"Well. I guess this is what death feels like." he said to himself as he floated in a cold dark abyss. Somehow a feeling of relief came to him. This was the first time in a long time he felt such a sensation.No regrets and no responsibilities awaited him.
At a certain point in life he longed for death but was too much of a coward to do it himself. Eventually he set it aside but never forgot about it. Every day might be my last, so I should live it with utmost efficiency. He may have twisted an original inspirational quote into something that fits for him.
'I guess I'm going to spend eternity floating here.' he thought as he slowly closed his eyes.
"OHAYOU-GOZY-MUS!" a low-pitched, loud voice spoke in a distorted manner.
"That's Japanese for 'good morning sleepy head'."
The unexpected and cringe filled noise stopped him from enjoying the moment.
"Identify yourself" he sounded like giving an order.
"Alright. For the time being call me umm...Pietro." the voice said. "Now you'll think that you are dead. But you aren't. Don' be scare-"
"Then explain the situation.", Kellogg interrupted "Without straying away from the main issue."
The voice had become a little irritated now. But it shook it off.
"I took you outside of your space and time. In short I kidnapped you." it said in a gentle tone.
"Were you responsible for that anomaly?" Kellogg asked.
"Yes"
"Continue"
"Aren't you going to ask about your friend who died?" Pietro asked.
"He wasn't my friend." the reply was swift.
"He stayed with for a long time, helped you many times, and did many things together with you. That kinda sounds like a friend to me." Pietro's tone was a bit sarcastic.
"He was my subordinate. He lived carefree life and his demise is result of his own flaws"
"Oh..Ok" Pietro sounded like 'Well I'm not gonna judge him'
"Back to the main part. I will now send you to another place for fulfilling a certain task."
"I refuse" he said.
"Wait I didn't say what it was." Pietro frantically responded.
"It doesn't matter. I refuse to accept to anything. I don't care if you kill me, rather I welcome it"
"Stop jumping to conclusions! I'm not gonna kill you." Pietro was getting more irritated.
"Now, what do you think of this."
His eyes widened.
A mannequin formed in front of him wearing a skin suit.
It looked like a one piece skin suit made of millions of tiny rhombuses joined together. The front side was completely black while the backside was black with thin red lines which ran starter from the nape and extended like veins across the back
The mannequin now tilted its left side slightly forward and its right arm slightly backward.
It now stretched its fingers on its left hand as wide as it could and brought it in front of its face.
An intimidating aura appeared.
"H-How did you.." Kellogg was speechless
"You may be wondering how I got it, right?"
"This shouldn't exist." he couldn't stop looking at it.
"Yes, this is what you think it is. The Gen-Y Survival Gear. Designed by Kellogg" Pietro boasted.
What had left him speechless was the fact that a few days ago he had created a blueprint for a survival tool that looked extremely similar to what was in front of him. But it was impossible. His explanations for the structures and functioning were too complex to understand.
"After you 'died' development based on your design was at a snail's pace. It took a few decades but they did it."
"You're from the future?" Kellogg asked. His head was filled with many questions. Is this a time traveler? What did the person want with him? What happens in the future? Is simping made illegal?
"I am not a time traveler. I am someone who exists outside of space and time and is able to freely enter different time periods." Pietro replied.
"I don't know man. Looks like a time traveler to me."he remarked sarcastically
"It does? I really didn't know man. " Pietro sounded surprised. "So that means I am a time traveler"
Kellogg grew a bit angry because his sarcasm failed.
"Does it have all the options including 'that'?"
"Yes. But there is a problem regarding that."
What he was referring to was a tool called Swiper. It was named after a demon fox that spawned in Mexico a few years ago. It had the ability to steal people's memories and possessions. While this tool couldn't steal objects, it could copy memories and experience from another person.
The problem was that it was very delicate and took a lot of time. Improper handling could damage it. It was a miracle that they could reproduce it from his theoretical design.
"Let me guess the .."
"Yup. Its a softie. If you use it badly it will break" Pietro interrupted and answered.
The mannequin was now swinging its arms and high knees in a weird manner.
'Looks like its a degenerate' he thought
Kellogg was now more and more curious. He wasn't angry when he was interrupted. Rather he wanted to know more and more about the Survival gear and also he was dying to try it.
"Well. I guess you don't want to talk. Now I have to put this back.."
"Wait!" he exclaimed. "Basically I don't have anything left to do now so it won't hurt to hear you one last time."
"Oh? What was that?" Pietro mocked. "I-I want to hear your proposal." he said.
Actually he didn't have any interest at first but after seeing what he designed, crafted so perfectly, he really really wanted to try it on.
"Ok, here's what you should do"
***