5:32 a.m.
The sun had finally revealed itself. Many Visitors woke up, some confused, some fearful, and some hopeful.
Not all of them heard of the alert from six hours ago. But those that did hear of it, some went outside to see the aftermath, but some stayed inside.
But to their surprise, the streets of Umbrellas were clean. Not a single drop of blood to be spotted anywhere. There was no drop of black liquid to be spotted anywhere too.
I see…
Donovan stood on his balcony, watching the streets outside. He looked tired, and sleep deprived.
Because of the scare he got last night with the whole "knocking" situation, he couldn't sleep at all. His body won't let him.
And now, his sleep schedule was ruined once again.
They worked fast to clean up everything… Ugh, I'm gonna go to sleep…
In a conference room.
"So you're telling me, only two Shades responded to the Blots invasion?" asked a furious higher-up.
Towser, a man with canine features, then said, "It is hardly of any significance. Umbrellas have gone through something similar before. Besides, the number of casualties are below twenty. Let us not pay any attention to this matter anymore."
"Even so, one Blot managed to infiltrate the research facility and steal the corpse of someone from the Tosla expedition. This means that we need to strengthen our defense systems," added a big shot.
"I agree."
"Yes, she's right."
"Indeed."
After a series of agreements, a voice suddenly rang out. An otherworldly voice, "What are the statuses of the Raincoats?"
The voice came from no one in the conference room.
One of them stuttered, "U-Um, they are still on the hunt for one of your fragments… Their journey is going exceptionally well. Please rest assured…"
The ethereal, otherworldly voice resounded once again, "Very good."
None of them questioned where the voice came from, and who it belonged to.
After six seconds, Towser spoke up, "Did the Blots come here mainly to steal the dead body that Dr. Aria is in charge of?"
"Yes, I think so. After all, they all started heading to Headquarters at the climax of… the incident."
"I see…" Towser nodded.
A higher-up spoke up, "Our barrier needs to be able to detect Blots from now on."
Yet another series of agreements.
In a dark, endless void.
"Not a single one of our comrades returned. Not a single one…"
A Blot that had ten tentacles on its back fell on both knees, making a prayer gesture.
"But we retrieved Mr. Joramiel… The sacrifice of our comrades shall not be in vain…"
Eight blots surrounded a corpse, each one of them reciting what seemed to be a prayer.
The corpse's mouth and eye sockets suddenly emitted light. Then, a ball of light rose up from its chest.
The Blot with more than eight tentacles said, "Rest easy, Great Prophet. Your soul is no longer shackled by Wraithson… You may now join The Creator…"
The faces of every Blot seemed to drip with white tears as they watched the ball of light disappear.
"We… will see to it that your wish is fulfilled, Great Prophet."
***
"Begin."
Violet Zetar summoned a miniature black hole.
Right after that, a Blot appeared right in front of her. The Blot found itself in a gigantic, open space room with white walls.
This was the very same Blot that Aria had encountered.
"You're going to tell me everything," said Violet.
But not even a second after that, the Blot slashed at her with its sharp tail.
Not a scratch on her. A barrier.
"You can't do a thing to me, little Blot."
Suddenly, it screamed. Then, in the blink of an eye, its tentacles wrapped around her, spun her around, and then threw her, crashing into the wall.
The dust settled. Not a scratch. A barrier…
"That made me dizzy. A little bit. My turn."
Then, in less than a second, she charged towards the Blot, pinning it on the floor with a grand slam. Because of this, the Blot was nearing the end of its life.
"Speak or die."
The Blot let out a maniacal, echoey laugh. "Foolish humans… My life… holds little value… Kill me, and it will change nothing…"
"Foolish, foolish hu—"
The Blot's sentence was cut short as it suddenly felt immense pressure.
Violet was going to squish it to death with her barrier.
Its tentacles squirmed. Five seconds later, black liquid splattered everywhere.
A voice resounded across the gigantic, white room. "Hey! Why'd you—"
"It wasn't going to tell us anything," said Violet.
Inside the research facility.
Two boots presented four metal cases to a group of scientists.
Inside were tiny balls that contained deceased Blots.
"Excellent…"
The scientists were clearly overjoyed.
***
2:47 p.m.
Donovan woke up from his slumber.
He felt terrible. He missed breakfast in the morning, his skin felt sticky, he was drenched in sweat, and his bladder was close to bursting.
After relieving himself, he took a quick shower, and ate some leftovers in the refrigerator.
I feel like sh*t…
After tidying up his bed, he grabbed his wallet and phone. Dressed in a simple white t-shirt and gray sweatpants, he left his apartment.
It was Saturday, and Donovan wanted to go shopping.
I hope I don't run into someone I know… I look terrible.
He didn't bring his umbrella with him. So, he walked all the way to the nearest gas station.
Upon reaching the gas station, Donovan saw a commotion in front of the store.
"So, what did the Blot look like?"
"It had blonde hair! And the audacity to wear such a handsome face…"
"Are you really sure it was a Blot?"
"Yes, I'm sure! It entered the store, took some toilet paper, and ran! Ah, but it did pay for the toilet paper."
The two people interviewing the gas station owner looked at each other with a skeptical look.
Donovan walked past and entered the store.
I don't think that was a Blot at all, ma'am. Just a guy who needed toilet paper…
He grabbed a plastic bag, grabbed some essentials, and went to the counter. As the cashier was scanning the items, Donovan went to grab two packs of toilet paper and added it to the bag.
Half a minute later, Donovan paid for everything and received a receipt. Then, he left the store. His next stop: the mall.
He waited at the bus stop, since the mall was quite far. Ten minutes later, he arrived at his destination.
He entered, the cold air hitting his body.
The inside of the building was quite large. At the very center was a tall, holographic figure of a spinning woman.
Donovan recalled that she was an up and coming star of the film and music industry.
She was quite beautiful.
Donovan walked around, going to the section where food was being sold.
Robots that moved around with a wheel on the lower part of their body were going around, giving advertisement posters.
He was given one. It was a poster about the concert of the up and coming star he remembered about. It was going to be held on the 8th of February.
That's still a few weeks away. I'll check it out, I guess. The original Donovan heard one of her songs before… If memory serves me right, it was quite good.
And her name's Lena Dove… She's famous across the cosmos, and it's good she's holding a concert in Umbrellas.
He put the poster in his pocket.
…Forty minutes later, he exited the mall.
Donovan had only bought food and ingredients for his chef robot to work with. And he spent an extra ten minutes looking around the watch store. He ended up not buying any of the watches there.
It was now 5:51 p.m.
Upon arriving home, Donovan got the chef robot to get to cooking right away. He was quite hungry.
He turned on the TV, and checked his phone. No notifications.
No one to text with… Is this freedom or loneliness?
Donovan sighed, putting away his phone as he focused on the TV, the sound of the chef robot cutting up vegetables serving as background noise.
Although he transmigrated to this unknown, unfamiliar universe, his lifestyle was no different from his previous life as Leon Valentin.