With a flash of understanding, Vance took a second, deeper look at the room.
White walls, devoid of any decoration. A pale, non-reflective floor, its color somewhere between white and beige. Strange machines humming softly in the background. A single locker pushed against the far side. And at the far end of the room-there was a figure. A person?
Vance squinted. Right, there. Lying on an office table, unmoving, was a man. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, soft noises escaping from his slightly open mouth. Asleep.
Vance chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.
No matter the world or environment, the best naps always happened at workplaces and learning facilities.
Ares caught the reaction and shot him a curious glance. "Mind sharing the joke?"
"Nah," Vance murmured.
Ares sighed but let it slide as they moved forward with slow, measured steps. Balgur, who had been leading the way, didn't slow down. His heavy boots thudded softly against the floor as he made his way toward the sleeping figure.
"This is?" Vance asked after briefly sizing up the figure draped in a clearly too big Doctor coat.
"Doctor Shrill. Quite... the moody man, if I must say so myself," Ares muttered. "Man gets extremely vexed if his sleep is disturbed for too long. There was this one time" he snorted, shaking his head at the memory. "I was badly injured with a stange condition, needed urgent medical attention, right? Well, the second he was woken up, his whole demeanor changed. I swear, I thought he was about to throw all of us out just so he could go back to sleep."
Vance raised an eyebrow. He immediately reassessed this so-called doctor's character. Maybe he wasn't just tired-cmaybe he was addicted to sleeping. If that was even a thing. It however reminded him of someone...
Blake.
A mean-looking Texas guy. Typical dude. Caucasian, around 6'2". They had met in the army. The man could sleep anywhere. Tanks, ditches, under open fire, didn't matter. And despite that habit, he had been one hell of a sniper. Huge guy, too. Crawling was a nightmare for him, but he still managed to line up the best shots just so he could finish the job and get back to napping.
If only—
"Vance? You tired too?" Ares' voice broke through his thoughts. He was grinning slightly, eyes flicking to Vance's slouched shoulders.
Vance nodded. "Mhmm."
By now, they had reached the table where Balgur stood, gripping the doctor's shoulders and shaking him with increasing force. The man remained limp, utterly undisturbed. His steady breathing continued, as if he were in a coma rather than just asleep.
Vance frowned. The doctor looked... frail. His light skin had an unhealthy pallor, and his sparse hair clung to his scalp like wisps of dried grass. The white garment he wore only made him seem more ghostly.
Balgur, now visibly irritated, exhaled sharply, his forehead creasing as veins bulged slightly along his temple. He paused, planting his right foot on the ground.
Vance immediately took a step back. Ares, already expecting what was about to happen, motioned for him to follow.
"Step to the side," Balgur ordered, pointing toward the far right of the room.
Without hesitation, Ares and Vance moved, passing a strange medical device that, to Vance, looked eerily similar to a washing machine.
Ares smirked, leaning slightly toward Vance. "Watch this."
Balgur took a deep breath. Then, in one swift motion, he grabbed the doctor by the collar, lifted him clean off the desk, spun on his heel, and launched him through the air toward the far end of the room.
Vance barely had time to process what he was seeing. The doctor's body became a blur of white, arcing across the space with alarming speed. His trajectory was straight toward the wall.
Vance's eyes widened. He's gonna break something.
Then—just as the doctor was about to slam into the solid surface—he twisted. His limbs bent unnaturally, his body curling in midair, and with an eerie grace, he landed against the wall with an audible thud.
And then... he stuck to it.
Vance's brain struggled to catch up. He blinked. Was he seeing things?
The doctor hung there for a moment, his back pressed against the wall, arms drooping limply at his sides. A deep, rattling breath left his mouth. His head tilted slightly, like a puppet awaiting command.
Ares let out a low chuckle. "And that, my friend, is Doctor Shrill."
Vance could only stare.
"Who has the balls?" a booming voice rang out from the doctor as he jumped down from the wall. He took a slow, deliberate glance around the room, his gaze lingering on Vance for a few seconds before eventually settling on Balgur.
"Bal?" His tone softened slightly, though his face twisted into a pained grimace.
"You here for an assessment for this fellow?" Dusting off his coat, Shrill started walking back toward his seat. He eyed Vance briefly, then shot Ares a dismissive look, as if he weren't worth acknowledging.
"Yeah. His situation is... complicated." Balgur shrugged.
"I see. Explain it quickly so I can get this over with," Shrill muttered, slumping back into his chair and propping his bare feet up on the desk. Shifting around a few times, getting comfortable again.
Balgur motioned toward Ares, clearly intending for him to do the talking. Shrill, however, scowled at the gesture and raised a finger before the blond could even open his mouth.
With a heavy sigh, Balgur stepped forward and summarized the situation.
"The kid's the only unascended survivor from his planet."
"Oh?" Shrill's posture straightened slightly, a hint of curiosity creeping into his previously tired expression.
"Mhmm." Recognizing the doctor's sudden shift in attitude, Balgur continued. "Yeah. Cecilia found him squaring up against orc-bare-handed."
Shrill raised an eyebrow.
"But that's not even the interesting part," Balgur added. "After returning to the site for protocol, we found something... odd. A few feet away from the dead orc, we discovered an impact site-a wall, dented in the vague shape of a human body. Torn fabric, blood, and... cerebrospinal fluid dripping down the surface. A few meters away from that? We also found another area with pool of blood belonging to him." He paused, Glancing toward Vance.