"Hey, perhaps, by any chance, have you lost your ability to comprehend...?"
"Yeah, how in the hell does a human fitting into your hands make any sense to you?"
"Hehe. I guess you're right. It's just that I've been searching for hours, and my energy has accumulated to dangerous levels. I need to discharge, right now, or I might as well die."
The man spoke as he scratched his head in mild embarrassment, his skin flushing faintly purple.
Meanwhile, his other hand pressed tighter into the grip.
"I guess that's what you've said for the seventh time in the last hour already."
"The fuck are you doing? Release your hold right now, you stupid brat!"
A humanoid figure engulfed in blinding light screamed from a distance, approaching fast with an intense gaze locked onto them.
"Oh, yeah, I will release—"
Before he could finish, the air between his fingers suddenly rippled violently.
A violent burst of pressure erupted outward, tearing through the mist like an enormous explosion.
The man's arm snapped backward as something solid slammed into his palm and detonated forcefully.
Water scattered in every direction, sending him tumbling through the air, his form flickering uncontrollably in the chaotic surge.
Aziel shot out from the imploding grip, his body twisting violently as his gaseous state condensed midair, limbs taking shape out of vapor and crackling light.
He landed hard, half-floating, half-falling, steam rising off his shoulders as he exhaled sharply.
"…Right. Next time someone grabs me mid-evaporation," he muttered under his breath, his tone dry and sharply biting.
"I'm biting their damn hand off."
Aziel turned his head slowly, steam curling from his shoulders as his eyes adjusted to the warped haze.
Dozens of figures stared at him in awe, shifting, uncertain.
Some looked almost human, silhouettes with familiar outlines, though their limbs bent wrong, too long or too sharp, as if someone had redrawn them from memory and missed the proportions completely.
Others flickered violently, their bodies blurring in and out of existence, half-transparent one second and solid the next, like the one he had fought before.
And then there were a few like him, radiant, covered in blinding white light that bled and cracked at the edges.
They struggled visibly to hold their shape, the glow around them spasming, bending, then snapping back like stretched glass with tension.
Feeling the odd ache where the vapour had become bone again, he let out a dry, faint grin.
"Next time you are holding a human vapour, try asking first."
'These are all plasma beings, aren't they?'
Then, the man who had held Aziel in his hands before stepped forward and latched onto him.
"I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you at all! Please, forgive me! I'll do anything… anything at all! I'll even let you use my energy vessel, if that will make up for it!"
He cried, pressing his forehead desperately against Aziel's shoulder, his hands gripping like he was afraid to let go entirely.
He clung to him, tugging frantically, just like a child refusing to be separated from a guardian, shaking violently with guilt and panic.
'The clothes… even they are the exact copy of what they sell in the human world,' Aziel observed quietly to himself.
In the tedious process, another plasma, which seemed the most human to him, approached cautiously.
He cleared his throat and spoke with forced composure, but the urgency bled clearly through his tone.
"Mr. Visitor. As the head of the Vessel Research Department, I deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused by our team members. I… I sincerely hope this incident will not impact your upcoming experience in the sacred Lake of Harbringer."
The man halted mid-sentence, waiting, eyes wide with expectation, as Aziel simply nodded.
Though, not in affirmation, but in quiet observation and silent scrutiny.
From the moment Aziel had stepped here, that man had not flickered even once.
"However, I do feel the need to ask a question. As far as I am concerned, the sail-ship had arrived for three oscillations now, and all the plasma who were content on spectating the 'strange case' boarded on then. Furthermore, individual entry was restricted until attained permission for further notices. How is that you, residing in the Central Part of Revenant Consortium, remained ignorant of the warnings and came all the way to this sacred place?"
The man's eye narrowed in sharply, scanning Aziel with calculated suspicion.
A chill ran down Aziel's spine, and his senses tightened sharply.
Every flicker of light around the man, every small shift in posture, pressed on him with unspoken weight and silent threat.
A cold shiver ran down Aziel's spine, fingers tingling as if warning him of grave danger.
He was in a tight spot right now, cornered and vulnerable.
He couldn't fight them all.
He couldn't even see a plausible escape.
He had to answer the question, drawing only from the info he had gathered through the question itself.
The answer he would give must not be too specific, and not too vague.
Both of them would lead to further interrogation.
And truthfully, he had no real idea of their rules, their hierarchies, or the complex regulations governing entry into this place.
Every answer felt like walking a razor's edge, and every word a potential trap waiting to ensnare him.
Aziel's mind raced, sifting through every fragment of knowledge he had gathered since arriving.
He couldn't reveal too much — not about his origins, not about the human he was, and certainly not about the monster that had carried him here.
'Alright,' Aziel thought, steadying his pulse. 'Keep it neutral. Keep it controlled. Anything else, and they'll chew me alive completely.'
Straightening slightly, his gaze steadied as he faced the man directly.
"I… wasn't aware of the restrictions,"
Aziel said carefully, measuring each word.
"My path here was guided by circumstances I had little control over. I only acted to preserve balance where it seemed necessary and unavoidable."
Crap...
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___
Thanks for reading as always.