He stopped near a vast stretch of glowing streets that snaked between the buildings. The lights continued to shine in intense neon, with shades of purple, blue, and orange. The view from atop a building, close to the underground ceiling, was incredible to behold.
Nova's eye gleamed at the sight. Never in his life had he seen anything like this. This entire world was so different from Terra. On Terra, there were always towering trees, vines, and bushes decorating cities with the green of life—though in some places there were gloomy cities forged from metal and misery. But here, everything was different. At least, with what his single eye could see, this place could be wonderful.
It was a shame that what he was seeing was only the surface of something much larger.
'I think they're no longer following me…'
He made sure to look in every direction, just in case. Being attacked by surprise wouldn't be good. Even if he had to fight, it would always be better to face a stupid monster than an intelligent one. Just like in the desert, there would be chances of survival—but in a city full of intelligent Aberrations, the future became uncertain.
'Man… I'm tired. How long have I been running?'
He didn't have a watch to check the time, nor could he see the sky to estimate it. Surviving without information sucked.
'I've been running for a long time. I'm surprised by how durable I've become. Before, I would've gotten tired way faster.'
That didn't mean Nova was weak. Well, he was—but not by an Empath's standards. The most sought-after traits in an Empath were endurance and the ability to fully exploit their Spectrum. Without those qualities, a person couldn't become an Empath. That was why Nova was so surprised. If his endurance had been good before, now it had doubled.
That made it clear just how quickly an Empath could grow stronger in the right environment.
'But even with this endurance, I'm still human. I need to rest, or at this rate I'll die from pushing myself too far.'
This time, he leaned his back against the edge of the rooftop. He looked up at the concrete-and-metal sky and closed his eye.
'I still have a long way to go before reaching the asteroid. Maybe, in a few more days, I'll be able to get the hell out of this world.'
For now, he relaxed and allowed himself to sleep. A lot had happened, after all. For someone who had always been calm and lived a quiet life, this was too much.
Down here, up there, the lights continued to shine for eternity. An unmoving titan, built of metal, concrete, and complex circuits, gazed at the sky in silence, filled with the bustle of the people who inhabited it. At that moment, many things were unfolding within the shadows of this city.
In the alleys, the eyes of the marginalized lay hidden; within the buildings, the privileged looked down upon the unfortunate with disdain. The blood of all species spilled beneath the cybernetic sky, and the screams and cries of the fallen echoed beneath the curtain of this show someone once called "life."
There was a girl watching the city from the top of one of the great buildings. Her monochromatic eyes showed disappointment and sadness. The lights that filled this city with life were, to her, nothing more than proof of the tears her people had shed.
Behind her, the red woman delicately cleaned her weapon. She was seated at the end of a ventilation duct. Beside her, a heavy metallic case filled with various accessories and weapons waited to be used. She took a magazine full of bullets from the case and inserted it into the pistol. Her eyes, hidden beneath her bangs, gleamed as her hands moved deftly while she disassembled the gun after removing the magazine.
All the parts returned to the large case, which closed as if by magic.
Suddenly, a sharp sound—like the vibrating clatter of train wheels—rang out from the waist of the monochromatic-eyed girl. She pulled a device from beneath her black cloak, decorated with geometric lines, and studied it closely. Her pale skin glowed alongside the light of the device.
"They spotted him in the underground. It seems to be the same Crimson Blood you encountered earlier," she said. Her manner was cold and cutting, yet carried a soft, synthetic tone that didn't seem of this world.
The red woman growled. She stood up, grabbing her case, and approached the edge of the rooftop.
"What are you going to do, Mina?"
Mina, the monochromatic-eyed girl, sighed.
"This is a good opportunity to destabilize this piece of trash. Let's go."
The red woman nodded and jumped into the void. Mina followed her, turning her back to the city and falling while gazing at the sky hidden by the massive ship.
Returning to Nova, the boy woke up with a sense that something was wrong. He nearly sprang up as the aura of Anticipation enveloped him, that sensation tightening his nerves painfully, warning him of danger.
'Another thing to worry about.'
He didn't know what was going to happen, nor what that feeling warning him of danger truly was—that was the least of his concerns, because he could hear something dragging across the concrete. It was metallic, scraping harshly against a specific surface.
He looked around, trying to anticipate where the danger would come from. Soon, he heard something behind him. He turned to defend himself—but something else appeared behind him.
Thwack!
A heavy blow rang out. Nova collapsed, falling face-first onto the ground. Blood filled his forehead as his vision blurred. Then, he heard that irritating voice.
"You're slippery, Crimson Blood. It took us quite some time to find you."
It was the voice of the swordsman.
Then, something grabbed him by the hair and lifted him up. Before losing consciousness, he saw two of the three idiots who had attacked him earlier.
'Shit. This isn't fair.'
Silently, he was dragged away from the place.