Drask panicked when he saw the white-haired boy walking past the gun store. They locked eyes, but he didn't seem to recognize Drask and just kept moving onwards. Drask felt a chill from the boy's gaze, even though they were probably around the same age. What was it about him? Those cold eyes seemed like they'd kill without remorse if only someone stood in his way. And that white hair…
Drask rushed into the store. It was a quaint, old looking place with classic glass display cases for the weaponry. Ren had already taken one out and was busy examining it on the front counter. A lever-action rifle. Ren typically had a taste for the classics, and was clearly considering the purchase of this weapon despite their apparent financial situation. He was so focused on kitting himself out that he'd missed their target walking past the front door.
"Ren," Drask said calmly, stepping up behind him. He clutched the icon of Eternity in anticipation of Ren's negative reaction.
"Yeah, what is it? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" He groaned.
"The white-haired boy just walked past the store."
Parsh – who was standing nearby – reacted first. "What?"
"Really?" Savra added.
Ren turned around slowly, his mouth agape. "Drask, if you're pulling my leg…"
Drask shook his head earnestly.
Ren produced a few notes from his wallet and slammed them down on the counter. The cashier was shocked at the sudden movement. "We square?" Ren asked. "Keep the change. Treat yourself." And then he picked up the rifle and marched towards the door. Drask followed closely behind. Parsh and Savra, still slightly surprised, promptly trailed a little bit further behind.
Ren chambered a bullet in his rifle as he walked out of the store and into the street of Realmhome. A few of the citizens looked terrified at the presence of an armed Voidhunter. Ren didn't care. There was something much more important afoot anyways. "Which way?" He asked urgently.
"Towards the gates," Drask replied.
"Right." Ren waved them on. "Let's go hunting."
After a little while walking, they reached the gates of the city, feeling hot on the trail of their target.
The guard at the gate politely informed them that the white-haired boy – maybe Klein Shivan – was heading towards the nearest Earth door. Ren flashed a Realmguard badge to assert authority, and they immediately coughed up these answers. This – since Ren was relieved from duty officially – was ridiculously illegal and punishable by execution. He calmed his mind by imagining the thanks and praise Headmaster Medeara would shower him with when he was done here. Whatever illegal things he had to do to get there would pay off. Right!?
And so they ended up on Earth. 'Klein' was long gone, it seemed. That left them in an admittedly difficult position. They were on a planet that only Ren knew, their clothes were soaked through, and their morale had reached what felt like an all-time low.
"That is the most terribly placed portal I've ever had the displeasure of using," Savra groaned, stretching and shaking his hair around to dry it. "Lets not mope about, yeah?"
There was a family on the end of the pier looking at them strangely. They were blatantly carrying weapons, wearing strange outfits, and speaking in languages they couldn't understand. Even Ren, who only spoke German in his time on Earth, was something of a foreigner to these people who he could hear muttering amongst themselves in English.
"Let's go," Ren confirmed. "He can't have gotten that far ahead."
But in Ren's mind, he knew that Klein was as slippery as an eel and as conniving as Belleram herself. He'd created a mighty mental image of the boy. Klein had somehow created the orb that could absorb Void energy, and they'd simply gotten lucky on that day they found him. That much was apparent by the ease with which he escaped the slave mines on Dragonsfold. It couldn't be denied that they were dealing with someone incredibly dangerous.
Ren took every step slowly, wondering if he might be attacked or if they were wandering into a trap. The longer this goose chase took, the less confidence he had in it.
If not for Ren having his credit card in his wallet still, they probably would've slept on the street. Instead, they checked into a hotel in the downtown area of the city with great difficulty and language barriers. Ren repeatedly cursed himself for slacking off in mandatory English classes. The Void Attribute Network had allowed him to forget just how difficult different languages were. Even so, it wasn't terribly difficult to get them to understand that he wanted a room on the highest floor.
They stepped into the room with shock. The place was beautiful. Red carpet, fancy and fluffy looking beds. A television. Ren had forgotten just how much he'd missed that. He also didn't stop himself from sprinting and diving onto the bed. In the Void, it was thought that a bed being too comfortable would cause difficulty waking up in the morning. They were probably right, of course, but it didn't stop Ren from missing it.
"This planet is strange," Drask said, running his hand along the wallpaper, another unfamiliar thing. "The infrastructure relies so heavily on automobiles that it's baffling and frankly frustrating. Also, everyone's got their eyes on those little square boxes."
"Phones," Ren said. "Yeah. Sometimes they even use them while driving."
"That can't be safe," Parsh said with surprising concern.
"Not at all. In fact, this whole planet engages in unsafe activities regularly even though they know it's unsafe." Ren grinned as he said it. It wasn't exactly an inaccurate way to describe Earth.
"So everyone here is just… Stupid?" Drask asked, coming to a stop at the foot of Ren's bed.
"All except one. And you're looking at him," Ren boasted.
Parsh's scoff could be heard from inside the bathroom.
Savra located the television's controller and turned it on. "I wouldn't say they're all dumb. Great games. Great entertainment. Some of the best in the Doorworlds." He smiled, sitting on the edge of the second bed and watching the television. There were only a few places Savra hadn't been. He was pretty rich, and so spent a lot of his time adventuring and seeing different planets. "The Void could use television," he said, "It's worth coming to Earth for."
Ren eyed the TV. It was playing Pulp Fiction, one of Ren's favourite movies as a child. He'd inherited the taste of Tarantino from his mother, who proudly dressed up as The Bride from Kill Bill every single year for Halloween. Ren smiled, recalling the memory. He wondered where she was now. Their life paths had diverged so far that it was impossible to come back together now. It was the most he could do to wish her well.
Parsh came out of the bathroom after washing up. "Eyes up. It's time to find this brat." He stepped in front of the TV and turned it off. "Right?"
Everyone looked at him. Savra looked disappointed. "Right," they all said in unison.
Parsh sighed loudly as he stepped up to the window. The view over the city was beautiful and largely unobstructed. This particular hotel was right next to a particularly large university campus that sprawled nearly as far as the eye could see. Surveying it fully, Parsh pulled an amulet from his neck. "Allow me silence for a moment."
Gemmancy was a dustling ability from Parsh's home planet of Gemhome. Ren knew they definitely called it something different on the planet itself, but this was the standardized and stereotypical Void-centric name. Regardless, having both a planet-native dustling ability and access to Voidhunter abilities made Parsh uniquely powerful and also rare. Gemmancy in particular was extremely useful for their profession.
Different gems did different things. The ruby Parsh always carried was the gem of seeking, and it did exactly as described. If the Gemmancer was looking for a person or an object, speaking its name would cause the gem to float in the direction. They'd tried on Dragonsfold to no results, and were planning to try it in the Void before Klein had so kindly walked right by them.
Parsh closed his eyes and focused. "Lord of the gems. Goddess of the Earth. Lady of beauty. Deity of power. Heed the humble call of the hunter. Seek Klein Shivan." He held the gem out straight, eyes closed. Holding that exact position he waited for so long that the silence grew uncomfortable and Ren couldn't help bursting out laughing.
"Shut up!" Parsh boomed, turning around. "Clearly his name isn't Klein Shivan!"
"Clearly," Savra affirmed. "I mean, his gemmancy worked every other time."
Ren was forced to concur. "Right. So we're leadless, then?"
They stood in a perfect square, each of them having frustration clear on their faces. Parsh tucked his gem away in disappointment. Drask clutched to his necklace, hoping it would give them good luck. Ren felt tired, and wished to either drink a cup of coffee or to pass out on the spot. Savra wished to turn the TV on again and catch the rest of the movie.
"I can't do this any longer," Ren said. As he looked out the window he saw the sun nearing the horizon. "We've been to three different planets just today. I say we turn in for the evening and find the bastard tomorrow."
"Agreed," Drask said, immediately throwing himself on the bed like he'd been waiting to do it.
Savra said nothing, just turned the TV back on and resumed watching the movie.
Parsh held still, pouting but eventually giving in. "Alright. Tomorrow. Tomorrow we will find him," he said.
"Tomorrow," Ren affirmed.
A knock sounded at the door. They all froze like deer in the headlights. The sound echoed lightly through the room. A few seconds passed. They all turned to look at each other in confusion.
"Not it," Ren joked.
Parsh drew his pistol and chambered a round, stepping carefully towards the door. He swung it open quickly and pointed his pistol at the man who was standing there with surprisingly little worry. His arms were crossed, his eyes looking utterly unimpressed. Seeing this, Parsh pulled his weapon back.
"And you are, asshole?"
"Higher ranking than you are. You're interfering in an active Realmguard operation." He stepped forward, prompting Parsh to step back. "If I were you," he said, "I'd get out of here. Don't make me tell you twice."