The heavy air of the massive room carved within the heart of the marble cave, itself thickened into an ancient quiet, stirred only by the unchanging voice of Umbrazel, who continued explaining so many things to the young Primordials. Every one of his words carried within the weight of ages, echoes harking down an endless abyss. Nyxander leaned into Vacuros, furrowed his brow, his interest finally bubbling over as he raised his hand. His voice was respectful, yet yearning for answers.
"Uncle Umbrazel, is there a way to find them easily?"
Umbrazel stilled, his dark eyes gleaming like polished obsidian. He inclined his head in a rapid nod, the corners of his lips quivering in the faintest of smiles. "Yeah, there is a way," he answered with that smooth voice, which somehow reverberated with power.
He took one step closer, his movements calculated as the turn of some gigantic wheel. "Because on their own, they are too weak to defend themselves unless they are with their host. Without that bond, they're devoured by Primordial Beasts, drawn to them like moths to flame. You see, these beings are made of pure Essentia fabric, their purity acting like a beacon. The purer they are, the more they attract those beasts."
Umbrazel shifted his stance, imposing yet calm, and motioned to the shimmering void rift. "So, to find them easily, observe where the Primordial Beasts are in great number. That is where they will be. Now," his gaze swept the room, "you may begin."
Without hesitation, Vacuros stepped forward. Sharp, fluid motions cut the air, a blade through the air, and with one leap, he vanished into the swirling void corridor, leaving behind a faint ripple in the energy. Nyxander, who had watched Vacuros with admiration mixed with resolution, felt a tug in his thoughts.
"Nyxander," Umbrazel's voice broke through, calm yet firm, "you don't have to hold it against him. He has no enmity toward you."
Nyxander turned, his face unclouded, his tone even. "Uncle, do not misunderstand me. I neither hate him nor harbor any resentment toward his person. I have never taken any hostility from him. I just feel like I've been pulled into an unexpected challenge." His lips then arced into a determined smile, carrying both warmth and the fire of ambition. "So I shall take my leave now-I do not want to dull the game."
A deep, rumbling chuckle rose from Umbrazel's mouth and rolled across the room like distant thunder over some great, open plain. As Nyxander moved towards the glowing void rift, the older Primordial raised his hand in a parting gesture. "The Essentia stones can cure even the most grave of wounds. But do not get too reckless, Nyxander."
Nyxander paused, turning back with a shadowed glance and a firm nod that spoke volumes. Then, with a single, deliberate motion, he leaped into the void, the air shimmering around him as he disappeared into its depths, leaving behind a faint, lingering echo of his determination.
A few seconds later, in the ancestral world, Nyxander was there in an instant, the void behind him snapping shut in a flash, like a door slamming shut on reality. Nyxander landed on his feet, turning sharply as his eyes scanned his surroundings.
He found himself in a great desert where the wind howled like a restless spirit, tugging through the air thick waves of sand. The earth beneath him was heavy and compact, his feet sinking a few inches into its grasp. His vision blurred through the swirling sands, but the environment was, surprisingly, more tolerable than an average desert-at least to Nyxander.
"So, this is where Father got his inspiration—to imitate this world and construct his own," he mused aloud, his tone tinged with awe. He was still marveling at the landscape when a deep thudding sound reached his ears, reverberating like the drumbeats of an ancient war. The dense soil trembled beneath him, bouncing slightly in rhythm with the noise. Nyxander turned swiftly toward the source, his eyes narrowing.
To his astonishment, three primordial rhinoceroses appeared, emerging like titans from a dust-laden dream. Towering at 14 feet in height, with bodies stretching 30 feet long and tails swishing like battle standards at 2 feet, they were majestic yet menacing. Their horns gleamed like polished crystal, catching the faint light with an ethereal brilliance. One was at the lead, a beast of the Ascendant realm; the two others were only slightly smaller and equally imposing, one at Neonate and one at the Neonate realm.
The sheer illogic in the speed of the colossal animals' gait was something as if to say gravity itself did not dare stand in their way. The roaring of their charge whipped the earth around them into an uproar, churning up thick stormy clouds of dust.
"Just as I arrive, and they can't even give me a moment to breathe," Nyxander muttered, the mischievous smile spreading across his face. He curled his fists, the anticipation sparking in his veins. "I can't wait." He breathed in sharply and darted forward, his posture just like that of a sprinter at the starting blocks.
But then, unexpectedly, the two rhinoceroses flanking the leader broke off, one to the right, one to the left, their choreographed move revealing a feral guile. Nyxander faltered for a moment, recalculating his approach, but he was fixed on the lead beast, which had kept its relentless charge.
Their collision was ferocious-his right fist met the rhinoceros' horn with an impact that cracked the air like thunder. The force of their clash sent shockwaves rippling outward, kicking up a dense, blinding cloud of dust that swirled like a miniature hurricane around them.
The lead rhinoceros' horn began to glow intensely, pulsating with a brilliant, almost blinding light. Without warning, it unleashed a short but devastating beam of energy, its precision deadly. Nyxander reacted in an instant, leaping backward into the air with the grace of a hawk.
The beam sliced through the space he had occupied, a searing lance of destruction. His feet slid across the thick soil, grooves appearing in the ground, as he landed. Behind him, the beam struck with an explosive roar that was like the rage of an angry god.
In this moment of distraction, the rhinoceros on his right attacked explosively-fast movement belying its huge body. Nyxander turned to face it, planting his feet firmly as he braced himself. He caught the beast with both hands, the raw power of its charge forcing him to skid backward.
At that instant, the rhinoceros on his left charged in as well. Nyxander moved in a flash, calculated; his fist closed tighter onto the horn of the right one with all his titanic strength, holding it in place as it struggled against him. With the other hand, he seized the left one's horn in a vice-like grip.
In a surge of brute force, he forced the left rhinoceros' head down, with a resounding crash onto the ground. It was as if the earth itself was trembling under the impact; a cloud of dust rose up like a battle cry. Yet there was no time for relenting-the lead rhinoceros fired another searing beam of light.
Nyxander's instincts kicked in high gear. He jerked the left rhinoceros' head upward, landing a powerful uppercut under its jaw that sent the beast flying onto its back, sliding across the ground in a lifeless heap. Without so much as a pause, he dragged the right rhinoceros by its horn, using its massive body as a shield against the incoming beam. The energy struck with devastating force, obliterating the creature instantly.
Nyxander stood amidst the carnage, his chest heaving, the battlefield around him now a scarred and smoking wasteland.