I’m standing before a glowing pyramid, the core of the beam of light that illuminates the sky. I don’t feel discomfort from looking at it; it’s more like warm, golden sunlight falling on my eyes. Just before the beam vanishes as abruptly as it appeared, I thought I heard someone hum in the darkness.

It was a smooth, low tune, the one mothers sing to their children to help them fall asleep. I’m not sure I understand since I can’t even remember even the name of my mother. However, I’m not sure that this has anything to do with my memory loss or with the fact that I’m Esuh. I’m still lost but not confused like most of the time.

I finally understand why they kept my identity hidden from me. This time, when my dark part took over, I could influence some of his decisions. It happened suddenly like I was watching my life through a keyhole. I could talk to him, use my body, but not freely.

Even now, back in my platinum skin, I can feel him inside me sleeping soundly like there’s not a care in the world. It’s a weird feeling, one that deprives me of every sense of privacy. But, it surprisingly feels like I’ve found a missing piece of myself. I’m calm now, even though I have no idea where am I.

“Jay,” Eladia says behind me, panting. “You finally...stopped.”

I turn and smile at her. I’m happy I see her with my own eyes. She’s the reason I could control my actions after I changed. However, I’m not sure she’s glad to see me.

“I assume I caused you trouble again. I’m sorry. It’s not easy being...that thing.”

She looks at me like she doesn’t understand what I’m saying. Honestly, humans can be such a pain sometimes.

“I know I’ve changed back to my dark self, the one you call Dark Jay. It’s not easy to explain it, but I could see bits and pieces of what happened. That’s why I know we’re in some kind of trouble, but I’m not sure where we are.”

My explanations seem to calm some nerves, particularly Eladia’s. She’s been so tense since she saw me, the platinum-skinned Jasih, that I’m starting to believe that something else must have happened while I was away. Either way, there’s no time for explanations.

Standing before a strange construct like that makes me think: what the hell are we doing here?

“Jay…” Eladia starts saying, but Zan stops her by getting in front of her and snarls towards the sky.

I feel it too. Something’s coming, a dark and ominous threat.

We first hear the drone of the low-altitude engines coming from far away, like a swarm of mosquitoes. The overgrown forest makes it difficult to understand the size of the ship approaching us until it’s already way too late.

“What in the…?” I catch myself saying.

That’s until a loud shrill penetrates my ears. I cover them with my hands and look around me trying to figure out what’s going on. I spot Eladia and Zan on their knees, trying to stop the deafening sound by cupping their ears with their hands, but nothing seems to change.

Amidst my baffled moves, I see a figure running inside the pyramid. That’s weird; it seems like the sound comes from his side. Struggling, I start following him.

Him? How do I know that this figure is a man? Something starts to form in my head.

Follow me.

As soon as those two words pop into my head, the shrill stops, and I’m standing inside the pyramid with Eladia and everyone else inside. I look around me and see a line of monitors flashing, a technology that’s considered ancient even by my standards.

Eladia seems to recognize some patterns on the walls. “Silver, can you please give me the translation of that sign? I’m sure I’ve seen it before.”

“You must have forgotten that I can’t use my scans, Eladia. I’m sorry, I can’t help you,” but the human female has already moved onto another topic.

She’s standing still, looking at something on the far side of the empty room. Everything is in black and white due to the dim light of the monitors. The man I saw running inside this construct is now standing before me. I get mixed signals from him; at times I feel like he wants to kill me, and at times I feel like he wants to help me.

Either way, my instincts don’t let me lower my guard. He wears a black mantle and pitch black clothes below. The only thing in color is the demon mask he wears in that deep green of the swamp.

“You’re finally here,” he says in a raspy, twisted voice. Even though I’m relatively new to the human species, I know that his voice can’t be real.

“Who are you? What’s going on?” Eladia suddenly erupts in a frantic tone.

“Maybe your alien friend can help you in that,” he says.

Is he talking about me? And why do I have the feeling that I know him? I haven’t met the man before. The only thing familiar about him is that warm sense he gives away, the promise of a man able to heal people and mend their bodies, the same feeling I got when I met that doctor.

And then it hits me.

“Are you the blonde doctor that fixed me back on Yaerus?”

He laughs even though his laugh sounds more like he’s choking. Then, he removes his mask and proves that I’m right. He’s that man from the hospital.

Eladia gasps in shock. “Dale? Doctor Dale? I thought...we thought…”

“There’s no time for explanations, Eladia. I’m sorry that I deceived you all in that way, but the whole galaxy is in danger, and there was no other way,” he says and moves a step closer to us.

He raises his hand with his open palm pointing behind us. The walls move soundly, and the floor shakes below our feet. He knew about this place.

“We don’t have enough time. Jay, come close. Everyone else, follow us.”

And just like that, before he even stops talking, another door opens before us.