"There's only two ways that Null could be flying as he is now without releasing the slightest bit of residual energy.
"The first: Null is hiding a special item on him that contains his presence from being detected. The second: Null isn't an immortal," Taz claimed to the surprise of them all.
The collective of people who understood all gasped while the slower of them raised their hands.
"What is residual energy. I don't know about that stuff so how could I be hiding it," Null denied the first claim.
"Residual energy is the leftover remains of any ability, technique, spell, you name it. If it utilizes any type of energy, it will leave behind traces of residual energy."
"Then what about Null not being an immortal? How would he be able to do so if he was normal like us?" Cronir asked.
Kamil sighed, "You sure are hardheaded man."
"If he's not on immortal level, who said he had to be lowered to ours," Taz spelled it out for him, "Above immortal level lies the omnipotent Transcendent level."
"At that level of strength, we wouldn't be able to sense anything he didn't want us to."
Benji was already having the worst day of his life thinking that he had encountered a rogue immortal.
Now he had to cope with the fact that he had crossed paths with a rogue transcendent on his first week as a guard.
"I'm telling you guys I really don't know about any of this. I came from a planet where my kind had only been around for a few hundred thousand years."
He dissented.
"The most notable thing about our civilization is that we went to our moon and created weapons that threatened the safety of our planet that was already on its way towards a global heating crisis."
He continued, "My powers are the only extraordinary thing about me. I was born a powerless nobody."
The more he spoke, the more his aura began seeping out, and his eyes grew dimmer as they were losing their shine.
"The only reason I'm even bothering to continue on this journey of mine is because I was given the opportunity of a lifetime. A new friend to share my burdens with, a fun crew to pass the time with while going on a quest."
His bottled-up feelings were slowly bubbling out, but he managed to contain himself; or rather, he shut off that part of him.
His eyes regained their luster and his aura dissipated before anyone could be the wiser, "I'll leave all the technical things to you guys and make sure to fulfill my role as planned."
With a change in identity, Null's moving speech distracted Benji from his fears.
The image that he saw when Null spoke of his burdens was the complete antithesis of an immortal.
It was more so like that of a grieving child and the sense of frustration on Null's face resonated with him for that very same reason.
He spoke for once without trembling, his gaze was more empathetic, "I grew up poor. My father took care of me and my mother by making wonderful pottery that he sold for barely enough money to feed us dinner each night."
Benji wiped his face and eased his hand on Null's shoulder, "He told me that no matter what I became, he would be happy for me; that it was his fault I could never reach beyond this planet all because of his failure to sell something that would change our lives."
"I never bothered to tell him that I wanted to be a potter just like him. I was so ashamed of the way he blamed himself for what little he had to provide me with that I told him I would become a guard and earn enough to take him somewhere where his art would be appreciated."
He paused while holding back tears, "But he passed one night after finishing the last piece he would ever create. Next to the decorative pot was a letter that he wrote to me that said, "All my life and you were my greatest inspiration."
The group let him continue, they already knew of his story as it was a popular topic for Barter's selling point of marketing.
"The pot he made became a unique treasure that soothes one's heart, but in exchange it drained him of his lifeforce to accomplish such a thing."
"The current ruler of Barter happened to glean something from his work and had personally granted me a fraction of his power as thanks."
"Now the last of his works are on display in the Wanderer's Guild of this planet, admired by the people who gave me this duty as guard of the Wanderer's Market."
His grip on Null's slender shoulder grew firm by this point, "Don't beat yourself up over the things outside your control. Focus on what's right in front of you, what really matters most, and things will work out in the end."
Null seemed to shiver despite being wrapped in the warmth of the multicolored blanket, the scene reversed with that.
Benji consoled Null as he unsealed the bottled-up feelings inside of him; he did not know why, but the colored flames in the constellation map were the goal at hand and he was going to find them.
"Thank you, really. I'll make sure to visit the display later before I leave," he patted the hand on his shoulder and turned to the rest with a smile.
"Now how about we go finish up the rest of our shopping now?"
"Ah!" Benji jerked at that notion.
"I really would, but you still haven't registered as a wanderer," he said.
"Don't worry about that Null, you can just let us do the shopping, and then we'll meet back at the hotel," Taz suggested.
"Actually... I'm kind of interested in this wanderer business. How might I join?" Null figured it would be a good way to experience the outside world.
...............
At the Barter Prison Facility, Theef still remained dancing like a fool; a pool of sweat had formed at his feet as his battered suit became drenched.
'This much should do the trick,' he thought while wheezing.