"Father… where did you find this person?"
"In the mine. Can you lower your voice?"
"The mine? I thought you mined rocks, not people. And you brought him home?"
Whispers echoed, but all Kael could perceive was darkness.
"Is helping someone a sin?"
"Of course not, but what if he's a bad person? What if he's a criminal hiding from the authorities?"
"I don't think it's anything like that. Anyway, let's wait until he wakes up, and we'll figure out what to do then."
The sound of crying broke through the murmurs.
"Your daughter is crying."
"Yeah, I hear her. I just hope this doesn't bring trouble. We've already got enough problems. I still have a daughter to take care of—and that d*mn husband of mine… sigh. I don't even want to think about it."
"I know."
As the whispers faded, silence returned to the void.
I have to wake up and kill that b*tch!
A voice thundered in the darkness.
Wake up!
It repeated over and over, relentless, as if the voice itself didn't know the meaning of exhaustion.
The whispers returned, interrupting the determined cry.
"It's been a couple of days. He's still asleep. Father, why not send him to the hospital and let the authorities handle him?"
"No, let's just wait a bit longer. He's still in a coma, but his condition is improving. When I found him, he looked like a corpse."
"Sigh… fine. You really are a thick-headed old man."
"Haha, don't blame me. It's just a gut feeling, but I think we'll find something interesting."
"If you say so. Just go to work—I'll take care of things here."
Footsteps echoed briefly, followed by the sound of a door closing.
I have to wake up.
The determined voice returned, louder than before. The darkness seemed to crack under its weight. Fissures formed, spreading wider and wider until the void shattered completely.
Blinding light pierced through the blackness. Moments ago, there was only emptiness, but now it had turned to white. Soon, colors bled into the scene, forming hazy shapes that gradually sharpened into clarity.
Kael blinked up at the ceiling, the flickering bulb above him casting weak, erratic light before going dark. He looked around and found himself in a simple room, lying on a soft bed and covered by a white blanket.
There was a table and chairs in one corner, a cabinet by the wall, and a mirror mounted above it. A curtain concealed the window until someone stepped forward to draw it aside, letting the morning sun flood the room. The warmth of the sunlight eased Kael Draven's disoriented mind.
He blinked a few more times before rising from the bed. His towering figure approached the woman standing by the window, her attention focused on the street below.
She had brown hair cascading down her back and a slender figure clad in a green jumper, one strap slipping from her shoulder to reveal the white tank top underneath.
Kael's gaze lingered on her milky-white neck, then drifted lower to her perky bottom, which her clothes did little to conceal.
He raised his hand and placed it on one of those. His fingers flexed a few times, testing the sensation. The warmth beneath his palm confirmed it—everything he was experiencing was real.
"Get your filthy hand away from me!"
Suddenly, the woman turned around to deliver a slap. Kael, seemingly expecting it, tried to step back. But his reflexes weren't fast enough, and the slap landed squarely on his face.
Kael's head snapped to the side, a red handprint quickly blooming on his left cheek.
"Ah, that hurts," he muttered, rubbing his cheek. "...And strange. I didn't manage to dodge it."
"Pervert!" the woman hissed, shoving him aside. She sprinted toward the door, but as her hand touched the handle, she hesitated. Glancing back, she found the so-called "pervert" completely naked, walking to the window and staring outside.
"What planet is this?" Kael asked, his gaze fixed on the airborne carriers zipping across the sky. Dozens of them flew in formation, their plasma thrusters leaving behind distorted atmospheric trails.
Through the window, he could also make out two planets beyond the atmosphere—one the size of a basketball, the other more than twice as large.
The woman looked confused but answered hesitantly, "Planet FL-081, Taros."
"Planet FL-081?" Kael repeated, a frown creasing his face. "Taros? Never heard of it. What cluster is this?"
He turned to look at her, his intense stare making her shift uncomfortably. Her gaze briefly dropped before she caught herself, her face flushing bright red. She quickly snapped back into focus, glaring at him as the earlier encounter replayed in her mind.
"Pervert! You're not welcome here. If it weren't for my father taking care of you these past few days, I would've thrown you out already!"
"Hey, it was just a reflex—disorientation," Kael explained, shrugging nonchalantly. "By the way, you haven't told me your name yet."
"Why would I tell you that?" she shot back, raising an eyebrow.
"Because you're standing in front of the strongest human, Kael Draven, and you've just witnessed what others never get to see. " he replied, a smirk playing on his lips as his gaze glanced below, and his tone softened. "Now tell me, miss beautiful. I'll never forget your kindness—or your father's. I promise to repay you handsomely… and you can take that literally."
As his words hung in the air, something "rose" below, and the woman's face flushed crimson once again. She quickly recovered, though, as Kael's name repeated in her mind.
"You call yourself Kael Draven?" she said, scoffing. "Hahaha! If that's the case, then my name is Katlyn Zar."
Kael frowned, muttering to himself, "I didn't think Yellow's name would spread to a place I don't even know exists." Shaking his head, he gave her a bemused smile. "Don't joke around. Tell me your real name—I'm serious."
The look on Kael's face—one of dead seriousness—made her falter. Could this really be Kael Draven, the strongest human ever recorded in the history of natural mankind? She let out a frustrated sigh at the impossibility.
"Fine. I'm Milan Ponce," she admitted. "Now tell me your real name. And if you dare say Kael Draven again, I swear I'll beat your *ss and kick you out!"
Milan's deep blue eyes glinted as she puckered her small, rosy lips.
"Milan? That's a beautiful name," Kael said with a nod before letting out a chuckle. "I'm telling the truth. I'm really Kael Draven—the White Aegis Prime! The strongest hu– Wait, don't tell me you've never seen my handsome face before? Well, I guess that's understandable. Not everyone's lucky enough to know of my mightiness."
"I said tell the truth!" Milan snapped, her voice sharp with annoyance and frustration. "Why would someone who died in the War a hundred years ago be alive and standing here, huh?"
"I'm not lying! I'm really…" Kael's voice trailed off, his confidence wavering as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him. Doubt and suspicion crept into his expression. Slowly, he began walking toward Milan, his movements deliberate, like someone who refuses to back down.
"W-what are you doing?" Milan stammered, taking a few steps back until her back hit the door. Her gaze darted downward to the "weapon" pointed at her, and her face flushed crimson. "I… I have a husband and a daughter! If he finds out what you're planning to do, he'll kill you! He's part of the—"
Her words were cut short as Kael placed his hand under her chin, gently lifting her face to meet his gaze. The object pressing against her stomach made her cheeks burn even brighter. Up close, she couldn't help but notice his deep black eyes, straight nose, and thin lips. His face was model-like, and while his body was lean, another… feature made up for it, now throbbing against her stomach.
Milan couldn't deny it—he was undeniably handsome. Shaking her head to banish the thought, she glared at him. "What?"
"Can you repeat what you just said?" Kael asked in a low, measured voice.
"My… my husband will kill you if he sees wh—"
"Before that," Kael interrupted, his tone firm.
Milan frowned, pausing to think. Finally, she repeated, "Why would someone who perished a hundred years ago be standing here, alive and well?"
"So, I'm not hearing things," Kael murmured, stepping back. His expression darkened as realization dawned—waking up naked in a stranger's house, on an unknown planet, was far from a simple situation. "What Cluster is this 'Taros' located in?"
Milan took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "U-Umbra Collection… and if you're about to ask for the galaxy name, it's the Draknos Expanse."