"What?" Quinn spoke out loud. Sen did not say a word as they came to a halt on their little walk.
'What?' Quinn repeated, 'Humans? Living with Vampires? On another Planet? How's that possible? I'm pretty sure that the last space expedition ventured only like 20 light years from Earth, into another Star System where the crew was forced to set up a base; surely that's not it. When did this happen? What is this, and why doesn't the rest of humanity know?!'
Sen expected such a reaction, perhaps a slightly more intense one, but he did not have an explaination for the questions that Quinn asked him. After all, most of it was classified information even within the main family. Sen only knew and remembered what little he had heard during the interrogation of the so-called Vampires.
'Man, I understand that you find it hard to accept it, but... I also hoped that you knew something of it. I still remember what Zayne said; that your parents were... traitors. I know it's a theory with no base or any sort of evidence pointing to it, but I can only assume that perhaps Zayne was a human from Planet of Vampires. It would explain how he would have known such information; about other beings, and whatever Death Game he was on about.
'So, if he really was a human from that Planet, then I'll just have to assune that you are also of similar origins, because of what he said: he recognised your family name for some reason. Quinn, I'm going to be completely honest with you... I have absolutely no fucking clue about what the hell is going on right now; nor do I have the slightest interest in getting involved in all of this. The only reason I'm telling you what I'm telling you is because of the fact that you're my friend, and I wish to help you. I know that you may not show it, but you're clearing going through a lot too.
'You might be trying to find more about your parents and what happened, and more importantly, why they were being called traitors, but I advise you that you should not get involved in this mess. This might be something too far outside our scope of understanding. I know that you are strong; much stronger than when we fought, but still...'
Quinn had been listening quietly while Sen was on his rant, but deep down, his mind was in complete chaos; processing the information he had gotten his hands on, and thinking of certain scenarios, while simultaneously listening in on Sen. After a while, he finally interrupted him: "Enough,' he said with a stern voice, seemingly devoid of any emotions, ''You don't know anything about me. Nor do I you. Even if you really don't want me to get involved in all of this... whatever this is, I have no choice. I'd rather not explain it to you; after all, you said it yourself: you don't wish to be involved in this. I need to find what my parents are... if they really were from that strange Planet that you mentioned.
'I highly doubt you understand, Sen. This... might be my only purpose in this life. I need a way to get to this Planet. Please... it's the only thing I'll ever ask of you. You are the only one that can help me with this.' Quinn gave him a little bow.
"Quinn..." Sen placed his hand on Quinn's shoulder, gesturing him to get up, "You don't have to bow to me. I... I'll help you out just this once."
Being the cautious person he is, Sen continued via telepathy: 'I'll tell what little I know about the Planet and the people living on it. Although, there might be a few gaps in my memory... . And, I can't say that I have a way to that Planet as of now. I've not heard anything regarding it for the longest time ever since that interrogation. I will try and dig out some more information regarding it and help you out for however long you need it.
'The summer vacation is next month. During that time, I will be heading back to my main family base: in the Lumen K-3 Star System, on Kril. I doubt my family would have given up on getting to that place, after all. If they're not actively searching for ways to get there, they must already have one...'
"Thank you... really," Quinn smiled. "No need to thank me. Also, how dare you make this your only purpose in life?! Don't you have your cute little sister that you want to protect, return a favour or whatever? What about Petra? She genuinely has feelings for you, anyone can tell! Try and build something between the two of you. Don't just try and disconnect yourself from those around you for no reason, Quinn. You just need to find a purpose, right? Then begin with Petra, she'll be overjoyed to be with you, I guarantee it; on behalf of me and Emma too," Sen lectured, "So, what do you say?"
"Hah. I'll... try"
Finally, arriving at their destination, it was almost night time. They sat down on a bench, in the resting area, as Sen started to explain whatever he could about the Planet; whatever the Vampires in his cellar told his family when he was with them.
———
The name of the Planet was: Nyxterra. It was a rocky, Super Earth-like planet in the Umbirel Star System, or so they called it. The Planet orbits a binary star system consisting of a dim, red dwarf star named Nocturna and a larger, but cooler, white dwarf star named Luminara. The dual stars create a perpetual twilight on Nyxterra, ensuring that the planet is never subjected to harsh, direct sunlight.
The atmosphere of said Planet is, somewhat like Earth, thick and rich in Oxygen, but with a higher concentration of certain trace gases. The Planet itself sounded like a land straight out of a fantasy: vast, dark forests, luminescent fungal jungles, and mountain ranges that overshadow some of the tallest ones on the Earth and glow with bioluminescent minerals, lighting up the surrounding area with a romantic, soft glow. The large lakes and rivers only compliment the seemingly ethereal landscape.
The unique orbit around the binary stars ensured that there was no traditional day or night cycle. In fact, the skies of this Planet are in a constant, dim twilight, which varies slightly in intensity, but never reaches full daylight or total darkness. This aspect of the binary stars and the Planet made it the ideal habitat for Vampires and nocturnal creatures.
Speaking of which, the creatures on this Planet varied greatly from those on Earth and other Planets, due to the unique circumstances. It is home to a wide variety of unique and fascinating creatures, apparently. It has a wide array of creatures from Stalkers, a humanoid creature with feline features and gaunt bodies with sleek fur that aborbs light, and dragon-like creatures to fairy-like beings and ghostly figures. The flora of the Planet does not lag any further behind either.
The Vampires weren't originally from Nyxterra, but from another far away Planet that was overthrown by eternal darkness, and thus, they had no resistance to the sunlight and no way to combat it either. But, upon arriving on the Nyxterra, they started to go through some mutations. Perhaps due to the unique atmosphere and the perpetual twilight: the Vampires evolved to possess a special pigmentation in their skin that could absorb and filter harmful rays from the White Dwarf Star; even going a step further, and converting them into a form of energy that strengthens their bodies.
Vampires generally have a very long life span, sometimes even reaching a thousand years of age. Due to the collaboration of brilliant minds, of both humans and Vampires on their previous planet, they have made great technological advancement. As such, with the help of advanced nanotechnology that integrates with their biological systems, they are provided with additional protection against any residual harmful effects of sunlight while also enhancing their natural abilities. Therefore, even the humans living with the Vampires are much stronger than regular Travellers and Dungeon Crawllers on Earth.
The architecture of Vampire cities on Nyxterra is a harmonious blend of gothic elegance and advanced biotechnological innovation. These cities are designed to cater to the unique needs of both vampires and humans, creating environments that are both functional and aesthetically captivating. The perpetual twilight of Nyxterra is skillfully incorporated into the architectural design, resulting in a mesmerising and enchanting atmosphere.
There is mainly just a single, gigantic city for both the humans and vampires. It is filled with unique landmarks as well; some of them being citadel spires, residential quarters, public spaces, efficient transportation facilities, underground networks, and a ton of things that the humans on Earth cannot imagine being on another Planet, outside of their eyes.
———
Quinn, even after having a long time to digest everything was still surprised. Sure, there may be intelligent alien life forms, like humans, as it has been proved to be true now; but humans...? How come there are humans that we do not know of existing with these so-called intelligent Vampire Species?
Now that Sen was gone, Quinn was left all alone, in the training grounds of the military academy. 'Since I'm already here... I might as well try and use the training dummy to see how I can do against it at the highest level,' Quinn walked towards a human-like robot figure in the area and switched it on.
The robot, although built like a unit of a human with some material with the same consistency of human flesh and skin, spun around and faced Quinn with its hands raised and squared up.
"Highest Level," Quinn intructed the bot to readjust to the highest level possible. Quinn did not even get in the fighting stance as he stood still with his arms to his either side, and did not use any magical gear.
The training bot started without a warning and threw a barrage of lighting fast punches of different variety, sometimes mixing in a kick here and there. But, Quinn did not move from his position and stood his ground, using only one hand, he knocked away every single attack flawlessly, and eventually, he got fed up and punched the bot, obliterating its upper body; completely disconnecting it from its lower half.
Just as he was about to flee the crime scene, he heard a person draw near to him while clapping away. "Bravo-! A fine display of martial prowess and raw strength!" the person said as they finally came into view.