Chapter 26: Other Families
"Alright, Bob. Now permit me to teleport you and Tunny to the family room. I'll explain everything once we're there," Remo said.
Bob agreed as he had no reason to doubt Remo.
His eyes automatically closed, and his eyeballs moved rapidly under his eyelids before slowing and finally stopping.
When Bob opened his eyes, he found himself in a white room. Behind him was a wall with a white door, and in front of him was nothing but an infinite stretch of whiteness. Beside him stood Tunny, who seemed just as confused.
Then, a man appeared before Bob. The man was about 190 cm tall, looked around 20 years old, had a slim build, neatly combed short black hair, and large red eyes. He was dressed like a servant.
"Hehehe, surprised, Bob?" came Remo's voice.
"Remo?"
"Yes." Then Remo transformed into a child, then into Condor, then into a giant bird, and finally into a massive dragon, before reverting to the form of the man.
"This isn't the real world, so I can be whatever I want here. But I prefer this form," Remo said with a laugh.
He raised his hands. "This is the family room. Time doesn't pass here. You can teleport your family here when you don't need them. If someone destroys a family member's core, you can teleport them here to regenerate," Remo explained.
Bob tried to open the system, but it didn't exist there. He briefly considered training here for a billion years without ageing, but it seemed impossible.
Pointing up and then forward, Remo continued, "This space is essentially infinite, so you could even house a family member the size of a planet here."
"Any questions?" Remo asked.
Bob and Tunny shook their heads.
"Now, Bob, let's meet the other heads of the families. Unfortunately, only the family head can enter, so Tunny will have to stay here," Remo said. Tunny nodded in agreement.
Remo and Bob approached the white door that Bob had noticed earlier. When they arrived, Remo began to open it.
Once the door was open, Bob and Remo stepped inside. They appeared in a dark room. In front of them was a round table with 12 beings seated around it and one empty chair. On the left side of the room, there were 12 doors. The beings immediately turned toward Bob.
'Go to the empty chair and introduce yourself.' Remo's voice echoed in Bob's mind.
Bob slowly walked to the empty chair. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Bob Keauzmur," he said and sat down, with Remo standing beside him.
(From now on, speech Bob doesn't understand will be marked with this symbol - *)
"*Hmph, I knew he was weak, but I didn't expect him to be just an advanced Beginner." said a being to Bob's right. It had a humanoid shape but looked strange. Its body was entirely red, with thick, uneven skin. Its sunken mouth and small, round eyes gave it an unsettling appearance. It lacked hair and ears.
For Bob, it sounded like screeching, and he couldn't understand a word, so he looked at the creature with a confused expression.
"*Is he a native?! I've never seen a race like this. He resembles a human, but humans don't have glowing red eyes. Maybe someone experimented on him." exclaimed another being. This one had grey-blue skin, stood about 2 meters tall, and was extremely thin. Its large black eyes moved as it spoke. It lacked a mouth, hair, or ears.
Cosmic creature- a creature who knows information about the wide universe.
Native- a creature who does not know information about the wide universe.
"*Does mind-sharing count as harm? He's quite adorable, and I want him to understand." said another voice, belonging to a figure that looked much more human—a girl with long pink hair, pure white eyes that seemed to peer into Bob's soul, and pale white skin.
"*It shouldn't, but I doubt he'll survive long if he's a native." replied a male voice from a broad figure cloaked entirely in shadows. The shadowy figure exuded the strongest aura in the room. The girl nodded in agreement.
When Remo heard this, he told Bob something was about to happen, and he should agree to it.
Suddenly, Bob found himself back in the infinite white room. In front of him stood the girl with the pink hair. Bob felt that if he wanted, he could return to the darkroom in an instant, but he chose to stay, trusting Remo.
Gril's forehead pressed against his, and in an instant, his mind exploded with an unbearable torrent of voices, languages, and symbols. His vision darkened, his knees buckled, and he clutched his head in agony. Just as he thought he couldn't take it any longer, the storm subsided, leaving behind a strange clarity
An overwhelming flood of knowledge—millions or perhaps trillions of languages Bob had never encountered—rushed into his mind. His weak psyche trembled under the strain.
Moments later, Bob was back in the dark room.
"Can you understand me now?" the girl asked.
Bob, still disoriented from the mind-sharing, felt slightly overwhelmed by the sudden influx of knowledge.
Then, the person seated to Bob's right stood up. "Since Bob Keauzmur has introduced himself, it would be harmless for us to do the same. I am Ardex Exoruvial," said Ardex, an elf with golden hair and a friendly smile.
The next one to stand was a peculiar figure. "Werora Colakvin," she said. Werora looked strange—her green body was shaped like a short cone, her elongated red head resembled a seed, and her eyes were far apart, positioned at each end of her head. She looked nothing like a human woman.
Next was the red-skinned figure with rough, uneven skin. "Frenot Granoyif," he said.
The gray-blue-skinned figure stood next. "Trvr Ter," he introduced himself.
Then, the wide figure exuding the strongest aura in the room stood up. "Evrix Werddorom," he said.
The levitating girl was next to stand, revealing something Bob hadn't noticed earlier—she had no lower body. "Alemia Slaumy," she said.
After her, a tall figure stood up, about the same height as Tunny—roughly 4 meters. Its entire body was thin and white, and its head seemed armoured with spines and small black eyes. "Elor Bdachtar," it said.
Another figure rose, its entire body covered in appendages resembling hands. Even its legs seemed like hands. "Zyx Levigixscuon," it said.
Then, another figure stood, with trembling wings on its back, shiny round red eyes, and a circular mouth filled with large teeth. "Aard Ccreviloi," it said.
Next was a being with an entirely barrel-shaped body covered in blue scales and glowing pale blue eyes. Strange protruding tubes extended from its body. "Front Panelor," it said.
The next figure resembled brown jelly with grey veins running through it that pulsed as it spoke. "Vdorir Yurep," it introduced itself.
Finally, the twelfth figure rose. Its body was pitch black with diamond-like, gleaming skin and no discernible features. When it spoke, red cables emerged from its head. "Rxlwv Yoxin," it said.
Evrix then took the lead, addressing Bob directly to explain the rules: no harming anyone in the room, no destroying objects, no stealing, and no training here. He also clarified that time in the family hall—the dark room Bob was in—passed at the same speed as in the outside world.
Evrix looked at everyone and concluded, "I consider this meeting adjourned. Those who wish to leave may do so."
Most of the beings headed toward the doors leading to their respective family rooms, and Bob did the same.
"Stay here, Tunny. I'll call you when I need you." Tunny nodded, but Bob could feel the unspoken trust radiating from him. It was strange but comforting."
Afterwards, Bob said goodbye to Tunny, leaving him in the family room. He realized there was no need for Tunny at the moment, and more importantly, he couldn't imagine how Night Sun would react if they saw Bob travelling with a fully healed Boss. Everyone would probably assume Bob was a monster as well.
Remo then teleported Bob back to the tunnel where he had fought Tunny.
(Thanks for the 100 collection <3)