Dorian slowly opened his eyes, immediately beset by panic as he realized that he had no idea where he was.
Naked and laying in a bed that he didn't remember getting into, he took in his surroundings. The room looked expensive, with clean steel walls decorated with golden patterns. He nearly jumped out of bed when he realized that he wasn't alone.
Sitting in a padded chair in the corner of the room, a girl fiddled with a datapad. She looked to be in her late teens, with semi pale skin and short white hair. She wore a white jumpsuit.
A wave of relief washed over him as his panic drained from his body. Though he couldn't recall her name he recognized her to be one of his many biological children living inside The Collector's tower. Having so many kids didn't allow Dorian the luxury of getting to know each of them, though he could tell from her white hair that she was a daughter of his concubine Holani.
The girl looked up from her data pad, a smile appearing when she realized that he was awake. "Finally, you're up! The Collector will be very glad to know that you're alright, he wants to meet with you right away."
Dorian rubbed his eyes. "What...happened?"
The girl stood up, walking to the only dresser in the room. "You've been out for two whole days." She replied. "After you entered the portal, a smaller one opened out of nowhere and tossed The Collector out. Then after a few hours, you, Anita, and Aya fell out of another." She explained, before biting her lip and blushing. "You three were..almost naked, and totally drenched in slime.."
He gritted his teeth, the memory of being molested by Zhalla's countless tentacles running through his head. "Aya and Anita are safe, then?"
His daughter nodded in response, before opening the dresser and removing an item. She unfolded it, revealing it to be his black jumpsuit. "Bermil had it repaired, since it was nearly torn in half when you fell out of the portal."
Dorian got out of bed, not bothering to cover himself as he took his jumpsuit from her outstretched hands. He then took a moment to put it on, ignoring his daughter's embarrassed glances at his heavy cock. "Thanks. What was your..uh.."
"My name is Lurin. Don't worry, I know you're busy." The teen replied, sounding genuinely understanding. "Although...I hope you know that it's an honor to finally speak one on one with you, father."
Dorian smiled, placing his hand on her pretty cheek as he leaned down, giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead. "It's an honor to talk to you too, Lurin."
She looked into her father's eyes, enjoying the moment before a realization brought her back to reality. "Oh! And your...uh...'friend' Yasma wanted to speak to you as well, since she's leaving the tower soon. I'll have her meet with you after you've spoken with The Collector."
Dorian noded, his face turning serious. "Take me to him then."
***
"He's waiting for you." Lurin said as they reached the door to Bermil's office. "Good luck, father!"
Dorian smiled, watching his daughter leave, her bodysuit giving him a view of her perfectly firm ass. He bit his lip, before turning his attention to the door. After knocking, he entered, greeted by Bermil.
"There you are, my boy! I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up!" He joked, patting the younger man on the shoulder.
"Glad to see you're doing well too." He replied, before realizing that The Collector was leaning on a cane. "For the most part..."
"Ah...yes, I didn't have a soft landing when Zhalla threw me through the portal. It's only a broken leg, nothing too serious I assure you."
"I guess we were lucky, all things considered." Dorian replied.
Bermil nodded somberly. "Have you...well, looked at your eyes in a mirror yet?"
Dorian looked at the older man inquisitively, unsure of what he was asking. He then moved to the large window overlooking the lifeless surface of the asteroid, attempting to view his reflection. He held his right eyelids open with his fingers, realizing that his iris had turned silver. He then checked the left eye, confirming that both had changed. "What the hell...?"
"Yes, quite strange. I recall Aya being surprised by your eyes after Zhalla performed the Vaidimation ritual, though I wasn't sure why until you fell out of the portal. It seems that removing your block..or rather, your Vek, has had more effects than we thought. Do you feel any differently?"
Dorian turned back to The Collector. "I feel...stronger. Bermil...when I fought against Zhalla, it felt as if power was surging through my body. I felt...I felt as if I could wield my abilities with more control and stamina than I had ever been able to before. It was overwhelming...and my body eventually gave out."
Bermil folded his arms, deep in thought. "That's concerning, to say the least. If Zhalla was correct about your sperm being compatible to interbreed with her, the resulting child would be quite powerful. Was she able to...well...'collect'?"
Dorian nodded, embarrassed as he remembered the strange tentacled creature forcefully milking his sperm.
"I see..." Bermil replied grimly. "Then I fear we may have endangered countless lives..."
"Why don't we just march an army of mercenaries back through the portal and destroy the child before it can even be born?" Dorian asked, his voice firm. "You certainly have the resources to pay for one."
The Collector shook his head. "After we entered the portal, it short-circuited. We can't activate it again."
"Can't you...repair it? Or find Zhalla's planet without it?"
"Unfortunately, it's impossible. The First Empire built their devices in ways we'd never understand, using technology to interact with their souls. I could hire a thousand engineers, and we'd still be just as clueless as we are now. The same applies to locating the planet. I've spent my life searching for it, yet it remains just as lost as it was when I started."
Dorian paced the office. "Then...what? What's the plan?"
"Well, we do the only thing we can do. Wait, and prepare. Due to Zhalla's species being completely unknown to me, I cannot say for certain how long it'll take for the child to be born. It could take mere days, or decades. Not to mention the time that it'll take to reach adulthood. It's possible that it'll launch an invasion tomorrow, or when we've all died of old age. I truly can't say." Bermil explained. "Though either way, preparations have already begun. After scanning the energy signal that the portal released during its activation, I've started to monitor the galaxy for any similar signals. If Zhalla or the child activates another portal, we'll know.
"I hope your expedition was worth it at least." Dorian replied sternly.
"I..am not sure...so much has changed, and I don't exactly know what to think of it all."