Villain Retirement

People with golden skin that glittered at a certain angle.

People with silver skin, completely intangible and immune to damage.

Small people that could produce a blast of air with their hands.

People with black skin and 4 meters tall.

A human that has lived for more than 8000 years.

People with 4 arms. People with 4 legs.

A literal talking octopus.

Riley has met all sorts of extraterrestrial life throughout his short journey through the expanse of space. Never once, however, did he feel excited about meeting any of them—after all, for him, they were no different from humans.

But now, as he was right in the middle of the beak of a gigantic bird that looked like a wyvern, he could not help but think that finally; finally, he was experiencing what alien life truly is like. 

He could dodge this, and with the way James just let go of him and flew away means he really probably should. But Riley was curious—when will he ever get the experience of being swallowed by a gigantic wyvern bird?

And so, Riley turned his head toward James's bald head. James thought that Riley would rush toward him, but no. A wide and creepy smile just crawled on his face before the giant bird swallowed him whole.

"..." James could really only furrow his eyebrows as he watched the bird disappear into the horizon. He was still waiting for Riley to burst forth from the avian's body, or even appear behind him for no reason at all—but no.

The bird just continued to flap its wings until he could no longer see it.

As for Riley, he could see nothing at all. Unlike what he watched in movies, a creature's stomach is not huge at all, it was tight and compact.

"Hm…" Riley softly covered his nose as he let out a deep breath, "It smells horrendous."

And soon, felt himself being dragged as the bird started to dive down. The other contents inside the bird, freely flowing and being shaken along with Riley.

"So, this is what all the food I have consumed felt. Interesting," Riley muttered; the tone of his voice, completely monotonous.

A second.

A minute.

An hour.

He felt himself being dragged and shaken for an entire hour as the bird continued to fly around. His neighbors, already completely melted into a goo-like consistency—if Riley did not have his telekinetic armor, then he would have probably also turned into mush.

Perhaps he should have, just to complete the experience—he thought. But as he was about to take off his armor, he once again felt a certain pressure as he suddenly slid down along with the rest of whatever was inside the bird's stomach.

"Is this what going through a slide feels like?" Riley muttered. He doesn't know—he hasn't been in one.

And soon, light once again drowned his eyes. And with a squelching sound, he dropped to the ground along with the goo of flesh and blood.

"..." Riley quickly looked up, only to see the insides of the gigantic bird's mouth again.

"Oh," he muttered. He thought he was coming out from the other end. He then turned his eyes to his front as he heard a loud chirp, only to see a hairless chick… which was still bigger than a car.

It had scales exposed at certain parts of its face, but its shape was still completely that of a baby bird.

"Interesting," Riley and the chick stared into each other's eyes for a while; their heads, tilting to the side. Riley then started looking around to see where the bird brought him, but he absolutely had no idea where he was.

He was in some sort of glade—a sea of grass almost as tall as him.

And as Riley was checking in the sights, the chick's head suddenly became a blur, and when it cleared… it already had Riley's arm between its beak.

"...Oh."

And before the chick could peck a part of Riley's body at Mach speeds again, Riley immediately summoned a clone and flew back. His lifeless clone, immediately being swallowed whole by the chick.

"As expected of the planet Aerith was born in, even their animals are strong," Riley nodded to himself as he started walking away toward the large trees that looked more similar to bamboo. But before he could reach far, the mother bird flew and blocked his path.

"Don't," Riley immediately said as he looked the mama bird in the eyes. The bird tilted its head to the side first, before its hair and scales started to tremble and stand, and with a small cawk, it just returned to its nestling.

"Hm…" Riley then started walking through the sea of thin and towering trees. He could hear and see other smaller creatures there, with some even following him around; but as soon as they see Riley's eyes, they all just run away for some reason.

Riley then looked up to see how light was being produced in the undergrounds of the planet, but the sky—the ceiling did not seem to produce it. The only thing he could see were several holes; the sky was mostly green, probably from the plants and moss that attached itself to it.

"..." There were probably millions of holes in the ceiling, should he let his clones check which hole he came from? But then the bird flew for almost an entire hour, the hole he came from was probably not there.

"...I'm lost," Riley then let out a small sigh as he once again looked around him. If Zac was here, then he could probably find his way.

James was also nowhere to be seen, but he was probably just lurking around and blending in with the animals; waiting for the chance to kill him. 

With that speed and his bald head, he is probably some sort of themarian ninja—Riley thought, nodding at his own conclusion. There was also the fact that themarians can detect energy from a distance, James is here somewhere.

"..." Riley then closed his eyes as he focused his hearing—but as soon as all the sounds entered his ears, he quickly hit his head several times; shaking away the noise completely. Riley never really had to work this hard just to murder people… but this way was truly more fulfilling.

"Pft," a small giggle then escaped from Riley's lips as a sort of tingling sensation started to crawl throughout his entire body. When was the last time he truly felt like this?

As the control of his telekinesis grew better and better, the time it took for him to subdue someone also quickly became nonexistent—all he had to look forward to were the screams. But now, experiencing the feeling of the hunt again…

…it was quite liberating.

But the fact is—he wasn't the one hunting, he was the one being hunted.

"Lord James," Riley then stretched his arms to the side, "Are you having fun as much as I am? Your wife said you worked in the shadows when she was dying. She said that I always have to look in the shadows in fear that you might be there…

…but how can you really hide that bald shiny head?"

"..."

"But why would someone like you want to hide in the shadows?" Riley continued to talk as he looked at the shadows of blades around him,

"Let yourself be seen in the light as Aerith did. Oh, you should have seen her. Aside from sister, she was the one that shone the brightest, and I am the darkness they leave behind...

...the darkness that swallows the shadows they make."