Chapter 64: The Primordial Dimension

That was it!! That had to be it! What transpired even if just a moment, felt like an eternity.

The anomalies raged towards me, but before I could react or prepare myself there was...

Nothing... Not even a sound...

Silence filled the area...

At that moment I awoke screaming and drenched in sweat.

Coming face to face with a masked creature,

which I had startled with my hysterical reaction towards everything that had transpired.

Unaware of it all the masked creature jumped backward confused by it all.

"It appears you have been out for a while master...

What has happened to you?"

E.V.E. popped up in my mind.

Relieved to hear a familiar voice I could almost jump for joy in the air. But as I tried to lift my body it became apparent that I wasn't inside the ruins anymore... far from it even...

Relieve came over me, had it all been a dream?

But relief slowly got replaced by doubt, as I did not recognize any of the surroundings...

The structure slightly resembled the huts of the chieftain, yet one thing was certain...

This was not their village.

The masked creature nodded, reached out to a small table next to me, signalling to drink what had been prepared before it left.

"Master, your vital signs seem to be gradually restored, E.V.E. can't stress this enough, analyzing, finding errors, and repair them... This is one of my many objectives... Please tell E.V.E. what happened to master?"

I looked around the room, worried if I should tell her...

Doubt lingered in the depths of my soul, not wanting to recall what had happened grew to be quite a burden. E.V.E. Realized it must have been something serious.

I lay on the bed staring at the ceiling for a while when the entrance blinds slowly got moved aside. Within the entrance another familiar face revealed itself.

It was Haruka!

My eyes began to water...

I couldn't believe that we were both here...

"Haruka... I thought I had lost it all... But, here you are..."

She entered the room worried, with a hint of confusion.

"What happened? I heard you were out hunting alone, you shouldn't have left my side..."

"Where are we? Where is this place?"

I asked as relief began to calm me down.

Haruka walked towards me, gently sat down next to me, and hugged me tightly.

"Never... Make me worry like this again! Is that understood?"

I nodded, not knowing what I could have done to prevent this. I looked at Haruka in the hope that she would fill me in.

"What? What is it, silly?"

I grabbed onto Haruka's hand tightly and looked her straight in the eyes.

"I must have worried you with my collapse...

E.V.E. asked about it too... I have to tell you about it...

Because it has happened again..."

"Again?"

"Yes... like last time, energy from an unknown source tried to take over my mind,

or rather... This time..."

I looked away, thinking about the horrors I had experienced.

"This, time?"

"It wasn't the same... What I can tell is... It has awoken... But not just him... something else...

Something far older... older than time itself..."

Haruka looked at me in anticipation, unable to put the pieces together her grip on my hand tightened.

"Ancient even... One thing was certain... It wasn't human in the slightest. It was more beast-like."

"Primal?"

E.V.E. asked out of nowhere.

I thought about it for a moment and decided that must have been the word I was searching for.

"Primal might be more fitting, as for his distinct features..."

I could feel their eyes on me, burning with the one question I too wish I had an answer to.

"What it looked like? You might want to ask?

The only thing I can be certain about is the fact that it did not have any distinct feature or form to which we could relate to. In fact... at first humanoid, even shadow-like, but later morphing into beast-like attributes without a care in the world."

"Shapeshifter."

I heard E.V.E. say as she began to run a program through the system.

"It appears it has succeeded in what it came to do..."

E.V.E. said as it ran a quick analysis of the characteristics of the anomaly.

"What do you mean?"

I asked uncertainly of what she meant.

"The Void, Nothingness... before time and space there was nothing... right? This is what we call "The Void"."

"But... what does this have to do with the situation right now?"

"The Void is a Primordial existence, without a concept of a good or bad side... it just is... the only downside being that after the development of time and space, and all the chaos it brought to the universe... That it strives for eternal unification through its most primordial means...

Nothingness..."

I didn't understand what E.V.E. was talking about... but continued after a brief moment of silence.

"It uses any means, mainly chaos and fear to break and devour those who stand in its way.

Without a means or form, space & time began to fight back, creating the elements we now know... Which is why they are formless..."

Not sure where she was going with the story I had to stop her for a moment.

"E.V.E. Can we get to the point? I mean... This all must be important but, Michael has to recover."

*sigh*

"Fine... I'll continue my research and will get back on this, for now... Michael rest... and, you are not at an unfamiliar place."

At that moment the blinds got pushed away, revealing another familiar face.

It was the Chieftain!

This was something I had not expected.

"How did I get back here? Wasn't the area secluded?"

The Chieftain looked at me as he stood proudly in the opening of the tent.

Taking a step back he reached outside of the tent and took someone inside with him.

I recognized the mask, whoever it was… they were staring at me when I abruptly had woken up.

"Meet the one who has found you in the forbidden ruins…"

The chieftain pulled in the person and pushed the person gently inside of the tent.

"This is the one who has found you lying unconscious at the entrance of the ruins."

I could see whoever it was, was having doubts about getting closer.

"It's okay… sorry for the inconvenience… I don't know what came over me… But…"

The person cut me off, saying what I wanted to say in unison with the chieftain and me.

"It was like it called out to you… Like you had to go there, right?"

Surprised I looked up.

The Chieftain took it upon himself to introduce my saviour.

"Young Honi Yuma Yakima, one of my many sons."

Even more surprised by this had I been found by one of the youngest?

The young boy still hesitated and slowly took off his mask, revealing a clear resemblance to the chieftain. Shortly after the chieftain bowed down slightly and introduced himself to us.

"My name is Micco Denali Yakima, please… if you would be so kind…"

The chieftain gestured to be left alone with the two of them. I wasn't sure what might have been so important that Haruka couldn't stay by my side, but we abided by their wishes.

"What we are about to tell you is for your ears only,

since you have come back from the ruins of the primordial…

But, before we continue… let us talk about why you were there…

It seems you have been trespassing without knowing where you were…"

I nodded, realizing I had done something serious.

"There is a reason why it's calling out to those around it…

Pulling in those destined to fall for its schemes…"

Alarmed I tried to find out more.

"What do you mean? Wasn't this place where your people had lived for centuries?"

The chieftain took a deep breath and slowly responded.

"That… Is correct… We the tribe of Yakima have always been the watchers and in a way the guard dogs of what resides inside… For you see, the world within… Is nothing more than a dimensional seal for one of the primordial beings which came before time and space…

In a way… we founded our way of life around protecting the world from this ancient thread."

The chieftain then began to chant together with his son. Something which felt familiar.

"We the Yakima protect our own… Our pack… Show no fear of the unknown… For our pack is our life! We Respect our elders for they share the ways, the peace, and love, understanding,

and kindness. Teaching the young to flourish in adulthood and lead their companions.

All this… To survive another day… And howl toward a new tomorrow…

We Explore the unknown to prepare against and adapt to our environment…

We Yakima demonstrate no weakness… Never back down and always leave our mark!"

This is where they simultaneously exhaled and looked me straight in the eyes…

"Tell us… Tell us, what has called out to you… And what you have encountered…"