Ascenders Rift

Chapter 42: Cline, The Alpine System

"I'll tell you now that's it real!" A loud voice shouted to a crowd that replied in a series of jeers.

"Haha! Are you still on about that? When will you learn?" One voice said.

"This guy is a real nut job; he's still going on about that nonsense with that Vanishing Light. How can they keep him in this observatory as a cosmologist? If I were them, I'd have him pack his things and clear out a long time ago." Another individual said in mock.

"Well, don't you think they've also tried that, no one wants to work with a madman. However, this issue here lies in the fact this is a pretty accomplish madman who only lost his screws a few months ago. To think he would claim that there's some strange object of light traveling towards the planet. Sigh, I guess the upper management is still bent on trying to convince him of his wrong in the hopes that he can turn around and come back to reality." Another person said amongst the crowd.

"Che! I don't think he's worth all that effort," One person said again.

"You think? All of this is just a pain in the ass if you ask me," The person muttered.

At this time, the slender man had continued to speak, "I know that I'm right, I can prove it. This unidentified object is quite bizarre, I was lucky enough only to see it once, but I strongly believe that based on my predicted trajectories it will most definitely make an appearance again. Be it this week, or the other, one thing is certain. It shall certainly appear again; you have to believe me!" The slender man said with a look of desperation on his face.

However, the crowd seemed to have grown tired of his antics; they quickly began to disperse after ridiculing him for a few times.

Now, only the slender and another middle-aged individual had remained around the presentation board. The slender-looking man lowered his head and gritted his teeth while cursing, "Blast! No one will ever understand; they can't just by hearing my statements. If only there were a way to let them see it, only then would things naturally explain themselves."

The middle-aged individual looked at the slender-looking man as he spoke with a sigh, "When will you learn Cline? Don't you see that your claims are naught but a dead end? Cline, do an old friend a favor and wake up, you will only end up ruining your career if you keep on like this..."

After saying this, the middle-aged man then turned around and walked towards a different location, leaving behind the silent Cline.

Cline banged his fists against the ground as he cursed out loud, "Dammit!"

He then continued to bang it a few times, but after a short moment, his hands paused as he placed both on the ground and clenched his fists tightly. It appeared as if he'd given up on everything, but it was this moment, a voice sounded nearby.

"Are you interested in seeing that thing again?" The young voice said.

Cline was a bit surprised; he looked at the person who spoke with wide eyes as he shouted, "You! What do you know of anything? If you're here to mock me then give it up, it will take you nowhere:"

Evan smirked as he saw this, he shook his head and walked towards the telescope with Fatty Joe and the others as he spoke once more, "I feel that there's going to be an interesting scene near Planet Mavious of the Alpine System. If you're intent on proving your claims, you might want to give that place a look."

Having said these words, Evan no longer wasted anytime with Cline as he went ahead with the others towards the telescope. Rick eye's glanced at him before he stared at a remote corner. There was an individual dressed in regular attire, watching them from a distance.

Rick then sent a text message to Evan that said, "Aren't we going to take care of him?"

Evan smirked as he replied to the message, "No need to worry, all in due time."

Layla was a bit curious about Evan's previous words, she looked at him and spoke, "Evan, what kind of thing are we here to see?"

Evan, whose mood was previously one of calmness, now turned serious. He looked at her before he spoke, "A real eye-opener,"

Fatty Joe, Breya, Emilia, Layla, and Rick, upon seeing Evan's look felt that thing he wanted to show them was far from ordinary, they couldn't help but become slightly nervous because of his current mood.

Evan still felt that it was a bit early as he saw their expression, but he sighed while gripping his fists and thought to himself, "While it's still too early, it is essential, for this is the quickest way for them to understand the danger and crisis we are facing."

Upon saying this, Evan and the others had finally made their way over to the giant telescope. Currently, a few individuals were using it to inspect a region of space.

The most peculiar thing about this scope was that it could be used by one or multiple individuals. It has a single scope for the use of one person, while the widescreen for many. Not long after, these persons had finished using it to satisfy their curiosity, as a person in charge looked at Evan's group and spoke.

"Will you each be using it separately? Or do you all want to observe as a group?" The person asked.

Evan replied, "We'll be using it as a group."

The person then looked at Evan's group before he spoke with a smile, "It will cost you 200 credits per person, and so it's a total of 1200 credits."

Evan was a bit startled; he had forgotten about this aspect of reality. Fatty Joe smirked at this scene, he was about to pay the bill, but then a voice sounded from behind them.

"Make that for seven; I'll pay for the entire thing," Cline said as he walked over with a firm look in his eyes.

The person seeing this shook his head and spoke, "Fine, just don't go speaking any nonsense to these kids."

Evan shifted his sights onto Cline, who looked at him similarly, as he saw Evan's look Cline then spoke with a smile, "Kid, even if there's nothing there, I'll stake my pride and believe you, who knows? I might luck out once more and get actual footage this time."

Evan smiled and nodded as he spoke, "Maybe so."

Soon, all the arrangements had been complete, Evan and the others then walked over the telescope's widescreen. It was an area that had a private compartment, thus being capable of preventing eyes from the outside.

As this happened, everyone then shifted their sights onto Evan, waiting for him to show them this so-called eye-opener.

Evan sighed as he spoke, "Shall we begin,"

After saying this, he pressed a button on the telescope, allowing for it to show the scenes of deep space. As Evan did this, he turned to Cline and spoke, "Sir Cline, I trust that you know how to navigate to the Alpine System, can you be so kind as to do this for us?"

Cline was a bit startled as he thought, "I certainly hope this kid isn't taking me for a fool..."

Having cleared up his thoughts, Cline then took over the terminal as he spoke, "Fine, leave it to me."

Moments after, the widescreen before everyone had begun to change at a rapid pace. Soon, the scene had bypassed a myriad of planets in the current galaxy arriving at the scene of the cracked clusters. It was a dark region surrounded by few stars, as even the light surrounding them seemed to be distorted.

Cline spoke as he saw this, "The Nilihoid Space is always the same, never changing I see..."

Rick and the others also nodded at these words; they were each already informed of the Nilihoid Space. The outside space which had formed after the implied destruction of this distant galaxy's black hole.

Cline no longer lingered on this sight; he began to shift the sights of the telescope. Soon, he had arrived at the system of stars in the shape of a knot, a rather peculiar view. The system was known as the Alpine system, one mostly comprised of dead worlds, it largest planet was more than 100 times the size of theirs, a planet that came to be known as Mavious 0B1.

It was a strange-looking red world, that had a massive red halo around its being. Everyone looked at this scene in interest, but even after a while, there were no signs of change.

Cline frowned as he spoke, "Brat, where is the object? Are you sure that it's going to appear here?"

Fatty Joe looked at Evan and asked, "Brother Evan, you weren't joking, were you? Why is there nothing there?"

Layla and the others also made similar expressions, but Evan, who heard their words, had his eyes set on something else. At this moment, Evan's eyes were currently fixed onto his watch, looking at the time which was now 8:59 PM."

Shortly after, the digit shifted as the time had arrived at 9:00 PM, as this happened, Evan's eyes flashed as he lifted his head and stared at the screen and spoke in a mysterious tone, "You should look at it now..."

Fatty Joe and the others were a bit surprised, they then turned around along with Cline as they shifted their sights onto the screen. Yet, as they did this, the view that showed before them was one enough to fill them with utter shock.