"With this, phase two shall begin!" I said.
I then tried to open a gate in front of me. A piece of the dark cloud flew from my hand, but then suddenly dispersed.
'The Tailed Lilith couldn't previously open a gate near Elaine, this must be what she was alluding to. However, that doesn't matter, I am far stronger than that tailed nuisance!' I believed.
Now that I don't have to entirely transform into my human form, I should be capable of opening a gate. Once again, a piece of the dark cloud flew from my hand and expanded before me. Space began to tear all around the dark cloud as it continued to expand. With much effort, I finally managed to push past the opposing force and go through the cloud-made gate. The process of conjuring a gate had always been like this, but this time it was like the world was against this action.
After walking through the gate, I discovered myself directly behind a woman who appeared to be quite absorbed in her work. She was attentively examining a sample of blood beneath a microscope. It seemed like nothing would be able to draw her focus away from it. Strands of hair would occasionally swing in front of her face, but she would pull her dirty blond hair back like it was the biggest distraction, every time it happened.
"Hello, Elaine," I greeted her.
Surprised by the voice of another person in her lab, she turned around, looking back in fear.
"Oh, it's just you...! How did you get in here?" Elaine asked, clearly remembering she had locked the door.
"Don't ask me such a silly question, haha. I entered via the door, obviously. Never mind that, though, take this," I told her, handing her a glass tube containing what appeared to be a dark cloud floating within it.
"You're a pharmaceutical scientist, the best one at that, I believe. I need you to examine the substance within this glass tube," I said to her, changing the subject. She then took the tube and examined the floating dark cloud with her naked eye.
"What is this?" She asked me.
"That's what I would like to know. Study it, but don't touch it. It's toxic!" I answered her. She then proceeded to place the dark cloud under a microscope and observed it.
"Is it airborne?" Elaine asked, alarmed, still observing the cloud.
"No, nor is it contagious. Just fatal," I replied.
After a long, awkward pause, the silence was finally broken by Elaine's expressions of wonder and awe.
"No way...! What!" Elaine exclaimed. She then took the tube and began running various tests on different machines.
"What...! That can't be right...! Wow...! Good God, how is this possible?" her shock continued to rise with each test. I simply waited and watched her as she continued to run the tests.
An hour later, she finally asked in bewilderment, "Where Did You Find This?"
"Those details I cannot share, but what do you know about it so far?" I asked her, also curious to know her findings.
"This thing seems to be a part of a living organism. It contains a multitude of bacteria and viruses that are somehow coexisting for the sole purpose of preserving this one organism," Elaine explained.
"It's an organism? I thought it was a cloud of sorts," I said, genuinely surprised.
"At first glance, that is what it seems to be, but upon closer observation, you'll notice that the cloud is constantly improving itself and growing just like how an organism would.
Cells, bacteria, and viruses are merging and destroying each other, creating new microorganisms at an incredible pace. Microorganisms that are even stronger than their predecessors. All for the enhancement of whatever this organism is.
Elaine then took a glass tube, much like the one containing the dark cloud, then threw it in the trash. The glass then broke into small pieces. She then picked up a tiny piece of the glass tube she had just broken and walked up to the tube with the cloud.
With the broken piece in hand, she uncorked the glass tube with the dark cloud, not fearing for her life, then kept the broken piece of glass inside the tube. She then quickly corked the tube and examined the dark cloud once more with her microscope.
"Fascinating!" Elaine exclaimed out loud.
"What is it?" I asked, curious about what she discovered this time.
Elaine responded, "The cloud entirely absorbed the shard of glass and has taken on the element as its own."
"Okay, but what's that got to do with anything?" I asked, already aware of this effect.
"Well, that alone is the weird part. I don't see a reason as to why this cloud chose to stay inside this glass tube. Given its ability to absorb matter that comes into contact with it. Maybe there was something in the glass that the cloud couldn't absorb, I thought at first. However, the tube you brought is ordinary, and I just watched it absorb a similar glass tube, so only one thing is obvious now..." Elaine began to elaborate.
"And what is that...?" I asked anxiously, leaning in closer.
This is just speculation, but whatever organism this cloud came from, it still has control over this piece of it. The cloud, for unknown reasons, chooses to be in this bottle. If it just absorbs anything it comes into contact with, there would be nothing that could contain it. However, it absorbed the same material it is encased in, but did not absorb the encasing. This thing is sentient and is aware of its surroundings!
That's not the only troubling thing, however. Logically, from what I've seen, the cloud should naturally break down anything it touches. We shouldn't even be able to breathe in the same room as this thing. This only further proves that this is, in fact, a living organism. For some reason, it chooses to let us live and stay in the glass tube.
Grayson, there are elements in this thing that aren't even in the periodic table. It might be too dangerous to work with this," Elaine said, feeling troubled.
"I just want to know. Will you be able to do some good with this?" I asked her.
"It may not be up to me, but with the cloud's cooperation, this could lead to a new era for humanity. Imagine a world with no illnesses, no diseases. I have a feeling that this cloud can bring in that era.
"Then I will leave it in your hands. Spare no expenses," I said to her.
"This thing could very well kill me and even cause a viral outbreak! I'm ready to die, but what if something goes wrong and this affects other people?" Elaine said worryingly.
"Trust me, it is safe to work with it. Nothing will happen," I said to her, assuringly.
"Well, the science doesn't back that up. At least tell me where you got it," Elaine pleaded.
"It came to me," I replied.
She then stood there in silence, looking into my eyes as if trying to figure out something.
'This woman is smart. She has already figured out that something out there is controlling the cloud's properties. I have already grasped how to separate the microorganisms between those that are harmful to humans and those that are not. For the sake of the plan, I will need to do this subtly, only making minimal changes, or she might catch on!' I thought to myself.
Elaine eventually shrugged her shoulders and chose to trust me. She then continued to observe the dark cloud under a microscope. Seeing this, I opened a gate beneath my feet and vanished inside it.
"How can I reach you?" she asked, turning around only to discover that she was, once again, alone in the lab.
She then walked up to the laboratory door and confirmed that the door was still locked.
"How did he get in? Am I going insane?" she asked herself, then went back to studying the dark cloud.
After dropping into the dark cloud, I then landed in a hotel room in front of the tailed Lilith. She was lying comfortably on her bed, still in her underwear. She was currently using a smartphone.
"Tailed Lilith, come, we are leaving," I said to her, not wasting any time.
"Anha…" she said, not even looking at me.
I then walked up to her, took her smartphone, then broke it in half.
"Get dressed, we are leaving," I said to her sternly.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? I just bought that!" she screamed at me.
"Where did you even get this?" I prompted her.
"Your girl Elaine advised me to get it. She filled me in on a bunch of new things: video games, anime, movies, and social media. Humanity has invested quite a lot in entertainment.
As someone who has lived for thousands of years, I could use a little bit of that," she spoke harshly at first, but towards the end, admiration could be seen on her face.
"Whatever, just get dressed. You can buy another later," I said to her.
'That was a cheap phone anyway. I'm going to have a field day with your credit cards later,' she said in her mind.
"Buy whatever you want, I don't care," I retorted.
'Did he hear what I just thought...? Cain couldn't do that!' she thought to herself again, in shock. I then turned and gave her a perplexed expression.
"Quit your yapping and get changed already," I said to her.
"Where are we going anyway?" she asked as she started to put on a pair of jeans.
"We are meeting someone at the airport. He may or may not want to kill me," I said with a smirk on my face.
"How do you know this someone?" the tailed Lilith asked as she put on a black top and some black sneakers.
"I don't. I've just been observing his actions through my shadows," I replied to her.
"Alright, I'm ready," she said, then raised her hand forward, attempting to open a gate, but suddenly stopped as I had opened a gate before her.
"How did you…?" she asked.
"I've been busy," I said to her, cutting her sentence short.
We then both walked through the gate and appeared in the middle of a busy airport. People of all backgrounds were seen. Some people were walking, some were waiting, and some were rushing. There were arguments, crying babies, laughter, and advertisements everywhere you turned.
"I hate airports," I said under my breath.
"So, where is this man?" the tailed Lilith asked impatiently.
"Close…he will be walking through those doors any second now," I said to her.
"Alright then, let me know when you're done, I'll be shopp- UH!" she said, walking away before I pulled her back by the hair.
"Hold it, I need you here," I murmured to her, looking at the tall, slim man walking past the security clearance gates without being searched. 12 people were closely following behind the slim man. Just by looking at them, one might feel pressured as though they had done something wrong by meeting their gaze.
"They are here," I said to the tailed Lilith. I then walked up to them with the tailed Lilith in hand.
"Moonlight and the 12 Liberators of the Fool's Gang, I've been expecting you," I said to the slim man, stopping him in his tracks.
"You!" He expressed his full confusion on his face, but was then quickly replaced by a serious expression.
"How did you know we were coming?" he asked, looking around and keeping his guard.
"There is nothing you can hide from me," I answered him with a smile.
"Don't pretend like you know anything about us," he said to me calmly.
"You are Moonlight, the right-hand man to 'The Boss'. The 12 Liberators standing behind you are the only ones who report to you directly; each is an expert with a particular weapon. I'm delighted you brought them with you; this simplifies things," I said to him in a single breath.
"Despite the 12 Liberators' relative obscurity, gathering information on them wouldn't be too difficult. You can't intimidate me with these facts! You killed a lot of my guys, and you will pay dearly for that! You are outnumbered and outmatched. What's there to stop us from killing you where you stand?" Moonlight said as the tension increased. Despite his advantage, he still kept his guard up and didn't make a move.
"Tailed Lilith, disarm them," I said calmly. The 12 Liberators then began to scan their surroundings and pat themselves down. They soon realized that their weapons were missing.
"Keep them busy, will you?" I said to the tailed Lilith, then turned to Moonlight.
"We both know you didn't come here to straight out kill me, so let's talk," I said to Moonlight, pointing towards a café close by.
"I have all your weapons. I'll give them back to you if you can guess where I hid them," the tailed Lilith said flirtatiously, instantly grabbing their attention.
I rolled my eyes at the tailed Lilith's performance. The 12 were completely captured by her beauty, or so it seemed. None of them made a move until one of them turned to Moonlight and asked, "Boss?"
"Get your weapons back, I'll entertain this one," he said, then started walking towards the café.
To the 12, their weapons were an extension of themselves. Losing their weapons was like losing an arm. Each one of them had dedicated most of their life to becoming one with their respective weapons.
Despite this, none of them made a move on the tailed Lilith without Moonlight's go-ahead. Which went to show just how deeply rooted their loyalties lay.
'Master, that man has sharp reflexes. I wasn't trying all that hard, but still, I failed to confiscate most of the weapons he has hidden around his body,' the tailed Lilith said to me through her thoughts.
I took note of what the tailed Lilith told me and finally headed towards the café as well. We found an empty table and took our seats.
"I'll just be straight with you. I want you to work for me," I said to him, not wasting any time.
"Do you think I would actually betray The Boss?" Moonlight asked with a cold tone.
"No, but I can take care of that and eliminate her," I said to him confidently.
Moonlight simply smiled and looked at me with pity. As though he were looking at a foolish little boy about to challenge his father to a fist fight.
"You seem confident, but this will be your undoing. The Boss is a cruel mistress. Besides, after what you just said, you won't be leaving here alive," Moonlight began to say calmly. "Nonetheless, I must ask you....What is a human life worth to you?" he added in a sudden, serious tone.
"A human life has no significance other than to serve my purpose, and that purpose is fulfilled only in death," I said to him without hesitating.
"So what, a human life only has worth when they serve you?" he asked, a little annoyed by what I had said.
"Both yes and no. I admit that I'm merely saying this to advance my self-interest. A person's worth, while living on this planet, is never determined by themself, but by someone else.
They may delude themselves by saying they know their worth, but a majority of people will fail to give you a straight answer if you ask them what that worth is. The rest will only list their strengths or what they have to offer.
Their worth is determined to ultimately serve another. It's almost as though humans were designed to serve. A human life is fleeting, and once they pass away, everything they had done whilst they were alive will no longer matter to them.
However, serving me gives their life and death purpose. For in their death, my strength increases, and my strength has no limits. Although I am gratifying my self-interest, I give meaning to their useless lives," I said to him.
Without realizing it, my dark cloud responded to my emotions and allowed a little of my death aura to escape. I looked around and saw everyone around the café had passed out, and the waitress who was coming to take our order was now lying on the floor 2ft away from us. However, what really surprised me was that Moonlight was completely unaffected by this aura.