Thirty minutes later, Zeel was now on the back of the tallest camel being guided to the nearby village…

It took a lot of explanations to convince the trio that he wasn't a killer, and due to The Restrictions of The World, every lie caused a sharp headache…

It was hard to convince the trio he wasn't a killer when every time he lied, his face would scrounge up in pain…

But, all was well that ends well…

And in this case, all went well for the family trio since the alternative would bring their lives to an abrupt end…

"So… what were you doing alone in the desert?" Afhrak questioned, "It is very dangerous to come out to these parts unprepared…"

Zeel shrugged "I didn't know you could speak English…"

"In the deserts…" Afi added, "It is always better to stay dumber than you actually are…"

"Wise choice…" Zeel commented, looking at Mojdeh in the distance "It is always best to seem like an ordinary human, but at what price? Your identity? Your Culture? Your sanity?"

"All of it and more…" Mojdeh chimed from the lead position "They say that survival is worth everything… you have to live to rise again…"

Even Afhrak and Afi could sense the atmosphere had become somewhat tense…

"Since I have your attention…" Zeel responded, meeting Mojdeh's gaze "I think I have very good senses… some would even call my senses superhuman…"

Mojdeh shrugged "We often have experiences that defy reality… just as we can sense things that aren't there…"

"Funny…" Zeel laughed somewhat mockingly "I was walking in the desert for days, and I never once sensed a village nearby… even five miles away, there was no village, but suddenly, I am riding with you guys and now I can finally feel the village nearby…"

"What are you trying to say?" Mojdeh questioned, quirking a brow as his camel came to a stop…

"How could something not be there one moment… and the next moment, it's right there?" Zeel questioned, not slightly deterred by the subtle hints of unwillingness that Mojdeh dropped…

"You ask a lot of questions for a kid…"

Zeel smiled slightly, also stopping his camel next to Mojdeh "Many people would say that I am wise beyond my years…"

Mojdeh remained still and silent, and Zeel also mimicked his actions, not willing to be the first person to make a move, especially if a move was not necessary…

Zeel and Mojdeh made eye contact and an unwritten agreement was formed between the two of them…

Zeel had no idea who, or what Mojdeh was, but he knew for a fact that he could not sense the village five miles away until Mojdeh showed up…

That was all the discrepancy Zeel needed to raise his guard…

The journey continued and Zeel resumed his chat with Afhrak and Afi, with occasional input from Mojdeh…

Time passed, and soon, Zeel and the others could see the village on the horizon…

Zeel's slitted pupils narrowed and he could see the details of the village's architecture from nearly a mile away…

The style was classical, made of large cube stones and clay…

Seeing the village was getting close, Zeel decided to squeeze as much information as he could from the family of three…

"So, why were you guys away from the village?"

"Hunting…" Afhrak mentioned…

"In the desert?" Zeel snorted…

"Passage of Right… we are of marrying age, and Afhrak is getting married so we went to the Spring…" Afi gave a much more honest answer, and Zeel accepted it…

"A spring you say?" Zeel was finally curious, and even Mojdeh could tell it was bad for Zeel to be curious…

"We're here!" Mojdeh announced, signaling his sons to be quiet "And just in time for the festival as well…"

"What festival?"

"Blessing from Allah Festival…" Afi chirped happily, clearly excited about finding a wife…

"Allah?" Zeel frowned "I have never met that God…"

Mojdeh, Afhrak, and Afi froze, not able to tolerate the blatant disrespect for their God, but Zeel could care less as the camel escorted him towards the village…

There was no large gate to protect the village from outside interference… if anything, the village was like a sample of civilization in the middle of nowhere…

Well, almost nowhere….

The village was somewhat large – stretching about three miles in every direction, bordered by some sparse trees and shrubs along the border...

After entering the village, Zeel observed that some buildings were different from others, made from a mix of concrete and cobbled stones that probably took years to perfect…

Strangely, as soon as he passed the threshold of the village's entrance, Zeel could hear a unique whispering at the back of his mind…

It was not invasive or overly assertive, or even explicit in any way…

Just a silent whisper in the back of his mind – almost as if he was never meant to hear it in the first place… but he could – he could hear it…

And he could adjust the volume of the whisperings, making them louder or softer but never completely silencing them…

As for what the whispers said? Right now, Zeel could only hear garbled sounds of unintelligible words with a few insights from the many languages in his mind…

Clearly, this newfound ability would not pose a problem with his current level of strength, but Zeel was sure the whispers would intensify as long as he regained a semblance of his true power.

Afhrak, Afi, and Mojdeh soon rode next to Zeel on camel backs, acting as the guides they were supposed to be; though, Zeel could see the weary looks of some villagers…

This village obviously didn't have a good track record with outsiders…

'Good thing I am not staying long…' Zeel thought, not liking the eerie feeling of death that encompassed the village…

Zeel glanced back and noticed the nine camels left behind were quickly tied to wooden poles by residents of the village…

Mojdeh, Afhrak, and Afi guided Zeel deeper into the village, taking several difficult paths to arrive at their home…

It looked much sturdier than the other homes, but the size was somewhat smaller…

"Looks like a tin can… but made of stone…" Zeel commented offhandedly, not caring about who he offended with the statement…

"Better than most…" Mojdeh said, spreading his hands to show Zeel the nearby homes…

Afhrak and Afi leaped off their camels and darted into the house while Mojdeh stayed behind, and gestured for Zeel to follow him inside…

A woman came to the house's entrance to greet Mojdeh…

She had a veil over her face, and dressed in mostly black attire…

No inch of her skin was left for the eyes to admire, and all Zeel could think about was the fact that he would never be able to get Alice to wear anything like that…

Even Elizabeth would take some effort to convince…

'Sigh… I miss my wives…' He mused a bit sad…

After all, the likelihood that he would ever see them again was less than 15%, especially since he didn't even possess the ability to Mjump anymore, nor did he have the materials to build a new Mbeamer…

"Kanda…" Mojdeh introduced, and the woman bowed "She is my wife of forty years…"

"I know…" Zeel nodded as a show of respect, but didn't shake Kanda's hands as she extended it "You and your wife smell the same… that's rare amongst couples… means you have been together for a while…" he complimented…

Mojdeh nodded, ignoring the fact that Zeel refused to shake his wife's hand…

For Mojdeh, it was only natural that Zeel would not pay attention to a woman…

However, Zeel merely didn't want to have contact with particularly sensitive human women because… well, sometimes they tend to explode…

Zeel entered the home cautiously, prepared for anything but simultaneously demonstrating his nonchalance…

Even if he was cautious of someone, Zeel would show them all the confidence in the world because their hesitation could be a matter of life and death…

The inside of Mojdeh's home was pretty simple – a kitchen, and two corridors for the rooms…

There was no living room since all gatherings seemed to happen on the stone table at the center of the kitchen…

'A simple life, huh?' Zeel thought, a bit depressed that he could not enjoy the same luxury with Alice and Elizabeth…

They probably had the chance on Mysterious Island, but he knew it would never last – the Universe was full of disorder, and there was no way the last Homo-Superior would be spared from it…

After a couple of minutes of walking around, mapping every bit of the house with a trained eye, Zeel wanted to explore the village next…

It was always best to establish a path of escape in the worst-case scenario…

Zeel walked back into the kitchen, seeing Mojdeh and his two sons sitting around the table, waiting to be served by the women…

'Primitive…' Zeel thought, but the words that left his mouth were different "I am heading out… I want to see more of this esteemed village…"

"به جایی که نباید بری نکن [Do not go where you should not go] …" Mojdeh warned offhandedly as Zeel exited his home…

Zeel reply was left lingering in the air long after he exited "هیچ جا روی این زمین نیست که من نتوانم سرمایه گذاری کنم [There is nowhere on this Earth I cannot venture] …"

Once again, the potent Homo-Superior pride rearing its ugly head…