The outskirts was one of the worst places Otto had ever been.
Not only was the entire place was ugly, with houses in the form of human hives inside tall buildings, it was also full of crime and poverty that made his empty stomach churn.
'They looked exactly like favelas, only… slightly better.'
Not that he could complain much, since he himself was one of those criminals.
After leaving the alley, the first thing he had done was to take a shower. That was harder than one may think.
In the outskirts, there was nothing like a public shower house. Nor existed a clean river so he could wash himself. Instead he had to…hm… enter without permission into someone's house and borrow their bathroom.
While he was there, why not also borrow some new clothes? Maybe a simple grey shirt, trousers and a simple pair of shoes.
At least now he looked presentable. Adjusting his long hair in a way that hides his gold eyes. He stealthily left the house, just like he had entered.
Now, at least clean, he could try entering the main city.
While walking on the street, he couldn't help but notice his surroundings.
The towering barriers that protected the city from the deadly winds of the wasteland outside. How the people looked, frail, thin, and sick. Most of them were on the short side, like himself.
He remembered how the novel made it very clear that people here were much shorter than in the main city, because of their undernourishment and sickness.
It's crazy to think that sixty to seventy millions of people were simply ignored by the government. But again, nothing he wasn't used to seeing in his own mother land.
Suddenly, something rang in his mind, like an alarm.
Before he realized it, his body moved, dodging an incoming punch from behind. The punch grazed his cheek, the knuckles scraping his skin, and the culprit, dragged forward by his own momentum, stumbled past him.
He managed to catch himself at the last second, boots skidding on the dirty ground.
A typical boy from the outskirts. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, a little taller than him.
Otto instantly recognized him.
"Hey Sylas. Where are my credits?" Keith said.
Sylas's body started trembling, a muscle memory Otto couldn't suppress, even though he himself felt no fear.
"Credits? I don't remember owing you any credits," he lied.
In truth, Sylas did owe credits and quite a lot of them. A thousand, to be exact. Which wasn't much in general… just far too much Otto could ever pay back.
"Do you think you can lie to me?"
"Me? Lying? Please, I am probably the second most honest person in the world… two worlds even."
He couldn't help the sly grin that slipped out.
That grin only served to raise Keith's anger. He prepared to punch Otto, but then he noticed something on his shoulder. A yellow creature that he had never seen before.
"What's that on your shoulder?"
"Hm? Her? Oh, that's Silk. She's my friend."
he said, completely baffled, as though the answer should have been obvious from the start.
"What is she?"
"A spider." He said, raising an eyebrow. "What? Never seen one before?"
"...Of course not."
Spiders had been extinct for a while now, in fact, almost every species was.
Keith's eyes shone with greed.
"Oh Sylas. You didn't need to go that far." He stepped in front of Otto, extending his arm with a smile on his face. "But I will accept it. Give it to me."
Otto stared at his hand with a confused expression.
'What this fucker wants?' It took him a second to realise. 'He wants Silk?'
Keith was dumber than his memories made him believe.
It didn't even cross his mind where the spider came from. In his mind, Otto probably had just been lucky to just stumble upon a pot of gold. He didn't even consider that it could be an echo or something like that.
He was blinded by greed.
In a way, he was right. Silk would surely sell for a lot. After all, she wasn't an echo. She was a real spider, one that traveled through time and reality to come here, even if Otto wasn't sure how she did it.
Priceless didn't even begin to describe her.
But that didn't mean Keith could just demand her as if she were an object to be traded.
Before, Otto had planned to talk his way out of this mess, say a bunch of bullshit until Keith got bored and left. But he couldn't let this pass.
His indifference melted away, giving rise to a cold, sharp anger.
Before, Sylas wouldn't have any chance against him. He was bigger, stronger and more experienced.
But now was different, he had awakened. And, although he was still just a Sleeper, his body was stronger. Tougher. Vitality bloomed through his muscles like fire spreading through dry wood.
Otto seized his arm.
Then, relying on a technique he'd learned only from reading, he pivoted and hurled Keith over his shoulder in one smooth motion.
He slammed into the ground back-first, the impact echoing through the street.
The passersby who had been ignoring them froze for half a second, glanced over, and then walked on like nothing had happened.
Keith went limp instantly, knocked out cold right where he fell.
'Fucker.' Then he sighed. 'Great. Now he will hunt me down… Unfortunately for him, I will be in the only place he could never get me.'
Otto giggled, looking around.
The people nearby still ignored them completely. Life in the outskirts taught everyone the same lesson: Mind your own business.
"Well, now that this is solved…"
He stretched his chin, rolling his neck a little.
"What was that feeling?"
He remembered it clearly, that strange sensation of something trying to attach itself to him, searching for an anchor it couldn't find.
He shook his head.
'Now is not the time to think about this.'
He made a mental note to revisit it later.
Then he turned his back to Keith lying unconscious on the ground, and left the outskirts.
Never to return.