2:10 p.m., three hours after Donovan's encounter with the hooded figure, and a day after his transmigration.
Two Visitors sat across Donovan as he sipped on a cup of coffee.
"Uh... So you mean to tell us that you blinked, found yourself in the basement, and some old guy talked to you?" A Visitor wearing a white suit and a fedora said while seated across Donovan.
"Yes." Donovan answered honestly.
"And then?" The second Visitor asked, wearing a black suit.
"He turned around, I grabbed my umbrella, and I used the Emergency Teleport."
"He's telling the truth." Whispered the black suited Visitor to the white suited Visitor.
Of course I am...
...
Dean wiped sweat off his forehead, staring at the smoldering corpse of the last Annihilith. Its molten remains oozed into the cracked volcanic ground, releasing a foul stench.
He let out a breath, exhausted.
"F**k this world," he muttered, picking up his discarded clothes. His umbrella hummed as he activated the world-hopping ability. Mission complete.
...
As Donovan was walking back towards his apartment after exiting the Mission Reports building, Tiero called out to him in the distance. Donovan stopped walking, and turned his head to the source of the voice.
Tiero jogged towards him.
"I just heard. What happened?" Tiero asked Donovan with a slight pant.
"Just ask them." Donovan resumed his walk after saying that.
...If I weren't acting like the original Donovan Volgard, and was just acting as myself, Clark Smith, I would've told Tiero what happened. But since I'm basically Donovan now, I have to act mysterious and quiet so people don't get suspicious... Or I can slowly soften myself up as the days go by... Like, a year later, I'm a talkative, nice person...
As Donovan reached his apartment, he first took off his suit, drank a glass of water, and lied down on his bed.
I just transmigrated like a day ago, and I've already been through so much... Ugh, give a transmigrator a rest... Also, why don't I have any overpowered abilities or something? Like a transmigration ability... Hm...
He began to doze off, but before he could fall asleep, he felt his stomach grumble.
He sighed, got out of bed, got the chef robot to make him lunch, and after eating, Donovan decided to go to the library.
The original Donovan barely read any books, which means my knowledge about this city, no—this organization is still a bit lacking...
Donovan took a quick bath, put on his suit, and walked towards the door. Then, he suddenly paused as he put his hand on the doorknob.
Also, my mind, no—personality remained the same after transmigrating. Did I not fuse with the original Donovan's personality, and only his memories fused with mine? Donovan opened the door and left his apartment building.
After passing by fellow Visitors, he finally arrived at the library which was just a five minute walk.
The library looked... out of place. Why? Because it looked like it came from the 1900s. It was old-fashioned architecture surrounded by futuristic architecture.
Donovan wasn't surprised, because the original Donovan often passed by the library, but didn't actually enter it.
As he entered the library, the interior was exactly what he expected.
Huh... A relic from the past. Literally...
Five minutes later, Donovan finally chose a book and found a table and chair to sit.
The book was titled, "Umbrella's History."
...
After about 40 minutes of reading, Donovan leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply. His back and neck was starting to hurt.
He learned many things.
Umbrellas began about 68 years ago, in the year 2050.
Its founder was an old man that went by the name of "Zeronil."
Donovan was surprised when he learned about Zeronil, because this man... was addressed by the book as "Him"!
Isn't that a salutation used to address "deities"...? Not only that, but he barely made appearances after the creation and stabilization of Umbrellas... This man... no—this deity... this god... is the founder of Umbrellas? Fascinating... If I didn't know about this, then that means the original Donovan didn't know about it either. Looks like he didn't care much about history...
Donovan also learned about matters regarding history before Umbrellas. The floating city in space that he was currently in, the organization that he was currently in, called Umbrellas, was a city from Earth! It was a city from Earth that "separated," and became a floating city in space! And it happened a year before Earth was destroyed...
Fascinating. Looks like my theory that this is the future in an alternate universe is starting to become more and more believable. But why was Earth destroyed? Well, that's what it said in the book. "Destroyed"... Destroyed how? Destroyed by who?
Donovan's mind went back to Zeronil, and about the mysteries surrounding "Him."
Hm... Did "He" destroy Earth? No, I can't just say that. I can't come to conclusions so suddenly.
He rubbed his tembles with his right thumb, and he sighed deeply.
The book didn't say anything much about Zeronil. Only the fact that "He" is the founder of Umbrellas.
The book should also include that he's probably a deity. I mean, why would they address Zeronil as "Him"? The only explanation is that he's a deity.
Donovan also learned about something else that was equally important.
Five years after the creation of Umbrellas, Zeronil gave portions of "His" power to eight individuals.
Arthur Voss, The Executor... Kolvur Vortain, The Harbinger... Selene Veyne, The Weaver... Orin D'Korr, The Archivist... Thane Malbrus, The Broker... Veyda Rynn, The Specter... Garrik Thorne, The Forge Master... Liora Sevryn, The Gatekeeper...
This book only gave out their names and titles, and no additional information about them... Hm... They seem like big-shots. "He" gave these eight people a portion of "His" power, and they're basically the ones with the highest authority in Umbrellas? Surprised the original Donovan never met any of them...
He also learned that Umbrellas had a great influence on some planets. 08-Plor-12, for example, was a planet known for its festivities. In the past, Umbrellas saved this planet from destruction from Annihiliths, and since then, Plor has been giving free and premium services to Visitors.
Donovan sighed once again. He closed the book, returned it, and left the old-fashioned looking library.
It was 4:00 p.m., and Donovan suddenly had the urge to have some coffee. He then turned right, heading towards the cafe that the original Donovan frequented.
...
After choosing a table and taking a seat, he sipped on the cup of coffee in his hands and took a bite on the ham sandwich.
He took out his phone to entertain himself. Then, four minutes of scrolling on his phone later, someone suddenly sat on the chair across the table.
She had black hair and green eyes. She had a tiny mole under her right eye. She had beautiful facial features, and a captivating smile that made Donovan pause for a few seconds.
She was wearing a white shirt, black suit with no necktie, tan trench coat, and a beautiful silver necklace.
She was none other than Sylvia Swan, a friend of the original Donovan, and a fellow Visitor.
Sylvia took the ham sandwich from Donovan's plate and took a huge bite. She then said while chewing, "Mm. Delicious. You got this just for me? How thoughtful!"
It's not for you...
Donovan was a bit taken aback, unsure of how to respond. Then, remembering Donovan's quiet and mysterious personality, he said,
"Sylvia. How's it going?" He said succinctly.
"Oh, the mission? Yeah, we're doing well. Great, actually. Sasha's stressed, going on and on about how she hated these investigate, search, and rescue missions."
Sasha was another female Visitor. Sylvia, along with her team of Visitors including Sasha, was currently investigating something on a planet named 856-Bohler-33. A previous Visitor team became unresponsive on the planet Bohler, and the task of searching and rescuing them was given to Sylvia's team.
Donovan hummed, and took a sip of his coffee again.