"Hey, hey now! I can make do with just a head if I must, but at least spare my face!"
The disembodied head wailed with an absurd request.
The effort of trying to shake his head was hard in his state. He was reduced to merely furrowing his brow in complaint, a grimace dancing on his face.
"My life suck, isn't it?"
Zed, after having confirmed the lack of any danger, turned his attention to Rai, gave her a nod.
His gaze then shifted to the face before him. A talking head in the wilderness? A odd sight. Surely, it must either be an Awakened being or a beast.
However, the range of emotions the head displayed pointed more to an Awakened.
"Talk to us about yourself now."
Zed asked, a vestige of an interrogation tone he had once experienced in the hands of DR workers seeping through.
Once Rai gingerly released the man from her claw's grasp, the mustached man winced, as if waves of pain were coursing through his now non-existent body.
"OK. Thank you. My name is Rudolph. I was a professor, researching meteorites," he said, struggling to articulate his words through gritted teeth.
"You mean... you studied spore?"
Zed, crossing his arms, gave Rudolph an intense once-over, his question hanging like his gun.
"Yes, that is, take it easy, if you truly believe those spores come from the heavens. I indeed researched spores. And as you can clearly see."
He paused, made a weary face.
"I'm an Awakened, just like you and your mutant brute friend over there."
Zed lifted an eyebrow, a mixture of surprise and suspicion swirling within him.
He wasn't shocked that Dr. Head, as he'd mentally begun to call him, could identify Rai as a mutated brute.
From the print he'd read about the Awakened in city, people do know beast master and it was even possible that Rudolph could also recognize Rai as his pact beast.
But to voice it out? The audacity of the man was remarkable.
Zed cast a furtive glance around him.
The silent forest was devoid of life, save for the three of them, and one is a head that spoke. The tranquil hum of nature seemed eerily muted in the autumn air. Even the insect stopped making sound.
Didn't this man know the consequence of spilling someone's secrets?
Naturally, Zed decided to tag Rudolph with the label of 'socially inept'.
With a slow, deliberate smirk tugging at his lips, he asked again.
"So, how did you end up like this, Rudolph?"
Rudolph lifted his chin, the simple action draining what little energy he had left. After a moment, he began to spoke about his past, each word slow.
He was once a professor at University College Luzmell, conducting research on extraterrestrial materials. It was a niche field, a strange cross between mineralogy and cosmology.
Everything changed a few months ago when those mysterious stones made their appearance. The government conscripted him, due to his expertise.
At first, Rudolph was thrilled to be part of this unprecedented research. His life's passion had been the study of meteorites, so much so that man even broke off his engagement for this dream.
Yet, the moment he laid eyes on the supposed meteorites, he realized these were not like any he had encountered. Rudolph was quite sure about that, he had spent the majority of his life as a meteorite hunter.
Initially, he had assumed he was dealing with a high-density iron meteorite due to it do showed magnetic properties and the silvery metallic sheen on its surface.
But he soon realized he was gravely mistaken. Within a week, all the stones began to tremble, exhibiting a strange, rhythmic pulsation.
"What does that mean?"
Zed asked, a shiver of dread creeping up his spine.
He had a hunch about what Rudolph was hinting at, he already knew the stone were actually eggs, I hope things will change a bit in this life, at least some of it. But the idea was too monstrous to articulate.
Rudolph inhaled sharply, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before replying with a solemn voice.
"It was a heartbeat."
It meant that the so-called meteorites were alive.
Upon receiving this piece information, the government immediately started a project, and summoned a conclave of biologists and virologists. They enlisted Rudolph in this, shrouded in secrecy, urging him to dedicate himself wholly to this research.
Rudolph had never witnessed such thing in his life. Only a week prior, he had been embroiled in ceaseless meetings with university students over an undergrad's trash thesis proposal. And now, the health minister was patting him on the back, encouraging him.
But the truth was, Rudolph felt lost. He knew the object wasn't a meteorite. His knowledge of mineralogy also dismissed it was from earth. It felt more like an egg — a cosmic egg, as though something had passed over Earth, depositing countless such eggs. These eggs were peculiarly light, somehow breaching the atmosphere without igniting into a blaze, or they had grown directly from the earth.
And then there was the catastrophe Zed knew all too well. The havoc, the awakening ones, and the bad guys on Wild.
At this moment, Rudolph let out a sigh. Bereft of lungs, his sigh was curt, appearing somewhat ludicrous.
"The original plan was to transfer to Newford," Rudolph began, his tone laced with resignation.
"The convoy I was traveling with was hijacked. These people stole all the research samples, selling them on the dark market. I believe there's a larger team in Newford running the project. I received an invitation from an academy. No idea what is it, but if you could take me there, I would be eternally grateful."
He paused, then added with a hint of bitter humor, "Of course, I am willing to pay. And if you decide to sell me off like them, I suppose I don't have a say in it. At least I might get a chance to reunite with my other body parts."
Upon hearing his story, Zed adjusted the lapels of his jacket, walking around Rudolph in silent.
This story felt more real to him than the wild tales he'd heard of mutants striking it rich in the wilderness.
A traveler was equivalent to a plundered treasure finder, an academy professor equated to a meteorologist who was sold piece by piece.
Such was the real story, and it made more sense to Zed.
Moments later, Zed finally spoke, his voice steady.
"I need to know your abilities, your flaws, and make sure that you won't expose me."
Rudolph tried hard to swing his hair, confusion etched on his face.
"What ability? Can't you see? I can separate my body without dying. As long as my head is placed on another body, I can live as a patchwork man. But I can no longer feel my other body parts, so I need to find them before my smeg evolves a new head. As for weakness..."
He grimaced, looking utterly aggrieved.
"My weakness is being drawn to regions with active abilities. And I inexplicably approach them."
"So, a weakness we could leverage?"
Zed asked, eyes wide with interest.
"What do you mean, leverage? I don't want to exploit it. This thing has caused me nothing but trouble! I won't tell anyone about you keeping a brute! Don't get any ideas..."
Zed cracked a sly smile, scratched her nose, and said:
"No worries. As soon as you get to the city, you'll be using this weakness for good thing automatically."
Rudolph, looking at this young man's evil grin, could only feel that no good could come from a smile so devilish...