Vesh was more than happy to get the delivery before his comrades had even woken up during the sleeping hours of the night, where he would finally be able to rebuild his beloved ship and make it as good as new again, soaring in the air and making exploration in another part of the universe once again.
A pleasant reminder of how far he went since leaving his home planet in search of greater knowledge, understanding, and power, traveling to far places of the universe, discovering things he didn't even know could exist in reality, and seeing what life would bring him.
Now that he was outside of his crashed ship, using the available materials he had gotten from fixing his only vehicle to get into Hope City, using several modern tools he traded for, and equipped with the knowledge to make everything work in perfection again, it didn't take long for the ship to come alive when the beeping lights returned, much to his excitement.
It took several hours from day to night, and now the moon is at its highest point, with stars and constellations in full view for everyone to see from here. He had never expected it would take hours instead of weeks or months to finish repairing; he supposes he misjudged his calculations in terms of the time and effort it would take to have his ship running again.
Although Vesh is ready to tail out of here and leave his comrades behind, the rational part of him refused to enter back into his flying vehicle as it was not time to do so. The rational part of him was just wasting his time; it was stupid to be waiting for a bunch of useless primitives that would hinder his thirst for knowledge in any way possible.
He had already learned much about these creatures: humans are dumb as rocks, and the planet they ruined so much has seemingly little value to him after seeing everything he needed to see. The planet is just a pile of rocks with dead life forms that have been nothing but an endless resource of death, destruction, and suffering to him.
Vesh should be long gone and never look back at this place ever again; there is nothing here that he could learn anymore or enjoy himself, especially the cold predating atmosphere, preferring the warm planets over this one. He didn't need these primitive savages anymore; it was time to get back into Hope City and depart this begotten planet.
Before he entered his craft, however, a silhouetted twelve-foot-tall humanoid creature with golden feathery wings flew past him from above, nearly missing him as he did, leaving the alien alone on the snowy field as the mysterious passerby disappeared beyond the horizon and to unknown parts of the world.
A look of shock entered his system from the sudden intrusion of an unfamiliar presence; for a moment, he felt something else was at afoot, and instead of getting into his ship and leaving, the first act would be going to where the creature went or checking the wooden cabin just to see if they were okay.
Caressing his own chin with his head facing down at the snow, he said, "Just from the glimpse of that creature, it seemingly passed through the cabin and then to me," heading towards the town of Hillfar, which means one thing if his hypothesis is correct. Something is at play here, and he needs to get to the bottom of this, whether he likes it or not.
Shaking his head, he believes he's going to regret this, but the deep curiosity of discovering new things outweighs any kind of personal cost for it. After all this time spent merely by himself, it wouldn't hurt to try to be a little more curious about the things that pass him by. Even the little details are important, as they may reveal more secrets that will come into play later on.
Without any further ado, he trailed back to the cabin, taking a couple of minutes to reach there, but during his walk, he could hear the distant screams and cries of the townsfolk in Hillfar, causing him to turn and see the smoke in the sky that led straight to the small town. This confirms his theory of the creature having done this as soon as it arrived at the settlement.
It's too bad he was not going out of his way to save them; it's a problem they have to deal with by themselves. He's sure he has other worries to be concerned about than listening to the problems of others. Not that he cares for the locals to begin with; he has better things to do, like checking on his companions and heading into Hope City.
As he continued his merry way, reaching the wooden cabin, Vesh didn't expect new footsteps leading somewhere far from this place. However, he is smart enough to know if these are their footsteps by first checking if everyone is still present inside the said cabin by entering and checking every room and hallway to no avail.
Exiting the small house, he realized the likelyhood of these snow footsteps being his comrades—something he should've followed rather than wasting any more time. But he had others thoughts about whether this was wise to do when there were chances they were likely dead and a dangerous individual or trap was awaiting him.
He is neither a knight in shining armor nor a savior, but if they did perish, it was in their own hands and there was nothing more to it. At the same time, Vesh wouldn't mind getting their bodies for experimentation; it's a win-win situation for him, and even if they aren't dead, he'll get information about what happened to them. Similar to boys listening to bedtime stories about their adventures.
But Vesh has to be cautious; if he dies, then everything at this point was senseless and irresponsible the moment he left his home planet, so the consequences would be severe if he was reported to be dead in the digressed world he got himself into. The shame of his family will be enormous, and it'll only cause them more embarrassment as an alien species with a race known for their uniqueness and prestige.
Not that he cares; he knows he won't end like this because of how smart and professional he is compared to the other planets, comprised of primitive morons incapable of basic functions and having too much self-conceit in themselves, and having very low intellect in comparison to his own race. It's a great feeling to boast about in a time like this.
Putting aside his invading thoughts, he started to carefully follow the trail of footsteps leading somewhere. He's hoping this isn't another trap to make him walk further until it ends in some deep abyss that could be a bottomless pit, although he doesn't have to worry about any of that when he has weapons stored in his digital storage.
The walk took at least an hour, much to his displeasure. He encountered some wild life here and there, as most of them were fearful of his presence, much to his delight, while a few were curious or aggressive, forcing him to conjure his rifle and blast those dumb animals who had the audacity to charge at him, ridding them into atoms by a mere red blast of his gun.
It took a long while, but he eventually had to endure walking up a mountain of all places, wondering himself why they were even heading to such a place to begin with. The steps are starting to look smaller than before, but the increasing drops of snow are making it difficult to focus on one thing in particular.
Taking another hour, now having to walk across a long bridge. When he continued walking in this construction, he soon saw a mysterious elderly man with a short white beard and hair, glasses behind his blue eyes, and gray pants, along with a yellow polo shirt with pulled-up sleeves, revealing only his forearms.
Stopping after seeing him standing from the other entrance of this bridge, seemingly expecting the bridge with deep fascination of the said bridge, forgetting the part that this is a mountain with extreme levels of cold and a man wearing simple clothes in such an environment is strange beyond reason. The blue alien, though cautious, moved closer to him and saw no malice or threat coming from this human in particular.
The mysterious elderly man was tapping his pen over his own chin while holding a notebook in the other hand, detached from reality of what's going on around him as he wrote down his thoughts or anything that crossed his mind. It's a crazy sight to see in a situation like this, to the point that Vesh should even speak to this person.
Seeing there is no danger emitting from this mysterious individual, Vesh decided to start the conversation in a rather rude way: "Speak human; what business do you have of being in such strange circumstances?" Sounding annoyed with the old human for having to encounter him, let alone have a conversation with him.
Looking up from his notes to face the blue alien, he said, "You seem to be someone with unusual ability to move about here. Are you perhaps an explorer beyond the stars?" A curious smile is seen on his face as he talks to the alien. "Asking questions for information in return?" When questioned, the human still maintains his demeanor as he continues to write something down.
He wasn't expecting an answer back, and moreover, how does this human even know he's not a mutant?
Something is not adding up: "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Frowning with slight disbelief at the fact he hasn't been answered, but more importantly, he was somehow able to understand what he was saying while still writing something down. The man just shrugged, deciding to let it go and get back into this talk.
"Who I am is not important as of now," he says calmly, maintaining the same calm smile. "What matters are the reasons for your being here," cryptic and somewhat weirded out by the man's response. This isn't helping Vesh figure out who this human is and what he wants with him. He had enough of this human.
"I have enough of this, you old fool!" With a frustrated expression, he said, "Leave me be and leave this place before I have to take action," preparing to draw out his weapon, "and do not write me down in your journal as a sight to see," threatening to shoot this human if he doesn't listen to his command.
"Are you listening what I just said? I told you to—"
Just like that, he appeared instantly in front of a dark tunnel that led into the depths of this mountain, silencing him from abrupt movement and causing him to step back with a surprised look on his face.
How did he even get in here, let alone teleport him all the way from that spot to here? That human—that strange old man—teleported him right when he was about to pull out his weapon to fire at him. Just who is this man?
"Many call me The Author," a voice spoke from behind him, "but names have little meaning for a being like myself." A quick turn for Vesh, and there he was, standing casually with a journal still in his hand, "where reasons go," turning to look at the journal that held information about himself, "they take our names with them," nodding in display of agreement.
Narrowing his eyes, "what is the meaning of this?" Vesh growled as he approached the human, "Answer me or else," raising his gun at him and cocking it, showing his teeth as if trying to intimidate him. To which he did not respond and simply walked closer to him, not bothered by such a dangerous threat.
"Your comrades are in there," he said while pointing at the cave, "why don't you go check on them?" That didn't help Vesh's case at all; now he's more annoyed than angry; he didn't need his guidance. "Or better yet, why don't I bring you there?" The elderly man spoke in an amused tone, forcing the blue alien to turn around.
"You are not making any sense," again, they are instantly teleported inside the cavern, a large, spacious chamber comprised of multiple mutilated corpses of people wearing red robes, their bodies seemingly cut and shredded into pieces, some burned to a crisp.
Some had been skinned, while others had their flesh torn off. "What...where am I now?" He looks around, noticing his hidden comrades among these bodies, alive and well.
"Take your companions; they have greater purpose ahead of them," the mysterious elderly man appeared right at his side. "Don't let them perish," he said while staring at him with cold blue eyes. "For their story has just begun." Words rang in the alien's head like an alarm, confusing him and leaving him to stare back at the old man with a confused look on his face.
"What are you?"
