It was high noon and Athren had already spent a majority of his morning in his gravity chamber training, getting stronger, preparing for whatever it was that was to come. This planet was of interest to the Saiyan Empire and while nothing was said to them publicly about it, it was the only explanation for as to why the King wanted to send a group of warriors to win the cancelled tournament. The King had wanted information, he wanted to know what the Earthlings were capable of in terms of combat power and he also wanted to know exactly what kind of technology they had to try and even the odds. After the battle of Namek and Cereal, it made sense that the King was so cautious and had avoided being careless this time around.  It was obvious to Athren that he was preparing for an attack, preparing for an invasion on the planet and he wanted to make sure it was a swift and easy saiyan victory and that was something that he couldn't place the blame on the King for. They underestimated the Namekians and the Cerealians and while they had still managed to win, it came at a heavy cost. A cost that couldn't be paid every time they went to invade.

After his morning training routine,  Athren went out to investigate the planet further. He had his Super Heavy Weights equipped and he had some pre-workout in his system from his training session.  He was going to keep this simple, he was going to explore the planet and look for signs of power, technology or anything that could ultimately put up a resistance against the forces of the Saiyan Empire. While he doubted he'd come across such things, he was still going to look around.

It wasn't just those types of things he was looking for though, he was going to take note of any bases, armies or important locations on the planet to send back to Vegeta as intel. The more information that they had, the better off they were going to be and if they could assault the important locations first or even take out important individuals on Earth, they could likely end the fighting as quickly as it started.  People needed leadership and without leadership the armies would often fail. The Earthlings weren't a warrior race, they'd fail without the appropriate guidance.

Athren was flying near the northern mountains when he had sensed a power level that was far beyond a vast majority of the creatures of this planet and it naturally drew his interest. It was a lone power level within the mountains.  He blasted over there to investigate and once he got there,  he saw a figure with a dark hooded cloak.  

Athren lowered himself down quickly and landed near, his voice raising to get the attention of whomever it was that he was dealing with. "You're stronger than most creatures on this planet. Tell me, are you hiding in these mountains or do you have another purpose here?"

---

Word Count: 508
PL: 103,704
Super Heavy Weights Equipped 75%
1 Preworkout used 10%

'I'm simply passing through'

Now this was something that was very difficult for Athren to believe and he wouldn't even begin to entertain this as the real reason that this mysterious individual was here. If they had been just passing through, there was no reason why they had been on foot and simply taking their time. If they wanted to pass through, they could easily navigate the area with speed. Even if they couldn't fly which Athren had honestly assumed this individual could, they could leap throughout the terrain and close a gap of a large distance in little to no time at all.  He firmly believed that this individual was lying, the why didn't exactly matter because Athren knew that if this was a lie, he wouldn't really give a shit about the real reason anyway.

"Simply just passing through?"

Athren had repeated calmly and casually as he began to take slow and steady steps towards the hooded figure. From the distance, he couldn't identify the race of whom he was talking too. He had simply just assumed that it was a normal Earthling with an above average power level. "With your power, passing through wouldn't take you long at all.  Your power would also suggest your capable of moving at such speeds that  that most on this planet couldn't even bare witness too."  He said aloud casually, closing the gap between them step by step. "That makes me think that you're lingering in this area, that you've got more of a purpose but yet.. There's nothing around but barren rocks, an empty moun.."

It was at this point that Athren could see upon the face of this man with his ocean blue eyes and it would bring his sentence to an abrupt pause. The angle of which he stood prevented this individuals hood from blocking the view any further and what Athren saw was the features of a Namekian. Now this was something that was rather interesting. A Namekian way out here? How many of them made it to Earth and how did they get there? He knew that they had all vanished magically, but he didn't have an explanation why, but he was more curious about that than why this Namekian was on this mountain alone.

He stood there firmly, crossing his arms as a little chuckle escaped his lips.  His tone shifting to a more mocking and dark one.
"Though what interests me the most is how a Namekian had come all this way to live their life out on this planet and it makes me wonder, have you spent most of your life on this planet or did you come here when the rest of your race vanished and avoided the slaughter?" This was now in the Namekian's field.  Athren wasn't itching for a fight here but he'd taunt the Namekian some and try to get an explanation for what happened to the Namekians. It was a mystery, one that no saiyan held the answers too.

---

Word Count: 501
Total Word Count: 1,009

As the Namekian had dared to walk past him, Athren simply remained where he was. His posture was firm as he kept his arms crossed. His eyes had followed the Namekian to his side and then he lost view. It was at this point that Athren had simply relied on his Ki sensing abilities to know if there was a shift in his movements or an incoming attack or any kind.  He didn't expect that there would be, but the Namekian would be justified to attack Athren. After all, he was a part of the race that slaughtered his people and even worse, he was there and had a hand in slaughtering his people.  It would be unwise for the Namekian to make a move, but Athren couldn't completely rule it out no matter how unlikely it would be.

What Athren did next would likely be the last thing anybody could expect from a saiyan warrior, but what they didn't know was that Athren had also been half demon. He was one that was seeking knowledge as well as power. While he enjoyed slaughtering people and ending countless lives, he was also open to a discussion. It was something that could open a new path, show one a different way to what they want or even change what they want entirely. He knew that the Namekians had been a magical group and while he didn't know the extent of it, he wanted to discover what it was exactly. He was going to talk and try to avoid a conflict.


"Appreciating the world around them is the least of their worries. I've been on this planet a few short weeks and I've already noticed something rather ironic. The Earthlings.. Their very way of life is the thing that's going to kill them. They harvest the planet viciously for it's resources, stripping it of the very things that provide them with life."

Athren paused all but for a short moment. It was common to use a planets resources to fuel life. Every single planet had done it but from what Athren could see, the extent on which it was happening on Earth was devastating. Clear cutting trees, polluting the waters, digging deep into the very heart of the planet and covering the soil with concrete and steel. If this had continued, the planet would retaliate and the Earthlings would be extinct.  While Vegeta did this to some extent, they had primarily fueled their own lifestyles on the rewards of conquered planets and bodies.

"It's only a matter of time until this planet eradicates the Earthlings and brings them to the point of Death, War, Conquest and Famine."
Athren stated his opinion out loud, essentially thinking out loud on the same level as the Namekian who had been behind him. Though as the Namekian mentioned Athren's stature, attitude and confidence, Athren couldn't help but smirk. "Confidence is never and issue, Overconfidence however, is fatal."  At this point, Athren was simply implying that he knew what he was capable of while also knowing his limits.

Though with the Namekian still avoiding Athren's main question, he couldn't help but repeat it one more time.

"I ask again, Namekian..  Were you on Namek when your race vanished?"

---

Word Count: 542
Total Word Count:  1,551

Athren took a pause at the Namekians words, his brow arched curiously as he let out a light chuckle. Genocide was his specialty, the Namekian certainly wasn't wrong in any case. It was what Athren was good at, it was what he was trained to do. He was a conqueror of worlds,  endless death to the inhabitants of that planet and for the most part, he was damn good at it.  Not only was he good at it, but he LOVED what he did. The power he had, the fear he put into others. It was a gift, it was a simple pleasure. He even loved it more when somebody actually tried to stand up tall against him and face him down. Even if the opponent was stronger than him, there wasn't a place he would rather be.

With the King failing to make a decision about Earth after this tournament, maybe it WAS time for Athren to go on his own and carve his own destiny. After all, who could stop him? He had enough power now to rival even the King of the saiyan race. He had become the most powerful saiyan to date, at least thats what he had thought.   The only one he thought might've been able to keep up was Callion and he hadn't heard from him in a while. Athren had thought he went back to Vegeta after the tournament had wound up being a dud.

Without further hesitation, Athren couldn't help but have a sadistic smile on his face.

"You're right, it is my specialty but whether you'd believe it for not, I'm currently not here for conquest, at least... not yet. I'm here for knowledge. "

He decided to throw the Namekian even more of a bone here. What Athren wanted was knowledge, primarily about himself but his demonic curiosity was overflowing into more things. Athren wanted to know what he was and while he didn't think this was a way to get it, he still wanted answers to what happened on Namek. It was a rather curious thing.  How could an entire race just vanish in the blink of an eye? If he could get this from the Namekian, he'd be satisfied.

"As of right now, Namekian. I'm not hostile, nor am I looking for a fight. If you view me as an enemy,   one could easily argue that you're the aggressor here, the one creating a conflict.   The past is the past and given the fact that it cannot be altered or changed, it's only purpose now is to learn from it."

He paused for a moment.

"You may find it bold for me to ask about your past after what my race did to your people, yet I see it as moving forward."

Of course, Athren knew that the Namekian would still be feeling some type of way about Namek but at least he was trying to keep this light.

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Word Count: 490
Total Word Count: 2,041