Chapter 96

A tall, muscular figure stood alone amidst the sea of the ashen landscape. He had a medium-dark tone of the skin with strong, rugged features, broad shoulders, and a square jaw. A remark of a past, a hard-fought victory ran across him in the shape of three pale scars. He had slanted brown eyes and a matte black long, wild and unruly set of hair.

He was a well-known figure to all modern-day nerds, as well to the still present geek child residing deep inside Spencer's soul.

Vandar Varl'jat Adj, or as he later became mostly known throughout history: The Immortal Caveman, Vandal Savage.

Whilst his journey would be long, it has yet to be started. At the present, he was but a trusted companion of the now defeated Yurok. A captain of the rebellious forces, ultimately the victim of Spencer's divine snap.

However, unexpectedly, he did not die like the rest. His soul did not leave the confines of this mortal realm but stubbornly stuck to the surviving cells that hid beneath the thin coating of dust, the remnants of his once strong meta-human forces.

At the time, he himself was not aware of the full extent of his abilities. When Yurok recruited him, he was only known for his high intellect, and keen strategic thinking. He was a master tactician whose skills shined most during campaigns, during wartime.

He, together with a couple of other, now deceased brethren, was a trusted aide to their leader, supporting him with advice during the drawn-out civil war. Although ultimately everything turned out to be in vain. When their missing leader had returned, he had ended their childish struggle with a single, non-cathartic snap of his fingers.

Vandar stood silently as the memories surged in his mind, slowly absorbing and processing his last moments. His eyes flickered with a variety of emotions until eventually, it settled into a calculative cold glint. He tugged at his ruffled black beard, as he slowly came back to reality.

"In the end, we were nothing but tools, tossed aside after having fulfilled our purpose." He sighed, shaking his head as he shifted his mindset.

Looking around, he slowly scanned his surroundings, not showing any remorse, grief, or sadness upon seeing the sea of ash; the remains of the people he had fought and struggled with for years.

No, instead a disdainful sneer appeared and curved the edges of his lips ever-so-slightly as he took a couple of steps forward. He looked down and cupped a handful of the silvery dust only to watch it slowly trickle down like a thin waterfall.

"Is this what all that twisted dream, that corrupted desire of yours have surmounted to... oh 'Great Leader'? To be cast aside, turned to ash just like everyone else?" He muttered, his sneer not leaving his wrinkled expression.

Suddenly, the air in the nearby mound began to flicker, catching his attention and making him stand wary as he gazed in the direction of the noise. Vandar frowned as he looked at the air, watching as the calm breeze became twisted and a dark rift tore across the space.

The tear floated in mid-air, the dark void rippled in an unnatural yet strangely soothing manner for a brief moment before it began to roar in a distorted, deep-sounding cry.

As if a hungry child, the small tear began to gobble up more and more of the surrounding space, swiftly growing in size. In the span of a time that took Vandar to blink at most twice, the rift reached the size of a man-sized gateway.

Before Vandar could calm his heart and decide if it would be better to approach or perhaps hide, large tides rippled across the dark space-like vortex as the familiar figure of a man, a fearsome entity stepped out, followed by yet another, a woman.

The man, was the figure that had scarred him, reduced him to a mere single, surviving cell, whilst his partner, was the same woman, that was firmly etched into his mind as the Evil Tyrant that they had to defeat by her very own brother.

Watching the duo, Vandar was frozen in place, not sure of what he should be doing...

---

Stepping out of the portal, Spencer whistled a happy tune, taking a look at the strange, metal bracelet he had attached to his arms. The bracelet was a device, much too futuristic to the current era, yet just a child's toy in terms of the other feats and achievements Bey'on and himself had already made.

"See? It's pretty easy to use. After registering the target destination you just select it and hit this button and wham! You can get there in an instant! Works like magic, yet it's not!" He exclaimed proudly, puffing his chest.

"I... see..." The long black-haired young woman next to him, Castor could only nod with a wry expression dominating her face. Though she had seen a wide variety of abilities up to this date, traversing great distances in an instant was still something that was outside of their reach as of yet.

Before she could wrap her head around the strange mystery that was called 'Science' by Spencer, she suddenly felt a vaguely familiar presence standing next to them. As she looked at the naked man standing amidst the center of the dead land, looking back at them, her expression soured, she looked at the man with hostility and an equal amount of surprise.

Shouldn't he -along with the rest of his brother's forces- be dead?

Yet, before she could ask, Spencer reacted faster, and flickered forward, appearing before the naked man.

"Oh wow... I did not expect this." Spencer remarked, scrutinizing the bearded cavemen from head to toe with a neutral look in his eyes.

Vandar, who was standing stiff, not daring to make a move, only grew more and more confused as he noticed the lack of disgust, hostility, or killing intent coming from this god-like creature. There were no visible emotions, just genuine curiosity in those squinted eyes of his.

"You are..." Spencer decided to speak up, stopping for a brief moment as he pondered how he should actually call this man. He was sure that the dozens of nicknames and titles he was destined to equip throughout history, none of them were fitting the man before him yet. After a moment, he continued. "...Vandal, right?"

Vandar was shocked upon hearing his name being remembered by this man. Though he seemed to have made a mistake in the pronunciation at the end, Vandar didn't seem to mind. Instead, he embraced it fully.

Still, a moment later, as his memories filled his mind, he firmed his resolve and nodded. He showed no fear in his eyes, he spoke calmly and confidently as he addressed the man before him.

"Yes. My name is Vanda.. Vandal. Vandal Adg."

"Hmm..."

"My Lo-..." Vandar spoke up, asking the question of his own future without any trace of fear in his expression. "...Spencer, what will now happen to me? Will you kill me again?"

Spencer looked at the man standing proudly in front of him. Though he portrayed a calm, collected outward appearance, inwardly he was like a happy child, full of glee looking at one of his heroes step out of his favorite stories and come to life.

Yet, he showed none of that, and instead donned his usual dignified cloak as he pondered his options for a minute.

Though Vandal was a rebel, and he had survived once, Spencer had some ideas about dealing with this legendary figure, removing him from the picture once and for all.

Still, thinking about his role in the centuries to come, and how his actions would ultimately shape mankind, Spencer was reluctant, hesitant for the first time.

Gleaning over at Castor for a moment, he sighed, and whilst he knew that his next words would cause some grievance in the future and he would have to work harder to propitiate her, Spencer still decided to go along with his plan.

"No, I will not do such a thing, Vandal." Spencer shook his head. "I will not kill you, but I will not help you either."

"You are no longer a part of the Kingdom. You have stood against your brethren, your kin. Whilst killing you would be the easiest solution, I am willing to give you a chance."

A syringe appeared in his right hand the next instant. Flashing a mysterious smile, Spencer continued whilst already reaching out towards the man's neck.

"I will allow you to walk away, and whilst you will be marked as an exile, cast out from those you once called your family, I will not end your life. In return, however, I will take a small sample of your blood."

Not bothering to wait for a response, he stabbed a needle into the man in the next instant, taking a larger sample size before putting the medical instrument away in the confines of a subspace. As the needle vanished in the next moment, he smiled at the stunned-looking bearded man.

"Now that this is done, it is time for you to go. Go you Savage, and fulfill your destiny!" He said, dismissively flicking his hand, watching with a smile as Vandal's figure vanished from his sight in the next moment, randomly teleported away from a random location around the Globe.

With that settled, he turned his attention back to Castor, sighing as he noticed the hurtful look on her face.

He decided not to comment on the matter and instead changed the topic whilst looking around inquisitively.

"Now then... Shall we go and find the survivors of your people?"