'I should have known it. If a weapon can make three-dimensional projections of animals, appear in the mid-air and stop a running mammoth. Meeting the dead ancestors might not be impossible.' Alex thought.
The geezer said that they will be bestowed with great power. And Alex was curious to know what it was.
Was it the same power the hunters displayed when they killed the mammoth? Or was it something entirely different?
Many questions popped up in Alex's head.
Either way, the only truth was that something mystical was about to happen. And he was ready to go through this ritual.
After waiting for a moment, the one-eyed pirate, Mupan went and took out a wooden tray from a nearby table. It had many small shiny black balls the size of quail eggs placed on it.
At glance, it looked like black paintballs. But Alex was sure that it was not that. In the stone age, no one would have enough time for entertainment.
After taking one ball from the tray, Mupan passed it to the kid nearby.
"Hold onto it. Wait until I say and eat it." He said. While distributing it to all the kids.
'Was it a pill? A drug? One-eyed pirate distributing pills. It had to be drugs, right? It makes perfect sense when we consider the fact that it can show us our dead ancestors. Only a powerful hallucinogen can do that.' Alex who got one of the pills concluded after observing it closely.
It was a solid, black pill. The outer surface was smooth and shiny. It had a polish that was impossible to make in the stone age.
So, where did this come from? Did the Mupan really make it?
'The one-eyed pirate-like drug dealer was the mupan who made the medicine to treat his broken arm. The same medicine that sent the poor soul of Meru into the afterlife. Will it kill a second time?' Alex was concerned.
Sometimes, even modern medicine can kill people, much less a pill from an unknown source.
'Ahh…! Ok, I will eat it. If all these people are eating it, it would have been tested before. right?' He decided to eat the pill.
"What you have in your hand is a pill made by Mupan. It is made by mixing hundreds of herbs during a period of twelve full moons. This medicine will help you in your awakening. After taking the pill, your body will heat up. You will hear and see many things. But remember, whatever or whoever you see, never look in their eyes." After saying it ominously, the Mupan asked everyone to eat the pill.
Looking at the shiny black pill, Alex pondered for a moment before swallowing it whole. Whatever happens, he was ready for it.
As soon as he ate the pill, the world went dark. He lost all control of his body and everyone one of his senses was blocked. He could not see anything. The frigid bone-chilling coldness of the winter also disappeared. There was no sound all around him. But for reasons unknown, he could feel a presence around him.
This mysterious feeling held for a moment before he got back his vision.
Without wasting a moment, he stood up in a panic.
There was nothing.
The whole world has turned black and everything in it has disappeared. But even now, he could sense a presence around him. So, he suddenly turned towards it, guided by his six senses.
—----
The tribesmen waited until the kids ate the pill.
Although the pill was safe to consume, it had one small side effect. It would raise body temperature radically. The body temperature could sore as high as seventy to eighty-degree celsius if left untreated. But in winter, it would only flare up to fifty-degree celsius due to the natural cooling effect.
It was one of the reasons why the awakening ceremony was conducted during the winter season.
However, fifty degree celsius was still not something an untrained human could survive. Only warriors could survive in these extreme conditions. So, the tribesmen had a backup plan.
One by one, people came to pick up these kids. They carried them on their backs towards a large pond in the middle of the village.
The top layer of the pond was frozen. But a hit from the chieftain smashed the ice, breaking it up into smaller pieces.
They quickly removed the ice layer from the top and began submerging the kids in icy water. This would offset their body temperature and cool them. And it would also increase the absorption rate of the medicine.
Meanwhile, Alex and the other kids who were experiencing the vision had no idea about what was going on in the outside world. All connections with their mortal bodies were severed at that time.
—------
Alex who saw the smoke-like figure quickly looked down. He didn't care if the figure had eyes or not. It was better to follow the instruction and not look at the eyes.
From what he could see, the figure was completely made up of smoke and it was floating just above the ground. It was grey in colour and swirled around slightly even when there was no wind.
It was the only thing visible to Alex in the dark world.
'This is a pretty convincing hallucination. Just as I expected, The Mupan is a one-eyed pirate-like drug dealer.' Alex thought.
Abruptly, the smokey figure began drifting to the side. It swirled and churned releasing a trail of smoke in its path.
'What should I do now? Should I follow it?' Alex who was perplexed decided to follow the smokey figure.
This was not the first time he made abrupt decisions in life.
"Hello, ancestor?" He said jovially to the smokey figure. But no one replied.
'Ancestors can't talk.' Alex took a mental note.
After drifting for an unknown amount of time. Alex and the smokey figure stopped in front of a giant cloud. It was vast and immeasurable. And without any sign, the smokey figure melded into the cloud and disappeared.
Alex finally looked up to know what was happening. But all he could see was a swirling smoke cloud in front of him. It had no eyes, but the centre of the swirl was attracting him like a moth towards the fire.
Suddenly, a cool current was released from his brain, waking him up from his daze. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the icon of the interdimensional farm lighting up and blinking when he was looking at the cloud.
A notification quickly came up covering his vision.
[Data stream found. Extracting data…]
With that, the swirling cloud of smoke became agitated. As if facing a strong attracting force, the smoke was pulled towards Alex.
Like a black hole swallowing everything around him, he absorbed it quicker and quicker with each passing second.