Chapter 2049: Taking Back The Origin Force The very air of the Prime Axis became still when the Primordials shook with anger and astonishment that so many of their number were traitors. In fifty million years, the bonds between the Primordials were deeper than blood, and to know that the person you would gladly give your life for on the battlefield was faking their true motivation and agenda was a blow to their spirit. However, Primordials did not reach their position by being simple beings; they understood the deep complexities of this war, and no matter how painful this experience was, they acknowledged that this was part of what fighting battles at their levels would turn out to be. They supported Eos’ decision, with so much pressure coming to them from all over Limbo, the last thing they needed was a hidden knife within. In the brief moment before Noctis was killed, they had all seen it... the sheer disregard for life and glimpsed the mind of a being who saw everything in Existence as pieces on a board. No one here thought that Eos was a hundred percent infallible, but if these Primordials were to be serving a god, then they would pick Eos, because he took them as his children, and every life, no matter how small, was precious to him. There was something deeply comforting about this to every Primordial here, and if they were going to fall, they wanted to die beside Eos. The last two Primordials to join them was Rushr, the Primordial of Unspoken Oath, he was part of the second generation of Primordials and... Bengry, the Primordial of Nascent Slaughter, also a member of the second generation of Primordials. They stepped out because this was the best path they could take. Either they stayed behind and were discovered, and that would mean true death, or they lost their Primordial position and returned to the Temple of End. The answer to this was simple: they would surrender. Their plans inside the Origin Realms had failed, but it did not mean they did not accomplish many things here. The most obvious was that they now had complete knowledge of the Origin Realms, and although things might change in the future, they could easily predict those changes. Also, they had buried seeds of the Temple all over the Origin Realms. These seeds were small and could be easily destroyed, but there was a chance that even if just one seed was able to find fertile soil and grow, the Temple would gain a hidden ally that even Eos would find hard to discover. They had surrendered now, because Eos was a pragmatic individual and knew that it was better to allow some losses because the alternative could be much worse. As the four stepped forward, Eos made a grabbing gesture in their direction, and all the Origin Essence in their bodies transformed into ethereal blades that sliced their foundation into pieces. Groans of pain emerged from them as they felt all the power that they spent so long cultivating vanish. In that moment, a deep hatred for Eos emerged. What the Architects would never say was this: Having the body of a Primordial was a dream come true. The Temple was a cold and desolate place outside of time and space, and either existence was one that was only filled with the cold thoughts of a being that exceeded their comprehension. In the temple, even madness would be a gift, but such lesser concepts could not even exist beside the weapons that shattered an entire Existence. Becoming a Primordial in the Origin Realms was freedom, light, and laughter, and how great would it be if they were to control this power and direct it in the way it needed to be directed? Their presence was not useless as they had contributed to the growth of this realm, and now, all the connection they had with it was shattered like glass, and the sudden loss was haunting... they had forgotten what it felt like to exist as simply a small part of the Temple of End, and the thought of returning to that existence scared them. A brief shadow of hope burned in their hearts. They were not yet dead, but without the foundation of Origin, their bodies would soon collapse. Was there a way they could convince Eos to see their side of the argument before it was too late? He was just a child who had not even seen beyond this Existence and he was making decisions out of sentimentality. A wordless communication passed through the four condemned Primordials as their auras that had once been woven integrated into the Origin Realms, even directly controlling their own Origin Realms now fled from them, and they bled smoke and light from their bodies. By all right, all the Origin Realms should be weeping at the fall of these Primordials, but Eos had stripped away even that recognition from the realm, and this knowledge hurt these Primordials, and they wondered in their hearts, when did they begin to feel so close to the Origin Realms that they wanted to die for it? How come that their realms, not weeping for their fall, hurt so much? Ilaria, once the Primordial of Dawn’s Whispered Oath, lifted her chin, though the gesture cost her. The cracks in her form widened with every heartbeat, her Origin Essence that resembled prismatic ink bleeding faster now that concealment was pointless, and she looked at Eos with ancient eyes that were older than his own "You speak of mothers and children torn apart," she said, voice softer than before, almost pleading. "Yet you would unmake us for daring to question whether your light might one day consume the very balance it claims to protect. If the scale tips too far toward creation, what remains to birth anything new? Sterile perfection is its own tomb, Eos." Eos was silent, and this gave them a light of hope in their heart, was it possible that they might reverse this outcome? Saul, the Primordial of Nameless Hunger, encouraged by this silence, spoke with all that was left of his Essence. His voice was quieter than starless night, yet it carried the weight of every empty stomach that had ever existed across infinities. "We did not steal your Origin to destroy you," he murmured. "We took it to remember what you seem determined to forget: that hunger is not only destruction. It is the engine. The void that pulls stars into being. Without it, your endless dawn becomes stagnation. We sought only to keep the wheel turning. This is the reason we picked such Origin, it was to show you... to remind you." Eos regarded them for a while. Although they may believe their thoughts were hidden from him, they would be surprised at how much he had seen of them. Staying in a single position while observing the entirety of his Origin Realms was not a waste. Eos had grown in ways that he had not imagined, and he had made his judgment. "You mistake mercy for weakness," he said at last, and he extended a hand towards their dissipating Origin. They were right, their Origin was useful, but it would be placed in the hands that were worthy of them. Closing his fist, all four of their Origin transformed into crystals. "Return what was never yours to claim."