PART 1 – THE REBIRTH

Time and space are loyal companions to those who believe they control them, but they become enemies to those who feel alienated by them. At this moment, they were old acquaintances to me. Despite the darkness, I could move my limbs, and the place I was in didn't seem like the same dilapidated site as before. Instead, it felt like I was inside some sort of bubble that responded to my abrupt movements. I started flailing around with my seven limbs, and suddenly, something didn't add up. Wait a moment! Seven limbs? If I count my two legs and my two hands, it should be four limbs, but it seemed like I could control three additional limbs. I was surprised; did I have four legs and three arms?"

"Mmm, grrr, ufff, aahgr," I tried to speak, but the words turned into strange guttural growls.

I couldn't articulate any words. Maybe the collapse had damaged my vocal cords, but physically I felt fine; my body was in perfect shape and responded excellently. The difficulty seemed to reside somewhere else—was it mental? Like a trauma of some kind caused by the debris.

"ahrg, egear, ararr."

I tried again, but the sounds remained incomprehensible. All I could do was focus on getting out of the oval sphere that imprisoned me. I headbutted the structure with all the force I could muster, without worrying about the possible consequences. The structure gave way, and a reddish light from outside began to invade my vision, as if I had spent years in darkness. The intensity forced me to shut my eyes. Nevertheless, the fresh air that flooded my lungs, which remained intact, felt like the greatest gift I had received in a long time.

I stretched my long neck through the widening crack, though I was surprised to notice that my neck was unusually long. I used the four legs to further widen the hole, although I was puzzled to discover that I had four legs instead of the usual ones. Finally, I managed to free myself from what had entrapped me.

With closed eyes, fearing the pain the light could provoke, I began to take my first steps out of what seemed to be a shell. Although the idea of leaving that place unsettled me, I couldn't continue postponing the strange sensation rising from the depths of my mind. I questioned if I was truly human. Instead of finding answers, my fear grew upon hearing voices approaching in my direction.

"Look, it's been born. Finally, we can advance to the next phase of the plan. The king will be proud of our work," remarked a male voice.

"It's incredible to see it walk and stumble after so many years, a hundred years of our lives invested in its upbringing, it feels like it's part of the family..." murmured a female voice with sorrow.

"Please, let's not start again. We have a lot at stake, our heads, the family, and everyone we know depend on this. Besides, look at it, it's enormous and we haven't finished making it grow," said the man as he approached me.

I trembled with fear and didn't want to open my eyes. Shouldn't I have felt happy seeing other people? However, I remained paralyzed by fear.

"You're scaring it," the woman replied. "Come, come closer, your sister will protect you," she whispered tenderly.

"I'll let the expert do her job," the man's steps moved away.

The woman began to approach me, but her pace was infinitely slower than the man's. She spoke with endearing words, as if addressing a newborn, using terms like "my heart," "sweetie," and "little creature." I couldn't be afraid of someone who expressed themselves in that manner. In fact, I was feeling secondhand embarrassment.

I slowly opened my eyes, allowing them to gradually adjust to the light, and I could observe the two strangers. Both wore dark red coveralls and caps of the same tone. The caps had a long back and a visor in the front, resembling the plumbing brothers from video games.

"Go get food," she whispered into his ear.

Strangely enough, I could hear them perfectly, even when they spoke softly.

"What should I bring?"

"A big piece of meat."

"It seems like it's staring at us, isn't it thinking of eating us?" the man asked fearfully.

"Not if you hurry," the woman muttered.

"Alive or dead?"

"Whatever, just make it quick," she replied impatiently.

The man began to slowly move away, maintaining eye contact with me as he rummaged through the front pocket of his coverall.

"I hope you know what you're doing, we don't know how it might react," he said, pulling out what looked like a key.

"I can take care of myself, just go already."

Without wasting any more time, he started moving away with the key. He glanced at me once more and then didn't stop until he opened a steel door and closed it behind him.

The woman, who was alone in the room, bravely approached me. As she got closer, she seemed to shrink. Then, I realized that I was bigger than her and that all this time, I had been observing them from a distance. What was happening?

When the woman was close enough to touch me, she spoke directly, "Brother, you've finally awakened. We don't have much time to talk, at any moment, Veld will return with an army to subdue you. You might be confused, but I need you to listen carefully, as we won't see each other again for a long time."

The petite woman seemed on the verge of tears. I stretched my neck to survey the panorama in which I found myself. Except for those two torches next to the wall, they were the only source of light in this immense metal box. Was I seeing in the dark from afar, as if I had night vision binoculars?

"Brother, I always knew I would find you, sooner or later, but you need to promise me you'll go and not look back," tears started streaming down her face. "Please, I need you to come with me." She turned and began walking towards the only door in that complex.

Comparing her stature, I could make a rather unlikely simile, considering my own size. I could say I had a size similar to an elephant, maybe even larger. Though I was lying on the ground, standing upright, I would surely be the size of a fully grown mammoth. I looked down at the source of my confinement and realized that indeed, the structure containing me was a gigantic black egg.

"Hurry."

The woman inserted the key into the door and turned it.

"Quick."

I hoisted myself up from the floor as best as I could and began to walk on all fours, staggering and on the verge of stumbling at any moment. The woman looked impatient and seemed like she wanted to say something as I drew near, but instead, she remained silent until I was beside her. Standing as she was now; she was even smaller than before.

She opened the huge door of thick metal as wide as she was and a fresh breeze hit my nose. The air outside smelled terrible, there was a scent of burning and gunpowder as if there had been a recent fireworks show. The woman delicately ran her hand over my long arm that I was dragging on the ground. Then, she pulled out a huge knife from the back of her coverall and began to shout.

"Help, help! It's escaped! Help me!"

Terrified, I thought she'd stab me in the back, so I started running. However, I stumbled on the huge iron door, which hadn't fully opened yet, and significantly dented it. This was enough to escape from that steel prison.

"Go," she whispered, tears falling like cascades.

As I distanced myself, I could see her stabbing her own arm while watching me escape, scared like a headless chicken.

"Don't forget me."

It was the last thing I heard from her tiny lips. That woman with pointed ears, a beautiful and friendly face, and eyes as green as a meadow, I won't be able to erase her from my mind. I wish I knew what she was talking about and what she tried to tell me on that moonless dark night.

...