He tried to keep his face well covered—he didn't know how the inhabitants of this world would react. Better safe than sorry. In situations like this, the cloak and hood would be extremely useful.
When he got close enough to the road, he could make out other beings walking along the edges of a sidewalk.
'Aberrations…'
He frowned, keeping an eye on those strange beings. One of them had its knee joint bent backward—it was tall, around two and a half meters, with tough greenish skin, bulging black eyes, and pincers on the sides of its jaw. It wore rustic garments, like dark animal hides of various kinds, and carried a large metal box on its back—a sort of dark metal cage—from which a pair of red eyes peeked out.
Its long, thin arms, with small spikes at the elbows like black branches, stretched ominously backward to lightly strike the box.
"Akhasha usartha!" the Aberration muttered, making the red eyes inside the darkness of the small window in the box close.
Nova swallowed. Around them, he could see five other individuals carrying similar boxes.
Nearby walked another being with a more humanoid appearance. Its clothing was extravagant by Nova's standards, but what truly stood out was the mechanical—or bionic—arm attached to the right side of its shoulder. Its bluish skin had straight lines resembling metal welds, and its bald head, with exposed circuits, showed that it wasn't a fully biological being.
In short, it looked like a muscular individual dressed in ridiculous outfits, covered in a mess of cybernetic accessories dotted with neon lights.
'Looks like strange prosthetics are pretty common around here.'
From what he could tell, the vast majority of Aberrations shared similar traits: some were like monsters walking on all fours, flamboyantly displaying their shiny chrome extensions—others had behaviors and appearances Nova could partially relate to humans, but not entirely. Those closest to humanoid appearances stood out the most.
As for those traveling in vehicles, they were even more extravagant, with a very marked cyberpunk aesthetic.
'So far, it doesn't seem like they've noticed my presence.'
Just like him, everyone seemed to be minding their own business, paying no attention to others.
'I guess I don't stand out as much as those punks. Hm?'
Riding three of those large single-wheel motorcycles, other humanoid beings with cybernetic implants sped past Nova, accelerating hard and overtaking the other vehicles. They laughed loudly, using a mechanism near the handlebars to make the wheel jump, leaping over the roofs of floating cars.
All three had pale red skin and showed lines and technological modifications: cybernetic arms and legs, implanted plates on their skulls and skin, making them look more like androids than biological beings.
'If there are more people like that inside, I really don't know what awaits me.'
He moved on, ignoring everyone else. Soon, he found himself about to cross the massive entrance in the wall. Along the edges of the thick walls, highly eye-catching cybernetic connections blinked with LED lines that traveled back and forth across the metal surface. Some loose cables spat electrifying sparks that died out as they touched the ground.
Nova looked at it all with great curiosity. He was interested in how everything worked, but he didn't have time to start dismantling a wall.
When he finally crossed inside, what he saw left him even more astonished: immense buildings were scattered chaotically along the vast roadways. Constructions of metal, glass, and radiant neon lights shocked him with a new perspective on the worlds that lay beyond the portal.
The buildings rose toward the sky, threatening to brush against the hull of the gigantic central ship. They came in all kinds of shapes and heights, with triangular, semicircular, or rectangular tops. Neon lights slithered between the glass structures, where massive advertising screens and holograms displayed creatures of different species in all kinds of situations.
Stunned by the magnificence of the cyber-futuristic architecture, Nova stood still, observing from beneath the shadow of his hood.
'Maybe the Aberrations aren't what we thought they were.'
Or perhaps every strange being in this city hated humans equally—that was also a possibility.
Nova's bitter smile returned at that thought.
'Though I still don't know how they'd all react if they saw my face.'
There was no point in speculating. If this was a world populated by different species of Aberrations, it was better to stay hidden and go unnoticed.
'Besides, it looks like we don't speak the same language. Trying to communicate would be stupid.'
It really was stupid to think about communicating with other beings. I mean, what could Nova even say to them? "I'm looking for the largest energy source in your world, can you help me find it?" Ha! Yeah, right. That was called suicide.
'For now, I'll keep heading toward the energy signature.'
The energy spread through the streets, all coming from the same source: this world's "asteroid." Apparently, the Aberrations of this place, just like humans, had found a way to use the energy provided by the asteroid.
Nova confirmed it when he stopped to sense the energy: he could feel that everything in this city possessed that faint energy, pulsing like a heart.
He kept walking through crowded streets, filled with beings of diverse species—some less monstrous than others.
At that moment, one of the large hanging screens showed the image of a mysterious group of hooded figures. Nova watched it—and judging by the strange language displayed and the reaction of some Aberrations, he assumed they were dangerous individuals.
'No matter what world we're in, there will always be evil people.'
On Terra, there had already been serial killers, thieves, and all kinds of social parasites. And now that humanity had mastered the Emotional Spectrums, solving those cases had become even more complex.
Fortunately, on the continent of Calem, thanks to factors such as the Factions and the Council, many wrongdoers had been kept in check.
Shaking his head and pushing the thought aside, Nova crossed the street full of Aberrations and disappeared into their noisy bustle.