Chapter 1805: The Curse (2) Telmus chuckled when he heard Rowan’s question, "Before dying, I thought the most depraved individuals I would ever meet were the gods of Trion. In many ways, I still think these gods are worse, because in such a short span of time, they were able to create a system that would rival the depravity of the Abyss, but the Primordials are these, are they not?" Rowan gestured to the pool of water before them, and it turned rancid, emanating a foul odor that spoke of poison and decay. Ripples could be seen below the water, and a closer examination would reveal they came from gigantic poisonous snakes swimming inside the pool, whose breath releases poison and decay. "Is this pool poisonous because of the snakes, or are the snakes poisonous because of the pool?" Rowan said and smiled when he saw Telmus hastily withdraw his legs from the rancid pool. "You have not been inside Limbo, and so your ignorance can be forgiven. As one of the successful members of the new Primordials I intend to create, it is right that you should know the truth." The eyes of Telmus tightened, "And how do you know this truth, Rowan? Although I am already a Nascent Primordial, there is something about you that is extremely strange. You do not fit in any mold that I know, and it is hard for me to trust you." "That is a fair assessment," Rowan nodded, "I know enough of myself to trust my decisions, but you cannot understand who I am, at least not yet." Telmus sneered, "So, you are telling me with all the powers afforded me by my status as a Nascent Primordial, I still fall short in understanding your nature?" Rowan smiled, "You can try, but you will only fail. But I sincerely invite you to try; perhaps you might surprise me." Telmus rolled his eyes and gestured, "You were saying something about the curse of Limbo." "Yes, Limbo, the last frontier. I have killed three Primordials now, and even though I don’t have all their memories, I have enough to begin showing me the last secrets of Reality." Rowan pointed out, and with a wave of his hand, the space around them transformed into a representation of Limbo. Staff who was beside her father was frozen in place, because as an Old One, her perception could not discern this higher-dimensional level. To the perception of Staff, she would have seen Rowan wave his hand and then nothing would change, but that was a lie. Rowan, Telmus, and Eva had spent hours inside the representation of Limbo, but to a lower-dimensional immortal like Staff, she would not be able to perceive that time passing by. Meanwhile, as Rowan waved his hand, showing Telmus and Eva what he knew of Limbo, they became struck with fascination. "Limbo is limitless, at least that is what I have gathered. Unlike all things in creation, I believe that Limbo had always existed. It was not created, nor will it ever end; it has no limit or owner. Maybe it is because Time, as a linear progression, does not exist here. There is only a single, eternal "now." Cause and effect are absent; in fact, I think inside Limbo, they are impossible. There is no event to cause another. It is a perfect, static equilibrium of non-being, and only a special sort of existence can survive here." "I have come to identify three great powers in Limbo, although I am sure there are others. The first are Realities like this one... like me, gathered in a location called the Cradle, the second are Primordials, roaming agents of annihilation, and the last is the Domain of Death." Rowan paused to let what he said sink in before he continued, "The first time I entered Limbo, it was via a vision, and as a lower-dimensional being, I could not understand all the intricacies of this place, but as I grew stronger and transformed into what I am today, some new information has come to light about Limbo. Let me show you." Rowan squeezed his hand, and the visual representation of Limbo was squeezed to a small black ball that shimmered and vibrated in a weird pattern almost impossible to describe. "Look closer, I call it a curse, but it is something else. You see, I perceive Limbo as a blank canvas. It is pre-creation, post-destruction, and utterly indifferent to both. I believe only such a canvas can concepts at the Origin Level be created; however, it cannot choose what is made inside of it." "Sometimes in the distant past, I believe that Limbo did not have a name, and all the variety of presences inside of it were in a balanced state, but something changed, and it was not the birth of the Primordials; I think they were just the symptoms of this change." "I cannot tell you the name or the power that led to this change; it is far too corrupting for you two." Rowan silenced any sort of opposition from Eva and Telmus when they noticed the gravity in his tone, and they allowed him to continue speaking. Rowan pushed the ball of Limbo towards Telmus, and it began to slowly drift towards him, carrying such a massive weight that Telmus flinched and found himself stepping back. This was not a lack of bravery on his part; it was just the simple fact that if this ball of Limbo touched him, he would be crushed to nothing. Rowan might have been playing with it casually, but this was concerted higher-dimensional energy of a sort that only fully Realized Primordials and Realities could endure. "I do not have all the memories of Primordials, so the truth is vague, but to put it in context that you all can understand, I believe that Primordials began butchering Realities sixty-five million Cosmic Eras ago. " "Cosmic Eras?" Eva asked in confusion. "A Cosmic Era is the entire lifespan of a Reality if it goes along its development without any hindrance. Using the time scale of this Reality, a Cosmic Era would be equal to 12,000 Major Eras at the maximum and 12 Major Eras at the minimum, but it is generally accepted that 12,000 Major Eras make a single Cosmic Era." Hearing the long indrawn breath from Telmus and Eva as they comprehended the stupendous scale of time that sixty-five million cosmic eras might mean, Rowan nodded, "Yes, they truly have been killing for that long."