The first sign of truly delectable food in this world! I follow the tantalizing aroma, practically bursting through the jungle undergrowth. A small, unassuming hut nestled amongst the trees, a peculiar metallic contraption parked beside it. Wisps of white smoke curled lazily from its chimney.


    I bounded up to the door and rapped sharply.


    “Hello?” I called out.


    A sudden cacophony of clattering ladles and clanging knives erupted from within.


    “Er...hello? Is anyone...about?” A rather stout man cautiously opened the door a crack, peering up at me with wide eyes.


    “Now, hold on. Who are you, then? And… how’d you manage that?” The man’s voice trembled slightly as he clutched a knife tightly, his gaze fixed on the trail I’d blazed through the jungle.


    “I’m Val. I walked…” I glanced back at my route, a comical trail of mangled traps marking my passage.


    Oh, wow… I was so focused on the smell I didn’t even register those…


    “Sorry… about those…” I mumbled awkwardly.


    “Right. What’s the purpose of this, then?” The man asked, still visibly shaken.


    “I got a little lost in this jungle, and I caught the scent of your amazing cooking…” I inhaled deeply. “Though… it’s starting to smell a tad burnt now.”


    “Ahh!” The stout man slammed the door shut and scurried back inside.


    After a flurry of frantic noises from within, the man reappeared.


    “Lost, are we?” He studied me with a mixture of confusion and suspicion, his eyes widening as he took in my appearance.


    “Yeah… hopelessly lost… perhaps you could spare a bite?” I peered past him into the hut.


    That food smelled divine. I had to taste it.


    The stout man lowered his knife slightly. “Just… stay put for a moment,” he said softly, before promptly slamming the door in my face again.


    I waited outside, gazing up at the sky. The sun hung high overhead. It was probably around noon. A rather ominous thundercloud seemed to be brewing closer to the beach where I’d started.


    The salty-sweet air from the hut now carries the enticing aroma of perfectly balanced spices. My stomach would be growling—if I had a stomach, that is.


    The door creaks open again. “Come in… Looks like the heavens are about to open.”


    I step into the tiny, sparsely furnished hut. It''s incredibly simple, practically bare. The door closes behind me with a soft thud.


    The stout man bustles past. “Here, sit. Make yourself… as comfortable as you can,” he says, gesturing to a small table with two chairs.


    And there it is. On the table, the pot. The magnificent pot. A tantalizing blend of spices, meat, and vegetables, laced with a hint of something utterly unique, wafts from within. Some scents are familiar, others decidedly not. It resembles a curry or beef bourguignon, but with ingredients that look nothing like earth’s.


    I carefully lower myself into a chair.


    The man, still looking a tad nervous, sets out plates and utensils.


    We sit facing each other. He scoops a generous portion of the stew onto my plate.


    This body doesn’t need sustenance, but my non-existent stomach is practically begging for this.


    “Thank you!” I blurt, unable to contain myself, and eagerly plunge my fork into the plate, spearing a chunk of meat coated in the rich sauce.


    The moment the first bite hits my tongue, a wave of nostalgia washes over me. It tastes remarkably like home, like Earth. The taste, the smell, the texture—it’s an explosion of familiar sensations, all harmonizing beautifully as I chew and swallow.


    It’s even hot! I can actually feel the warmth in my mouth. Apparently, that’s the one part of me that retains some sense of temperature.


    After I’ve devoured the first few bites, the chubby man finally relaxes, a smile spreading across his face. “Goodness me, you look like you''ve missed a few meals!”


    “Ah… sorry…” I sheepishly stop shoveling food into my mouth and glance up at him. He looks quite young, really. Human, mostly, but there’s something subtly… off about him.


    “There’s plenty more where that came from. Don’t be shy,” the man says, shoveling another ladle of food onto my plate. “I’m Bailey. And where might your travels have taken you from?”


    “A faraway place,” I say, popping another spoonful into my mouth. “Somewhere you’ve probably never heard of.”


    Bailey pours himself a glass of something greenish and suspiciously viscous. “Care for a sip? It’s…an acquired taste. And tell me, how did you manage to get all the way out here?”The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    “I’m good, thanks.” I eye the slimy liquid with suspicion. “I just walked. Wandered the world, you know?”


    Bailey takes a hesitant sip of his concoction. “Folks don’t usually just…stroll into the wilds. Especially not this part.”


    “I got lost and kept walking,” I say, gazing out the window.


    Bailey follows my gaze. “I don’t get many visitors, let alone ones who wander right to my doorstep.”


    “I am…” I swallow a large mouthful of food. “Sorry about the traps, by the way.”


    Bailey eyes me closely. “You…seem alright. Considering…”


    “Good…good you’re well. Those…things outside…they’re meant to…well.” Bailey takes a larger swig of his drink. “Ha.”


    Crack…BOOM! A sudden clap of thunder punctuates the awkward silence.


    I should try getting struck by lightning next…that might do the trick…


    Bailey gestures toward the torrential downpour outside. “This…this is the Elemental Wilds. You can get all sorts out here. Rain, sun, thunder, fire…even earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes. All within…well, a day, easy.”


    “That’s…intense…” I follow Bailey’s finger to the window. “Are there others living around here?”


    “Only the Mesoselenian usually settle in the Wilds. But…even they tend to steer clear of this part. Too unpredictable, even for them.” Bailey glances over me. “You…you’re sure you’re alright? Nothing…nothing feels…off?”


    “I couldn’t be better. This food is amazing.” I realize I’ve already devoured the entire pot. Bailey keeps refilling my plate as I eat, and a warm energy spreads through me.


    Suddenly, a realization strikes me. I stare Bailey straight in the eye before dramatically collapsing onto the floor, going completely limp. I keep my eyes closed and my body still.


    Bailey lets out a shaky breath.


    “Now…really. Who are you?” Bailey approaches cautiously and attempts to roll me over, struggling slightly with the dead weight.


    He checks my pulse and breathing. He stumbles back, eyes wide. “That’s…that’s not right. Ionacoca doesn’t kill. It just…knocks you out. There’s no way…” He quickly drips a couple of droplets of extremely bitter liquid into my mouth.


    I keep my eyes stubbornly shut.


    After a few brisk slaps to my face, he recoils. I hear him rummaging through my bag, then the distinct clink of him trying to open the locked box containing the notebook.


    Then, a thud. He’s dropped to his knees. “Those…those are his clothes. And…his card. How…? Why…?”


    I crack open an eye. He’s buried his face in his hands.


    He begins pleading, even attempting some rather pathetic CPR. “Please…no. Please wake up. I…I have to know. Where’s Master Keyser? Where is he?”


    “Who is Dr. Keyser to you?” I ask, opening my eyes fully.


    “Ahhhhhhh!” He screams, executes a clumsy roll, and scrambles to his feet all at once. He snatches the gun he’d taken from my bag and points it at my head. “What…what in the name of all that’s holy…are you?!”


    “Calm down,” I say, pushing myself up from the floor and plopping back into my seat. “I don’t want to hurt you, and you certainly can’t hurt me. Whatever you put in that food clearly doesn’t work on me. So, let’s all take a breath and chat.”


    Bailey takes a shuddering breath before slowly rising and sinking back into his own seat, the gun still wavering in my direction.


    I begin explaining what happened, carefully omitting the details of the afterlife and the visions I saw. I tell him how I woke up in Dr. Keyser’s lab and watched him turn to dust right before my eyes.


    Bailey’s eyes widen, and tears begin to stream down his cheeks. He lowers the gun, slumping in his seat like a punctured balloon. “So…that’s it then. Master Keyser’s…gone.”


    He explains that he’s here to find Dr. Keyser. He’d learned the doctor was living in this area and had been searching high and low for what felt like an eternity.


    All he ever wanted was to work for Dr. Keyser. He’d looked up to him since he was a child. Dr. Keyser was the one who saved his mother when no one else could.


    I offer him Dr. Keyser’s notebook and ask if he can decipher it.


    He carefully reads through the pages. By the time he finishes, the rain has stopped, and the sun is beginning to set.


    “So… you’re Val! Well, I’ll be!” His eyes snap back to me, beaming with an almost unsettling mix of excitement and hope. “You’re… you’re his last work, then!”


    “You can read his notes! What else does it say?!” I grab his arms with both hands, my excitement mirroring his.


    “Oof!” he yelps, his smile faltering slightly.


    “Sorry…” I quickly let go, wincing.


    Bailey rubs his arm gingerly, giving me a slightly wary look. “Right. Well… that last bit… that made sense. The rest…went right over my head."


    I bury my face in my palms, groaning.


    Why did you have such awful handwriting… Are you a real doctor by any chance? These letters are like a chicken scratching on parchment.


    Bailey’s brow furrows with worry. “But… you need to be careful. Keep yourself covered up. What Master Keyser did… well, it isn’t exactly… allowed.”


    He explains that everything to do with creating artificial life and artificially prolonging life is forbidden by the Anunnaki, god-like beings worshipped by humans.


    He adds that I don’t look like anything on this planet. Nothing has scales like mine, and nothing has golden eyes pointing back at his own blue ones—which, he admits, was one of the reasons he was so suspicious. Also, nothing should have made it to his door; all the traps were laced with poison.


    He was especially surprised that the poisoned food hadn’t affected me. He’d put enough Ionacoca in it to knock out anything for a week with just one bite!


    Well, you know, he was hiding in a cave… I suspected he was probably doing extremely illegal things. Especially after what he did to those sea serpents.


    But it all makes sense now, knowing I’m Dr. Keyser’s creation.


    He makes more food, and this time he joins me.


    I tell him that, being newly created, I have no knowledge of this world. So, as evening falls, Bailey shows me a map. It has continents and oceans, much like Earth.


    Bailey points to a large body of water in the middle of a continent. “This is the Elemental Wilds. Like I said, no one in their right mind lives here. Too much… weather. I was actually just packing up to leave myself.”


    I point at the many large and small blue squares scattered across the map. “Are these all cities?”


    "Aye, cities and mines. Now, about those two gold-looking things in your bag… they aren’t gold. Not exactly," Bailey explains.


    I pull out the two bars and place them on the table.


    "Those are Adamantine. Dug straight from the ground of Mesoselenia, then covered in gold. They used to give ‘em to the Annunaki. In exchange, the Annunaki would give folks… well, knowledge. Truth. The Mesoselenians use ‘em for other things, but they can’t dig up much of it.” Bailey looks grimly at the bars. “That’s about what a big mine pulls up in two years.”


    I’m rich! I’m loaded!


    Bailey’s expression turns serious as he sees my grin. "You shouldn''t go showing those to just anyone. They''re worth… more than you can imagine.”


    ………….


    Rumble… Rumble… Rumble… Rumble…