Wanderer Ch 28: Dr. Thanoros, The Doctor Of Chaos!

The transition from the smaller craft to the colossal ship I now found myself in was overwhelming. It was like stepping from a dingy fishing boat into a palace of steel and menace. The walls gleamed with a polished black metal, etched with glowing red veins that pulsed faintly, like the thing was alive. The corridors stretched endlessly, each one filled with a faint, low hum that set my teeth on edge. It wasn't just a ship—it was a fortress, or maybe even something worse.

The black-armored soldiers—my silent escorts—marched on either side of me, their movements unnervingly synchronized. They didn't speak, didn't even glance at me. I was just an object to be transported, nothing more. I tried to focus on breathing, on putting one foot in front of the other, but my mind kept wandering back to her. To Thalassa. The last image of her enormous face, slack with exhaustion, her golden eyes flickering like dying embers. She'd been so terrifying just hours ago, so incomprehensible. Now? She was a prisoner, like me.

And her sister—Eclipsa—she wasn't much better off. I'd seen those wires wrapping around her, dragging her unconscious form into the clutches of this fleet. Whatever these people wanted, it wasn't good. For them or for me.

We turned a corner, and the corridor widened into an enormous chamber. The ceiling was so high it disappeared into darkness, and at the far end of the room, a massive viewing screen stretched from floor to ceiling. Standing in front of it, silhouetted against the glowing expanse of stars, was a figure. He was tall, his posture rigid, and he wore a long black coat that trailed the floor. His hands were clasped behind his back, and though I couldn't see his face, I felt the weight of his presence immediately.

The soldiers stopped abruptly, forcing me to halt. For a moment, there was nothing but silence and the faint hum of the ship. Then the figure spoke.

"You've proven to be quite the asset, Mr. Hartson."

His voice was strange. It had a mechanical edge to it, more robotic than human. It grated on my nerves, but I kept my mouth shut. He didn't turn around, just kept staring out the screen at the vast fleet surrounding us.

"Thanks... I guess?" I said, my voice hoarse. I hadn't spoken since I'd left Thalassa's hand. "Though I'm not sure what I did to deserve the credit."

"You distracted her," he said simply. "Long enough for us to neutralize her and her sister."

Distracted her? That was one way to put it. "You're welcome," I muttered, though I wasn't feeling particularly thankful myself. My eyes darted to the screen. On it, I could see them—Thalassa and Eclipsa. Their massive, unconscious forms were being towed toward a ship so enormous it dwarfed even the giants themselves. They were being secured to its hull with massive steel wires and clamps, their bodies limp and motionless.

The sight made my stomach twist. "What are you going to do with them?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.

He didn't answer right away. The silence stretched on, broken only by the hum of the ship. Then, slowly, he turned to face me.

I immediately wished he hadn't.

His face—or what was left of it—wasn't human. It was metal. Smooth, black, and glossy, like polished obsidian. Two glowing red eyes stared out from the featureless mask, piercing and unblinking. The faint glow of the veins in the walls seemed to reflect off him, making him look even more otherworldly.

"Study them, of course," he said, his tone matter-of-fact. "There is much to be learned from their kind. Their energy absorption. Their cosmic endurance. Their abilities. They are puzzles waiting to be solved, and I intend to solve them."

I felt a chill crawl up my spine. "Solve them?" I repeated. "They're people. Or something close to it. You can't just... experiment on them."

"Can't I?" He tilted his head slightly, almost amused. "Do you know how many civilizations they've destroyed? How many lives they've ruined? That is what they are, Mr. Hartson. Wanderers. Creatures that travel the cosmos, consuming, destroying, playing with the lives of lesser beings for their own amusement. They are predators. We are prey. And now the prey has a chance to fight back."

I didn't know how to respond to that. He wasn't entirely wrong—Thalassa had treated me like a curiosity, a plaything, more than once. But still... seeing her and her sister like that, powerless and restrained, felt wrong.

"I don't want any part of this," I said finally. "I don't care what they've done or what you plan to do. I just want to go home."

He didn't respond right away. Instead, he turned back to the screen, watching as the giants were secured to the massive ship. "I'm afraid that's not possible," he said eventually. "You, Mr. Hartson, are an anomaly. A puzzle of your own. Something about you drew them to you. Something that makes you special."

He turned his glowing red eyes back on me. "And I intend to find out what that is."

Before I could protest, the soldiers stepped forward. Their cold, metallic hands clamped around my arms, dragging me backward. I struggled, but it was like trying to fight against a steel wall.

"Wait!" I shouted. "You can't do this! Who the hell even are you?"

He didn't answer right away. He just watched as the soldiers hauled me toward the exit. Then, as the doors began to close behind me, he spoke.

"I am Dr. Thanoros," he said, his mechanical voice echoing in the chamber. "And I am the harbinger of cosmic death."

The doors slammed shut, cutting off my view of the room—and him. The last thing I saw was the screen, showing Thalassa and Eclipsa, their enormous forms dwarfed by the ship they were now bound to.

I had a sinking feeling I wasn't going to like what came next.