ALL NOVEL Chapter 3: CHAPTER 3 EDITED
**Lotus POV**
Exiting the ship, Chel and I walked down the path we were surprised to see Tennos everywhere but When we tried to talk to them, they didn't respond and just made their way to their own orbiters and left.
Looking at Chel we both had confused feelings and thoughts but we couldn't answer the questions swirling around inside our heads.
Making our way inside the dojo, we saw a bunch of Tenno talking, so we walked over to them hoping that these Tenno had the answers we needed
"Hello, sorry to interrupt, but what's going on here?" I asked politely.
"Lotus," they all said, and nothing more.
"What is happening? Why are all the Tenno leaving? And do you know where Tenno 7 is?" I asked. Immediately, all the Tenno in front of us had a look of realization.
"So no one told you, huh? Well, I guess I will then," one of the Tenno said before taking a step closer. "The first ten have told all of us to leave and replenish our numbers. After all, how many Tenno do you think there are?" he asked.
"A little over ten thousand," I said, but that must have been the wrong answer because they all started laughing. Minutes later, the laughter died down, and there was a blankness in each of their eyes that I had never seen before.
"Wrong. All in all, there are only a hundred Tenno left, with only about twenty of them not bonded with a filthy mimic," he said. As they turned around, I called out with one final question.
"Where are all of you going?" I asked. Without turning around, they all answered in unison.
"That is none of your business, but you can consider this system abandoned."
**POV Change — Tenno**
Pulling and lifting my hair, I slowly sat down. Seconds later, I felt Ego's nasty energy start to pour into me. Rather than defend myself I used the first of his energy to create a net, next, I created two layers and let all the pure void energy fall to the lowest layer, using the net as something like a filter so that Ego's energy was pouring into me at a slower pace and I was able to absorb the natural void energy as well.
Looking at my creation I couldn't help but gasp in shock because instead of making a layered filter I made a layered purifier and what confused me was the energy I had left to spare.
Opening my eyes I saw my reflection on the floor I saw that I was older than 12 so around 17.
"Dude, what the f..." Quill couldn't help but gasp as the boy who looked about twelve seconds ago now looked like a young adult.
"How the heck did you suddenly become an adult?" Quill asked with a bewildered look on his face.
"Would you believe that I am older than all of you combined?" I said with an amused smirk as all of them were slightly surprised.
"So Mantis, what are your antennas for? Do they help you in sensing doorways?" Drax asked, and immediately Quill jumped in.
But I wasn't paying attention. Instead, I just took a seat further away and started to look at myself again. After all, it's been a couple of thousand years since I last saw what I looked like. I had long black hair that easily reached my waist, but I didn't need the shiny floor to know that. My face easily caught my attention the most. I also had blood-red eyes that complemented my pale skin. I really couldn't complain.
"Hahahahah! She just told your deepest, darkest secret. Hahahahaha! Do me, do me next!" Drax said while bouncing up and down like a child. She did, and she too started laughing hysterically, causing even me to smile.
**A Couple of Hours Later — Planet Ego**
Standing on a platform, I looked at Ego's planet in amazement. So much green and so many plants made me almost fall in love with the scenery. However, I quickly recovered from my enthrallment and looked at Ego skeptically. As we got closer, I wasn't the only one who had become skeptical because even Gamora looked at Ego suspiciously.
"You can destroy two dozen ships and have your own planet. Who are you really?" Gamora asked with huge amounts of suspicion.
"I am what you would call a celestial, sweetheart," he said.
"Like a god?" Quill and Ego couldn't help but smile.
"Small 'g', son. Well, at least on the day when I am feeling humble as Drax." Ego said as we proceeded to walk into his home, and he started talking about his past. As usual, I wasn't paying much attention until he said he wanted to find and experience life.
To these people, it was valid. After all, he claimed that he was alone for millions of years. But to someone like me, I understood more, and the disappointment that was hidden so deep was plainly obvious to me. He didn't have to explain further; the facts were there. Ego was quite literally a planet, and from what I know, higher beings tend to think they can do better.
Moving closer to the group, I started to pay more attention to what he was saying. But he started talking about Quill's mom, and I really couldn't be bothered. Even though I was grateful to him for bringing along a complete stranger, I really couldn't care less about his family matters. However, I did stay closer to them because I felt a fanatical feeling about Ego, and I had a sense that everything was just a downward spiral from here.
After talking a little more, Ego took Quill somewhere, saying he wanted to talk alone and that Mantis would direct us to our quarters. Thankfully, everyone had their own rooms that were fitted with a bed, snacks, and a window with a great view.
Sitting on the bed, I let myself sink into deep meditation. After a couple of seconds, I saw dozens of symbols appear. However, only two caught my eye. One looked like someone spilled ink on a piece of paper, while the other looked like a shield with a sun on it, but what made it more catchy was the thousands of hands reaching out to grab it.
Looking at each symbol, I almost couldn't choose. After all, both looked good, but the ink-black one caught my attention the most, so I chose it.