If he was going to be honest with himself, this was actually kind of nice.
The galaxy unfurled around him like a flower opening, and as the Earth swung away in its continued orbit his soul stilled.
He should have been angry with Jack for leaving him here, but as Vlad watched the gentle arc of Earth and a red speck he guessed was Mars, the only thing he felt was peace. His thoughts were slow and he soaked in the emptiness as though space was his bathtub. Things simply fell away. Feuds, wealth, power — they drifted far from him as he lay back and watched the stars.
The Earth was almost out of sight behind the sun by the time he thought to check. Had he really been floating here for months already? Vlad's core hummed softly at the weight of the planets that spun around him.
There was a gentle pull. Vlad had never intended to stay up here, but the glimmer of lights in the distance beckoned him. He wondered what beauty he would find if he turned away from the sun and lost himself in the Milky Way.
He'd never be able to find the Earth again.
Vlad looked down at the planet of his birth, and wondered why it was so difficult to leave. The things he had spent so long seeking meant nothing now.
He wondered what Daniel was doing. A spark stirred beneath his apathy, and Vlad knew that this was what was held him back. The boy was the only person like him in the known universe. Daniel may still seem normal now, but the ectoplasm in his body would eventually halt his ageing, and within a handful of decades he'd be just as out of place as Vlad had been.
He had to go back. Space could wait for a few more years.
The Earth was almost impossible to see in the sun's glare, and Vlad turned away once more. He'd go back for the boy soon enough, but a bright red speck in the distance provided an inviting detour — maybe if Vlad brought him a few rocks from Mars, Daniel would find it in his heart to forgive him.