Beneath the surface of an icy planet hurtling through space, Kaleidoscope woke from the Virtual Universe.
He looked exhausted, listless and drained.
His crystalline, graceful body drifted out of the room and through a long, transparent corridor. Beyond the windows on either side floated bodies of countless species: male and female, human and beast, flesh and stone, plasma and condensed matter.
They were all Kaleidoscope's incarnations. Every known species in the Milky Way was there, including Primitive Races he had sold and even... creatures that did not exist in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Kaleidoscope lingered over a majestic, pure-white humanoid body, smooth and flawless, without a wrinkle or even a single opening. Then he drifted wearily through the corridor and sat down in a hall.
That white humanoid was one of the renowned Taiwei Hua, the masters of carbon-based life in the Andromeda Galaxy and the strongest known humanoid race.
It was also Kaleidoscope's original body.
The civilization was so powerful that the word for "humanoid" in Galactic Common Language was simply "Taiwei Hua."
"Mmm..." Kaleidoscope curled up alone in his seat, his expression dull and vacant.
He seemed to be suffering terribly. Yet his face showed no obvious pain or itching, only an indescribable, unbearable sensation.
"Master, take your medicine." A tall, slender white figure flew over from afar, his tail wrapped around his waist. In his right hand, he held a dim cluster of particles that glimmered like sparks from a firework.
He looked rather like a Little Grey dyed white and stretched taller, though far smoother and more elegant. Beside him, a Little Grey would have looked like an ape that had never finished evolving.
"Master... it's time for your medicine..." the slender white figure said anxiously.
Kaleidoscope seemed not to hear. His eyes remained empty.
"Master!"