Farid lay down in the grass, looking at delta sigma sitting there, who had become nothing more than a statue that did nothing. He felt deep regret, wanting to speak to her, but his tongue was paralyzed.
< I didn't appreciate her. I didn't thank her. She tries to do everything for me, but I don't deserve it. I'm a stupid statue. I imagined that if I met her in reality, my life would be better, but here I am. Lusihar mocks me. This sick, underdeveloped world is just hallucinations. Even Brihan, I don't know, I feel a strange sensation. They are just statues; they don't speak. Only Lusihar is babbling. >
Farid's contemplations were interrupted by the return of Lusihar and Martinus with wood from the nearby forest and some small animals. Lusihar brought some dry grass, crushed it, and began rubbing a knife against a rough piece of flint, which produced sparks that lit the fire, and they began grilling after preparing the food with spices Lusihar had bought from the shops.
Lusihar tried to start a conversation.
"You've been silent the whole trip, and I'm the only one rambling. What's going on?
[No answer, then she continued]
At night, melatonin, the sleep hormone, rises, while serotonin, the concentration hormone, and dopamine, the happiness hormone, decrease. This can make a person prone to sadness, and the brain starts retrieving memories, self-reflection, and future anxiety, or what are called 'night hooks'—thoughts that hijack your mind.
delta sigma... I'm sorry. I really exaggerated my behavior back then."
"Say that apology to your mother."
"Listen, I really am very sorry for everything I did. My impulsive, childish actions are my escape from depression. I am 525 years old. I can't even count to that number without feeling bored. Thousands of days, thousands of months. I barely feel any day now. My sense of time has melted away; a day for me is like an hour or less. I have seen generations born and generations die. I have been burned by the pain of loss more than once. A bad past haunts me—a past where I am disgusted with myself, a past where I did everything I wanted. I tyrannized people, wronged many, and ruined the lives of others, and I met revered beings who were more corrupt than me. I don't want to remember what I used to do with my influence, but even that absolute freedom lost its pleasure over the years. I got everything I wanted and became saturated with it, so I got rid of all my possessions and compensated for everything. I built charities and helped the needy. As Helena said, even if she was a cursed, vile devil, she spoke the truth when she said, 'Evil is afflicted with an existential cancer that makes it rejected and an exceptional case, for no matter how long it lasts, it will end, and its owner must change himself or he will perish.'
After donating everything, I felt a void, a need for a mother or father to guide me in that state of loss, and I found no alternative to proper religiosity. It's true I break my religiosity sometimes, but...
Sorry, I spoke too long."
"Ugh, never mind. I feel the sincerity of your apology. I was impulsive too, thinking I was better than humans. Selfishness and arrogance are evil, and I believe, as you said, I have paid the price."
Martinus spoke:
"But Lusihar, I object. Nothing has meaning without immortality. No matter how high a person climbs, in the end, for one reason or another, they will die. What is the point of anything?
You, for example, have the time to learn everything and do everything, and you can see what the future will be like—something I personally dream of. You have special importance in the universe, unlike mortals who live less than zero point zero zero, I don't know how many zeros, one percent of the age of the universe, not to mention your superior abilities."
"That's just theoretical talk from you. The only reality you live is boredom. I see you don't grasp immortality. It's not one or two extra years, but infinity. A billion years is nothing. I personally can't even count to a billion, let alone numbers like Graham's number, if the planet even lasts for another billion years.
Sometimes, death has an attractive pull, an eternal rest from existence. Your brain and perception have been irreversibly corrupted. You don't think about what you lived; you are just non-existent.
Oooooh, you know what... Nothingness is terrifying. You don't know what it looks like. You imagine it as darkness, but it's not like that, because your consciousness is supposed to be non-existent, and that's a feeling we don't know what it's like. And existence is also boring, frankly. As an immortal, heheh, I'm too cowardly to fall, blindfolded, into the unknown.
Most of the Sixth Root are cowards because of their fear of death, and death is always terrifying, heheh. Sorry I didn't console you, but rather added a theory of my own, away from religion—a theory I thought of in my childhood. Since the annihilation of consciousness cannot be imagined, what if death means you will live in darkness forever, hearing nothing, seeing nothing, feeling nothing, just infinite eternal silence? But most likely, it is a transition to a different reality based on the average thoughts of people around you, as in our religion. Hmm, I don't know. On one hand, who will hold the oppressor accountable? The idea of judging the oppressor is comforting. On the other hand, who are we for the universe to be distorted to fulfill our desires? If I were to talk about percentages, 20% the oppressor will be held accountable in some way, 20% my theory, 60% something unexpected for which we lack a linguistic expression to imagine."
Farid spoke:
"I didn't expect all this depth from you. I always had a hypothesis that girls were shallow thinkers."
"I will be silent about this insult of yours and will pretend I didn't hear it... And you, Brihan, aren't you going to philosophize for us?"
"I hate philosophy, and don't ask me why, for I will not participate in this heresy and blasphemy you are saying."
"How shallow of you... Hey, by the way, Farid, do you know the story of the homobbm?
[Farid shook his head, and Lusihar continued]
It is said that about 300,000 years ago, a very severe drought struck the state of Pedrosalena, leading to fatal malnutrition there, and the war made matters worse. Thousands fell victim to this hunger. This malnutrition affected pregnant mothers, which led to epigenetic changes in the fetus regarding metabolism and energy storage. It was useful at the time, but with years of relative prosperity, it was reflected in the form of obesity. And the worst effect of this modification was on the gene responsible for the BDNF protein, which is linked to memory and learning, so their intelligence level declined. More importantly, it affected the mirror neurons, the parietal cortex, and other areas responsible for empathy, and this also negatively affected their fertility.
Evolution, to prevent their extinction, enlarged and increased the activity of the amygdala in males. Their desires became charged towards human shapes, movements, and scents. Years passed. Their hideous shapes were not sexually appealing to the opposite sex. An extremist sect of non-reproductive, non-carrier women of the increased lust gene emerged, whose arrogance was fueled by societal taboos and the idea that sex was an insult. Phrases like 'coitus,' 'intercourse,' 'copulation,' and its association with humiliation, and that it was a bad thing, led to the migration of those obese women and their eventual extinction. On the other hand, evolutionary pressure increased. The X gene in males turned into a non-definable gene linked to the child's gender identity, so they only gave birth to males. Those fools, due to our high beauty standards, were rejected except in rare cases. The empathy-deficient ones began kidnapping girls and raping them, succeeding in passing on their genes while the normal ones became extinct. The empathy-deficient evolved into two types: the non-sentient homobbm, which is the type we fought, and the homobbm Incel, who inhabit the north of Mila Island next to the Purple Forest, where they build their cities. This type is known for its intense hatred of women. I went there and saw horrific fantasy things, like bodies licking your brain, for example... Or let me not spoil your appetite. The important thing is that the land of the Incels, or the entire Mila Island, is forbidden to women.
I return to the islands of Madalena Vaska and Lynn. The strange thing is that some revered women acquire one of the homobbm to pleasure them, because normal humans do not always lead them to their climax, and even governments legalize this and do not object, even though they intercept caravans and kidnap girls.
[Farid looked at Lusihar with a skeptical look]
Farid, don't look at me like that. You are you mother's son from her deceased previous husband. The number nine is cursed until the evolution occurs that gives humans a key that enables them to give birth to a person with the number nine, and you are that key. Mr. Neuhaus's number is 3. Six plus three equals nine, and this is a cursed number. I hope the idea reached you."
Brihan said after finishing her meal:
"I want to sleep. Be quiet for a little while, Lusihar."
"If you want to sleep, go over there and let me tell stories. My master is listening curiously."
Farid said after she moved away:
"What's wrong with Brihan?"
"She's a failed spy who is threatening me with something I've already compensated for. At one stage in my life, I was a drug trafficker due to my monopoly on this power. With some loopholes, the privileges of my position, and my legal expertise, I succeeded in clearing myself and getting out with minimal losses, and my criminal record is clean. Lusihar is not my real name; it's just a new page I started.
Perhaps Brihan doesn't really know that even if I were a criminal, her blackmailing me with conditions that if I fulfill, she will stay silent about, this expression of will is legally considered void and a cover-up for a crime. I can use it to fire her from her job and make her unemployed forever until hunger and disease kill her, but I am empathetic. Our state is bureaucratic par excellence. Your papers must be clean for your mother, Sadim, to recognize you."
Farid spoke:
"What is the system of government in Madalena?"
"Madalena is just the name of the capital because the state name is long. It is Dimadalena. It is called Madalena because the name Madalena is simpler. The system of government is an absolute monarchy. Sadim the Immortal has ruled for over a thousand years. Generations have become accustomed to her rule."
Farid interrupted her, saying:
"A-A-And Saheen's mother, Sadim, is the Queen?"
"Hehe, she doesn't look like it. I know her, and Saheen was one of her remaining sons, representing the capital and its surrounding areas."
"But I have a question. What about the powerful and tyrannical ruler? Or the foreign aspirant to power who is very powerful? How do you stop them?"
"That is an excellent question...
There is no solution except to revolt against the ruler, and that is the fuel for coups, most of which fail. For example, Sadim is very powerful; she guards her guards and not the other way around. Without an agreement with powerful revered beings, there is no chance for a coup, and they have tried before and failed. Fortunately for Madalena, its ruler is not like the ruler of Petrovasca, which is located north of Filevasca. That ruler is an extremist whose old age has made him eccentric, and even his appearance resembles an old man with a white beard and a bald spot in the middle of his head, wearing a crown made of barbed wire, knowing that, as I said, the revered beings stop aging between 25 and 30 years old, which is the age their bones stop growing. Fortunately for us, the Great Sadim is very empathetic despite her indifferent appearance. I said it. Immortality makes the revered beings eccentric. The ruler of Petrovasca is ten thousand years old. His brain has literally begun to melt. His speech is disorganized, he is quick to anger, and he acts like a child. There are even rumors that he is a masochist who tortures himself to feel that he exists. Once, it is said he hung himself by his ahem ahem until he tore and was admitted to the hospital in critical condition. In my opinion, he should commit suicide and end his torment."
Martinus said:
"Will you commit suicide in the future?"
"Hmmmm, are you serious?!
I prefer drowning in madness to jumping into the unknown.
Their madness is a condition that can be controlled with the appropriate combination of my materials, and even if my boredom reaches fatal degrees, I will lose my memory and start over,
Hhh I'm sorry, life is beautiful, very beautiful. Maybe I will think about suicide when my age reaches Sscg(3) or more, hhhh."
Farid spoke:
"Who will take watch?"
Martinus replied:
"Of course, Lusihar.
[She looked at them angrily, then picked up her things and moved away]
No need to worry. We are safe. We will sleep and continue our journey."
Farid moved slightly away from the fire and lay on his back, staring at the stars, some of which looked like planets revolving around the world, as if it were an independent solar system. He kept gazing intently at the beauty of the sky, at the distant constellations and faint nebulae.
< I remembered. The night is long like the day. We will continue our journey tonight. >
Lusihar returned with soft steps, and Farid noticed her.
"You seem worried, Sir. Would you like me to pleasure you tonight?
[Farid tried to make an excuse, but she sat and lay down beside him]
Don't worry, I won't harass you, even though I feel you are perverted. I don't mind, and I have no problem with them seeing us. On the contrary, I like people I reject to watch me and feel that I am a hard-to-reach goal."
"I am tired. Leave me alone with this talk, and don't try to touch me."
"It seems that my touching you pleases you... Alright, I won't do it. Did you take your medicine?"
"No, then please."
She surprised him and climbed on top of him and forcibly gave him the medicine until he almost choked, along with a sleeping agent, until he fell asleep. Then she fell beside him, ecstatic.
< The prophecy is near. Tragonians, it is only a matter of time until we bring you the end of the world. >