《Infinite Tale》


 Chapter 0.0001 | Hold on, what did he say again?

    "No, this must be a dream!" A man who is unusually clothed, with semi-long brown hair and brown eyes.


    He said that with a sarcastic tone.


    His name is Kija.


    "No no! Your planet shall be conquered and partitioned. Hahahaha! Ah, oh..." This guy  is dressed in something that looks like a military uniform. But it doesn''t look like anything from this world. It is perhaps closer to the outfits of the resistance, but the others? Far from it.


    Not to mention the many medals attached to his clothing.


    He has an unusual, spiky white hair. His eyes are bright red.


    What is most odd about him is that he is standing on some thing that is levitating.


    His name is Disedinel.


    "Take him." And this is what seems to be a companion for Disedinel. He wears a huge black cloak, which covers about all of him.


    How would he look around with that?


    "Sure thing, Vumdr. Just pass him to me."


    And just as Disedinel said, the name is Vumdr.


    The one the two strangers were talking about is Kiing. He is currently unconscious in Vumdrs'' arms.


    Kiing, most notably, has a strange purple armor.


    It might unsettle regular folks nearby.


    Not that there is anybody nearby.


    He also has grey hair, which is quite odd.


    Vumdr made Kiing slowly levitate towards Disedinel.


    "Very thoughtful of you, Vumdr!"


    "I don''t want him to take any damage. That is why carefully." Vumdr quickly replied.


    "A-ah, right. I thought you did it for me... I''ll now go back to the Empire. See you some time later." The Empire.


    Disedinel went inside by entering a door that appeared out of the roof of the... thing.


    It really doesn''t look that big from the outside, unlike when you''re inside it.


    ... Kiing seems to be coming back.


    "Hello friend!" Disedinel seems quite kind. A deaf person wouldn''t think so, as Disedinel is dragging Kiing on the floor instead of making him levitate or something like that.


    "Wh... what?" Oh, dear Kiing.


    Disedinel put Kiing on a dark-colored chair made out of nothing like in or on the planet.


    The table, the chairs, the material of the place, and so on as a whole are foreign.


    There are things like lamps on the ground that give light to the place.


    They are positioned around the corners of the room.


    And another bigger one on the ceiling, right above the table.


    There is a door without a handle on one side of the room.


    And on the opposite side, another door without a handle.


    "I am Disedinel! You?" Disedinel smiled.


    "Mmmm... oh, what...?"


    Disedinel continued to stare at Kiing in response.


    "W-W-W-WHAT!?" Kiing would''ve fallen to the ground with the chair... if the chair wasn''t attached to the floor!


    "What is it?" At this point, is Disedinel just trying to be silly?


    "You said that you''d take over the planet, the entire world. And, there was that flying thing-"


    "Hold on. That was just a joke, haha. Sorry. But you''re being silly right now. Come on. You''re not even from here, what''s with you being shocked? And from here, I mean this planet we were on. Or should I say you were on, you know? Cause I wasn''t actually on the ground... or maybe being in the atmosphere would make it mean that I was on the planet."


    Kiing stuttered. But before he can finish, Disedinel interrupts him and goes on to talk more.


    Kiing took his time to answer.


    "Why wouldn''t I? It''s my home."


    "Oh, your home." Disedinel usually replied just about instantly, but now he gave it a few extra thoughts.


    "You don''t even know your geography. Can you name anything else besides Fuhavala?"


    "You got it wrong. It is Fuhvhavala."


    "You''re not being serious. You''re not even from there to know much. Ahem, Fuhvhavala isn''t even the only continent on, ahem, your planet."


    "You''re just joking. Show proof."


    "Hahahaha, wait, wait... First, is your planet flat? What do you think"?


    "It''s flat... obviously."


    "I see. I will show you the planet now."


    Before they could begin, one of the doors opened.


    "A flying plate with something yellow on it? Oh, I am dreaming." That is a fine assumption.


    A flying plate... that really is strange.


    The plate levitated towards the table.


    "The food smells nice." Kiing was just sitting. Just looking up. Oh, and Disedinel said it, not Kiing.


    "This isn''t a dream." Disedinel tried to bring Kiing back from his space out.


    "What, do you want me to feed you?"


    ...


    "Hey, Lee! Come here!" Lee? That might be somebody from the personnel of the ship.


    A faint voice could have been heard from the open door. This thing really is bigger on the inside than how you''d tell from the outside.


    ... And the room was filled from bottom to top with noise from a pair of boots.


    "What is it, Disedinel? Is something wrong with the dish?"


    "What, no no. Our guest here needs some help."


    Kiing is looking at Lee as they are talking.


    "I see. I''ll make something for him. I''ll take your dish for a moment, no problem?" Although Lee asked if Disedinel was fine with having his dish taken away from him, Lee anyway took it before Disedinel got to answer.


    "... Yeah. Kiing, this is my chef! He''s the best around."


    "Wait, I''ve seen you." By what is a miracle at this point, Kiing spoke.


    "I''ve seen you too." Lee responded as he had the potato salad on his hands.


    "Wait, what? What''s with you two knowing each other?" Disedinel was surprised. Why?


    "Ahh, yeah. Sorry, Disedinel, I went to some big restaurant in the country Kiing was in to learn a thing or two there, but oh well, their cuisine was poor, so it wasn''t worth it so much." It would be nice if Disedinel elaborated.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it."I told you not to get out of the base. It''s fine. Hope you had a nice time without me!" Poor Disedinel.


    "Thanks, haha... but, anyway! I''ll make a dish for Kiing real quick." Lee, with the potato salad of Disedinel in his grip, let it levitate.


    And suddenly, the dishes doubled.


    "I need an explanation for that."


    "Here''s your dish, Disedinel. And Kiing, let me make a bit of a change to yours." Lee went on to make the potatoes much smaller than they originally were. And now, it really just looks like some crushed potatoes.


    "What did you do?" Kiing asked again. But this time more nicely.


    "I turned it into a specialty of mine. Everybody calls it golden rice. It''ll help you in trouble." So it''s a mood booster?


    Lee placed the new dish on the table.


    "I am looking forward to any comments. Don''t be shy to ask for more."


    "I won''t hold back, thanks!" Disedinel thanked.


    But Kiing went straight to the digging.


    "Oh, this time you hit the spot with the seasoning!"


    Lee smiled in response.


    "Thank you." Or not.


    "Come on, Kiing, say something."


    "Lee, this doesn''t feel like rice. What is it?" And Kiing did as Disedinel said.


    "I won''t tell you what it is. It''s a secret!"


    "What do you think it is?" Kiing looked at Disedinel.


    "I don''t know, I am only a consumer when it comes to food."


    ...


    Both finished eating.


    "Thank you for the dish. I feel better now, no doubt. Really, what did you put inside?"


    "Hehe, maybe now that you feel better, you''ll listen carefully. It''s a secret! A secret, understand?"


    "Kiing, do you want the definition of secret too?" Disedinel giggled.


    "Hey, don''t bully me."


    "Anyway, Kiing, sit down comfortably, as I''ll belt you up." What?


    "... What..?"


    "Ahh, I mean, we''re actually moving the ship back to its dock, and we''re far away. I''ll tap a button, which kind of makes the ship move fast. Like very fast." So Disedinel referred to the seat belts.


    "Wouldn''t there be too much resistance for the ship to survive a long distance?" That''s a good question.


    "Well, no. There is no resistance in space. However, there are wandering things that could get in the way. So like that, the ship really wouldn''t be able to make it to its destination. But our solution is to cover it with compulsion, including the inside. Like that, the ship is basically armored and is ready to go wherever whenever... Only problem is the price." And Disedinel answered. What a lengthy answer.


    So there is no resistance in space.


    "It is covered with compulsion? What is that?" Another good question from Kiing.


    "Well... I never really thought about the definition. I think it is something like a force. It could be practically anything, as long as there''s enough force.


    But it also needs skill. For example, I''d say I am strong, but I''ve never practiced this. So, I can''t really do it, while somebody ten times weaker than me could do it as long as they''ve practiced it."


    "Aha, okay. Why lock the seat belt if the inside is covered too?"


    "Because it''s too expensive to buy a quality coating." Disedinel doesn''t seem to like to talk about money... telling by his sighs here.


    "Okay."


    "Alright! Now that Lee and you are prepared, I shall too! Wait, Lee, you''re ready, right?" Disedinel now seems optimistic.


    "I am."


    "Good!"


    He headed to the other closed door, opened it, and went inside some other room.


    "Hey, Kiing." Lee said, right as Disedinel closed the door.


    "Hello."


    "What happened before Disedinel got you here?"


    "You really want to know?"


    "Yup."


    What happened...


    "Woah, what the heck!?"


    "I didn''t sign up for this!"


    Kiing and another brown-haired man were launched from the ground.


    "Kiing, it seems like that guy there just launched us!" What appeared to be Kija couldn''t speak.


    "Y-yeah!"


    I guess that a shock could really push somebody into a corner.


    And as they approached the ground... A really strong flame hit them! But it didn''t burn them. It only somehow kept them from landing roughly and injuring themselves very badly.


    "Ow... my butt." Kiing scratched his buttocks...


    "You too?"


    "You two! Your aura is strange, and the other one... you''re weird too." A stranger.


    "Haha, yes." Kija admitted it.


    Kiing stood up.


    "Alright, tell us about that explosion. What was going on?"


    Kiing suddenly pulled out a double-bladed sword from his body. It resembled scissors, but it doesn''t look like it will work like that.


    The stranger didn''t bother to reply quickly.


    "These two. You see them?" There they are. A big blond man. And somebody else, quite small compared to the blond man.


    "Yeah."


    "They are of the resistance forces. They''re planning to take down the key gate cities of the Ezgelei peninsula and thus cut the supply lines for the friendly armies north, north east, and east of here."


    "I see."


    "That smaller guy. He can use some strange element. None like the rest of us."


    Kiing rushed to the smaller guy... "Is it true? Show me!"


    "Yeah... there." And he showed some strange lava-like powers by releasing some into the ground. The usual elements are fire, earth, ice, nature, lightning, wind, and water. Not lava.


    ...


    "What about you, blond guy?"


    ...


    "Hey! I am talking to you."


    As the blond man was sitting... he stood up.


    "Yeah, alright. Tell me your story."


    And the blond man...


    Punched Kiing! Kiing fell and rolled a few meters on the ground.


    The blond man stomped on the ground.


    And an earthquake hit together with him.


    "That isn''t a coincidence, I am leaving." The smaller resistance guy flew away. He can do that?


    "Hm. Planning to split the Ezgelei peninsula from the continent? Well..."


    "Take this big guy!"


    Kiing dashed, attempting an attack with his sword!


    ...


    But on the way, he fell over!


    Wasn''t that lame?


    Or perhaps there''s a reason.


    Kiing suddenly levitated as he was on the ground... Together with that, the earthquake stopped.


    Something was flying. Something quite big.


    "That looks strange. Is that a big bird?"


    Kiing went within reach of Vumdr.


    "And you, you''re flying, but you''re not using any elemental power. Who are you?"


    Instead of Vumdr, Disedinel, who was on top of the flying ship, answered.


    "I am Disedinel. Not that you''d remember me anyway. Vumdr, you will take care of them, right? I''ll transport the target, and you can do whatever."


    ...


    ...


    "Are you aliens?!"


    Aliens? Do they mean foreigners? Oh... Oh... Yes!


    "That is right! I am an alien, representing our civilization! We declare war! Muhahahaha!"


    ...


    "Thanks for filling it, Disedinel."


    "Yeah, after all, Kiing wasn''t really conscious at the end. Their reaction was hilarious!" Disedinel giggled again.


    "Lee, Kiing. Are you ready? I need to make sure." Disedinel''s smile goes on to widen more.


    "I am, just don''t make the same mistake and let it go off while the dishes aren''t in their places."


    "That happened? Anyway, I am ready too."


    "Alright guys. Three, two, one... Here we go!" Disedinel tapped once on his watch. A watch that was hidden by his sleeve this entire time.

 Chapter 0.0002 | Some Extra Light To The Dark

    "Disedinel, I don''t think there''s anything here."


    "Oh, you might be right."


    They just arrived at their destination.


    Disedinel, unlocking the belts, stood up.


    Then he left the room again.


    "Hey, Lee. Just how can you tell?"


    "It is what Disedinel was talking about, compulsion. As he said, it can be practically anything."


    "How do you guys live like that? I can''t imagine living in a world with such a thing without constant chaos." Kiing is right.


    Lee, unlike his last response, instead gave it a thought.


    "Kiing, what Disedinel said is not false, but he didn''t explain it properly. It is very complicated, but to make it simple... Compulsion is affected by your nature. So... you can''t really do something unnaturally easily."


    While Lee was talking, Disedinel came back into the room.


    "I got the location of the new place. It''s not too far away. And, what were you two talking about?" Disedinel smiled as he went on to tap on his watch continuously.


    "Kiing asked how I knew there wasn''t anything here."


    "Alright. Let''s go!"


    It didn''t take longer than a few minutes to get to the new place.


    "You guys do this every day? And also, what are we even looking for?"


    "The shop, Kiing. Didn''t I say we were going there?"


    "Oh, uh, Disedinel... I think that we are in trouble." Lee suddenly began becoming slightly more red.


    "What do you mean? Ah."


    "What? What is it?"


    "I guess we should''ve left you with the professor first."


    Disedinel stood silent.


    And suddenly, a crack appeared on the ceiling.


    "Are we going to be fine with that crack?!" Kiing was struck with waves of anxiety.


    "Yeah. We are fine."


    Now, the crack had become a hole. You could see all of space through it!


    "Gaah! What is that?!" Kiing would likely suffer injuries from his jump if the chair wasn''t one with the floor.


    What Kiing reacted to was some creature. A humanoid creature. It is abnormally tall and well built.


    "Disedinel, I thought there wouldn''t be any more accidents." It is clothed with... just a towel. It seems.


    Disedinel stood up. "Yeah."


    The thing looked around. It locked its eyes on Kiing.


    "Look, Disedinel. I will let this slide if you give that strange human to me."


    "I won''t hand him to anybody outside of Nulkai." Disedinel sounds upset.


    "Really? Then what do you have to offer?" The thing smiled at Disedinel.


    ...


    "Why should I give you anything if you set it up?"


    "Oh... No. We would never do anything so horrible."


    Lee unlocked his seat belt, stood up, and walked over to Disedinel and the humanoid.


    "I will accompany you for a while to compensate for our embarrassing miscalculation."


    "No, Lee!"


    "Hmm... That is fine by me!"


    "Don''t worry, Disedinel. Therion, I will certainly come back to Disedinel in the future. I think that this sets the deal." So the creature''s name is Therion.


    "Fine by me. But remember, I will determine when to let go of you."


    "Fine." Disedinel didn''t say anything more.


    Both Therion and Lee left the ship through the hole. The hole then disappeared from the ceiling.


    "That thing, what was it, Disedinel?!"


    "Nothing more than a hassle to me."


    "Why did you let him take Lee? Anyway, I meant... How is his body like that?" Kiing seems to be calming down now.


    "He''s not a human. We are not biologically the same. There is nothing more to it." Disedinel''s smile is now gone.


    "Well? What about my other question? You can''t let him abuse you like that!"


    "I have to. You wouldn''t understand, so don''t try to intervene."


    "That may be the case... But come on! Let''s both get out of this ship and take back Lee while they are still here!"


    "My already dim future will go darker than anything if I do that. I have to go to the other room for a minute. Don''t do anything."


    Kiing doesn''t seem to be content.


    "That''s right, we should prepare to strike back!"


    Disedinel did as he himself said.


    Kiing is looking at the place on which the crack, then hole, appeared.


    "Alright, let''s do it." It is Kiing who said it.


    "No. We won''t do it. The next destination is where we''ll probably part ways forever."


    "Why?"


    Disedinel didn''t answer.


    And Kiing didn''t complain either.


    Then, just like that, the ship began moving at great speed.


    ...


    The ship stopped.


    Disedinel stood up from the chair after unlocking the seat belts.


    Then he tapped his watch a few times.


    And right as he stopped tapping, an exit appeared in the form of a square.


    He left the ship through the exit.


    But Kiing. He was unconscious.


    Thus, Disedinel made him levitate, forcing him to fly out of the ship.


    The place in which the ship is parked, along with many others, is a closed space. It seems like a sizeable enough door opens for ships to come in and out. The ceiling is quite high.


    The color of everything is dark. Dark blue, or black.


    "Ooh, Disedinel! Here I am!" Somebody with long brown hair was running towards Disedinel.


    "Oh, hey, Sir Reynard!" Disedinel smiled again.


    "Woah, who is the one in your company? Don''t tell me..."


    "That is right, Reynard. It is the special somebody from that place."


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.So this individual''s name is Reynard.


    Kiing is on the ground.


    "... Why is he unconscious?" After Reynard said that, Kiing started standing up. Slowly.


    "Hello there!"


    "Hey."


    "My name is Peter Reynard, but I will let you choose what to call me."


    So his name isn''t Reynard. It''s Peter.


    "Will Peter do?"


    "Of course! Now, what is your name?"


    "Kiing."


    "What a unique name! I''ll have you come with me! This is a goodbye, Disedinel, right?"


    "Well... Yeah. Goodbye."


    And now Disedinel is alone.


    He took a deep breath. And out it goes.


    I guess I''ll check on Kaika.


    Disedinel walked slowly to a door for people instead of ships.


    It took a while to get to the door with his current pace, while Peter and Kiing are nowhere to be seen.


    The door has a handle this time.


    And so he walked. There were other people he would pass by. But Disedinel doesn''t stop for anything more than "Hey!" "Hey.".


    After a while, he stopped in front of a door and gave it two knocks.


    No one answered. At least verbally.


    The door was unlocked.


    "Coming in."


    Disedinel opened the door.


    He entered what seems to be an apartment.


    As you enter, you''re in a hallway with one door to your left and one door to your right. The colors of the apartment were beige.


    Disedinel walked a bit more. As you walk further into the small hallway, you have a case opening to your left and right. The left one leads to a bedroom, and the right one to a kitchen.


    Disedinel turned to the left.


    "Hey, Kaika."


    On the bed in the bedroom, there was a kid. Or, no. Is he maybe an adult who is just smaller? A teenager, most likely. And he has white hair. Another strange thing about him is that he''s in his pajamas.


    ...


    The teenager, who seems to be named Kaika, didn''t respond.


    Well... He didn''t respond verbally.


    "Please speak to me using your mouth instead of compulsion."


    "Fine."


    Kaika is reading a book.


    In the dark.


    "I guess that is why your cel is so high. Why don''t we turn on the lights?" Cel?


    "Sure."


    Disedinel turned them on.


    "So... You have something on your mind. You''re free to talk to me about it."


    "Yeah. Lee was taken away from me."


    "Ahh. That sucks. By who?"


    "By Therion."


    "Therion? You messed around with him again?"


    "No! The idiot set up a trap! I tried to go to the shop closest to the strange world, but when I got there, there wasn''t anything, but a compulsion talking about where they moved the whole place."


    "That shop? Never heard of it being moved. They staged a trap to lure you in. I didn''t think Therion would get his hands on the coordinates of the foreign world, but it seems like he does now..."


    Disedinel paused for a few moments.


    "No. He shouldn''t know where it is."


    "Then how would Therion redirect your flight? Not that it matters. And you managed to bring that certain guy, right? Yeah."


    "Damn it, if it wasn''t for this stupid union!"


    "Good thing I had your words blocked off from the outside; otherwise, you''d live the rest of your life in a cell or something."


    "Are you seriously trying to flex your compulsion on me? I am already aware that yours is double my count."


    "No. Sorry. Anyway, I assume you want me to accompany you now. Am I wrong?"


    "No. You''re not wrong. I anyway want you to see the world for yourself."


    "Hmmm. What about Vumdr? I want him to be with us."


    "Of course you''d want him to be with us. What are you planning?"


    Kaika finally dropped the book after closing it.


    And now he is standing instead of lying on the bed.


    "Alright. I will be your companion from now on. But don''t take it as me being under you. Do you want us to wait for word from Peter about the test, or should we go to where we are waited at? Of course, after a break."


    "Yeah. Well, Kaika... You can talk to Reynard about Kiing. And yes, that is his name. I''ll leave it for you to determine it."


    "Okay. So we are going in less than a week, right?"


    "Yeah. I''d love a break."


    "Alright."


    ...


    "Now get out of my bedroom. And my apartment."


    Disedinel left.


    "Hey, Disedinel."


    "Hello."


    It was somebody who passed by.


    No further talking.


    Guess it''s time to take a rest for a bit.


    "Oooh, and if it isn''t us who meet again!" Peter again?


    "Ah, Sir Reynard."


    "Disedinel, I want you to come with me. I want to discuss Kiing with you and Kaika."


    Oh, seriously? Here we go, walking back again.


    "I was just there, haha."


    "Oh, you want to rest?"


    "No, no. I''ll come."


    Peter smiled.


    "Let''s go!"


    "W-wait, you''re jogging at this point."


    After a bit more than a minute...


    "Coming in!" Peter opened the door without knocking.


    "That is... Whatever."


    "Oh, helloooo?! The Universe calls for our dear Emperor Kaika! Hello?"


    "Peter?"


    "Eh? What are you doing, Kaika? I thought you were on a diet!"


    "Haha!"


    Disedinel laughed.


    "It is not what it looks like."


    "Kaika... Oh, it''s so funny seeing you like this." Disedinel kept on laughing.


    "... This is my own diet pizza."


    "Oh, well. Whatever! Kaika, Disedinel, I guess we can talk now."


    "Of course."


    "I want to enjoy my meal alone, but it is fine. Tell us what you have to say."


    "Very well! ... Disedinel, you had probably noticed it. And I am certain that Vumdr noticed it."


    "What is it, Peter?" Kaika hurried Peter to go on.


    "Kiing can use something very similar to compulsion. Oh, Kaika, it''s that guy we''re talking about. Hah, I forgot to tell you from my shock. Or wait, Disedinel was already here, so you know already, don''t you?"


    "Disedinel already told me, yes. But compulsion not compulsion? Hmm."


    "Kaika, you shouldn''t eat with your mouth full."


    "Haha, Disedinel, he shouldn''t be in pajamas either!"


    Disedinel giggled.


    "You intruded into my house after all."


    "Kaika, you were in pajamas when I was here earlier too."


    "Seriously? Oh, Kaika... But, anyway. Let''s take this more seriously, everybody."


    "It''s you who aren''t taking this seriously, Peter."


    "He''s right, Sir Reynard."


    "Yeah. So, he has this thing, like... smoke, perhaps. And it spreads around him, then whatever is in his range, he could manipulate."


    "Are you serious?"


    "... Yeah. Not to mention that he is very durable. He can''t die easily at all. Even if you smash him, he''ll somehow come back."


    "How do you know that?"


    "Uhh.. I won''t answer that question, Disedinel." Peter smiled.


    "Anyway. Disedinel. I want to accompany you on your adventures in that world. I''ve come to the conclusion that, for the sake of finding out the secret, I need to accompany you."


    "Agh, Kaika, please turn that air conditioner off."


    "Fine. But you know it''s likely that you''ll leave in the next few minutes, Disedinel."


    "Thanks. Anyway, Sir Reynard, I''d love to have you with me!"


    "Thank you for having me with you."


    "Alright, alright. Now, you guys leave. I have to clean the table."


    "It definitely isn''t just the table that needs cleaning. Hehe." Disedinel giggled again.


    "Hah, that''s right."


    "I''ll just clean it with compulsion."


    Everybody stood up from their chairs.


    "Peter, I''ll have you know that I am also a companion of Disedinel for this. And also, I will have Vumdr come with us. Of course it isn''t guaranteed, but I am certain you know why his assistance will be useful."


    "I see. Let''s meet up tomorrow with Vumdr and make it clear when we''ll go."


    "Well... Sure!"


    "I don''t mind that."


    "Goodbye, Kaika."


    "See ya tomorrow!"


    "Yeah, yeah."


    "It is still funny how he''s in his pajamas, isn''t it, Disedinel?"


    "Yeah, definitely."


    The two whispered to each other... something that Kaika caught with his compulsion.


    "I heard that!"


    "Quick, let''s get out, hehe."


    They opened the door and are now in the long corridors of this place.


    "Disedinel, I am heading straight to my place, so see ya."


    "Alright, Sir Reynard. See you tomorrow."


    And so Disedinel walked to his own apartment with a smile.

 Chapter 0.0003 | It Can NOT Be Anybody Else!

    Disedinel is currently on his bed, in his blue pajamas.


    His apartment is almost one-to-one with Kaika''s.


    Disedinel was sleeping. What woke him up were several knocks on his door.


    "Yeah, come in."


    So he is letting whoever is knocking on the door come in, even though Disedinel is still on the bed in his pajamas.


    "Hey, Dinel. It looks like I woke you up." It is a girl. She is wearing scrubs.


    Her hair is the same color as Disedinel''s.


    Anyway... Dinel?


    "Why are you here? To see me?" Disedinel didn''t emit much energy as he spoke.


    "No. Kaika told me to check on you this morning."


    Her eyes are also just like Disedinel''s...


    "What? What is Kaika thinking?"


    "You''re saying there''s nothing concerning you want to share with me?"


    "No. There''s nothing to have hurt me or anything."


    Then why did Kaika do this?


    "Then he wants us to talk. What happened while you were away?"


    "Lee was taken away by the same guy I had an accident with."


    "So that is why I didn''t see him this morning. Look, Disedinel, you''ll have to take him back from them."


    "What do I do? He decided that he should get taken away from us, and he just walked to him and said that he will be the one to go."


    ...


    "Alright. But do something to get him to come back. And get off the bed. It is already six."


    Did I forget my alarm?


    "I''ll think of something. Bye, sis."


    "Be smarter next time. Bye, Dinel."


    So she is his sister. She had already left the apartment.


    She isn''t wrong. Let''s get up and start the day.


    Disedinel prepared his clothes. It seems like he''ll wear his on-duty clothes again.


    It took him a while to wear the clothes.


    He looked at himself in the mirror.


    "Looks fine." He walked to the front door, took the keys, and left the apartment.


    Is that...?


    "Sir Galland! Good morning!"


    Somebody to the left turned around.


    "Disedinel? Aren''t you supposed to be away?" Galland is a tall, bald man. His body is superbly built.


    "I came back yesterday. It was quite late, so no wonder you don''t know I am here yet."


    "I see. Good morning. Is there something you want to ask?"


    "Yeah. I know you''re closed today, but can I have the keys to the special exercise place? I''ll be in debt if I can have them for today."


    ...


    "Ha! Got beaten up from your expedition, and you came back to train? Is that it?"


    "No! Of course not! But still, yes or no?"


    "Know that if you do any damage or any mischief, you''ll pay for everything!"


    "Of course."


    Galland checked for the keys inside his bag.


    "Ah! They aren''t here!"


    "You must have left them somewhere else, right?"


    "No, I remember putting them here!"


    Some of the people passing through the corridor stared at Disedinel and Galland.


    "Haha! Joking, joking! There they are. If only you saw your face!"


    "Sir Galland!" Disedinel looks upset.


    "There, there. See you around, Disedinel."


    "Right. Thank you."


    Galland went on to walk towards where he is needed.


    Disedinel walked in the opposite direction.


    After using an elevator and then walking for a few minutes, Disedinel stopped in front of double doors.


    He tried the keys.


    Good thing he didn''t give me the wrong keys.


    The keys worked, so he opened the door.


    He made sure to close it and then lock it.


    "Alright."


    The room looked different than what a normal person would imagine. It was like a corridor on its own, but on the walls, there were machines. Many machines.


    Disedinel walked to one of them.


    The machine looks strange.


    It is in the shape of a rectangle.


    A tall rectangle.


    At the height of the head, there is a screen.


    Anyone would think that there would be buttons to do things, but there aren''t.


    The screen suddenly changed from black to white.


    Then black words popped up.


    The black words were...


    HOW TO USE!


    "Nah, I don''t need that."


    We need that!


    The words disappeared.


    A few seconds after they disappeared, a cube appeared.


    The cube began changing shapes.


    Then colors.


    And size too.


    Disedinel focused in no time.


    Unfortunately for him, a few heavy knocks undid his concentration.


    He can break through the compulsion field of this room?


    "Fine, fine."


    Disedinel unlocked the door, then opened it.


    It is a push door, so Disedinel had to pull.


    "Well, if it isn''t Disedinel secretly training."


    "Sir Reynard and Kaika. Hello."


    "Disedinel, it is almost eight. Oh, I didn''t tell you, a few hours ago, I managed to talk with Vumdr. I wonder why I forgot about you."


    "Hey, Disedinel, what is your cel count?"


    "I... didn''t check in a while."


    Cel count?


    "Let''s check it!"


    They went to another machine.


    This machine is different.


    This machine is almost the same, but it has something for you to step on in front of it.


    And Disedinel stepped on that thing of a machine.


    The machine''s screen turned on, and it said...


    PLEASE WAIT...


    "Hey, Kaika, why don''t we check yours too?"


    "Fine. Let''s make it quick."


    "Huh... Thirty-three thousand. And a couple hundred."


    "That is an impressive amount, definitely."


    "I guess."


    "Alright, Kaika, your turn!"


    Peter is really curious about their cel count.


    Kaika did as Disedinel did.


    ...


    "Sixty-eight thousand and one hundred and seventy-six?"


    "I knew it."


    "Hmmm. Disedinel, I don''t know why, but I perceived your cel count as higher than it showed on this thing. Anyway, let''s go."


    "Yeah."


    The group went to what seems to be the ship hangar.


    "Sir Reynard, do we use your ship?"


    "Yours is certainly bigger. Mine wouldn''t fit four people. Or three. Anyway, Kaika, where is your ship?"


    "I sold mine."


    "Kaika, speaking of you, why did you ask my sister to visit me this morning?"


    "So you talk with her. You know, it''ll be useful to have your sister with us."


    "She has responsibilities that wouldn''t allow her to come with us, you know."


    Disedinel is right.


    "But she is talented."


    The group arrived at Disedinel''s ship. Disedinel seems to be using his watch to control the ship.


    And he did just that.


    "The entrance is right under the ship."


    "This is why I dislike this type."


    "We don''t have another choice, do we?"


    They entered the ship.


    "This isn''t a bad place."


    "Yeah. By the way, you use compulsion for the doors, Sir Reynard. Is that a problem?"


    "No problem."


    "Upstairs are the bedroom and the kitchen. And as you enter through that door, on the right is the toilet."


    "Got it!"


    "Alright. The other door is the control room, right?"


    "That''s right, Kaika."


    It seems like this ship offers fair services.


    "Disedinel, you don''t know where Vumdr''s place is, no?"


    "Well... I think I do."


    "I''ll come to make sure you get it right."


    Disedinel and Kaika went to the control room.


    "And you guys left me alone. I''ll check out upstairs then."


    Sir Reynard went upstairs.


    As you enter the room, you''re met with Lee''s kitchen.


    "So this is where he worked... Seems like he took all of his cooking instruments with him."


    Strangely, there are still cooking instruments in the kitchen.


    "And that must be the bedroom. Does it even have enough beds for us?"


    As you enter the kitchen, on the left is a door without a handle. Again.


    Peter opened it with compulsion.


    "Eight beds. More than enough."


    Before Peter could continue looking around, he heard his name being called out.


    "Coming!"


    So he came downstairs.


    "Prepare for takeoff, everybody!"


    "Right!"


    "Right."


    "Three, two, one..."


    "Don''t waste time."


    "Fine. Go!"


    ...


    The ship stopped the fast mode.


    "I feel it."


    "Yup. Man, if only there was auto-landing for places outside of the Empire hangars..."


    Disedinel went to the control room again.


    "Peter, what do you think about Vumdr''s cel count?"


    "It''s something different. Makes you wonder how he got there, huh?"


    "But it is still an unbelievable amount..."


    "... You know, to have about seventy-thousand at age fifteen is also unbelievable."


    "Ah. I guess you are right."


    "Seems like Disedinel managed to land."


    The exit also appeared.


    "Let''s go, Sir Reynard, Kaika."


    "Disedinel, yeah."


    Kaika didn''t say anything.


    They all left the ship.


    "It''s always amazing to be outside of the Empire."


    "Yeah."


    "Of course, you both rarely go outside."


    The ground is made out of a strange material. It feels like sand to Disedinel, but it isn''t.


    And when you look up, you see the beauty of space.


    "Man, it really feels weird to be able to see space like this."


    "It is."


    "It really is unbelievable that Vumdr made an artificial atmosphere on his own for this whole place."


    It didn''t have an atmosphere. At least not a natural atmosphere.. Not far away, you could see a white building in the middle of nowhere.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    They walked to the building.


    The doors, once again... do not have handles.


    As they were in front of them, they opened on their own.


    "Hello, Vumdr!"


    "Hello. Reynard, Kaika, and Disedinel."


    "Vumdr, you''re coming with us, right?"


    "That is right."


    "Alright! Together, we are unstoppable!"


    "I didn''t sign up for mischief, Disedinel." Kaika made sure Disedinel know that.


    "Yeah, sorry. Now, is everybody ready to go to the foreign world?"


    "Of course."


    "I am!"


    "I am."


    "I am too! Let''s go!"


    Disedinel turned around...


    "Now that I think about it, the ship is far away."


    "I''ll move it."


    Everybody looked at Vumdr as he made the ship levitate with ease.


    "Perhaps one day we will also be able to lift a whole ship with one hand."


    Vumdr landed the ship right in front of them.


    All through compulsion.


    "So we''re anyway using Disedinel''s ship, Vumdr?"


    "That''s right."


    "Alright, get on, everybody!"


    They did as Disedinel said.


    "Reynard, mind if you share your thoughts on Kiing?" Vumdr asked.


    "Kiing? So you know of him. He has these strange powers, which are somewhat equal to compulsion."


    Everyone sat down. Except Disedinel. He instead went to the control room.


    "Anything else?"


    "Yeah. In short, he is immortal."


    "What about his memory?" So Vumdr is interested in Kiing''s memory.


    "I couldn''t manage to find anything. I believe it is a mistake on my end. I''ll have it figured out in less than a fortnight."


    "Very well."


    While they were talking, Disedinel had already entered the room, but he did not interrupt their conversation.


    "Everybody ready?"


    "Just make it go already. It''s clear everybody is ready."


    "No need to be rude, Kaika! Fine. Here it goes."


    "Sorry."


    And the ship began flying.


    The destination is the foreign world!


    ...


    ...


    This time, it took a while.


    Disedinel had already landed the ship.


    Everyone left the ship.


    ...


    The birds sing,


    over thick woodlands,


    and just beneath after the woodlands,


    flows an ever-flowing river.


    ...


    "You don''t see nature like this every day."


    "Certainly. Everybody, this is the nation of nature, Perera!"


    "So there is a civilization here?"


    "That is right, Kaika, but they aren''t nearly as advanced as us. And on the other side lies the great mountain, Linel!"


    Kaika turned around toward the mountain.


    So this mountain is called Linel. It''s gigantic.


    ...


    ...


    "Disedinel, there is no mountain here."


    "Yeah, Disedinel. It must be called the Linel Depression instead of Mountain Linel. It doesn''t go high; this place actually goes really low. What a cliff we are on."


    "What Sir Reynard said is true, Disedinel."


    "Ehh? No, what do you mean? There''s this huge mountain. Come, Kaika."


    In Disedinel''s eyes, Kaika just walked through the mountain.


    "Wow! What a nice mountain this is, Disedinel; thanks for sharing it."


    "You just walked through the mountain..."


    "No. I didn''t.


    ...


    "Disedinel. I will clear it up for you."


    Vumdr reached out to Disedinel''s head.


    "Now, look again."


    "The mountain... It is all gone?"


    "Your brain was affected by foreign compulsion. The compulsion that purges this entire world."


    "And I didn''t notice at all?"


    "Try to focus on that town over there. Can you feel it? There are many people with compulsion. However, there are also many who don''t have it."


    Disedinel and Kaika focused.


    "Huh, you can''t be wrong, Vumdr. I feel something coming from that depression."


    "You are right, Vumdr." Disedinel just isn''t trying to hide that he is confused.


    "You are right, Kaika. The source of all compulsion around the world is coming from there."


    ...


    "Oh, come on, guys! We should enjoy this place."


    "You are right, Sir Reynard. But this mountain thing really distracts me."


    "Alright. I have a request, then. How about we go down this depression, and explore it? Of course, while trying to figure out what is going on."


    "Yes, I think that will help, Sir Reynard."


    A good idea from Sir Reynard!


    "I don''t mind that. I''ll make us levitate on our way down."


    Everybody agreed.


    And just like that, everybody jumped off the cliff.


    But of course, Vumdr made them all levitate.


    "Now that we have a better look, this whole place is beautiful."


    Unlike above, where the geography as a whole was absolutely normal, here...


    The ground has regions marked by what might be trees. The regions are all in the shape of a square.


    The trees, however, look more like flowers. Gigantic flowers.


    "Are those flowers? Wait, everybody, I think I see houses on those flowers!"


    "Disedinel is right. I can sense them."


    "I can too."


    So this depression is populated.


    "Can anybody else hear that?"


    "Hm. Somebody is causing trouble."


    "Is that so, Vumdr?"


    "We will land quicker to check out what is going on. Does anybody disagree?"


    ...


    "Very well."


    They sped up.


    Not a minute later, they landed.


    "The grass here is thick!"


    "Quieter, Disedinel."


    "No need. We are all invisible, and unless somebody of an unreasonable caliber is here, which I do not sense, we are safe to do whatever we want."


    "Heh, basically, what was done to Disedinel about the mountain."


    "Don''t mention it, Sir Reynard!"


    "Let''s get closer."


    ...


    ...


    "Kiing?!"


    "Why is he here!?"


    "Heyy! Doesn''t anybody hear me?! We got an intruder!"


    "Seems like Kiing is in trouble."


    Vumdr quickly reached for the air. Along with that, Kiing suddenly started levitating towards the party.


    "Woaah!"


    "Ah?! He suddenly disappeared?"


    It is an old man. He has a set of bolo knives. A tool used for shortening taller grass.


    "So you made him invisible. What about the memories of everybody else?"


    "I got it." Kaika took on the job.


    "Didn''t Vumdr have five times your cel count?"


    "Shut."


    The old man... continued to work.


    "Well, you did it. And also, that explains the grass... Now, Kiing is here."


    "Yeah. How did he get here?"


    It seems like Kiing is unconscious.


    "I''ll turn back his consciousness."


    "How do you even do it? Messing with the brain is dangerous."


    "Well, that is the strongest man in the universe for you."


    Disedinel looked back at Kaika in response. With an annoyed look, to be exact.


    "I do it in a simple way. That is all there is."


    And Kiing opened his eyes.


    "Uh... Hi, everybody." What an awkward tone.


    "Hello, Kiing! Mind if you tell us how you escaped Sir Reynard''s place?"


    "I don''t remember." Isn''t that direct?


    "You don''t? Seriously? I''ll make sure you tell us the truth!"


    Disedinel stood up as he said that.


    "He is telling the truth, Disedinel."


    "He is? Hmm."


    ...


    That is strange.


    "We don''t have time to figure this out. Let''s all get going towards the centre of all this."


    "Yeah."


    "... Can''t we talk about how dark it is here...?"


    "There. It must be gone now."


    It seems like Kiing was affected too. But Vumdr undid it!


    They went past that man.


    "Aren''t these flowers huge? Like, actually huge?"


    "Yeah, they certainly are. But they are as beautiful as they are big."


    Disedinel is not lying.


    But now they''ve reached the base of the wall of flowers.


    Disedinel already made an attempt to fit through, but he couldn''t.


    "We can fly over it, then."


    "No. Just walk through it."


    After Vumdr said that, he just walked through the flower.


    "Ehh!? I... that shocked me for a moment. I don''t know why."


    Kaika walked through.


    "Alright, Sir Reynard, Kiing, let''s go!"


    Peter and Kiing walked through.


    But Disedinel tried to jog through.


    However, he stopped himself right before he could.


    "... Reflexes..."


    He finally went through the flower.


    "There is another wall of flowers... Past it another? This will take long."


    "It does seem like we''ll have to walk quite the distance. Vumdr, can''t you fly us through? It''ll also be better for exploring than walking, right?"


    "I am trying to do something. That is why I didn''t want us to fly. But if you insist, then we will do it."


    "Ahh, no. In that case, I''ll let the party leader, Disedinel, take the decision."


    "What? Me, the party leader? No, no. You got it wrong, Sir Reynard..."


    "Yeah. Disedinel isn''t the party leader."


    "No fighting. I will do as Disedinel says."


    "Ehh? Alright... Fly us. It doesn''t seem like there''s anything interesting inside the walls."


    "Very well."


    Vumdr did as Disedinel commanded.


    "Wooah!"


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaa..."


    ...


    Everybody enjoyed themselves throughout the flight.


    But, of course, they landed.


    "... I''ll have to increase my water intake these days."


    "I see why."


    After everybody had their blood flow stabilized, they turned to look at this one place...


    A flower. A flower that is much bigger and thicker than any other flower in Linel.


    Along the flower are positioned many houses. They are all connected by stairs.


    The houses are in white. The stairs along the roofs of all houses are brown.


    The whole theme is white-brown.


    "This house is impressive."


    "I agree with Sir Reynard. How did they build this on their own?"


    "With hard work."


    "I can feel it. That is the source. But, wait, it is a book?


    "Yes, Kaika, it is a book. No need to go inside. I will take it through force."


    Vumdr reached out for the book.


    ...


    And a book flew right into his hand.


    "This is it."


    "Vumdr, can you invalidate it?"


    "I fear that invalidating it could create chaos."


    "You may not be wrong, Reynard. However, I will destroy its compulsion."


    "Oh, no, you won''t!"


    Somebody with an ever-changing hair shape and color and an ever-changing eye color threw himself at Vumdr.


    "Aghh... my head hurts..."


    "Kiing? What is wrong?"


    "Well... I think..."


    Before Kiing could finish... he fell to the ground.


    Disedinel looked back at Vumdr and the foreign boy.


    They clashed together.


    The boy held an absurdly big sword compared to his own size, while Vumdr blocked his attacks with his own hands.


    "Take this blow!"


    The boy managed to slice through Vumdr''s cloak.


    And Vumdr''s face has been revealed.


    But... He has a mask? He has a white mask with goggles.


    The mask covered his whole head. Normally, you wouldn''t be able to breathe like this.


    "Ehh!?! You''re a scary masked guy?!"


    The boy is scared of Vumdr at the same time.


    "Everybody. I will take our fight elsewhere. I will get rid of the book''s powers too, so be prepared for anything!"


    At the same time, you could clearly hear him.


    Or, actually, not so clearly...


    "Alright, everybody, you heard what he said!"


    And suddenly, Vumdr and the boy vanished.


    Kaika, Peter, and Disedinel could only watch.


    "Kiing, you hear me?" Disedinel crouched down to pick up Kiing.


    But before he picked up Kiing...


    "Everybody, keep in mind that anything could happe¡ªoww!"


    Kiing headbutted Disedinel away from himself.


    "What are you doing?" Kaika gave Kiing a serious look.


    Kiing didn''t answer. He only stood up.


    "Ow, ow. That hurt." Disedinel stood up as well.


    "Good thing I had my sword prepared. Sir Reynard!"


    "There you go, Kiing!"


    Kiing only watched the sword go at Disedinel.


    Disedinel managed to catch it!


    "Kaika, Sir Reynard, stay out of this. It is my fault he is here after all."


    "Fine."


    "Some entertainment, then!"


    Peter sat down. He is only missing a drink and some popcorn.


    Disedinel jumped high. However not higher than the height of the flower wall!


    He raised his sword high, preparing a strong strike...!


    But Kiing, Kiing only watched!


    It''ll be over in one blow if that is the case!


    And Disedinel, with full force, threw his sword at Kiing!


    It was a concentrated attack, so no surrounding nature was hurt!


    "Woah, Kiing! It went straight through the heart! Well, if that isn''t a decisive blow, then what is!?"


    Why does Sir Reynard have a sarcastic tone?


    As Disedinel looks down on Kiing from the sky, levitating, he could clearly see a lifeless Kiing on the ground.


    ...


    Huh, behind me?


    There he was, Kiing! Behind Disedinel. Kiing had already prepared a dangerous punch!


    Disedinel doesn''t even manage to turn around to see what is behind him in time!


    But... Suddenly, Kiing was pushed down by a foreign force.


    Kiing hit the ground, and an ice explosion took over the entire surroundings, including the beautiful tree house!


    "What the heck?!" Disedinel lost his focus and fell to the ground.


    "Ow. Everything is ice now?" Disedinel tried to stand up, but he fell back to the ground.


    Kaika reached for Disedinel with his hand to make him levitate.


    "Thanks for nothing, Kaika."


    "I had to move you away from the center of the explosion."


    "Disedinel, did you forget? Kiing is semi-immortal. That attack simply can''t do any real damage to him."


    Disedinel slapped his face.


    "Right."


    "I sense somebody besides us four. He is coming."


    ...


    "Is that who saved me from Kiing?"


    The one who came out of the explosion that created an explosion has black hair. Unnaturally spiky black hair.


    Eyes, red like blood.


    And, they have a black outfit. It really just kind of looks like a towel, but anyway...


    "Who are you?"

 Chapter 0.0004 | A Day To Never Forget

    After the unexpected ice explosion, the surroundings were covered in ice.


    All the big and beautiful flowers were all frozen.


    The gigantic flower in the center, to which a beautiful series of houses were attached, all frozen.


    Disedinel asked, "Who is there?" as a figure, clearly not Kiing, emerged from what had become an iceberg from the explosion earlier.


    "Somebody who came here to take back what is mine."


    Take back what is mine? What could it be?


    ...


    Disedinel tried to find Kiing through his compulsion.


    "Kaika, I can''t find Kiing. Where do you think he is?"


    Kaika closed his eyes.


    "Deep. This guy took Kiing down deep into the ground."


    Disedinel looked back at the stranger.


    "What is your name?"


    The stranger smiled.


    "My name is Zene. Don''t be bothered by me."


    Peter asked why.


    "Because you have some other problems coming at you." As Zene said that, he turned around and pointed to the sky.


    Everybody looked to where he pointed.


    There wasn''t anything. Just a clear sky.


    "Disedinel, did we do something to annoy Therion''s squad?"


    "No? Why?"


    "... Because I can feel that he is coming."


    Disedinel immediately looked back to the sky, trying to sense Therion.


    "He is? I can''t sense him."


    Kaika scratched his head.


    "They are trying to cover their compulsion. Maybe... w-wait, I..."


    "What is it?"


    ...


    "An earthquake is coming. Disedinel, you mentioned a gigantic mountain earlier, right?" Kaika sounded nervous.


    "Yeah. Could it be that the mountain will come back?"


    "Well, aren''t you right? Something doesn''t add up."


    Before they could continue, the earthquake suddenly hit.


    "... That was fast."


    "Hey, is it me, or are we rising?"


    The ground is indeed getting higher. And so is the noise of the earthquake.


    But it seems like no one can do anything about this shaking.


    Disedinel took a deep breath.


    Just before he began talking, the whole sky turned yellow.


    "What?" He looked behind him.


    And there it was. A second sun.


    "Disedinel, Peter, we have to get out of here."


    "That''s right, Kaika. I am on it." Disedinel tapped his watch again. Presumably to remotely control the ship. "Alright, it won''t be long until the ship is here!"


    "Well, isn''t that thing blinding? It must come from Vumdr''s battle with that boy."


    "Hey, Zene! Mind if you give Kiing to us?"


    "I don''t mind. However, I won''t hand him to anybody." He crossed his arms.


    "... And you will just stay here?"


    Zene didn''t reply.


    "We are in an unadvantageous position. We shouldn''t attempt anything silly against him."


    The ship is now in sight.


    It is moving rapidly.


    Disedinel looked back to the source of the great light.


    "Kaika, do you sense it too?"


    "Yeah, but let''s get on, Disedinel."


    As Disedinel talked, the ship just landed near the three.


    "Shall we go check out Vumdr before we go?"


    "I was thinking that too, Sir Reynard. Let''s go!"


    Everybody went inside the ship.


    Disedinel hurried to the control room.


    "The speed will be quite high, so be prepared, everybody!"


    "Got it!"


    "Got it."


    The ship went flying towards what might be the battle of Vumdr and the Linel boy.


    As they rapidly approached the source of the light, it all vanished.


    The sky turned blue. Without clouds.


    The ship is now slowing down...


    As Disedinel went inside the living room of the ship, he made a hole in the ceiling, then jumped outside of it, landing on the roof.


    After he stabilized his balance, he looked down.


    There they are. Vumdr... but who is that?


    That isn''t the boy who is with Vumdr.


    It is somebody else. They have long white hair, is all Disedinel could make up.


    Disedinel suddenly felt an urgency to look behind him.


    He saw another ship going straight to Disedinel''s ship. The ship was smaller, and it looks like a motorcycle, but instead suited for flying.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.... Right, Therion!


    The motorcycle crashed right at Disedinel''s ship¡ªThe ship is now falling to the ground!


    Disedinel lost the balance of his feet and fell.


    "Wooah!"


    As he is falling, a figure twice his size appeared over him.


    Therion!?


    Therion it is. Therion punched Disedinel, sending him to the ground.


    Vumdr and the stranger who is in the stead of the Linel boy looked at Disedinel on the ground.


    Disedinel, now on the ground, mumbles in pain.


    "... My sword?"


    Therion landed in front of Disedinel.


    "I thought our compulsion is relative, but it seems like my perception is wrong."


    Therion picked up Disedinel by the head as if it is a ball.


    "Now... I''ll have you give back Lee."


    "...Bring him back? No, I don''t have Lee."


    Therion tightened his grip on Disedinel.


    "Show me that you aren''t lying."


    ...


    "I don''t have Lee."


    Therion released Disedinel, letting Disedinel fall to the ground again.


    Disedinel just noticed that his ship is levitating. It didn''t fall to the ground.


    "So he escaped from us. Hey, Vumdr! I owe you one if you tell me where Lee is... And if we don''t find him, I''ll have you pay me back somehow."


    "Shut up... You took Lee... And you lost him under your watch." Disedinel slowly rose up as he lectured Therion.


    Therion only smiled.


    "...Hey... Sir Vumdr! Who is that with you?"


    "I am Kilidr. Nice to meet you, Disedinel."


    "You know my name? ... No wonder. Just like Vumdr, I can''t sense your full compulsion."


    ...


    Disedinel''s gaze turned to the ship.


    He noticed Kaika and Sir Reynard.


    As the ship was slowly gravitating toward the ground, they jumped off when the height was safe.


    Kaika ran to Disedinel.


    He handed a small bottle with some liquid in it to Disedinel.


    "Sir Reynard told you to drink it."


    Meanwhile, Sir Reynard walked over to Therion.


    "So, what is your business?"


    "...Nothing to do with you, Sir Reynard."


    Therion walked away. He picked up his damaged ship and went off.


    "Heh. I wonder how it''ll all play out. I hate to say it, but this is our farewell, Vumdr." Kilidr vanished.


    Vumdr waved in response.


    ...After Kilidr vanished.


    ...


    Vumdr turned to Disedinel, Kaika, and Peter.


    "Your ship was damaged. But it is fixed now. Staying here any longer isn''t in my interest anymore."


    He vanished.


    Sir Reynard looked towards the Linel Depression, which is slowly reaching the same level as the cliff the party is on.


    "Huh? Kaika, is it just me, or is that the book from which all the compulsion came from?"


    Disedinel drank the drink after he finished.


    "That''s right. Why is it levitating, though?"


    The book opened itself as it was closed. On its own.


    Disedinel''s and Kaika''s eyes widened.


    "Kaika, I don''t feel any compulsion changing it, is it just me?"


    "No, it''s not just you."


    "Oh, it is Sir Zene!"


    Zene was sprinting from the depression right towards the group.


    Zene leapt to the cliff after reaching the cliff face.


    "Good afternoon!"


    "Eh? Sir Reynard, you know he''s a potential enemy, right?"


    Zene created an ice knife in his hands after climbing up and standing up.


    The book flew high up as if it felt threatened by Zene; However, Zene plunged towards the book, striking the air with his knife.


    What is he doing?


    Surprisingly, the knife stayed behind in the air, close to the book, instead holding still inside Zene''s grip.


    Once the ice knife halted its expansion, it formed an ice statue of a man!


    The statue also had a terrified expression on its face.


    ...


    The statue fell to the ground, but somehow it didn''t break.


    "What the heck is with that statue?" Disedinel muttered as he took a step back.


    "Disedinel, calm down, we can''t let our guard down here." Kaika made sure Disedinel keeps his feet balanced.


    Zene landed swiftly, unharmed by the fall.


    He looked at the statue.


    The ice statue shows a man with a coat.


    But as it is summer, it is only a matter of time until the ice statue melts.


    As it melted, though, it revealed the body of the man. His hair is amethyst.


    Actually, his entire theme is purple.


    "Oooohhh, Zene! It is nice to finally see you! Hehe."


    "Just what are you plotting now, Astra?"


    "I was curious what this book had, you know."


    "What is so interesting about it? Is it not just a novel for the garbage?"


    "Yeah, kind of. But come on, a kid wrote it after all. The plot line is at least interesting. What about you, though? What are you doing here?"


    These two know each other?


    These two know each other?


    Disedinel sent a message to Kaika through compulsion.


    "Looking after Kiing. I let him roam around, and he got into trouble with some kid."


    So we should listen to what they say.


    "Of course you should, after all, who knows what information we''re gonna leak!"


    "Leave them alone. Hey, Disedinel, Kaika, and Peter. Don''t consider me an obstacle. You can go on to take Kiing, but if I ever feel like it, I will take him back."


    ...


    "What do we do, Kaika, Sir Reynard?"


    "Well... I''ll leave it to Sir Reynard."


    "Let''s leave."


    They all muttered to themselves.


    And they decided to leave.


    The group of three opted not to make any attempts to get the book and instead immediately left. Of course, after they took Kiing, who suddenly appeared at Astra''s command, under Zene''s request.


    A day to never forget, truly.

 Chapter 0.0005 | You thought!

    After the departure of the trio, Zene and Astra were left alone on the cliff, overlooking the Linel Depression. The once vast depression is now almost gone by the ascending ground.


    ... Slowly erasing evidence of its existence.


    Astra went on to break the silence between them.


    "Zene, don''t you think that we should put aside our past? It seems more like a game now, does it not?" He asked, his tone imbued with nostalgia.


    In response, Zene looked up with crossed arms.


    "So we have come to an agreement. However, know that I will not hesitate once it comes to it." he replied with an unyielding voice.


    Astra smirked. "Of course... ... Let''s meet again, sometime in the future. I''ll let you know something too." Astra left his sentence unfinished.


    ...


    Now back to Disedinels'' shoes.


    "Kaika, mind if you take over? I''ll rest upstairs." Although Disedinel does not sound tired, hints of exhaustion peek out.


    Kaika immediately replied. "Me and Peter will manage."


    Disedinel slowly walked out, but before he left the room, Sir Reynard called out.


    "Disedinel, you will be better off leaving your watch here instead of upstairs, right?" He smiled.


    Disedinel hit the door frame.


    "Ah, yeah." Disedinel unlocked the watch and walked back to give it to Sir Reynard. "Thanks." Disedinel thanked.


    "Rest well." And Sir Reynard sent off Disedinel.


    And now, in what we can call the living room, are Kaika, Sir Reynard, and Kiing.


    "Peter, do you know how to work with that watch?" Kaika approached Peter.


    "Of course. I have my own watch, too. But difference is, Disedinel''s ship is only given to him for the expedition, so his will be taken away after his report." So Disedinel and Kaika will be left without a ship.


    "Huh, might as well buy some stuff from away while I still have access to this." Kaika looked up.


    Peter shifted his vision from one of the lights to Kaika.


    "Why, what is wrong with the cafeteria in our headquarters?" Peter inquired


    Kaika hummed.


    "Well, I like to make the stuff I eat. Not that the food they make is bad, it is tasty too."


    Peter nodded.


    "So, something like how I prefer to tinker with my gadgets rather than buying pre-made ones?"


    Kaika responded immediately. "That''s a good way to put it. Exactly... Oh, and could you use the watch to change the destination to Andrei''s market?"


    Peter grabbed Disedinel''s watch from the table. "Of course."


    He then went on to change the course.


    ...


    "Ah, we need a password. Kaika, you can go ask Disedinel about it. I''ll stay here."


    Kaika gave a quick nod, took the watch, and headed towards the bedroom.


    Kaika opened the door.


    He looked left and right, but Disedinel is nowhere to be seen.


    So Kaika instead observed with compulsion.


    And there he is, resting on the bed in the corner of the room.


    Kaika walked up to Disedinel. "Hey, you up?"


    Disedinel took a few seconds to react.


    "I am." Disedinel''s words sound forced.


    "I need you to unlock the watch."


    "It is already unlocked." Disedinel replied instantly.


    "No, it requires some password." Kaika checked the watch again.


    "Huh, it is actually unlocked. Right, I did feel your compulsion just now, thanks." Kaika moved downstairs.


    "I unlocked it, Peter. Mind if you set the destination?" Kaika handed over the watch.


    "No problem. Disedinel isn''t upset about the disturbance, is he?" Peter''s words made Kaika think.


    "He could''ve definitely sound happier." Kaika sat down.


    "This watch is different than mine. But, I got it. All locked?"


    "Can''t be not."


    Peter tapped once on the watch, and as a reaction, the ship went flying fast.


    ...


    "We''ve arrived. If you want to, I could come too." Peter and Kaika unlocked the seat belts.


    "Sure." Peter opened the exit.


    And they left the ship.


    The market is similar to Vumdr''s domain. A main building where the shop itself is. A stall here and there... and a parking lot. A lot of ships are currently parked.


    "It''s my first time here. I assume it isn''t for you, Kaika." Peter looked down at Kaika.


    "Yeah, it isn''t. You could''ve parked better. Let''s go." And they began walking.


    The main building is a white cube.


    "Kaika, does it not look interesting?" Peter said as he looked at the white cube.


    "Yeah, strange design. But together with the space surrounding us, it does look nice."


    Peter looked around.


    "... Yeah."


    They stepped into the shop, greeted by a light chime.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    As they walked further in, Peter went on to walk past Kaika.


    "Peter, that way you''ll find the pre-made food by Andrei. His is actually good, but the cooking products are here." Kaika pointed it out.


    Peter turned around to face Kaika.


    "Oh, alright. What are you gonna buy?"


    "Some turkey meat, onions... Or no, I already have onions. Tortillas, tomato sauce, and mozzarella. That is it." Kaika replied, with the ingredients already made up in his mind.


    "I see. What are you going to cook?"


    "Pizza." Kaika grabbed what he wanted.


    "Alright, let''s go to the check-out."


    Kaika gave a quick nod.


    And they headed to the check-out, ready to finish their shopping.


    ...


    They had to wait a few people ahead in line before they could buy the products.


    ...


    "Hello, Andrei." Kaika greeted Andrei.


    "Oh, Kaika, hello. Who is the one with you?"


    "I am Peter Reynard. Nice to meet you."


    "Oh, you are Sir Reynard?"


    Right as Andrei finished, he looked around. "Alright, we''re about to go on a break in a bit, mind if you stay to talk? I got no one to hang out with."


    Kaika said "Alright.", while Peter said "Why not?".


    "The aroma of food is absolutely everywhere." Peter remarked in response to all the enticing scents.


    "You''re not wrong. Andrei certainly knows how to fill the air with such fragrances." Kaika chuckled.


    "I wonder how he runs this place. Does he run it alone?" Peter curiously asked.


    The automatic doors of the shop glided open, letting them step outside.


    "Well... I know he had different cashiers here, for each five check-outs."


    However, there weren''t any beside him this time.


    "But he was alone."


    Kaika found himself unable to reply.


    Kaika walked up to a vending machine.


    "Do you want a coffee?" Kaika has already bought one for himself.


    The vending machine requires you to put coins in it, and you input what you want.


    And if you put in enough money, it''d give you what you picked.


    "Hey, Kaika, you aren''t buying some carbonated drink, are you?" Somebody with long latte-colored hair, green eyes, and what seems to be a cashier outfit of the shop called out.


    "Oh, Andrei. No, I am getting coffee for myself. Peter too, if he wants." Kaika nayed.


    "I already had my dose of caffeine." Peter denied Kaika''s offer.


    "Alright."


    Andrei walked up to Kaika and Peter.


    "Today was busier. Thankfully, at the same time, it was less crowded... Still got a few hours after the break, though." Andrei sighed.


    "That is tough. Me and Peter had quite the day too." Kaika grabbed his coffee and shook it.


    "Where were you both at? I can''t think of anything interesting around here." Andrei folded his arms, thinking of attractions not too far from them.


    "We were in the new world. It appeared about... a week ago. Do you know of it?" Kaika let out a small smile.


    "The new world? Hm. I''ve heard of a strange place nearby that suddenly appeared some time ago, is that it?" Andrei looked at Kaika.


    "I don''t think it can''t be it. I accompanied a friend of mine there, who was sent to examine the place." Kaika recalled what happened earlier today.


    "Ha, did you even ask if you''re allowed to go?" Andrei chuckled.


    "Disedinel, my friend, said it is fine." Kaika opened his coffee and drank a bit.


    "Hopefully he knows what he''s doing. Anyway, share what you both saw there." Andrei''s curiousity was piqued.


    "The world is a green planet with sea. Disedinel landed on a cliff. That''s right, a cliff. He also talked about an enormous mountain right next to us. However, there was no mountain for us."


    "No mountain to you? That is strange." Andrei cut Kaika''s speech.


    "Yeah. Only Disedinel could''ve see it. Oh, and I forgot to mention, we had Vumdr with us. Vumdr revealed that there was compulsion lying to him about the mountain. Actually, instead of a mountain, there was a deep depression."


    "Kaika, you can''t ignore that the nature there is amazing. The air was nice too." And now Peter interrupted too.


    "Kaika, I see. The story seems to be long, so we can talk about it another time. Another time will be better." Andrei stopped Kaika from going on.


    "I understand."


    "Now that I have the chance to ask you, how do you manage to fund this whole place?" At last, Peter managed to have a say.


    "I admit, it''s not just me who''s funding this." Andrei began, his eyes looking up to space.


    "I have some income from the stalls and from some investors, with more that will likely come with the appearance of this new green planet." He paused. Smiling, he took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts.


    "However, the one who has been a real help is a man by the name of Diago Rose." Andrei continued, with his voice clearly showing gratitude.


    "It''s quite a long story, but to shorten it, he''s something like the source of hope, at least in Toree." Andrei spoke with words emitting compulsion on their own.


    "Toree? That is far away. I''ve never been there either." Kaika wandered around in his mind, trying to recall anything about that planet.


    Peter, on the other hand, smiled. "Toree? I''ve been there many times. It would always offer many great experiences."


    Kaika looked at Peter. "You seem to know it well. Now that Andrei mentioned it too, I''d love to go there. Peter, do you want to accompany me there?"


    Peter scratched his head. "Perhaps another time, Kaika. Perhaps. Unlike you, I have responsibilities, so enjoy it while it is still not so apparent in your life."


    Kaika looked towards Disedinel''s ship. "I guess I''ll ask Disedinel. And then, I''ll get him to buy me a ship."


    Andrei checked his watch, aware that his time is running out.


    "Alright guys, I''ve got some more work to do, so I kinda can''t have my whole break. Good luck to you both."


    "Ahh, that sucks. It was nice meeting you. Shall we leave, Kaika?"


    Kaika drank all of the remaining coffee in the bottle.


    "Yeah. Thanks, Andrei. Take it easier."


    Andrei entered the building.


    Kaika and Peter headed back to the ship.


    As he stared ahead, Kaika mumbled. "It''s time to rest, I guess."


    Peter looked at Kaika.


    "You will get used to it."


    And after so many steps, they reached the ship.


    "You have the watch, Peter." Kaika waited for Peter to open the ship''s entrance.


    "Yeah, let me." Peter grabbed the watch out of the pockets of his white suit.


    He tapped a few times.


    ...


    "What''s taking so long, Sir Reynard?" Kaika''s tone became sarcastic.


    "Well..." Peter couldn''t gather the right words...


    "It''s asking for a password."


    "It''s what?"


    ...


    "No worries. We can just open the entrance with our own compulsion, Kaika."


    Peter then tried to make an entrance.


    But it does not work. The ship has a strong compulsion coating, thus disallowing it to be manipulated by compulsion, it seems.


    Along with that, an alarm went off!


    ...


    Well, didn''t it attract many upset faces around here.


    "Uh, look, we can explain it! Disedinel, hey! Wake up!" Peter giggled. "He, he, he..."


    "Please, listen! Damn it, Disedinel!"


    And Kaika thought that the day is over... Oh, was he not prepared for the surprise!

 Chapter 0.0006 | The Sneaky Preparations

    Kaika sat down and sighed.


    "Peter, is there a way to turn down the brightness of the lights?"


    Peter rubbed the watch. "Maybe. There it is. Better?"


    The living room of the ship clearly became darker. Perhaps a bit too dark.


    "... Better." Kaika looked up, as if questioning something.


    "Alright. Kaika, I''ll warn you, going to Toree wouldn''t be as simple as pressing a few buttons and then waiting for the ship to go there." Peter looked at Kaika, smiling.


    Kaika could only continue to question. "What would be the problem?"


    "Don''t you know of Fedor Trigger? Peter gathered his thoughts.


    "Currently, the only way to enter Toree is by going through his territory."


    Kaika looked back inside his mind. "Fedor? He expanded that much?"


    Peter looked at Kaika, with a hint of confusion.


    "It has been a few years since he has completely blockaded Toree from us here."


    Kaika forcefully let out a breath. "Why would he do that?"


    Peter answered with no hesitation. "I don''t know. Perhaps because he wants Toree for himself."


    Kaika thought for a bit. "We''ll obviously need to prepare for what comes."


    Peter chuckled.


    "Perhaps. You''re up for quite the adventure. You could try to negotiate with Fedor."


    Peter looked like he''d continue, but Kaika stopped him.


    "Let''s go. I already know what to do."


    "Well... No problem, I guess." And Peter tapped on the watch a few times.


    Both of them locked the seat belts.


    "Here we go." And Peter pressed it one last time, before the ship went flying to the headquarters at  great speed.


    And the ship automatically landed in the ship hangar.


    As always, it is convenient.


    Kaika unlocked the seat belt and walked upstairs, ready to wake up Disedinel.


    He opened the door and looked to the corner.


    "Disedinel, we have arrived. Wake up."


    "Already up." Disedinel still sounds tired.


    Kaika left the ship.


    There he was, Peter with unconscious Kiing.


    "Kaika, before we say our goodbyes, I will have you know that Fedor likes riches. So, if you end up deciding that negotiating is the way, you know what to bring." Peter makes it clear that he has experience.


    "How do you know?" Kaika couldn''t not doubt Peter.


    Peter giggled. "Oh, don''t get me wrong. I had a time where I also negotiated with Fedor. But now, goodbye." He turned around and walked away.


    "Oh, sorry. I don''t know why I took it that way." And Kaika was left alone, waiting for Disedinel.


    Conveniently, just in time, Disedinel appeared.


    "Where is Peter and Kiing? They gone already?" Disedinel went straight to the questions.


    Kaika took a somewhat deep breath.


    "Yeah. Disedinel, do you still want us to be together?"


    ...


    "Of course, why that question?" Disedinel raised an eyebrow.


    "I know where to go next, then. Let''s talk in my apartment." Kaika began walking to his apartment.


    Disedinel followed.


    They walked silently to Kaika''s apartment.


    "Oh, Disedinel! I wondered where you went with the keys, you didn''t sell them, did you?" It is Sir Galland.


    "Oh, Sir Galland. Here are the keys." Disedinel looked for the keys in his pockets.


    But he forgot that he put them in his on-duty uniform, not his off-duty outfit.


    Right, what am I thinking?


    There it is, the on-duty uniform in his hands.


    Disedinel grabbed the keys and gave them to Sir Galland.


    "There, Sir Galland."


    Sir Galland smiled. "Alright, thanks. What did you need them for if you didn''t even go in the room?"


    Disedinel smiled back. "I went there, but Kaika scheduled some things without my knowledge, and I had to leave soon after being in your place."


    Sir Galland said, "Got it. See you later." And he then went on with his day.


    ...


    Kaika unlocked the door.


    "All is right, it seems. You don''t mind if I cook while we talk, right?"


    Both walked to the kitchen.


    "No problem." Disedinel sat on the couch.


    Kaika placed the grocery bag on the table in front of the couch.


    "Disedinel, I know it sounds somewhat ridiculous, but I want us to next go to Toree."


    Disedinel, sitting comfortably on the couch, leaned forward, placing his arms on the table.


    "Kaika, this isn''t going to be as easy as it was with this new planet. Toree isn''t the accessible place it once was."


    Disedinel fixed his eyes on Kaika.


    "It was difficult even before the fall of the last outpost nearby Toree."


    Kaika grabbed a few onions from a drawer.


    "I understand. We''ll need a solid plan and some clever tactics to get past Fedor."


    Kaika unpacked the tortillas and laid out a few of them after slicing them in half.


    "I think I know what we are going to do, though."


    Disedinel could only wait for Kaika.


    Kaika topped the tortillas with tomato sauce.


    "... Well, I still don''t have it figured out."


    Disedinel stood up. "I don''t think that I''ll even have the ship for that in the first place."


    Disedinel showed slight disappointment in his speech.


    Kaika opened the turkey slices and placed them on the tortillas.


    "Where are you going?"


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "I''ll report everything. Call me when you have a legitimate plan."


    And just like that, Disedinel left the apartment, unwilling to help Kaika think of something.


    Kaika sprinkled slices of onions and mozzarella on the tortillas.


    "...You should''ve at least stay for the pizza... Now, all that is left is to leave it in the oven at about 250 degrees Celsius."


    "Oh! I forgot to turn it on beforehand."


    Kaika turned it on and waited a few minutes.


    "All must be right." Kaika put the tortillas in the oven.


    Right after that, he set a timer for ten minutes.


    ...


    Did I forget to set the timer?


    After several minutes, Kaika wondered if he had forgotten something.


    And after being hit by anxiety, he checked the pizzas.


    "A minute or two, at least."


    Then he checked the timer.


    Huh, so I got it right.


    The timer needed a minute and a half until it goes off.


    Kaika sat on the couch, staring at the wall.


    ...


    And the timer chimed loudly, hurrying Kaika to open the oven.


    Kaika was blown by the hot air as he quickly opened the oven.


    Then he stopped the alarm.


    The aroma of the hot pizza filled the room in a moment.


    "First, I have to get a trivet."


    Kaika grabbed one from the counter.


    He placed it on the table.


    Then, he put the gloves next to the oven on his hands, to make sure he doesn''t burn his hands while trying to place the freshly made pizza on the trivet.


    And he did so.


    "We wait a bit, and it should be ready to be eaten."


    And as simply as that, a tasty pizza was made!


    Kaika grabbed a plate and put it on the table, next to the trive with the pizza.


    He left the gloves back at their place.


    He sat down, then, he grabbed a slice.


    "Ouchies!" It was still hot, but Kaika managed to take one of the slices on the plate.


    After a bit of blowing, he took a bite.


    "Hm. Might need some spices. It''d be great with some extra sauces, but it is supposed to be healthy, so I guess not."


    And in a matter of less than a minute, the slice is gone.


    In a coincidence, somebody knocked at the door a few times as Kaika finished the first slice.


    "Yeah, come in." Kaika took another slice.


    "Ah, still hot." He muttered.


    The one who came inside is Disedinel.


    "Kaika. We really don''t have the ship for Toree. Did you come up with anything?"


    "Disedinel, sit down. Have some pizza." Kaika proudly presented his pizza.


    "You know unhealthy food limits your compulsion?" Disedinel shares an interesting fact.


    "You''re right, and it can show a clear effect. However, I didn''t use dough for this, or anything unhealthy."


    Disedinel took a plate, sat down, and took a slice of pizza.


    "I haven''t eaten today, so I''ll take a bite anyway."


    And Disedinel did as he said.


    "Kaika. This tastes just like a pizza, yet it doesn''t feel bad..." Disedinel quickly ate the slice and reached for another.


    Kaika ate his second slice too.


    "Thanks. Let me tell you what I thought of." As Kaika finished talking, Disedinel finished eating.


    "There''s no more? What is it you have to tell me?"


    Disedinel looked forward to more, but he didn''t realize his slice was the last one.


    "I''ll take over for the way we''ll go to Toree, and you will take over for a new ship."


    Disedinel looked at Kaika. "I guess we can do that." He took a deep breath.


    "Do you think that one week will do?" Kaika stood up.


    Disedinel stood up too. "One week will do."


    Both smiled.


    "Well... Time is running out. See you later, Kaika!" Disedinel hurried outside.


    "See you... later." Kaika grabbed his wallet.


    "We''ll be emptying you, I guess."


    "Oh, Disedinel, how are you?" Somebody passed by.


    "I am fine, but I gotta go, bye!"


    ...


    Kaika found himself in the library.


    Despite the high-tech ambience of the headquarters, the library has a much different atmosphere.


    There were tall bookshelves everywhere. Several floors filled with bookshelves, that is.


    "Excuse me. I will head to Toree soon, and I need something that will help me on the way there. Could there be anything you''d recommend?" Kaika politely asked a tall man for a recommendation.


    The tall man turned around.


    "Oh, it''s you, Kaika." The man smiled.


    "Ooh, Galland. What are you doing here?"


    Galland is, strangely, in the reception of the library. It looks like he was looking for something on the bookshelves behind him.


    "Today, I am actually working here. You said you want to go to Toree, right? We can look together."


    Kaika looked around, overwhelmed the tall bookshelves. "I definitely need help."


    "No problem. What makes you want to go there, although it is dangerous?"


    Kaika hummed. "Hmmm, well. It is attractive, it feels as if it is pulling me that way."


    Galland laughed. "Oh, I see. Come, I''ll show you where you can find what you need."


    "Thanks, Galland." Kaika followed Galland.


    They had to walk up the stairs until they reached the third floor. Isn''t this so tall?


    And there it is.


    "Thank you. You can continue what you were doing." Kaika waved.


    "No problem." And Galland headed back downstairs.


    Even though he led me to where these types of books are, there are still so many.


    Kaika walked around, taking a peek at the titles of the books.


    He did so until...


    Using compulsion to quickly scan the shelves would be easier.


    ...


    Back to Disedinel''s shoes.


    Knocks. A few knocks on a door by Disedinel.


    "Who is there?" A voice behind the door.


    "It is me, sis."


    "Hold on!"


    Disedinel sensed steps coming from behind the door and then the click of unlocking a door.


    To no one''s surprise, it then opened.


    Disedinel''s sister appeared. This time, she is wearing a white shirt with beige trousers.


    "Came to see me?" She smiled


    "Yeah. It is not only that, though." Disedinel looked at his sister with a serious look.


    She moved aside, letting Disedinel come inside.


    "Thank you."


    The apartment... Is the same as Disedinel''s and Kaika''s. The only difference can be noticed with the furniture.


    She then closed the door.


    "Let''s sit down."


    Kaika''s living room has a couch surrounding half of his table.


    While the room of Disedinel''s sister also has a table, but it is round and has chairs instead.


    They sat down.


    The chairs had soft pillows.


    Not that it helped.


    "Sis, mind if I borrow your ship?" That was direct.


    "... Is that it?"


    "Somewhat, no. I need it to go to Toree."


    She raised an eyebrow.


    "Your humor hasn''t gotten better." She sounded disappointed.


    "... I really need to get there."


    And his sister let out a breath. She couldn''t make herself sound any more furious than that.


    "What do you mean I need to get there? How about you do something about Lee?"


    She stood up.


    "You took him under yourself, and you lost him. And now, you want to go worlds away instead of taking him back!"


    Disedinel stayed seated, as if he still believes that it could be talked over normally.


    "About Lee, Therion, who took him, said that they have no idea where he is. They believe I took him. But that is not the case."


    "So? What is your point? You still have to find him and take him back." She went right next to Disedinel.


    Disedinel looked up to her.


    "Something tells me that I have to go there, sis."


    "You have to go there?" She muttered.


    "Fine. What will you do against Fedor? And if you manage to get through him, which won''t happen, what will you do in Toree?"


    ...


    "... Kaika is planning it out, not me. I took the job of getting a ship, and he will plan it all out."


    "What? Okay, so the young hope of the future is also a... is not any thoughtful?"


    She grabbed Disedinel by the hand and forced him to stand up.


    "Hey!"


    Then she walked to the front door, still holding tight to Disedinel''s hand.


    "Can''t we talk at least a bit more?"


    She opened the door and pushed him out.


    "Sure. Perhaps when you spend some time thinking instead of daydreaming." And she closed the door.


    "... At least I tried."

 Chapter 0.0007 | All Must Be Done!

    Kaika laid out the books, each with its own back up.


    "You sure you can buy all of them? You can borrow them instead." Galland offered, eyeing the stack of books Kaika had gathered.


    "I''ll be better off buying them." Kaika opted not to buy them.


    Galland shrugged. "It''s on you." Galland carefully checked the backs of the books for their prices.


    "Thirty chesh." Chesh seems to be the currency.


    "Got it here." Kaika pulled out two banknotes. One is twenty chesh, and the other is ten chesh. He handed them over, leaving himself with only ten chesh.


    Now, I am only left with ten.


    Kaika piled them up.


    "Now..." Kaika walked away, as Galland continued doing his thing.


    The wooden gates of the library were already open, so Kaika walked out smoothly.


    These books would be invaluable for his upcoming journey to Toree, and he couldn''t wait to dive into their knowledge.


    ...


    "Please!" Disedinel pleaded, his voice filled with desperation, as he bowed down before the woman seated in the room.


    The place exuded a sense of tranquility with its beige theme, adorned with pictures on the wall and a shelf stacked with books.


    "I don''t have time for you. You did a good job, but we cannot provide you with a spare ship. Go away." The woman''s response was firm and dismissive, sweeping away Disedinel''s hopes of securing a ship from her.


    "Alright. I apologize for the intrusion." Defeated, but not discouraged, Disedinel rose from his bow and left the room, accepting the reality of the situation.


    I guess begging for a ship wouldn''t work.


    As he stepped outside, he let out a contemplative hum.


    "Hmm."


    Disedinel considered what to do.


    Perhaps I could accept a request that provides me with a ship.


    Disedinel smiled as his eyes lit up. Accepting a mission that provides him with a ship to complete it could be his ticket to acquiring a usable ship for the journey to Toree.


    "Man, I''d go to sleep, but with this idea, I don''t think I can." He muttered, still smiling.


    Disedinel set out to ask around the headquarters.


    He visited different departments, inquired with officers, and checked notice boards, searching for the right opportunity.


    ...


    Man, nothing. I suppose I should go sleep and try again tomorrow.


    ...


    Right, I should''ve thought of that!


    Kaika absorbed the book''s knowledge, letting his ideas for the trip to Toree expand and take shape.


    ... The next day...


    Man, there sure are a lot of requests, but nothing aligns with what I need.


    Disedinel, still determined, concluded his thorough check on the requests.


    "Yo, Disedinel, here again? What are you looking for?" A fellow officer greeted him.


    Disedinel turned his gaze to his colleague.


    "I am looking for something that will at least temporarily get me a ship."


    The officer''s expression turned surprised. "What for?"


    Disedinel smiled. "I am going to Toree, but I don''t have a ship. So, I am looking for a mission that will let me have a ship."


    Disedinel looked up, raising an eyebrow.


    Hold on!


    "Wait, that makes it sound like I am trying to simply get the ship and then run away, hahaha."


    Disedinel chuckled awkwardly.


    His fellow officer laughed along, understanding his lightheartedness.


    "Hey, don''t worry, Disedinel. We all know you''re better than that." The officer patted him on the back.


    Disedinel, grateful for the support, chuckled.


    "Well, keep looking. The way to Toree is tough. If I see something that fits, I''ll tell you about it."


    His colleague encouraged him, also offering help.


    Disedinel and the officer said their goodbyes. The officer went on to enter the door right next to them, and Disedinel walked through the corridor.


    Perhaps I should check on Kaika.


    And Disedinel knocked on Kaika''s door.


    He received the signal and opened the door.


    "Yo, Kaika... Reading again in the dark?" Disedinel chuckled, looking at Kaika.


    There he is, reading his books on the bed in his dark room.


    "Yup. How is it going, Disedinel?"


    Disedinel pondered. "Well... I asked my sister for her ship, but she doesn''t want to."


    Then he picked up one of the books.


    "So this is what you''re reading? Anyway, I also asked the higher-ups to get us a ship, but that''s a no, too." Disedinel sighed.


    Kaika closed the book he was reading. "Do you have anything else in mind?"


    Disedinel replied with a serious tone. "I do. I am trying to find a request that lets us use a ship."


    Kaika turned around. He nodded, understanding the plan. "So we take a quest that requires us to travel, thus, we have a way to get to Toree."


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Disedinel nodded, glad that Kaika understood what he meant.


    "Yeah, exactly!" Disedinel looked down. "I checked them today and yesterday, but none will take us anywhere near there."


    Kaika stood up. "Alright. Once you find something, tell me. Then, we can go there and clear things up."


    Disedinel handed the book he took from Kaika. "Anyway, I see you''ve been doing your job, too."


    Kaika took the book. "Yeah. Disedinel, mind if you ask your sister to come with us?"


    Disedinel''s expression turned serious in an instant. "Kaika, my sister would kill me if I talk about that near her again."


    Kaika giggled. "Alright, alright. Shall I ask her, then?"


    Disedinel turned around and crossed his arms.


    "Right. Do whatever you want, but that is a no from me. I believe there is no longer room to talk."


    And he left the room.


    Kaika stayed silent.


    "Whatever." He lied down on the bed and picked up his book.


    ...


    Five days left.


    ...


    "Here again, eh?" The officer from yesterday greeted Disedinel.


    Disedinel turned around. "Oh, hey. Yeah."


    "Seems like you really need a way to get to Toree. Perhaps I could lend you my ship." He laughed.


    Disedinel laughed along. "You''d get fired. Besides, if I don''t manage to find anything until then..."


    Disedinel paused for a moment, his expression determined. "... I''ll use my ace."


    "Ooh, I see. Well, keep going if you got nothing to do." As always, the officer supported Disedinel.


    Now, back to the training.


    ...


    "Sir Galland! Good morning." Disedinel waved to Sir Galland in the corridor.


    Sir Galland looked in Disedinel''s direction. "Oh, Disedinel. Came just in time, huh?"


    Disedinel nodded, smiling.


    Sir Galland unlocked the doors, and they both came inside.


    "So, what are you up to these days?"


    Disedinel sighed. "Nothing much. But in several days, I''ll go to Toree with Kaika."


    Disedinel handed five chesh. "Will that do?"


    Sir Galland nodded. "Will do if you''re paying for five days."


    "Well, yeah." Disedinel walked over to one of the machines and began using it.


    ...


    Four days left.


    ...


    As the alarm went off the next day, Disedinel delved straight into looking for a quest.


    ...


    After finding nothing, he headed to the machines.


    Sir Galland stopped Disedinel. "Disedinel, mind if we check up on your cel count?"


    Disedinel stopped the machine. "Yeah."


    They both walked over to the cel counters.


    "Huh, forty thousand in short. Hey, your cel suddenly skyrocketed, what is up with that?" Sir Galland folded his hands.


    Disedinel stepped off. "I don''t know."


    "Hm, alright. Be happy while you can, these machines don''t work well after fifty thousand."


    ...


    ...


    Three days left.


    ...


    Disedinel woke up at 5:10, before his alarm.


    ...


    Man, I can''t sleep.


    I should clear things up with Kaika.


    Disedinel took his white shirt and black trousers, and went to Kaika''s apartment.


    ...


    As Disedinel walked in the corridor, he noticed Kaika right outside his apartment.


    He stared at the wall.


    "Hey, Kaika!" Disedinel increased his speed.


    "Hey, Disedinel." Kaika still stared.


    "Let''s go inside." Disedinel''s tone is happy yet serious.


    Both sat down on the couch.


    "Anything you have to report, Disedinel?" Kaika appears to be lost in thought.


    "You should be able to notice yourself. I''ve become stronger!" Disedinel gave a wide smile.


    Kaika''s expression didn''t change. "Seems so. Does it really matter if we have no ship?"


    Disedinel didn''t bother pondering. "You aren''t wrong. Nothing, yet. What about you? Do you have to say anything?"


    Kaika finally looked at Disedinel. "I guess. First, we can''t use fast mode near Fedor''s territory. If we do, we''ll be immediately spotted, and we''ll have to take desperate measures."


    And Kaika proved that he studied well.


    "... That is logical. Wait, so fast mode emits strong compulsion. So, if we even have compulsion coating, we''ll still emit compulsion, wouldn''t we?" Disedinel''s eyes widened, his tone slowly became more and more serious.


    Kaika clicked his tongue. "You''re right, unfortunately. Usually, it isn''t something to worry about."


    Disedinel sighed. "We''ll need a navigator, then." Disedinel hit his head on the table.


    "You''ve been on a streak of being right."


    Somebody knocked on the door.


    "Huh, seems like we have an interesting guest." Kaika went to the front door and opened it.


    "Hello, Vaneila." Vaneila? She looks one-on-one with Disedinel''s sister.


    Disedinel looked surprised. "My sister?"


    So her name is Vaneila.


    "So this is where you were, Disedinel!" She went behind him.


    Disedinel looked up to her. "Heeeeyy." Disedinel smiled at her.


    "So you''re still feeling like going there?" She sounds a bit annoyed.


    "Also, Disedinel, I didn''t tell her anything." Kaika folded his arms.


    Disedinel took a deep breath. "Yes, sis. Are you trying to stop me?"


    "No. I''ve come to say that if you''re going to go to Toree, then I will come too." She looked at Disedinel, completely serious.


    "Do you mean it?" Disedinel stood up and turned around.


    "Yeah." She nodded firmly.


    Disedinel looked at each other.


    Both smiled.


    A genuine smile spread across Disedinel''s face. "Thank you, sis!"


    Kaika also couldn''t help but smile. "So we have your ship, and you''ll come with us."


    "So, what now?" Vaneila asked, still not knowing about the plan.


    Disedinel turned to face his sister. "We will gather in the morning three days from now.


    Kaika clapped twice. "Alright. We have a ship suitable for traveling, and us three."


    "And in three days, we will go!" Disedinel happily raised his hands.


    "You didn''t give yourselves a lot of time. It will be tough for you, you know." Vaneila remarked.


    "You''re talking as if it will be nothing for you." Disedinel chuckled.


    "I think we are done here. And since I still have three books to read, please leave." Kaika had taken his daily dose of Disedinel and Vaneila, it seems.


    Disedinel looked at Kaika, smiling. "Yeah. Vaneila, let me go check your ship."


    She nodded, and they left.


    Vaneila and Disedinel went to make sure the ship would work.


    ...


    Two days left.


    ...


    Now that they have a ship, Disedinel didn''t check the requests.


    Another day, immersed in training...


    As he lied on his bed, Kaika finished another book.


    "I should read another one. Then, I''ll read one more tomorrow and consider everything carefully."


    And he did just that.


    ...


    One day left.


    ...


    Disedinel once again woke up to his alarm.


    Tomorrow is the day of the departure.


    Disedinel thought about what he should do, as he wanted to take a rest today.


    I guess I''ll prepare some things.


    Disedinel prepared his clothes.


    He looked at his on-duty uniform.


    He sighed.


    "I guess you might not be used anymore."


    He put it together with the other clothes anyway.


    As for food, sister said she''s got it. So I guess I''ll eat what I have here instead of bringing it to the ship.


    He opened the fridge.


    "Hm. I guess I''ll eat the raisins." He took the plastic bag of raisins.


    Tasty.


    ...


    Ugh, I really read the three books left cause I couldn''t sleep.


    ...


    And Vaneila was in her room, still asleep.


    ...


    Disedinel, now in the ship hangar in front of their ship, pulled out a watch.


    Vaneila''s ship was completely different.


    With it, an opening appeared in the ship along stairs, allowing you to enter the ship. The ship had long legs holding it up.


    Disedinel went inside. The ship was mostly the same. Difference is, in the bedroom, there are more beds. The kitchen was smaller, and in return, there was another extra room used for storage.


    He left his luggage in the storage room.


    He heard somebody come inside.


    Disedinel smiled.


    "Hey, Kaika! Leaving your stuff too?"


    Kaika stuffed his luggage in the storage room, too.


    "Yeah."


    Disedinel gave Kaika a wide smile, offering a handshake.


    And Kaika smiled, shaking hands with Disedinel.


    "Let''s do it!"


    "Of course."


    To be continued!

 Chapter 0.0008 | Worlds, Strangers, and so on From The Stars

    The ship stopped.


    Kaika unlocked his belts and stood up.


    "Alright, let me explain the plan."


    Disedinel and Vaneila unlocked their belts, too.


    Kaika wore a white outfit.


    Disedinel wore a dark blue ceremonial uniform.


    Vaneila wore a white outfit similar to Kaika, but while Kaika wore just a shirt and pants, Vaneila had additional assets included.


    A white jacket is one of several examples.


    Disedinel took a sip from a carton of apple juice through a straw, as it was on the black table.


    The table was well blended with the room, mostly because they all share dark colors.


    "Moving forward, we''ll enter unsafe territory." Kaika''s speech was cut short by Vaneila.


    "So, what''s this planet I sense?" Kaika let out a small sigh.


    "It''s Chia. In a coincidence, we just had to halt in a range close to it." Meanwhile, Kaika could let sighs out, he definitely couldn''t let vigour out.


    "As I suspected." She whispered to herself.


    "You can go ahead, Kaika." Disedinel let Kaika go on.


    "Thanks. So, we''ll have to move slower for now, as economically as possible."


    Kaika finished, as if waiting for applause, or comments. But none came.


    "Ahem, because that way our presence will be less clear."


    ... Again?


    Both Vaneila and Disedinel looked at each other as they giggled to themselves.


    "Do you two really have nothing to comment?" Kaika raised his hand, right towards Disedinel, as if signaling him to say something.


    "Yeah. Anyway, Kaika, we stopped a bit too close to Chia, didn''t we?" Disedinel stood up.


    Vaneila stood up just after. "I assume that''s all you''ll have to say. Call me if you need me."


    "Ah, yes. You are free. But not you, Disedinel." And Vaneila left for upstairs.


    "So, yeah, I think we did, a bit too close. Actually, let me move it a bit. I feel the artifical atmosphere pulling us towards Chia."


    Kaika took a few steps towards the control room.


    Disedinel and Kaika suddenly fell to the ground, leaving them to immediately assume the ship hit something from the impact.


    "Ow, my head!" Kaika rubbed his head.


    Vaneila, from the upper floor, hurried to open the door leading upstairs, upset.


    "What the heck did you two do?"


    "... L-look!" Disedinel pointed towards the wall.


    Kaika and Vaneila looked right where Disedinel pointed.


    The lights suddenly went out.


    The wall turned to ice.


    The three could only stare.


    Suddenly, some of the ice melted into water.


    "Hey, guys. It''s nice seeing you again." A young man appeared out of the hole.


    Everybody took a step back.


    "Who are you?" Disedinel shouted.


    "Zene. Don''t you remember me? ... The lights are out because of me, right? Here, this should fix it." Zene turned around and touched the wall.


    Though the three could only hear Zene''s movement.


    ...


    The wall came back to normal. A shade of dark blue.


    And the lights once again resumed doing their job.


    Zene wore a dark blue robe. It gave four shades to his whole body. Black, white, red, and blue.


    "Wait, it''s you?" Disedinel stood up.


    "Wait, you know him?" Vaneila looked surprised.


    "Something like that." Zene crossed his arms.


    "I even wasn''t looking at you." Vaneila crossed her arms.


    Disedinel quickly found himself trying to balance himself as the ship floated in space.


    Or, to be more precise, the ship was being pulled.


    Kaika hurried to the control room.


    "Well, yes, we do know each other. Kaika, you need assistance?" Disedinel made sure Kaika heard the last part as Kaika tried to start up the ship''s engine.


    "Agh, it doesn''t work! Damn it" He let out a few other unnecessary curse words.


    "Oh, sorry, I think I froze the engine." Zene grinned.


    "Then unfreeze it!" While Kaika was waiting for an answer, he tried to fix it himself.


    "Let me think about it." Zene closed his eyes, calmly assessing what was going on.


    "Let''s try to push the ship away on our own." Disedinel walked over to the wall and forced both his arms into it. As if doing that would do anything, is what Zene thought.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Good idea. Perhaps all of us would be able to do the job." Kaika pushed too, along with Vaneila.


    "Oh, you are using your weird powers? I decided I''ll leave it to you three to determine the outcome on your own." Zene sat down cross-legged on the floor.


    Disedinel looked at him.


    Then he looked back at the wall.


    "It doesn''t work. We''ll have to think of something."


    As Kaika struggled, he replied. "Problem is as we''re being pulled closer, the pull becomes stronger."


    But right after he finished, he let go.


    "Let''s stop and save our energy. I haven''t prepared for an accidental landing here, but..."


    He didn''t finish.


    Both Disedinel and Vaneila gave up too, but they instantly had to hold onto something in order to protect their balance.


    "But?" Disedinel looked at Kaika, hurrying him to finish.


    "But we''ll just have to improvise, I think." Kaika looked down.


    Kaika took his time to gather his thoughts.


    "Let''s go over what we''ll do once we find ourselves on the planet." They all gathered, except Zene.


    And discussed...


    ...


    ...


    Soon enough, the ship stopped moving.


    The change was sudden for them.


    "Alright, do you sense them? Try to follow the plan."


    Kaika opened the trapdoor on the floor, revealing a grassy ground.


    Zene stood up and hurried to get out.


    "The air here isn''t bad."


    Kaika looked at him, annoyed.


    "Just don''t get in the way."


    The four left the ship.


    But they found themselves instantly restricted by a group of people.


    "You." One of them said.


    The three raised their hands, showing their unarmed arms.


    Except Zene.


    Instead, he walked towards the strangers.


    "Hello, we''re here to check out the place."


    The strangers looked at them carefully.


    "Yeah, right. Get down before we have to use force."


    They surrounded the group.


    "I could at least use why."


    ... The guy could''ve just barely held a giggle back.


    "Are you stupid? Get down already."


    While the three lied down as commanded, Zene stood still.


    "If you tell me why, I will." He crossed his arms.


    Kaika gasped.


    "Disedinel, your uniform, didn''t any of you realize that?"


    Disedinel looked at Kaika.


    "You told me to wear it before we set out."


    Vaneila was still, speechless.


    "Fine, but we will tell you if you get down first."


    Zene decided he''d listen.


    "Now, perhaps it is because you''re outlanders, or maybe, your buddy there has the uniform of a rival." He pointed at Disedinel.


    Vaneila stood up.


    "Sorry, but this here is merely an enemy we captured in our flight. We''re mercenaries."


    Disedinel looked at his sister, surprised.


    Kaika looked surprised, too.


    That wasn''t part of the plan, they both thought.


    "Oh! What a misunderstanding, here I forgot to realize you wouldn''t know." Zene played along.


    "That''s understandable, but we''ll have to question you anyway."


    And they handcuffed the group.


    "Isn''t your planet beautiful? The blue sky looks nice. In my home planet, the atmosphere was a bit more dense." Zene tried to engage in small talk, creating an atmosphere a bit more positive.


    The strangers were dressed in uniforms specifically made to let the user move as freely as possible.


    A black shirt with long sleeves, a white circle with a red star attached to the upper arm, belt with a pouch for some basic needs, and black pants.


    Two of them carried big bags.


    Zene assumed they were scouts.


    ...


    They were escorted to a town.


    The town consisted of one-story houses colored in pastel colors, with rare exceptions.


    Most roofs were gable, hip, or pyramid hip type, made with asphalt.


    All houses had small gardens, making the streets colorful.


    But they were taken not to a rich house, but to a tall plain building.


    The building stood there like a stain on the town.


    And soon enough, they found themselves stuck in a small room, waiting. Uncuffed, also.


    The room had one window to offer some sun, along with walls painted in yellow, a white ceiling, and a grey floor.


    They had to wait on a bench, which at least had a cushion.


    "I see many outcomes, but a few stand with great likelihood." Zene crossed his arms.


    "We''ll likely be questioned, send us to go on with our life, but..."


    "Can''t you take the situation a bit better? It''s because of you we''ll take harsher treatment." Disedinel made it clear he''s upset.


    "Fine, mister enemy uniform." Zene chuckled.


    Kaika cut the argument short. "Just stop."


    No words were exchanged for some time.


    Disedinel looked around the room.


    "What is it?" Kaika looked at Disedinel.


    "Nothing. Anyway, what will we do about me being an official you''ve caught?" He then looked outside through the window.


    "I have a plan in mind better than yours." She crossed her arms.


    Everybody looked at her.


    With no exception this time.


    "So... how is it better?" Kaika asked, already wondering how they could get a better plan.


    "After they do whatever, we''ll ask to be all sent back home. And that home will be Toree." She smiled.


    "You''re not fit for this group, Vaneila." Zene chuckled again.


    "What is that supposed to mean?"


    ...


    Disedinel''s question remains unanswered to this day.


    Later, the door was opened.


    "Hello. We''ll have you all leave the room and follow me."


    Everybody stood up, and they were led to another room.


    There was one guy in the room. His hair was short and black.


    His dress was a nice combination of a red shirt and a pair of white pants.


    "Oh, there you are. Have a seat." He gestured.


    There was one marble table, with four grey chairs surrounding it.


    They blended in well with the off-white color of the room.


    As the escorter was about to close the door, the guy who sat alone called out.


    "Hey, where''s the fifth chair?"


    "It''s coming right away." Once they were about to close the door, he called out again.


    "Leave it."


    He stood up and offered the group to take seats.


    "Please take a seat."


    "Thanks." Zene thanked him and sat on the chair.


    The rest did, too.


    "So, you specifically. You''re from Nulkai?" He pointed at Disedinel.


    "Yes." He gave a nod.


    ...


    "So the rest of you are mercenaries? From where?"


    "From Toree." Zene quickly answered.


    "Oh, that''s not close from here. What are your names?"


    And everybody said their names in response.


    "Mine is Slantse. Those are interesting names. Say, Disedinel, aren''t you comfortable?" He swiftly moved right behind Disedinel.


    "While we were together, I realized although we''re enemies, we have things in common." Disedinel looked at Slantse.


    "That''s respectable. Shall I also add that we are being recorded?" He pointed to a camera in the corner of the room.


    "So, what do you plan on doing after we release you after this?"


    Vaneila was the one to respond.


    "We''ll go to Toree."


    ...


    "With our enemy. We need him." She added, feeling as if Slantse was waiting for something.


    "That''s fine. You, white-haired boy."


    Kaika looked away from Slantse, a bit upset.


    "You know my name."


    ...


    ...


    Slantse pressed the group for more information.


    ...


    He looked at the clock on the wall.


    "You''re all free to leave... under my supervision." He opened the door, then signaled them to follow him.


    They left the building.


    "We have a house we''ll be in for some time. Necessary needs will be provided." The group began walking, following Slantse.


    Later, they arrived. It''s a two-story white house.


    Slantse unlocked the door and welcomed them.


    The house''s interior was dark brown.


    There was a living room to the left, stairs right in front, and a door to the right leading to the toilet upon entering.


    Slantse locked the door.


    "You can find the bedrooms upstairs. There''s also a garden at the back." He then raised his hands as if to express freedom.


    "Oh, and take your shoes off."


    "Right." Vaneila crossed her arms.


    "Are there any books here?" Kaika walked into the living room. By looking at the shelves, he answered his question


    "Many." Slantse followed Kaika,and they went on to talk.


    While Disedinel went to check out the bedrooms.


    Zene and Vaneila, by coincidence, were headed to the garden.


    ...


    "Aha, this one''s mine." Disedinel found himself in his favorite bedroom out of the few there were.


    The bedroom had two large windows, allowing him to look at the peaceful town.


    Far away, but in sight, he could also see mountains, with what might be a city.


    The bed was big, too. It was not comfortable enough for two people, but it was big for one person.


    He lied down on it.


    But things didn''t go according to his plan, which was to feel the bed, and he was suddenly caught by the waves of sleep.

 Chapter 0.0009 | From Here To There, From There to There To Then Here

    "Sir."


    "Sir Disedinel."


    Disedinel''s eyes opened, and he found himself in a dark room.


    "Huh?" It took him a while to recognize the room.


    "Oh, it''s you, Zene... Why didn''t you turn on the lights?" Disedinel tried to stand up, but ended up bumping into Zene.


    "Ugh, my bad."


    ...


    Zene stood silent.


    Disedinel stood up, trying to avoid hitting Zene again.


    "What''s the matter?"


    Disedinel then looked for the switch, trying to turn on the lights after feeling uncomfortable looking at Zene in the dark.


    "I was processing something. Disedinel, I''d like us to hang out." Zene turned around to look at Disedinel.


    "Uhh, right. If you want to talk about something, feel free to say it now." Disedinel hurried over to adjust the blinds on the large windows for the sake of their privacy.


    "This house doesn''t cut it." Zene lowered them and closed them down.


    "Doesn''t cut what?" Disedinel looked at Zene, trying to understand what he meant.


    "Nothing. When do you think we''ll be able to leave?" Disedinel looked at the ground after Zene''s question.


    "Did you not listen earlier? It''s like it won''t take a while for a chance to pop up." Disedinel looked back at Zene, waiting for his response. But Zene left the room, leaving Disedinel curious.


    Zene quickly moved through the stairs and went to the living room, finding Kaika and Slantse still chatting.


    "Slantse." Zene sat down next to Slantse.


    "Oh... Zene?" Slantse raised his gaze from the book he read.


    "When will we have our ship?" Zene made it direct.


    "Hm, that? A few days? No worries-" Zene interrupted Slantse. "Yeah, right. Where is the ship? We''re leaving now." Slantse was left surprised.


    "Zene, you''re the one who got us into this mess, so keep quiet." Kaika felt like he had to step in.


    "... No worries, it happens often that the long wait here plays around with the nerves of people. In fact, it took a while to find somebody who had to take on my job." Slantse stood up. "Please excuse me." And Slantse left the room.


    Kaika glared at Zene. "What are you in a hurry for? You had the option to help us earlier. And now you''re hurrying to get out of here. So, what happened?" He didn''t sound happy either.


    "Something fell out of the equation." Zene folded his arms.


    "Think a few times more before you speak, okay? I already know how we could use you, so just do as I say." Together with Kaika and Zene, silence also came along to haunt the room.


    Until Slantse came back.


    "Alright, Zene, what are you upset about?" Slantse sat down in his previous spot.


    "This place feels tight around my neck." Zene looked down, as if thinking through things.


    "Then just leave on your own¡ª" Zene added Kaika to the list of people he interrupted.


    "Then go ahead and follow your death if that is what it is you want." Zene stood up and looked at Kaika, waiting for him to say something.


    "Just what do you... Nevermind." Kaika couldn''t hide the fact that he''s holding back.


    "Zene, what do you mean?" Slantse stood up, too.


    "It''s nothing, at least according to a certain boy." Zene moved his chair aside, trying to make space for himself, but Slantse stopped him.


    "Mind if you tell me where you''re going?"


    They stood there, looking at each other. Silent.


    Until Disedinel came in. "What''s going on?" He looked at the table. Specifically on the book that is on the table. "Huh, isn''t the book... whatever, so, what happened? And why are you two standing like that?"


    "Zene''s being... unbearable." Kaika kept his gaze away from Zene.


    "I just talked to him a few minutes ago, though. Could it be you who is the problem?" Disedinel took a seat. "Let''s all take a seat, this isn''t how we should talk."


    "I am leaving." Kaika stood up.


    "No, take a seat."... But he was stopped from leaving, so he sat down again.


    The other two sat down, too.


    "Okay, Zene, what''s wrong?" Disedinel looked at Zene, determined to fix the issue that arose.


    "We have to leave. And not return here, for a long time." Zene looked back at Disedinel, sharing the resolve to have the problem solved.


    "Zene, please don''t say something like that in front of a native of the place." Disedinel rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.


    "... No, I understand what he means. But please, go on." Slantse looked down, digging himself into his thoughts.


    "Zene, what makes you think that?" He tilted his head.


    Disedinel''s question left Zene silent.


    ...


    "It will be inevitable. But it isn''t yet." He looked at his right hand.


    "What is that supposed to mean?" Disedinel leaned in closer to Zene.


    "Enough. All of you, go to sleep." Slantse stood up.


    Kaika, knowing it was the only thing he could do after the order, went upstairs.


    Disedinel, knowing he couldn''t do much for now, went upstairs, too.


    "I''ll go in the garden until I feel like it." Zene sauntered his way outside.


    Slantse nodded.


    And the situation was diffused. Temporarily.


    The garden was a decent size for one in the backyard. It had two circles and many flowers in them. Bushes were wrapped right around the circle.


    Right between the circles was a bench. With somebody on it.


    Vaneila was sat there.


    "So, what happened?" Vaneila crossed her arms, as she had already made a few guesses about the noise earlier.


    "I objected to waiting here. I asked where the ship is, too. But nothing." After he went around the flowers, he sat down next to Vaneila.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The white bench lets you comfortably stare at metal stands filled with more flowers.


    A lot of flowers.


    "There''s no point. I doubt they''ll make us wait for us to leave." Vaneila crossed her arms, imagining the scene.


    "Can''t we get the ship ourselves?" Zene looked down, thinking through scenarios.


    "I know where it is. The problem is how we''ll go there." Zene could tell the situation wasn''t good.


    More problems appear as he thinks it through.


    "Anyway, I''ll go take a rest. Make sure you don''t do anything stupid." She stood up and went back inside.


    Zene dove into his memories.


    "Zene, you''re gonna have to go along with them." It''s Astra.


    Zene recalled when they were on the cliff against the Linel Depression.


    "You sure? Home is far off the path you want me to go through." Zene folded his arms, looking at Astra, feeling ready to dismiss what he had to say at any moment.


    "Trust me on this one. Just do it. Okay?" Astra looked down on Zene, smiling.


    "Do you think I want to?" Zene stood up from the cliff, matching Astra''s level.


    "Do you think you know what you want?" Astra left Zene alone with his questions.


    ...


    "If you make me regret it, you''ll be part of Yugan." Zene looked at Astra with one serious look.


    "Woah, yeah, yeah, alright." Astra chuckled, backing off.


    "So, where are they now?" Zene looked at the depression.


    "Would now do?" Astra came closer.


    And Zene snapped back to the present.


    "Bastard." He frowned.


    "Hey, who''s a bastard?" Zene looked back, unpatient to figure out who spied on him.


    "So the devil does appear when you talk about him." He looked away from Astra.


    Astra now had a different, purple-themed once again, outfit. It was just a purple suit and black shoes.


    "Hm? A devil, where?" Astra looked around.


    "Ooh, you''re sarcastic!" Astra chuckled. "Quiet." Zene looked over his shoulder, checking if there''s anybody else around.


    "It feels nice seeing Earth-like planets, right?" He jumped over the bench and sat down on it.


    Zene looked at Astra, and away.


    "Just what did you do?" Zene clenched his fists.


    "Your composure has worsened, hasn''t it? Oh, well, just touched some things here and there." Astra imitated pressing buttons.


    He looked at Zene again. "Did I touch a nerve?"


    Zene moved his gaze further away from Astra.


    "You''re not wrong." And even further.


    "Why did you come anyway?" Zene looked back at Astra, at last maintaining eye contact.


    "Ah, Zene himself looking at me? Don''t make me blush. Okay, I''ll be serious." Astra took a deep breath.


    "I''ve only come to check on an old friend." Astra smiled.


    "You''re good at ruining the tempo." Zene looked at Astra with an annoyed face.


    "No worries, things are fine as they are now." Zene instantly stood up and walked inside, not even saying goodbye.


    "The room straight to the left after you go upstairs is yours." Slantse instructed Zene as he entered the living room.


    "Thanks. Are you not going to take a rest?" Zene looked at Slantse as he ambled towards the stairs.


    "I have some things to go through before I sleep. Good night." He waved at Zene.


    Zene only nodded before he went upstairs to his room.


    His room was small. It seems like the three left him the smallest room.


    He considered that possibility but thought it left him with less work tidying the room.


    A wide wardrobe was located to Zene''s right, and a bed in the corner of the room.


    The room had only one window, which wasn''t small or big. It left him with a view of the garden, but not anything else that is interesting.


    As a whole, the theme was off-white. A pleasant room.


    He noticed Astra wasn''t there, on the bench, anymore.


    Zene sighed, going to bed.


    As was falling asleep, he thought about how they day had gone.


    It was an eventful day. Except for that long wait in the room some time ago.


    But his thoughts wandered a bit too far, and he was distracted from sleeping.


    Trying to push the thoughts aside, he sighed. It was essential to get a rest.


    But suddenly, the sun lit up the room. It was morning already.


    Zene pushed back the covers and swung his legs over to the side of the bed.


    He laid down on the floor and stretched.


    Unfortunately for him, a knock had to interrupt his morning stretches.


    A voice could be heard.


    "Zene?"


    Zene looked at the door. "Come in." He stood up.


    The door opened, revealing Disedinel to be behind it.


    They greeted each other.


    "Zene, it''s breakfast. Come downstairs as soon as you can." Disedinel closed the door.


    After closing the door, Disedinel sighed.


    Put some clothes on beside your underwear before you let anybody come in, damn it.


    And soon enough, the five were gathered around the exit.


    "Alright, everybody. Follow my lead." Slantse unlocked the door, and they all left the house.


    "We''ll go to a place designated for us to eat. Got it? Oh, good morning." Somebody greeted them as they were walking on the street.


    "Are there no vehicles?" Zene looked around the streets.


    "Vehicles? You mean machines to assist us in moving? There are none."


    Zene looked down. "That is something to be proud of." He exclaimed.


    "Certainly." Slantse agreed, nodding once.


    They reached the place. Slantse opened the glass door for the four.


    The place offered a seat for the five of them. And five minutes later, the waiter handed everybody''s breakfast.


    "The breakfast here is free." It consisted of bread, bacon, cheese, and tomatoes.


    "Thank you on the behalf of my friends." Slantse shaked his head.


    "No problem." And they ate.


    "Slantse, when will we be able to get our luggage from our ship? We can''t go on like this for very long." Vaneila looked at Slantse, sounding genuine.


    "I think later today." He smiled.


    Vaneila sighed.


    "Really?"


    Slantse nodded in response to Disedinel.


    He finished his meal. "Excuse me, everybody." Slantse stood up, and he went somewhere inside the place.


    Perhaps the bathroom.


    Zene looked outside through the window next to the table. It revealed the garden of the restaurant.


    A few minutes later, the waiter came to the table.


    "Your friend Slantse is busy. He told me to go to your own house."


    Disedinel stood up. "Alright, guys. Let''s go. Thank you for the food." He bowed down.


    And they left the place.


    Disedinel reassured himself, reminding himself that their chance would be today.


    The walk was short. Not shorter than usual, though.


    They reached the house.


    "He locked it when we left, so it should be..." Disedinel opening the door interrupted Kaika''s worry.


    "It''s unlocked." Disedinel looked back and smiled, letting everybody go in.


    "There''s a note on the table." Zene noticed the note in the living room.


    Disedinel grabbed it and began reading it out loud after giving it a read himself.


    "The note says... Sorry, everybody. I won''t be able to be your escort anymore. It''s complicated, but... If that isn''t a problem, Zene will know where to go... Alright, what does that mean?" Disedinel looked up, pausing at Zene, waiting for everybody to share their opinion.


    "So, Zene, what did you do again?" Kaika glared at Zene.


    "Kaika, please don''t go at it again." Disedinel moved between Zene and Kaika.


    "Think this through, Disedinel. Look at him. Who knows what he did in the middle of the night?"


    Kaika pointed at Zene. But Disedinel lowered Kaika''s arm.


    "No pointing."


    "You two keep your mouth shut. Zene, what do you think?" Vaneila pushed aside Disedinel and Kaika, waiting to hear out Zene properly.


    Zene looked down.


    He sighed. "I am unsure. Perhaps the authorities found a replacement for him."


    "Can you explain the last part?" She picked up the note from Disedinels'' hands.


    "No... I don''t think I should explain it, but... Follow me." Zene opened the door and left the house.


    Vaneila and Disedinel followed him.


    She looked back at Kaika, who was still inside.


    "Do you need me to hold your hands?" Vaneila shot him with a serious look, and Kaika came out, too.


    "We''ll have to do this, everybody." Zene looked over his shoulders at the group as they walked.


    "Do what?" Disedinel raised an eyebrow.


    "Follow along. Then, you''ll find out." Zene smirked, visualising a scene in his head.

 Chapter 0.0010 | Jumping Secrets Around

    A bright sun from the skies shone on Chia. The sky was clear, no cloud present in the scene.


    The group just got out of their temporary house.


    Disedinel caught up with Zene''s new tempo, as the others began increasing theirs too.


    Now, side by side, Disedinel looked at Zene.


    "Just what do you know?" And he looked back at the street they were on.


    Disedinel counted in his head all the unusualities when it came to Zene.


    "Just follow me. At some point later, I''ll explain." And they went on...


    ...


    And they stopped in front of the same tall building from before.


    "You guys keep some distance." Zene approached the door.


    And it opened. From the other side.


    "Hey, you!" A stranger. The features worth mentioning are perhaps his brown hat and coat.


    "We''re looking for somebody. Mind if you help us?" Zene next approached the stranger.


    "Get down!" He took a few steps back.


    "At least I tried." Zene knocked out the stranger and took his coat and hat.


    He turned around to look back at the others, staring, confused.


    "Follow my plan. I''ll turn you in." Zene took a few handcuffs out of the coat.


    Kaika seemed reluctant, but he gave in.


    Thankfully, nobody was on the street. Zene left the stranger outside, lying down.


    After that, he walked further inside the building. When you enter, there''s a small corridor leading to another corridor.


    Zene walked further, looking left and right. Somebody saw him. They hurried to Zene.


    "Those behind you are the outsiders, right? Good job. What happened to your partner?" Zene scratched the back of his head, trying to play along.


    "He remained back. See, I have just three of them, while they must be four. It appears the other one escaped. We haven''t seen them at all." The stranger counted.


    "Oh, you''re right. Come, we''ll have them in their prepared rooms." And they walked further until...


    Zene heard shouting from one room specifically.


    "What is going on here?" He looked at the wooden door. Room 15.


    "That''s actually the guy with these guys you captured. There''s a suspicion that he has done some things on duty." Zene looked at the stranger.


    "Is that Slantse?" The stranger looked at Zene, surprised.


    "Oh, you know his name? Yeah."


    Zene looked behind the stranger, further inside the corridor. He gave a confused look.


    His confused look made the temporary colleague look back.


    Zene took the opportunity to grab his head.


    "Hey, what are you doing?" He shouted.


    Suddenly, he turned into an ice statue. Zene went as far as closing the corridor with an ice wall.


    He turned around and released everybody''s handcuffs.


    "This is it." He knocked on the door of "Room 15".


    A "Yeah?" was heard from the other side.


    Zene opened the door.


    It was two guys. Slantse and another member of the authority. Slantse was sitting on a chair in front of a table that had papers on it. Meanwhile, the other one was standing.


    "Huh? Who are you?" Zene let go of his coat and threw the hat away. Slantse''s eyes widened.


    Zene approached him. Then he slapped the guy.


    He fell to the ground. Zene asked himself if he really slapped him that hard.


    Zene looked at Slantse. "Zene, you''re here." Slantse smiled, trying to hold back tears.


    He stood up. "Let''s hurry. I''ll show you where your ship is."


    Disedinel showed his head, as if he wanted to say something.


    "Yeah." It felt like that wasn''t what he wanted to say.


    They hurried outside. There was a small crowd surrounding the man Zene knocked out earlier. Slantse looked at Zene. Zene shook his head. "I have something to admit. I''ll tell you later. This way, it''ll be faster if we go on foot." So they began running.


    "So, where is the ship?" Kaika sounded like he was out of breath already.


    "It''s in a garage nearby." Moments after Slantse finished, his pace increased.


    "Don''t tell me you''re tired already, Kaika? There''s a lot more ahead to cross our path." Everybody gave Zene a few glances, unsure what to make of what he said.


    "Huh?" Disedinel''s audible reaction was quite enough to go unnoticed.


    It wasn''t only Zene who got weird looks. It was everybody. The small street crowd would stare at them, worried.


    "Right around this corner." Slantse stopped in front of a grey house. It was somewhat big.


    He knocked on the door. "It''s me!" He continued to knock, causing somebody to open the door.


    The one who opened the door was an elderly man. He wore a blue shirt and a pair of blue shorts.


    "Yeah, yeah. Come on." His voice made it clear that he was annoyed.


    Slantse came in. "Come inside, everybody."


    Everybody entered.


    "This is a nice house." Disedinel looked at the old man, smiling, as he complimented the house.


    "So what?" And it seems like it wasn''t received well.


    "Well..." Disedinel looked down.


    "Anyway! Follow me, everybody. The ship is right behind that door." Slantse walked to it. He looked back.


    Zene hurried to Slantse. He opened the door. "Let''s go."


    Slantse sighed. "Right. Let''s go!"


    The door led to stairs leading to what should be a basement.


    And after several metres worth of going down, Slantse turned on the lights, revealing a big room.


    The room had several ships inside. Including the ship of the group.


    "Is the old guy collecting these ships?" Kaika chuckled.


    "It has probably bothered you guys, but I had the ship repaired. The engines were broken, but they''re fine." They stopped right in front of the ship.


    The ship''s white-red colours shone.


    Disedinel wondered if it had been washed.


    "So, Zene. I have something to ask." Zene turned towards Slantse.


    "May I... come with you guys, too?" Zene raised both his eyebrows.


    "Why are you asking Zene?" Kaika whispered to himself.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation."Yes! Yes, you can!" Disedinel answered instead of Zene.


    "I can?" Slantse smiled at Disedinel.


    "Of course! Everybody is fine with it!" And there goes Disedinel, saying something he doesn''t know.


    "Thank you, everybody. I''ve always wanted to go outside of Chia. Come on, let''s go." Disedinel nodded.


    "Alright, everybody. Let me just open the roof so we can launch." He went back to the entrance of the room and clicked another button, close to the switch for the lights.


    After that, Disedinel showed Slantse the trapdoor.


    Everyone was inside.


    "Say, Slantse, why did you ask Zene instead of us?" Kaika approached Slantse.


    "... Is he not the captain?" Slantse looked at Kaika, actually unsure about who the captain was.


    Now we can say that Slantse certainly shares something in common with Zene and Vaneila.


    "I am." Kaika shook his head, looking down. As if he were disappointed.


    "No, I am." Disedinel moved between Slantse and Kaika, looking at Kaika.


    "Apologies, but I''ll have to assume the leadership of the group." Zene crossed his arms.


    Slantse could only stare, confused.


    "You''re not even part of us, you just came in, and suddenly we have to accept that?" Kaika turned around, facing the wall.


    "We have a new member. And how do we welcome them? By arguing?" Vaneila crossed her arms.


    "... I''ll start the engine." Disedinel looked down, embarrassed, before leaving the room.


    "I''ve prepared the ship to pass through the barrier. So there''s no worries for that. Just saying." Slatnse tried to make it clear to Disedinel in the other room about it.


    By increasing the tone, that is.


    "Thank you for everything." Zene made a bow. A deep one.


    "Oh, no, no." Slantse took a step back.


    "Guys, sit down! We''ll go in a moment!" Disedinel''s voice could''ve been caught in what could be called the living room of the ship.


    "I am excited!" Slantse couldn''t hide his wide smile.


    They followed Disedinel''s instructions.


    He appeared out of the cased opening. "I''ll be in the control room. I see everybody is ready. We go as soon as I am, too."


    ...


    And so, the ship flew out of Chia.


    ...


    The ship stopped.


    And Disedinel came inside the room.


    "We''re now out of Chia for good." Disedinel sighed.


    Kaika stood up.


    "Alright, the plan is to make silent manoeuvres, avoiding contact with a certain group."


    Slantse stood up, too.


    "You mean the men of Factor? Chia has had many problems with them recently." Kaika nodded.


    "He has also blockaded Toree, our destination. If he just wasn''t present, this would be like a walk in the park." Kaika sighed.


    "Toree?" Disedinel smiled at Slantse, realising why he didn''t know about Toree.


    "It''s the planet we''re going to." Slantse looked up, visualising the group going there.


    "Woah. It''ll be my first time there. What are you going there for?" Slantse looked at Kaika.


    Then at Disedinel.


    Neither could answer the question. Zene sighed and crossed his arms.


    "Anyway, who is this Factor guy?" Zene looked at Disedinel.


    "He''s an outlaw. He also has a big navy." Disedinel looked at the floor, unsure what to add.


    "Why hasn''t he been dealt with?" Zene once again pushes Disedinel to a corner. Well, not literally.


    "I can''t know for certain. The HQ I''ve always been at isn''t involved with this matter. Anyway, now that we''ve cleared everything, we should be ready to go." Disedinel looked at Kaika, waiting for his approval.


    "I''ll drive. Zene, this time, you stay still." Kaika glared at Zene before moving to the control room.


    Slantse looked at Zene, curious what Kaika meant.


    "Wait, let me take a look at my planet from space!" Slantse walked over to the control room.


    ...


    Later, the ship once again began flying, but this time not so fast.


    "Do we even need the seat belts if we''re not going fast at all?" Zene prepared to unlock the seat belts.


    "It''s perfectly safe without them. But please keep them on." Disedinel stopped Zene.


    Slantse found it hard to find their meaning in that case.


    "So why aren''t we going faster? If we get spotted, can''t we just outspeed them?" Slantse brought up a good point.


    "The problem is that they have fields similar to the one of Chia. If we hide our presence, it won''t grab us." Disedinel presented his knowledge.


    "You made your research, huh?" Slantse chuckled as he looked down.


    "I just heard of it." Disedinel looked away.


    "It''s only a matter of time until we engage in combat with them." Zene paused.


    "Could we please expand on why we can''t do that currently?" Disedinel looked at Zene weirdly.


    Disedinel gave it some well-deserved thought.


    "Let''s say we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by them. If we tried to fight them, then somehow stall them, then Chia would likely interfere, capturing us again." Zene took a deep breath, preparing to reply, but Disedinel continued. "That''s one of a few more problems."


    "I believe Chia won''t be a problem." Zene placed his hands on the table, pressing his index fingers against each other.


    "Zene?" Disedinel looked at Zene, obviously puzzled.


    After a pause, Disedinel continued. "It often feels like you''re cutting most of your sentences short."


    Zene shifted his gaze from his fingers to Disedinel.


    "You don''t want the rest. Neither do I." Zene looked back at his fingers, pressing them harder.


    "So there isn''t anything important you''re hiding?" Disedinel leaned back.


    "Those are things that are out of the board. For now." Zene looked at Slantse intently.


    "Huh?" Slantse looked away from Zene. Then he looked back. "What?"


    "Nothing." Zene relaxed his hands on the table. His head, too.


    ...


    And the room remained silent.


    And remained silent for so long.


    Disedinel sighed.


    He took a deep breath.


    "Zene, I think that we need to talk more." Zene raised his head, meeting Disedinel''s gaze.


    "Alright, I''ll tell you everything I know... some other time." Zene rested his head again.


    "Zene, I don''t think we can have you go on like this." Disedinel looked away, trying to think of something.


    "And if I continue to stay silent? Throw me out of the ship?" This time, Zene didn''t bother looking at Disedinel.


    "Well, no. Wouldn''t you come back?" Disedinel, feeling uncomfortable looking at Zene''s head instead of meeting his eyes, talked, still looking away.


    "So you did consider that option?" "No! It''s just... when you suddenly came earlier, it really surprised me. So..." "Alright." And silence haunted the room. Again.


    "Sorry for shouting."


    ...


    Zene looked up. "It''ll be easier if you trust me."


    Disedinel couldn''t reply.


    ...


    It was clear he wanted to, but knew it came with a risk.


    "I will." Vaneila finally had her first say in the conversation.


    Disedinel looked at his sister, slightly surprised.


    "You will? Why?" "I''ll keep it a secret." Disedinel felt like hitting his head against the table. At least multiple times.


    "What''s with you two teaming up on me?" He looked at Slantse, expecting him to say something.


    "Eh? Uh, I think I can trust Zene on this, Disedinel." Slantse shrugged after he finished.


    ....


    Disedinel giggled. "I guess we''ll all carry the decision." He also shrugged.


    "Thank you. I''d bow down if I wasn''t sitting." Zene anyway tried to, anyway.


    Disedinel crossed his arms as he purposefully looked away from Zene.

 Chapter 1.0001 | A Leash Somewhere

    The ship stopped. The group''s chat was interrupted. And Kaika passed through the group, silent.


    "Hey, what happened?" Slantse asked, clueless. Kaika ignored him as he left the room.


    "Don''t worry. I am sure he''s just in a hurry." Disedinel looked down.


    Meanwhile, Zene assumed something different.


    "When do you think we''ll make it?" Slantse went back on topic. Disedinel shrugged.


    "It''d take a while unless we pace it up."


    "Do you think we''d have to fight?" Zene stood up. He stretched.


    "I think... It''s going to be an option throughout the whole way there." Disedinel stood up, too. Perhaps feeling uneasy by the lack of movement.


    "There are two main fleets. Both are currently nearby Toree, so... well, we might have to force our way there. But once we enter Toree, we should be fine." Slantse hummed. "Wait, why doesn''t he just capture Toree?" And he asked a good question.


    Kaika entered the room.


    "It''s because he lacks the men to occupy the planet." He gave the answer.


    "Aha."


    "Kaika, when do you think we''ll reach Toree?" Disedinel asked for Slantse.


    "Say, why doesn''t your nation just destroy this guy?" As Zene asked, he crossed his arms, disappointed.


    Everybody looked at Zene. Disedinel was unsure of what to say. Slantse was curious, and Vaneila watched.


    Then, everybody''s gaze shifted to Kaika.


    "Why are you all looking at me? ... Whatever, well, it''s because his fleet isn''t weak. So the price for a decisive battle would be costly." He shrugged as he walked back to the control room.


    "Then I''ll slay him for you. Then, you won''t be mad at me, right?" Zene stunned Kaika right as he just left. ... He turned around and approached Zene. "Sure. You kill him as we all go inside Toree, unbothered." Kaika smiled. Slantse thought he was sarcastic, but Disedinel thought not. He rushed between Kaika and Zene.


    "We won''t have Zene sacrifice himself. Besides, Factor has fleets, if anything, those fleets will all be coming our way, and... Honestly, to spare you my rant, I won''t let it happen."


    However, Zene didn''t see himself as a sacrifice. "Is he that much of a threat? It''s fine. I''ll only..." Disedinel interrupted Zene, and he turned around to face him.


    "Look, Zene, I understand you, but..."


    Kaika interrupted Disedinel. "No, Factor will be a threat now or later, we''ll just have to..."


    The group interrupted each other until Vaneila stopped it all.


    "You guys shut up! All of you sit down, and I''ll navigate the ship." She stood up, but before she could continue walking to the control room, Kaika stopped her.


    "Fine, but as long as I am there. After all, I am the expert here."


    Zene chuckled at Kaika after that last part.


    Kaika glared at him.


    "Yeah, that''s what I was gonna do anyway." The two headed to the control room.


    "Are you guys like this all the time?" Slantse looked at Zene.


    But he was silent.


    "I''d like to say no, but I guess this is how it is." Disedinel shrugged.


    "Disedinel, I don''t know what''s going on between you, but we can''t fight each other." Disedinel nodded.


    They all sat down.


    Except Zene.


    "Zene, mind if you sit down?" Disedinel looked at Zene. Zene looked back at Disedinel, making eye contact.


    "Might not get the chance to." Disedinel was left confused.


    "What do you mean?" Slantse shared the confusion.


    Kaika showed up suddenly. "Guys, we''ve spotted a ship." Disedinel jumped. "What?"


    "It''s not of an enemy. Maybe." "Maybe? It''s not a ship of Factor?" Disedinel sighed. Only to gasp a moment later. "A ship of the Empire?"


    Kaika shook his head. "Not that either. It''s not somebody we know at all."


    "So, what will you do?" Zene turned towards Kaika.


    "Well, we thought of going past it. And I am here to check on you guys." Kaika shrugged after looking away.


    Slantse thought he should think of something.


    "I''ll go check out that ship." Everybody looked at Zene, all three with an expression obviously saying, "Seriously?".


    "Oh, of course! I''ll show you where to leave through. Come." Kaika began walking upstairs as he made a gesture for Zene to follow him.


    "No! Zene, what are you thinking?" Disedinel complained, but was ignored.


    He knew he would become mad, so he calmed down.


    Disedinel followed the two upstairs.


    As you''re upstairs, you''ll be in a tight room. To the right was a long countertop.


    The basic kitchen furniture, to put it short.


    "After you go through this door, carefully close the same door, then open the other door, and you can go outside." Kaika explained to Zene how to go outside.


    When you enter the... kitchen room, a few metres ahead of you will be the door Kaika was talking about. It had a little window, perhaps allowing you to take a peek at who is outside.


    "Zene, if you''re gonna go, you can''t go like that!" After he caught up, Disedinel immediately stopped them.


    "My body is not bothered by space. So there''s nothing to fear." Disedinel couldn''t believe it.


    "Are you telling me you''re a robot, or something? You won''t even last 10 minutes without protection!"


    Zene was left silent.


    "Well... My body isn''t precisely of a robot. But that does not matter if I can survive in space." Zene crossed his arms. Kaika chuckled. Disedinel sighed. Sighed... together with Slantse.


    "Huh? You''re here?" Disedinel jumped slightly. "Yup."


    "So you''re telling me you can survive in space?" Zene nodded, responding to Disedinel''s question.


    Disedinel looked down, unsure what to say.


    "What if we need to contact you?" "You won''t need to." With a straight face, Zene replied instantly.


    "What if you need to contact us?" "I won''t need to." ...


    "So, gonna let him go?" Kaika looked at Disedinel, tired of this conversation.


    Disedinel remained silent.


    "Believe in me." Zene''s words surprised Disedinel. His words, although a request for trust, sounded a lot more like a command.


    "I, alright. I will, but... I''ll have you pay if something happens." Kaika shrugged. "What could happen?" Disedinel glared at Kaika.


    "Go downstairs, Kaika. Just go." Disedinel looked at Kaika, urging him to go downstairs.


    "Fine." So he went there, leaving Disedinel and Zene alone.


    "Anyway, how would you even move in space without any equipment?"


    Disedinel opened the door they were standing next to all this time. It led to a small white room, likely unfit for more than four people.


    "Enter inside, and the other door will open." The door Disedinel referred to was a door, on which was a little window, through which you could take a peek at the space.


    Zene did as he was told.


    And a few moments later, the second door opened.


    He felt space pulling him outside, so he let go of his resistance.


    The door closed behind him.


    Zene immediately saw the other ship.


    Although it is a spaceship, it looks more like a motorcycle, but for space.


    From the ship''s wall, he propelled himself towards the other ship.


    For a good while, he was barely moving, but at last, he made it there.


    Zene grabbed onto the ship. The little ship had a window that kept two seats, one for a driver and one for a passenger, in a closed place. And that window opened on its own, stretching upward.


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    On the other side...


    "Huh, so he can survive in space." Kaika looked at the display that showed a video of the other ship.


    "Wait, how did that open itself? Did Zene open it?" Slantse moved closer to the display.


    "Oh, well, what do we do?" Kaika shrugged as he still watched the ship.


    Is he even trying?


    "Well... We''ll trust Zene. Alright?" Disedinel continued to watch along with the others.


    The video showed how Zene sat in the driver seat.


    And moments later, the window dropped back down, leaving Zene inside.


    "What is he doing?" Slantse muttered.


    Right before their eyes, the ship suddenly blasted off. The only thing they could really do is watch.


    "Huh, who''d think that old model would still function properly?" Kaika chuckled. By force.


    "Quick, follow the ship!" Disedinel shouted, his sentence barely comprehensible.


    Slantse backed away, while the others got to work.


    Vaneila launched the ship, the engines roared as the pursuit began.


    "Could we figure out where he''s headed to?" Slantse asked in the middle of the chaos.


    "We could, but that thing''s moving too fast." Disedinel replied, his calmness clearly absent.


    "Did he launch it on his own?" Kaika looked at Disedinel.


    ...


    "How would he know how to pilot it?" Disedinel finally answered, guessing that the question was directed towards him.


    Kaika couldn''t respond.


    The chase went on to go for the worse.


    "So he''s seriously faster than us? He''s actually going to outspeed us?" Kaika''s realisation of the situation was evident in his voice.


    Zene''s ship made an unexpectedmanoeuvre, diving into a dense cluster of cosmic debris. The crew gasped, fearing what seemed inevitable.


    However, the ship somehow navigated through the debris with ease.


    "If Zene''s the one who is piloting that ship, then he''s either incredibly skilled or incredibly lucky." Slantse mused.


    "That cluster is too huge... We''ll have to slow down for this one, our ship''s too big to go through that so fast." Vaneila made it clear what she was about to do.


    And Disedinel had to accept it.


    "So we can''t go around it?" Slantse asked innocently.


    "Do you see any way to do that?" Kaika''s words forced silence between the group.


    After a long minute of struggle, they went through the cluster, revealing the clear view of the stars together with the dark.


    "No sign of him..." Disedinel sighed.


    "Is that a sign of an island? Look." Kaika pointed at a monitor.


    "That is... so. We''ll stop there." Disedinel looked at it.


    They approached the island.


    Kaika pulled out the visuals.


    "That looks like a fort from some fictional book."


    The island had a fort with four towers connected by walls.


    It was all made of some kind of debris.


    The island was just barely big enough to hold that fortress. In front of the fort was enough space for our ship to land on. So fortunate.


    "This island has an atmosphere? Wait, there''s somebody there, too?" Kaika looked closer to the display, and he reported.


    "Is that so? Let''s land."


    And the ship landed.


    After leaving the ship, they looked at the fortress. From their view, they could see a huge opening, perhaps once the gate of the fort.


    "This looks like a fort from the ancient times in my home." A few eerie thoughts entered Slantse''s head as he muttered those words. He shook it off.


    "Let''s find out who is inside." Disedinel took the lead and went inside.


    Well, it''s not so inside, as there was no roof. Judging by the walls, Disedinel figured out that''s how it was designed.


    The ground was made of debris, too. Everything was of the same material.


    In each corner was a wooden door, clearly a quick entrance to the towers.


    There was another door. Which stood right in front of Disedinel. Along with the door, there was a man who was lying down in front of it.


    The man wore a grey hood and a black outfit.


    "Uh, Disedinel? Is that guy, you know... alive?" Kaika asked, hiding behind Disedinel.


    Suddenly, the man stood up.


    "As alive as ever." Disedinel and Kaika jumped, while the others tried to take a peek at what was happening.


    He took his hood off. Everybody analysed him. Short black hair, brown eyes... Looks masculine.


    "A ghost around here or?" He looked around, acting like he didn''t know the obvious.


    "Hello... there. I am Disedinel. These are my friends. And you?" Disedinel tried to compose himself, while the others stared.


    "Mircea. So, what are you doing here? You know how it goes around these parts, right?" Disedinel looked down.


    "We''re going to Toree. Wanna join us?" Slantse stepped forward.


    The man looked at the group carefully. "You guys? You guys got some guts." Kaika looked back intently.


    Over forty thousand cel count...


    "Say, did you notice a small ship passing by at most ten minutes ago?" Kaika pushed Disedinel to the side slightly.


    "Yeah. What do you want to know?" "A friend of ours was inside that ship. We lost him." Disedinel quickly spilled the deal.


    ...


    "Yeah, alright, I''ll tell you what''s up if you let me ride on your ship on your way to Toree." That was straightforward. "How much can you even say?" "Enough." The conversation between Mircea and Disedinel progressed quickly.


    "Alright, I think we can agree to that."


    "Hold on. Disedinel, this guy is a stranger." Kaika moved in front of Disedinel.


    "Yeah, but we''re five, and he''s one." "Four." "Right." Disedinel looked at the group. Yes, they were indeed four without Zene.


    "Well, alright, captain." Kaika walked away.


    "Okay, so, Mircea, what do you know?" Instead of replying, he walked past the group. "I''ll tell you inside the ship." Disedinel nodded to himself and whispered, "Yeah, right.".


    And the group went inside the ship.


    After sitting down, they began the discussion.


    "First, I didn''t sense anybody in that ship." ...


    "Ah, yeah. Our friend is special. He basically takes no effect from compulsion." Disedinel chuckled to himself.


    "Okay. So he ran away from you?" Mircea''s assumption was solid.


    But...


    "That''s not it. He''s, well, kidnapped, I think. I don''t think he can pilot ships." Disedinel explained, his tone obviously reflecting concern. Mircea, leaning against the wall, listened attentively.


    Disedinel continued, "We tried to chase him, but the ship was too fast."


    Mircea spoke up. "Interesting fellow. To have an absolute resistance to compulsion is unthinkable. I might know where he was dragged to after being nabbed."


    Everyone looked at Mircea, desperate to know.


    He finished, "Factor''s main ship." ...


    Slantse shrugged, still trying to make sense of the situation. "So what''s the plan? Factor''s main ship sounds much more risky to infiltrate than some little headquarter in the middle of nowhere in Chia." Absolutely right.


    Kaika, until now listening in silently, finally spoke. "We continue to Toree. To me, that''s the reasonable choice."


    Disedinel frowned. "But Zene..."


    Mircea moved towards the control room. "Captain, I''ll assist in navigating. I am familiar with around here." His offer was definitely helpful.


    "Oh, sure. Don''t make any sudden moves, though. You should know why."


    And Mircea let himself analyse the situation, moving the ship accordingly.


    Thus, the ship continued its journey to Toree.


    Meanwhile, the discussion in the group was focused on its topic.


    So Slantse decided to make an attempt at lightening up the mood. "Anybody got stories to pass the time?"


    Disedinel forced a smile. "Now''s not the time, Slantse."


    Slantse was reminded of the gravity of the situation.


    Meanwhile, Vaneila scratched her head, feeling off.


    Kaika, sitting in the corner, sighed.


    And Mircea joined back in. "I''ve been through a few scrapes around these parts. Trick is to look and keep yourself one step ahead."


    Slantse, curious, asked, "Do you mean, like, pirates?"


    Mircea chuckled. "Pirates? Sure. Bounty hunters? You name it. The parts close to here are a mess."


    Then Mircea returned to navigating the ship.


    Suddenly, the ship surged forward with great speed, catching everyone off their guard.


    The sudden change in speed sent the group struggling for balance.


    "H-Hey, we aren''t supposed to be going fast, right?" Slantse exclaimed, just barely keeping his footing stable.


    "Mircea, what did you do?" Disedinel shouted as he stood up from the floor.


    Mircea grinned as he leaned on the control panels. "Testing the ship. It''s not too bad."


    "We''ll get caught from this speed! Mircea, we all know what you''re doing!" Kaika rushed towards Mircea, hurrying to slow down the ship.


    Mircea raised his hand. And suddenly, Kaika lost his balance and fell to the ground.


    Mircea clapped twice. "There''s no fun in being slow. Besides, this way I''ll get to boss faster."


    Disedinel took a step back. "It''s true we''ll get there faster like this, but we''ll get caught!"


    Mircea frowned. "Alright, captain. I see that you need it to be put clearly." He took a deep breath.


    "I am your enemy, Disedinel. Got it?"


    The reveal hung in the air. The words of Mircea took a while to fully sink in.


    The atmosphere shifted to a tense one.


    Each member exchanged glances, worried for the outcome of this.


    Disedinel thought it through. His face looked puzzled.


    He knew things weren''t going well.


    And he was ready for it.

 Chapter 1.0002 | Another One

    Vaneila stepped forward, in front of the group and in front of Mircea.


    "We''ll surrender." Everybody looked at Vaneila weirdly.


    Confused, Slantse muttered. "We will?"


    "Good. You guys can''t do anything by now anyway." Mircea crossed his arms and smiled.


    Vaneila turned around.


    "Nobody resist, alright? It''ll be fine." Her words should be reassuring, yet... They weren''t.


    "Trust my sister. Because I do." Disedinel looked back at Kaika and Slantse.


    "You''re too much... I am going upstairs." Kaika left the room after standing up.


    "I... I don''t know. I will trust you."


    And the ship flew through space.


    And flew...


    Until it came to the moment of the enemies showing up.


    Mircea slowed down the ship and scanned the controls.


    He leaned in on the console. "Hello, connection? Mircea''s here."


    And he received a signal back.


    The speakers on the ship started. "Halt! Surrender immediately!"


    Mircea cut off the opposite side. "Yeah, yeah. Come in already."


    He stopped the ship.


    A short minute later, the ship was intruded upon by enemies.


    They were all in black outfits, some with different sub-colours.


    Their outfit was a full-body outfit with a mask.


    Our group had to gather in the living room.


    One soldier stood out.


    Instead of a mask, this man was bare-headed.


    "Sir, this man wishes to talk to you." A regular spoke to what seemed to be their boss.


    "They wish... Wait, Mircea? What are you doing here?" It seems like he recognises Mircea.


    Mircea sighed, then grinned.


    "Yeah. I was dying of boredom in my place, so I took the opportunity to get out of there and return to the main ship, together with these guys." The boss looked around.


    He looked back at Mircea. "You got these bunch to submit? Nasty stuff."


    Mircea shrugged, "They did it themselves. Feel free to confine them, but know they''re mine."


    The boss laughed. "Hah, it''s not like Fedor will punish you for coming back with empty hands."


    Mircea frowned "Yeah, right."


    "He''s got a plan. You''ll find out more when you return." Mircea nodded.


    Meanwhile, the group watched; their hands were already in handcuffs.


    The handcuffs weren''t a pair that''d just lock your arms tightly. It''d also, although not completely, nullify the powers.


    A thought crossed Mircea''s mind.


    If that guy really isn''t affected by compulsion, then...


    His train of thought was cut, "Let''s go.", and with the command, everybody marched outside.


    It turns out that, through the door in the kitchen, the enemies have connected their ship and ours with a pipe.


    And soon enough, the group was thrown into a dark room...


    Or, room might not be the precise word, as there is no door.


    After they were left alone in there, a wall appeared.


    It was like several lasers made a wall.


    Slantse tried to touch it.


    "Woah, never seen this kind of thing." He tried to push himself through, but it was like a wall was actually there.


    Kaika looked up at Slantse, curious. "You''ve never? Doesn''t Chia also have this kind of technology?"


    Slantse gazed back. "Oh, well, there might be in the big cities. Outside of them, you''d think you''ve went back in time by years." Kaika recalled his time in Chia.


    Slantse sighed.


    The situation could''ve been worse. But there is definitely hope. Disedinel stood up with a tall posture. "Everybody, just rest. We need it."


    Rest... Their room currently has just two beds. One for two corners. So... "There are two beds, we need to think of something." Slantse''s question was well thought out. Or not.


    Disedinel sat down on one of the beds. On the same bed, Vaneila was sitting down, too. "We can''t do anything about it. The trip will probably not last longer than thirty minutes. Me and Kaika can last that long without sleep. Well, it''s not like I am tired, anyway."


    "Wait, what?" Kaika''s head rose like lightning. "Well... I don''t feel tired either." Kaika turned his back against Disedinel after standing up.


    "See? No problem." Disedinel chuckled.


    The only thing the group could do from now on is wait.


    And wait.


    After a long hour, our friends sensed that the ship they were on had stopped.


    The laser wall went off, followed by several guards surrounding the group.


    "Follow us." one said.


    The group could only do as they said.


    They were led to stairs that went down and down.


    Until they were met with a well-lit, spacious garage. The room was filled to the brim with the noise of machinery.


    So many ships, Slantse thought.


    There really were many.


    Outside of the ship, they immediately noticed Mircea and his buddy talking. Until they noticed each other.


    Mircea smirked. "Welcome to my home, friends."


    Then he sighed. Perhaps sarcastically.


    "Alas, I''ll be unable to claim my trophy, but... Anyway, boys, leave them to me." Mircea gestured for our group to follow them.


    This can''t be anything else, Disedinel thought. He deduced it was the main ship of Factor.


    But still... They had to obey.


    By Mircea, they were led through what seems like an endless series of metallic corridors.


    After one turn, the corridor became bigger and bigger... Eventually, the group and Mircea stopped in front of a colossal entrance guarded by... guards. Afterward, the enormous doors slid open, revealing a massive room.


    The ceiling was high, so it looked like a hangar rather than a room.


    In the distance, there was a huge platform a few metres up.


    "Move." The guards hurried them to move, so our group did so. Including Mircea.


    The doors closed behind them.


    Unlike their cell earlier, this room was well lit by numerous yellow lights.


    On the platform was a long cover.


    Behind it, anybody from Kaika, Disedinel, Slantse, or Vaneila could sense who was behind those curtains.


    As the curtains drew apart, a towering figure emerged behind them.


    It was a giant skeleton. It wore a dark cloak, covering its shoulders and back. A somewhat tattered yet ornate robe with strange symbols.


    And the skeleton was¡ªFactor. Also called Fedor Trigger.


    Mircea grinned, looking at Factor. "Well, well, if it isn''t the big boss himself. Long time no see, Trigger."


    Factor faced Mircea. "It appears fate has brought you here, Mircea. The reason I brought you here is to share my plans personally with you."


    Mircea crossed his arms. "All ears, boss."


    Factor nodded. "Toree is close. It''s right in my grasp. Within no time, it shall be mine. Mircea, your mission will be to infiltrate Toree."


    Mircea looked down, then up, obviously taking that off guard. "Sorry, you want me to do... that?"


    Meanwhile, while the two were having a conversation, Slantse tapped on Kaika''s shoulder and whispered, "Hey, why is that guy talking alone?"


    Kaika whispered back. "Factor talks with his compulsion. So he chooses who hears what."


    And now, it makes sense.


    After all, you wouldn''t want to tell your enemies of your plan, even if they are confined.


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    Factor continued. "I understand your worry. I''ve already prepared a team of elites to execute the plan with you. You''ll have to land on Toree and take down, at least partially, its defences. Then... I''ll blast a ray through that planet and take its leftovers." Mircea looked back down.


    "And what will you do with the leftovers?" Mircea uncrossed his arms.


    "I''ll build a new planet and claim it mine." Suddenly, laughter echoed throughout the room.


    This time, everybody heard it.


    "This dude is crazy." Slantse muttered.


    The laughter stopped. "Mircea, a colleague outside the gate will meet you. Now go. I have some other business to do."


    "Alright, boss." Mircea turned around. The giant doors opened.


    Behind the doors was the man Factor was talking about, along with somebody else.


    That somebody else walked inside, and the door closed behind him.


    Black hair, red eyes... white skin. It was the one and only.


    After Disedinel turned around, he shouted, "Zene!"


    Zene also had handcuffs. And a dark jumpsuit.


    "Hello, everybody. And hello again, mister skeleton."


    "Ah, there he is. Hello, mister likes to ignore me." Factor''s voice echoed well in the chamber.


    Everybody lined up and looked up at Factor.


    "Listen to me. Disedinel, your friend, Zene, is ignoring me." Kaika chuckled at Factor after looking down, that is.


    Disedinel faced Factor. "I believe that it is because Zene... Well, can''t interact with compulsion. So he can''t understand you." And his expression went from uncertain to certain.


    Factor nodded again. "That''s what I thought. I''d like you to convince him to join me." Everybody looked at Factor, taken aback by Factor''s request.


    Zene looked at everybody. "What''s with your faces?"


    Disedinel decided to fill in. "Factor wants you to join him, pretty much."


    Zene crossed his arms. "Oh, again?" He sighed.


    "Now! Kaika, bow down to me. Get on the floor and apologize." Factor''s request once again is quite surprising to our group. Especially to Kaika.


    "Huh, why should I?" Kaika looked away.


    But suddenly, Kaika fell to the floor.


    "Because it''s your fault for everything!"


    Slantse looked at Factor, then back to Kaika. "Kaika, what did you do to upset him?"


    "Oh, I''ll tell you. It''s because of him, Nulkai Empire defeated me three years ago!"


    The gravity of the situation was strong, yet...


    Slantse looked shocked. "Hold on, you were beaten up by a... Thirteen year old? Kaika, you''re fifteen, right?"


    The room... Stayed silent.


    And silent.


    "Huh, if you put it that way, then it is funny..." Zene...


    "Anyway, guys, this Factor guy is knowledgeable, rig¡ª"


    "Stop." Zene was interrupted by Factor. But wait...


    "¡ªht? He must be." Everybody except Kaika looked at Zene, simply shocked.


    Zene rubbed his chin with his arms crossed. "Considering that, though... Perhaps not that much."


    Zenes'' deadly punches hurt.


    Kaika chuckled. "You''re immune to gravity, huh? Yeah... I am fifteen."


    With a voice of authority, Factor spoke. "Disedinel. Tell Zene that I am willing to forgive him if he joins me."


    "Hmm, thing is¡ª" "Zene. Just stop for a moment. Factor says that he''ll forgive you if you join him." Disedinel did as he was told and interrupted Zene.


    Zene froze.


    He looked at Factor with an expression... That, well, doesn''t do its job.


    "Do you want my honest reaction?"


    Factor nodded.


    Zene raised his hand in the matter of a moment.


    And along with his hand, he raised his middle finger.


    Everybody, really, could only watch as Zene continued with the same attitude.


    Factor''s empty eye sockets seemed to emanate great frustration.


    Suddenly, the gates opened.


    Subsequent to that, the marching noises of many guards sent noises throughout the corridors and the vast room.


    Zene turned to Kaika. "Kaika, can you walk?"


    Kaika nodded. "Yeah, but with these handcuffs, I¡ª" Kaika''s handcuffs suddenly fell apart. "Now?" Kaika stood up, pretty much answering Zene''s question.


    The guards had surrounded the group by the time Zene and Kaika were done.


    Kaika looked around carefully. "What was that for anyway?"


    Zene stomped, and in the aftermath, a platform of ice rose up under our party. Moment later, Zene swung his arm, and a path of ice appeared.


    "Let''s rush outside.", and everybody of our group followed Zene''s say.


    The gates were closing, so they hurried. And made it.


    However, Zene ended up hitting his head against the closed gates.


    One of the guards shouted. "Haha. You''re not going anywhere."


    Zene was stuck in this place.


    All the guards pointed their guns at him, ready to shoot at any time.


    One guard took a few steps forward.


    "Surrender, and we will spare you."


    These guns they held weren''t made of just compulsion, so this time, Zene would indeed be affected if...


    The same guard exclaimed. "Choose the winning side!"


    Zene cast a serious gaze on the guard. "The winning side? Is that so? Let''s talk about that during the aftermath, shall we? If you can, that is."


    Suddenly, Zene made a wall around him, covering himself.


    Following this, he leaned against the wall with his back.


    He froze a small part of the gate, enough to then unfreeze it and make it to the other side of it like that.


    Immediately, he was greeted by his companions waiting for him, worried.


    Disedinel noticed Zene, surprised, but happy. "Zene! I was dead worried for you."


    Zene looked stunned. Somewhat, that is. "Oh, okay. Disedinel, take a look at this." He handed Disedinel a watch. "What''s this watch for?"


    Zene looked up. Perhaps recalling some of his memories. "It''s a watch of a ship. I heard you could track it down with your powers." At the same time, Zene froze Disedinel''s handcuffs. Afterward, he got them off him.


    So now, Disedinel could use compulsion.


    Disedinel nodded. Sighing out of relief. "So we have a ship to ourselves? Come on, let''s go to it, follow me."


    Slantse jumped. "Yeah!"


    Before they continued, Zene turned around and touched the gate with his hands; it was actually opening slowly... And in a few moments, the gate was frozen.


    Slantse was in awe, but they had to rush.


    And they rushed towards the ship.


    The group had to take many turns, left and right.


    A few calls here and there, but Zenes'' powers came in handy.


    But behind one door that Zene smashed with his legs was where one of the garages was.


    One guard shouted. "Hey, who are those?" And another. "Those are prisoner clothes!"


    Slantse faced Kaika. "Hey, Kaika, mind if you get rid of mine and Vaneilas'' handcuffs?" Kaika nodded. He touched both handcuffs for a moment.


    Slantse took them off. "Ah, thanks!"


    And so did Vaneila. "Yeah, it was about time you do that."


    Now, the entire group was free of their power-eliminating handcuffs.


    Disedinel smiled. He reached for his waist and... "Wha¡ªWait.. my sword!" And his smile instantly faded.


    He sighed. "We have to take our things from the other ship."


    Kaika moved to the front and swung his arm. The two guards collapsed to the ground as a result of that.


    Slantse shrugged. "Where even is the ship, though?"


    Kaika nodded. "I don''t think we have time for that. Let''s appreciate our chance and get out of here."


    Kaika was right.


    Disedinel looked down, disappointed. "You''re... Not wrong. Let''s just go." And they continued.


    In the matter of a minute, they reached their new ship, which was in the middle of many others.


    The new ship was small¡ªmuch smaller. It''s nothing like their previous ship.


    But it is black and cool.


    The ship was relatively narrow, having seven seats under a window.


    Vaneila tapped on Disedinel''s shoulder twice. "We have to. Let''s hurry." Disedinel nodded.


    "Yeah." He tapped his watch a few times. And the ship''s window rose, allowing the crew to get on it. And they did so.


    Disedinel sat on the pilot seat, while behind him were three rows of seats¡ªtwo seats in a row.


    The window closed, and he launched the ship.


    The ship rose, flying in the air.


    Before Disedinel flew through the opening into space in the distance, he noticed somebody.


    A guard, perhaps. Or not. That guard waved something.


    My sword? Disedinel stared, unsure what to do at that moment.


    After a few moments, Kaika launched the ship instead of Disedinel.


    "Don''t be distracted." And the ship flew fast into space.


    As soon as they left the ship, they could see Toree.


    A beautiful blue-green planet, a pinnacle of life.


    On the other side, they could also see what appeared to be the opposite: Factor''s main ship.


    Slantse raised his head, scanning Toree. "There it is! I''ve never seen another planet like mine before! Well, in real life."


    "... Yeah. Let''s go!" Disedinel made the engines roar strongly, and the ship headed straight to Toree. Well, the ship was actually a quiet one, but that''s beside the point.


    They steadily approached Toree.


    And soon enough, they entered the atmosphere.


    However, as they descended, the ship control panel was suddenly blinking.


    Disedinel blinked back at it a few times, taken off guard. "Uhh... The ship is..?"


    And suddenly, the ship lost all power, leaving the crew in panic.


    ...


    When Disedinel awoke, the first thing was... They noticed that their ship was gone.


    The group ended up on a beach. The beach bordered the sea and plains.


    He looked around himself. Everybody was lined up. Except Zene.


    "Where is Zene?" He asked himself.


    "Here." Zene called back. Zene was a few metres behind Disedinel, staring far inside the sea.


    Disedinel rubbed his eyes. "Zene, since when are you awake? And where are we?"


    Zene moved closer. "Since some time. We''re in Toree, aren''t we?"


    Disedinel gasped. "Oh! Right! Did... Oh, I remember. The ship lost power." Zene nodded.


    "And you fell unconscious. The ship is somewhere in the sea." Disedinel looked at his wrist. "Huh? My watch is gone, too. Zene, did you take it?" He searched for it around while waiting for an answer.


    Zene shook his head. "It''s gone. I don''t know where it is. Anyway, since you''re fine, wake up the others too." Disedinel looked at everyone lined up.


    Disedinel shook each of the group members one by one until they showed signs of wakefulness.


    "Hey, Zene, did we, by any chance... Fall into the water?"


    Zene nodded while facing Disedinel.


    Everybody stood up, slowly making sense of the situation.


    Zene clapped twice, urging everybody to gather up. "Alright, now that everybody is ready, let''s look for a town."


    And so, everybody prepared for their journey to find a town. That surely would go smoothly.


    Surely.