Chapter 47 - On his own

A soft, warm wind blew around Damian's body. Surrounded by the darkness of night, he stood on the roof of a building, his gaze angled toward a shimmering, rapidly disappearing form in the distance. Waving slowly at the disappearing plane with a lazy, charming smile, he watched Nadine and his peers disappear into the distance. 

It had been just a few hours since they left the Arctic base, and after first delivering some of the others to their designated areas, Damian had now reached his destination as well. 

Patiently, he waited until the nanites he'd planted inside the plane told him it was far enough away before he finally released a groan of relief. "Gods, am I glad to be alone again." 

Closing his eyes, he breathed in deep from the cold night air as he spread his arms wide. "Aaaaah," he sighed, a content smile on his lips as he breathed it all out again. 

Yet, immediately afterwards, he found himself scowling. "Man, the air quality on this planet is really bad." But then, he chuckled as his trademark smirk returned. "Hehe, still smells like opportunity and freedom, though." 

Reaching for his face, Damian appeared to be facepalming but then grabbed something instead. At the same time, he gave his Nova a command, which caused his face and hair to flash. Suddenly, a kind of grey silk cover appeared, which Damian quickly pulled off. 

Suddenly, Lex's ginger hair and average, freckled face gave way to Damian's dark hair and handsome image. "Thank you, Lex," he told the mask in an amused tone. "But I'd rather go back to myself now." 

Doing a grab at his chest with his other hand, he slowly pulled out a sheathed Nox Aeternum. The weapon's sheath looked no different from before Ylva got her hands on it, but the slender hilt now held a white gem to complement the crimson ruby that was there before. 

With his catalyst out, he could now access the storage space inside, so he quickly deposited both the nanite mask and Lex's clothes inside. For less than a second, he stood there naked before pulling out one of his own expensive and elegant outfits and immediately putting it on. 

"Aah," he sighed once again when he felt the synthsilk caressing his skin. Looking down at his body, he muttered fondly to himself, "Finally, I'm starting to look like myself again." 

He now wore an open, tailored, black tailcoat jacket, a deep purple vest with a quilted pattern, and a partially unbuttoned black dress shirt underneath. Black leather pants fit snugly around his legs but wouldn't impede his movements in a fight. Finally, a black belt with a magenta gemstone buckle and a pair of boots finished him off. 

"Perhaps these clothes will raise some eyebrows on this planet, but I'll make it work," he muttered to himself as he made his catalyst disappear again. "Looking good is the one thing I won't compromise on!" 

"Now," he continued, finally taking a look around. "Let's see where I ended up…" 

The first thing he noticed was the dull flicker of neon lights reflecting in the puddles dotting a cracked concrete surface. 

The rooftop he found himself on was a mess of forgotten junk—rusted ventilation units, loose cables snaking across the ground, and a few discarded cigarette butts still glowing faintly in the darkness. A low hum of electricity vibrated through the air, mingling with the distant echoes of sirens and the pulsing bass of a club somewhere below. 

He took a slow step forward, his boots splashing through a shallow puddle. The scent of rain, hot circuitry, and something vaguely metallic filled his lungs. 

A large city stretched out before him, an endless sprawl of decaying apartment blocks, neon-drenched alleyways, and tangled scaffolding. Graffiti scrawled across the walls in languages he didn't recognize, half-covered by layers of old, peeling posters advertising things he couldn't decipher. 

"I guess these are the slums," he chuckled to himself as he noticed a far more attractive skyline looming ahead. Gleaming corporate towers rose like monoliths, their pristine facades untouched by the grime that coated everything here. 

Their windows pulsed with cold white light, a stark contrast to the chaotic, multicoloured haze that bathed the lower levels of the city. Above, the sky was a murky shade of black, the stars completely drowned out by pollution and artificial glow. 

A drone buzzed past overhead, its red eye scanning something or other before veering off into the night. He followed it with a lazy gaze. Fortunately, his clothes weren't simply an elegant cover for his body, as they also interfered with any pictures, videos, or scans being run on him. 

It worked on most of Eryndor's more basic technology, at least, and he could only imagine it would work for practically everything on this technologically inferior world. 

He strolled over to the edge of the roof and sat down, dangling his legs as he took another deep breath. Just a second ago, he was glad he was finally alone again, but now that same loneliness was suddenly starting to feel like a crushing weight on his shoulders. 

He sighed deeply. "Yeah… I guess I really am alone now. On an unknown planet, with no real allies anywhere, let alone a powerful mother and influential family to bail me out." Lifting his right hand, he looked at the symbol that indicated his kinship with Luna, a soft, homesick smile gracing his lips. "I wonder if they're doing alright…" 

He stayed still for a few seconds until an emotionless voice suddenly echoed inside his mind. "I'm still here, Damian," his Nova informed him helpfully. 

A little startled at first, Damian quickly recovered and started to chuckle. "Hehe, of course you are, Nova. Thank you for reminding me. I'd hate to be missing you, too." 

Although he knew the Nova was just an emotionless facsimile of awareness and intelligence, it still felt nice conversing with something that had been a part of his life on Eryndor. 

After Nova didn't respond, Damian decided to move on. He took out his catalyst again, quickly removed the communicator Nadine had given him earlier, and then put the catalyst back inside his body. 

He looked at the glass rectangle in his hand and addressed Nova again. "Can you interface with this thing, Nova? It'd be nice if you could extract all its data." 

"Of course, Damian," Nova immediately responded in the affirmative. "Please give me a moment." 

Nodding, Damian smiled and waited. Inwardly, he thanked his mother for getting him the absolute top-of-the-line in Nova chips. She'd used some of her influence to get two of these things, despite the fact they weren't even commercially available yet. Of course, the other went to Lilith. 

No more than a few seconds later, Nova sounded again. "I've extracted all data from the communicator, Damian. It contained access protocols for satellites in orbit, general information about this world, and various language packets. Would you like me to provide active translation from now on?" 

"For now," Damian nodded, immediately noticing how the letters and pamphlets from before suddenly started making sense to him. "But, please start teaching me the languages as well. I can't exactly manipulate anyone if I have to pass everything I say through a translator first." 

"Of course, Damian," Nova immediately answered helpfully yet emotionlessly. 

Nodding, Damian sighed for the last time, and then shook his head to clear his thoughts. 

"Alright!" he exclaimed, jumping down from the ledge to land on a rickety fire escape just below. "Let's start with some reconnaissance! I need to make a plan." 

Walking forward, shadows started licking on the edges of his body, just before he practically melted into them, ready to stake his claim on this city.