156 Eonoth (2/2)

Once there, I burrowed us through the dirt. When we reached the water, we were home free. Fifteen minutes of falling up, and we arrived on the surface. With a great splash, we spurted back onto the surface world. I grinned as the sun beamed down from above.

After setting us down, I leaned up against a tree. I glanced at the espens. Most of their injuries already healed. They would be fine even without my help from here.

It let me relax for a second. I flopped onto the ground, looking up. I sighed with relief, closing my eyes and just letting go. When I opened my eyes again, my scenery changed. Beneath me, solar flares ushered out of a dying star.

I blinked, flabbergasted at the sudden shift. Nothing changed, so I blinked again. I grabbed the sides of my head. I banged my helmet, the metal denting inwards. My scenery stayed changed.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them. I looked around, accepting this madness. I stood up on nothing. I looked down. The star was dim enough for me to see. It should've blinded me if not outright incinerated me at this distance.

Yet it didn't. I looked around, finding no stars in the void around me. I already knew what happened. That Old One finished summoning me, so I shouted out,

”Where are you, Eonoth?”

My voice resonated through my surroundings. The sound bent until was so warped, it wasn't even my own. The words bled together, turning into gibberish. The gibberish quieted until no sound remained. The noise returned, coming back with force.

The gibberish formed a language then recognizable speech,

”An interesting language. It's simple and condensed. Contextual. It must be difficult to learn.”

Imagine you were in a giant, iron bell. Imagine a titan swung a hammer at that bell. Now imagine the cataclysmic, ear-busting vibrations formed a voice and spoke to you. That's what Eonoth's voice was like. Without my pain tolerance, I'd be brought to my knees. without my massive health, I'd have died instantly.

With those tools, I stayed tall. A bit of blood dripped out of my nose. I snorted it out so I could breathe. I shouted back,

”It obviously wasn't that difficult to learn for you, was it?”

A stretch of silence went on after that. I had no sense of time. It could have been a second or an eternity. Honestly, I don't know if it would have made a difference.

”You know my name, but I don't know yours. Who are you?”

My ears bled. I sighed, pushing down my discomfort, ”I'm Daniel.”

A deep laugh rattled my bones.

”You are more than Daniel. You hold many names. Tell me of them.”

I grit my teeth, sustaining the thunderous words.

”I'm Dimension C-138, the Harbinger of Cataclysm.”

”A title more befitting your presence. Weight. Enduring. Boundless. The Bringer of Change. You hold many titles in those that know you...they fear you. Have you tasted their fear?”

I rolled my eyes, keeping myself composed, ”Ok, obviously not. If you can probe my memories, you know that already.”

From the void, the voice continued, ”An answered question can still sound sweet in your ears if you enjoy the answer.”

”Can we cut out all the cryptic bullshit...Please?”

”You are a being of flesh and bone. Time...Time is your most valued asset. We are beings that transcend time. It is of no value. One infinity after the next, we will see all that there is to see.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”We meaning the Old Ones?”

”Whatever it is that you use to refer to us. You seem distasteful of our presence. Why?”

At this point, my mouth was pooling with blood. I swallowed, clearing out my mouth. I raised my hands, ”Etorhma left an old enemy of mine in a, well, ugly state. I don't want that same influence on me.”

”But you are incorruptible. A pure entity that is independent all its own.”

I wouldn't let this fuck know how much damage he was doing to me. My pride wouldn't allow it.

I sighed, ”Why did you try-” I coughed up some liquid, ”-and fuse the silvers and the espens?”

By now, my eyes bled, and my gums were soft. Eonoth's voice was disintegrating me.

”...I want to bring metal to life. There is a rigidness in it. Completeness. The silvers aren't alive. I wished to bring life to them. What life are you?”

From the void, a shapeless being emerged. It fluttered in and out of being like it couldn't hold a physical form of itself. Either that or my eyes couldn't understand it.

As it neared me, a sense of dread ran up my spine. My whole body screamed for me to escape or distance myself from it. It was a nightmare that I could not see, yet I could feel. I thundered out,

”I'm just a normal life form. You know, nothing special.”

My voice rasped at the end. Eonoth reached out to me, ”That is a lie. There is something utterly unique about you. I await discovery.”

It got closer, the formless shape threatening contact. A deep instinct was screaming in the back of my head. It told me this - do not let this thing touch you. I didn't have a choice. I listened.

I created a well behind me, pulling me away. Even as I moved, Eonoth's position didn't change. I looked around, finding nothing to hold onto. In desperation, I tore off a chunk of my gray suit. I gripped into the back of my hand, piercing the skin. My own silver blood leaked out.

I pointed at it, ”Alright, you twisted my arm. See this, it's silver blood. I'm living metal. Happy?”

The Old One stopped approaching me. My mind calmed down, fear no longer infesting me like a virus. A gleeful tone infested Eonoth's voice,

”You are...remarkable. I will leave you be. Enjoy the scarcity of your time. It gives it value, something I cannot comprehend.”

It faded back into the void, ”I'll allow you to return to your realm. We will meet again, Harbinger.”

Space shivered around me. Before I returned, the formless shape jerked out of the darkness. It appeared in front of me. With a single appendage, it pierced my helmet and touched my forehead.

”Ah, but there is knowledge here given by Etorhma. Since Yawm, he fears your kind. He is weak, weak for one of us. I share none of his fears, for I am beyond fear. I will complete this fragment of knowledge he gave you.”

My eyes rolled back into my head. Mystifying thoughts beamed into my head, Eonoth's mind touching my own. The core of my personality unraveled into tiny, minute pieces. Eonoth's mind was broad, broader than comprehension.

He was an ocean, and I was a single drop. I fell into the abyss, my identity lost in the sheer size of it. Off reflex, I gritted my teeth and flexed my fists. It didn't matter. No amount of will would close this gap. It was like launching yourself into space by jumping.

In a word, futile.

I fought on, struggling to keep some sense of identity. After eon's of being in the belly of the beast, I returned. Eonoth evaporated back into the void,

”And you remain. You are worthy, Harbinger. You are worthy.”

I blinked. As quickly as I entered the Eonoth's ream, I returned back into my own. I was still on the tree, and the espens piled up beside the ravine. Not a second had passed.

I leaned over, pulling off my helmet and puking. Most of what I retched was my own blood, but some of it was vomit. I wiped off my face, getting my own blood off me. It felt like I just drowned. I shivered a bit, a piercing fear crawling up my spine.

Eonoth was nothing like Etorhma. Etorhma was polite and civil. He was mostly rational, though he had a few crazy moments. Eonoth was nothing like that. He was an amalgamation of a thousand minds. It was beyond comprehension. In fact, I was glad I didn't comprehend it.

Who knows what would happen to me if I did.

I shook off the overwhelming sense of dread. If not for my enhanced willpower, I'd be nothing but jelly by now. I looked at my health. Over three quarters was missing. I slapped the sides of my face, realizing how close to death I was.

I wasn't about to die to some dragon or badass warrior. I was about to die from hearing a voice. Wow. Talk about humbling.

I stood up, my hands still shaking. I clenched my teeth. I was tired of this whole jittery episode. I reared back my fist and punched myself in the face. I held onto the tiny bit of pain, using it to clear my mind.

I wasn't in tip-top condition, but it would do. I turned towards the espens, lifting them up with magic. I walked back towards Icosah, unable to muster up the mental energy to run. Instead, I looked at the walk like it was a break.

As I walked, I looked at my status. I gained about one hundred levels from spider guy, which was nice. I checked out my skills, finding a point gained here or there. My jaw dropped when I discovered my Dimensional Cipher skill. It was in the 300's after Etorhma gave me that spike of knowledge.

It was a tiny bit higher now that Eonoth finished it.

Dimensional cipher(1,081) - You bend the laws of nature with knowledge of its inner workings. Forbidden, but powerful.

I rubbed my hands together in anticipation.At least meeting a being beyond my comprehension wasn't all bad.

It had its perks.