The Mysterious Man

Aer watched on as the man drove his dagger deep into the golem's neck.

"Shouldn't you decapitate it?"

The man turned to look at her, pulling the hood back to reveal a handsome face with platinum white hair.

"Indeed…" he replied as he brought his foot down onto the handle of the dagger.

Aer glanced at the man's face. He sure was enjoying himself with a maniacal grin as he repeatedly stomped on the dagger handle, separating the head of the golem from its lifeless torso.

"Enough!" She exclaimed, turning her head away from the grotesque scene in front of her.

The man froze as he realized the situation. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned to face Aer.

A beautiful young woman with blood-red eyes and hair as white as snow, she was seated by the window, basked in the dim moonlight and resting her head on her hand. She looked almost ethereal, like an angel from heaven, her pale body wrapped in a white nightgown.

The man walked towards Aer and leaned his face towards hers, stopping within an inch of her nose. She felt his breath against her lips as he continued to examine her, his silver-colored eyes darting from left to right and then up and down.

Aer gasped as the man suddenly clasped his burly hands around her throat. He was careful with his strength, strong enough so that she could not escape, however gentle enough to not strangle her.

"I am Cillian," he said as he released her from his grip, "you will come with me to the Engineers Domain."

Aer felt a wave of despair slowly seep into her stomach.

The Engineers were a group of scientists that had achieved significant scientific and technological breakthroughs that had helped the human race prosper and advance over the last century. Over time, they had become the sole authoritarian regime that ruled with an iron grip over most of the human population. Much of their ideals included becoming a Model Citizen that would help contribute to the success of the Domain, where one would live a peaceful and harmonious life in return. Unfortunately, due to the Earth's resources slowly running out, much of the land had become barren and dry. Most of the human race had adopted the Engineer's ideals to escape from poverty and suffering.

As an orphan, Aer had grown up in the outliers of The Engineers Domain. She had been found in the shrubs by a kind old woman next to a small village that grew and traded cotton. The woman had raised her in the village that had a population of only sixteen people and, although small and quaint, had provided Aer with a comfortable childhood and many happy memories that she was grateful for.

Due to her unusual eye color and snowy white hair, she had begun to attract the attention of merchants that would visit the village to trade cotton. Word had spread, and Inquisitors from the Domain had demanded she be taken in for an inquisition to determine whether she was an Immortal.

So far, the villagers had fought off the Inquisitors by convincing them she was but a harmless child; however, it would be inevitable that they would be back for her once she had become a young adult. Lately, the Domain had begun to send AI golems to the village to "supervise" their cotton operations to intimidate the villagers into giving her up. Unfortunately, the golems had also begun to scare off merchants, increasingly damaging the reputation and livelihood of the village.

"Are you an Inquisitor?" She asked.

"Do I look like one of those pests?!" He snarled, pointing at his platinum white hair.

Aer shook her head and snuck in a sigh of relief as Cillian scoffed in disgust at her question. He was right; there was no way someone with his appearance could be from the Engineer's Domain. He was, however, fully armed with silver-plated armor over a white linen shirt.

An Immortal acting as a mercenary of some sort, she thought, but why does he want to bring me to the Engineers Domain?

"I won't go with you unless you tell me who you are," Aer hissed, "I mean, it would only be fair as you know who I am."

Cillian slowly walked towards her, this time with a more menacing aura.

Before she could say anything more, she felt the wind knocked out of her as he swung his fist deep into her stomach before blacking out.