Walking around the edge of the floating rock, Robert was looking down into the darkness in an attempt to find anything useful. He knew it was futile, but he had to try even the craziest ideas before giving up to a passive waiting. Moreover, it was only five minutes after he had read the message about Akashic Records, so Rob didn’t have the opportunity to lose his optimism, despite all his experience that could turn even a dumbass idiot into a believer of unavoidable fate.
There was nothing. Only pure space scenery. Even the stars appeared to be situated only above his head. Unsurprisingly, taking into account newly acquired information, that led to thinking about this place as a fake. Just decoration to impress the naïve servants before sending them on suicide missions. This thought started to get more credibility when Robert had spent half an hour in attempts to dig into the surface. Hitting the already existing crack in the stone, Rob managed to break a small piece of it, alas barely. The material appeared to be even tougher than its rival from the island. However, his strength, huge pickaxe, and experience in mining were enough to get a stone with the size of a fingernail, which was already on the verge of breaking off.
Rob somehow wasn’t shocked to see that this projectile couldn’t travel far from the plateau. However, he didn’t expect to bounce it back, before sliding down on the visible wall just to stop somewhere under, hidden from his eyes.
Huh? I thought it would disintegrate, not leaving an ash… or at least float eternally like in space, but not… this.
Conjuring a very long rod, Robert even managed to touch the edges of this mini world. They felt like a simple wall. Maybe made from a sci-fi type of energy shield, but nevertheless like a wall. It didn’t bulge under the strikes. There was no visible damage. That led him to check another assumption. Unfortunately, it failed as the ceiling appeared to be much higher. Rob just couldn’t reach it anywhere he tried. Therefore, he started to search for the lowest star in his surroundings. The following test led to a conclusion that was already circling inside his mind.
This is a fucking decoration! It is simply pathetic.
Looking at how the end of his summoned rod had covered the star, simultaneously interrupting the incoming blue light from what was expected to be a huge astronomical object, Robert couldn’t stop, but facepalm himself. There was a hope that this flat stone was just under a magic shield, which might be meant to protect the envoys from a dangerous environment. However, the harsh reality showed him how wrong he was. The whole “shield” was more likely a giant TV screen that created an impressive scenery. Basically living wallpapers.
Maybe that was the reason why I was limited in movement back there. Now, if it is a fake, and I know that Wepwakor is just a powerful, but not God-like being… what else is just pretentious bullshit to cover the lies? And why does he need it in the first place – to pretend? Questions, questions… Not that any answers can guarantee or just help me to find a way out.
Wandering around, while trying to notice anything worth inspection, Robert was disappointed to find nothing. It was the very same prison cell that tried to look as wonderful as possible but had only a bunk and a pot. He even caught himself on the thought that after uncovering the falsehood of surroundings, the earlier impressive starry sky had lost its beauty by a noticeable margin. Just knowing the truth made the colors fade, losing the shiny charm of cosmic scenery.
Fortunately for him, it didn’t last long as before he got really bored in this unchanging place, the strange sound caught his attention. Looking around, Robert didn’t notice anything unusual until he raised his head upwards. The very same stars that previously emitted constant light now were flashing wildly. Moreover, some of them went dark and never shined again, while others changed their state chaotically. Almost as a broken ceiling lamp, which struggled to work despite all efforts.
No pattern? Or?
Defocusing his sight, Robert tried to grasp the starry sky simultaneously as a whole. And only after that, he managed to see how those earlier seemed to be random flashes were combining in odd rune-shaped symbols. The latter had covered everything above his head, creating a real chain of these letters. Lighting up one after another, they were changing each other in mere moments. It looked like a wave that was going from one side of the sky to another just to bounce back and repeat the process. However, before Rob could do anything else except stand with a wide open mouth, everything had stopped.
The beam of what could be called a dark light shot from above. Consisting of pure nothingness that ate all colors, it was encircled with white, which clearly defined the borders of it. This shot pulse had disappeared just after a few seconds, leaving behind a small vortex. The very familiar black vortex started to form into a human-size whirlwind. Despite experiencing it only twice, Rob couldn’t forget the transportation system that was used by the self-proclaimed God.
Is this whole place just a simple magic machine to send envoys to different worlds?
The appearance of the figure inside the whirlwind was met without surprise. The vortex didn’t live too long before finally dispersing in the air without any trace. The starry sky was as same as always, returning to the original mesmerizing image. The unknown envoy spent around half a minute observing it, clearly finding this space scenery very attractive. That gave enough time for Robert to do the same while thinking over his next step. The figure in the long leather coat could be his single possibility to get out of this place. Rob didn’t want to ruin it.
Stolen novel; please report.
Therefore, he tried to find the right words to start his conversation. Unknown was standing with his back to him, hiding their face from Rob. On the other hand, it worked in both directions, giving him time to prepare. However, all of Robert’s thoughts were too stupid to even speak out loud and his eyes couldn’t catch anything special. A single piece of clothing had covered the whole body of the envoy, including shoes. He could only see long dark hair and that’s it. A lean small figure of unknown could belong to any sex, which added more troubles.
If it is a woman, then she could think I am trying to molest her. Need something natural but without any sexual hints... Wait, dumbass! She is also an envoy. Her kill count could be no less than mine, but not through machines. If anything, she might molest me! Don’t forget about superpowers from souls. Idiot!
Mentally kicking himself, Robert made a first step forward, not even trying to be quiet. His inner hesitation and strange thoughts were the result of long solitude. Unbeknownst to him, Rob just felt awkward to speak with anyone. He never was a talkative person. Of course, he spoke with other operators or soldiers. However, the first case was a way to reveal stress in most cases, while the second was a necessity to live in a bunker. Robert just didn’t know what to talk about after so much time spent on the empty island. Moreover, when his potential collocutor was from a different realm.
“Hey there! Hello. Nice scenery right there, yes? I am Robert. Also an envoy… Yeah, managed to live through two worlds already. It is an odd experience, right? Not everyone can appreciate such an opportunity because of the risk. But we have what we have, yes? Must be better than rotting in graves… from which were taken basically. However, the pressure is real. Some worlds are real shitholes, yes? Or is it just my shit luck? Oh, well, I guess, you are a silent type. I get it – haven’t spoken to anyone for ages. By the way, you have a nice coat… Yeah… So, I was wondering if you…”
Not seeing any verbal response to any of his words, Rob continued to talk, trying to get any reaction from the unknown. The latter hadn’t even turned around, completely ignoring him, despite his efforts. The God’s envoy trait was only a guarantee that he was understood, but not listened to. Therefore, Rob started to speak louder.
“I am sorry to bother you… I know that searching for a proper soul to get a new power is a very important task. Of course, your life depends on it… But I just want to take a few minutes of your attention. I will be really quick, I promise! So…”
The motionless figure just kept standing where it was, as if it turned into a wax copy of itself. That led Robert to stop for a moment to think before such ignoring would ignite even more anger inside him. He was already barely holding not to name this unknown a "deaf preek" just to insult him after a full five minutes of speaking to this statue.
Damn, my throat was slit exactly in the same way. Didn’t hear anything until the touch, which took me out of the Status Screen. Need to hurry – the choice could lead to immediate transfer into another world.
Nodding to himself, Robert hastily shortened the distance. Stretching a hand, he almost touched the shoulder of the unknown, before stopping himself again in the last moment.
Well, fuck, no, I’ve seen enough movies to know what will happen…
Stepping backward, Rob slowly walked around the unknown to see their face. However, the head was lowered, while long hair had covered their face. Robert could only notice pale skin in small gaps. Sighing once again, he resolutely distanced himself and conjured a long rod, before pushing it forward.
“Hey, man, I am sorry to bother you…”
Simultaneously touching the envoy’s shoulder, Rob started to talk. He could easily predict a possible harsh reaction to such treatment but had no other options. Fortunately for him, Robert appeared to be right in his decision to take some precautions. It looked like a wave went over the whole motionless body before the owner finally raised his head.
Yep, knew it!
Looking at the horrible humanlike face with an empty hole instead of a nose’s tip, wide mouth with four long fangs, and bloody red eyes, Robert pretended to be not worried by this appearance and just continued with a calm tone.
“Something messed up with my link to God, so I can’t travel anywhere, can’t choose a reward, can’t call Wepwakor. I wanted to ask you to jump together inside the portal… I mean whirlwind. Oh, by the way, if you didn’t hear, my name is Robert. Happy to meet a fellow envoy!”
Smiling as naturally as his non-existent actor skills could allow him to, Rob dispersed the rod, which was still touching the body of this possible vampire. Despite towering over a small figure by almost two heads, he wasn’t sure that this humanoid creature wasn’t stronger. Moreover, he didn’t want to check. Therefore, without blinking and changing his dumb smile, Robert stretched his hand forward for a handshake.
The “vampire” narrowed his eyes for a moment, before carefully doing the same. However, he was met with an invisible shield that stopped his movement. Testing it with few touches, the envoy made sure that it couldn’t pass through. The moment later he was already trying to turn around, which led Robert to step forward in anxiety, seeing as his opportunity to escape was slipping through his fingers. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any resistance, easily shortening the distance.
“I almost thought it would block me too. So, let’s…”
The sense of relief and his words were interrupted when the “vampire” turned around with lightning speed. The wild grin that appeared on its face was the best indicator of what was coming. Robert only managed to curse his stupid luck together with idiotic naivety that led to constant troubles, when the small figure had spread its hands to the sides, showing huge bat wings attached to them. Enormous, they had a brownish leather look that led to a mistake with a long coat. The figure underneath them was quite skinny, with a clearly visible rib cage and sunken belly. The creature’s legs were very thin and had bird’s feet with three claws instead of ordinary human feet. The whole scene was so monster-movie-like that all Robert’s words died inside his mind at this moment, leaving just a few, which he muttered out loud in the state of shock from the view.
“So tiny?”