At first, Andar believed that what he had just witnessed was the last succor of a dying mind hoping for salvation; he had every reason to assume that this should be the case because this was a Primordial Beast, a ninth-dimensional entity, and his father had just torn him into two!
When he had shattered his soul and burned all his potential, he had been able to glimpse a fragment of this being true nature. This was why he knew that what they were up against was a Primordial Beast, and he saw that nothing in existence could stop him. It almost seemed foolish to consider fighting.
But then Rowan's warm hands touched his shoulders and the chill of this place that had unknowingly slipped into every cell in his body dispersed. Andar felt like a man who had gone without rest for too long, finally falling into a comfortable bed with all the aches and pains slowly vanishing from his body.
Rowan's voice was like a balm to his broken soul as he spoke softly,
"It is okay, my child. You can let go now. Your Origin is safe with me, and when you wake up, it will be in a field of gold, surrounded by the laughter of the people who cherish you."
Andar shivered, tears almost falling from
His eyes, and he whispered, "This—this is real?"
Rowan smiled sadly, "I am here with you. You can feel my heartbeat."
Despite being on the verge of death with most of his soul dispersed, Andar's intellect was still formidable enough to discern the presence of his father. Then, groaning in exasperation as he realized that everything was real, Andar muttered,
"Now, this is stupid. The entire purpose of all of this was to keep you safe from that beast, and you came for me instead."
Rowan's eyes widened, and he smiled. This was the first time that Andar had subtly insulted him. He flicked Andar on the forehead, "And you think dying here in the hands of a beast is less stupid? I can see that you have touched on the knowledge of the ninth dimension, and its shadow is heavy on your soul, but that does not mean you should not trust my decision."
Andar sputtered, "That is not the point. Besides, he was not going to kill me; he was…"
Rowan's smile froze, "He was going to do much worse to you, Andar, that is why I have to be here. If he had killed you cleanly, then I would have honored your sacrifice, but no one makes a mockery of my blood. No one tortures my son!"
Weakly shoving Rowan's hands away from his shoulders, Andar staggered, nearly falling to the ground, before steadying himself, gasping as if he had run a thousand-mile race, he growled,
"That was not your decision to make. If you fall here before your dreams are realized, who else can change Reality? Do we have any future without you? Don't tell me you now have the power to defeat a Primordial entity. If you don't, then you should never have come for me. You should have respected my sacrifice for what it was."
Rowan shook his head, "I cannot defeat a Primordial being…"
"Then why are you here?"
"…but I can fight, Andar. I can fight, and for so long, I have hidden my light from all reality, but if I don't begin this fight, even when the stakes against me are high, then I will always find another excuse to postpone the battle because it will never be enough, I can never get strong enough to battle infinity, I have to begin. Now."
Andar paused, looking deeply at Rowan before taking a step back and weakly sitting on the ground,
"Has it come to this? Is this the right time?"
"Yes. And there is no right time."
Andar sighed, "If you can fight, then I can watch."
Rowan cocked his head to the side. "Hold on for as long as you can. You might be able to learn a thing or two."
Andar groaned as he made himself comfortable on the ground, whispering to himself, "You take me to the best places."
Whether or not he was prepared for it, Rowan would have to kill a ninth-dimensional being.
Rowan looked around him, briefly checking up on Andar before looking past him into the distance. His Origin bloodlines began to stir as they detected the presence of something wicked at foot.
The injury that Andar had sustained was exceedingly great; he had shattered not just his soul but his memories as well, and in most cases, any immortal with such a grievous injury would have no recourse but to wait for death; however, Rowan was able to heal Andar of such a wound, but he was not going to be doing so.
Andar needed to die for him to live. It was seemingly a contradiction on the surface, but his son needed to die for his future growth to be assured; the only restriction was the manner of his death.
Rowan's consciousness brushed across Andar, fortifying the protection he had upon him. It would not last if battle began with the Primordial Beast, but it was never meant to last.
His steady heartbeat suddenly went still as he knew that his foe had roused himself from slumber, and a sweet taste flooded Rowan's mouth as the predator inside of him began to crave the taste of blood.
A cold whisper drifted towards him, and his surroundings suddenly grew dark, plunging his perception into a void where nothing existed,
"Trrshikrhl Velhyez Ywnmryr Eulxhu Thyak... What brings you into my realm?"
Rowan frowned, his gaze piercing through the gloom, and although he could see far, the only thing he was seeing was darkness,
"You know of me far more than most," Rowan said casually, and his hand swept to the side where he latched on the throat of Endirius, who had been approaching with his mouth wide open.
Rowan had torn the Primordial Beast's shell in two, and this top half had crawled across space under the realm of darkness to attack him. If Rowan had been unaware of its movement, then Endirius would have latched onto him like a parasite.
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