Chapter 143 - Strange feeling [1]

The commotion among people regarding the three mysterious beings in the building explosion case gradually faded. Tony's statement led to a significant increase in searches about them and surprisingly elevated their popularity. However, this lasted only a month.

After that period, no new news emerged, and people gradually began to forget the subject. Humans were like that—adaptable. They would give little importance to something that lingered long enough in the past and move on with their lives, without looking back. In that regard, although no longer human, Prime still shared this trait.

Prime also left the events behind and resumed his research on remedies. His building came out unscathed from all that chaos, so soon enough, everything returned to normal. Of course, Prime couldn't say the same about the building in front of him, which, despite being an unfortunate incident, suffered what Prime had predicted.

The former owner of the building apparently had no further plans to rebuild it at the same location, so Prime had an idea: he bought the lot and planned to turn it into a luxury hotel. Although this required money, frankly, Prime was not lacking in that department. Besides, he already felt it was time to have his own home. Of course, even though others also lived in the same place, Prime considered that detail irrelevant.

Furthermore, Prime was relatively closer to Peter, Gwen, and Ned compared to before, as all three worked as assistants in his company. However, his relationship with Peter was closer than with the other two, probably because Peter knew what Prime truly was. This led to more personal conversations between them, especially about each other's powers.

From Prime's perspective, Peter had an intelligence and maturity well above average, to the point where Prime seriously questioned whether he was just a kid. However, those thoughts never lasted long, as Peter always ended up doing something stupid or irresponsible. Still, Prime knew deep down that Peter always had good intentions.

This made Prime reconsider his initial idea of giving Peter a gift. He felt that, at least for now, Peter wasn't truly ready. Of course, Prime had no way of predicting what the future held; he might end up giving the gift sooner than expected. In the end, only time would tell.

***

As Prime spent his time on Earth, there was a distant place in the universe where even light dared not reach. In the darkness, a planet hovered, as black as the void surrounding it. Moreover, the planet was not ordinary—it moved and writhed. It was a living planet.

The most impressive aspect of this planet was that it was clearly a living being, yet inside it, it housed other creatures. A voracious fauna that devoured everything around it, with equally predatory animals. It was definitely not a planet where other species could inhabit.

However, even in this hostile environment, there was a place that no creature, big or small, dared approach: the center of the planet, where its core resided. There, a small fragment of darkness floated inside a tree that, like the rest of the planet, was clearly alive.

Around the tree, winged beings resembling dragons patrolled the area, preventing any approach to the fragment of darkness within. Suddenly, the fragment emitted a pulse that reverberated throughout the planet. Every creature felt the presence of this impulse coming from the center.

A new pulse was emitted, but no sound accompanied it. All the creatures turned their heads in a single direction in the vast and dark universe. What were they looking at? Unfortunately, nothing could provide an answer at that moment.

***

"Why did you suddenly start looking at the sky? Is there something up there?"

As she said this, Sara looked up at the sky. However, no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find anything. It was nighttime, and the sky was filled with stars, but Prime had never really stopped to contemplate them. That's why Sara imagined that Prime wasn't actually watching the stars.

"I can't see anything... Are you really looking at the stars?"

Sara waited for Prime's words, watching as his lips moved slowly, only to close shortly after. She raised an eyebrow, wondering if it was really that hard to express.

"It's nothing... I guess. Just… it seemed like there was something there when I glanced, but now it's just gone"

Sara raised an eyebrow at Prime's words. In fact, he himself found his words nonsensical, but he had felt something true. If he had to describe that feeling, he would say it was as if a part of him was somewhere else, a distant place.

"Are you okay?"

When Sara asked the question, Prime finally awakened from his daydream, realizing he had been staring at the sky for some time. He shook his head and smiled slightly at her. Although Sara still had questions, she decided it wasn't the best moment to ask them. So she said goodbye and went back inside.

"I wonder what that was I felt a little while ago. Moreover, it was so distant that, honestly, I have no idea where it could be"

Lately, many thoughts haunted Prime's mind, and his dreams became increasingly vivid, portraying lives lived by other people. Sometimes, he felt, heard, smelled, spoke, and listened to things he knew didn't belong to him, but somehow were a part of him. Furthermore, at unexpected moments, Prime experienced a dark hatred for something he couldn't identify.

Prime had also been meeting with the being that inhabited within him, but the mystery surrounding the true identity of that being persisted. What he knew was that with every question he asked, he grew more confused and filled with uncertainties. Prime seriously wondered if the future would be as calm and passive as he imagined.

(How long do you plan to stay out there?)

With the voice echoing in his mind, Prime took one last look at the sky before turning and walking toward his house, where Sara, Annie, and Ema were waiting for him.