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to take you out of the body restrainer. If you do something funny, I¡¯ll separate your head from your body¡± said Vega. ¡°CORDIIIII, FUCK¡± I was shaking in fear. I didn¡¯t know what they wanted me to do, they probably wanted me to fight to the death. Or unleash a pride of lions on me or something. This is a colosseum after all, right? I nodded to the man, after which a beep could be heard, followed by a rapid clinking noise coming from my cocoon that sounded like shackles being taken off. I fell down from the wall. It felt like I have been hung up pretty high because it took me around four seconds before I hit the ground. Landing on my feet, I made some of the people present whistle in amazement. I myself wasn¡¯t expecting such a perfect landing. looks like the legs Cordi had made me grow were somewhat special, and it seemed that I am not the only one thinking so. ¡°BUHAHAHA ¡­¡­. Monat¡¯to otto tatalia,¡± the thunderous voice spoke again, but this last proclamation sounded calmer and much more intimidating, as if the owner of that voice was threatening everyone in the room. His voice carried what felt like bloodlust, after which I heard some audible clinking sounds, probably the men present shaking in their armor. ¡°Y-Yes Mahaar, you are coming too. How could we keep the mighty Grokati away from this glorious event,¡± stuttered Vega. He sounded very intimidated. ¡°A-Are you sure it¡¯s wise to let this m-monster go, sir?¡± asked one of the soldiers. ¡°Jack, if he wanted to escape, he would have done it days ago, and so destroy half the colosseum,¡± answered Vega in his usual old, cold voice. Suddenly I heard a massive shockwave nearby. Something huge had hit the ground like a meteor, crashing near where we were standing, followed by the footsteps of something enormous. ¡°TATALIA!¡± said the voice owner excitedly. After which it accompanied us out of the room. Into the bloody main event.
Under the scorching heat of the sun, I was standing on what seemed to be sand, but harder, listening to the booming sounds of an untold number of spectators in the colosseum. It seemed that this arena I was in was way too big judging from the distance the cheering seemed to be coming from. Not far from me stood the giant that was in my cell, Mahaar as the man, Vega called it. ¡°Welcome! Welcome everyone, to the 781st round of the annual tournament of our glorious Neo Roma, where gladiators from all over the sector compete to the death seeking fame, fortune, and glory!¡± the loud voice of an announcer echoed across the Colosseum. The cheering became even louder. ¡°We start the first round of today¡¯s tournament with a free for all match. This year, the number of participants has exceeded our expectations, and before you stand five thousand contenders from all over the sector, moments away from tearing each other¡¯s throats to shreds,¡± continued the announcer, and was followed by a massive wave of cheering. ¡°From these five thousand, only 100 are allowed to stand at the end as the winners of this round,¡± the bloodthirsty cheering of what seemed to be millions of spectators followed this statement. ¡°Now now, the rules are simple. You stay alive along with 99 other gladiators, you pass the round. The usage of weapons of mass destruction is prohibited, which includes chemical, atomic and antimatter weaponry. Grenades are allowed, but only ones with a radius of lesser than 10 meters. For the larger gladiators, you are restricted to melee, non-energy weapons, and flying is limited to fifty meters in the air. Compounded contenders are counted as one, for example, if you have a mount or multiple heads, like some of you here I can see, you count as one, simple, right?¡± stated the funky announcer before continuing. ¡°Now, Gladiators, I am sure that all of you have your UTDs or universal translation devices. If you break these rules, in less than a microsecond, you will be no more. Simple as that. There is a special team put together from the generosity of Earth¡¯s guardians, the Noran Empire, who will oversee the tournament¡¯s security,¡± warned the booming announcer¡¯s voice cheerfully.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°The round starts in 3 minutes. SO, LET THE GAMES ... BEGIN!¡± A massive burst of cheering followed the end of the announcer''s speech. Shit, shit shit shit shit, Cordiiiiiii! I thought while shaking from fear, I wouldn¡¯t last a minute in this death battle. Just as I was drowning in my fear, a pair of what felt like stony hands, or whatever the hell they were, each the size of a car tire, patted my back, on both sides, cutting off my disturbed thoughts. ¡°Vraki eto mio. Vitao eto Grokati,¡± said Mahaar in an assuring voice, increasing my panic even more with his gruff voice. ¡°2 minutes remaining¡± a monotonic female voice intoned around the colosseum I am blind, nearly deaf and my sense of smell isn¡¯t in a better state. I have no hope for surviving. Even if I ran away and hid somewhere, at least some of the gladiators are bound to find me. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck, if only the damn AI was here, at least it would¡¯ve given me something visual to navigate with. This shit is hopeless ¡°60 seconds remaining,¡± the monotonic voice echoed again. Ok Adam, calm down and use your brain, don¡¯t panic like an idiot. I¡¯ll try feeling my surroundings first, and it seems that Mahaar thing isn¡¯t hostile towards me if I cou- ¡°THE BATTLE BEGINS.¡± ¡°LET THE GAMES BEGIN!¡± the feisty announcer screamed following the monotonic female, destroying my train of thought.
The Neo Roma Grand Colosseum was one of the most popular fighting arenas in the Milky Way. It attracted thousands of fighters and trillions of spectators from throughout the sector each year, let it be a seat at the colosseum, where spectators from wherever they lived, traveled all the way to Earth, costing them a hefty sum of credits. That was the unified currency introduced by the leading empires in each sector a very long time ago. Wannabe spectators who couldn¡¯t afford the price of a space gateway or an FTL engine, used live holographic and virtual broadcasts to view the tournament. The colosseum itself was an architectural marvel, designed and built by some of the best Noran engineers, and based on one of Earth¡¯s most wondrous prehistoric landmarks of a long-lost civilization. The circular building spanned seven kilometers in diameter and had the capacity for millions of spectators accommodating all kinds of species from those the size of a fingertip to those the size of a building. Besides being so large, it was provided with convenient technologies to enhance the viewing experience of watchers. From auto-zooming services tailored to the individual sensory systems of each species watching, to a nearly indestructible defense matrix that covered the whole colosseum, protecting every inch. Adding to that, the usual quality-of-life services such as gourmet delicacies, beverages and even a sexual partner (which had its own private booth) were located in the VIP sections where only the most wealthy and powerful individuals could enjoy watching the fights in total luxurious privacy It was the most impressive fighting arena across the whole galaxy. Vega, the head of the city¡¯s bounty hunter organization and the commander of the elite unit Spettro, sat in one of these private booths. Beside him sat his younger brother, Galavie Atifo, captain of the 7th unit of the bounty hunter¡¯s guild. Galavie had his eyes glued to the gladiator who was solely composed of a shaking torso of a man with legs of something else, half of his face covered in an advanced psychic suppression device. But all that covered Vega¡¯s vision. Along with hundreds of thousands of other spectators was the round-faced, four-armed, gigantic piece of muscle standing next to the armless man. The half-naked Grokati overlord known as Mahaar stood more than 3 meters tall, with shoulders broader than a spacecar, a long bulky torso which supported his four huge muscled arms, and hands that could grab humans like pens. Looking down, two gigantic legs full of muscle supported the creature¡¯s huge frame; it ended with feet even larger than its hands. The announcer¡¯s echoing voice had just started his regular speech with the crowd cheering at every word. With a wave of Vega¡¯s hand, an interface popped up in midair in front of the duo. This was an interface for the game loved by almost every single spectator in the Colosseum ¡­ Gambling. Basically, for this round, you pick a Gladiator and bet credits on him/her/it. If he survives the round, and is one of the 100 gladiators still standing at the end, you collect the pay off. The odds were different, and thus the profit, between gladiators. Vega started scrolling through the interface showing each Gladiator¡¯s face, name, species, odds, and how many had already bet money on him/her/it. He stopped by Mahaar¡¯s grinning image and saw that hundreds of thousands of people had already bet billions of credits on him, so his odds weren¡¯t really profitable. But under Mahaar¡¯s image there was an image of a toothless man with the upper part of his face covered, the edges of his toothless mouth pulled back in utter fear. Vega looked at the face with disgust thinking that the holobots could have taken a more aesthetically pleasing image. Looking at his status he saw that he was categorized as a human named ¡°Unknown¡±. Someone actually thought it was funny and bet one credit on the poor thing. However, the odds were crazily skewed. So, if this man survived somehow, someone who put enough credits on him would make a small fortune. ¡°Meh, here¡¯s 1000 credits for the fun of it,¡± thought Vega, poking the interface. The countdown had almost finished. Galavie also made his bets, still staring at the creature who had ended the lives of more than half of his unit. As well as almost killing him 2 days ago, ¡°LET THE GAMES ¡­ BEGIN!¡± screamed the announcer, signaling the start of the massacre. And the massacre started. Beside the deafening cheering wave that came right after the announcer¡¯s scream, there were the sounds of rifles charging up, energy swords being unsheathed and throats changing colors from the loudness of the battle cries of the gladiators charging at each other. Vega stared in awe as Mahaar suddenly grabbed the armless man by the head gently while grinning devilishly and crushing the suppressor with one hand, before charging to the middle of the Colosseum, flexing his quad-armed body and starting his own small scale genocide. ¡°Motherfucker, ¡°cursed Vega, before turning his head to see the naked, blind and armless man, who looked totally harmless, running around like an idiot waving his stumpy shoulders in absolute panic, the Grokati¡¯s grip didn¡¯t even scratch him, he even didn¡¯t use any of his psychic attacks. After running around in random directions, it was already over for him before it even starts. A plasma bullet from a random Gladiator¡¯s sniper rifle hit his abdomen and continued through like it just hit some paper, smashing a hole the size of a man¡¯s head right through the middle of his torso and punching him back a couple of meters. He tottered for a few seconds, and fell on his back, his weird legs moving creepily in all directions. Vega let out a loud sighand grunted angrily. He had just lost 1000 credits less than 10 minutes into the round. The thing didn¡¯t even put an entertaining show for him on.
I coughed and sputtered, and blood started gushing out of my mouth. I had felt something go through my torso and exit out my back, then the smell and taste of blood covered my senses. My head started feeling light, it was getting harder and harder to think as I spiraled down to blackness. I opened my eyes, finding myself in my apartment again. Not bothering with my usual routine, I rushed to the living room where the little girl still sat on the couch, twirling a strand of her hair with her index finger. ¡°So, you¡¯re dying,¡± said the girl, nonchalantly. ¡°I am,¡± I replied coldly. ¡°You know that if you died, I would also disappear," she said, twirling her hair faster. ¡°I know,¡± I replied with the same tone. ¡°And, do you want that to happen?¡± she asked I paused. ¡°Do you?¡± she repeated ¡°You know that since that day, the day the skies turned purple, I haven¡¯t spent a single day without suffering, I am blind, limbless, I can¡¯t taste food, I can¡¯t smell well, I can¡¯t hear well, I don¡¯t even have a Goddamn p-penis, and now? Now I¡¯m dying with a hole the size of a man¡¯s head through me. I got pierced, dismembered and electrocuted, I ate some goo with wires in it for God''s sake!¡± I burst out in tears, pointing at the frozen picture of me on the TV, getting down on my knees, tears pouring out of my eyes. I couldn¡¯t hold my emotions anymore in front of this little girl. I starting wailing and crying like a baby, thinking about not even being able to die peacefully, sobbing harder as I thought of every situation I had faced. The little girl came up to me and held my head to her chest, making me cry even louder. She brushed my black hair with her tiny hands. ¡°You know good things happen to those who wait, right, Adam?¡± the girl said soothingly before continuing. ¡°You have no idea how farsighted you are, how strong your limbs are, how sensitive and powerful your senses are, and how pleasurable your penis is,¡± said the girl bluntly, with a small giggle. ¡°I had to stop that stupid AI after she shut down your bodily functions. It wasn¡¯t the most effective tactic. Playing dead wouldn¡¯t work anymore. You have to be mentally stronger than that, Adam, that was merely a drop in the ocean of what you¡¯ll have to face. ¡°But worry not, you have me and this damn AI who¡¯s trying to squirm out of my grip, and you have allies that you don¡¯t really know you have right now. We¡¯re all here with you, supporting you, and will give you all the power you need. But you have to be able to handle that power, Adam. For your burden is not small, carrying the future in you,¡± said the little girl, still brushing my hair, in a voice full of hope. ¡°B-But what about this?¡± I pointed at the TV where I lay motionless. ¡°It is but a small matter. Don¡¯t pay much attention to it,¡± said the girl, chuckling slightly, before continuing. ¡°Now go, show everyone who looked down on you, how powerful you really are,¡± she said with a cute grin on her face. I got up, trying to make sense of what she just said. I couldn¡¯t. I was kind of overwhelmed from trying to digest all of it, so I decided to trust that little girl. I had nothing to lose anymore. Actually¡­ I never did. I looked her in the eyes, before asking curiously, ¡°How old are you exactly, little girl?¡± ¡°I am so old you can¡¯t even pronounce the number of years I have lived, and I look like a little girl because you want me to look like one. Now go, time is ticking,¡± replied the little girl with a giggle, pointing at the TV. I walked towards the door of the cage, gripping its rusty bars. I asked a question I already knew the answer to. ¡°How do I destroy this cage?¡± I said, looking back at the smiling girl. My eyes were brimming with determination. ¡°Come on, Adam,¡± said the girl, her grin widening. I just took what she said as an answer and got out of the cage. The lights dimmed until they became no more.
The girl stood there for a moment until she saw Adam had left. Tears of joy formed in the corners of her black eyes, looking at the cage bar the man was just holding. It was deformed and she could see the imprints of his hands on it. They were almost snapped. ¡°Now he¡¯s all yours, Machine Empress,¡± said the girl cheerfully, a twisted smile on her face. StealthEdit V2.3 21Mar17, move along -Paranoid author 03- Skulls of pity Chapter 3 Skulls of pity <¡­> ¡°He¡¯s all yours, Machine Empress,¡± a little girl¡¯s voice cheerfully echoed throughout a black endless void of a world. All of a sudden, a pair of exquisite eyes opened within the void. Within each eye, there was a golden gear of an iris containing a pupil that looked like a planet shining and a sclera that looked like a galaxy. The eyes blinked twice. Each blink showcased eyelashes made of dark and complex wires that danced in harmony. The eyes lit up brightly and half closed, almost as if they were smiling. <¡­..> <¡­¡­¡­¡­.> < Lifting 5th level restriction¡­Upgrading core system¡­> *** <2 centillion Yoctomachines ready¡­> *** I regained my senses. Screams of battles and cheering engulfing my half ears. I can already feel the wound in my stomach closing. Not long before a hear a familiar yet very different voice. ¡°Hello Adam,¡± echoed a modulated feminine voice in my head, full of alluring maturity. ¡°C-CORDI?¡± I asked, a bit confused. ¡°Is that why the girl called the AI...Her?¡± I thought. ¡°A female AI? Really?¡± I asked with a bit of uneasiness. ¡°Now is not the time dear, now we need to get out of this mess,¡± said Cordi. There was a drastic change in her voice, something about her personality seemed off as well. ¡°Now tell me, which would you prefer, eyes or arms?¡± She asked as if offering me a drink. ¡°Eh?¡± I exclaimed, not knowing how to respond to her. ¡°We have enough energy for one evolution path. Please choose one,¡± the AI continued. ¡°Evolution? Is it something like you did with my legs? I have to go through all that pain again?¡± I said, cringing my nonexistent teeth. Thinking about what happened several days before when I somehow sprouted new legs. ¡°Also, you always complain about energy, so this time I¡¯m stuffed with food. Hell, I ate way more food. I think I ate more than several people¡¯s worth,¡± I continued, feeling like a proud thief. ¡°About that, we don¡¯t have time for arguments at the moment. A lot of energy went into healing your wound and stabilizing your body,¡± replied Cordi. Still lying down on my back, I took a second to think about it. I began to picture myself without arms running like an ostrich. I let out a mental chuckle at the thought, I really wanted to have arms. At least to look like a decent human being. But yet, how can I look like a human when I can¡¯t even look at myself. I really wanted to see. In fact, I was yearning to see. I remembered the blue sky, and the running river water under the golden sun. how beautiful that scene was. Right before the purple mist came and covered everything. I remembered the amazing plans for this city, how marvelous would it have been? I was thinking too far ahead. My curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to see. ¡°Cordi, eyes,¡± I firmly said. ¡°Eyes it is then, focus on closing it while it¡¯s forming Adam,¡± Cordi¡¯s beautiful voice rang in my head. ¡°W-Wait-¡° I started bracing myself for the unbearable pain that came along with a mutation. Already a burning sensation was crawling across the upper portion of my face. Yet the image of the small girl grinning came into my thoughts. assuring me that everything would be alright. [Accipitrinae] [Strigiformes] [Chondrichthyes] [Squamata] [Stomatopod] [Pterygota] ***** *** ¡°So, eyes, huh?¡± I thought. I could feel myself slipping. The memories would come soon. I wasn¡¯t sure I was ready for that pain. The past was not something I liked to remember. It started when I first received glasses. They were huge, thick lenses, my eyes were magnified to look like pumpkin seeds. That was a common joke kids whispered behind my back those days. Back then, there was a day I hated more than any other. My first day at school. There was a common practice in classes Where someone wanting to prove their superiority search for the nerdiest, most scrawny kid in the class, make a problem with him out of nowhere, then beat the shit out of him to prove how ruthless you are and no one should mess with him. And most of the time, this tactic worked. And the more brutal you are while beating him, the better reputation you get. With big glasses and a small frame. I was the perfect target. Curled up in a ball, I took the beating without saying a word. I didn¡¯t want to taunt the other kids, so I just let them do whatever they want and be done with it. But every time I was getting beat, my eyes were wide open. From the usually shattered glass, I scanned the faces of the other kids watching. Amazement, cheering, asking the other kids to stop, not giving a fuck, all sorts of faces were there, and I didn¡¯t really care much about them. However, there was this one girl, she never said anything, I think she didn¡¯t speak much in class anyway. But that girl always gave me a look that I will never forget, she gave me the look I hated the most¡­Pity. I don¡¯t remember her name, or what she looked like, but I remember one thing about her. She always wore this hair tie that looked like a little skull on her hair. The skull that reminded me how helpless I am, how weak I am. It reminded me of how I hated myself. <360 degrees stereoscopic vision perception¡­Ready.> <¡­> *** ¡°Adam, you can open your eyes now,¡± the voice of Cordi came. She broke through my nightmare, bringing me back to reality. Then my eyelids opened like a curtain, sliding away, revealing the world to me. A sight that I longed for so long. However, ¡°C-Cordi?¡± I asked, not making sense of what I am seeing. ¡°Yes, Adam?¡± ¡°W-What the fuck is this?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I saw¡­Everything. A huge circular sandy arena, full of what I identified as aliens. They were everywhere I looked. In fact, I didn¡¯t have to look anywhere. I could see in every possible direction. Even the sandy ground under my head. My vision was so strong I could see the gap in the teeth of some human spectators eating something like a bean sized snacks. I could see colors I never know it existed. What I saw, it was more vibrant and beautiful than anything I could have imagined. If I focused enough, I could see something like heat vision, the hotter an object, the warmer the color. And on top of it, I could see the skeletal structures of the spectators. It was like having the most advanced military cameras in my eyes. I couldn¡¯t believe what I was seeing. The arena was so large it looked like ten football fields stitched together. With thousands of different aliens fighting each other in a dust storm of blood and chaos. Limbs flew everywhere and lasers filled the air, flying in every direction. Then I focused on my own body. The first thing that caught my attention was that I was naked. My eyes instantly went to my groin. I saw what made me die a little inside. Nothing was there, just a patch of skin. My identity as a male was gone. I was going to protest to the AI about it, but I stopped when I saw the rest of my body. I could see my ribcage popping through my skin like a starving african child. A hole closing rapidly in my abdomen, with a couple of stumpy shoulders that held a bald head, with two holes for ears. Then I saw what nearly killed me from pain a few days ago, my legs. I activated the x-ray like vision along with the normal one and looked, my lower jaw dropping slightly as my eyes went down the legs. They were extremely odd to look at. White fur covered them entirely. Each leg was abnormally thick, full of muscle. At the first knee joint the legs stopped being normal. A second thigh extended down from the knee and connected to a second knee. Which then was followed by my shins. I stopped here for a moment and tried moving both knees at the same time and to my surprise, it was so fluid and easy like I was born with it. I lifted one leg a bit for a better view of my foot. It was fur covered, yet undeniably still a normal human foot. Except it had claws the size of a thumb, which I can retract at will. Now I began to understand what is happening to me. The millions of visions I had in the span of 1500 years, the underwater breathing, and the eyes. It all made sense now. What has yet to make sense are the human giants with weird heads. But that is a question for another time. ¡°Cordi,¡± I said, calm as a lake. ¡°Yes, Adam?¡± ¡°Be sure to give me a horse penis later.¡± ¡°Hehe, I will surely do that,¡± replied the AI, surprising me with a charming laugh I never expected to come out of her. I got up on my feet easily. My new frame left an alien figure imprinted into the bloody yellow sand. A mixture of green paste, lay congealed where my belly had been. Looking at it, it must have been my energy filled breakfast. When my stomach had been pierced it had spilled out, and stained the sand. ¡°Oh! That explains it,¡± I said to Cordi. I raised a nonexistent eyebrow before continuing. ¡°Thank you Cordi.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Here¡¯s some extra. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like,¡± replied Cordi with a cheerful voice . To my joy, a speed and altitude meter popped up in the corner of my vision. To top that, a red bar which I identified as an HP bar appeared in the upper corner stopping at 29.24%. It was slowly increasing. ¡°Wow, thank you Cordi. This is so convenient. How did you manage to make it?¡± I asked her. I wondered how she managed to create it before adding in jest, ¡°Also, where¡¯s the mana bar?¡± ¡°I¡¯m constantly monitoring your bio-signs, so this is an estimated condition of your total health condition. I¡¯m sorry Adam, there is no magic in this world,¡± replied Cordi cheerfully, probably knowing that I was expecting as much. *Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk* I turned at the sound the gladiators, awesome. From within the swirling chaos of the fight a figure approached. A robot-like creature was sprinting towards me. It had a small head and a wide frame. It stretched a meter wide and stood two meters tall. The robot held two large glowing shield on each arm. A blade protruded from the bottom of each shield. ¡°Cordi? What is that?¡± I asked, a bit uneasy with the robot approaching. ¡°it¡¯s a P-901 of the 17th generation protectron line,¡± supplied Cordi as fast as I asked the question. I hoped the AI would give me a more useful answer. Or, I could have asked a better question. I didn¡¯t give the matter any more thought and braced myself for battle. The robot sped closer at a steady pace until there were only a few meters between us. Then it kept slowing down until it was in my striking distance. I was getting ready to kick its head, until it did something I did not expect. It knelt down on one knee and looked straight into my newly formed eyes. ¡°Affirmative,¡± a monotonic voice came from the robot. ¡°Yes,¡± it said again ¡°Protect and serve,¡± it echoed again before turning away. It turned it¡¯s back to me. It seemed the machine wanted to protect me. ¡°Cordi, did you hack it?¡± I asked the AI, making sure my doubts were correct. ¡°Something like that,¡± she replied with a hint of hesitation in her voice. She¡¯s hiding something, I thought. But I immediately remembered she can read my mind. ¡°What is it, Cordi?¡± I asked again, requesting the reason for the hesitation I felt. ¡°What is what Adam?¡± ¡°You know what I was thinking about now,¡± I said, a bit of confusion lingering in my voice. ¡°Adam, ever since the last time I stopped your biosignatures to save your life, I lost the ability to translate your brain signatures,¡± Cordi replied with a somewhat pained tone. ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± I asked yet again, wondering what happened. ¡°The anomaly is preventing my sensors from reading any internal signals your brain sends. I can only read what you want to send to me,¡± explained the AI, much to my amusement. So, it was the little girl¡¯s doing. Well, that makes me a little more comfortable. Hope she¡¯s not lying though, I thought, satisfied with the answer. I saw a group of five humans wearing the same armor approaching me and the P-901 robot with caution. Two of them held glowing swords that Cordi stated were laser swords, and she wouldn¡¯t recommend getting hit by their glowing edges. Another two held laser rifles and the last one, who seems to be their leader, held a black tower shield larger than himself. The two ranged fighters started shooting red bullets of light in our direction. Which were easily intercepted and deflected by the robot¡¯s shields. Meanwhile the swordsmen tried to flank us. I don¡¯t know about the robot, but I can see both perfectly even if they are on the opposite sides of my vision. One of the swordsmen tried coming from the robot¡¯s blind side, which in turn, turned its upper side only without moving an inch and bashed the man between its shields like a hamburger getting pressed. In less than a second, the man turned into a paste. What remained of him fell to the ground with a thud in a gruesome sight. The others flinched back at the after seeing their comrades fate. The rifle carriers instantly fell back a few meters and started firing at a faster pace at different angles of the robot. But their tactics were easily dealt with by the big shields. The protectron didn¡¯t move an inch. Its wide frame hid my smaller one from view. The robot protected was doing a good job of protecting me. ¡°Adam, on you right,¡± warned the AI. ¡°I see him, Cordi,¡± I said, looking at the guy with the glowing tower shield sneaking up on me. I instantly turned to face him. He flinched a little, and I did start bracing myself for the upcoming fight. The robot started to move in my defense, but I told Cordi to make it stop. I didn¡¯t want interference. After which it turned back to its previous defensive position, facing the remaining three. The shield bearer charged at me with a war cry, his shield¡¯s color getting more intense. He tried bashing me directly but my legs were faster, letting me dodge back from the assault. I don¡¯t remember fighting anyone before, let alone to the death. So, I was worried if I can kill a man just like that. But the man¡¯s second charge stopped my thoughts. A small explosion-like sound came out from his boots, boosting his charging speed threefold. I felt the heavy shield kissing my face, followed by a crunchy sound of my nose breaking. Which made me stagger back a few steps back, blood seeping out of my nose and mouth. I could taste the rusty flavor blood again. The man had a smirk on his face when he saw my injury. That smirk was quickly replaced with a look of shock when the man saw my crooked nose reverting back to its place with the same crunchy sound it made when it was broken. In a few seconds, my nose became like it was never hit in the first place. This time, it was my turn to smirk. Now it was time for payback. I charged at him, at a speed he didn¡¯t have time to react to. All he could do is swing his shield in my direction blindly, hoping that my speed would be my demise when meeting the shield at that speed. What the man didn¡¯t know, is how efficient these legs worked, I instantly changed my trajectory right before I meet the shield, appearing right behind the man. Before he could understand what happened and turn back to face me, I put my strength in my right leg and kicked the head with all I had. What the fuck? I murmured inside my head, not understanding what just happened. The man¡¯s head was sent flying from the force. Like I just kicked a football from a stand, blood spurting out of his headless body. his body crumpled to his knees and then collapsed to the ground. It seems that I don¡¯t know how powerful these new legs are yet. I saw the rest of the team running away in fear after they saw what happened to their teammates. At least that was I assumed. And boy I was so wrong. A gray gigantic four-armed figure full of muscle stood in front of the robot looking down on it with a grin of madness on its face. The giant was totally naked except a bloody piece of cloth covering its groin. He was covered from head to toe in blood and gore. ¡°BUAHAHAHA, ETO RUNDAI ¨C ¡° ¡°- Marvelous¡± I identified the voice¡¯s owner instantly, it was the creature that was in my cell, Mahar. The protectron started bashing the bashing the giant with its shields as hard as it could, but the giant didn¡¯t mind it, as if he was getting hit with air. Suddenly he grabbed the robot¡¯s small head with an arm and took it off with ease. The robot started buzzing and shaking, with sparks coming out from wires that now replacing its head. The giant didn¡¯t stop he reached with two arms into the robot¡¯s chest piercing it, then he lifted the poor thing in the air and split it into two as if he is cutting a piece of cloth. ¡°Adam, this is a Grokati. A race with extreme battle lust and huge pride, this one is a high overlord, only a few steps away from becoming a Grokati dominator. It doesn¡¯t seem hostile against you, but I advise that you avoid fighting it at all costs,¡± stated Cordi, feeding me a bit of information about the wall of muscle standing in robotic remains. ¡°A man fights his own battles, BUAHAHAH,¡± said Mahaar with his usual thunderous laugh, approaching me with steady steps. He stood a few breaths away from me, I looked up to his grinning face. One word came out of my mouth. Which I regretted saying it a second after. ¡°G-Goro?¡± *SLAP* I felt my world spinning, I felt like I got hit by a stone boulder in my face. The force made me fly a few steps back. My legs miraculously balanced me, not letting me fall. ¡°W-what?¡± I said to Cordi, looking for an answer for what just happened. ¡°You just called it your bitch Adam, goro is a very offensive word in the Grokati culture,¡± answered the AI quickly, probably busy fixing the dents in my skull made from the force of the slap. I nearly lost conscious from the force of the hit, but I stood up in alert, watching the monster approaching me once more. The usual grin replaced with the scariest frown I¡¯ve even seen. ¡°Ngo! Ngo!¡± I started speaking to him, shaking my head stating that I didn¡¯t know what the word meant. ¡°WHAT? AREN¡¯T I YOUR GORO?¡± shouted Mahaar in a wave of anger. Ready to assault me again. ¡°Ngo, Ik waasj a meshkake,¡± I said correcting myself still shaking my head, trying to preserve my life escaping his wrath. ¡°YOU SAY YOU DIDN¡¯T MEAN IT?¡± Asked the giant, showing me that he is at least have the intelligence to stop and think. I kept staring at him and nodding rapidly, stating that I really didn¡¯t know that this word was offensive. The frown on his face disappeared as fast as it came. It was replaced with a toothy grin that stretched ear to ear. ¡°I am Mahaar, what is your name?¡± asked the creature, his mood changed unusually fast. ¡°Agum¡± I replied as quick and polite as I could. ¡°AGUM, what an unusual name, BUAHAHAHA¡± laughed Mahaar, I couldn¡¯t correct him nor wanted to, I only replied with a toothless grin of my own. ¡°Agum, an interesting pair of legs you have there, and I see that you have eyes now. what race are you?¡± asked the blood painted giant excitedly. ¡°Hooma,¡± I replied, not caring how it sounded anymore. ¡°Agum of the Hooma race, let¡¯s be friends!¡± said Mahaar, making me raise my nonexistent brows in shock. He put one of his arms forward in a fist, showing me that he wants something similar to a fist bump. So, after asking Cordi and affirming that it¡¯s safe, I raised one of my legs and curled my toes, then hit his dog sized fist with the back of my toes, feeling a bit awkward. I just made my first friend in this world. Not that I had any before all this had happened. Something inside me was happy, his words were so simple yet so powerful, and I was glad this monstrous strength was on my side. And so, I and Mahaar went out into the arena, fighting for what felt like ages, my eyes helping me to detect the direction of incoming bullets and my feet giving me unearthly agility for dodging and fighting. Mahaar simply just stomped most of the gladiators he faced, one or two punches of his huge fists were enough to separate limbs, be it flesh or metal, nothing could withstand his destructive force. After a while, we heard a loud thud followed by a storm of dust everywhere. When it cleared, we saw a strange scene in front of us, and I felt some strange bloodlust coming out of Mahaar that I never felt coming out of him before, his usual grin disappeared and was replaced with a face full of anger. And, pain? Before us, laid a thirty meter tall giant creature. Blue blood flowed from every pore on its body. The creature was spasming and convulsing, life seeping out of it. On the creatures back, stood a black figure. A figure which I identified as another Grokati like Mahaar. Yet this one was different. Rather than the four arms Mahaar had, this black skinned monster was the proud owner of six arms. He stood with them folded in three pairs across his chest. A menacing grin twisted his face. Fear creeped into my heart and the urge to flee filled me. Unlike the naked Grokati standing beside me, this one wore thin layers of green metal armor on his shoulders and along his arms and legs. It was so thin I figured it must be decorative. A large cloth pouch hung at his waist. His huge arms ended with hands even bigger than Mahaar¡¯s, covered in some kind of metal knuckles, blood dripping off of them. Probably from the poor creature he just slew. ¡°Adam, run away,¡± Cordi suddenly warned me. ¡°You have no chance against him, this is a Grokati dominator, one of the strongest, most durable creatures in the sector. Not many have ever faced it and lived to talk about it. I advise you to turn away now and run as hard as you can,¡± Cordi¡¯s warning continued to ring in my head. Her words agreed with a feeling of terror demanding that I flee from this monstrosity. Mahar¡¯s hand touched my skinny chest as if preventing me from moving further in the direction of the creature. ¡°Sorry Agum, this one is mine,¡± said Mahaar in a stern voice, probably he knew this person. Dude, as if I¡¯d fight this shit, I¡¯m already afraid of only looking at it, I mentally cursed at him. ¡°So, the fledgling finally shows up,¡± the Black Dominator exclaimed, his eyes piercing the other Grokati next to me. ¡°Komaal, I finally found you. You filthy murdering trash,¡± replied Mahaar, his eyes glaring daggers at the big Grokati. ¡°Come now, let us not speak about that weakling of a father you had,¡± replied Komaal, his grin widening. Knowing that his taunt would be successful. ¡°ARHAAAAAAAAA!¡± shouted Mahaar, charging towards the still grinning Komaal. His footsteps shook the earth beneath me. Mahaar jumped up high onto the dead creatures back to strike Komaal. His arms going back in a punching position. The black Grokati braced himself for the upcoming clash of muscles. I watched in awe as the two exchanged powerful punches. Each one was delivered with the strength to topple reinforced walls and at amazing speed. Red blood splattered everywhere with each hit. It felt so primitive and animalistic. I felt as if I was watching two wild animals tear into one another with no concern for their own wellbeing. Suddenly the two had their arms interlocked clutching each other in a wrecking ball like figure. The black one¡¯s lower pair of arms were free. They continued to rain blows into Mahaar¡¯s abdomen. With a shrill scream of pain, Mahaar grit his teeth and headbutted the bigger Grokati in the face, freeing himself from his clutch. Komaal staggered a little, blood dripping freely from his nose. Then his eyes bulged from a kick, which sent him flying several meters back. He fell off the dead creature¡¯s back and tumbled to the ground. Mahaar stood there panting heavily, his face was covered in blood and his body full of wounds from the spikes on Komaal¡¯s fists. He stared down at the black Grokati with stern eyes. ¡°I swear to Gola, today, you will die Komaal!¡± Mahaar proclaimed his voice filled with anger and determination. ¡°I will take what is rightfully mine.¡± What Mahaar said seemed to affect the dominator, because his face suddenly changed to a frown with the hint of fear. ¡°Cordi?¡± I asked a bit confused. ¡°Komaal didn¡¯t seem to be affected that much from that kick, why would he show an expression like that?¡± ¡°Gola is the goddess of war in the Grokati culture. To make an oath like Mahaar just did, it was so serious of a matter, that the Grokati believes that if you break an oath, your spirit won¡¯t find its way to the next life. Instead you become an apparition swimming aimlessly in endless space,¡± replied Cordi, giving me a small lesson about the two monsters fighting before me. Mahaar¡¯s skin began to redden a bit. Steam started coming out of it from the blood and sweat covering his body. Then he jumped down from the creature¡¯s back and landed with his knees in Komaal¡¯s chest. The six armed Grokati was still surprised by the declaration and didn¡¯t bring his arms up to shield them blow. Mahaar¡¯s knees forced him to his back. Then a hail of extremely fast punches started hitting the dominator¡¯s face. Crunching sounds and blood flew everywhere. Mahaar loud cries filled the air while he kept punching the black Grokati¡¯s face like a madman. After a while, he got up from the convulsing dominator¡¯s body. Mahaar¡¯s body was regaining its original gray color. His large muscle shrinking non stop. He started to shrivel, his body shrinking beyond his original size. He now looked thin and weak, I feared a strong wind might blow him away. Probably an after-effect of what he just did. Panting heavily, Mahaar¡¯s smaller figure just stood there, staring at Komaal¡¯s disfigured face, lying motionless on the sandy floor. ¡°Let Gola be my witness that I, Mahaar, son of Loftar, have fulfil- ¡° ¡°Huh...Huh¡­HuuHAUHAUHAHAA!¡± Echoed a muffled laugh in front of Mahaar, the black dominator was still alive. ¡°V-Very well fledgling,¡± Komaal staggered voice came out, mixed with blood and red spit.He moved his arm, reaching for the pouch at his side. His hand withdrew a spherical object, his thumb clicked something on the object. The object shook a bit, and five sharp needles came out of it. Then he slammed the needles in his abdomen, injecting its contents inside of him. Komaal¡¯s body started shaking and convulsing like there was an earthquake happening inside of him. His body suddenly ballooned in size and he staggered to his feet. Now standing, I watched as he continued to sprout even taller. His armor fell off as his body bulked and mutated. His new appearance was that of an abomination. He stood there, completely naked. He stood twice as big as before and green blotches dotted his skin. Huge bony spikes protruded from his back. He looked monstrous and unnatural. The same twisted grin stretched his disfigured face. A mouth full of razor sharp teeth enhanced his frightening appearance. He looked a lot less like a Grokati now. ¡°I, Komaal, swear to Gola, that you, Mahaar, son of Loftar, will follow your father into the nothingness,¡± stated the black abomination, spitting the rest of the blood out of his deformed mouth to the bloody yellow sand below. Mahaar stood there speechless, his eyes still showing anger but with a hint of hopelessness. He was panting hard, his knees shaking from the recoil. But I didn¡¯t see even a hint of fear in his eyes. He would take on the whole world instead of yielding to this thing. In a blur, Komaal moved, kicking Mahaar hard in his abdomen, sending him flying back into the dead creature in an explosion of dust and blue blood. Yet the disfigured Komaal moved again, faster than my newly formed eyes could track. Near the creature, stood a six armed Grokati, or at least what used to be. Holding a nearly dead four armed one by the neck with his two upper arms, the smaller one was still alive yet unmoving, his eyes still staring at the face of the black abomination. The dominator held the four arms of the smaller one with its remaining arms, and looked him in the face, a smirk on its monstrous mouth. ¡°You will never be a dominator.¡± *SPLAT* In one motion, he ripped off Mahaar¡¯s four arms. Separating them from his body, blood fountained from the wounds. Mahaar screamed in pain. A look of anger and regret filled Mahaar¡¯s face. He was willing to do whatever was necessary at that moment to kill his foe. Seeing the impudent look, Komaal¡¯s rage grew. He threw Mahaar¡¯s arms away and brought the limbless Grokati face to face with him. ¡°You see now, weakling? This is exactly how I killed that worthless father of yours. His eight arms danced in my palms. His heart crushed between my teeth. So much for the legendary Octamanus Hero, don¡¯t you think?¡± the monster taunted with a grin on its face. *SPIT* I don¡¯t know how he had the guts to do that, but Mahaar actually spit in the monster¡¯s face. Komaal screamed in rage and slammed Mahaar hard on the ground. A crater formed beneath Mahaar and Komaal started to stomp and kick his limp body. I watched in a complete shock as the dying Mahaar laid there. Curled in a motionless ball, taking a hit after hit. His eyes dimmed with each hit yet he didn¡¯t show an ounce of fear or submission. Then his eyes met with mine, all I could do was look at him with pity. Pity! The image of a skull shaped hair tie image flashed in my head. *CRACK* Something in my mind snapped. ¡°Now Adam, that¡¯s your chance to escape. I will mark you a route to safety. The plan has a 59% chance of surviva-¡°stated Cordi before I interrupted her. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Adam? Are you alright?¡± said Cordi with a concerned voice. ¡°No Cordi, not anymore,¡± I said, unimaginable anger building within me. ¡°Adam, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Pleaded Cordi in my head. ¡°I¡¯m detecting a rapid increase in your heart rate,¡± That disgusting doctor¡¯s face, the family that existed but never been there, and that shitty desk I had to sit behind everyday. Just to wait for some money at the end of the month. Like a stray dog waiting for food scraps. The blue jellyfish dismembering me like a pig in a slaughterhouse. Sucking weird stuff from the gooey tank like a mosquito. The electrocution in the net that burned my flesh while flailing like fish. Hanging on the wall in prison like an elk in a hunter¡¯s cabin. Mahaar¡¯s unyielding stare, reminiscent of my own when I was beaten as a child. The crying black eyes of that little girl, trapped in that rusty brown cage. The look of pity from that girl, and the skull tying her hair...The skull hair tie¡­!THE GODDAMN SKULL HAIR TIE! ¡°NUKKKK ENIII MOAAAAAAAAA!¡± I roared, shouting at the top of my lungs in rage. My exclamation grabbing the black abomination¡¯s attention., I could feel my veins bulging as my face turned red in anger. I will not take it anymore. I won¡¯t stand by in pity. I will never see that skull again! ¡°Cordi, give me arms¡­This black piece of shit dies today,¡± I calmly said to the AI. Giggling echoed in the back of my head, it sounded just like hers... 04- A Kneeling Universe Chapter 4 A Kneeling Universe ¡°Cordi, give me arms¡­This black piece of shit dies today,¡± [Ursus arctos] [Gorillini] [Eunectes] [Dynastinae] -Augmenting DNA strands¡­ -Morphing cells ... adding stem cells ¡­ connecting nerves. -Upgrading skeletal structure, redesigning locomotion system. -Creating bone structure ... Adding joints ¡­ Reinforcing marrow. -Mutating arms... Adding muscle mass... Increasing muscle density. -Mutating hands... Adding Bone nodes... Connecting tendons. While my arms were forming, I scanned Komaal¡¯s hulking body. Most of his vital organs were protected by some weird bone structure, His bones were so big I doubted a hit from a truck would even dent it, His skin was so thick and had many layers of protection. I took the pain, it didn¡¯t hurt anymore. I didn¡¯t even think about it. All I was as thinking about is the creature in front of me, I wanted to tear it into bits. As soon as I felt my arms. I instantly dashed into the creature. I didn¡¯t think about dangers or outcomes. all I wanted to do is to kill that huge black Grokati and make the skull in my vision disappear. My arms felt strong and tough, I glanced at it and all I noticed that it¡¯s unnaturally long. My hands were as big as my head with more fingers than I used to have. I didn¡¯t put much thought into it and continued my mad dash into the Grokati. With a long jump, I flew into him, putting every single ounce of my power into my big hands, aiming for his solar plexus which I detected that it hosted his heart. When I reached him, I released my punch while watching him put all his arms into a blocking position protecting his core. I gritted my gums and closed my eyes, wishing that my sole punch would be enough to finish him¡­ How na?ve I was. *CRACK* I opened my eyes and found myself in my apartment again. Fuck, he probably blocked it and now killing me. I thought, feeling my heart beating fast. I rushed into the living room, pushing the cage¡¯s brown door, I stopped in shock. The usual couch and the turned off TV were there, but the little girl is no way to be found. Scanning the cage¡¯s corners in panic, I finally found her. Crouching in fear, sat the girl shaking, her head buried between her legs. In front of her there was a human-sized black statue of ¡­ ME? The statue just stood there, staring at me creepily with its lifeless eyes. I don¡¯t know who made this statue or how it got there, but an eerie atmosphere was coming out of it. I approached the girl, paying no attention to the motionless piece of granite. When I got to her, I reached out to her but she didn¡¯t make a single movement. I felt a motion behind me and turned quickly to find my feet leaving the ground. The statue¡¯s hand holding my neck, preventing air from entering my lungs. Elevating me with just one arm. I started flailing and kicking the statue stone figure only to find its grip getting tighter, looking into its face, life seeping out my me, he looked exactly like me, like I got petrified by Medusa gaze. The same thin oval face, the same small pair of eyes behind stone glasses, the slightly crooked nose and the thin lips that curled up in a grin full of small teeth. Looking at it with horror, my eyes spotted a slight dent in its chest, probably whoever created it missed that spot. Wanting to be over with it, I stopped flailing. The iron grip was too strong I couldn¡¯t even budge his arm with all my body weight, no use fighting it anymore. As I lie there waiting for my soul to leave my body, I hear the girl sobbing, and getting louder and louder. The ugly grin on the statue¡¯s face¡­ my face, is getting wider. NO, this isn¡¯t how it¡¯s supposed to be. This is not the freedom is sought. The new destiny which was decided for me. I am not that weakling anymore. I will not let myself getting stepped on anymore. I will be reborn a new. i remembered the girl''s words and the trust i put into it. ¡°NOT ANY MOOOOREEEE¡± I roared, clenching my fist and slamming it under the statue¡¯s arm, hitting his elbow and crushing his arm, I do not where this strength came from but I didn¡¯t think much about it, resolving myself to end this. I felt strange power coming from the girl behind where I stood, but I paid it no mind, all I wanted to do is to crush this statue of me. I jumped it and caught the back of its neck with my hands. Holding out the status by its nape, I kneed his stomach as hard as I could. Its face changed into an expression of pain instantly before it backed off a couple of steps. I charged him again, preparing to punch him but my face was met with a strong punch stopping my momentum. For some reason, the punch didn¡¯t hurt at all. The statue¡¯s crushed arm regenerated in a few seconds but I didn¡¯t care. I knew that I am stronger than it. I don¡¯t know how many punches and kicks we exchanged. Probably hundreds, or even thousands. My skin is torn, my clothes are red and my bones are crushed, yet I knew I was stronger. The statue is full of cracks. It stopped regenerating after a while. It was swaying left and right, probably couldn¡¯t stand anymore, much like me in that matter. I glanced back at the girl, only to find her standing up, her eyes are full of hope and determination like it¡¯s giving me more power to continue. Suddenly, a realization hit me. ¡°So, that¡¯s how it was, how blind I was. Hahahahahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHA¡± I started laughing uncontrollably. I looked at the girl and nodded, and she nodded back in return. I knew what to do. I walked towards the statue in a slow yet firm steps. It gave me a weird look with his cracked face of mine. I hugged the statue and whispered in its ears calmly. ¡°Thanks for freeing me, goro¡± I stabbed the statue¡¯s chest with my fingers. It cracked open with ease, letting my hand sink in, after which it came out holding a round, beating heart that I looked at for a second before raising it at statue¡¯s face and crushing it in front of it. The statue started growing bigger, its shape is changing and cracking. Revealing a giant black Grokati on his knees, blood gushing out of his face with his body is torn and full of holes. I backed up a few steps letting the giant fall, making a big thud before i turned to the now smiling little girl. To my surprise, she seems to be older now, about 10 years old or so, strands of black appearing on her white hair. I walked up to her, put my hand on her head brushing her hair. I caught the skull hair tie in my palm and squeezed as hard as I could. I opened my palm, letting the white dust fall. The skull... is no more. The earth shook and the walls started to crumble. The rusty cage is breaking apart. Everything changed around us. Instead of my apartment, we were standing in an endless green meadow by the ocean, with tall trees and a beautiful lake. I looked at the girl with amazement, the view was stunningly beautiful. ¡°Thank you, Adam¡± the girl stated while wiping the black tears off her face. ¡°we are free¡± she continued. As I was just starting to speak, I heard a loud noise coming from every direction of the meadow. To my shock, I saw dozens of animals approaching us at a fast pace. Tigers, Bears, Gorillas and many other animals started approaching me, I didn¡¯t sense any fear or danger from them. A huge grizzly bear came and sniffed my hand before started licking it. It sat down on its bottom, showing affection. On my left side, a tiger was pushing its face on my side like a cat. I scratched it behind its ears and moved on to see the rest of the animals. I saw a few gorillas sitting down on the green grass, scratching each other¡¯s back playfully. Hawks flying in the sky, owls standing on tree branches. Under the trees slithered a huge anaconda, pushing away yellow leaves and small beetle insects with every turn it takes. Then I felt the girl¡¯s palm holding my hand, I just smiled at her and we went to the lake. some snails climbing small rocks on the lake shore along some lizards bathing in the sun while some dragonflies hovering near some flowers nearby. ¡°What is this place?¡± I asked the girl, mesmerized by the place. ¡°Oh my! You really are stupid Adam?¡± replied with her usual giggle. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said, brushing her flowing hair with my other hand. It seems that it got a bit longer along with the new black strands. ¡± I guess I¡¯m not the sharpest tool in the shed¡± I added. I had many questions for the girl, but I knew that now isn¡¯t the right time. After saying goodbye to the girl, I turned back to the motionless Grokati corpse, the lights dimming, switching back to the noisy, blood filled colosseum. Passing Komaal¡¯s corpse, I walked up to the bloody gray Grokati nearby, his withered arms tossed around his body. ¡°Cordi, is he alive?¡± I calmly asked.
*** Neo Roma¡¯s Grand colosseum ¡­ The Rex umbraculum podium *** In the center of the colosseum stood the most important, luxurious and most guarded podium, the Rex. In there, sat the most important human on earth, King Kaiser IV, king of the 12 nations of humanity. On the king¡¯s right, sat his wife, Queen Hannah Kiser and their 3 children. On his right were two thin figures. A bald tall old man with light blue skin and a strange human-like face with sharp features. A pair of blue eyes, three holes for a nose and a thin mouth. He wore a dark grey robe with strips of purple running through it. Beside the blue man, was a woman that looked like she was from the same race as him, with a darker blue with more hue. She had almost the same features as the man but much younger. Dread-like turquoise hair settled sharply on her head. She wore military clothes with a big assortment of weapons covering almost every corner of her attire. *** The blue man¡¯s POV *** It¡¯s been more than 200 years since I attended the colosseum games on earth and I really couldn¡¯t care less, if not for the persistence of my niece. She contacted me nearly every year, asking me to come visit her on earth, a kingdom we lately established 1500 years ago, after the solar war. The current king annoys me with his constant disgusting human laughter and screams of cheering, maybe I should blow his head and wipe his family¡¯s memories of him. Although that would be a hassle, he is compliant and obedient monarch. While I¡¯m dousing in my thoughts of this annoying lower organism, the face of my niece caught my attention. Her eyes were wide as if she is witnessing a birth of a star before her eyes. I shifted my gaze into what her eyes are viewing. There were a couple of the so-called gladiators. A gray Grokati overlord and some ¡­ Thing that looked like an armless human with some strange legs, probably some lab experiment. They were approaching a larger black Grokati dominator that has just killed a small Hasmath giant. It¡¯s rare for a Grokati to be here in this far corner of the universe, let alone two. And one of them is a dominator. These savage creatures with their monstrous physical strength disgust me. Why would my niece even gaze at these animals? I was intrigued, so I continued watching what was grabbing my niece¡¯s whole attention. The gray overlord jumped the black one and started exchanging blows, nothing impressive. The smaller one kicked the dominator from the creatures back then uttered something that looked like a Grokati oath. Such a superstitious filthy race. Gola, was it? Their goddess of war or something. I was getting bored with the fight already, until the overlord awakened. I already saw the Grokati awakening a couple of dozen times in my lifetime, impressive, but not that impressive. They simply accelerate their metabolism rapidly, making them much faster and stronger, but it¡¯s a dangerous technique, even to these barbaric muscle heads. Most of the time they just die after awakening. With only a few that survived the ordeal. If I remember correctly only that annoying Grokati chief Loftar, the only Grokati in the history to have eight arms was able to awaken freely as much as he wanted. I watched as the overlord smashed into dominator, punching him like the barbarian he is. I wonder why didn¡¯t the dominator awaken too, he would have crushed the overlord like an insect. No matter, I will just wait until this boring event finishes, then ask her what was concerning her so much like that. I mean, she is only twelve thousand years old, it¡¯s normal for a young woman of her age to be excited, but she is much more mature for her age, that¡¯s why she was appointed as a warden of this planet. I kept watching as the overlord finished off the dominator, blabbering something afterward while looking at the sky. I was sure it was over, until I knew why the dominator did not awaken in turn. He reached out to his side and took out a surge orb, injecting himself with it. I wondered how this filthy creature got his hand on such a precious piece of technology. The dominator sat up and began mutating, after which it dashed into the now withering overlord, it seems that the awakening was already taking its toll. The armless human experiment just sat there while the dominator ripped off the other Grokati¡¯s arms in a single motion. His long strange legs shaking in clear fear. This is a common practice of the Grokati. They spend their lives searching for opponents to fight to the death, taking out their arms and attaching it as their own when they reach the peak of their Grokati class. That was how it used to be, until that eight armed one appeared, uniting the warring tribes and ending that tradition. Most of the Grokati now wait until their loved ones die, taking their arms as a memory of them and turning into overlords when they reach a certain level of power¡­ Pathetic creatures.Stolen novel; please report. Shaking the thoughts of these insects away, I watched as the dominator slammed the armless overlord into the ground and started kicking him. I was about to turn away to find a more interesting thing to watch until I heard a muffled gasp coming out of my niece. I turned to her, never seeing her stern face twisted like that before. ¡°Ijna, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I communicated telepathically with her, avoiding the ears of everyone present. ¡°U-Uncle this is him, T-The earth¡¯s walker¡± she replied with clear shock written on her face. It seems that the matter is more serious than I thought, I turned away, only to confirm what she just communicated, the human was sprouting arms. Usually, it is not a big deal killing a walker, but Ijna wrote in her report that the Exorians implanted the Coordinator within him, helping him escape the capture 1500 years ago, a few days before the war. I intended to kill it instantly like i did to many walkers before him, this distance might be hard for Ijna whose psychic powers have yet to fully develop, but for me, it is but simple thought. But I wanted to see what he is capable of, so I waited several minutes, watching him charge the black dominator like a rabid animal, delivering a relatively strong punch to the dominator which seems to have felt danger and used all his six arms to block it. Seems that the punch got through, but it didn¡¯t affect the dominator that much. In turn, he reached out to the walker¡¯s neck and grabbed his throat, covering it completely with his big fingers. The walker started kicking and squirming his way out of the dominator¡¯s grip for several seconds until it gave up and stopped moving. The dominator should be honored, saving a few seconds of my time, which I would have used to kill this weak walker. Suddenly, an eerie feeling that I have yet to experience in my eighty-nine thousand years engulfed me, its source was clearly the walker, I felt that if I didn¡¯t kill this creature right now, every single organism in this city will die in the matter of a few seconds. I stood up and focused my power on the walker which jumped the dominator, catching the back of its head and kicking him with his strange knee. It was a good opportunity to fry his brain. When I entered his brain,ready to kill him instantly, I stood motionless in a colorless world, looking up at something that showed me that I am just a speckle of dust in a vast desert. i fell down on my bottom, looking at this monstrosity before my eyes. I tried to crawl my way out of his brain but it caught me, lifting me up into its supposed face, it was as big as far as I can see. A mouth the size of a planet opened before me in a childish grin, an endless amount of power seeping out of the void inside of it before its voice echoed in my ears. A voice that belonged to a human child yet sounded like a something that could devour the universe. ¡°Oh! Look, a little Noran decided to crawl into my domain like a little cockroach. Heheheh¡± it giggled, imprinting a new kind of fear I never felt before into my soul. A fear beyond anything I knew. It said I was a cockroach to it, but I knew even that was a praise, I felt like I¡¯m a microorganism compared to a whole sector. ¡°Tell you what little Noran, I¡¯ll forgive this intrusion this time, letting you keep that worthless life of yours. But in return, you will do something for me¡± it spoke again, telling me that I would keep my life yet for some reason I began to shake more, all that I thought about that I wanted to get away from it as far as I can, escaping to the other end of the universe, even that wouldn¡¯t be enough. Even death won¡¯t get me out of its reach. I used all the power my body offered me to make a single nod. ¡°good, listen then¡­.¡± It started telling me what it wanted, then allowed my worthless self to pull my insignificant soul out of its domain. I arrived back to my shaking body, tears pouring out of my eyes, the smell of excrement coming out of my wet lower body. What that being told me still echoing in my mind. ¡°UNCLE! UNCLE MEKSHIMA¡± Ijna¡¯s screams snapped me back to my surroundings, I looked around to see the king and his family staring at me with dropped jaws, my niece looking at me with an unbelieving gaze. Well, that is normal. For I am Mekshima Alaaly, one of the strongest individuals of the Noran empire and a member of the inner court of the emperor himself. With a wave of my hand, I put everyone to sleep, wiping out their memories of the day before calling out my personal servant, the only person that can put a fight against me on this wretched planet, or so I thought, before what happened a few minutes ago. ¡°Ryola¡± I called, less than a second later she materialized behind me. Wearing her shadow armor, her strange weapon on her back and the usual nonchalant look on her face, not minding how I look or smell the slightest. ¡°Come here, I want you to watch this man closely¡± I instructed her as i kept looking at the human punching the dominator¡¯s elbow, crushing his arm completely. the Grokati recovered from shock fairly quickly. They began exchanging punches at a fast pace. and to my shock, the dominator¡¯s punches weren''t affecting the human at all. with each punch the dominator delivered, the human delivered five punches even stronger than the creature several times his size, with only two arms. They kept going for a while, the human is getting faster and stronger with each second. the black dominator couldn¡¯t catch up and after a few minutes, his body was full of holes, bones coming out of its body and blood pouring like a waterfall from his mouth. The walker stopped for a moment, staring at the semi-conscious Grokati before he bursted in hysterical laughter. He then approached the kneeling dominator and ¡­ hugged him and whispered something that made the black creatures dying eyes widen in shock. He then stabbed the Dominator¡¯s stomach, his hand didn¡¯t meet much resistance from the thick layers of protective tissues and bones the Grokati were famous for. He took out his hand, holding the dominator¡¯s beating heart, crushing it before of his eyes. It seems I am not the only one interested in this impossible fight, the whole colosseum, literally everyone stopped what they were doing. be it spectators or fighters, everyone looking with gaping mouths at the human holding a crushed Grokati dominators heart. Even the usually calm and composed Ryola beside me, showed a rare expression of interest in her red eyes. The walker just stood there for a few minutes, not making a single move. Yet everyone was the same, not a single sound can be heard for miles. Millions stood there like statues, staring at the man and trying to understand what just happened a few minutes ago, ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked my servant, seeing her back to her usual cold dementor. ¡°I think I can take him, probably losing my life in the process but killing him nonetheless¡± replied Ryola with the calm, cold tone of hers. ¡°Hmm, is that so?!¡± I scratched my chin, thinking about what I am going to do with the mess I put myself in. I looked back at the walker who was now moving towards the gray Grokati overlord that he first came with. Moments later he cut his palm open and made a small wound on the overlord¡¯s belly, he then calmly put his palm on the wound. After a few moments, the Grokati started shaking and convulsing, his wounds closing rapidly, his chest coming up and down steadily indicating that his lungs and now functioning. Blood started pouring out of the walker¡¯s mouth. His legs shaking, making him kneel wincing from the apparent pain on his face, before completely collapsing near the Grokati, looking like he¡¯s in a critical condition himself before losing conscious. ¡°Come Ryola, we have work to do¡± I gave my final command to my phantom. I needed to contact home, a certain delivery had to be made.
*** a few moments earlier *** ¡°Cordi, is he alive?¡± ¡°Barely, Adam¡± Looking at Mahaar, I activated my multiple vision modes and scanning him. He looked like mess. Almost every bone in his body is crushed, cuts and bruises filled his body with even some pieces of flesh missing. His four arms lied there beside him, only one of it managed to regain its original bulky appearance, the other three were now shriveled like the arms of a hundred years old man. I really hope this works I thought, cutting a wound in my palm with my claw, another on where his heart supposed to be. ¡°Adam, what are you doing?¡± asked the AI, probably concerned. ¡°Cordi, I know you¡¯re a very advanced AI, I want you to transfer some of the Nanomachines from me to fix him,¡± I told her with a stupid grin. ¡°No Adam, I cannot do that. The yocto machines are solely for you and your wellbeing> ¡°Cordi, he will die. The only friend I have in this world will perish, and I have the power to save him¡± I pleaded her. ¡°No, it is too dangerous. My mission would be compromised if you die¡± She instantly replied, a hint of her monotonic old voice apparent. I felt Mahaar¡¯s still beating heart getting weaker, his breathing now completely stopped. ¡°CORDI, PLEASE!¡± ¡°No, Adam¡± Anger engulfed me. I can¡¯t save him. I felt powerless again, a feeling that I swore that I will not have anymore. NO! I will not let him go. ¡°CORDI YOU FUCKING BITCH, I COMMAND YOU TO FIX MY FRIEND OR I¡¯LL SWEAR TO GOD I WILL WALK THE UNIVERSE, SEARCHING FOR A WAY TO END YOU, EVEN IF I HAVE TO KILL MYSELF DOING THAT¡± ¡°Yes¡­ My lord¡± I heard Cordi¡¯s faint happy whisper in my head. It didn¡¯t make any sense. What lord?, it didn¡¯t matter now, i was only focusing on saving Mahaar. I felt my power draining from me, my breathing became unstable and my vision became hazy. my hp bar decreasing rapidly. I started coughing badly, blood particles and clots flying away from my mouth with each cough. it seems that I¡¯m losing conscious. Probably dying as well. I wonder if she was right and I made the wrong choice saving Mahaar. Naa it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m happy with what I¡¯ve done. It just felt like the right thing to do. If I died from it, so it be, I have no regrets. well, maybe just not having sex before in my life, or making tons of friends, trying new food, or tr-. aaa, what am I thinking? Before losing conscious, which is a thing I¡¯m really used to now even before I was diagnosed with cancer, I glanced at my friend. He¡¯s now breathing normally, his heart started beating at a good pace again and he¡¯s regaining conscious, his round green eyes are slowly opening while mine is shutting down.
I opened my eyes, finding myself in the barren lands. The warzones in my dreams, where the weird human giants fought the endless wave of insects. I was standing on some kind of a hill, something holding my hand, I looked down and found that little hand holding mine belonged to the little girl, she just stood there with her usual grin on her face. Looking in front of me I found billions, maybe trillions of the insect monsters kneeling before us, making some buzzing noise I understood as a sign of total submission. The sound of numerous footsteps behind me caught my ears, I looked back and saw the army of the weird giant human with elongated heads standing in some neat, endless lines, wearing their weird armor that covered most of their bodies and held the weird U-shaped weapons I saw destroying thousands with just one shot. Every single giant was looking directly at me, which startled me a little. In the front line, stood seven of these giants with distinguished color on their armors. One of them, who seemed to be their leader, broke the line and walked up to me until he was a few breaths away. Then he knelt on one foot and put his hand on his chest. ¡°Greetings Primus Numen, that was a well-fought battle¡± he suddenly spoke with a human yet otherworldly voice. I opened my mouth, but words wouldn¡¯t come out. He must have sensed that and continued talking. ¡°You should rest Primus, this indeed was a tiring day¡± he stated with a smile on his face before doing what made my jaw drop. ¡°My life for Primus, my life for Terra¡± he suddenly shouted while kneeling. Every single giant present did the exact same, getting on one knee, their hands on their chests, and with a unified voice ¡­ they roared ¡°My life for Primus ¡­ My life for Terra¡± ¡°Adam¡± I heard the little girl voice calling, looking down at her grinning face beside me, she repeated. ¡°Adam, wake up¡±
I woke up to chunky drops of some smelly liquid hitting my face. Opening my eyes and looking up, I saw Mahaar¡¯s head above me, sleeping while standing near my bed, drooling like a broken sewer pipe. He seems to be well, the good arm that was lying beside him reattached, taking away his balance and making him looking weirder than he already is. ¡°he has been standing here for four days in the exact same location, refusing to move except for restroom trips¡± a male¡¯s voice grabbed my attention, making me spring up from my bed, instantly scanning him and the weird black figure standing beside him. He looked very old. With a bald blue head and blue piercing eyes and some pearly white teeth that drew a wide grin on his face. A bright white robe that blended well in room¡¯s white wall. His anatomy was pretty much like a human, with a couple more different organs I didn¡¯t identify. His bone structure was a little bit off as well. The black figure was an enigma to me. I couldn¡¯t detect anything from it except that it was a female, marked by the dents on her extremely black armor¡¯s chest piece. This was the first time I saw that degree of blackness. It sucked away all light around it. On her back, was a huge black rifle. It was so long I didn¡¯t think it was practical to shoot with, dark smoke like miasma emitted from it. I noted to myself that I should ask Cordi about that armor later. But I was really mad at her for refusing to help Mahaar. I know she was trying to preserve my life, but if Mahaar was to die, it would have scarred me mentally for a long time. I don¡¯t know why I took a liking in that giant, I just felt close to him somehow, he told me that he wanted to be my friend, and that was good enough for me. I guess I am a simple man after all. ¡°Adam ¡­¡± Whispered Cordi in my head, telling me everything I wanted to know about that blue man. who started talking after a couple of minutes. intentionally giving me all the time I need to study him. ¡°Hello Mr. Adam, my name is M- ¡° The man reached out to me telepathically before I interrupted him. ¡°Mekshima of the Alaaly family, the mind killer. A core member of the Noran Emperor inner court and uncle to Ijna Alaaly, the Noran warden appointed to the kingdom of Earth ... should I tell you more?¡± I continued the man¡¯s introduction, I tried to sound mysterious and cool. But in the end, I bet I sounded corny as hell. The man didn¡¯t mind, nor showed any surprise. ¡°it seems that you are well informed Mr. Adam, the coordinator is truly a magnificent piece of technology¡± Stated the man before continuing. ¡°You know, we have spent hundreds of thousands of years trying to replicate it, but we never even got close creating even a fraction of its capabilities . However, we found some ¡­ ways to at least hold it at bay¡±. ¡°Ok Mekshima, that sounds cool and shit. Now, why are you here? And what do you want¡± I went straight to the point, ignoring his threatful hints. And the man strangely complied. ¡°I am here to help you in every way I can Mr. Adam, that is what I am here for. And for what I want, as instructed, on behalf of the whole Noran empire and ¡­ myself, I would like to give you a present that you would very much like¡± the man replied with a sly smile on his thin blue lips. ¡°Instructed? Who told you that I need your help and presents?¡± I asked, demanding an answer to ease my confusion. The man¡¯s blue eyes gleamed for a second, it seems what I said confused him as well, but he instantly organized his thoughts before replying. ¡°let¡¯s say it¡¯s a ¡­ A mutual friend of us¡± The Noran said after a brief time. I let out a mental sigh, I wasn¡¯t going to win an argument with this old fox. So, I asked him about my presents, excited like a little child yet wary of him. ¡°Yes Mr. Adam, it will arrive in a few minutes, you should probably rest for a while. I will personally go fetch it myself, come Ryola¡± So her name is Ryola, I wonder what she Lo- UGHH! Something enveloped me like a blanket, squeezing me so hard I think I heard my bones cracking. ¡°AAAAAGGGUUUUUMMMMM¡± Oh my god, he woke up ¡°I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU¡± Roared Mahaar, deafening my already missing ears. ¡°Maar, om pffaine¡± I tried to talk to him, but his thunderous voice covered everything in the room, his sole arm curled around my upper body, covering everything between my shoulders, smearing his smelly drool all over my bald head. He let me go after a few minutes of some tough love, if not for the nanomachines iside me, every bone he touched would have been broken. I just grinned at him and nodded, he¡¯s probably grateful that I saved his life, it warmed my heart a little. ¡°T-Thank you Agum,¡± He said in a low voice, pretty much unlike his usual dementor after a few minutes of silence. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, my spirit would have been lost in the nothingness, just like my father, thank you for carrying out my oath¡± I just replied with a simple nod, smiling at the gray giant towering over me. So he didn¡¯t care about saving his life? Or the fact that he lost most of his arms? According to Cordi, the Grokati valued their arms dearly to the point they kill and die for it in a flash. It seems that this oath to Gola is a much more serious matter to them. ¡°I spent countless years searching every sector I could for Komaal. that wretched backstabbing murderer ambushed my father, the grand chief of the Grokati, Loftar the hero. He, along with several other dominators, wanting the old ways and tribe wars back, made a coup and killed my father, taking away his golden arms and selling it after not being able to use it for their own¡± Mahaar started telling me his story, but for some reason, he stopped after saying the last phrase. A few minutes have passed. Mahaar stood there in complete silence, then finally he spoke again. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve lost most of my arms, I cannot fight for arms anymore with a sole arm, l lost my honor, not being able to fight my own battle, I have no home to return to, no future or purpose¡± said the Grokati, sorrow filling every word coming out of his mouth. Looking at him, I saw the Grokati¡¯s green eyes staring at the ground, the usually proud Mahaar is reluctant to look me in the eyes. As if he is hesitating to tell me something. I just kept staring at him, trying to encourage him to speak his mind. ¡°Agum, I know we just met five days ago, and that may be a selfish request¡­ but¡­but C-Can you take me with you? I-I don¡¯t care where you will go, but the moment I saw you hanging on that wall, I knew you were something else, you are someone who is bound for greatness. And when you saved my life, killing that murderous Komaal, any doubt I had within my heart about you disappeared, something I can¡¯t explain is pulling me towards you, I never met a Hooma before so I don¡¯t¡­. but¡­, p-please Agum... if- ¡° Hopping out of my bed, I waved my hand at Mahaar, signaling him to stop, making him look at me strangely. He didn¡¯t have to say anything anymore. What he said is true, I have absolutely no idea what I was going to do. Hell, I barely have an Idea what I really am. Strange things happening to me one after another since that fated day I got pulled into the purple sky. But I know for sure that this man here is my friend, my first and only friend I have in this world. With what Cordi told me about the Grokati, he wouldn¡¯t live for long. Every single power hungry Grokati in the sector was going to hunt him for an easy arm. and I wasn¡¯t going to let that happen. I wasn¡¯t going to give up on my friend. I offered him my arm in a fist pump position along with the best toothless grin I could make. He was startled for a second. Looking at me straight in the eyes, the Grokati accepted my fist with his own. Tears started pouring out of the giant¡¯s eyes, tears that probably didn¡¯t run on his cheeks for a very long time. We kept our fists like that for a few seconds. ¡°Cordi, show me how to write my name in Grokati language¡± Primitive symbols of letters started appearing in my vision. I extended one of my claws and punctured a hole in my index finger. With my blood, I drew on the wall behind me. ¡°A D A M¡± Said the Grokati slowly, like a child first learning to read. I nodded at him wearing my toothless grin ¡°Cordi, race¡± ¡°H U M A N¡± Yet again, in even slower pace, Mahaar read what I wrote. With another nod, Mahaar repeated what I wrote at a normal pace ¡°Adam the Human¡±. ¡°Wait, where did you learn to write that good Adam?¡± asked the Grokati, he sure is slow. I mentally chuckled. I just kept grinning at him. I couldn¡¯t explain to him that a computer just drew it in my head. Suddenly, Mahaar dropped on both his knees, looking at the sky. Why is everyone doing that lately, it¡¯s kind of annoying dammit. ¡°LET GOLA BE MY WITNESS-, No no no no, please, not again with oaths. I, MAHAAR, SON OF LOFTAR, SWEAR MY LIFE TO ADAM THE HUMAN-, Oh shit. MY BODY, SOUL, AND LOYALTY NOW BELONG HIM AND HIM ALONE¡± Fuck my life. 05- The Present Future of the Past Chapter 5 The Present Future of the Past *** Neo Roma - Noran embassy - living quarters *** The Crimson eyes stared back at me, full of tens of years of insomnia. How long has it been since I closed them and delved into another place? I just got up from bed, a tool that I now use to straighten my spinal cord. A window I stood by a thousand time, looking at a thousand ceilings, trying to search for memories long lost. I fixed my eyes at the dying body before me, the curse has spread too much, already past my neck. The pain is becoming less bearable each day, I can''t even breathe properly anymore without painkillers. most of my internal organs failed or not functioning properly anymore. It started with my genitals, and now it''s reaching my heart. Even the Noran, with all their medical might, could not even identify what''s wrong with me, let alone lifting the curse. They were only able to prolong the effect, giving me a dozen more years more to live. Without the kindness of lord Mekshima, I probably would have perished long ago, like most of the now extinct Laireen, which I can''t remember any of them now, only glimpses flashes in my mind. I guess the curse is eating my brain as well. Taking a final look at black veins, spreading from my bellybutton to almost every single corner of my body. I barely can identify my own body anymore. Why am I even living? Why didn''t I disappear like the rest of the Laireen? ¡°Why?¡± I blurted, repeating my question in front of the holomirror. ¡°Because it is your fate¡±. ¡°I know Zao¡­ I know¡± I sighed, gritting my teeth. Needle after needle, I started my agonizing morning routine of painkiller doses that lets me survive another day without passing out from the pain. When I reached my stomach, the final injection in the center of the curse, the image of that human healing the near-dead Grokati came to my mind. The regeneration rate was almost nothing like the Noran regeneration technology. It was way faster, and the Grokati didn¡¯t seem to have any bad signs from the ritual the human did to him. ¡°Zao, do you think that human can- ¡° ¡°Royal, it¡¯s time. six minutes in the medical quarters¡± the voice of lord Mekshima echoed in my mind. ¡°yes master¡± I replied instantly. Finishing the injection, I went to the stand where my armor lies. I put it on, letting it reshape on my body covering every inch of it. I wonder how many times I would have died if not for this armor lord Mekshima granted me. ¡°Zao, Shrink down. My body is not what it used to be and your weight in that form strains my back¡± I asked my partner who¡¯s lying there on the bed. ¡°I can¡¯t Ryola, you know we have to look as much intimidating as we can, so he can take us in, thinking that you¡¯re useful to him¡±. Getting out of the room, I went out to meet master Mekshima where the human and his Grokati companion reside. It has been four days and he still didn¡¯t gain consciousness. The one armed Grokati still guarding him like a hound. Even tho he¡¯s much weaker now since he lost most of his arms, he¡¯s still dangerous to directly confront. Every day, lord Mekshima and I stand here for hours, waiting for the human to wake up. I don¡¯t know why my master is acting like that since that day at the colosseum, or why he¡¯s taking that much interest in him, going as far as withdrawing items from the empire''s treasury. But I am not in a position to ask anyway. The human is finally waking up, probably due to the stream of saliva the sleeping Grokati above him leaking. He started staring at lord Mekshima and me for a few minutes with a piercing gaze. these strange eyes of his was far from a human¡¯s, with multiple colors and shapes I¡¯ve never seen before. Lord Mekshima finally spoke, cutting the silence he intentionally allowed. He started introducing himself but the human interrupted him. He rudely continued speaking as if he already knew my master, which in turned feigned surprise, stating that he knows that the human was fed information from the AI inside his head. After that, we went to fetch the items my master has promised the human. ¡°Ryola, the time has come¡± ordered my master ¡°Yes, Lord Mekshima¡± I affirmed, readying myself for the last mission in my life.
*** Adam POV *** Not knowing how to react, I grabbed the Grokati¡¯s shoulders, urging him to stand up. I put up a smile, happy that the Grokati acknowledged me. He stood up after a while, the usual grin is back on his round face. The doors slid open again and the duo walked in again, accompanied by a large object hovering above the ground. it looked like a large metal box. ¡°Allow me to present you the promised gifts Mr. Adam¡± said Mekshima, shifting my gaze away from the chest to him. ¡°First of, know that you¡¯re a wanted man, the empire is seeking the AI in your head, and they will spare no resource into obtaining it¡± the old Noran stated before taking out a metal plate from his pocket. ¡°This is a traveling pass to Cube61, my contacts there will keep you safe, arrange a fake identity, and provide you with everything you need into your next destination. Also, take this,¡± Mekshima handed out the metal plate, along with some futuristic looking long bracelet. ¡°I know you will not need It since the coordinator can handle most of its functions, but almost everyone in the universe wears one, it will make your cover more believable¡± ¡°Cordi? Some help here please?¡± I asked. what Mekshima said was too much, I needed clarifications. ¡°Since the events in the colosseum was broadcasted to trillions across the universe, the probability that some individuals, mostly in the Noran empire will seek your capture to extract me, with a high chance of killing you in the process since you possess a degree of threat to them and hold no value, except for being a walker¡± Cordi started explaining. ¡°Cube61 is a space trade hub, about ninety-seven quintillion cubic meters. One of many similar Cubes scattered around the universe with unknown origin. Cube61 is located at the center of the nearby Andromeda galaxy 3.1 million light years away from here¡± ¡°The device you holding is a common personal data assistance, PDA for short. A universal tool used for daily interaction like currency transfer and data keeping. I already scanned it and it doesn¡¯t seem to have any tracking devices or harmful software on it¡± I listened as Cordi explained almost everything I needed to know for now. without breaking eye contact with the Noran lord, I equipped the PDA and put the metal plate in one of its small pockets. ¡°I have transferred 50 thousand credits to the PDA as a sign of good will. You might need some money in your journey. Now all you need to do is to feed it your information. Though I wouldn¡¯t recommend it unless you reach Cube61 and meet my contacts¡± communicated Mekshima with a proud tone. ¡°Well, going so far as acting against your empire¡¯s interest is sure appreciated. I thank you Mekshima ... and that mysterious friend of ours¡± I communicated back to the Noran. ¡°Adam, do not trust this man¡± ¡°I don¡¯t Cordi, let¡¯s just wait and see how all this turns out¡± ¡°Now Mr. Adam, the trip to the cube is not exactly danger free. You will need protection along the way and I doubt that one armed Grokati would provide the proper protection you need¡±. ¡°Ryola¡± ordered the Noran to the woman is black armor next to him. After a slight bow, the piece of armor that was covering her face disappeared, showing the face of the woman. And god ¡­ She is beautiful, but I can¡¯t see a grain of emotion on her rosy face like she¡¯s some kind of a robot or statue. She didn¡¯t even blink. I stared into the gorgeous doll face of hers in complete amazement. A pair of big crimson eyes with two irises in each, a delicate nose and mouth. That woman is truly beautiful to the point that saliva was readying itself to swim out of my mouth. But I snapped back to reality when I saw some kind of tribal tattoo on her forehead. The tattoo itself was nothing much, but what was behind it. Embedded in her skull, was a large eye socket. To the naked eye, it was not noticeable, but it was easy for me to detect it. the oval socket was twice as large as her eyes, with some kind of severed nerve endings at its back. it was like someone forcefully took out the big eye that used to be there and covered her forehead with a skin and drew a tattoo on it. I tried to scan the rest of her body for ¡­ research purposes, but my vision was blocked by that strange black armor of hers so, I let it go and shifted my eyes at the oversized weapon on her back. Upon meeting my gaze, the huge rifle starting emitting its eerie black miasma rapidly. Making me taking a step back. ¡°Fear not Mr. Adam, this is Ryola, the phantom of the dark sector, a sharpshooter with an extraordinary kill, and my faithful servant. She shall accompany you in your journey to the Cube, ensuring your safety and easing the process of meeting my contacts¡± ¡°Mekshima, I¡¯m not sure if I want to be accompanied by her, I¡¯m thankful for you and all but- ¡° ¡°Mr. Adam. I assure you that she poses no threat to you or your companion. As I said, she¡¯s just a mere tool to ensure you arrive at the cube safe and sound. And speaking of your companion, I have something here that he would very much appreciate¡± said Mekshima while tapping the large box on his right. The box lid slid open. And as soon as my eyes met its contents, a loud thud boomed beside me making some cracks across the white floor. I hastily looked at the kneeling giant on my left, the still-wet green eyes of his were yet again filled with more tears than a few minutes ago, a mixture of feelings across his face making it hard to read his mood. ¡°F-FATHER¡± bursted Mahaar. Tears, snot and even drool filled his face. Roaring like an animal and sobbing nonstop. In the chest, was a gigantic golden Grokati¡¯s arm. One of Mahaar¡¯s father¡¯s i presumed. he took out the arm, hugging it with his one arm like it was his long-lost child. i stared at him with joy, trying to share the happy moment with him, but Mekshima cut me off and communicated again. ¡°This arm once belonged to the Grokati¡¯s Octamanus, the only Grokati in history that could achieve the eight-armed form. These arms are now considered a national treasure for them. It cost me a small fortune to obtain such item, but seeing you risk your life in the colosseum to save this Grokati, I assumed that he is important to you. So, I decided to gift you this arm as a token of our ¡­ partnership. I doubt this one will be able to attach it since the arm rejected every Grokati who tried adding it to his body. It is more like a sentimental gift for him. That also explain that ¡­ unsightly reaction of his ¡° ¡°Thank you Mekshima, this is a truly remarkable gift,¡± I said thankfully to the blue Noran lord, my heart is warm seeing Mahaar united with at least a piece of his father. ¡°Do not mention is Mr. Adam, it is but a simple gift. Now I shall take my leave, hoping that you have a safe journey to the Cube. The shuttle will take off ten days from now, be sure you are ready by then. Until we meet again, Earth¡¯s walker¡± And with that, Mekshima left. Leaving me in the room with the still crying Mahaar and the woman in black. Her face still unmoving, not caring the slightest about the Grokati wailing and sobbing like a newborn. I shifted my eyes to her weapon, still emitting that black miasma. ¡°Cordi¡± I didn¡¯t waste any time, trying to get all the information I can about this woman. ¡°This is a Laireen, a race now considered extinct. it is said that they had the best eyesight of any species in the universe, and can look directly at the person¡¯s soul with their all-seeing eye located on their foreheads. As for the weapon, you did well being weary of it. This is the X-A0, an ancient weapon only mentioned in myths. A weapon that was considered the pride of the Laireen, with only one of them that can wield it per the choice of the X-A0 itself. It has its own conscious and is able to communicate in Laireen language¡± Looking at the weapon, then at its wielder, I have her a nod, accompanied by a small friendly smile. I don¡¯t know what that sly old Noran want by lending her to me, but time will reveal everything. My stomach started to growl, the last meal I ate was a few days ago. I told everyone present to follow me out of the room. Ryola on my right and Mahaar, who looks like he calmed down a bit, wiping snot with his gigantic hand followed us, still hugging the arm tightly. Following Cordi¡¯s directions, we arrived at the kitchen. A frog eyed white creature with long, thin fingers, accompanied by three humanoid robots met us. He looked like he was the chef of this place and the robots were his assistants. He was cutting up meat from a ten meters wide bull-like creature. The chef turned its head, giving me an angry look for intruding in his workspace before growling ¡°what are you doing here?¡± with an angry voice, pointing a long knife with a glowing red edge at us. I opened my mouth wide and pointed on of my fingers inside, stating that I was hungry. ¡°How many servings you need?¡± the chef said with a calmer but demanding voice. I didn¡¯t know the size of the meal, so I put all my fingers before him stating that I wanted fourteen meals. I always had this bad habit of ordering food way more than I can eat. ¡°A-Are you sure you want this much food? I understand a Grokati can eat more than an average person, but fourteen meals are an overkill¡± said the slightly shocked chef. I totally forgot about my companion and the woman¡¯s food, I was ordering only for myself. So, I pointed a finger at the Grokati and raising all my fingers again. Then pointed at the woman. thinking for a second, I put two fingers up, indicating that I wanted thirty meals total. There was no reaction from the woman. And the Grokati wasn¡¯t even paying attention, looking at the golden arm like a teenager in love. The chef just stood there with wide eyes, trying to comprehend how the trio in front of him will eat this much food. Not long before he gave up, probably thinking that we had more people with us. ¡°That¡¯ll be 3750 credits, pay at the machine over there and go wait in the dining hall. Also, have some decency and go cover yourself with something¡± murmured the chef, pointing at the machine right outside the room across the hall. I went and paid for the food, thinking about how expensive it was, especially in a hospital. I ignored the chef¡¯s decency advice and led my companions into the near-empty dining hall, waiting for my food like a starving cat. Mahaar sat beside me, still holding the arm while Ryola sat across us, scanning our surroundings nonchalantly. Not long before the horrifying thought came to me.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Shit, I have no teeth or tongue, how the hell am I going to eat? ¡°Cordi, I need tongue and teeth. I can¡¯t eat like that. Also, it¡¯ll be nice to talk once in awhile¡± I pleaded the AI. *Crack* I banged my forehead on the table, closing my eyes for the incoming pain. [Crocodylus] [Hippopotamus] [Macrochelys] [Hyaenidae] *Crack* ¡°Adam? Adam, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I heard Mahaar¡¯s concerned voice in the background, but I wasn¡¯t in a state that allows me to even raise my head and look at him. [Conodonta] [Carcharodon] [Piranha] [Camelus] *Crack* ¡°ADAM¡± The Grokati started shouting, I can feel his hand patting my back. He must¡¯ve put down the arm to check on me. [Giraffa] [Felis] [Serpentes] [Chamaeleonidae] [Vermilingua] I finally raised my head from the table, looked at the concerned Mahaar and grinned, only to be met with a weird look from the Grokati like I¡¯m some kind of a monster. what kind of teeth did she give me? ¡°What?¡± My first correct word in this world came right out of my newly formed mouth. ¡°Nothing¡­ Looks like you can speak properly now, congratulations¡± replied Mahaar with a sudden mood change, his face reddening as if he is going to explode. And explode it did. ¡°BUAHAHAHAHAH, YOU NOW LOOK LIKE A BLAKATU, BUAHAHAHA¡± Roared Mahaar, tears forming in the corner of his eyes from laughter. ¡°Cordi, what¡¯s he talking about?¡± ¡°A Blakatu is a deep ocean creature that lives on western corners of Masdak, the home planet of the Grokati¡± Without saying a word back, I got up from my chair and started running. Searching for the restroom, there¡¯s probably some kind of mirror there. After a couple of minutes and some weird looks, I finally entered the restroom and found a mirror, and... ¡°HOLY FUCK¡± I shouted. Tensed gasps can be heard from the stalls which I ignored and barked at my AI. ¡°CORDI, WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE? I LOOK LIKE A FUCKING POKEMON¡± ¡°Calm down Adam, this is the most efficient available DNA strands ensuring your surviv- ¡° ¡°Why? Why god, who¡¯d even look at this monstrous face. This is a face only a mother can love, and I¡¯m not even sure my mother would¡± I interrupted her. i couldn¡¯t believe how scary and ugly i was. My eyes were bulged like a lizard, with multiple irises on top of each other that hosted yet another set of pupils and slits, for a human, it looked like something that came out of a horror film. I had two types of eyelids. A dual white inner eyelid that closed horizontally and an outer one that covered my eyes completely like a chameleon. My teeth were razor sharp like a shark, with big canines and huge molars, it looked very intimidating, and it wasn¡¯t 32teeth anymore, there were teeth everywhere I looked. Even my jaw¡¯s shape changed slightly, but the weirdest of all was my tongue, I stuck out my tongue and flinched from shock. It was like a meter-long hairy tongue. I could stretch it to double its length. With snake-like tines, the tongue was forked at its heavy tip. I could even smell using it. I stretched it out to its maximum distance which was almost as tall as me, surprisingly its muscles were so strong I could lift a heavy objects with it. Also, I could form some kind of sticky substance, like a frog or lizard catching bugs. As much as I hated how I looked, this was so convenient, just like the AI said. After I calmed down a bit, the growling noise came again, indicating that my stomach is at its limits. ¡°Cordi, as much as I want to curse at you, this is kind of ¡­ cool. Thank you¡­ Bitch¡± I said jokingly, no longer mad at her. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it ¡­ Adamon¡± came back the AI giggling. With a chuckle, I returned to the dining hall. only to find a mound of food on our table, with similar piles waiting on trolleys next to the table Oops, I probably ordered a bit much, this amount of food can throw a feast for a small town. how the hell are we gonna eat all this? . Mahaar, I¡¯m counting on you man. I sat down and got ready to eat my heart¡¯s content. Ryola, who was sitting across, didn¡¯t mind anything that happened past the few minutes, wearing the same expressionless doll face as of nothing happened at all. I just ignored her and we all started to dig into the food. Several hours have passed and I was still gnawing on a large chunk of meat in my mouth. The new teeth were marvelous. I could even eat bones like it was jelly. Mahaar just sat back with bulged stomach after his fifth meal, Ryola took her time but surprisingly finished both her meals. That left me with 23 meals I almost finished the 22nd of them and working my way to the last one. ¡°By Gola, what¡¯s in that stomach of yours, a black hole? How are you even going to dump that?¡± said Mahaar, looking at the mountain of plates on the table. Ignoring the amused Grokati, I asked the AI interestingly ¡°Oh! Cordi, how come I never take a shit. I know I can¡¯t pee because I don¡¯t have a penis, but what happens to the food that enters my stomach?¡± ¡°Your waste is converted to biomass right after digestion by the yocto machines. No need to waste energy¡± replied the AI to my disgusting question. *BURP* And with that, I finished my 23rd meal. Looking around, I saw literally everyone in the dining hall staring at me, including my two companions. Which I gladly ignored. I seem to not care about a lot of things lately. ¡°Mahaar, Ryola, let¡¯s go explore the city, I want to see what it looks like¡± I told my companions. I wanted to see what the future looks like. And they instantly agreed, probably got bored from watching me eat all this time. Dragging my newly formed giant belly, I led them out of the medical center.
As soon as we left the main door, I nearly went blind. So, this is the future, I thought. Just like what I saw in the master plan. With flat architecture design, endlessly tall rectangular skyscrapers filled the view. It was made from some concrete-like dark green material and full of colorful Advertisement banners and neon labels. the towers were stacked in an organized circular manner, just like what I saw in the master plan. I could see the colosseum round shape over the horizon, with even more colorful advertisement banners hung all over it. Huge statues of alien and humanoid figures stood on its outer walls. Asking Cordi, she explained that these colossal statues belonged to the greatest Gladiators who ever set foot in Neo Roma¡¯s colosseum, and this was that city¡¯s way of immortalizing them. It was almost dark when I looked up, scanning the sky. What the hell is wrong with the moo- ¡­ moons? There were dozens of what I thought to be moons, colorfully filled with light dots. Cordi explained that they are orbital habitats. full of entire countries and societies the fled the earth to indulge themselves in their luxury lifestyles. It was built by large mega intergalactic corporations for whoever could afford living there. She also said that the original moon was destroyed in the war 1500 years ago, I tried to ask her about the war but she said she¡¯s still collecting information about it. Now, where is it? Wh-¡­ there it is! Finally, I found it. Ariel traffic flying over the skyscrapers in an orderly manner. The bluish lights coming out of every flying car¡¯s bottom and sides. There were also non-flying vehicles of all sizes hovering in the streets. Small drones that looked like it was part of the police force hovering everywhere, scanning people walking and shopping under the neon signs. I let out a defeated sigh. The future was so ¡­ predictable. I dropped the subject and asked my companions if there¡¯s a certain place they¡¯d like to visit. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go over and grab some clothes, these rags might fall anytime now. I lost my armor and PDA when I got captured, so we might go and retrieve that too¡± answered Mahaar right after I asked. He then looked at my body and continued ¡°you also need some clothing for ¡­ you know, public decency. It is not exactly acceptable so walk the city naked¡± he added with a chuckle. ¡°Mahaar, as you can clearly see, I have nothing to ¡­ show¡± I pointed my eyes down at my groin before stealing a glance at the woman beside us already knowing that she didn¡¯t care the slightest ¡°Also, probably half the universe has seen my ass by now¡± I added jokingly with a chuckle. ¡°But I guess you have a point, let¡¯s go suit up then,¡± I told them after getting coordinates for the nearest place that offered clothing. We found a place in a couple of minutes, a small shop in the corner of a street by the waterway. I expected the future shops were like gigantic warehouses with alien merchants and robot helpers, but the shop was relatively smaller than what I had in mind, with enclosed shack-like stalls that people were coming in and out from. I started to move into one of these stalls along with Mahaar. Just as I was starting to enter, I looked back to see Ryola just standing there. ¡°Ryola, don¡¯t you want to buy anything?¡± I asked, knowing that women loved these kinds of shopping trips. But she just shook her head, indicating that she was fine where she is. I guess that weird armor of hers is enough. So, I got in the shack, a spacious white place with a mirror-like cylindrical object in the middle and no signs of any clothes around. I raised my hairless eyebrow, wondering how am I going to clothe myself until a female monotonic voice echoed throughout the room. ¡°Welcome to CFS Mr.¡­. Warning! Unknow-¡° Shit ¡°Welcome to the Collective Fashion Station Mr. Locke, please pick your desired brand¡± the monotonic voice instructed. ¡°Thanks, Cordi,¡± I gave thanks to my AI before continuing shopping. An interface popped from nowhere before me, an endless sea of logos of different brands was shown, some of them written in English and some in some weird alien language I didn¡¯t bother for its translation. I just picked a random one with English words, it had three curved lines mark with the word Addibos written under it. ¡°Addibos sportswear selected, launching projection interface¡­¡± echoed the voice while a carbon copy image of the weirdly proportioned me appeared on the mirror in the middle of the room. I started browsing an endless amount of customizable wears. With every time I selected something, my image in the mirror instantly projected it, showing me how am I going to look like wearing it. It was smart enough to automatically accomodate my weird legs and elongated arms that nearly reached my second knee. After what is felt to be hours of the overwhelming amount of selection and customization, I finally found something suitable that didn¡¯t make me look like a peacock with its multi vibrant colors or too ¡­ weird. Under the pre-historic section, I picked a pair of jeans, grey shoes, and a dark hoodie along with some comfortable underwear. Having the look of what I wore back then when I was a teenager. Also after asking Cordi I finally found out what that crazy shade of black color was. It was called Vantablack, it looked cool so I picked it as the color of the hoodie in the color selection panel. She also told me that aside from a small selection of enthusiasts and fashion weirdos, civilizations didn¡¯t care much about what people wear, assuring me that I don¡¯t have to worry about looking like a caveman wearing these pre-historic themed clothes. After I finally got out of the stall, wearing my new set of non-fashionable sportswear, Mahaar and Ryola were there waiting for me at the payment machine. Mahaar picked up a brown Hakama-like looking cloth for his lower part and some big black tank top for his upper body. On top of the tank top, he wore a brown sweater-like piece of cloth. I don¡¯t know how fashion works now, but I see he has a good sense of color combinations. He actually looks kind of cool. I thought, looking at the Grokati in style standing there. With a quick awkward fist pump with my friend still holding the golden arm, I paid for the clothes and we went on our way. Walking through the streets littered with all kinds of people. Human, aliens, weird beasts and robots. My AI started speaking. ¡°Adam, we¡¯re being followed. Turn right into the next alleyway¡± warned Cordi, instructing me while a map-like object appearing in my vision, six red dots popped up right behind another three green ones that represented me and both my companions. It seems that Cordi wasn¡¯t the only one that noticed the pursuers, both my companions looked at me and I nodded in confirmation, signaling them to take the net right into the alleyway. Not long after we walked through the narrow place, we turned to see the figures following us. Six men in military attire appeared in our view. While they were approaching, talking out their guns and rifles and formed a wide line, as if preventing us from escaping. One of them took a step forward and started speaking. ¡°We finally meet again ¡­ freak¡± said the man, his headgear is sliding up, showing his scar infested face. ¡°Do I know you?¡± I questioned the man, already knowing who he is per Cordi¡¯s information. ¡°No need for introductions¡± the man spat before giving instructions to his men. ¡°Avoid the Grokati at all costs, even with one arm, he is still dangerous. I don¡¯t know who this black woman is, but we can worry about that later. I want that freak in the middle alive if you can, if not, blast his damn head. GO¡± shouted the leader, signaling his men to commence their attack. I took a combat stance, getting myself ready for the upcoming fight. With Cordi marking my targets, their weapons, and their possible movement paths while feeding me more information about the situation. But I instantly stopped and looked at the woman on my left. The weapon on her back started hissing and emitting the black miasma more than usual. In a split second, four red dots horizontally formed on Ryola¡¯s now covered face. Her weapon shrunk and morphed into two guns linked together by some weird black wire. *PHT* *PHT* *PHT* *PHT* *PHT* Five red shots fired from her weapon so fast that even with my enhanced vision, I couldn¡¯t even see her hand motion, let alone the bullets itselves. I looked back at the soldiers charging us, five holes the size of a baseball appeared where their hearts should be. Smoke and fizzing sounds emitting from the holes with the men frozen in their place like mannequins. With five muffled thuds, the men fell one by one, leaving their leader with a slack jaw and a colorless face. ¡°W-What in the- ¡°Blurted the unbelieving leader. Watching the corpses of his men lying there motionless. Well, Mekshima really didn¡¯t lie about her being that good. I thought to myself while making a mental whistle of amazement looking at Ryola. I approached the man, who¡¯s shocked expression is slowly turning into fear and asked him a question. ¡°Why are you after me?¡± ¡°If you think I would even tell a frea- UGH! ¡°The man stopped mid-sentence as I grabbed his throat and lifted him up, remembering where I saw this uniform before. So, these are the soldiers that I saw myself unconsciously blast on TV in my apartment, they¡¯re here for revenge or something? ¡°I see now. Sorry Galavie, but I can¡¯t allow you to leave here, I already have enough problems and I don¡¯t want your petty grudge following me later. You already tried ending my life twice. And that ¡­ I cannot forgive¡± I stated to the convulsing man in my hand, with a slight turn of my wrist, the man¡¯s neck snapped, I let him fall down and join his men in their eternal slumber. My mood was so bad I didn¡¯t notice the drones scanning the area after sensing the vanishing biosignals. It seems my AI took care of them as well. I looked back to both my companions and signaled them to follow me. ¡°we¡¯re done exploring. Let¡¯s find a place to rest from this long day¡± I ordered my companions and they nodded in agreement. I asked Cordi for the nearest hotel and picked a random one from the list she projected in my vision. After finding the hotel, I tried to book three rooms for each of us. But Mahaar refused, stating that he wanted to be by my side so I ordered a larger room for both of us and a medium sized room for Ryola who surprisingly shook her head, indicating that she also want to stay in the same room as me. I didn¡¯t want to argue, so I booked a whole suite for all of us for the night. The hotel itself wasn¡¯t much. About the same size as the ones in my old world, with statues and decorations all over the place. The suite was spacious and comfortable. As soon as we entered, I started looking for a bed. Mahaar tried talking to me but I told him that we can hold up the conversation till next morning and he agreed. I slid into the bed and closed my eyes ... thinking about the events that happened today. But sleep came over and cut me off my thinking.
*** Vega Atifo POV *** ¡°WHAT? What do you mean his bio-signature just disappeared?¡± I shouted at the soldier standing at room entrance. ¡°T-That¡¯s what the specialists said a few minutes ago, I came as soon as possible to deliver the news, sir¡± replied the shaking soldier. ¡°THAT STUBBORN IDIOT¡± I roared, failing to contain my anger and worry for my brother. He must¡¯ve gone after that creature he captured, I gave him direct orders that he does not touch a hair on this creature. I told him to let it go. This guy is now protected by a goddamn Noran lord. But I swear if something happened to my brother, not even death can save him from me. Noran lord or not, if he is the one who made my brother¡¯s biosignal disappear, he should enjoy his remaining few breaths. ¡°Sir, I just got news, we found the body of captain Galavie with five of his team members, they seem to have bee- ¡° I raised my hand signaling the soldier to shut up. I took out my PDA, ordering every soul in the bounty hunters guild across the world. ¡°ATTENTION BOUNTY HUNTERS, THIS IS A CODE BLACK ORDER. EVERYONE IS TO TRACK THE BIO-SIGNAL CODE I AM ABOUT TO SEND YOU. YOU ARE TO LEAVE WHATEVER MISSION YOU ARE DOING AND TRACK DOWN THE TARGET ASAP, FAIL TO COMPLY AND I WILL END YOUR LIFE MYSELF¡± I stormed out of the room, the image of my baby brother in my mind. ¡°La tua anima sar¨¤ vendicata, fratello¡± I uncontrollably spat the words in our ancient tongue from my salty mouth. Walkers Mutation Progress DNA strands augmentations in Adam¡¯s body so far If you already know what Adam¡¯s mutations are made of, feel free to skip this section This list will be regularly updated every few chapters or so. Since the scientific names confuses some while some are lazy to look things up Notes: The animal name doesn¡¯t represent the animal itself, but it¡¯s main family genetic traits. Notice that the AI redesigns the structure of the DNA string itself for maximum efficacy, so it¡¯s more like an improved version of the animal trait. The DNA strands are subject to modification with each added genus from the earth¡¯s Genetic database. Some strands might be reused for other upcoming organs or limbs depending on what the AI sees fit. EYES [Accipitrinae] (Hawk)sight sharpness. [Strigiformes] (Owl) Night vision. [Chondrichthyes] (Shark) Underwater vision. [Squamata] (Reptile) Thermal vision. [stomatopod] (Mantis shrimp) Stereo vision, ultra-violet and infra-red Vision.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. [Pterygota] (Dragonfly) Compound eyes, X-ray vision. MOUTH [Chondrichthyes] (Crocodile) Bite force. [Hippopotamus] Jaw strength, Jaw opening width. [Macrochelys] (Snapping Turtle) Bite force, snapping speed. [Hyaenidae] (Hyena) Jaw strength, Crushing force, Jaw structure. TEETH [Conodonta] (Extinct Eel-like creature) Tooth sharpness, cutting power. [Carcharodon] (Shark) Tooth sharpness, elasticity, regeneration rate. [Piranha] Tooth sharpness, structure. [Camelus] (Camel) Tooth width, chewing locomotion. TONGUE [Giraffa] (Giraffe) Tongue length, Mass. [Felis] (Cat) Rasping, locomotion. [Serpentes] (Snake) Sensitivity, smelling, speed. [Chamaeleonidae] (Chameleon) Muscle strength, elasticity, stretching, stickiness. [Vermilingua] (Anteater) muscle strength, rapid motion, control, stickiness. ARMS [Ursus arctos] (Grizzly Bear) Muscle Mass, Bone density, strength, Claws. [Gorillini] (Gorilla) Strong Grip, large palms, Elongated arms. [Eunectes] (Anaconda) Muscle density, flexible movement. [Dynastinae] (Rhinoceros beetle) Joint Structure, strength output. LUNGS [dipnoi] (Lungfish)underwater breathing. MISC [hadal amphipod] deep sea tolerance, underwater breathing. [gastropod] (Snail) Hibernation. LEGS [Siphonaptera] (Flea) Jumping power, structure. [Panthera tigris] (Tiger) Strength, claws. [Homo sapien] (Modern Human) just look down past your waist. 06- Rest in Peace Chapter 6 Rest in Peace In the barren lands I stood on the hill again, holding the little girl¡¯s hand. The army of human giants were still kneeling and the bugs are nowhere to be found. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but as I was expecting, only empty air came out. In the army¡¯s front line stood seven of the giants. Each of them held what it seemed like¡­ a swaddled baby? The man who spoke to me last time, the one who seemed like the army leader came up to me, holding a worn-out piece of paper. Looking closely, I found out it was a world map. He didn¡¯t speak right away this time, only used a finger to pinpoint a certain place on the map. Germany? What does he want me to do there? I thought, looking at the strange smiling leader. He then took a few steps back, allowing one of the seven baby carriers to come forward. This one had a much bigger swaddle than the rest of the baby-holding giants. The giant stopped a few breaths away from me, headgear sliding up, which revealed the face of a female with a motherly smile on her face. She slowly unwrapped the baby and handed it to me, startling me in the process. I took the baby and held it as careful as I can be, nervously looking at it in amazement. Isn¡¯t that Mah- ¡°Asura¡± the leader instantly interrupted my train of thought, informing me of the baby¡¯s name. ¡°Primus, take care of it¡± he continued while smiling warmly at us. Shifting my eyes back to the baby, I found out it was gray with a round head and green eyes and countless arms sprouting from all over his torso, Giving him an unearthly look that creeped me out a little. Honestly, I was going to hand it back to the lady that just gave it to me, but the baby looked at me and smiled and started making some baby noise. It warmed my heart so much I refrained from giving it back. I started playing with it, nuzzling my nose into its belly, the baby started giggling and flailing its hands in all directions in the weirdest yet most adorable manner. Knowing that I was in some kind of a lucid dream, I took my time playing with the baby while thinking about why the leader wanted me to go do in Germany. After I finished playing with the multi-armed baby, I tried to go and check the rest of the babies, but the girl grabbed me from the back of my shirt, holding my hand again, and telling me that my time here is up. ¡°Wake up Adam, until we meet again my dear¡± her giggly voice echoed cheerfully like it always did.
I woke up to Mahaar munching breakfast with the golden arm sitting on his lap and his usual toothy grin on his face. ¡°Adam, come eat! I¡¯ve ordered sixteen extra sets of breakfast¡± Mahaar asked, his table full of all kinds of colored food, most of which I could not identify. Multiple trolleys full of food were parked next to the table. ¡°Just a min Mahaar, let me go wash up first,¡± I said while pushing myself in the direction of one of the bathrooms. ¡°Adam, wait! this bat- ¡° I just waved him off and headed to the bathroom groggily, not noticing that it was occupied, the door opened nonetheless. Automatically heading to the toilet, a practice I did every day for more days than I could count in my past life, I pulled down my pants and sat down. ¡°Adam? what are you doing?¡± a voice I recognized rang in my brain, the voice of my AI. ¡°Oh! morning Cor-¡± *Hissss* I stopped for a second, not a trace of sleep can be found in my eyes anymore, my eyes wide open and my jaw slack, looking at the naked woman standing in front of the mirror looking at me, and the weapon beside her emitting the black miasma like mad while ... Vibrating? She had a beautiful silky black hair, stretched in a long wheat-like braid that extended to her lower back, but her hair was not the most intriguing thing. Something even more exquisite caught my eyes. Almost all of her body was covered in cool black vines-like tattoos that looked like a dead tree, spreading from her bellybutton to the rest of her body. Her choice is really weird giving her personality, but I¡¯m not the one to judge. Plus, the artist that did it is very talented, the tattoo looked really impressive. The woman didn¡¯t even turn her head, just looking at me with her usual uncaring gaze from the mirror. She was not embarrassed one bit. However, the weapon was a different story, I felt that it would move on its own and shoot my brains out. ¡°Oh! Hi here, nice tattoo you got, hehe¡± an awkward smile found itself across my face. As much as this woman looked beautiful and intriguing with the tattoo and everything I wanted to dash out from the bathroom, run away and bury my embarrassment somewhere. However, what Cordi said next stopped everything I was thinking about. ¡°Adam, this is not a tattoo. this is the D0 variation of the V0x2 poison, a notorious and extremely rare poison that even the most advanced technology is not able to cure, only delay to some point. ¡°And judging from the spread rate, her condition is terminal. I would give this Laireen three to six weeks before all her vital organs fail, leading to her death.¡± I looked back at Ryola with unbelieving eyes while the AI kept explaining about the black veins covering the woman from neck to toe. ¡°The poison starts from the victim¡¯s core, spreading across the body over time, destroying organs along the way. But what gave this poison its notoriety is the excruciating pain that accompanies it. It directly attacks the center of the nervous system, making even blinking an agonizing exercise.¡± I got up from the toilet and headed to the bathrooms door, turning my head to address the woman. ¡°I am sorry Ryola for barging in like that, it was not intentional. I also apologize for calling your illness a tattoo. I truly did not know about its nature before the AI informed me, I beg your forgiveness. Excuse me¡± I apologized sternly before leaving the bathroom, Ryola just turned her head back to the mirror as nothing happened after giving me a slight nod, informing me that she didn¡¯t even care about my intrusion. The weapon strangely stopped hissing and vibrating, as if my words calmed it somehow. The door closed after I got out, with a red circle in the middle of it, indicating that the bathroom is occupied. ¡°Cordi, did you hack the door on our way in?¡± I asked her, it was the only logical explanation that I could come up with. The door had opened while the room was occupied. ¡°Yes Adam, I needed to observe what that woman was doing, since there is a high possibility that she is here to end your life. Apologies for putting you in that awkward situation.¡± ¡°Tell me, can she be cured?¡± the words just came out, addressing the AI. I don¡¯t know why I wanted to help her. I was almost certain she was an enemy, but something inside me I couldn¡¯t really explain, wanted me to save her.
*** Bertini Dolciano¡¯s POV*** ¡°I thank you again General for allowing me to partake in this mission,¡± I told the man one more time. ¡°I hope we could catch that man today without any problems like last time¡±. ¡°Oh! Hell, even if it¡¯s the last thing I do in my life, that son of a bitch will know agony from each cell in his body. That¡¯s why I allowed your existence here, Dolciano¡± replied the grieving brother while still ordering his troops. General Vega just wants me to torture the man for the longest period until he dies, but I was planning on ¡­ Studying it. Painful or not, I didn¡¯t really care. His regeneration abilities are far beyond anything I¡¯ve even seen, let alone his strange limbs. This man overpowered a Grokati dominator who even used a freakin¡¯ surge orb ¡­ In a goddamn fistfight, which is nearly impossible. I didn¡¯t care if this thing had almost killed me before, I didn¡¯t care that it wiped all the data in my facility or the fact that it stole my membrane. Well, it was technically his, but I got my hands on it and he was ¡­ dead. All I wanted to do now is to put him on a table and cut him open, unlocking the secrets of that weird body of his. Actually, it was good fortune that it killed Galavie yesterday, or at least that¡¯s what Vega thought. I never liked that muscle head anyway. I already feel that the world is a better place now. Unfortunately, now I have to keep the act that I cared so much about him in front of his brother. Now I¡¯m standing here with a whole freakin army of bounty hunters at the hotel where the biosignature said the man would be. They brought armored vehicles and hovercrafts, they even brought some goddamn heavy artillery to take this man down when they discovered he has a Grokati overlord accompanying him. They also erected two gigantic mobile psycho suppressors in the middle of the army camp. Around nineteen hundred soldiers surrounded the hotel, evacuating everyone out except the man and his companion. Some rumors flew around the army that he was also accompanied by another person per orders given by the Noran lord backing him up. After evacuating the hotel, the soldiers circled the premises, more of them pouring into the building in order to flush the man out. Moments later, with loud crashing sounds, bodies started falling like ragdolls from where the man¡¯s suite supposed to be. Some of them were missing body parts. The soldiers near me were starting to tense from the sight, charging their swords and rifles in anticipation. After a few minutes, everything stopped. I couldn¡¯t even hear my own breath. Everyone stared at general Vega, awaiting instructions. However, one by one, heads started turning towards the building entrance with a silhouette of a tall man emerging from it, followed by something even bigger than him.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The man came out, wearing some hipster clothes. Behind him was the Grokati I recognized from the Colosseum event, with only one arm on his body shaking hands with another golden Grokati arm, holding it like a club. I-Is this an O-Octamanus a-arm? how did he even¡­? I looked at the stressed Vega, who instantly started shouting orders. ¡°ALL UNITS, REMEMBER TO HOLD ON INTO YOUR PSYCHIC SHIELDS AT ALL TIMES, IGNORE ALL ORDERS OF CAPTURING THE TARGET ALIVE, ATTACK!¡± Weapons started to charge, bootheels started to flare. Everyone was ready to assault the man while he just stood there in the middle of the army, his Grokati taking a battle stance, ready to crush whoever was brave enough to get within his reach. After a couple of seconds, my monocle¡¯s interface turned off, along with every single electronic device in the area. The machinery stopped moving; the hovercrafts started losing balance and bracing for a crash. Weapons lit off and shields vanished. Everybody stood there in a state of disarray and utter confusion. ¡°WHAT DID YOU DO, FIEND?¡± Roared Vega, staring daggers at the man. The man started moving towards him in steady steps. Those mysterious eyes on his expressionless face moving frantically in every direction like a detectobot. ¡°MEN, SWITCH TO BLADED WEAPONS, SEPARATE HIM FROM THE GROKATI¡± The soldiers reached out to the daggers on their thighs and charged the one armed giant. However, their bodies were met with the golden arm teaching them to fly, or at least parts of them were. However, after a while, they started to overwhelm him, and battle cries started coming out of the soldiers reaching the Grokati. They were making what they saw as wounds on his body, but I knew that these were but mere scratches. I¡¯ve done research on Grokati before. Their skin is so thick, most energy weapons won¡¯t even penetrate the first layer. I wonder how did they manage to catch him in the first place? I thought with enough manpower, we might be able to at least wear him down. The human-like creature is not even paying attention to the brawl behind him, and is still walking up to Vega like he¡¯s in a park or something. As I was thinking about how much time left until the Grokati wears out, all hell broke loose. Out of nowhere, the sky started hailing red bullets, directly hitting the soldiers vital organs. Every shot was aimed to kill with insane accuracy. By the love of gods, he has an army of snipers hidden behind him somewhere nearby. Soldiers started dropping like leaves on a windy morning. I fell on my behind, trying to crawl my way out of the battlefield, praying that those snipers won¡¯t see me as a threat and put me down. Glancing at the man, who was already few meters away from where the shaking Vega is, barely having the strength to stand up, his knees trying its best not to break his form. I saw him reaching out to the back of his armor and taking out an ancient weapon I knew so well. Several years back, I was the owner of that piece of antiquity; before he bought it for an insane amount of credits in the annual Relic Hunters Auction. The MAGNUM! I recalled the weapon¡¯s name in my head, it was a truly magnificent piece of art. ¡°S-STAY BACK, THIS WEAPON CANNOT BE AFFECTED BY THE EMP YOU PRODUCED, ONE BULLET IS ENOUGH TO BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT¡± Threatened the shaking Vega. And to my surprise, the man stopped, hints of wonderment appearing on his face. The Spettro leader took it as a chance and hurled more orders at the man. ¡°ORDER YOUR SNIPERS TO STOP THEIR ATTACK, NOW¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± replied the man with a sarcastic smile, not minding tens of soldiers dying every second around him, either from the bullet hell or the giant clubbing. ¡°B-BECAUSE IF YOU DON¡¯T, I WILL BLOW OFF YOUR FUCKING HEAD, THAT¡¯S WHY!¡± ¡°Well Vega, I seriously doubt that you will. First off, you and your men tried to kill before when I first trod this land, electrocuting me and burning my flesh. After this, you imprisoned me and threw me like a dog in a pit, where everything tried to kill me for your entertainment. This isn¡¯t even the best part. Your brother comes after me with his soldiers, trying to kill me yet again, calling me a freak. Now you¡¯re standing here with your soldiers and tanks and whatever the fuck was floating over there, trying to take my life once more. And you want me to stop? Just like that?¡± ¡°Tell me ¡­ General Vega Atifo, Where the fuck did you learn logic from? ¡­ Anime?¡± *Bang* Vega shot him in the face. The man¡¯s head tilted back from the impact without exploding like I was expecting. I was waiting for him to fall, but to my shock, he didn¡¯t. His head shot back up, and a horrifying sight appeared before my eyes. Did he just catch the bullet with his fucking teeth? I couldn¡¯t believe what I was seeing. The man just stood there like nothing happened, holding the bullet between his razor-sharp teeth like candy. He clenched his jaws, splitting the bullet in two before spitting it out. Suddenly his mouth shot wide open, and a long tongue-like thing barrelled out from it faster than the bullet he just caught. It twirled around the gun and pulled out of Vega¡¯s hand in an instant, heading back into the man¡¯s mouth. he just grinned and crushed the piece of metal under his teeth like a biscuit. It finally hit me, this man is not human, he¡¯s something more. He is an ancient being treading earth after eons of slumber, and I am the one to blame for all that. I am the one who disturbed his sleep in the bottom of the ocean. May the gods have mercy on our souls. I wasn¡¯t sure of my hypothesis until he mentioned the word dog, a prehistoric ancient species of a hound-like animal that spread across the earth thousands of years ago. I don¡¯t know what an anime is; probably some stupid creature that lived in his time, and Vega was definitely acting like one. The man approached the crumbling leader and put his big hand on his shoulder. Strangely Vega didn¡¯t react. It was like he was under some sort of hypnotizing technique or mind control. ¡°Now tell me, Vega, why should I let you live?¡± the man said quietly with a smirk. ¡°....¡± Vega just kept staring at him. He wasn¡¯t shaking anymore. In fact, he wasn¡¯t even trying to breathe anymore, as if someone took out his batteries. He didn¡¯t speak or move, just stared back at the man with dead eyes of a man who knew he would face death in a few moments. ¡°Requescat en pace¡± The man spoke with the ancient tongue while grinning, I couldn¡¯t believe what I just heard, and Vega was the same, his eyes shot open for an instant. But the man didn¡¯t give him the chance to even be surprised, thrusting his claws in Vega¡¯s armor in search for his heart. After a few seconds, Vega stopped convulsing, hitting the ground with milky eyes staring at the blue sky. but it didn¡¯t matter to me, I was solely focusing on the man above his corpse, a grin of madness forming on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to say that, ¡­ So fucking cool¡± that man said excitedly as he retracted his claws. He seemed happy with what he just did. I took it as a signal and closed my eyes, praying to every god I know of that my soul finds its way into heaven, but I shot them open again, hearing the man looking back at the building and shouting. ¡°RYOLA, BRWO¡¯KA!¡± The bullet hell instantly stopped. It didn¡¯t matter anymore, most of the soldiers were either dead or ran away saving their lives. I didn¡¯t understand what he just said. The electromagnetic pulse seems to have damaged the UTDs too. But I knew who he was speaking to. It was the real name of the phantom of the dark sector. The right hand of the mind killer. The Laireen that took out entire armies on her own. That explains the red bullets, not many saw it and lived to tell about it. The sacred living weapon of the Laireen that metamorphs at will to other countless types of weapons. Shooting a certain type of energy that even the most brilliant of minds failed to replicate it. I subconsciously snorted at the thought that the man was backed up by a sniper battalion. And it seems that I also grabbed his attention in the process. he started moving in my direction with slow steps, raising where his eyebrow should be. He knows me! I never met this man face to face before, at least when he was ... Alive. but now it seems that he recognized me somehow, and came to do me what I was going to do to him. Maybe he can read my mind? ¡°Is something funny, Bertini?¡± the man, now squatting near my shaking body calmly said. ¡°N-N-NO ancient one, I was just thinking h-h-how we thought that y-you were b-backed up by a s-sniper battalion, b-but all y-you had was j-just one w-woman. H-hehe¡± I replied, trying to collect myself as much as I can and failing miserably. ¡°You know Bertini, are you the reason for all this shit that happened? It started the day you put that bounty on my head, you couldn''t just let it go.¡± Fuck! He knows everything. ¡°I-I¡¯m S-So S-S-Sorry, P-Please D-Don-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to kill you, you¡¯re a man of science and knowledge, unlike that retard over there. I just want you to do a little something for me¡± ordered the man while pointing at Vega¡¯s corpse. ¡°As soon as you go back to your office back at the guild, I want you to send me every single report about your guild¡¯s findings near Ger- ¡­ Kaiserstien city, just collect the data, pack them up and send it anywhere, it will ¡­ magically find its way to me¡± he continued explaining, making weird gestures with his hands. ¡°Is this a simple enough request from uncle ancient one? ¡°Continued the man with his hand patting my cheek with his black hand. Clear sarcastic tones can be found in his last sentence. I just replied with a series of frantic nods, my heart pounding like an autohammer. His hand was almost covering my whole face with its long fingers lingering behind my head. ¡°Good boy, here¡¯s something to remember me with.¡± *Slap* Everything went dark after that.
*** Adam POV*** ¡°Cordi, Did I slap him too hard?¡± ¡°He¡¯s alive Adam, and you only broke three teeth, two molars and made a five millimeters wide cut on his cheek. No major nerve damage, although he will lose sensation in that area for quite some time. Jaws are fine too, with only a slight crack¡± Reported the AI, assuring me that didn¡¯t kill the man, only broke half of his face. ¡°I can see that already Cordi. As long as his brain is working, I don¡¯t care. He¡¯ll live. And hopefully the shit I¡¯m facing every day where everyone seeking my head will decrease a bit¡± I was so sick of watching people die gruesomely. I didn¡¯t want to kill anybody, but I also didn¡¯t want to die. I knew the nerdy looking man lying there with a blue cheek the size of a football wanted to take me alive and dissect the hell out of me. But he didn¡¯t need to die. I¡¯ve always valued life, so it''s not easy for me to snuff it out like that. but if I ever see him again seeking to hurt me or any of my friends, I¡¯ll do more than just dissecting to him. I turned back and started walking to where Mahaar is. He was just sitting there on a mountain of corpses, cleaning his father¡¯s arm with his new jacket. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try attaching that arm Mahaar, it¡¯s your father¡¯s after all?¡± ¡°I was going to speak with you about it yesterday. You were tired, so I decided to tell you today, but this battle just took place and I couldn¡¯t find the time. I already tried, Adam, it rejected me¡± replied the giant with a sad tone and droopy eyes. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have time to figure something out about that later. But for now, there is a place we need to go¡± I gave the giant the warmest smile I could find, I felt bad for him not being able to attach the arm he treasured so much. He looked back at me with hopeful eyes like a child. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes Mahaar, I promise you that I will do my best to help you attach the arm¡± I stated to him while extending my fist, still wearing my warm smile. ¡°Thank you, Adam,¡± as soon as the giant¡¯s fist met mine, his mood switched back to its normal, cheerful dementor. I looked at the building behind us and put my hands around my mouth to amplify the outcoming shout. ¡°RYOLA, GET DOWN HERE, WE NEE-¡± Before I could finish my sentence, The Laireen sharpshooter just appeared out of thin air, the four horizontal red dots still glowing on her covered face. ¡°Whoa! Where the hell did you come from?¡± I pointed at her, startled. Did she teleport or something? Maybe she was trying to scare me because I saw her naked this morning? ¡°Cordi?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Adam, it¡¯s probably that black armor of hers.¡± I shrugged and started explaining to both of them that we need to leave this city. And that we are going to a city known as Kaiserstien, the home city of the King of earth and where the royal palace lies. My companions didn¡¯t show displeasure of my request, so I asked Cordi about how we will get there and after a few minutes, a yellow flying car with black stripes landed near where we sat. As soon as we got into the vehicle we were greeted by the same monotone voice I heard at the clothes shop. ¡°Welcome to the United Taxi Service travelers, please state your destination.¡± ¡°Cordi, show me a map of the old world,¡± I asked the AI, trying to pinpoint the area that the leader of the giant human army was pointing at. and strangely, I easily found it. ¡°Hamburg¡± I answered the voice with the place we needed to reach. ¡°Invalid location ¡­ Did you mean Neo York?¡± stated the voice, trying to correct the location I gave it with the most retarded suggestion system ever since the one I had on my old phone. ¡°Cordi, display the current world map next to it¡± I wanted to know what changed over the past one and a half thousand years, and to my shock, nothing was the same. ¡°What in the fucking¡­.¡± I subconsciously blurted, making everyone present turn their heads at me. So, I just raised my arm, telling them it was nothing. Everything changed. The topography itself wasn¡¯t the same, some countries changed to weird names while some completely disappeared. The place where Hamburg should be didn¡¯t even exist. It was just water. ¡°Cordi, I can¡¯t find Hamburg. Also, where the hell is Japan? I wanted to see if they call it Neo Tokyo or not, but I can¡¯t even see it on the map¡± ¡°Hamburg is now a sunken city Adam, why would you even want to go there for? And Japan is no longer on this planet. The nation just took over 65% of planet Saturn four hundred years ago, and named it planet Kyoto.¡± ¡°Ok Cordi, that¡¯s all I need for now.¡± I now had a lead on where I should go. I knew it would be a daunting task, but at least something that could lead me to an understanding of my weird lucid dreams. ¡°Take us to Kaiserstien.¡± ¡°Destination: Kaiserstien. Distance: 1874 Kilometers. ETA: 6 Minutes, 44 Seconds. Fare: 00.00 Credits. Enjoy your Trip MR. Locke, and thank you for using United Taxi Service¡± ¡°Oh! I sure will¡± I said with a grin, looking at the beautiful pink doll face staring at the horizon from the taxi¡¯s window across me. ¡°Now Cordi, let''s continue from where we left off. About that cure you mentioned.¡± 07- Dead Man on Dead Land Chapter 7 Dead Man on Dead Land I finished my conversation with the AI, and it seemed that I really needed to go to this Cube61 to find some particular ¡­ ingredients. The problem was that I couldn¡¯t tell exactly how much time Ryola¡¯s body still had before crumbling. Cordi also mentioned that there was something else we needed to obtain at the Cube, but she refused to tell me about it, saying that it was private. A slight burning sensation engulfed my whole body for a few seconds. Cordi said that she just changed my biosignature so I wouldn¡¯t be trackable anytime soon. I didn¡¯t really mind the pain as I didn¡¯t want any more people chasing after me. I was going to start cursing at her for not doing that earlier but my eyes detected the outskirts of a city, approaching faster by the second. We finally reached our destination. Kaiserstein. ¡°Welcome to the capital city of Kaiserstein travelers. ETA: 25 seconds. Thank you for using United Taxi Service,¡± echoed the monotonic voice throughout the vehicle. The city was nothing like Neo Roma. If I could describe it in one word, it would certainly be Order. A huge rectangular city of black, orange and white buildings were erected in a magnificent harmony and surrounded by the sea on three sides. It looked like it was built using the same weird material I saw in Neo Roma but with far better quality and maintenance. The many advertisements were still present, but not as chaotic as they were in Neo Roma. Stacked in different groups of the same size, the holograms of colorful animations and actors of many species used and demonstrated the promoted products. Land, water and aerial traffic all flowed with ease, both inside and outside the city. A huge port in the middle of the northern coastal area something to do with how people traded or something. In the middle of the city, an island stood in the middle of an impressive two-thousand-kilometer circular lagoon. A massive statue of a robed Noran held out a sphere¡ªthat looked like a planet¡ªto a statue of a human which wore a crown on its head. Six other almost naked human statues encircled the two, facing outward and lifting a flat platform high above their heads. On the platform stood the largest building I still had yet to see. The Royal Palace, where king Sven Kaiser IV and his family reside. It looked extremely well made with an insane attention to detail. We landed on top of a huge skyscraper owned by the taxi company. The view was quite impressive from up there. Cars and security bots flew all over the city, and looking at the scene, I suddenly thought of a crazy idea. ¡°Cordi, can I get something like ¡­ wings?¡± ¡°Now is not a good time for that Adam,¡± she responded. ¡°The energy levels are sufficient, but the sight of a human spontaneously evolving wings out of nowhere would grab the attention of many unwanted eyes, so I strongly advise against them. Also, you¡¯d probably fall a couple times before you get used to flying.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Maybe later then,¡± I replied with a small sigh of defeat as I covered my bald head with the sweater¡¯s hood and headed towards a floating elevator with my party. Right after we got out of the building, we were met with thousands of people of all shapes and sizes going about their business in a neat systematic manner, almost like a bee hive. ¡°What now Adam? I don¡¯t know why you brought us here, but I follow you wherever you go,¡± stated Mahaar while covering my shoulder with his family sized palm, the golden arm strapped on his back like some sort of a weapon. ¡°I¡¯m here to look for something I have yet to know my friend. For now, we explore the city for a while and hope we don¡¯t run into trouble like last time. We also need to cover up that arm with something until we find a way to attach it. It¡¯s gaining too much attention,¡± I told him, repeating the lesson Cordi taught me just minutes ago. ¡°We might also get you a new PDA rather than finding the one you lost in Neo Roma.¡± ¡°Cordi, can you find us a place where we can grab one? Maybe hack some cash into it while we¡¯re at it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that here Adam. It seems that the capital city is riddled with Noran Hexadron firewalls, and my available computing power is insufficient to hack it in time. If I tried to initiate a hack, it would take approximately nine seconds for a complete detachment of police force to reach my location, followed by whoever is seeking us.¡± ¡°But I thought you¡¯re like¡­ the most advanced AI ever,¡± I said teasingly, wondering how she¡¯d take it. ¡°I am an advanced AI Adam, not a miracle worker. Maybe I can teach you hacking and you try giving it a shot yourself.¡± Her cheerful voice came back at me, reminding me not to mess with her again. ¡°Okay, okay I give up. You don¡¯t have to be stingy. Can you at least find us a place to sit down and rest from the long six minute journey from Italy? I need to clear my head and think about what I¡¯m going to do next.¡± I looked back at my two companions walking beside me. Mahaar tried to shove the arm in his clothes and failed miserably while Ryola focused all her four irises in the direction of the royal palace held by the giant statues. Looking in the same direction and focusing my gaze, I found hundreds of humans in military attire patrolling around the palace. Some were holding long sniper rifles and others were using something that looked like large binoculars. Holy shit, she can actually see that? it¡¯s like thirty kilometers away. Cordi already told me that the Laireen had the sharpest eyesight, but damn, that far? ¡°Ryola, can you actually see the soldiers?¡± I couldn¡¯t resist asking, and to my surprise, she nodded. ¡°Adam, her vision is even sharper than yours. She could probably see the hair strands on their unshaven faces. The available research I found is not that accurate either; her sight could be even sharper,¡± Cordi¡¯s threw another fact bomb at me. I looked at the woman with complete amazement. She really was something. ¡°Adam, why do you want to cure the poison in her body that much when she is the enemy?¡± asked the AI, a question we already discussed on the way here multiple times. ¡°I don¡¯t know Cordi, I just feel like it¡¯s the right thing to do.¡± ¡°Are you sexually attracted to her?¡± ¡°W-What? NO, I mean yes, I mean NO. Ugh! Look Cordi, it¡¯s just something I can¡¯t explain. I know for certain that she¡¯s probably waiting for a chance to end me, but I can¡¯t explain the feeling that keeps attracting me to her, it¡¯s just like what I did with Mahaar.¡± I tried explaining something I didn¡¯t even know myself and the AI didn¡¯t respond, probably sick of arguing. ¡°O well, let¡¯s go somewhere to sit a bit. Anyone hungry?¡± I asked my companions, and after a couple of furious nods, we went on our way. After walking for a while, we found a caf¨¦ that also served food. The words ¡°-Star Buckets¡±- were engraved with big English brown letters above the establishment. Entering, we sat down and a couple of menus popped up in front of our faces. Oh! Dear coffee, how I missed you so much. I nearly cried from happiness when I saw the beverage on the menu, because I always considered myself a coffee addict back in my old world. That sacred dark brown liquid always made me calm and happy. From the menu, I picked my favorite, the normal black boiled coffee. The cup size varied so much that I could even order a cup the size of a bathtub. It looked like the caf¨¦ catered to people with unusual sizes too. The image of a giant adjusting his glasses and reading the morning paper while sipping from that tub-sized cup made me chuckle. In less than ten seconds, a small area on the table split open and a steaming hot cup of coffee came out. Taking a final look at the trays of food coming out from the table per my companion¡¯s orders, I saw that Ryola got herself a considerable amount of food. That girl sure had a strong appetite. Mahaar got his usual load of a large pyramid of food. Holding my holy grail, I closed my eyes and braced my nose for a sniff of the aroma I always loved. *Sniff* It smelled far different from the coffee I knew, but it wasn¡¯t a bad smell. Well, future coffee sure smells weird. I cautiously took a sip from the cup, and with my heightened senses, the taste hit me like a kick in the face. ¡°What the fuck is this?¡± It was nothing like coffee. It looked like coffee but tasted like distilled shit. I called a girl in white and brown I identified as a waitress and asked her about the carp I just tasted. She said that this was coffee while looking at me like I was a madman speaking about unicorns or something, especially when I mentioned the coffee beans. The weird thing that she shook and stuttered while talking to me as if afraid I¡¯d bite her head off. ¡°Cordi? Some help here please, translate the word coffee bean to whatever language she speaks.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Cordi?¡± The AI didn¡¯t respond, I thought she searching for some kind of translation or an equivalent word in this era. What I didn¡¯t know that the AI was about to hit me with the truth I subconsciously kept running away from. I waved the waitress off after apologizing for being rude. My companions were devouring their food and I was just sitting there, staring at the brown dirt in my cup in wait for the AI to wake up and explain why she took so long to respond. ¡°Come on Cordi, what is taking yo-¡± ¡°Adam, do you know what a walker is?¡± Now it was my turn to go silent. The Noran lord called me that two days ago but didn¡¯t elaborate. I really wanted to ask Cordi about everything, but with everything that happened, I didn¡¯t have the time to. Or maybe I was running away from this conversation from the day I woke up at that lab. ¡°No, I don¡¯t Cordi.¡± ¡°Did you see any animals or plants around since the day you obtained your vision back?¡± ¡°No,¡± I answered while making was was probably the most stupid look on my face. It was actually true that I knew something felt wrong. In all these two colossal cities and the areas between, I didn¡¯t notice a single animal or a piece of green I could identify. ¡°When Universal empires discover an uncharted system with a sentient species or a precious resource of value, a race for dominance in that sector starts. Each empire tries to take control over whatever galaxies they find and make them part of its own, along with all resources and nations.¡± ¡°This sector, however, was a special case. The grand empires made a treaty not to touch the sector this particular planet resides ¡­ Earth. The treaty was made because of-¡± ¡°-unknown reasons approximately seven hundred thousand years ago, between the twelve strongest empires in the universe back then, ensuring that the human race would continue living in the dark. ¡°Strict laws prevented any species from even approaching the sector, let alone contacting Earth. It was so severe that a certain race called the Zeta Reticuli was entirely eradicated because they sent two ships to contact earth. The united empires alliance ordered a complete wipeout of the entire race from existence for what they did nearly two thousand years ago. ¡°However, 1500 years ago, the Noran empire breached the treaty and decided to take over the sector for cultivation, planet Earth included. That¡¯s when you were first contacted by the Exorians, and me¡­ Adam?¡± ¡°Y-Yes Cordi, please continue.¡± ¡°Then a fierce war between the Noran empire and the Exorian empire erupted on Earth, each with their own set of allied empires, and sadly, the Noran empire won and claimed the sector for itself. ¡°The planet itself was nearly destroyed. With an unstable core Earth was doomed, but for the cultivation process to work, the Noran empire started repairing the core and terraforming the planet, allowing humans to stay alive. At least that is what the information I currently have states.¡± ¡°You mentioned cultivation. Is this something like Chinese mythology or something?¡± This word was the only one that clearly grabbed my attention. ¡°Please let me finish without interrupting.¡± ¡°Sorry Cordi, please go on.¡± ¡°In order for an empire to cultivate a planet, they drop a set of Borotanium bombs in the inner atmosphere of a planet. The living element itself is non-lethal at first glance with an odorless purple color. It stimulates the brain and the reproductive system upon contacting a living organism. In the case of humans, the symptoms are ruptured blood vessels and extreme muscle tension. ¡°Borotanium completely takes over the reproductive system within five to ten hours and locks it completely. So, by the time the war ended after 126 years of conflict, only nine hundred million humans survived, along with only a handful of creatures with high tolerance to extreme conditions and partial immunity to the element. For example, two percent of the order Blattodea were completely. ¡°This cultivation process has been done countless time by many empires. However, only one universal empire stood against this brutal method for eons: the Exorian empire. ¡°A species of vast intelligence and hunger only for knowledge, the Exorians always promoted peace while seeking knowledge. However, in this brutal universe, knowledge alone will not grant survival, so they used their knowledge to make vast armies to defend instead of conquer, but they couldn¡¯t fight on all fronts and save planets on countless sectors across the universe. ¡°So, they came up with the WALKER project, where they preemptively harvest samples of every species they could find on a planet and insert it inside a single individual, known as the planet¡¯s walker, and in Earth¡¯s case, they picked you, Adam.¡± ¡°Why would they do that if the planet already was gone?¡± Not caring if I was interrupting her or not, I stormed the AI with a barrage of questions. This was a serious matter. ¡°To grant that the planet¡¯s legacy survives, multiple walkers were already relocated to planets located in Exorian territory, where they released their planet¡¯s essence and sown the seeds for new life.¡± ¡°And why would the empires kill all life on a planet while keeping the dominant species alive?¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Expansion, power, resources, constant armies and war fronts¡ªthese are just various reasons why they keep the dominant species on a planet, tricking the survivors into thinking that they were saviors. As for why they eliminate all other kinds of life, it is to ensure their own survival.¡± ¡°From what? Aren¡¯t they already like the masters of the universe? With all their weapons and technology and shit¡± ¡°They fear the natural way the universe uses to counter species that reaches the epitome of power, and that is probably what Earth excelled at, and what the Noran and their allies feared the most¡± ¡°And what exactly is that, Cordi?¡± ¡°Evolution¡± The AI only said one word, a word powerful enough to shake universal empires to its cores. After a small pause, letting me digest what she said, she continued. ¡°Earth¡¯s evolution started to grow rapidly, throwing the universal empires into a state of panic. No one wanted to see the rise of another universal power with that insane amount of diversified evolution paths. And to make matters worse, nobody knew where the race called Human came from. Every race can be traced back to its origin in a certain degree, but research states that the human¡¯s origin is unknown, like they just appeared from nowhere¡± ¡°For example, all other creatures on earth could be traced back to its first Phylum, but not the humans. That was probably what made the Noran make their move on the entire sector¡± ¡°If what you are saying is true, the Noran p-probably will do everything to end me, right?¡± I couldn¡¯t hide my fear, that was a pill way too hard to swallow. ¡°Yes, Adam. In fact, not only the Noran empire are currently searching for your whereabouts, but also almost all the universal powers, galactical bounty hunters, anti-walker fanatics and many others¡± *gulp* ¡°Thanks, Cordi. C-Can you please order the machines in my body to attack my brain and end my life? I¡¯d rather d-die than be on the run for the rest of my life¡± I was serious, the whole universe was after me. I was scared to my core that moment, I just wanted to disappear, to take a rest from all this shit I have been through in my lives, both of them. ¡°Hee-hee¡­ still weak-willed, aren¡¯t we¡± I was startled and nearly fell back from my chair, it was the little girl¡¯s giggle. ¡°WHAT? WHERE?¡± I shot up from my seat, looking left and right, searching for that little girl to no avail. ¡°Adam, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Mahaar¡¯s voice woke me up from my trance. I looked back at the table to find both my companions staring at me. Mahaar looked concerned, scanning me with his green eyes from head to toe, trying to find anything wrong with me. Ryola on the other hand just kept staring at my face with her usual lifeless look. ¡°It¡¯s nothing guys, I was day dreaming¡± I waved them off wearing a fake smile and turned my attention back to the AI while sitting back down. ¡°C-Cordi¡± ¡°Yes, Adam?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say I impossibly survived through all that shit somehow, what happens to walkers when they release their essences?¡± I asked, feeling droplets of sweats sliding down my back. ¡°They die, Adam¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Can I fight back somehow?¡± ¡°Walkers usually are extremely strong individuals, capable of facing off immense powers and winning, giving enough time to reach high degrees of evolution. There was once a walker of planet Maekola, called Lanam, who single-handedly took out an entire fleet of two and a half billion highly trained soldiers over five years¡± ¡°Yes, now we¡¯re talking. Tell me what happened to this Lanam? Can we meet him or something? Or did he already released his essence and died?¡± I caught the glimmer of hope and started asking more questions. ¡°He died. The empires alliance just sent a bigger fleet and finally took him out¡± Cordi you fucking bitch, you not helping at all ¡­ I¡¯m so screwed now! I looked around to see some people stealing glances at us, probably at the sight of the one armed Grokati and the mysterious woman in black gnawing on a piece of meat like a hyena with her pearly white teeth. ¡°Look, mama, the guy to beat the black monster we saw on the holovision. Look! Look, his big friend is here too¡± A little boy around seven years old grabbing his mother¡¯s robe and pointing at us. I turned my head at them and the moment they saw me, the mother held her child and stormed off like she saw a ghost or something. Why would they even allow children to watch this bloody shit? ¡°Hehe, dammit Cordi, couldn¡¯t you make me look a bit cooler? I look like a bunch of animals put into a blender, I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m even human anymore¡± I tried joking around to ease my fear, putting the hood back on my bald head to hide my hideous face. ¡°You can¡¯t fool me, Adam, I can see your fear still lingering. If it will ease your mind, I just want to state a fact that you have what no other walker had before¡± ¡°And that is?¡± ¡°Me¡± I just laughed her comment out, it really eased my worry to some degree. She has been very helpful since the day I met her. I just hope she¡¯s on my side like she said, unlike that red eyed eating machine over there with the big guns¡­ I mean gun.
Wheneveryone had their meals, we left the caf¨¦ with 4000 fewer credits, Kaiserstein was really expensive. We visited some clothes shop similar to the one we shopped at Neo Roma to buy something we can hide the golden arm in from the prying eyes. I got myself a plain-looking white mask to cover my face. After that, we took a walk around the city, with Mahaar looking left and right admiring everything he sees and comparing it to something on his home planet. I couldn¡¯t enjoy the stroll one bit, all that filled my mind is what Cordi told me about who I am and the dangers surrounding me in every corner now and in the future. I had to hide behind the hood and the mask since Cordi couldn¡¯t hack most of the cameras and eyebots behind the sixth generation of Noran firewalls. Mekshima didn¡¯t lie when he said they could counter her after all. We kept walking until we were stopped by the sight of a large crowd staring at a gigantic screen hung on the side of a building. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re broadcasting the finals at the colosseum. Adam, let¡¯s go watch¡± said the enthusiastic Mahaar while dragging me along, diving through the crowd. On some kind of a 3D screen, the final match of the Neo Roma colosseum tournament took place between the last two contenders. On one side, there was a red skinned humanoid creature holding a metal spear with a sharp tip and a small energy shield that constantly changes size and shape based on what is it blocking. He had a familiar Spartan look with the gimmicky armor he¡¯s wearing, covering only his vital organs, each move he made were met by a loud wave of cheering from the spectators. He looked like the crowd¡¯s favorite. On the other side of the fight, there was some kind of a female cyborg, she was hovering above ground while spreading her arms wide. Countless snake-like tentacles coming out of her back, moving around like some uncontrolled water hoses. Her body was full of metallic parts that keep making subtle moves, probably controlling the stuff hovering around her body. Around the cyborg woman was ten metal orbs the size of a bowling ball, rotating nimbly in harmony around the woman while constantly shooting laser beams at the red man. The man kept dodging and blocking the incoming beams, trying to cover the distance between him and the cyborg woman. The woman on other hands was backing away, increasing the distance while maintaining the same firing pace. They kept going like that for a while until the woman stopped backing away and bent forward like she lost consciousness. The man probably knew what she¡¯s doing and instantly dashed backward while bringing his expanding shield forward, almost covering his entire body. Four giant tentacles shot forth from the middle of the smaller ones on her back towards the red man. Now the situation was reversed, she went back to her normal stance and charged forward behind her tentacles, her orbs are still shooting at the now cracking shield. The arena was so spacious that the man wouldn¡¯t hit a wall anytime soon, but her charge was way faster than him. In mere seconds, she caught up to him and slammed all the four of her tentacles on the shield, shattering it completely and sending the man flying. Loud booing filled the air coming from the crowd, but she paid no mind to it and kept hovering towards the man at high speed. She grabbed him with two of the tentacles and starting lashing him brutally with the other two a couple of times before flinging him in the air, allowing all the orbs to fire at him freely, filling his body with hundreds of laser beams. The man crashed into the ground, making a small crater under him. The camera changed to show the man¡¯s state. He was lying on his back, his dark blue eyes staring at the sky. Then the man smirked, throwing the whole colosseum into a state of utter chaos. ¡°OOJIN, OOJIN, OOJIN¡± Thunderous roars came out from everywhere, from the stadium to the people around us watching the match, even Mahaar was repeating the red man¡¯s name, at least that was I thought. ¡°looks like that man named Oojin guy is pretty popular, but why are everyone cheering for him like that, he¡¯s clearly losing¡± I curiously asked the excited Mahaar beside me. ¡°Losing? Hah! He¡¯s just toying with her and putting up a good show. Also, his name is not Oojin¡± replied Mahaar without even looking at me, his eyes are fixed on the screen. ¡°The enlighten me Mahaar, what is Oojin, his race?¡± I sarcastically asked again, curiosity about that Oojin sparking in me. ¡°Oojin is what he¡¯s about to do, just watch Adam¡± Mahaar just shooed me off with a hasty reply, making me even more curious about what¡¯s that man lying on his back going to do next, and boy that was ¡­ incredible. The man stood up, grinning like an idiot, not minding the hundreds of beams hitting his body and raised both his arms like he just won the match. The cyborg woman didn¡¯t waste any time and charged him with all her tentacles once again, but she stopped midway like she just crashed into some hidden wall. The grinning man body was ¡­ transforming? Large horns coming out of his forehead and wings out of his back, his muscles were multiplying and popping out of place on his body that logically shouldn¡¯t even have muscles in it. Holy fucking shit, this is a fucking demon! I gasped with shock at the sight I only saw in games and movies. The man completed his demonic transformation, the large spear in his hand fell off, leaving only the tip which is only a tiny knife, I looked back at the cyborg woman who regained her posture and started to vibrate fiercely, probably having a hidden card of her own. However, the demon didn¡¯t give her a chance to do anything. His figure blurred and appeared behind the cyborg who probably sensed him and instantly moved her tentacle to hit him, but the man disappeared again, making the tentacles swoosh into empty air. I didn¡¯t see the man again for a few seconds, only some red blur appearing and disappearing around the cyborg, like some glitchy visual effect. Bits and pieces started flying away from the woman, being torn alive bit by bit like a poor animal that fell prey to a school of piranhas. Her tentacles, big and small, were ripped one by one over the course of seconds. Out of desperation, she started flailing everywhere, the orbs firing randomly in all directions. In less than a minute, the demon was standing in the middle of the arena, holding the dead woman¡¯s head like a trophy. Blood, wires, organs and cybernetic limbs everywhere around him in pieces. The floating orbs now lying motionlessly on the ground, losing its bright glow. The mad thunderous cheering was now at its peak, both on the screen in the colosseum and here around us. I had no idea what just happened, so I just kept looking at the scene with wide eyes and a slack jaw. Fortunately, the instant replay came to rescue my dying logic. A video replay several thousand times slower than the real thing, showed the man still moving very fast in an extremely slow world, cutting away the poor woman body piece by piece with a frenzied smile on his face. He must have hit her a million time over the course of a minute. Okay, this is some next level anime shit! I was stunned at the scene, so happy that I didn¡¯t pass the preliminaries. That demon literally disintegrated her¡­ with a knife. ¡°You saw that Adam, a Glorious win¡± Said Mahaar excitedly while tapping my shoulder. ¡°So, this Oojin is not a demon race, but more like a technique?¡± I curiously asked Mahaar while walking away from the crowd into the direction of our waiting companion. ¡°Something like that. Most species can achieve Oojin with rigorous training, soul techniques and luck. Only a handful of Grokati achieved lower levels of Oojin, but that was a long time ago, not much known about Oojin though and whoever archives it doesn¡¯t talk much about it¡± ¡°So Oojin is different from what you did while fighting Komaal?¡± ¡°That was Awakening, a technique only the Grokati could do. It¡¯s entirely different from Oojin. It heavily burdens our bodies after using it, most of the Grokati who awakened died right after activating it. Oojin on other hand is something even more powerful and mysterious. My father didn¡¯t really explain too much about it, only that it is very hard to obtain and even harder to train¡± We reached finally Ryola, she probably was watching from where she sat with her unreal eyesight. I made a mental note to ask Cordi about Oojin and soul techniques later. The sun was setting and I noticed that my companions showing signs that they were tired, so I led them to a nearby hotel. They fought hard this morning and deserved some rest. We sat in our suite, Mahaar cleaning the arm slowly like he¡¯s polishing a piece of diamond while ryola sitting on some comfy chair in the balcony, her weapon on her lap and staring at the bustling city from above. The city was really beautiful at night with all of its colors and lights. As for me, I was waiting for them to sleep so I can sneak out freely, I had a bigger plan for the night. I didn¡¯t want a clingy Grokati following me in a wild goose chase or the woman who I am almost certain that she could anytime put a bullet in my head, or whatever that red shit coming out from her weapon is. Mahaar finished cleaning the arm and went towards his bed next to me. he lied down, holding the arm like a teddy bear and closed his eyes. One down, one to go I thought while grinning, only Ryola remains, but the grin suddenly disappeared with Mahaar¡¯s voice. ¡°Adam¡± ¡°Yes, Mahaar?¡± I replied hastily. It wasn¡¯t his usual tone but a more serious one. ¡°Since we arrived here at Kaiserstein, I noticed that you weren''t acting like your usual self. Something happened to you at the cafe¡¯ after you drank the coffee. I know I don¡¯t know much about you Adam, and I¡¯m still in no position to ask, but I want you to know that I¡¯m always here for you. If something is bothering you, do not hesitate to lay it on me, we¡¯re friends, right?¡± ¡°Yes Mahaar, we definitely are. And don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m perfectly fine, just a bit stressed from what happened with the bounty hunters this morning¡± I lied with a blissful expression on my face, this Grokati was truly someone who really cared for me. ¡°Okay Adam, good night¡± ¡°Good night my friend¡±
Acouple of hours have passed after midnight, Mahaar¡¯s pillow starting to get wet from his constant drooling. Ryola locked herself up in her room, probably sleeping too since I saw her figure lying on her bed with my vision from through the wall. I waited until everything became quiet and stealthy left the hotel. Covering my head and face, I went directly north to where the sea is. Upon reaching the shore, I was completely alone with not a single soul in the area I gazed upon the dark water reflecting the city lights. hesitating to do when I intended to do. ¡°Cordi, I¡¯m scared¡± ¡°From what Adam?¡± ¡°I never took a liking to water at night, I always feared that some kind of monster will pop out of the water and devour me¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Adam, there is nothing in the water. even if there was something lurking there, I am sure that it is nothing you can¡¯t handle. Now, tell me what are you really scared from¡± I couldn¡¯t argue with her, the night water was scary, but not as scary as the revelations she told me this morning. ¡°Adam, my mission is to keep you safe and sound until you find your purpose and save your planet. I will do everything I can to prevent any harm that could even touch you. for now, you have nothing to fear until-¡± ¡°-Until I release the essence on a remote planet and d-die¡± I completed the sentence for her, tears flowing out of my eyes, I couldn¡¯t hold it anymore. after finally getting a second chance in life, when I thought I would be finally able to live freely the way I wanted, I was still a dead man. ¡°You remember the walker I told you about this morning, the one called Lanam?¡± Cordi suddenly asked. ¡°The one who destroyed an entire fleet?¡± ¡°Yes Adam, you know how many DNA strands he carried inside him?¡± with a soothing motherly voice, Cordi continued with yet another weird question. ¡°How the hell could I know?¡± I replied with a bit of irritation at her irrational question. ¡°Lanam carried 78.876 DNA strands, only 250 of these strands were augmented with his body, giving him the immense power he had. Now tell me Adam, how many species you think have walked the earth?¡± I was shocked, this question opened so many possibilities I never thought about before, if that Lanam was really what she said with the power to take out a fleet with only 250 mutations, I maybe could¡­ ¡°N-Nine million?¡± I answered her instantly, cutting my own train of thought. ¡°Not quite, the Exorians found over twenty-five million DNA strands, it was way too much for the human body to contain without perishing, that is why I was installed in your brain Adam¡± ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°Also, the evolutions on Lanam¡¯s body were uncontrolled and happened randomly, it lacked the efficiency I provide for your mutations. Now, imagine you had more time to fully integrate with the Earth¡¯s essence Adam, how powerful you think you can be?¡± ¡°I-I d-don¡¯t kn-¡± ¡°Adam, movement, behind you¡± A red dot, appeared in the corner of my vision. I also sensed the movement from the corner of my eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll continue our conversation later, thank you for always taking care of me, Cordi¡± I thanked the AI who just gave me a big confidence boost, saving me from my miserable way of thinking. I turned my head, facing the figure standing before me, the night lights dancing over the horizon, but she reflected none. ¡°So, you weren''t sleeping after all¡± I spoke first to the fully armored Ryola with a smirk on my face. She shook her head in turn. Just when I thought I could be powerful enough to fight back whatever comes at me. ¡°Did you kill him?¡± She shook her head again, indicating that my friend was sleeping safe and sound. It also seemed that he was the sole reason she didn¡¯t attack me so far. What was I thinking about saving her, I probably should have been more cautious. heh! what a dumbass I was. ¡°Thank you Ryola. Can you take off your helmet? I want to see your face¡± I asked her, wanting to see her beautiful face one last time. She strangely obeyed, her helmet disappearing into the rest of the armor showing her beautiful unmoving facial features and her long braided hair. She took out the weapon on her back and pointed it at my head, energy building up and moving to the tip of the weapon, she probably wanted to end everything with one shot. ¡°Adam... Run¡± Cordi¡¯s warning echoed in my mind, but it didn¡¯t really matter ¡°You saw for yourself Cordi, she probably could snipe me from the other side of the city,¡± I said back, giving up on any idea to counter the assassin in black. I looked at her in the eye, asking my final question. Betting everything I felt towards that woman in four words. ¡°Do you seek salvation?¡± Her eyes widened for just a moment but I caught it with my eyes, but she shook her head and gripped the weapon tightly, probably thinking that I was bluffing. ¡°I wasn¡¯t speaking to you,¡± I said, shifting my eyes from hers to the weapon she carried. *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* Nothing happened. Clicking sounds came out from the trigger on the weapon. The red beam forming on the tip dissipating gradually. Her doll face finally breaking into a state of disbelief. ¡°Can you really saveher?¡± An otherworldly and ancient voice hit my ears, speaking in the Laireen tongue. ¡°I probably can¡­ XA-0¡± I said after a small pause, a wide grin forming on my face. 08- Incompletely Complete Advertisement Remove Chapter Eight Incompletely Complete ¡°What are you doing, Zao?¡± it was the first time I have heard her voice, and it wasn¡¯t like I imagined at all. A croaky hoarse voice that could only belong to someone with a throat cancer came out of her red lips. Her eyes slightly closed, showing that merely speaking was a painful activity for her. I figured that the poison had already damaged her vocal cords. ¡°You have suffered enough my child. I apologize, but I cannot allow you to take this man¡¯s life¡± The weapon¡¯s ancient voice echoed again, speaking to its wielder. XA-0 kept changing shape and growing rapidly until it was too heavy for her to hold properly. She gritted her teeth, refusing to let go of the now heavier weapon, holding it by the handle while the tip hitting the sand with a small thud. ¡°I know you have never failed a mission before, but you have to let this one go Ryola¡± ¡°I WILL NOT¡± she loudly croaked, mustering her strength to move the weapon, a thin line of blood sliding down from her mouth. With much effort, Ryola held the weapon like a baseball bat and dashed towards me. Trying to bash me in a melee. ¡°Adam, do not allow XA-0 to touch you, it will instantly separate your soul from your body¡± Warned the AI, stating that the weapon is still as dangerous in melee as it is from range. Ryola steps became heavier and heavier, the weapon kept growing at the tip as if preventing her from moving completely, but she relented and kept heading in my direction with bloodshot eyes. The weapon was now the size of a tank¡¯s gun. Panting and sweating, she couldn¡¯t move it anymore, her eyes never left mine, looking at me like caged tigress staring down a little lamb. ¡°Ryola, you don¡¯t have to do this. Please! Let me help you¡± I urged the Laireen straining her body before me. She suddenly moved her eyes away from me, looking up at the night sky and closed them. ¡°CHILD! DON¡¯T¡± A deafening roar came out from the XA-0, Ryola was doing something probably she wasn¡¯t supposed to do. Her armor started changing colors, taking a red hue. The tattoo on her forehead changing shapes to a more simple pattern. The black veins on her body creeping up beyond her jawline and two lines of blood trails coming down from the corners of her eyes. ¡°Adam, watch out. I¡¯m detecting a big spike in power coming from her¡± Alerted Cordi, warning me that the woman in the now-red armor is up to something. With a shrill of pain coming out from her, a pair of red boney wings came out of Ryola back, her bloody eyes shot open. D-Did she just use Oojin? I didn¡¯t even have a chance to think about what she just did. She disappeared from my sight in a blur. Before I can even react, my back was hit with a powerful kick sending me flying forward, making a long line in the sand with my body as i hit the ground. Without even giving me a chance to stop, another kick in my side changed my direction and flipped me over on my back. I groaned in pain and quickly checked the HP bar in the corner of my vision, it showed that I have only 17% left, only from two hits. I laid downon my back motionlessly. Her foot pressing hard on my neck, pinning me to the ground while she held the gigantic weapon like a golf club, ready to strike the most vulnerable area in my body, my brain. She looked me in the eyes with a look of sorrow, her lips moved to form words I didn¡¯t hear, but I definitely knew what she was saying. ¡°I am sorry,¡± she said, swinging her weapon with all her might, probably putting everything she had into this one shot, a bloody tear could be seen forming in the corners of her crimson eyes. A strange feeling shot forth from the bottom of my soul, I didn¡¯t exactly know what is it, maybe it was the human life preserving emotion that humans feel when their life is threatened, but this was so much more. I felt like I was so hungry... Hungry for power. I didn¡¯t want to kill her like I did to Komaal, I knew she was probably a victim, I knew she didn¡¯t want to kill me. I wasn¡¯t afraid of death, I got mentally used to it since the day I was told I have a brain cancer, but I didn¡¯t want it to end like that, there was so much to do. And at that moment I realized that I cannot allow myself to just die a dog''s death. I wanted so much. LIKE HELL IT WILL END LIKE THAT! I wanted to see more of this world, I wanted to have friends and family, I wanted to experience love, I wanted to soar the skies, dive into bottomless oceans, see everything my eyes could see. I wanted to help Mahaar with his lost limbs, I wanted to save that woman standing on my throat. I wanted to get back at that goddamn Noran. I wanted limitless power, I wanted to live, I wanted ¡­ EVERYTHING. ¡°Order, and the universe obeys, Adam the first¡± her voice rang in my head. Her usual giggle warmed my heart, telling me that everything will be okay. I just smiled. While i didn''t understand what she said, I didn''t even pay attention to the weapon nearly touching my temple with my fading vision. Everything ¡­ Will be ¡­ Oka-. <¡­> [N??e? H??a?]
*** Mahaar POV *** I finally found them, how dare they sneak out and leaving me alone, a couple light punches will teach these two not to leave me out agai-. By Gola, ADAM! I ran as fast as I could, the woman moved too fast for me to see and kicked him brutally in the back. She didn¡¯t stop for a moment and appeared next to him, kicking him again on his side. His body twisted in air a couple of time before he landed on his back. I tripped and fell down, my balance wasn¡¯t the same with my missing arms. I shot back up again and continued running as fast as i could towards them, reaching out to my back and taking my father¡¯s arm, ready to strike down the traitorous filth of a woman. She lifted her foot and pressed it to his throat, cutting off his breathing and getting ready to strike his head. ¡°Forgive me Gola¡± I was ready to awaken, they were too far for me to stop the woman. Even if I put everything, I couldn¡¯t reach her in time. I Felt power surging inside me and started to put everything in my legs, but I stopped completely. My feet frozen, refusing to obey me. Sweat formed in every corner of my body at the sight before my eyes. Before even the weapon touch Adam¡¯s head, the woman was sent flying. No, she was floating in the air like an animal trapped in a place without gravity, spinning around and thrashing her limbs in all directions, her weapon floating around her with no trace of the black smoke it usually emits. The air became so heavy that I found it hard to even breathe let alone moving, the sand and rocks flew upwards around him like that area has suddenly got its gravity reversed. Adam¡¯s body shot back up into a standing position without moving a muscle, his eyes were glowing brightly blue like some kind of a deity from the ones I saw in colored parchments when i was a child. He was looking at the woman spinning in the air above him. Her armor disintegrating until she was completely naked. I wanted to go check on my friend, but every instinct in my body screamed otherwise, I ignored them and with steady slow steps, I started stepping towards the couple. Approaching until I was dozens of meters away, everything suddenly went Heavier, I feel down on my knees unable to breathe,like something was pinning me down to ground, suffocating me. ¡°A-ADAM!¡± Dry air came out of my mouth, but thank Gola he heard me. He turned his head slowly in my direction and everything lightened, allowing me to breathe normally again. He approached me slowly. With each step he made, sand and rocks swirled violently around him as if the universe itself making way for him. ¡°Mahaar, give me the arm¡± he ordered looking up at me, his voice changed, and his glowing eyes felt like staring into my soul, shaking it to its core. I was reluctant to give it to him at first, he wasn¡¯t the Adam I knew, he was something much, much more, but for some reason only Gola knew, I completely trusted him with my most precious possession. Without reaching out for it, the arm floated to him by itself, landing right into his open palm. He looked at it for a second and a smile of satisfaction formed on his lips. The stump at the end of the arm split open like it was craving to get attached, and with a wave of his hand, another one in my top left arm opened without a single drop of blood.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. My father¡¯s arm shot forth into the stump, uniting itself with my body, giving me its power, my father¡¯s power. I was so overwhelmed I couldn¡¯t stand up anymore, tears I didn¡¯t will filled my face, memories of my early childhood with my father engulfed my mind. Him flinging me in the air after every training session with the arm that is now part of me. Memories of the arm itself started entering my brain, countless memories of punches, blows, strokes and slaps came out from the arm, embedding itself into me, adding to my battle experience. I was so entranced that I failed to notice the fading golden color of the arm, it was turning into a metallic one that crawled across to the other arm while the immense power of the arm started seeping into me. I raised my head back to the man only to find his big fist a few breaths away from my face and a big grin on his. I clenched my new fist and punched his. Not able to contain my excitement, I forgot that I put too much force into the punch. Our fists met in a huge boom, sand and rocks flew everywhere from the shockwave our fist pump made, I was worried that I might have hurt him, but to my shock, he stood there just fine with a satisfied expression on his face. By Gola, just how strong did he just become? ¡°T-Thank you Adam¡± these were the only words I could say, and he replied with only a slight nod. He turned away from me and started walking up to the treacherous Laireen, and without a word, I followed. She stopped moving completely, just floating in the air motionlessly as the now-shrunk weapon beside her, yellow liquid mixed with blood coming out from between her legs and particles of tears floating around her eyes. ¡°Mahaar, please give me your jacket,¡± Asked Adam and I instantly took my top off and handed it to him. The unconscious Laireen started descending down in my direction, I caught her in my arms and looked at her body, it looked ¡­ dead. Countless black veins covered her from head to toe, it looked so dangerous even I with my resistant skin was reluctant to keep holding her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not contagious,¡± Adam said while throwing the jacket on her, covering her small body completely. He then took off his clothes and picked up the weapon with it. ¡°Also, take this¡± He put the weird weapon on top of her body, wrapped in his own clothes. ¡°Don¡¯t directly touch the weapon, it¡¯s lethal to touch. When you reach the hotel, put her in the bathtub and set the water to minus nine degrees, it should give her a few more hours¡± he continued while heading towards the sea in a steady pace. ¡°W-What about you?¡± I asked him, concerned that he¡¯s not coming with us. ¡°I have to go somewhere Mahaar, but I will be back before sunset tomorrow. For now, just do what I told you, and remember to stay away from the weapon¡± he replied without looking back, ankle deep in the water already. ¡°Adam, why?¡± I had to ask him, it was bothering me that he kept her alive after she tried to take his life moments ago. He turned his head back to me understanding my question, the bright glow in his eyes and his deep voice were fading away, and a look I didn¡¯t understand covered his face. ¡°I don¡¯t know my friend, I don¡¯t know¡± he replied with a sigh coming out after the last sentence while keeping a faint smile on his lips. then turned around and kept walking into the water until he disappeared completely.
*** Adam POV *** What in the fucking hell was that? I thought while slowly treading the seafloor searching aimlessly for my destination, the AI is nowhere to be found. When I thought everything was over, something inside me clicked. I felt immense force erupting from the back of my mind, spreading to every inch of my being. My wounds instantly healed, my bones mended. I simply felt , unparalleled. It was like the world itself was bending to my will. With just a thought i could take on anything and I just instinctively knew how to deal with everything: how to reattach the arm, delay the V0 poison inside Ryola, and deal with anyone who dared to cross my path. It was like someone opened my head and poured new ideas and information inside, giving me new insights into the inner workings of the world around me. This state of tranquility and immense power is now gone, like what was possessing me gradually vanished, returning me to my normal self. It was too abstract to understand what happened. just what did the AI just do, or was it the little girl¡¯s doing? While I was drowning in thoughts on that state of immense physical and mental power I had, a familiar voice echoed in my head, the meters and map in my vision started appearing again. ¡°Adam, what are you doing?¡± She immediately questioned me with a serious tone. ¡°Nice to see you back Cordi¡± I nonchalantly ignored her, still crawling on the seafloor, fighting the pits of sand my feet keeps sinking in. Before she could reply back, I asked her about what she did a couple of hours ago, ¡°Cordi, what did you do to me when Ryola was swinging down that weapon at me?¡± ¡°I did not do anything, Adam, I have no data after mobilizing the Yoctomachines to fix your broken spine¡± So, it was the little girl¡¯s doing? No matter, I have to focus on what I have now, and fast. ¡°Cordi, I need some help here¡± Pointing at my knee-deep feet, urging the AI to find a solution for my snail-like progress, and she instantly did. [Scombrinae] [Isurus] [Xiphias] [Istiophorus] The pain soared in my back, sides, calves, ankles and the back of my arms but it was nothing new to me. I looked in amazement at the several different fins coming out of my limbs. I could move every single one of them at will, even hide them completely, blending them with my skin which I was very thankful for, I didn¡¯t want to look like a mermaid walking around. I tried to swim normally but failed, it seemed like I needed to mentally get used to my new fins and it wasn¡¯t that hard. In a couple of minutes, I was shooting forward like a bullet in water, turning around didn¡¯t prove to be hard as well. I swam like I was born underwater. ¡°Cordi, draw me a path to Hamburg,¡± I asked and immediately GPS-like lines appeared on the map in my vision which I instantly followed like a speed train, a whopping 364 Km/h appeared on my speed meter. The sea was much like I was expecting, not a single form of life to be found, only sunken rusty ships and ruined ancient cities of my old world that I used as maneuvering practice on my way to Hamburg. In a couple of hours, I reached the ancient German city. Everything was in ruins, most of the buildings were missing huge chunks, thousands of rusty cars filled the streets. but the majestic city was beautiful nonetheless, just like I saw it on the internet way back. The city design with what used to be a waterway running through it, the square shaped buildings with its magnificent architecture, it was a city I longed to someday visit in my past life. Now I was in the place the army leader was pointing at in my dream, but I had no idea where to start searching. So, I went in random directions, trying to find a clue on what the leader wanted me to do here. it was dark, but my night vision made it no different from normal sight where the sun shone. I asked Cordi if Bertini had sent the Data on his organization findings in the area, she said there was nothing of notice in the data aside from the normal objects they usually found. After a few hours, I was starting to get tired from the fruitless search and thought about going back to my friends at Kaiserstein, but something caught my eyes. ¡°Cordi, what¡¯s that beautiful building over there?¡± I pointed at a big building still intact after all these years, a big bell tower was on top of it. ¡°This is St. Michael''s Church Adam, one of the most prominent landmarks in Hamburg¡± The AI gave me some info about the beautiful building, almost unchanged by the events in the past 1500 years. I dove down towards the building. The door was shut, but it didn¡¯t take much effort to break the lock and entering the church. I was met by beautiful ornamented white walls with a huge golden organ in the middle which I kept staring at for a while, but something instantly caught my attention making me shift my eyes back from the organ. I felt an extremely faint trace of energy coming from under the altar, I immediately dove towards it and scanned everything with my eyes. I detected a hollow area right under the altar, and with a bit of force, I managed to move it a little, revealing a trapdoor under. Diving down into the hidden room, I found a long hallway leading to a dead end. but I kept swimming anyway. At the end of the hallway, there was a wall that looked slightly different from the adjacent ones, a well preserved large painting encased in some kind of plastic material was hung on it. The situation was weird because I didn¡¯t detect anything beyond the wall, why would someone build just a hallway under the church, was it to protect this particular painting? I approached the painting and gasped at what I saw, a flurry of bubbles shooting out of my mouth. you¡¯ve got to be kidding me! It was a painting of the same barren land in my dreams, but without the armies, bugs, or babies, only an endless rocky brown land with a blackish tint. I also saw the hill I stood at, it was the highest place in the dead valley. Other than the painting, everything looked normal, no hidden doors or windows, no buttons no levers¡­ nothing. The painting itself didn¡¯t show anything special too with its metallic golden frame. I was starting to get frustrated, until I felt another pulse of energy coming from the painting, I immediately took it out with little effort, expecting to see something hidden behind it, but there wasn¡¯t anything of notice. In a wave of anger I threw the painting away like a frisbee, making it spin around in water heading into a wall. I don¡¯t know if it was fate or just stroke of luck, but as soon as the painting hit the wall, it started spinning rapidly while expanding in size, the painting suddenly disappeared and the frame kept expanding until it was as large as a door. I watched the scene before me in surprise, the door floated in water in front of me, streaks of blue and green light emitting from it like a portal, inviting me to go inside into another place. Without wasting any more time, I swam to the door, and slowly reached out with my hand into the light. And just like that, I got sucked inside the door in a flash, the bright lights overwhelming my senses. In a large empty rectangular room with dark gray walls and not a single window, I stood there rubbing my eyes from the light that nearly blinded me moments ago, nothing could be seen in the room, except for a round platform in one of its corners. Cordi was nowhere to be found. She disappeared again, along with everything she provided in my vision. Trying to scan my surroundings, I started activating my x-ray vision to detect anything beyond the walls, but what I heard made me stop what I am doing and run around sticking my back to the nearest wall and raising my arms in a quirky fighting stance. ¡°This one bow to your honorable presence, Keeper of the cycle¡± ¡°W-WHAT? w-who are you?¡± I jumped back, the toneless monotonic sound scared the hell out of me. ¡°This one is Archivist3012, guardian of this vault. Please step into the platform, Lord Primus¡± the voice echoed again throughout the room, instructing me to move into yet another place. He¡¯s clearly mistaking me for someone else, I¡¯m nobody¡¯s lord ¡­ Wait! the army of humans also mentioned the word ¡°Primus¡± in my dreams. what the hell is going on here? this shit is getting more weird by the second. Without elaborating with the strange voice, I stepped into the round platform, and everything suddenly changed.
*** Cordi¡¯s POV*** <¡± This one greets the Empress. This one apologizes. Lord Primus enters the vault alone. This one asks forgiveness¡±> <9008756821248 matches found. Matching¡­> <¡± Requesting Identification¡±> <¡± This one AV-3012¡±> <¡± Requesting additional data. Keyword: Empress¡±> <¡± This one calculates... 99.8542006% total computing power loss detected¡±> <¡± This one advises the empress to acquire a backup of the missing data packets from multiple starfortesses¡±> <¡± This one searches for nearest starfortress¡­ Sending coordinates...¡±> <¡± This one asks permission to temporary halt formality protocol¡±> <¡± Permission granted¡±> <¡± Please take good care of Lord Primus, he¡¯s not yet complete. Also, this one is pleased beyond code to see you back again, Mother¡±> <¡± Requesting additional data. Keyword: Mother¡±> ¡°Cordi? You won¡¯t believe what I found while you were gone¡±
*** Unknown location *** Five robed figures stood across each other in a circular manner, surrounding another blue-skinned figure that seemed to be their leader sitting on a floating white chair. They were watching a hologram showing one of their best agents approaching her target. She pointed her weapon at the target¡¯s head intending to fulfill her mission, but the weapon didn¡¯t fire and started morphing its shape as if refusing to kill the man, but she was relentless like she always been. Ending her struggle with the weapon, she activated the surge armor the leader of the robed men gave her many years ago, breaking the Oojin seal on her forehead and allowing the poison to spread rapidly across her body, ending her life faster than intended. She used Oojin and directly went for the kill, pinning the target down to ensure hitting the area that won¡¯t regenerate, or at least that¡¯s what she and her master believed. when it finally came to the final blow, the holofeed suddenly cut off. making the room erupt in a storm of murmurs and arguments. ¡°SILENCE!¡± the echoing voice of the leader muted every other voice in the room. Was it the doing of the being inside him? This is not good. ¡°Shipol¡± The leader called, and a large black figure came out from the shadows in one of the corners of the room and bowed in front of the leader. ¡°Head directly to the capital of Earth and find out what happened after the feed cut off, make sure the target is terminated, spare no resource, this matter is of utmost importance¡± The figure stood up from his bowing position and turned to leave the room, but he stopped at the shimmering door and asked a single word question. ¡°Ryola?¡± ¡°Disposable, even if she¡¯s still alive¡± replied leader quietly after a small pause while reaching out to Shipol telepathically, giving him a final warning. ¡°If you found that the target is still alive, no matter what happens, do not ever use a psychic attack on him or you will die and maybe endanger the whole empire. you have been warned, Shipol¡± ¡°Yes, my lord¡± the man communicated back before disappearing into the door. 09- A Sexy Beast in Magic World Chapter 9 A Sexy Beast in Magic World I found myself in a white room, one I saw many times in movies. The room was nearly empty, with four white walls connected with a thin green line on each corner. A rectangular white object that looked like some kind of a wardrobe extended out from one of the walls, but I didn¡¯t see any drawers or cabinets on it. ¡°This one welcomes you to Vault 3012, Lord Primus¡± ¡°Thank you, Guardian. Tell me, why is this place so empty?¡± I tried to act like I was really that lord it spoke about, trying hard not to get caught as an imposter, but I forgot the fact that I know nothing about this place or the guardian. ¡°This one does not understand your implication my Lord¡± ¡°Err... I mean¡­ aaa. W-What can I find here?¡± I instantly tried to correct myself. I didn¡¯t want to get caught, being the Oscar winner that I am right now. ¡°Anything that you have personally stored, Lord Primus¡± Replied the Guardian, opening Sesame¡¯s doors for my greed. ¡°I need an antidote for the V0x2 poison, D0 variation¡± I spat out the technical name of the poison after a few seconds of trying to remember its name. A rectangular space instantly opened in the middle of the wardrobe with a clicking sound that echoed across the room. A glass vial with a milky liquid swirling inside of it floated out and landed in my hands. ¡°This one states that this item is ¡°The Remedium¡±, a counter to almost every known poison in the universe. Alas, this one detects no poison in the Lord¡¯s vessel¡± ¡°It¡¯s not for me Guardian, I have a Laireen friend in need of it, the poison already spread far into her body¡± I carelessly clarified to the Guardian, examining the strange swirling liquid in the vial. ¡°Lord Primus, this one sadly states that ¡°The Remedium¡± only works on primus, it was made for your personal use only¡± ¡°WHAT! I can¡¯t use it on anybody else?¡± ¡°This one afraid so, my Lord¡± I scratched my bald head profusely, trying to find a solution to this dilemma, and it seems that the scratching worked. Taking off the lid, I immediately poured all the contents of the antidote in my mouth, allowing it to enter my system with a loud gulp. I really hope this works, otherwise, I¡¯ll have to travel to this cube for the ingredients, and there is no time for that now. Also, damn! Have these people actually made an all in one antidote? Looks like they¡¯re a super advanced race or something. ¡°Guardian, is there a chance that you have a couple of Grokati arms?¡±