"What are the knights for?" Hang motioned towards the downed Cloud Knights on the floor. "Your intentions seem malicious."
"Malicious?" Kafka mimicked, her voice silky. "We're merely following the script."
"Which is?"
She paused, a finger coming up to rest below her chin.
"They're... future possibilities," Kafka spoke slowly, her eyes trailing over Hang. "We merely follow the script to ensure our specific outcome."
"So the burst is apart of all possibilities," Hang pointed out. "The burst?"
"A Stellaron," Kafka informed him, her hands moving to rest behind her back. "The Cancer of All Worlds. Does that give you enough to think about?"
"Cancer of all worlds."
The name already gave Hang an idea. Something that would spark the death of the world—or ship that he was on.
The explosion must have been the start of the destruction process, like how cancer would reveal itself once it matured enough.
"What's your plan?"
"There's no fun in divulging it all so easily," Kafka said, turning her back to Hang, walking away. "Maybe if we meet again, I'll tell you everything."
"Give me your phone."
"... Excuse me?" Kafka looked back, surprise written on her face.
"I have questions. Since you're leaving, we can communicate."
If Hang's assumption was correct, Yunmei gave him a phone to communicate from distance. So why couldn't he do that with a valuable source of info?
"Sure," Kafka said. "I'll contact you, then."
Kafka disappeared beyond the roof.
Hang, spotting nearby stairs, rushed up them, leaping from roof to roof, flinging himself up onto the same rooftop that Kafka once stood on.
"Tch."
Nobody was in sight, the enigmatic lady had disappeared.
Before Hang could reorganize his thoughts, his pocket vibrated.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the phone Yunmei had given him. Multiple messages were sent, and unread.
"Oh."
Hang opened the phone, tapping on the notifications.
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[Your Best Sister]: You alive?
[Your Best Sister]: Helloooo?
[Your Best Sister]: Mister Hang?
[Little Fox]: who
[Your Best Sister]: You're hilarious~
[Little Fox]: i don't have an older sibling
[Your Best Sister]: It's Yunmei, you must've not changed the names yet~ If you remembered, the phone was for my sister!
[Little Fox]: ok bye
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Hang shoved the phone back into his pocket as it started vibrating again.
Moving back the way he came, Hang exited from the alleyway and back into the plaza of Exalting Sanctum.
The streets were still empty, not a soul in sight. It seemed that the Stellaron burst had scared most of the residents, presumably into their housing.
Seeing as there was nothing and no one to glean information from, Hang decided the best course of action was to head back to Central Starskiff Haven.
There should be more people there, perhaps even some knights that Hang could question.
Arriving at Central Starskiff Haven, there were some natives scattered about, but more empty than when he first arrived.
Hang noted their hasty movements, purchasing and moving along faster than earlier when he was with Yunmei.
"Look out!"
Hang heard voices, turning his head to look across the bridge. Cloud Knights were shouting toward each other, moving as a unit and fighting.
Upon closer look, they were people, wearing the same armor as the knights. Except they also had plants.
"Killer plants exist here too, I suppose."
The knights seemed to have it handled. Hang moved away from the commotion, continuing his observations.
"What are you doing?" A voice called out to Hang from his side.
Hang looked toward the voice that addressed him. Fu Xuan stood there, a pair of Cloud Knights behind her.
"Walking," Hang said, directing his gaze downward to stare into her eyes.
"Where is Miss Yunmei?" Fu Xuan questioned. "She was your tour guide, no?"
"Went to check something," Hang answered bluntly. "You?"
"The Divination Commission," she said, her eye trailing toward the Cloud Knights fighting a bit away. "You should stay indoors until this blows over."
"Mm," Hang replied. He probably could sell some things in his inventory for funds here. "Ok."
The conversation cut short as Fu Xuan turned around to head in a different direction, leaving Hang alone again.
Hang pulled out the phone again.
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[Little Fox]: where's a hotel
[Your Best Sister]: A hotel? Why do you ask?
[Little Fox]: told to stay low
[Your Best Sister]: Hm. You could just stay at my place, you know?
[Little Fox]: no
[Little Fox]: where's a hotel
[Your Best Sister]: Sigh... there should be a lodge at Central Starskiff Haven. You should be able to find it.
[Little Fox]: k
[Your Best Sister]: Are you also going to change your name on the phone?
[Little Fox]: k
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Hang started a walk around Central Starskiff Haven. All the buildings looked the same, but there were all slight differences.
It didn't help that the location was so large. There were buildings everywhere.
Before Hang went to find the lodge, he went to go find a broker. He needed money to rent a room.
"You have something to sell, kid?" The broker looked Hang up and down, looking at his unique clothing. It had many rips sewn together, making Hang look like a sort of beggar.
Hang dropped a pile of gold masks on the table. He had grabbed them out of his inventory before heading to the broker. "This."
The broker's eyes widen, before he takes all the masks, calculating the total. The expression on his face had changed from skeptical to elated.
"Ah, I see. Well, here you are!"
Hang received a currency called, 'Credits.' He received 2 million. It sounded like a lot, and so Hang left without a word.
Eventually, Hang stumbled across the lodge. It was tall, but it looked comfy enough.
"Single room."
Through a process of trial and error, Hang managed to get himself a room. Stepping inside, there was a bed, closet, desk, and other small pieces of furnature.
The window outside let him have a view of a dock, where Starskiffs came and went.
"Stay indoors," Hang reminded himself of the advice he was given. He would trust the word of a native here until he got better information.
He placed the phone on the desk and sat down on the bed, removing his tattered clock and putting it on the chair nearby.
"A rest should suffice."
Hang decided to lay low for two days to let it blow over. If it wasn't over by then, he would need to find another way to fix it to find a way home.