Solaris moved his foot across the threshold of a door, leaving the frigid embrace of a break room.
His mind was filled with thoughts and emotions, all from the previous conversation he'd had with Selen.
The internal conflict had reached its boiling point and bubbled over; Selen had done her best to simmer down the raging water, and she had succeeded in a way, but Solaris was still not back to normal. However, he had no choice but to continue onwards, and now he was left alone to face the next challenge.
As Solaris began to walk, he realized that he had no idea where he was headed. He knew what he had to do: talk with Jon Smit, but where he was wasn't something he knew.
He contemplated where to go and who to ask about where to go.
He began to look around the office space, although it could be called a warehouse with an office in it.
The ceiling was at least twenty feet high, and there was little between the ceiling and the floor, leaving the room to have a loud echo, or at least it should've.
Solaris hadn't noticed it before, but the Crimson Cross's HQ had an odd property to it: there were no echoes of his footsteps; he could hear them normally, as if he hadn't been walking across a tile floor with boots and a high ceiling.
But beyond the lack of echoes, he also noticed that there was a lack of other voices, as if those not directed at him had been drowned out. While those that were, he could hear normally.
All that was left were the ambient noises all spaces made, the sound of a fan spinning, the clicking of a computer's keyboard, and noises akin to that.
It was odd, but also somewhat calming.
Solaris could imagine returning to HQ after a long hunt and being soothed by the quiet ambiance of the office space.
His own Crimson Cross lacked that quiet, calming feeling, but of course, he still preferred it.
The people there were already rather quiet, so the idea of no noise besides Cedric typing and Ember smoking would make him feel less relaxed, as opposed to more.
Strange, I wonder what allows the space to do this.
As Solaris continued to walk and look around, his eyes landed on a mirror.
It was resting on a table, with a few first aid items neatly arranged around it.
As he looked at the mirror, his own face reflected back at him; he slowly began to frown.
The memories of Arias were still fresh in his mind.
"My hair is getting rather long; perhaps I should cut it."
Solaris decided to distract himself with a pointless thought.
Although it was true, Solaris typically liked his hair to be just shorter than his ears, while currently it was down to his shoulders.
Solaris ran his fingers through his hair, leading down to the back of his head.
Come to think of it, that entity in my dreams had very long hair...
Solaris shuddered slightly, then decided he was going to get a haircut before the departure.
As he was about to look away from the mirror, it changed.
Solaris jumped back as a short, beautiful woman with neck-length black hair the color of a raven stepped out of the small mirror.
The woman was holding a tablet, turning it around; it read.
'Follow me. Jon Smit wishes to speak with you.'
Solaris took a moment before he answered.
"Alright, lead the way."
The woman didn't say a word, simply turned the tablet around and began to walk.
Solaris quickly followed.
The two walked in silence; one didn't speak because they couldn't, the other because they couldn't.
Solaris felt an urge to speak, to apologize, to beg forgiveness, but he couldn't; he was trapped in silence, and not even the echoes of their footsteps could drown out the silence.
A feeling of tension built up in his chest, and a feeling of shame and awkwardness permeated around it all.
After a relatively short walk, which had felt like an eternity, the two walked up some exposed stairs, and the woman opened a door to an office.
Or at least it should've been an office.
Instead, it looked like a dining room, fit with a long table and plentiful amounts of food.
Solaris looked at the delicious food.
It was a range of tantalizing foods from breakfast to desserts, all looking like a world-class chef had prepared and plated them.
Each item looked more delicious than the last, each making Solaris's mouth water.
His eyes gazed across the table, eventually leading to the head, where a man in a suit and tie sat.
Around his neck, a bib rested; a few words were sewn across it.
It read.
'Jon Smit is hungry.'
Solaris couldn't help but raise his hand and cover up a laugh.
The sight of an elegant businessman, the boss of an entire corporation designed to kill creatures most people couldn't even imagine, sitting at a long table eating like royalty.
Wearing a bib that said he was hungry was too funny for Solaris not to laugh.
However, Solaris contained his laugh with all of his ability.
This was, of course, Jon Smit, the strongest man.
After a moment, Solaris removed his hand and looked at the man. He took a bite of a pancake and looked up, dabbing his lip with a napkin before speaking.
"Have a seat solaris, there is a lot to talk about."
Solaris made his way to his seat.
As he sat down, he placed a napkin on his lap and looked up as a beautiful woman set a steak down in front of him.
It was, of course, Arias.
Solaris took a deep breath as he looked at the woman who had been so strong and wore such dark clothes, wearing a pink frilled apron and bringing out food.
Why are the two strongest people I know so goofy? I mean, what the hell. Not to mention almost all the girls I know are really weird! Is it my fault?
Solaris contained another laugh and thanked Arias, who smiled softly.
Then looked back at Jon Smit.
"Yes, we do... I..."
As Solaris was about to apologize, Jon Smit spoke.
"I'm sorry, Solaris, but I have a big ask of you. Well, it's more of an order, but I'm open to negotiations."
Solaris was a bit taken aback, as he raised his fork and knife to cut into his steak.
"Um, sure, but first I wish to apologize... I went much too far on the second-in-command, and by the looks of it, your wife. I feel worse than I ever have about this... And I'm truly sorry."
Solaris bowed his head, his hair only a few inches from his plate of food, gritting his teeth in preparation for what verbal lashing he was about to receive.
However, that lashing never came; rather, something unexpected left Jon Smith's mouth instantly.
"That's fine, I mean, it was merely a tournament. Neither Arias nor I have any ill intent with you; I mean, if anything, I was rather impressed."
Jon Smit said casually before chuckling slightly, then taking a bite of his pancake.
Solaris raised his head in shock; he had not expected that response.
With the stress of his behavior lifted, Solaris cut into his steak with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Now then, Solaris."
Jon Smit said, wiping his face with his napkin.
"Back to my request. I wish for you to lead an army against a coming threat. Think of it like being a commander of an elite squadron. It will be a team of mostly Extramicy users with a few micy users. Possibly a few competent humans as well. So I guess army isn't the right word; more of a squad."
Jon Smit shook his head as if laughing at his own miswording, then took another bite.
Solaris meanwhile bit into his steak, leaving the bite in his mouth with the fork still attached.
What...WHY ME!!!!