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"Wait, you came across someone just as powerful as you who wasn't a Primordial, and you didn't think that was something worth looking into?" Trik retorted in disbelief.

Michael looked at Trik as if only just then noticing he was there.

"An android..."

"My name's Trik," Trik corrected.

Michael silently tapped his chin in concentration.

"Well, Trik, he was indeed powerful, but I bested him without having to resort to my hybrid form. Based on that and his cowardly tactics, I saw no reason to feel threatened by him. Of course, I was interested in knowing how he came to be that way, but I never ran into him again, so I haven't had the chance to ask. And since tracking people down isn't my forte...."

"You didn't bother looking," Trik summed up. "If your goal truly is to preserve life, having that kind of mentality makes you ineffective."

Oh, no.

"Is that so?" Michael said flatly.

"Someone abnormally powerful shows up before you, tries to kill you, then runs, and you don't pursue or investigate them," Trik ranted. "For all you knew, there could've been more like him, and they could prove to be a threat to the very lives you want to protect, yet you did nothing to figure out that person's origins or how he came to be the way he is. How was that helpful?"

"An android is trying to lecture me," Michael stated nonchalantly.

"I said, my name is Trik," Trik retorted. He looked as if he was ready to blow a fuse. His lights were flickering from blue to green.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Michael observed Trik curiously, clearly unthreatened by Trik's growing aggression.

Then he sighed as if he was giving in to quiet a child.

"As I said, tracking others down isn't my forte. If I dedicated all of my time ineffectively searching for someone I knew nothing about, I'd be leaving many others to die. Now, I do travel a lot as I search for anyone needing saving, and if I were to happen to be close enough to sense oddities such as that...Trevor, was it? Then, of course, I would rush over to investigate, but during my travels, nothing had ever happened close enough for me to sense it. Perhaps it was done intentionally to keep me from intervening. Anyhow, since I can't be everywhere at once, I prefer to focus my energy on matters of clear urgency rather than chasing after an elusive mystery," he concluded.

Naomi came over and rubbed Trik's shoulder, trying to soothe his frustration.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

She looked up at Michael with expected disappointment. Personally, I understood where Michael was coming from. He's constantly traveling and saving God knows how many people. If put in a spot to either chase after an enigma or continue saving lives, I'd probably do the same thing he did.

I bet Tymon would've done the opposite, I thought. Where did that come from?

"Anyway, to face these people, all of us Primordials are needed together," she said before motioning toward me. "Which is her job. She's here to gather and lead us against them."

I stood there awkwardly. Crap, I was caught off guard.

"Um, hilo. I mean, helli, I'm Alissia," I said embarrassingly.

Hilo? Helli? Is that a new greeting? Viraa asked teasingly.

No, of course not; I was put on the spot and stumbled. Uhh, I can't believe this is my first impression...

Michael looked down at me with judgment in his eyes.

"A human is expected to lead us into battle?"

His words were spoken as if he were talking to Naomi, but I could feel them being directed at me as if he were asking me if I was worthy.

I squealed internally. His demanding presence felt insurmountable, almost soul-crushing. I couldn't think of anything at first. Then it hit me. Of course, I wasn't worthy to lead them, but Viraa was.

"Yes, a human, but I also have hel–"

"No," Michael cut me off, refusing to comply. "Humans are reckless, easily manipulated, have short lifespans, and are so fragile they can die from most things they surround themselves with. I'm not going to let one take command over me."

With that, he walked off toward the bottom of the hill, probably thinking the conversation was over, but of course, we followed him.