CHAPTER 6: FIRST CONTACT

Hermes' body was rapidly descending towards the planet's atmosphere when he heard Elgacia's reply. Tilting his head to the side, he asked in confusion,

"'Kingdom' of knowledge? What does that mean?"

She sighed and said, ["I wish I knew too. My creator called me that before sending me to sleep in the underground palace where you found me."]

"Were you not awake at all when Kel'thus was using you?"

["... No... I was only able to catch glimpses of that dolt from time to time. I had no idea what he was doing or where I was half the time."]

Hermes' body had almost reached the troposphere when he glanced at the rotating cube. He could tell from the sound of her voice that there was a hint of sadness and longing. He decided not to pry and asked the one question plaguing him this entire time.

"I... When I was sleeping in that palace... How much time has passed? The last day before my memories were cut off was the 25th of September, 2023..."

Elgacia stopped rotating and said in a serious voice: ["My systems show that from the time of your hibernation, 18,464 Earth years have passed."]

"..."

Hermes was dazed, and did not speak for a while as his body rapidly descended. He could see a tall pointy object exactly in the path of the beam of light he had been traveling on; Another obelisk.

As soon as his body reached the obelisk, he phased through it like a ghost. It rapidly started to display large lines on its surface that glowed with a faint blue or cyan; the sandstorm made it hard to distinguish.

Suddenly, an elliptical-shaped vortex appeared in front of its base and Hermes stepped out from it, covering his mouth and eyes from the sand. After observing his present situation through a slit between his arms, Elgacia spoke in a soothing voice,

["Alright. I have brought you safely as instructed by my creator. Because of your low dimensionality, I had to expend a lot of Cosmic Force to go against the universe's will and allow your body to go through the Astral Currents safely. It might have been fine if it was just that, but a bloody space anomaly had to develop right in front of you."], She clicked her tongue and then continued,

["I will need to head back into a deep sleep to recharge. During this time, all borrowed abilities will be disabled."]

"What?... How long will it take to fully recharge?"

["... If no disturbances occur, a year at most."]

'So that means I'll need to survive on my own for a whole year on this desolate planet...' Hermes couldn't help but worry about his future. Elgacia interrupted him just as he was going to reply:

["The crown in your hands is a Stellar Artifact that uses Cosmic Force. It only has one ability that you can use with your current capabilities and that is 'Enhanced Physical Strength'. Wear it over your head so that you can have more stamina during your journey."]

'Is this where Kel'thus' super strength came from? I always wondered how a skeleton could be that strong...'

Hermes did as she said and felt his body become lighter. She continued:

["According to my aerial survey, during our descent, a small-scale town should be situated around 300 miles north of you. Head straight from here and you should reach it. If I had enough time, I could mark all biological signals so you know what to avoid, but alas... My time is up, I need to go to sleep again..."]

As soon as she said that, the cube de-materialized into orbs of light that shot into his body. Hermes was once again left alone with howling winds and sand rushing towards his eyes. He walked in the storm without deviating in the slightest, afraid he might lose his sense of direction.

'From my observations, Mars' soil composition is still the same as before. The planet doesn't seem to have any clear changes. Why am I able to breathe normally... I hope I don't randomly contract a sickness due to radiation exposure later.'

Although the planet so far has shown enough politeness toward his visit, he did not want to let his guard down at all. This was especially so after Elgacia mentioned 'Biological'. That could imply other humans or creatures that are hostile to him.

At this point, Hermes was extremely exhausted. More than 14 hours had passed since his awakening. He had fought a super-skeleton to the death, walked across a moon crater, traveled the stars and almost died... His next challenge was not any easier: face off a sandstorm and march towards safety!

He continued to walk, taking every step with a stride as he fought against his desire to let his knees buckle. He knew taking any form of rest in such an environment would spell death. Luckily for him, Mars' gravity is only a 3rd of Earth's; allowing him to move his body a lot more freely. He marched on against the howling winds.

To pass the time, he would think about his family, his beloved Ariana, and his friends from work. Past events flashed past his mind like the wind in the storm.

The day he met Ariana in his senior year of college, he awkwardly asked her out on a date while she was trying to grab a drink from a vending machine. Her infectious laugh was half covered in a winter scarf when she looked at his embarrassed and flushed red face and said, 'Okay!'

He remembered his mother stepping into his room at 2:00 AM with a sandal in her hands, threatening him to get off the game and go to sleep during his high school days. He reminisced about his father who would take him on fishing trips, the smell of tobacco emanating from him no matter where they went. He continued to walk through the relentless sand as his lips curled up into a smile.

"18,464..."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

...

Two miles east of Hermes' walk, a large cave on the side of a Martian cliff could be seen. Raging winds raced past the hole leading toward an abyss. Inside the endless darkness, a sound could be heard.

Sniff, Sniff...

Two large slits opened with vertical blood-red irises. In the cold and desolate darkness, a crescent-shaped mouth appeared, hiding rows of shark teeth. The monster has finally located its next prey.

...

3 Hours have passed since Hermes began his walk. The sandstorm was still present but had weakened significantly. It wouldn't take any longer before it finally dissipated completely. Suddenly, two silhouettes appeared in front of him, one taller than the other.

They were completely human in shape. In one of their hands, a large pole can be seen, which Hermes assumed could be a musket or weapon of some kind.

Hermes was completely overrun with joy. His body was due to collapse soon; he had no idea how much he walked or how much longer he would need to walk to reach his destination. Seeing other people filled him with hope.

Although he could have probably used his hyper cognitive abilities to calculate the distance left over, he was afraid that it may disappoint him, causing him to falter or give up. He decided that it was best to not count his steps and just continue walking until he either collapsed or reached the town Elgacia described.

Although it may seem illogical, Hermes' desire to survive had overcome all his brain processes. He was focused on keeping his sanity and making sure to maintain steady steps to not let his knees buckle.

By now, the wind that fiercely blew across his body not only covered him in the sand but also slightly shredded his clothes, as some of the flying sand was rough and sharp.

He sped up and started to yell at them in English while waving his arms around.

"Hey! Nice to meet you! My name is Her-"

-Boom!

Hermes looked down and saw a bullet hole in the sand right in front of his left foot, rising with smoke. He looked up in shock as the two silhouettes finally showed their entire figures and details. The taller man had almond skin and a bald head covered in tattoos.

His neck was thick and his shoulders were wide. Through his tight linen shirt, his bulging biceps protruded out and his chest was big enough for you to think it was a concrete wall.

His height was extremely exaggerated; it was as if the giants from myths and legends had descended upon the land. His face was stern and filled with suspicion as he held a rifle that had tubes bellowing out from its sides. He was pointing it directly at Hermes with the trigger halfway pulled. Using the voice of a bear, he yelled,

"If you don't want me to turn your brain into mush, do not move!"

Hermes immediately put his hands up as the sandstorm began to completely clear. He cast his gaze towards the 'shorter' man next to him, who looked to be 6 feet tall. He had blonde hair that was unkempt and easily swept in the wind. His forehead was covered in a white, thick bandana.

Underneath, His emerald-green eyes were deep and focused straight at Hermes. It was unknown what he was thinking about. The man was wearing a white desert daraas robe that covered his body. Unlike his titanic partner, he had no weapons in his hand but looked calmer than the ocean. With an authoritative voice, he asked Hermes,

"Who are you? Where did you come from? Do you have any weapons on you? If you are a Celestial, what is your current stage and Dimensionality?"

'Celestial? And they mentioned that Dimensionality thing just like Elgacia... Damn it, why did she not explain more before going to sleep?! It seems like they are also speaking a different language but I somehow can understand them just like with Kel'thus... Speaking of which, Elgacia was also talking to me in this same language...'

His brain interpreted the questions being thrown at him and quickly answered the handsome blonde-haired man with his hands still up in the air.

"My name is Hermes Wilson. I do not know what Celestials and Dimensionality are... As for where I came from, it is from outer space. I just arrived on the plane-"

"You Lie!" said the tall and bulky man with a hint of anger.

'Man... How many times will this Hulk-shaped behemoth interrupt me? I can't say it to his face though, a single punch from him might break my entire rib cage...'

The blonde and handsome young man looked at his partner and said,

"Viktor, calm down. Let's listen to what he has to say and then decide what to do with him."

He glanced back at Hermes with his eyes that were filled with courage and authority, and bowed with his right arm to his chest.

"I apologize for our rude behavior. My name is Leonardo Césaire. You say you come from outer space, but where exactly?"

Hermes let out a sigh and said, "I just arrived on this planet. For whatever reason, I had lost my memories and found myself on the Earth's Moon. I then found a large obelisk structure and touched it. It somehow transported me here..."

Although Hermes left out many details, he did not lie at all. He decided to not mention Elgacia or the crown over his head, fearing it may trigger the greed in their hearts. He also left out information about Astral Currents, Cosmic Force, and the bits and pieces of Solari he knew as explaining how he learned this information, but not others, would be a headache. He decided to present himself as a completely ignorant weakling.

Although he was suspicious of them, Leonardo's behavior allowed him to have a semblance of trust in them. Besides, even if he wanted to resist, he had no way of doing so. Not only was his body completely exhausted, but his only weapon Elgacia was asleep!

The crown's abilities might be useful, but the pathetic state of his body cancels out any of the strength boosts it provides...

Leonardo and Viktor looked at each other. The blonde young man then said to Hermes,

"That Obelisk... What did it look like? Where is it?"

Hermes quickly answered, "It's extremely tall and made from completely white stone. It's roughly 10 meters wide and its base is exactly square in shape. It has a four-sided pyramid tip at the top. As for where it is, it's south of where I am facing. I walked directly straight from it and did not deviate from my path at all."

Leonardo stared at Hermes for a while, making him extremely uncomfortable. The silence was deafening. After a minute of awkwardly staring at each other, Leonardo looked to his side and said,

"He isn't lying. From my observations, his body is extremely exhausted. His cosmic force levels seem depleted as well. He means no harm. Let's bring him back to the city. We can't disregard our fellow humans in this harsh world."

Viktor looked annoyed, but lowered his weapon anyway. He looked at Hermes with a stern face and said deeply: "I'll be watching you. Do anything funny and I'll send you to your grave."

"Understood." Hermes gave him a warm smile. He had finally gained some level of trust from them. His heart jumped in joy as he was filled with newly found hope. As he started walking towards the pair, Viktor suddenly looked up. His face turned into shock, as he grabbed the 'short' Leonardo at his side like a folded blanket and jumped to the right.

-Boom!

Large amounts of sand roughly 10 meters ahead of Hermes were sent flying. At the spot where the pair were standing, a silhouette was immersed in a large cloud of dust and sand. A body as big as a bus liner was shown being supported by two front and hind legs. A large tail emerged from its back, curving and shifting from one direction to the other.

At the front sat a large head with ears pointing up. It gave off the impression of an exuberantly large dog with what looked like large wings above its waist.

Suddenly, the beast flapped its humongous wings, creating a gust of wind that blew away the dust cloud. In its wake, the figure was reflected in Hermes' eyes.

Two large bloodshot eyes with vertical irises and a mouth dripping with saliva were staring at Hermes like he was a 5-star meal. It let out a grin that reflected its large canine teeth, leaving Hermes frozen in fear.

On its back, the 'Wings' were completely made from metal and looked mechanical; rivets, gears, and pressure pistons that allowed the augmented body parts to flap like wings were clearly exposed.

Sparks and electrical currents snaked across them, giving it an extremely unnatural and sinister look. Its body was covered in a slew of scars, some still bleeding. The amalgamation of technology and biology made anyone who looked at it filled with despair.

Viktor got up from the sand, glanced over his shoulder in surprise and slowly muttered in a deep voice,

"A Mutant Devil Wolf..."

End of Chapter