Ever since Jul had pointed significantly toward the nothingness in the west for Azrak, Azrak hadn't put himself into sleep mode. Since he had known Jul, the drone hadn't malfunctioned even once. Because of this, Azrak saw him more as a friend than a drone. A parasite friend… If nothing emerged from the spot he pointed to in the west, it meant his friend was faulty. If something did appear from the west—something Jul could perceive but Azrak couldn't—then what else had Jul seen that Azrak had missed?
That was why he sat in his seat, leaning his glass head against the window, watching the outside world. They had passed through that dangerous-looking canyon without incident. In fact, Azrak had been so cautious that he had climbed onto the roof of the truck while passing through the canyon, flying his drone into the sky and scanning the surroundings with heat-tracking waves until they were clear. But there was nothing in sight. Because of the paranoia left by the robot named Jul pointing west, he felt compelled to keep working. Normally, according to their plans, he was supposed to just hang out in sleep mode until they delivered their cargo.
The wise elder Hikmar, meanwhile, was in a state of meditation that would test the limits of even a Cyoh Katum priest. Sitting cross-legged in front of the Cryo-V crate, he held his staff in his left hand while playing small melodies on a pocket piano with his two right hands, praying silently for hours.
Just then, a hologram flickered to life over the truck's autonomous steering wheel. "Charging station reached," it read.
"Finally..." Azrak muttered, left alone with his boredom. "...something to do."
Since the connection to the SWR Network was currently severed on this planet, Azrak hadn't found anything to do for hours. At the very least, he could have watched the road while connecting to the Network to browse Exosanguis forums and chat with old friends. But by some stroke of bad luck, the damn Network was unreachable. This situation had likely caused more harm to the planet than to Azrak himself. Azrak couldn't even fathom the malfunctions that could arise in these TESO factories, where seconds are vital for production, after hours of internet blackout. Perhaps the Cyoh Katum priest Hikmar could better explain the casualties resulting from this situation.
They entered slowly with the autonomous vehicle via a road near the sea to the east. The road was barely wide enough for the truck and ran right along the shoreline. Within a few minutes, the charging station, erected like a perfume cap, rose from the ground.
"Hey, elder..." Azrak said, heading to the back of the truck. "...we've almost reached the charging station. Want to lend a hand?"
The priest sitting in front of the Cryo-V crate remained unresponsive. He continued his meditation, his hood pulled over his head, accompanied by low murmurs. What truly bothered Azrak was the pocket piano, shattered to pieces under the hand the man had rested on the floor. The elder valued that piano deeply.
"Hey, elder!" Azrak shouted. Hikmar remained unresponsive.
"Hey, elder! Will you look at me?"
Receiving no response once again, Azrak walked heavily toward the elder and nudged his arm. The fact that the elder was still unresponsive was not a good sign. Panicking with a growing fear, Azrak began to shake the murmuring elder repeatedly.
The elder's eyes suddenly snapped open. His pupils were spinning aimlessly, like a satellite orbiting a planet or neutrons moving within an atom. As he stared into the void with trembling pupils, the elder's voice rose.
"On the road to Calos!" he shouted. "Calos... Calos... On the road to Calos!"
The elder's screaming unsettled Azrak. He immediately reached for his leg; a metal plate on his thigh slid open, and he drew his crescent-shaped weapon. "Hey! Elder! What's happening?"
"Calos!" the elder shouted. His body was shaking violently. His secretion modules must have broken down because saliva was spraying from his mouth. "Calos!" he shouted once more. "Calos!"
Azrak was aiming his weapon directly at the elder's head when the elder's fixed eyes locked onto Azrak suspiciously.
"What are you doing, Azrak?" Hikmar asked. His tone had shifted instantly from the screeching voice of a few seconds ago back to the tone of a wise elder.
Feeling the embarrassment of a philanderer caught in bed, Azrak placed his weapon back into the metal plate. "You... You were delirious."
"A weapon should not be pointed at the heads of people who are delirious," Hikmar said as he stood up. His metal legs were dusty from sitting on the floor for hours. He wiped his metal legs with his hand and adjusted the robe on his shoulder. "I understand, dear Azrak. As a hunter, you understand being after prey. But you, because your drone assistant pointed west, consider yourself the prey. Your paranoia drives you to this. It's okay, I understand. Since you see yourself as prey, as a hunter, you keep thinking about what kind of plans your hunter might be making. No... we are certainly not prey here. Please, calm down..."
"I am calm, wise Hikmar."
"Then please tell me why you woke me from my deep meditation?"
"We've reached the first charging point."
"Excellent... Then let us charge the truck immediately."