"STOP!!!" The voice made the encroaching fist stop.
Kaelen looked at the source and saw a rather petite young lady with bright blonde hair and calm green eyes.
She reached into her purse and brought out six copper pieces. "I believe that should be enough to settle your troubles."
The man in the apron glanced at her face and looked at Kaelen as if trying to find a resemblance.
He unclenched his fist and took the coins but he still gripped the rags on Kaelen's body.
The woman stepped forward, "I heard you and the reason you were hitting him was because of your pastries, right? I've settled you and there's no reason for you to still hit him."
Her words made everyone in the store look at the man with a strange expression.
"Or is there another reason why you won't let him go?! Are you classist or even racist?" Her accusations made the man let Kaelen go.
His eyes landed on the man who had beaten him heavily and he gritted his teeth, 'Such an insult! I will make him regret the day that he was born!!'
Curses rained upon everyone in Kaelen's mind until a small black dot appeared in his vision.
He tried to blink it away but it only expanded and slowly encased his vision.
The body he had occupied was weak and severely malnourished and so, because of the beating, he was losing consciousness.
The woman noticed that something was with him and bent to him.
Her hands lifted and reached for him. He tried to swat it away but was too weak to move.
His vision blackened and he passed out.
Kaelen could only see black around him and he let out a small sigh.
'There we go. This is far better. I'd rather be dead than be a worthless human.' He smiled until he felt something underneath him.
His eyes flew open and he saw himself on a bed in a dark room.
He sat up and winced. Looking under his new clothes, he could see bandages wrapped around bruises on his body.
The door leading to the room creaked, and Kaelen immediately lay, pretending to be asleep.
He kept an eye open to scout for a possible exit if possible.
From the door walked in the same woman from earlier.
She was wearing a light brown tunic and had her hair loosely hanging down her back. In her hands was a tray full of food.
Her eyes softened as she saw Kaelen, "Not only didn't I find the source of the energy fluctuations like I was sent, I managed to spend a lot of money on a total stranger."
She lamented to herself as she set the tray by the bed.
Kaelen planned to continue observing her but the aroma entered his nose and his stomach and made it rumble audibly.
Her head snapped to him and he was forced to pretend to have just woken up.
"H-hello. Thank you for helping me." Kaelen hoped his Sitronian was still good.
The woman, Elana, tilted her head slightly, 'He has a thick, strong accent. I wonder where he's from.'
"No problem, trust me. My name is Elana. What's yours?" Elana asked as kindly as she could.
Kaelen hesitated for a moment, "Kae. Uhum. Kyle, my name is Kyle." He changed his mind last minute.
'I don't know what these things name their offsprings. I can't risk anything. It's probably best that I chose a name that can't be found in the void realm.'
Elana smiled, "No last name?"
Kaelen smiled; it was forced, but she didn't have to know.
"Prince. My name is Kyle Prince." His blue eyes shone with a faint vibrance.
'I feel like throwing up acting like this but I'll do anything to establish a stable foothold in this hellscape.' Kaelen thought.
His stomach rumbled again and his eyes glanced at the food.
Elana sighed and gave him the tray. He sat up, collecting it, and ate slowly.
This wasn't because he wasn't hungry but because he was stalling for time so he could think and plan ahead.
'I know next to nothing about this realm, which places me at a disadvantage. I can't have that.' He thought as he chewed on a chicken leg.
'And I can assume that I have no one who cares for my body. He seemed to have already died before I entered, most likely from hunger.' Kaelen quickly finished the rest of his meal.
'I know how to prey on this human's kindness.'
Elana took the tray from him before reaching into her purse. She pulled out a single gold piece and handed it to him.
"I've paid upfront for 2 more weeks. Use it well. This should be enough to keep you until you can fend for yourself." She smiled softly.
But Kaelen could only see a foolish pawn, "Please, Miss Elana. I need a means to earn money or make a living. I have no skills."
His tone and overall poor, malnourished physique tugged at her heartstrings.
"From your body, I can see that you also don't have a familiar. Have you tried to get one before?"
Kaelen shook his head no, 'Familiars? Those weren't in the archives.' He thought slowly.
She chuckled a bit, "Rest well then. Tomorrow, we head out to get you your familiar."
Elana left the room and Kaelen to his thoughts, 'She seems to possess resources, and they are quite plentiful at that. I wonder what her social status is.'
'No matter what it is, I plan to milk the cow until it runs out of milk. Then I'll devour its flesh.' He smiled deeply.
A scowl crinkled his face as he remembered his inability to use his powers and his brush with death.
If there was one thing he would ensure, it was that even if he died the next day, he'd kill the baker.
He closed his eyes and unknowingly fell asleep. The next day would change his life.