3156 Unsettling Answers (Part 2)

"I'm already tired of being alone on a mountain." He unfurled his wings and took flight. "Time to explore this new world and see if it has anything worth living for."

***

Distar Region, Verhen Mansion, at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Kami." Zoreth said via to communication amulet. "I followed Lith's trail on the ground until he took flight. After that, I noticed that he doesn't seem to know the first thing about flying.

"His pattern was irregular like he was having multiple seizures through the air. I thought I would be able to catch up with him, but after a while, he got better and I lost him. I think he has amnesia."

"How can you say that?" Elina took the communicator from Kamila's hands and yelled like Zoreth was a mile away.

"Think about it, Elina. We know from the traces on the ground that he crawled and jumped around. It makes no sense, unless you consider that he might not know how to control his strength." The Shadow Dragon tried to be patient and understanding.

She was worried about Lith and Solus as much as Elina but after spending all her life fighting, she had learned that losing her cool would do her no good.

"Even though he now has the body of a Divine Beast, his instincts are those of a human. He trained for years to hide his Awakened strength and later to adjust to his new body. If I'm right, he's like a newborn now.

"On top of that, I can find no other reasonable explanation for his disappearance. Why run and fly when he can Warp? The Lith I know would have come back here, hugged Elysia, and unleashed whatever monstrosity he has planned for the eventuality Solus was kidnapped."

Zoreth turned to Kamila and so did the rest of her family.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

"I hope you know something about the monstrosity." The Shadow Dragon replied.

"I don't, I'm sorry." Kamila sighed. "But I agree with Zoreth, amnesia explains everything. That or he has been kidnapped too. What if the people who caught him wore those Darwen armor and Lith wasn't having a seizure but fighting back?"

"It's unlikely." Zoreth shrugged. "There was no sign of magic, Friya perceived no residual traces of dimensional magic, and if someone like Lith throws a serious punch, you find more than a silly crater.

"Also, if they had the strength to capture him as well, we're screwed. We'll never find them again.""Amnesia it is, then." Kamila pressed more buttons on her amulet, making a conference call worthy of that name.

She contacted the Royals, Vastor, Marth, her old commanding officer Berion, and every member of the Council she knew.

"Aren't you going overboard with that?" Raaz asked.

"Not really." Kamila replied. "If Lith really has lost his memory and is stuck in his Abomination form, this should be just enough."

***

Hessar region, main road, a few hours later.

The Void flew until he spotted the first signs of civilization and then landed to continue on foot. It was a matter of guessing the appearance of whatever weird creatures lived on that alien planet based on their infrastructures and practicing magic.lightsnovel

'If I can use magic, others can do it as well and I'm still stuck at cantrips.' He thought while he experimented with Spirit Magic.

The good news was that everything Derek learned about Spirit Magic applied to all other elements. The bad news was that using pure mana was exhausting and it made his hunger worse.

When he reached the main road that connected the regional capital to the middle- and small-sized cities he stopped practicing magic.

"This thing is large enough for three carriages, frequently used, and well maintained… Wait a second, how do I know all this? I've never seen a carriage, let alone a road that wasn't covered in asphalt." Yet the weirdest part happened as he walked along the road.

"Somehow, I can tell the time just by looking at the sun and I can even orient myself like a boy scout!" Derek was flabbergasted. "Why would an evil overlord know this stuff? Shouldn't I have people who do that for me?"

'For Maxwell's sake! When will you realize there is no evil overlord involved? What kind of rich, spoiled guy knows how to butcher meat?' The Voidfeather sent such thoughts over and over but Derek's paranoia always found an implausible but convenient answer.

"Maybe he was born poor and rose to power later. Or maybe he learned these things to pass himself for an average Joe." Derek shrugged. "It makes sense if at some point the bastard who summoned me here was a spy."'No, it doesn't!' The Voidfeather screamed in frustration.

"No, wait. I get it now." Derek narrowed his eyes. "They must be abilities he stole from those who came before me. I can't be his first victim. He probably consumed people like candies to perfect the process."

It was only an hour after the beginning of his walk, when the Void was bored out of his skull and ready to take flight again that he felt the noise of an approaching carriage.

"Finally! I was tired of practicing magic and I'm very hungry." Derek had recovered the memories of something called "tier one" magic and his head was hurting really bad. "I'd better steel myself.

lightsΝοvel "First impression matters and I don't want to pass for racist or judgemental. Who knows how ugly people look here?" He looked at his own reflection, finding himself very handsome, for a murderous monster out of a horror movie.

The carriage was still far away and without his Tiamat eyes, the Abomination's senses were no better than an human Awakened's.

[/"Good gods!"/] Derek and a poor couple of elderly merchants said in unison upon spotting each other's visage.

"A monster!" The merchant screamed, bringing his wife close to him to protect her and whipping the horses' butts to make them gallop.

Truth to be told, the horses needed no encouragement. The Abomination's aura and his watery maw were incentive enough to sprint until their hearts popped.

["Humans!"] Derek yelled in shock, pointing at the merchants like they were the weird-looking ones. [AN: remember that Derek speaks in English.]

["Fuck me sideways! What are the chances to meet humans on an alien planet? What if I'm still on Earth? Maybe in the past? Or the future? Or after an apocalypse? Come back, I have so many questions!"]

Derek ran after the carriage, catching up with the horses in a matter of a few steps despite their head start.

["Wait, I just want to talk!"] His voice sounded like the howling of the wind in an abyss, his words made no sense, and his fangs were utterly terrifying.

"Stay away from my wife!" The merchant pulled out a piece of well carved wood and pointed it at the Abomination.

Contrary to the Void's expectations, there was no pseudo-latin or flourish with the wand involved. Just the dear old point-and-shoot before a bolt of tier two lightning struck him square in the chest.

The Voidwalker armor nullified most of the spell and the Void's inhuman constitution did the rest, feeding off the mana and electricity of the spell.