Zeel sat at the dinner table with Mojdeh and his family…

The atmosphere was a subtle kind of tension – Zeel's favorite kind, and of course, he was the cause of it…

He arrived in a blur, broadcasting his lethality for Mojdeh and his family to see, but to the Old Man's credit, neither Mojdeh nor his family reacted like the normal human…

They were startled, yes… but not overly so…

For Zeel, it was a bit of relief knowing that he could lay back and be as reckless as he wanted to be…

Usually, Zeel would find himself thoroughly restrained amongst humans, but since this village was in the middle of nowhere, there was no need to be subtle about his presence…

At least, not in Mojdeh's home…

Zeel glanced down at the dish on the table and his mouth watered…

The plate was somewhat large, and consisted of a thick slab of meat and vegetable salad as a side dish…

Zeel had seen better and eaten better, but there was a certain nuance that came with eating something and enjoying what you ate…

Honestly, Zeel was so hungry that he had the thought to wipe the table clean of all plates, but sadly, there was only so much food to go around…

And trying to be good meant not taking the meal out of a family's mouth, especially when Zeel was sure this was the best meal the family has had in a while…

Judging by the way Mojdeh used his best bottle of wine to start a conversation earlier, Zeel could tell that the Old Man wanted something in return…

At least, that was what he hoped, but so far, Mojdeh didn't give any indications that he wanted something more than Zeel's company…

Maybe it was just kindness, but Zeel would rather doubt kindness a thousand times than being caught unaware by ill intentions…

"So, you don't eat and talk like normal families?" Zeel questioned, seeing that the women were much more restrained at the dinner table…

"And what would you have us say?" Mojdeh questioned in turn, gesturing to his wife "She cannot speak English very well and…" he gestured to the mystery girl…

However, before Mojdeh could clarify anything, Ahfrak interrupted "She is my wife, and she cannot speak English…"

Zeel turned to look at Ahfrak's 'wife' and examined her for a couple of seconds "When you said she was your wife, her vocal cords tensed in a pattern I am all too familiar with…"

"And?" Ahfrak questioned, clearly becoming hostile as he stood from his seat "What is that supposed to mean? Are you disrespecting me in my father's home?"

"Calm!" Mojdeh warned, and Ahfrak was wise enough to listen since Zeel was already sharpening the spoon in his hand with the fingernail of his thumb…

Zeel briefly glanced around the table, reading the complex emotions on everyone's faces…

Mojdeh was experienced enough not to let anything slip, but Zeel could see a faint amusement and tiredness between his crooked brows…

Almost as if the Old Man was saying – I have seen this a thousand times before…

And this was a feeling that Zeel was distinctly familiar with…

Kanda, Mojdeh's wife, seemed beyond terrified, shocked to the point that an expressionless façade was frozen on her face…

But Zeel could tell that she wasn't terrified of him; instead, she was terrified of her dear husband sitting right next to her…

'A very strange family…' Zeel thought…

Afi, the boy Zeel had thought to be very normal by human standards, was gloating in the misfortune of his brother, Ahfrak…

Zeel could tell Afi was sensitive to subtle atmospheres, so there was no way the boy didn't notice that his older brother was digging himself a hole, but still, Afi didn't warn Ahfrak…

Once again, Zeel had seen this story a thousand times before so he could instantly tell what changed from the desert till now – Ahfrak's supposed wife, and daughter of Mojdeh…

There was bound to be some unrequited love or something happening there…

It was always exhausting to notice what made everyone tick, but, unlike most humans, Zeel didn't have to stumble his way through life wondering if people actually liked him…

The simple truth was - they never do!

"What's your name?" Zeel questioned Ahfrak's wife, somewhat curious about what made her tick since he was getting nothing so far…

Wealth?

Dick?

Stability?

"Raina…" She answered, and Zeel's thoughts drifted to Rain back in The Resident Evil Universe…

Zeel could recall throwing Rain into the horde of zombies below the pipes as if it was yesterday…

'Those were simpler times…'

Just as Zeel was about to ask another question – a question that would determine if Raina lived to see tomorrow, Ahfrak interrupted "It is rude to ask a man's wife her name with him present!"

Ahfrak snorted and forcefully took his wife's hands into his own…

"You can tell what language someone speaks from the way their vocal cords are arranged, and when she tried to speak just now, it was about to be in English…" Zeel clarified, wondering if Ahfrak thought he was a fool…

Ahfrak stilled for a moment under Zeel's even gaze, but a couple of seconds later, he found his courage once more "A man does not need to explain his reasons in his own home!" he stated bluntly…

"I would agree…" Zeel replied equally as blunt "If you were a man… but you're just a boy who wants to marry his sister… Don't get me wrong, I support your endeavor but such acts tend to lead to genetic anomalies amongst humans…"

Ahfrak hopped from his seat and grabbed a nearby fork, but the next moment, everyone was frightened…

In the blink of an eye, Zeel had pinned Ahfrak to the table…

The fork was in Zeel's hands was centimeters away from piercing Ahfrak's widened, very frightened, eyes…

Zeel looked down at Afhrak and felt anger at himself for being unable to restrain his natural instincts once again…

Well, this time his restraint was a partial success since Afhrak was still alive… if it was Zeel before this Universe, Afhrak and his entire family would be dead…

'Progress…' Zeel thought, nodding to himself…

Afhrak started to whimper, and Zeel frowned, wondering when Mojdeh would make his move…

Mojdeh was obviously a jumper – a very skilled one at that, but Zeel couldn't figure out his agenda…

For the first time ever, Zeel felt like meeting someone was truly a coincidence…

Mojdeh didn't seem to want anything…

And that was a bit disturbing for Zeel – everyone wanted something from him…

"Shshsh…" Zeel hushed Ahfrak, pressing his head harder against the stone table until something cracked, not sure if it was the table or Ahfrak's head…

Though, judging by the way Ahfrak's body stopped all struggle after the cracking sound, Zeel had a vague idea which it was…

Zeel almost wore a sheepish smile on his face, but somehow managed to keep his serious expression…

Still, he scratched the back of his head and released Ahfrak's body, watching awkwardly as it slumped to the ground lifelessly "Sons are overrated anyway…" Zeel comforted, looking to see Mojdeh's reaction…

The Old Man, as well as the rest of his family, were in a state of complete shock…

Zeel had essentially killed a member of the family right in front of them, albeit by accident…

It also didn't help when Ahfrak's body slowly started to blacken and shrivel as Zeel unconsciously absorbed the Death Energy in the air…

From Zeel's perspective, it seemed that everyone from the Nameless Planet was cursed to always be a killer because even when he didn't want to kill someone, they somehow died anyway…

While everyone was still in shock, Zeel did the decent thing and covered Ahfrak's corpse with the cloth from the table…

After this action was completed, Zeel departed the kitchen and headed to the guest room, planning to do what all good people would do in his position…

Flee the scene of the crime and start a new life somewhere as a Doctor or something else equally beneficial to society…

Zeel pushed open the door to his room, and, with a great leap, soared through the window to the house next door, landing on the roof with practiced ease…

Honestly, Zeel was of half a mind to flee before Mojdeh regained his wits, but he also knew that absorbing the vitality of a Jumper would do more to boost his strength than a normal human…

"Why does being good always have to contradict with being strong…" Zeel cursed silently, and ultimately decided to wait until Mojdeh came for vengeance…

Five minutes into his wait, Zeel noticed some things had subtly changed…

It was surprising that he didn't notice it before…

The stars in the skies had shifted ever so slightly to the right… that may not look like much from the ground, but Zeel could calculate that the shift caused a displacement of nearly fifty miles…

While staring up at the stars and performing mental calculations, Zeel noticed two incoming blazes of lights, and by the time he was able to make sense of the occurrence – it was too late…

---BBBOOOOOOOOMMM---

---BOOOOOOOOOOMMM---

Zeel was blasted away and the village was instantly alight with flames…

Chaos had descended…