Tora rapidly tapped his leg as the Swallow struggled into the atmosphere.
According to data from the ship and data from the drones that had been sent, there was an unidentified force that was interfering with them, and the desire to know what it was surpassed the fear that quickened his heart and lined his skin with sweat.
The elation on his face was hidden from the others by his helmet, which allowed him to see all around him as if he wasn't wearing it at all.
The craft rattled as it got closer to the surface, which was incredibly strange considering the skies were clear.
Even the sensors that allowed Tora to see out of his helmet glitched out a little, robbing him of sight periodically until the Swallow finally descended beneath the clouds.
The flight then smoothed out, and the craft made its way to a flat patch of land that had been suggested to them by Thunder.
Tora felt a surge of joy flood his body as the craft made landfall, that solid thud felt like no other, even though he had set foot on dozens of other planets.
[Ladies and gentlemen… we have landed… on Earth.] The pilot struggled to find his breath as the seconds of contact ticked by.
It could all end in a moment, but nothing, absolutely nothing could replace the feeling of Euphoria that Tora felt.
His diffusers suppressed what they could, but at this point, all he felt was joy.
[It looks like Mr Thunder has cleared the area of fauna, but I still advise that everyone stay frosty.]
Tora ignored the pilot's warning as he hurriedly unbuckled his belt and stood up alongside the other muttering scientists.
Dunnam walked up to the side door and gripped the handle firmly.
"Alright, folks. Here's to a painless death." The soldier chuckled before pulling the doors open, letting Tora and the others step out onto the surface.
Tora immediately fell to his knees and gently pressed his hands on the dark grass, feeling that it was quite rubbery.
The others all marvelled at the world around them before suddenly freezing as what sounded like a helicopter approached.
Dunnam raised his rifle, prompting Tora to look up, where he saw Thunder flying above.
"Lower your damn weapon right now!" Tora yelled while trying to grab Dunnam's weapon, but the soldier easily brushed him to the side.
The soldier hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting between Thunder and Tora, but he eventually relented, lowering his weapon and taking a few steps back as Thunder descended.
And it was here, in person, that Tora saw the true scale of the new world.
Not in size… but something unseen.
Thunder's large wings gradually slowed as his thorned feet touched the ground.
He towered over everyone absolutely and yet…
And yet even he supposedly wasn't the most prized one in this new old world, stating that he was the 515th.
His carapace darkly glistened beneath the soaring sun, and nothing but intelligence could be seen in the lakes of cyan that were his eyes.
Thunder spread his long, thick arms gently and spoke in a voice that was both a choir and a crushing growl that made everyone, even Dunnam's, eyes water.
"Welcome, travelled guests. This way, if you would. Mother awaits."
Tora wanted to cry, to scream, to flee and to kneel.
But, after taking a brave breath, he stepped forward and led the others in following Thunder, who led the group towards one of the many spires that dotted the world.
This one was no less than one thousand meters tall and two hundred meters wide.
It was shaped like a twisted spindle and had that dark Bio-Metallic texture.
The spire was three hundred meters away, meaning they had quite a bit of walking to do, which was perfect for Tora, who wanted to take in more of Thunder's presence.
The giant's wings had folded into the plates on his back, which were up so high, Tora had to look up to see them.
"Mother told me of your past, and you stand here as the present. While I am curious about the history of the in between, I'm sure each of you has your own questions, so feel free to ask, and I will answer what I can before we reach the audience room." Thunder spoke in a voice that seemed to come from everywhere.
Actually, it felt as though he was present everywhere and that the monstrous form before Tora was a simplified manifestation of all of Thunder's potential.
That's what it felt like to Tora, at least, who could only remain silent, along with everyone, as they walked, leading Thunder to ask instead.
"What is it like to sail across the stars?"
His voice echoed in the minds of all who heard, and the group all turned to Tora, who swallowed with difficulty before answering with his own question, albeit with a slight quiver in his voice.
"Have you ever sailed across the seas, Sir Thunder?"
Thunder tapped his chin in thought.
"Not quite. I have flown over them, however."
The scientists all let out hushed but fascinated murmurs.
"Well… it is like flying across seas to reach new lands. Only the distances are much greater, hehe." Tora tried his best to chuckle, but only coughed out a weak laugh.
"I see… Thank you for the insight. Is there anything else you would like to ask?" The thud of Thunder's steps shook the ground noticeably, but only one question surfaced in Tora's mind.
"Are you an evolved human?"
Thunder stopped, making a few of the scientists shriek with fear.
The giant stood motionless for a moment before letting out a seemingly thoughtful hum.
"Mmm… I would think so, but that is the one question I think you would appreciate if it were answered by Mother." Thunder nodded before continuing forward.
Tora then asked if Thunder knew what made the world this way, and the giant explained that, at some point and in oceans of rot, life underwent a great change.
Hyper Adaptation came to be because life saw no other means of survival.
It needed to assimilate with the rot that mankind had left behind, and this brought about a new age.
This explanation fascinated Tora to no end, but it felt as though something was missing.
What had triggered this change across the multitude of lifeforms across the planet's surface?
And what role did Thunder's mother have in all of it?
The group eventually reached the spire, where they were greeted by two other beings that were similar to Thunder but were about half his massive size, with one even having a more feminine form.
These creatures guarded the path into the spire, which, upon entry, revealed itself to be hollow and littered with holes that allowed air to pass through.
At the centre of the vast space was a throne made of the same dark material that made the spire, and sitting atop this grand seat of cascading metallic flesh was a woman.
Or something that resembled a woman.
She was about one hundred and eighty centimetres in height.
Her skin was a deep cyan and was lined with hardened structures that were placed protectively above her vital organs. She had a head of neck long tendrils and eyes that burnt bright with cyan coloured light.
She was barefoot and naked, sitting without a single accessory or weapon.
She was… beautiful.
So much so that Tora purposefully burnt her image in his mind as she seemed to be the exemplar of the new life on Earth.
Tora's group was made to stand five meters before the throne, and Thunder made his way to the woman's side.
"Greetings. My name is Anoona. Allow me to welcome you to your long-lost origin. Although I do not plan on hosting you for long."
Like Thunder, her voice was that of many yet felt so singular, so powerful.
But something troubled Tora, whose brow furrowed a little. An expression that was hidden from Anoona by his helmet.
"We thank you from the depths of our hearts, Your Grace, although I plead that you allow me a question." Tora lowered his head, prompting the others in his group to do the same. He had learnt in his five hundred years of living that those who sat highly liked it when those beneath them acknowledged the difference in standing.
Anoona's eyes narrowed.
"Ask away."
Tora nodded while wringing his hands.
"Have we angered you in some way? I ask because it seems as though our welcome is not indefinite."
Silence followed, and Tora kept his head low.
"What is your name, child?" Anoona asked.
"Tora, Your Grace."
"And what are you?"
Tora's brow furrowed further.
"I… I am a man of the species Homo Provectus. A Newman." He answered.
"I see. And how many wars has your kind seen in the past century?"
Tora was frowning fully at this point.
What did any of that have to do with anything?
"Twenty large-scale conflicts that I can recall, Your Grace."
"And can you guess how many wars have occurred here in the same time period?"
Tora bit his teeth.
"I'm afraid I cannot say for sure. I plead that you forgive my ignorance."
"Zero." Anoona's answer rang like a thousand bells in the silence of the spire.
"What makes you think I would allow the same species that brought ruin to this place to return? You conquered the stars; you did what the very first men set out to do. So, return to the void and search for a new purpose."
Tora's diffusers struggled to suppress the frustration that steadily bubbled within him.
What did she mean?
Was the Earth not the home of every single human?
Was it not their birthright to, at the very least, stay for a while?
And what of war?
Did Anoona really think she could keep her children from fighting among themselves forever?
How could she be so naïve?
Conflict was at the heart of all eras of life.
And what gave her the right to decide?
As far as Tora knew, she could have been a being from beyond the scope of known life, and she had infested life on Earth, ascending to the role of faux monarch.
Tora fought tooth and nail to keep his frustration in check and, after taking a deep breath, he stood upright and gave Anoona a polite smile.
"I understand the meaning of your words, and I imagine there is not much I could say or do to change your mind."
"Correct. You are free to explore the surface for the next week, but once the allotted time passes, mankind will have to be content with leaving what was in the past so that it may bear its own fruit and feed its children."
Tora begged his jaw not to clench and nodded.
"Do you mind if I ask one more question?" He swallowed.
"Please do."
"What… what are you?" Some of the fear and anger seeped into his voice.
Also, Anoona's eyes seemed to narrow for some reason in this moment.
"I am life reborn. Of rot and decay, but of flesh all the same. Pardon the poetic language, I simply never gave myself a scientific name. And yes, I guess you could call me an Evolved Human since I was born among your ancestors in the bygone age of ruination." She softly smiled, but it only made the gnawing feeling in Tora's stomach grow.
"I see. And please forgive my insistence. I merely wondered how you knew so much about the past and how you managed to erect this great civilisation." He weakly chuckled as Anoona crossed her legs.
"I am what you might call a mutant. I was once an ordinary cell, one that you may have even recognised, but then, when the world changed, so did I. Now, not only do my cells store genetic data, they store general data as well, including the genetic information of other cells. This can be anything from something I had for breakfast to its ancestral memory, things it cannot forget. A hyena's cell may recall the hunts of yore, and a human cell, or one evolved from it, may recall centuries of war. That is how my children and I built this place, Tora, and how I know that war will return the moment I let any more of you make landfall."
What? Tora winced.
Her words all just sounded like excuses.
From what he knew, genetic memory only held the blueprints of life, and while some instincts or "memories" were encoded into the genetic code, not much else could be inferred from a cell.
Tora didn't understand what Anoona really was, but she was definitely hiding something.
The Earth belonged to all humans, without question, and Tora was now determined to smoke this invasive bug out.
"Thank you for the insight." Tora bowed before asking Anoona a few more inconsequential questions and ultimately leaving, as he really didn't care for whatever else she had to say.
He needed to return to the Santa María and have a pest extermination squad assembled.