Chapter 1998: Welcome Back Eos had felt Rowan die as if he were the one dying, and, technically, this was true; he had just died. But he had died so many times, who had the time to be counting? "Ah, my sweet boy, dying should never be normal." Eos flinched when he felt the voice of his mother touch his heart, and he stopped his struggle to tear himself from the frail cage that held his body. This voice should not have had the power to touch his mind with his perfect control over the dimension of Memory, and Eos could easily trace it to the most likely suspect... the Primordial Record. "Cheeky bastard," Eos growled and closed his eyes. The Primordial Record had not forgotten that Eos had ripped it away from his body and placed it inside an Incarnation, and now, instead of returning to him, it was sending visions of his mother to torment its stubborn host. Eos could almost feel the smugness erupting from the Primordial Record, and he nearly rolled his eyes in annoyance. He could not believe the Singularity did not understand the importance of placing it inside an Incarnation in order for this moment to become possible. Granted, he had not expected in a million years that it was his Incarnation that would reach the fifth layer of Origin so soon. Eos had already theorized that it may be possible to find deeper layers of Origin, but he had always thought that this would be the New Primordials who would break this boundary, and not him, who decided to walk the path of the Ancient Primordials. Eos had always thought that the Old Path was bound to the past and could not grow anymore, but he was wrong, and his Incarnation had shown him the truth in the last moments of his glorious life. In the last moments of the Incarnation’s life, Eos had a way to save him, but Rowan had refused, knowing that his death would strengthen the power of Origin. He gave all of himself to Origin so it could solidify its new foundations. If Origin was going to be a power that could be able to stand against End, then it needed pillars who could guide its growth. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮 His Incarnations were an indispensable part of his growth; they took the paths he could not, and they had saved his life more times than he could bear to count. What made their sacrifices quite potent was that Eos had never placed any method to control them. With their complexity and strength, every Incarnation had been an individual who could think for themselves and make independent decisions. There was nothing stopping them from taking the power that had been given to them and leaving, and Eos would have no right to stop them, because he was asking them to take risks that would most assuredly lead them to their deaths... and every time, they said yes. Experiencing all their deaths was the least of the prices he had to pay. They had given him everything they had, and the least that he could do was to ensure that he witnessed everything they had to give. Rowan, in his death, had not just opened the road to the Primordial level of Eos, unlocked the Primordial Record, but he had also awakened the power of Origin and led to its growth for the first time in forever. Eos was not even counting the creation of the Origin Realms that had just changed the game and delivered victory to his doorstep. Their ability to expand the fabrics of Existence was once a power that only End seemed capable of, and Enoch had to sacrifice his entire body to cause the expansion of Existence, but Rowan was able to do this as a byproduct of the creation of his Origin Realm. Every Realm he created was directly adding to the foundations of Existence, and if this trend was to continue, then Origin could continue to grow. Even now, Eos could feel it, like the sound of music being sung by a newborn. They did not know words, but they understood harmony and pitch, and they were not shy in screaming out their joy. Eos smiled, and he opened his eyes. The music of Origin was echoing in his veins, especially in the Origin Essence that had filled his body the moment Rowan had reached the Primordial level. The path to reach the Primordial level had been open before him, and Eos just needed to push his way through it. But first... it was time to collect his birthright. He pulled his hands to his side; his skin was flawless, as the digestive powers of the Abomination’s body could no longer hurt him. It could not hurt him for a while now, and Eos could have burst its way free immediately after the Abomination had left and gone for Rowan, but he stayed behind because that was not the plan, and he needed to complete his evolution. Initially, Rowan was to return to him and unlock the Primordial Record while inside Eos, then he would flee with his New Primordials. A destination was already in his mind where he could hide for a short while, at least long enough for him to master the powers inside the Primordial Record and cleanse Existence of the taints that had poisoned it for so long, but no plan ever survives contact with the enemy... his plans changed, and Eos could only go along with it. Eos suddenly opened his hands wide, and the shockwaves from the power of that move tore this cage of flesh open, and the shockwave traveled through Limbo. His New Primordials, surrounding him like stars, were nearly blown away, but they dug their foot deep in space and anchored themselves. Eos looked around. With his present size, his Primordials were many times smaller than an atom, but he could feel the wave of their support and admiration in their gaze. This should be the first time they were seeing his body, and Rowan spread his wings wide, and his shadow covered a massive area in Limbo, as presently, Eos was nearly as massive as the Beast of Inevitability, who once guarded the Cradle of Enoch. His Reality Crown appeared over his head, and he took a step forward, his body shrinking as he crossed space. The Primordials around him fell to their knees, but a burst of power from Eos prevented them from completing the motion. "None of you should ever bow to me." With another step, he appeared before the Primordial Record, and now his body was as small as a man’s, and he reached for it. "Eos!" he heard a cry of rage from the Abomination that had returned from its banishment and also the expansion of space from the blunder of Nyxara, "Don’t you dare... it does not belong to you!" Eos did not even turn to acknowledge the Abomination; he simply crushed ten Origin Realms, and its cries of rage faded into a faraway dimension as space expanded. The Origin Realms were his own, and so they would not push him away. Before he could touch the shining blue book, it flew into his palm. "Welcome back," Eos smiled.