Chapter 38: Chapter 38
Domed buildings, almost human in design, dotted the streets, each surrounded by glowing rings and suspended walkways that twisted like strands of a hair.
Beyond them, towers rose, not too tall but impossibly clean, their surfaces reflecting streaks of pink and gold across the horizon.
From the moving car, figures drifted between the structures.
Aziel couldn’t tell exactly what they were doing, the speed of the car blurring their motions, but he did notice some patterns.
Some Plasmas moved occasionally, while others scanned the buildings with a scrutinizing curiosity as if they should have seen it before but were rediscovering it now.
Some gestured in strange patterns, yet none seemed rushed. It was as if they were enjoying themselves, moving through a slow, deliberate rhythm.
Occasionally, a taller figure would lean close to another, pointing toward a building or a glowing ring, and the smaller figure would nod almost reverently.
Aziel couldn’t tell whether it was instruction, discussion, or some happy ritual he didn’t yet knew about. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveI-Fire.ɴet
"Aziel, sir... this is where we stop," Frickon’s voice drifted him out of his thoughts, as he looked ahead at a series of cars lined up in a column.
He read the sign plunged on the board beside, wondering how they could have the same concept as humans.
Even if they observed, it couldn’t mean they never came up with something new.
Slipping the car smoothly into one of the gaps, he twisted off the key and stepped out. Frickon mirrored his motion, exiting the car as well.
"Here, catch it or lose it," Aziel commented, tossing the car keys over to the other side with as much force as possible.
The key flashed past Frickon in an instant, but he still caught it at the last moment.
"Aziel, sir... did you do that on purpose just now?" Frickon interrogated, his voice lowering in disappointment.
"I just did that to gauge your strength as well."
Aziel replied, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"Big brains are nothing without the hands to wield them, a wise Plasma once said."
"Anyway, let’s go... we’ll have a walk around the Sanctuary. I bet it will recover your tiresomeness better than any other method you’ve tried," Aziel said, nodding slightly without speaking much more.
He fell into step with Frickon, and they walked for a while. Occasionally, Frickon pointed out structures that seemed almost impossible to have been built.
Sometimes his attention was caught by passing drones or technology like traffic lights, and at other moments, by gadgets Aziel had never seen before.
Of all the thoughts swirling through Aziel’s mind, one reigned above the rest.
’How the heck did everything come to be so similar? They can’t even copy our technology inch by inch. Their resources are different, their energy source is different... and yet here it is, almost like a reflection of our world.’
His gaze drifted to a Plasma flickering violently, limbs tangled around what looked like a metal badge.
Even now, Aziel couldn’t figure out which organ it corresponded to. Other Plasmas, however, had imitated the bodies of humans, while some shimmered like him, entirely covered in blinding light.
’Does that mean... even I could assume my human form not by deactivating the skill, but with the help of this body itself, like them?’
The thought lingered at the back of his mind, uncomfortably compelling.
Eyes fixed on the Plasma holding the metal badge, as if it were about to hand it to someone.
The next moment, another Plasma approached, a humanoid form, but twisted enough that it was impossible to tell if it was male or female.
The flickering Plasma, its state shifting with every passing moment, handed the metal badge to the newcomer. That Plasma examined it with intense curiosity, flipping it over and over, scanning every detail. Then it glanced at the Owner.
Somehow, the Owner seemed to understand the hint. It froze in place, violently shaking its hands in a wave-like motion, its hips when they existed following the rhythm.
A piercing, screeching voice escaped it, reverberating through the air.
A wide grin tugged at the Ugly Plasma’s face, as if the unnaturally dancing Plasma had just told him the best thing he could hear all day.
It clutched the medal tightly in its hand, its expression cynical, almost as if setting aside the joke entirely.
Aziel watched, curiosity sharpening.
’Why is the unstable Plasma not speaking at all? What was it trying to achieve through that chaotic, flickering movement?’
Then, as if an idea had suddenly struck him, he whispered under his breath, somehow louder than a whisper should be. "Oh, right!"
"... It can’t produce vibrations in the atmosphere while constantly shifting from solid to other states. It must be using their own language, used by their ancestors."
Aziel muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing as he studied the Plasma.
Little did he realize, however, that his whisper had apparently caught the attention of passing Plasmas, who glanced at him briefly before walking on.
The Ugly Plasma then pulled something from the one-piece cloth trailing along its legs and handed it to the seller.
Aziel quickly realized it was a transaction between buyer and seller, and apparently the deal had been completed. The seller twisted violently, attempting to shift its form.
Just before it could dissipate into air, a figure blurred past the Ugly Plasma and caught the half-transformed gas in its hand.
The half-formed, fleeting Plasma writhed in the figure’s hands, its gaseous tendrils stretching and curling as it tried to reclaim its freedom. In an instant, it began to reform, shifting through liquid, mist, and semi-solid states, coalescing back toward its original shape.
Then, with a swift, brutal motion, the Plasma’s head was severed from its body. For a brief moment, the mass froze. And then it began to swirl, limbs and tendrils twisting and contorting as it rushed toward its severed head.
Its shape shifted endlessly, attempting to reunite, to reclaim the part that had been taken. Sparks of unstable energy arced around it, the air trembling with its frenzied motion.