Somewhere inside a distant galaxy, on a huge planet surrounded by several rings, the ground was bustling with a crowd of non-human origins. This hollow disc shaped planet is a home for an alien species that are often addressed as Darthars in the vast cosmos. The name of this planet was Varaum-91C.
These alien species have been holding a position just a step above humanity in the cosmic hierarchy. One might assume that being on the step above humanity might give these species a complete dominance over humans. However, that is not debatable.Instead, the reality is that the difference between humans and darthars is not wide enough to completely overwhelm humans. On several occasions humans have stood their grounds against darthars in diplomatic squabbles and feuds over resources.Although both species are not quite fond of each other and remain in recurrent conflict, there still exist crucial diplomatic, commercial and political relationships between the two species. However, that doesn't change the fact that Darthar are still above humans in the hierarchy. That's because they have efficient data acquisition protocols, diverse culture, flourishing ecosystem, strength, along with a commendable military might; however out of all, their technological standpoint is what really sets them apart from humans.Their specialization in industrial, practical, and mechanical arts and applied science is what gives them a cutting edge over human beings despite being a type-2 civilization, same as humans.Their biological anatomy closely matches with humans except for their head that resembles that of a white-bearded snail. Just like humans they walk on two legs, yet unlike a human skull the bones in their forehead have an elegant bulging curvature reaching all the way to the nose; a single boney bulging forehead that separates the eyeballs.In contrast to the bulging mass of the forehead reaching the end of their nostrils, their cheek bones are excessively skinny. The dense white facial hair on the cheeks and dark eyes gives them a look that is plum and full of wisdom.Apart from that they have a similar body structure like humans with two sets of hands and legs. Their biology is quite similar to the species of the mammal kingdom. This is because they have lived and evolved in the same kind of atmospheric conditions as that of humans. Nevertheless, the most important fact out of all is that these inhabitants of this planet are the species who are behind the creation and distribution of gigantic premium mobile cruises that are also called the 'The Disque Caravan'.—In the night sky of this distant habitat of Darthars, a commercial stellar cruise soon entered one of the million air routes. This stellar ship had a build quality far below average. With hydraulic grease and smoke leaking out of the rusty cracks above the ionic thrusters, the ship was silently crying for urgent maintenance.Soon, the ship gracefully landed on the base of the public hyperspace station. The gates opened and several passengers came out of the ship all at once. All of them had thin glowing film over their entire bodies, which immediately evaporated when they all clicked twice on a round metal disk attached to their chest. Each of these passengers after coming out of their ships voluntarily handed over the metal disc to the darthar conductor that came out from the front door of the steller ship. These metal discs were nothing but Darthar-made safety flight suits for the passengers. Most of the passengers along with the ship conductor were Darthers. However, among those passengers, there were two humans. Both of their faces were covered with air-tight helmets concealing their facial identities.The conductor soon directed the only two human passengers towards a specific direction. It seems that both of them needed to go through interstellar customs checks. As they moved toward the customs they noticed several azure glass chambers lined up. One of those glass chambers opened. This time an armed Darthar who stood behind a translucent glass chamber came forward and signaled them to halt on their track. He uttered, "Official IDs and stellar board pass please."Both of them stretched out their hands. The Darthers official dabbed a blues glass panel over both of their wrists which turned green. The Darthat official soon glanced over the details that appeared on the panel for a few seconds before uttering."Mr. Fang Jin and Mr. Creed Griffon. I want both of you to remove your helmets and state the purpose of your visit."Both Fang and Creed clicked the right side of their temple making the metallic helmet shrink and transform into an ear plug now covering just their ears lobes. Fang leaned forward and replied with a bright smile."We are here for a meeting with a potential business client, Sir!""How long have you known this person? Is he a permanent resident here ?""We know him through a mutual acquaintance. He is indeed a permanent resident who runs a small business here in sector UC-65.""How long do you plan to stay?""We have a return flight scheduled in 19 hours.""I see!" The Darthar official glanced at them for a few seconds and pulled out black palm-sized tablet. "Alright! You are clear. Humans with hunter Ids need to wear these at all times during the visit. I need you to put your wrist over this tablet."Fang and Creed both looked at each other and nodded. As instructed, they both put their wrists on the tablet, and a thin metallic band twiched and jumped out of the tablet and wrapped itself around their wrists."If I may ask!" Fang smiled and asked as he gazed over his wrists with a child-like curiosity, "What are these bands?"The Darthar official put the tablet and id-scanner inside his pocket. He then pressed the button that lit up the path towards the exit and mumbled."Just a mandatory security protocol… " The Darthar official replied ignorantly.After not getting any satisfactory reply, they both proceeded toward the exit and were greeted with an energetic and bustling Darthar local residents on the streets. Seeing so many Darthars at once flustered them boys. Creed was a loss for words too.This was his first time, traveling to a distant alien planet. Not to mention that his senses were tossing and turning trying to accommodate these foreign facial features and their expressions into his mind. All this time he had alway had an advantage since he was so over the edge good at reading human expressions but this was completely new territory for him to adapt.Fang looked towards Creed, completely dazzled by the scene and a smug smile appeared on his face as if he was already familiar with what was going on inside his mind."We are here… " Fang turned his head at Creed, "so.. what now?""We are here" Fang turned to Creed, who was busy gleaming at the alien crowd, "so... what now?""uhm… yeah.. Wait.. hold on… give me a sec!" Creed flustered, hovered his fingers over his watch. "I do have an address.""Cool! I'll get a cab or something…" Fang replied, and rushed to leave until Creed grabbed him by his shoulder. He said, "Thanks… for helping me out."Fang looked into his eyes for a second. His smile turned upside down, and his face got painted with a horrendous expression. His throat made a horrifying gurgling sound, as if it was going to burst. ~blergh"Jesus Christ! How are you so cringe…" His first response was a disgusted scoff, "Stop that… or I'm gonna puke on your crotch!""Shut up, you dipshit. I'm serio—""Listen, dude… it's all good!" Fang interrupted him, "Visiting an alien planet could be a bit overwhelming the first few times! I've been there, so I know. Also, Jake told me about your sassy adventure at the party. He couldn't come, so I had to come, anyway
"You are not Rolin… " Creed's eyes turned dull, "Who the hell are you?""."'"..""...""What kind of crap is that?" Rolin's eyes reeked of anger.Fang felt a bit awkward by Creed's vicious tone so he jumped in. "Dude! What are you talking about?""He is lying… this guy is not Rolin!""Wait, What! How are you so sure? Have you met him before?"~Tch"… No, I haven't… " Creed pointed at the hologram hovering over his watch, "but just look at this goddamn photo and tell me if both of them look the same to you."Fang scratched his head in disbelief. He came closer toward the hologram and squinted as hard as he could. He gawked at both the picture and the real person, back and forth, but was at a complete loss while trying to tell them apart."I don't know, Man! They look all the same to me… " Fang whispered cautiously, "I mean… what makes you think they are not the same person… ""Look at their eyes and faces! They might share the same build but they have completely different facial featur
"I've never seen something like this before... "Rolin pupils dilated as he stared at the digital chart hovering over his head, "Are you really sure that this arrow has only been used 8 or 9 times…""Yes..""What about your bow? Is that broken too?""No.. my bow is fine!""Unbelievable.." Rolin murmured in bewilderment, " I am seriously at a loss of words!""Why is that so hard to believe?" Creed questioned,"Because that is not how a bow and arrow works! You see… the amount of tension these arrows have gone through is no less than insane. Technically, this is what you call strain beyond a sustainable threshold. But I wonder why your bowstring is not breaking even with such intense pressure?""My bowstring?""Yeah! I mean… from all the information I have so far. I can surely tell you that raw strength is not the real culprit here because if it was the case, your bow must also be broken."He continued, "Hence, It's not just your raw strength that shreds your arrow… There is also some kin
Two days after Creed's return, Inside an archery facility on planet Zerg, a girl in her early 20s was standing outside the closed door. She kept glaring at the board with a huge sign that said 'torrent gauge chamber' in bold letters. A lightweight metallic bow was hanging on her shoulder while she held a bag filled with god knows how many arrows.She was standing at the gate of the Torrent Gauge Chamber, waiting for the door to open. A timer kept ticking next to the door. However, her eyes were focussed on the second's hand of an analog watch-face of her quantum watch. With each successive tick, she got hasty. "57… 56 … 55… 54… " she kept counting while gazing at the digital clock.Several thoughts were racing through her mind. 'Why is the door closed?''Shit! If it wasn't for that beast horde, I wouldn't have been stuck in the glitch for three days… 'and why is this place empty all of a sudden?''Did something happen when I was out? … Guess I'm really lucky today…"With every tick o
"Hello! My name is Creed Gryffon. Good to see you again!""Again? Do you remember me by any chance?" Britney asked,"Yes, of course! It was only four months ago… I asked for your bow for a baseline reference, which made you suspect that I was some bow sniffing pervert, if my memory serves right.""Oh yeah!" Britney remembered the entire scenario, "..that happened… sorry bout that!""No worries, it's not like I'm not grilling you or anything… but yeah! I do remember you!""Cool! So what are you doing here? Are you joining as a new member? Yes! You should definitely join! You know I've been trying so hard to beat master Hugh's record, but you beat me to it first, so i should give you a compliment at least…coz you know because I'm not a sore loser."She continued with sparkles inside her pupils, "But dude… that shot you made was freaking fire …how the hell did you do that? Is there some special technique coz if it is, then I'm definitely interested in exchanging some pointers with you. We
Creed had returned from planet Varaum-91C only two days ago. Yet, instead of taking a break, he decided to visit the archery training facility - Target 101. Four months ago, he had made a deal with master Hugh that if he could provide any lead in solving his excessive strain problem, then Creed would have to join his facility as an instructor. He was forced into this deal and wasn't quite thrilled by it, but he had to agree to the condition because Master Hugh was the one who recommended him to meet Rolin. Creed never knew how Master Hugh happened to know Rolin, but he knew they had been doing business with each other ever since the time Master Hugh started his Training facility on Zerg.In fact, Rolin was the one who came up with the idea of the Torrent Gauge Chamber. He even sent him the blueprints and architectural design patterns at a marginal cost. Not only that, every bow and arrow that Master Hugh has in his facility was designed or at least modified by the Darthar brothers.Th
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I missed this rabbit hole!" He smirked as he walked out of the teleportation base.Without wasting a single beat, Creed rushed towards his rented room in the public shelter and put on his hunting kevlar. The grim smell of lingering blood and leather ruffled several memories of panic, hysteria, and adventure. Although it only lasted four months, it felt like forever.Creed put on the kevlar and left the flat. His fingertips danced over his watch, pulling out directions to a specific location. He looked at the time and rushed.He pulled up his cloth mask and jogged the entire way until he reached a standalone building away from the prime area. At the edge of the public shelter's inner boundary, desolate from buildings and liveliness.A familiar lavish tavern finally panned out in his vision. This was the same tavern where he met all the 'Rha' members for the first time. He was heading toward the restaurant with a rational mind. It was about time he
Creed could feel the cold gazes on him while he was sitting on one corner of the table. He had already greeted them with a warm smile, yet surprisingly, none of them had yet said a word. They all just kept staring at him as if they wanted to murder him right this second."Come on, guys! That's enough…" Colt was the first one to break the awkward glaring contest, "Stop with those annoyed looks… that's no way to act on a reunion!""Four months of forced inactivity… " Falco hissed as he took a sip, "and nobody has yet told me why we had to bodyguard that god forsaken killing machine… I fucking hate this.""Falco… we have been through this already " Nakiya sighed, "You know those were master's orders… why are you so pissed all of a sudden?""Yeah.. yeah… master's orders! My ears will fall off if you say that one more time." Falco jeered, "The reason I am pissed is because master is just being tyrannical."He continued, "Besides, If something bad happened and she wanted to put a choker on
A few days later inside the archery facility, Target 101, Kendrik was still busting his ass on the endurance range. However, today for some reason, he was more enthusiastic than ever. Although, his expression told that he was really struggling but the subtleties of his body language during the practice hinted otherwise.Though his limbs were twitching with pain, body drenched with sweat, and veins burst with blood rush, regardless, he was still humming as if he was enjoying his training regime. This shouldn't come as a surprise since he was finally noticing some changes in his shots. Over the past few days Kendrik noticed that his accuracy has slightly increased and he has finally gotten a hang of the customized training regime. This training regime was extremely taxing but after everyday's practice and consistent effort he realized that starting from scratch—as Creed advised—was not bad advice after all. He was also diligently taking the pill that Creed prescribed, and coincident
Creed walked out of the medical facility feeling despondent. He was undoubtedly thinking about the discussion that he just had. He continued to mutter to himself, agitatedly. "What a stupid facade…""And what the hell was I even thinking?? Of Course, she's not gonna tell me shit!! This must be what they call the classified information!! Not to mention that grumpy old man was also sitting right there gawking like a freaking viper!!""Meh… Whatever!! It doesn't matter… At least, now I know that there are more variables in the picture.""Argh fuck!!" Creed cursed under his breath, slapping his forehead with frustration. "What was I even thinking, promising that scumbag Varun a favor? I got nothing in return... what a waste of time!!"Creed went back to his home with no leads at all. Finding 'Eos' and getting him to talk about his unusual weapon was his only lead. Unfortunately, with him leaving without a trace, Creed was out of options now. Nevertheless, one thing was crystal clear. If
Varun stared at him for a few seconds before smiling, "If you are that desperate, alright fine. But don't back off later, or I'll shank your ass in your sleep.""Just take me to her," Creed ignored Varun's warning.Varun led Creed to another floor, and as they walked, Creed couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between the efficient, advanced, state-of-the-art equipment in this medical facility. This facility had by far the most efficient, advanced, state of the art equipment available to humans. It reminded him how difficult it was to bridge that gap between privilege and non privilege.Compared to this, the hospitals available to the general public were absolutely garbage. Creed was creeped out by how well funded, and well designed this facility was. It almost seemed as if he arrived like a planetary hyperspace launch station."So this is what true aristocratic privilege looks like?" Creed whispered, "What'd you say?""Uhm… I said… I've never seen a hospital like this before!
Creed opened his straining eyes pulsating with throbbing agony. As the vision grew slowly, he could see nothing past the blur of lights and shadows. He tried to move his limbs, but a sharp pain shot up his arm. He groaned in pain. All he had were the brief flashbacks of memories from the night before. The Formless beast, the Serpent Woman, and most importantly, Eos' daunting trickery.He tried to move, but he immediately felt restrained. His naked body was wet. His body was completely naked and afloat in a viscous fluid. His eyeballs jittered once he saw the silver edges of curved encasing. He was trapped in a box like a barbie doll.Panic flooded inside his mind when he realized he was inside a bionic pod. He knew what had happened to him? Creed immediately struggled against the restraints, but they held firm. Soon, he heard footsteps approaching, and a door swished open."Ah!! Mr. Gryffon, you're awake!!" A voice landed in his ear. It was a woman's voice, calm and professional. "Hm
The serpent woman's spine-curling screams pushed even the Formless beast to his limits, causing him to reconsider his position in the hierarchy of dominance, as they served as a warning and clear indication of the carnage she was capable of unleashing.She issued an open threat against the formless beast that he must not take another step forward. This situation was way beyond Creed's caliber. ~GRRRARGGGGGGHHHHSoon enough, the formless beast also roared on top of his lungs. His killing intent directed at the serpent woman forcefully standing between him and Creed. Both creatures relentlessly tried to force each into submission but were also greatly wary of each other's powers.Creed was encountering a clash between two superior predominant entities. The last thing Creed wanted to do was fuck around and find out. Right now, His atoms in his body were screaming at him to run away but his body was in dreary paralysis because of her presence. However, the next second, the snake woman
With a roar, the ferocious beast charged at Creed, its killing intent crystal clear. Creed's heart pounded in his chest as he braced himself for impact. His sword sliced through the beast's flesh. But that was not good news, but quite the opposite. As Creed's sword locked inside the creature's body, the beast taunted him with a cruel grin. Creed's heart sank as he realized he had made a fatal mistake.The cunning bastard rendered his sword orbit completely useless with his flawless strategy by letting him dig his sword into his own non vital organs. Creed's hair stood straight behind his neck as he understood how intelligent this abnormality was."Fuck! Is this it?" ~huff ~huff ~huff "I guess… I bit more than i could chew— "Before Creed could finish his sentence, his breaths turned shallow. The beast viciously ripped his arm from his shoulder. The beast then slammed him to the ground with such force that Creed felt his bones shatter beneath him. ~arggghhhHe wheezed much oxygen
The next instant, Grisha's eyes were splashed with His blood, which finally forced her to return to reality. She was even more surprised by Creed's frantic scream."LIEUTENANT, SNAP OUT OF IT!! I CAN'T HOLD HIM FOR TOO LONG!!!""You change your mind??" Grisha yelled, "Now is not the time!! Just FUCKING DO SOMETHING!! Don't make me regret my decision!!"Grisha's eyes changed to the deepest shade of purple the following instant. Her eyes radiated an atmosphere that was more viscous than molasses. The earth beneath her feet darkened, appearing to be on fire.A rhythmic shockwave erupted and spewed noxious gas into the air. A razor-sharp crescent slice spread into the air, illuminating it with a neon brilliance. The sword stroke struck the beast in the chest, pushing him away from Creed.She appeared right next to Creed and pulled him up from the ground. "How long does your berserk skill last?" She asked, "5 more minutes! then i'll probably pass out!" Creed answers, "Yours?""6 minute
Grisha let out a bellow of frustration, "Shit! I have to go back! We need to help him!"Creed's mouth twisted into a sinister grin. "No! Wait!" he hissed. "This is our opportunity. Let's run, Lieutenant. We can't handle this anomaly. But now, while it's distracted, we might be able to slip away. It's our only chance.""You heartless bastard!" Grisha spat."What?" Creed jerked his head in surprise."You're going to leave him behind?""Why not?" Creed nodded immediately. "I did everything I could! But it didn't work out. What else can we do here but save ourselves?"Grisha clicked her tongue in vexation. "I'll never understand you. What if he has a family waiting for him?""Lieutenant, stop wasting time. That creature is no joke. If we stood a chance, I would have helped, but we don't. Besides, I don't even know the guy. Why should I risk my neck for him?""You're despicable. ASSHOLE!" Grisha jeered, "You know what? Just fuck off... I'll help him myself."Creed's eyebrows twitched viole
"For fuck's sake, Lieutenant!! It's my soul radix that's keeping him paralyzed! Happy now?" Creed replied in frenzy and ran like a lunatic, leaving them behind, "Trust me we are still within his reach. Stop with the questions and fucking run!!""Oh Crap!!" Grisha immediately understood why Creed was pressing them to run. "Should have told us earlier, you idiot!!"Grisha, realizing her stupidity, grabbed Eos by his arm and bolted forward once again. The ground caved inside with her feet from the impact. However, just after taking a couple steps she felt a claw sinking deep inside the armor's back plate reaching all the way to her spine.Blood gushed out like a fountain, as if a dam had burst within Grisha's body, staining the ground crimson and creating a pool of death beneath her. Eos was frozen in shock for a moment, but the sight of her bloodied back snapped him out of it. The beast was so close that its foul breath rubbed against his neck, draining the life out of veins. He wanted