Away from comfort [NPC/ Ashelin]

[Rick]

At the end, the weird palms on the entrance were, in effect, palms, it's just that they were intrincally woven into a perfect arch somehow. Stylishly weird. Nice.

And the following landscape didn't dissapoint either. Unlike the empty white void, this place was actually pleasant, leaving aside the difference in temperature. Once Rick removed his coat, the marching streets of young people alongside the loud music on the background, the many busy bars and restaurants, and the crashing ocean waves on the morning beach at the horizon became a place worth exploring. He didn't care that his legs were starting to ache after the previous long walk.

But first things first: where the hell was he? Omni said something about an "Omniverse" of sorts, if he heard correctly. Was it a planet? If so, then there should be space station somewhere where he could find a ship sailing to Earth. Of course, he'll prefer to spend some time here first, but knowong where his ticket to home was would allow him to relax.

A bunch of teenagers laughted at him. "Earth?", one said. "Are you serious man?"

"The guy must be a newbie", said a girl, smile still big from the laught. "Also, nice tattoos"

Rick smirked at her. "Thanks. But anyways, I'm still a little confused about this whole thing. I suppose you guys know what's happening, as funny as you might find it"

The first guy laughted some more. Another one said to his group, "Dude, you should check that up on a computer, before the whole city laughts at you"

"I don't mind that. But anyways, thanks for the help."

"See you man! And good luck! You're gonna need it!"

They kept walking on the street, now hitting each other and laughting some more. The girl turned back to face Rick again and, when he answered that with his usual two finger salute, she covered her mouth with her hands and laughted, probably from embarrasment. The other guys hitted her with their elbows, and laughted even more. And they kept doing that dumb teenage bullshit until Rick didn't care enough to keep watching them.

So, a computer seemed like a better bet. Where he could find one? A library. Where's a library? A woman in a scandalous bikini was kind enough to enlighten Rick on this. Good. Thank you, sexy lady.

And there, most of Rick's questions were answered. The seeming godlike nature of Omni (as oposed to Rick's impression of a particularly powerful alien), the unconnected nature of the Omniverse relative to "Earth's universe", the many sub-zones (this one being the Vasty Deep, as this wiki explained), what omnilium was, what was it for, how wrong Rick thought about its summoning properties, and many other things that Rick only passed through the titles after a solid hour of reading. It was noon already, and his stomach didn't hesitate in letting him know.

After treating himself with an expensive lunch at an alien restaurant with equally alien food, it was time to secure a room for the night. Sadly, it'll be imposible to find his way back to Earth, so the best thing he could do now is getting installed as soon as posible, and get himself started on his new life. His racing background was just that, "background". This place appeared to be "full of surprises and interesting stuff to explore", paraphrasing an ad he saw while on the computer.

He walked a few blocks, but most of the district appeared to be populated almost exclussively with restaurants and bars. Maybe there was an "hotel" district somewhere around here too. There must be. Probably near the beach, so that's where he headed now.

And not that far away from it, Rick saw a petit woman with long ears stare at a map. Maybe she'll know more about the layout of the city? Or at least have the means to do so.

"Excuse me, lady", he said. When she turned around to face him, he noticed her face covered in tattoos. He almost smiled in approval. "I'm looking for a place to pass the night. Do you happen to know where I can find one?"