The living space of the upper echelons was a stark difference to the rest of the facility. They clearly valued beauty and aesthetics, and that could be seen through and through.
If described with one word, it would be “utopia”. Everything was built with natural materials; stone blocks, slate, and others. Flora and fauna intermingled with the man made architecture harmoniously. Although they looked quite overgrown, they stayed in their areas, and David could tell they had been planted with great care.
Unlike the industrial and outer district; there was lots of space, helping to remove the cramped feeling he had felt since arriving in the strange city.
As for the silvery metal, it didn’t exist, at least not to be seen. The wall was made of it, but once he passed through the door, it showed an illusion of the sky. Much more pleasing to the eye.
Unfortunately, just like the other two districts, there was no one around. He let himself into a few houses, but there were no signs of recent human activity, and any food that existed was gone. Thankfully, there was running water in them as well, and David could clean himself up a bit.
The essence here was miles above the rest. Even outside, he could feel the sensation of essence strongly, and within the walls of each home, it was even stronger. However, he was yet to stop and absorb essence, despite his desire to. Without a proper understanding of his new environment, he had no way to ensure his safety when he fell into that deep meditative state.
So, he was continuing towards the centre of the facility, hoping he could find some hints. The most important infrastructure should be in the middle of the city, at least from his earthly experience. Maybe it was different with aliens?
Eventually, he made it past a branch which had grown across the path and set his eyes upon a wondrous palace.
Golden flourishes littered the walls, with different gems refracting light into an enormous kaleidoscope of colour. The stained glass windows also gave the building a holy feeling, and David was careful not to break anything as he entered.
There were very few rooms. Most of the internal space had been taken up by one enormous hall. On the floor were deep engravings, made up of lines about two inches thick. They created many circles, all gathering together into one small circle. In which was a man.
The first person he had seen.
He couldn’t help the grin from breaking out.
The old man sat cross legged with his eyes shut, not a single movement could be seen.
“Hello?” David spoke tentatively. The man looked very frail, as if even the slightest blow of wind could send him crumbling into dust.
Slowly, the man opened his eyes, and blinked a couple times, like a cave diver returning to the surface.
“Hello? Are you okay?” David asked.
The man continued to stare at nothing, but mumbled to himself.
“No, this can’t be possible. Definitely not.” After returning his gaze to David, he addressed him.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
David nodded, finally being acknowledged. “I’m David, but you can call me Dave if you want. As for why I’m here, well, that’s what I want to know.”
The man furrowed his brows and shook his head.
“You don’t need to put on an act. If you want anything, you can take it, or if you want my life, you can have it.”
David took a step back, and opened his mouth in shock.
“Huh? What are you talking about now. Why would I want to kill you? You’re the first person I’ve found in this godforsaken place.”
But the man’s expression remained the same.
“Please. You don’t need to fool me. I’ve long since conceded to my fate, someone else benefiting from this place is fine to me. As powerful as you are, I’m sure you can put it to use.”
The conversation remained stagnant for a moment, as David tried to understand what the man was talking about.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“I think you’ve made a mistake with my identity somewhere. I’m not fooling you, nor am I powerful. I woke up in this place two months ago, and I’ve just been trying to find out what’s going on.”
That caused a response in the man, as he looked over at David once again.
“Truly?”
“Yes! All I know is that my planet was in danger to the point where something decided I was better off here. I don’t even know what the danger is!”
The man’s mouth hung open a bit, and his eyes widened.
“You were integrated?”
“I don’t know what ‘integrated’ is.”
The man didn’t answer his question.
“Show me your system screen”
David was a bit creeped out by the man’s sudden change in vigour, and was hesitant to answer at first, but he felt it was best to go along with the man, who seemed to have some answers.
“Do you mean this?” He asked whilst bringing up the various different screens.
As the man looked over it, his lips gradually curved, and he started nodding faintly.
“It seems as though I had misunderstood your intentions. My apologies.” He lowered his head to David.
“I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Karl van Westeim. The owner of the Flashforge Industries which you find yourself in currently. Tell me, how much have you managed to learn so far?”
Karl's eyes were more caring now, instead of the harsh vigilant ones from before.
“Practically nothing. There wasn’t much time to find anything with all those monsters roaming around. Although I don’t know if I could even without them, everything’s locked.”
Karl averted his gaze as David brought up the gorilla bulls. When he connected the dots to David’s bloody clothes, he looked even more ashamed.
“I’m truly sorry for what you had to go through. If I had known that you had arrived here, I would have gotten rid of the beasts.” Karl once again lowered his head in apology.
David’s first thought was to forgive him, but as he recalled the tough times he had been put through, and the near death experience just an hour prior, he stopped himself.
Karl noted his silence.
“I understand, it’s not something that can be waved away in just a moment. I’d like to show you some good faith and tell you about the world.
I imagine on Earth, your people must’ve been isolated from the rest of the universe?”
“If you’re talking about aliens, we haven’t found any.”
“As expected.”
Karl stood up with surprising agility, before turning his hand and making a spherical hologram with countless bright dots appear.
“This is the universe which all of creation resides in.”
He pointed to a spot a bit away from the edge.
“This is where we are currently.”
He flicked his hand and a blue planet replaced the hologram.
“Flashforge Industries is located in a pocket world on the planet Azul. As you should realise from our name, we make weapons and armour, which we sell to the highest bidder.
I don’t know what the world outside looks like now, but last time I stood on its surface, there were three relatively primitive kingdoms, all warring on a single continent. Your planet’s people should be there.”
Karl pointed at David’s screens.
“You were saved by the system, the grand minister of the universe. Usually it eases new factions into the fold gradually, but sometimes it needs to take extreme measures to ensure survival. Which should be what happened in your case.”
“What could be so bad, that we needed to be frisked away?”
“Who knows? Maybe it was some stray attacks from a fight between some C-grades, or a meteor impact. If you want to find out, it’s best to investigate yourself. Nobody will care enough about your people to do it for you.”
“But they're okay, aren't they?” David asked, trying to find the silver lining.
Karl pursed his lips slightly.
“I wouldn’t go that far. If the kingdoms are still the same as when I was around, things like slavery and murder are not off the table.”
This time it was David’s turn to open his mouth in shock. He didn’t have strong connections to anyone due to his nomadic way of living, but he still had a strong sense of empathy.
“What? How can we stop them?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re nowhere near a position to be bargaining with those forces.”
“Then how can I get into that position?” David was no saint, but he recognised that his initially grim predicament was likely much better than many of his fellow compatriots. Perhaps he would be able to take advantage of it, and do some good.
Karl nodded approvingly.
“Good question. If you want to help your fellow countrymen, then you must become stronger. Much stronger than you are now.”
David took a guess that he was referring to essence, and well… He was already an addict.
“Please teach me.”
Karl smiled, and stepped out of the circle. Throughout the facility, lights switched on and machines whirred as they returned to life.
“Very well. I will take you on as my final student.”