This wouldn't happen again.
Ryan tried to assure himself, but doubt gnawed at the edges of his mind.
Would it?
Before he could spiral further, a mechanical Creak! echoed through the air.
"It is but a joke," Elain chirped, its synthetic voice smooth yet oddly cheerful. "Is this not a joke that humans find superficial?"
Ryan stared at the small machine, still processing the absurdity of the situation.
"Ha… Ha… Haha…" he let out a dry, half-hearted laugh. "Right, right."
If it had been the old him, he wouldn't have believed that kind of joke. But now?
It's a lot more believable…
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a deep, guttural sound.
Grooowwlll—
Ryan stiffened.
For a moment, his instincts screamed danger, but then he realized—
It was just his stomach.
"Uh… Is there anything to eat here?" he asked, rubbing his empty belly.
Elain's single optic blinked. "There is no organic food."
Ryan froze.
His world shattered in an instant.
To survive all this… just to die of hunger?!
A cruel fate.
But before his despair could set in—
"However," Elain continued, "there are a great number of synthetic sustainable options."
Ryan blinked, then practically beamed.
"Alright then! Let's go grab some grub."
Not long after, Ryan sat at one of the mess hall's worn-out tables, leaning back slightly as he stared at his so-called 'meal.'
In his hands were palm-sized packets filled with a thick, sluggish, purple substance that wobbled ominously whenever he moved them.
The sight alone made him grimace.
"The taste just ain't it…" Ryan muttered after forcing a bite down, his face scrunching in displeasure.
But—he had no other choice.
He sighed. "It took a lot of strength just to get these few packets." His words were muffled with a full mouth, tears welling up in his eyes.
Still, he swallowed. His Legs swollen from being used
"Worth it," he added, despite the suffering evident in his expression.
As he forced himself to finish the rest, his mind drifted back to the biggest question—
How did I get here?
And more importantly, how the hell did I escape from that centipede?
He had no answers. And at this moment, surviving took priority over solving that mystery.
Right now, his best option was to secure his environment, find a way to sustain himself, and figure out a means to escape.
"By the way, Elain," Ryan spoke up, shifting the topic. "Are you the only one stationed here?"
Elain's optic pulsed. "There are three Guides of the Elenatia," it answered promptly.
"There is the System's Guide—Elain. The Combat Guide—Elen. And the Structuring Guide—Natia."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're supposed to be telling me this?"
"The Elenatia was once an active Distributing Vessel," Elain said without hesitation.
Ryan's mind immediately connected the dots.
A Distributing Vessel?
These vessels were neutral, used for trade and supply distribution across various factions. Some were even repurposed as temporary homes or vacation hubs.
"So, I guess you're the people greeter, then?" Ryan said with a smirk.
Elain tilted its head slightly, as if pondering.
"Oh, by the way," Ryan added casually, "that Combat Guide you mentioned? Yeah… It got gobbled up by a giant centipede outside."
Elain didn't even flinch.
"No worries," it replied. "All Guides are connected to the Central Core, where we can be remade with the intelligence gathered from previous discardment."
Ryan stared.
"So, you guys can just keep coming back? With your memories intact?"
"Correct," Elain confirmed.
A thought crossed Ryan's mind. "Wait… Do you and the other Guides share memories, then?"
"Nope," Elain responded in a surprisingly friendly manner.
Ryan frowned, thinking back to how Elain had asked him to identify himself earlier. That confirmed it—they didn't pass on data between one another.
So even if one of them dies, the others won't necessarily know about it…
Ryan exhaled, shaking his head. "You're a lot friendlier and way less cold than Elen."
Without thinking, he lifted Elain up into the air, holding the small bot above his head like a child.
Elain made a soft mechanical whirr but didn't protest.
After a moment, Ryan set it back down.
"Alright," he said, cracking his neck. "I guess this'll be the main base until we figure out a way off this Accursed planet."