After the little council meeting, I shut myself in the comforting confines of the room Mr. Reed had provided me in his mansion. The area had gray and white walls, polished wooden flooring, a bed with two cabinets and lamps on the side, flatscreen television, and a desk fully kitted out. With a pen, pencil, paper, smartphone, and Sol by my side, I went into a trance-like state as I did as much research as I could muster in a few days, barely interacting with others.
Isaac was off doing his own thing with Darion and Lana while the remaining Six Hunters were issued orders by Mr. Reed to help around the country. Paul was instructed to keep a close eye on me. During that time, the pudgy man was like my butler. He made sure I was well-fed with the standard three meals a day quota, serving me Caesar salads, pan-seared steak with a touch of butter, spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, and crab cakes. Paul is a man of many talents. The man is a renowned chef, an expert cleaner, trained in martial arts, and friendly to boot. I don't know where Mr. Reed found this man, but whatever he's paying him isn't enough.
Sol, a dragon who barely interacts with anyone other than a select few, is fond of Paul. Whenever he arrives, she would wag her little tail and happily dash across the room and pace around the man in circles as he places two trays of food on my desk. After a short talk and informing me of the activities of the others, he would go, leaving me with only Sol, the bright rays of sunshine spilling through the windows, and the scrumptious smells and tastes of exquisite cuisine.
Taking a bite into a greasy taco that oozed juices and spice, I clicked on an online forum and pulled up a map of the new world: Earthiens. Someone online had created the map of Earthiens with the new landmasses that appeared because of the Conversion. As Mr. Reed mentioned, the landmasses have arrived, and they have occupied spaces where there was no land present. They might as well be their own continents. I counted twelve in total. The Ashia continent neighbored South America, Bellagros near Africa, North and South Osmen for Antartica, and the Forbidden Area smacked down next to Australia. I felt bad for Australia the most as they are in the most danger due to it being near the Forbidden Area.
After I jotted down some notes of each continent's whereabouts on a journal, I went to my next course of action: danger awareness. Public forums are the cream of the crop for reading the experiences of others, though you had to be careful of what information you absorbed. I took note of which monsters these people have seen, what cities have been overrun and lost, and the number of casualties the world has suffered. The northeast and southern states sustained the most damage and lost numerous cities to the monster threat. People pulled up news articles, personal experiences, and pictures of the scene, describing the carnage. A projection of about a billion of the human population had tragically lost their lives, and the death count continues to rise. It went from eight billion to six billion in the span of a year. The extra one billion came from Dungeon Outbreaks when superhumans had just appeared, according to Paul. Once again, I absorbed as much information as I could and jotted down all sorts of information. This continued for another day. And before I knew it, I had finished what I sought to do.
The room was noticeably quiet, with the only noise coming from the office chair and Sol's shallow exhales. She was resting on a queen-sized bed, curled into a little ball. Moonlight shone through the glass panes, giving the room a source of light. I gazed outward, watching a Waning Gibbous mutter softly at its peers; the stars. Sometimes, I ponder what the moon thinks of its role. It provides us with light when the Earth is in its darkest hour and is partly responsible for tides. Humans and animals rely on the moon as a sort of clock to tell us the time of day. It has served as a navigator and a guide for life on Earth for centuries. If the moon had sentience, would it see its job as a bother? Would it despise us for taking advantage of its cosmic power?
"…Ah, that's right. I witnessed Luna use replica moons as weapons…"
Thinking back to that damned Pillar soured my mood immediately. Whatever dopamine I had left hit rock bottom. Gazing at the moon has lost its purpose for me. Every time I look up at the night sky, I'm reminded of Solgen and Luna. That Pillar's disgusting cackles haunts me in my sleep from time to time. The insidious smile, those damned eyes that squealed in pleasure, and the grating voice akin to a stake piercing my ears! It's all because of her that-
A flicker of movement in my peripheral vision disrupted my thoughts. When I twisted my head in its direction, I felt a soft nose touching mine. Eyes of shimmering violet stared back.
"S-Sol?"
I reached over to my phone and took a peek at the time. It was 4:23am. I've been holed up in my room for three days with little to no rest. The only time I exited was when I needed to use the bathroom to brush my teeth and all that.
"…Is it really that bad?" I muttered to Sol.
I glanced over at the comfy bed. The longer I stared, the more enticing sleep sounded. The soft mattress was practically calling my name out, luring me to lie down and drift away into a deep slumber. Before I knew it, I have already stood up and shuffled over as I dragged my feet against a smooth carpet. Once I sunk into the sheets, I instantly blacked out.