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Outer space was truly something. The vast yet expansive darkness, the glimmering stars scattered throughout the canvas around him, the faint light of a distant sun. He couldn't see any planets around, but there were meteors and other space debris flying around, some of which were barely visible under the dim light, but not really a problem for Kain.
After contemplating the vastness of outer space for a while, there were only a few thoughts in his mind. He needed to get stronger, his current power level wouldn't suffice if another powerful alien came for him. And if he was as strong as he currently was, what stopped others from reaching the same heights as him? He couldn't allow himself to be left like he currently was.
The lack of gravity meant he only needed a tiny shift in space to fly. The meteors were better, pure rocks that needed more strength to be broken apart. But even the bigger ones would get destroyed by a few attacks from Kain.
Destroying space rocks kept him busy for a while. But there was another thought at the back of his mind. What would happen now? He was floating in outer space, who knows how many millions of kilometers away from the closest habitable planet. There was a sun he could see, but it wasn't close by any means. And even if it had a planet he could stop in that he could locate, he still needed to close that distance. He couldn't fly that fast!
Was he... condemned to be lost in space forever?
But maybe... He could regain some of his lost strength, and that would allow him to teleport into a planet. At his peak, he could close enormous distances in a blink of an eye. And it wouldn't matter how long it took, outer space couldn't kill him anyway.
So, he kept breaking apart the space rocks. Some he kicked, others he destroyed by a distance, others he took with his telekinesis and smashed them into each other. He could feel frost forming on his arms and legs, perhaps frozen sweat? Did that mean it was working? Kain couldn't tell, but if he was getting tired of doing it, then maybe it was working.
He repeated this process countless times. He would tear apart the rocks, rest for a while when he got tired, and come back to it later. There was nothing else to do, and even in his more contemplative moments, his answer was to keep going. Eventually, something would happen.
And it did happen, but not exactly what Kain was hoping for.
A ship, much smaller than the one who kept him trapped, came to explore the wreckage that Kain was leaving behind. It had bright beam lights in front of it, which almost blinded him when they shot them at him directly. And when they did, the ship stopped, and so did Kain. They stood still for a while. Kain didn't want to approach the ship, what if they had bad people in there too? What if they were space pirates, ready to sell him again to another nefarious overlord again? But at the same time, maybe this was his way out of being lost in outer space. Even if the people inside were bad, Kain could defend himself now – he only had to threaten them to take him to an habitable planet. He cringed at that. When did he become so eager to threaten people? It didn't matter. This was an opportunity, and yet, Kain couldn't bring himself to approach the ship any further.
At some point, someone came out of the ship. It was someone in a full body suit, but it was a lot thinner than one may expect from an astronaut. Kain couldn't see their face behind the dark visor, but the person held their arm high and waved it. Were they greeting him? Kain did the same. He also tried to shout something, but as soon as he tried to breathe again, he found himself awkwardly choking. There was no air around him.
The astronaut came closer. They waved their hands, pointing with their thumb at the ship. Kain repeated the motion, and the other person nodded. Kain flew closer to the astronaut, close enough to see their face. They started a sudden motion, which startled Kain, quickly flying away from them again, but they calmed things down by waving their arms downwards now, in a soothing motion. With that, Kain came closer again, and together, they entered the ship.
They were inside a small room with a single door, which had a round window. The doors leading to outer space closed behind them, and the room got filled with air, pressure, and gravity. All at once. Kain almost fell on his feet at the feeling of gravity, and he choked on the air. It felt so weird to be back at a habitable place.
The astronaut took their helmet off, revealing an older woman behind. "Easy there," she said.
"I'm fine," Kain said in between coughs.
The door with the window opened, and a few other people came from it. They all wore space suits with a red symbol on them, nothing like the pirates nor miners Kain remembered from Inverxe. These looked more like scientists.
"Who are you?" One of them asked.
Kain's coughing fit finished at last. "I'm Kain."
"Never heard of that," another of the scientists said. "Come in, you look terrible."
Of course he should've looked terrible. Just touching his face revealed a bunch of frost on it, not to mention the dirt and blood he had gotten from the arena and the cells.
Coming inside, the ship looked pretty standard. It had a white cover on the round walls, gray floors, and many cramped shelves with boxes on them. It was nothing like the luxurious space cruise, nor the awful dungeons beneath it. This truly looked like a scientific exploration ship.
"We've been receiving readings that something was out there breaking apart the meteors," another of the scientists said. "We thought it could've been miners, but it didn't add up. Then we thought it could've been a space monster, and, huh..."
"So I'm a monster now?" Kain said.
"I don't know, are you? I don't think I've ever seen a kid survive in outer space like that."
"Maybe."
"He doesn't deny it," the old lady added.
Kain raised his hands. "I don't know, I never thought of myself in that way. But it is a way, now that someone mentions it."
"How did you survive out there?"
"I don't know, I just know I can."
"Fair enough..."
Kain wasn't telling these people that he was supposed to be some sort of divine being, but at least he was happy they didn't look hostile, and their questions seemed like genuine curiosity.
The group took Kain to another room. This one had a bunch of seats on them, all separated by equal distances, with a main one at the center, surrounded by screens and buttons. Someone took a seat on the first chair, and the rest picked up the others. The old lady gestured to Kain to sit as well, which he did without complaining.
"We're gonna go back to the station, since the mission is done."
"Damn, this one was easy."
"Hey, you should be glad we didn't have to do anything dangerous."
"I guess so..."
"Do we have something to eat?"
"..."
The scientists kept talking among themselves about trivial things, while the ship took off into the vastness of space. Kain, for the first time in what felt like weeks, let himself truly sleep.
After contemplating the vastness of outer space for a while, there were only a few thoughts in his mind. He needed to get stronger, his current power level wouldn't suffice if another powerful alien came for him. And if he was as strong as he currently was, what stopped others from reaching the same heights as him? He couldn't allow himself to be left like he currently was.
The lack of gravity meant he only needed a tiny shift in space to fly. The meteors were better, pure rocks that needed more strength to be broken apart. But even the bigger ones would get destroyed by a few attacks from Kain.
Destroying space rocks kept him busy for a while. But there was another thought at the back of his mind. What would happen now? He was floating in outer space, who knows how many millions of kilometers away from the closest habitable planet. There was a sun he could see, but it wasn't close by any means. And even if it had a planet he could stop in that he could locate, he still needed to close that distance. He couldn't fly that fast!
Was he... condemned to be lost in space forever?
But maybe... He could regain some of his lost strength, and that would allow him to teleport into a planet. At his peak, he could close enormous distances in a blink of an eye. And it wouldn't matter how long it took, outer space couldn't kill him anyway.
So, he kept breaking apart the space rocks. Some he kicked, others he destroyed by a distance, others he took with his telekinesis and smashed them into each other. He could feel frost forming on his arms and legs, perhaps frozen sweat? Did that mean it was working? Kain couldn't tell, but if he was getting tired of doing it, then maybe it was working.
He repeated this process countless times. He would tear apart the rocks, rest for a while when he got tired, and come back to it later. There was nothing else to do, and even in his more contemplative moments, his answer was to keep going. Eventually, something would happen.
And it did happen, but not exactly what Kain was hoping for.
A ship, much smaller than the one who kept him trapped, came to explore the wreckage that Kain was leaving behind. It had bright beam lights in front of it, which almost blinded him when they shot them at him directly. And when they did, the ship stopped, and so did Kain. They stood still for a while. Kain didn't want to approach the ship, what if they had bad people in there too? What if they were space pirates, ready to sell him again to another nefarious overlord again? But at the same time, maybe this was his way out of being lost in outer space. Even if the people inside were bad, Kain could defend himself now – he only had to threaten them to take him to an habitable planet. He cringed at that. When did he become so eager to threaten people? It didn't matter. This was an opportunity, and yet, Kain couldn't bring himself to approach the ship any further.
At some point, someone came out of the ship. It was someone in a full body suit, but it was a lot thinner than one may expect from an astronaut. Kain couldn't see their face behind the dark visor, but the person held their arm high and waved it. Were they greeting him? Kain did the same. He also tried to shout something, but as soon as he tried to breathe again, he found himself awkwardly choking. There was no air around him.
The astronaut came closer. They waved their hands, pointing with their thumb at the ship. Kain repeated the motion, and the other person nodded. Kain flew closer to the astronaut, close enough to see their face. They started a sudden motion, which startled Kain, quickly flying away from them again, but they calmed things down by waving their arms downwards now, in a soothing motion. With that, Kain came closer again, and together, they entered the ship.
They were inside a small room with a single door, which had a round window. The doors leading to outer space closed behind them, and the room got filled with air, pressure, and gravity. All at once. Kain almost fell on his feet at the feeling of gravity, and he choked on the air. It felt so weird to be back at a habitable place.
The astronaut took their helmet off, revealing an older woman behind. "Easy there," she said.
"I'm fine," Kain said in between coughs.
The door with the window opened, and a few other people came from it. They all wore space suits with a red symbol on them, nothing like the pirates nor miners Kain remembered from Inverxe. These looked more like scientists.
"Who are you?" One of them asked.
Kain's coughing fit finished at last. "I'm Kain."
"Never heard of that," another of the scientists said. "Come in, you look terrible."
Of course he should've looked terrible. Just touching his face revealed a bunch of frost on it, not to mention the dirt and blood he had gotten from the arena and the cells.
Coming inside, the ship looked pretty standard. It had a white cover on the round walls, gray floors, and many cramped shelves with boxes on them. It was nothing like the luxurious space cruise, nor the awful dungeons beneath it. This truly looked like a scientific exploration ship.
"We've been receiving readings that something was out there breaking apart the meteors," another of the scientists said. "We thought it could've been miners, but it didn't add up. Then we thought it could've been a space monster, and, huh..."
"So I'm a monster now?" Kain said.
"I don't know, are you? I don't think I've ever seen a kid survive in outer space like that."
"Maybe."
"He doesn't deny it," the old lady added.
Kain raised his hands. "I don't know, I never thought of myself in that way. But it is a way, now that someone mentions it."
"How did you survive out there?"
"I don't know, I just know I can."
"Fair enough..."
Kain wasn't telling these people that he was supposed to be some sort of divine being, but at least he was happy they didn't look hostile, and their questions seemed like genuine curiosity.
The group took Kain to another room. This one had a bunch of seats on them, all separated by equal distances, with a main one at the center, surrounded by screens and buttons. Someone took a seat on the first chair, and the rest picked up the others. The old lady gestured to Kain to sit as well, which he did without complaining.
"We're gonna go back to the station, since the mission is done."
"Damn, this one was easy."
"Hey, you should be glad we didn't have to do anything dangerous."
"I guess so..."
"Do we have something to eat?"
"..."
The scientists kept talking among themselves about trivial things, while the ship took off into the vastness of space. Kain, for the first time in what felt like weeks, let himself truly sleep.