The Primordial Record novel Chapter 1978

Chapter 1978: The Rivers of Echoes

The god’s smile widened at Rowan’s question; the amusement Rowan could see was pure and made him doubt that this being could ever hold evil in his heart, as the exposed bone on his face gleamed under the faint, ethereal light that filtered through the endless river’s mist. In this moment, this Ancient god with an extremely painful past appeared almost... holy.

His eye, the one dangling precariously in its socket, rolled slightly, focusing on Rowan with a gaze that felt like the weight of forgotten eons pressing down. The boat rocked gently on the water, but there was no sound, just the quiet hum of a place that wasn’t quite real.

"I am not End," the god said, his voice a rasp that echoed inside Rowan’s skull rather than through the air. "But I have carried its burden longer than most. Call me the Remnant, if you must have a name. Or call me nothing. Names are for things that begin and end. I am the space between."

Rowan frowned as he realized that this place, including this figure, was the large amount of unknown information that had poured into his mind as he strived for the position of Primordial.

The Remnant cocked his head to the side, and he grinned, "Dam,n you are sharp. If it were me, it would have taken a minute to realize what you just did instantly. But as much asI would like to chat with you, I don’t have too much time, and neither do you."

Rowan hovered above the boat, his newly ascended form still buzzing with the chaotic energies of the Primordial transformation. He had discovered that he had not failed his tribulation as he once thought; it was still ongoing, and this Remnant had found a way to jump into the connection he had with space using his Tribulation as a guide.

The dreadful sensation of failure still lingered, a bitter taste in his mouth, but the whispers of his main body, Eos, echoed faintly through their connection. He had not lost it as he felt that the battle raged on between him and the Abomination, a storm of power and horror that Rowan could sense like a distant thunder. He needed answers, and fast, before the Abomination overwhelmed everything.

Because of the distraction caused by his previously apparent failure to reach the Primordial level, the Abomination had seized the chance to evolve for the third time, and now his main body was beginning to struggle. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"You should not have known of my presence," the Remnant spoke, "No one should know of my life, but your knowledge of me was the fuel that I needed to drag me from Oblivion. You have not yet opened the Primordial Record, and yet you know of End, and I suspect, also the Luminious. If that is the case, then all hope is not lost."

Rowan growled, "You should hate Existence. Why do you sound as if you want to save it?"

The Remnant laughed, "Because I am not like you, freak. What? Eternity is a long time, and I have lived for countless eternities. My hate burned away and turned into ash, and after End spat me into this space, I have spent many eternities fishing on this river, and I have fished such bounties of great stories that they are more than my mind can hold. I am not like you, Rowan; your hate is eternal, and so too is your love. Your connection with the Luminious is a blessing and a curse."

"You did not answer my question."

"Odd, I thought I did," the Remnant sighed, "This river is my home, and it is endless, meaning the stories I can fish from it are also endless... End would take all of these stories away, and I have seen its mind; it would replace it with nothing but despair, and I would be forced to spend all eternities watching its unending reign of terror. Such a fate, I cannot wish on anyone."

Rowan paused in thought for a while before he asked, "How did you interfere with my Tribulation?"

The Remanant smiled its dreadful smile, "At the ninth-dimensional level, the face of End can be hidden from other Primordials, but not from you. If you were anyway normal, you would have strived to reach for the Primordial level alone; instead, you explored all four layers of Space, and your combined Tribulation was enough to tear through the gaps of End. You see, behind Existence, covering it like the shell on an egg is End itself, and your Tribulation that broke the rules of Existence tore a gap in its defenses... if it fears you before, now it hates you."

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