The Aberration was sitting on a metal crate inside a large room with reinforced walls. There were quite a few old metal boxes scattered around and very little purple LED lighting placed in strategic spots. If there was a way to describe the place, it was simply a dusty warehouse.
Nova growled when he saw him, still remembering the kick he had taken during his pathetic attempt to escape.
"I don't think I have any more options," he replied sharply. "Lately, everything comes down to dying or trying not to die."
The Green Man sighed with a smile.
"That's life on this planet. You can join the strong before they crush you, or you can just die trying to survive. You choose."
The Aberration paused and stood up. He walked toward the large, heavy door at the far end of the room and looked at Nova as he continued.
"But you already fell into the second option, so you can't choose anymore. You have no choice but to try not to get killed. Still, if you behave and earn good money, the ones above might consider giving you parole."
"Parole?"
Those simple words sounded arrogant to him. What gave them the right to imprison someone who had done nothing to them? That wasn't fair!
Clenching his fist, Nova slammed it against the wall.
"But I didn't do anything! Why the hell do they have to do this to me?!"
For a moment, his rage surged, but his Serenity activated at just the right time. His eye glowed faintly golden, along with his usual aura. Calm once more, Nova lowered his fist.
The Green Man looked surprised by that. He seemed about to say something, but when he saw the glow around Nova fade, he changed his mind.
"That's just how things are, kid. And believe me, this isn't the only planet that treats people like you this way. If you're not strong or clever, if you don't have credits or influence, they chew you up the moment they see you."
After hearing the Green Man's words, exhausted, Nova sat down on one of the crates and stared at the floor in discouragement. The Aberration looked at him with understanding.
A couple of seconds passed in silence before the Green Man decided to speak again.
"Well, setting that aside, you'll go out to the Arena when that door opens. Maybe I don't need to tell you this, but you'll be fighting another person. I've seen him fight before, and he's not an easy opponent."
Nova looked at him attentively. The Green Man continued.
"His name is Manto, a Lycan. He's good with his claws and legs. He's also quite agile and strong, so you'll have to defend yourself well with what you've got there."
"A Lycan? What kind of monster is that?"
The Green Man looked confused.
"You don't know? Uh… just in case, have you ever left your planet?"
"No, never. Right now I'm lost and trying to find a way back home."
"Mm… that's bad. What planet are you from?"
Nova lowered his gaze to the floor. He didn't know whether to tell this unknown monster that he didn't come from another planet, but from another dimension. In fact, he wasn't even sure whether people in this world knew or understood Dimensional Portals and where they could lead.
As Nova hesitated, staring into nothingness, the Green Man spoke.
"Since the Collection units didn't find your ship or any record of you while you were unconscious, I have to assume you arrived on this planet through a Gate."
"A Gate? You mean Dimensional Portals?"
The Aberration looked disappointed. Sitting down beside Nova, he said:
"That's a pretty pretentious name. With that alone, you've already shown me where you come from."
'Where I come from? How would you know?' Nova wondered, taking a defensive stance at this new information. 'I'm sure no one should know…'
Placing his strange hand on Nova's shoulder, the Green Man nodded.
"Planet Terra — Solar System Y547. Located at the middle edge of the Umbra Trail, a galaxy protected by the Eden singularity for millions of years. The only way you could have left that place was through a Gate."
It was as if every neuron in his brain had burned out like a broken lightbulb. Nova froze after hearing that. Even though he hadn't understood absolutely anything the man had said, the simple fact that his world was referred to as 'Planet Terra' was shocking.
"How is that possible?" Nova whispered.
At that exact moment, the door on the other side creaked. Dust rose into the air, and a distant light spread from the lower edge as the massive metal plate lifted automatically. Nova looked at the door, then turned his gaze back to the Green Man.
"It's time, kid. You have to go."
"No. Wait a moment. My world. My planet… is it just a planet?"
The Aberration raised his eyebrows as if he had heard something funny.
"Are you serious? Do you have dirt for brains? Of course Terra is just a planet—the only planet with life in the Umbra Trail. You're lucky to have Eden, since that means no one can get close to it."
"What? No, this…"
It made no sense. If Terra was just a planet in a vast bed of stars, then why were there so many Aberrations constantly invading it? Wait. If that Eden really existed, how many times had it saved Planet Terra from an external invasion?
"Your species wasn't as big as it thought, right? Let me tell you something," he said as he stood up, looking toward the door. "You and me, everything on this planet, we're just a piece of trash compared to the immensity of this stupid, corrupt universe. And what you're about to see here is nothing compared to what many others out there have suffered."
The Green Man walked forward. He stopped to the side of the warehouse exit and waited with his arms crossed.
"Hurry up, or are you waiting to get killed? I don't mind either way."
Still in shock, Nova gripped the sword's hilt tightly. While his eye showed absolute calm, his heart was pounding violently.
'Shit… why did I have to learn all this right now?'
The paths of life were strange. This time, one of those paths had led him to learn one of the undeniable truths of his species' existence. Humans were more than just 'hairless apes.'
Still wanting to confirm whether what that guy said was true, he chose his own path toward the Arena. If there was one thing he could do instead of wasting time drowning in existential doubts, it was to win this battle and come back to learn more about the secrets of his own species.
Ignoring the Green Man, he moved down the long corridor lit by white lights along the edges of the ceiling. However, before anything else, there was something he wanted to say to this possible alien. He stopped halfway and asked:
"What's your name?"
Calmly, the Green Man replied:
"Kaulai, from planet Amphiare."
"Okay, Kaulai. I'll kill this Manto guy. Then we'll have a long talk about what you told me earlier."
The alien showed a confident smile.
"If you survive, I'll give you a long lesson in history."
Nova nodded. With that, he advanced to the end of the corridor. One final vertical sliding door opened in front of him, revealing an extensive, flat concrete field filled with all kinds of obstacles like rectangular pillars—it was the Arena.