"With this, phase two shall begin!" I then tried to open a gate in front of me, but I encountered some resistance.
'The Tailed Lilith couldn't previously open a gate near Elaine, thus this must be what she was alluding to. However, that doesn't matter, I am far stronger than that tailed nuisance!' I believed.
With much effort, I finally managed to push past the opposing force and go through the cloud-made gate. Now that I didn't have to entirely transform to my human form, I was capable of opening gates.
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, and nothing seemed to be able to draw her focus away from it. She would pull her dirty blond hair back from her face like it was the biggest distraction ever every time it did so.
"Hello Elaine," I greeted her. Surprised by the presence of another person in her space, 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. Obviously, I entered via the door. Never mind that though, take this," I tell her and then gave her a glass tube containing what appeared to be a dark cloud.
"You're a pharmaceutical scientist, the best one at that, I believe. I need you to examine the substance within this glass tube," I say to her, changing the subject. She then took the tube and examined the floating dark cloud with her naked eye.
"What is this thing?" 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.
After a long awkward pause, the silence was finally broken by Elaine's expressions of wonder and awe.
"What...! That can't be right...! Wow...! Good God, How is this possible? Where Did You Find This?!!" She asked in utter bewilderment not taking her eye away from the microscope.
"Those details I cannot share, but what do you see?" I asked her. "I'm now looking at bacteria and viruses of numerous kinds that I never even knew existed, now 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.
Cells, bacteria, and viruses are merging and destroying each other, creating new microorganisms at an incredible pace. Microorganisms even stronger than their predecessors. All for the enhancement of this tiny cloud.
Elaine then took a glass tube, much like the one containing the dark cloud, then threw it in the trash. The glass then broke it into tiny pieces. She then picked up a small 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, and 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." What's that got to do with anything, then?" I questioned, already aware of this.
"There is no reason at all why this cloud should stay inside of this glass tube given its ability to absorb any substance it comes into contact with. Maybe there was something in the glass that the cloud couldn't absorb, I reasoned. However, I just watched it absorb the same substance as the glass tube, so only one thing is obvious now..." Elaine started to elaborate.
"And what is that...?" I asked anxiously leaning in closer. "The cloud chooses to be in this bottle. If it were to just continue absorbing things nonstop it would just sink right through the Earth and eventually float in the vastness of space. Probably destroying the Earth in the process.
It is aware of its surroundings! For some reason it is actually choosing to keep us alive. We shouldn't be able to even breathe in the same room as this thing. This only further proves that this is in fact a living organism.
However, I can't comprehend how it is being held up together like this. It could be an unknown element, but there is no proof of any physical bonding force within the cloud's contents," Elaine began to elaborate then retreated to her thoughts.
"Will you be able to do some good with this?" I asked her. "With the cloud's cooperation, this could lead to a new era for humanity. Imagine a world with no illneses, nor 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. 'She has no idea that I have complete control over the dark cloud. I get to decide what she can and cannot see. I can already separate the organisms between those that are harmful to humans and those that are not. I will need to do this subtly, only making minimal changes. This woman is smart!' I thought to myself.
As she continued to look at the dark cloud through the microscope, 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 is once again, alone in the lab.
She then walked up to the laboratory door and confirmed that the door is still locked. "Am I going insane?" She asked herself then went back to studying the dark cloud.
I then dropped in a hotel room in front of the tailed Lilith lying on a bed in her underwear. She was currently engaging in a smartphone. "Tailed Lilith, come, we are leaving," I said to her not wasting any time. "Anha…" she said not even looking at me. Clearly not paying attention.
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 all things video games, anime, movies, and social media. Humanity has invested quite a lot on entertainment.
As someone who has been alive 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," I say to her. 'That was a cheap phone anyways. 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.
'Can he hear what I am thinking? But Cain couldn't do that!' She thinks 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 anyways?" She asked as she started to put on a pair of jeans. "Meeting someone at the airport. He may or may not want to kill me," I say 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 rubbers. "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 was quickly cut off as I had opened a gate before her. "How did you…?" She asked. "I've been busy," I say 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 turn.
"I hate airports," I say to myself. "So, where is this man?" The tailed Lilith asked impatiently. "Close…he will be walking through those doors any second now," I say 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.
"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 under pressure as though they had done something wrong through 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, which was then quickly replaced by a serious expression.
"How did you know we were coming?" He asked in a commanding voice. "There is nothing you can hide from me," I answered him with a smile. "Stop pretending like you know anything about us and answer me," he says 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, since it simplifies things," I said to him in a single breathe.
"Despite the 12 Liberators' relative obscurity, gathering information on them wouldn't be too difficult. I'm not intimidated by the facts! Tell me what's keeping us from killing you where you are with you being outnumbered and outmatched," he continued as the tension increased.
"Tailed Lilith, disarm them," I said calmly. The 12 Liberators then began to scan their surroundings and pat themselves down as they looked up and down, immediately realizing 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 kill me, 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, male and female alike.
I rolled my eyes at the performance of the tailed Lilith. The 12 were completely captured by her beauty, or so it seemed, 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 their lives. Losing their weapons was like losing a part of themselves. Each one of them has dedicated most of their lives into becoming one with their respective weapons.
Despite this, none of them made a move on the tailed Lilith without Moonlight's go ahead. Which goes 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 any 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 then found an empty table and took our seats. "I want you to work for me," I said to him not wasting any time. "Do you really think I would betray The Boss?" He asked me with coldness in his voice.
"No, but I'll 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. You won't survive this! Nonetheless I must ask you.... What is a human life worth to you?" He asked me 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'm merely saying this in order to advance my own interests, I admit. 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 humans will fail to give you a straight answer if you ask them what that worth is and the others will only list their strengths or what have to offer.
Ultimately, their worth just suits to serve someone else. Almost as though they were built 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 purpose. For in their death my strength increases and my domineering strength has no limits. Although I am gratifying my own self-interest, I give meaning to their useless lives," I said to him, not realizing that I had allowed a little of my death aura to escape.
I looked around and saw everyone around the café had passed out and the waitress that was coming to take our order was now lying on the floor 2ft from us. However, what really surprised me was that Moonlight was completely unaffeccted by my death aura the entire time.