The job of a dimensional merchant was a very sophisticated one. They had to take goods through worlds and dimensions, selling to new and different people every day.
Learning new cultures and gathering new and vital information, they were some of the only beings allowed to go through other worlds and dimensions due to the nature of their work.
Peter was a normal, average sixteen-year-old. His only unique feature was his split black and white hair. He had lost his parents three years ago when they went to deliver goods in a war-ridden world.
They went and never returned. For three years now, he had turned to a life of being a dimensional merchant, the only thing he knew.
The only problem was that he needed a patron—a very powerful and resourceful being that would kickstart his business.
The only place he got an opening was in the hands of a primordial being called The Beyond, a powerful cat-like being with powers of space.
In desperation to survive, Peter signed a contract he didn't fully understand and ended up selling his soul to The Beyond.
After that day, he became a dimensional merchant, slaving at the feet of The Beyond, but he never made any serious progress toward his freedom.
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Peter used a dimensional teleporter—a watch-like device on his arm—to teleport to Planet Beyond, the home planet of The Beyond.
It was a small, dark, isolated planet located in an isolated solar system where no one would disturb the primordial being easily.
There was a large cabin-style house a small distance away from where Peter arrived.
Peter dusted his dirty black clothes, removed the heavy bag from his back, and opened it to check if the contents were complete. When he was certain, he closed the bag and hung it back before heading to the cabin.
He walked toward the cabin and knocked twice on it, then waited for a reply.
"Who is it?" a deep voice resounded from inside.
"It's me, Peter. I've finished the sales in the Rowan dimension. I've brought back what I made. I'm coming in," Peter said.
"No, no, no, wait, wait, wait! Don't come in," the voice said in a panic, but Peter had already pushed the door open and walked in.
He looked in the normal spot where he always found The Beyond, but The Beyond was not there.
"Beyond?" Peter called out, feeling something was weird. After all, The Beyond was a prideful being that loved to look down on others. What could he possibly be hiding for?
Peter began searching, looking into every room in the cabin.
"Stop it! Stop it, or I'll punish you!" Beyond yelled.
It was at that point Peter knew for a fact that something was wrong. The real Beyond would not warn him; he would strike him first.
So Peter started looking for Beyond with more energy, and then he noticed an unusual moving shadow in the dim light.
He started heading in that direction.
"Don't come here. Stay away! Stay back!" the voice spoke in a panic.
But Peter still reached out and removed the wooden box that blocked the place, revealing a small black cat.
"What the hell?" Peter said immediately. He wasn't dumb; he was actually very smart. He could sense the same aura he was used to from this cat.
That was the aura of the primordial being Beyond, and Beyond had always been a very big cat. Putting two and two together, he knew this was Beyond.
"Beyond?" Peter asked in shock.
"You little brat, I said you shouldn't come close," Beyond said and leaped onto the box.
"You know I have questions about what is happening right now, so please, can I get filled in?" Peter asked.
"Who said you can ask me any questions, slave?" Beyond snapped at him, but unlike before, Peter was not under an unreasonable amount of pressure.
"What happened to your power?" Peter asked.
"Sigh, fine, I'll tell you what happened. Every once in a while, I take a cosmic sleep. It's a sleep that requires me to shut down for a moment and explore my inner world.
The goal of every primordial being is to one day reach the level by which they birth their own universe and become the creator of their own world.
So I must check on mine from time to time. The bad side is the fact that I am the most vulnerable when this happens. So it seems someone knew about this.
They came then, and by some means, they stripped me of all my power, returning me to the base state of my being, without anything.
I can't believe someone would do this to me," Beyond said.
"Really? You are the most egotistical primordial being that has existed. You have so many enemies; they are like the stars.
I wonder what would happen if they found out about your current state. They would probably rip you apart," Peter said with a chuckle.
"That's nothing to laugh about! You can't let them kill me," Beyond said.
"Not let them kill you? Are you dumb? You are the primordial being that took away my life by making me sign a contract I didn't fully understand.
You tricked me into being your eternal slave, slaving forever, no breaks and no stops. You think that now that I have an opportunity to be free from you, I would throw that away?" Peter said.
"Don't be dumb, you idiot. I need your help. If you let me die, you'll die as well. There is no escaping that.
Your contract sold your soul to me, and even if I lost all my power, I'm still in charge of you. But you know the sad part? I can't release you from the contract.
Because I don't have my powers, and I need them to be able to free you. If I die, you die, but if you help me out, then I promise that I'll free you from the contract. So help me," Beyond said.