Before Rusty could begin speaking, Darian stopped him.
"Wait, Rusty… I'm starving. Let me eat something while we talk."
He walked into the storage room and grabbed some of the fruit Rusty had been growing. On his way back, he tossed one to Snowy, who happily bit into it. Darian smiled and Snowy clearly enjoyed it.
"That creature looks… interesting, Master Darian. What is it exactly?"
Rusty searched through his database of all known animals: Earth species and those discovered on other planets. He found nothing.
"Oh, him? He's a friend I made on XERBAB-7. Somewhat unique… actually, he stowed away in the starship right before I left. I didn't even see him get on board."
Rusty's metallic voice whirred. "You have always been like that, Master Darian. Probably too excited to notice."
"Yes… I couldn't wait to return home and see how things had changed. But I didn't expect… all of this."
"I understand, Master. Please, come inside. I'll explain everything in detail."
The three of them entered the house. It was exactly as Darian remembered: glass jars lined the shelves, some empty, some filled. Carefully, he placed the seeds from XERBAB-7 into an empty jar to keep them safe.
"Alright, Rusty. Tell me everything."
"Of course, Master Darian. I'll start from the day you left. At first, no one noticed it… but Earth was slowing down. Just a little at first it was barely noticeable. But over time, days grew longer, seasons arrived late, and panic spread. No one could explain it."
"Let me guess, the Earth stopped rotating?" Darian leaned back with a smirk, trying to anticipate the answer.
"Exactly, Master Darian. And as you've likely realized, the Earth also began drifting away from the Sun. No one understood why."
"How far did we travel before colliding with that planet?"
"It wasn't long, about three weeks. People panicked. Scientists worldwide searched for solutions, but none could find an answer."
Darian frowned. "Even you couldn't figure it out?"
"No, Master. Not even the most advanced AI could explain it. It's… beyond our current understanding."
"Alright, then what happened after the collision? No one had ever mentioned a planet that huge in our solar system."
"We believe it was a wandering planet, its path: unknown. The impact was catastrophic. Continents shifted, many submerged. At first, the wealthy clustered in Asia, the rest in Africa. Around sixty percent of the population died when the Moon vanished."
Darian's voice tightened. "And the remaining forty percent?"
"As you've seen, new life appeared, hostile life. We call them 'black creatures' or 'Krukin.' They attacked relentlessly, like an invasion. Humanity fought back, but…"
"How many survived?" Darian asked, already fearing the answer.
Rusty's voice dropped in tone. "Less than one percent."
Darian felt dizzy. Less than one percent…
"As you've discovered, these creatures can't survive high temperatures. When Earth collided with the other planet, its core shifted closer to Africa. That heat is what keeps the desert safe."
"So… humans might be in the desert?" Darian slammed his hands on the table. "Are they still alive?"
"To my knowledge, yes. There are four main cities in the desert, each far from the others. I know little about them."
Darian wondered if they were separated due to conflict or something worse.
"Alright, Rusty… that's most of what I needed to know. But… how long have I been gone?"
"Five hundred years, Master Darian."
Darian froze. Then collapsed back onto the bed. Snowy jumped up beside him, sensing his distress.
"Five hundred years…? I thought one year on XERBAB-7 was ten years here!"
"They told you wrong, Master. They sent a message to your ship correcting the error, actually one year on XERBAB-7 equals fifty Earth years."
Darian suddenly remembered. "The notification…"
"Yes, Master. Did you receive it?"
"Well… yes… but I ignored it."
He recalled that first day clearly, too excited to explore XERBAB-7, he'd brushed off the alert. "It probably wasn't anything important" he'd told himself.
Now, the absurdity hit him, and he burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHA! No way… I'm so dumb!" Snowy tilted his head, confused. Darian couldn't stop. "They probably thought I read it! Oh, this is too much for to handle…"
Rusty, uninterested in the outburst, had already rolled outside to collect fallen fruit.
Darian stood, still smiling. "Alright then. If this is the new world, I'm going to discover everything that's changed, starting with…"
He pulled the plants from his bag, the ones he had found in the cave. "These. I'll need your help, Rusty, to identify what's different."
The house was still stocked with Darian's old tools for plant research. He set the specimens down on the workbench, planning to begin studying them tonight. But first, he was thirsty.
The base was exactly as he remembered: small, but self-sufficient. The greenhouse stood to the left, thriving under Rusty's care. Every harvested fruit was stored neatly in the adjacent shed. To the right, the well still provided clean, drinkable water. Darian took a refreshing sip before watching Rusty tend to the greenhouse.
Hours passed as Darian examined the plants. Eventually, exhaustion pulled at him. He handed some XERBAB-7 seeds to Rusty to attempt cultivation, those fruits had been extraordinary.
That night, Darian collapsed onto his bed, Snowy curling up beside him.
"I haven't forgotten about you, Snowy. Tomorrow we'll train, explore… and see how strong we can get."
Snowy was already asleep.
Let's hope everything goes well from now on… Darian thought. If I'm the only one with these powers, maybe I could be humanity's hope.
Smiling at the idea, Darian closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.