The Primordial Box
In the blink of an eye, as his fingertips touched Eris, a neural current surged deep into his skull, like tiny rootlets scurrying, then converging in his brainstem before exploding like fireworks, leaving him momentarily stunned, a sharp ringing in his ears piercing his brain.
His body felt bound and shackled in every part, as his frail form was pulled through a dense, dark curtain, interspersed with particles of "memories" that assailed every atom. Everything happened as fast as a firefly's blink. Even Thanwa himself couldn't realize how much his consciousness had changed in that moment.
...Only Eris recorded all that data, deep within the system's profound memory unit, and she would not reveal it until he was ready.
"Eris, are you alright?" Thanwa reached out, lifted her up, and turned her around, then sighed in relief when he saw no damage.
She gazed at the dust-covered man through her narrow, rectangular lens, but the one who asked seemed more worried than she was. Behind them, the stone slab began to emit a certain vibration. Inside the data box, numerous characters continuously appeared, like the deep thrumming of a drum from the underworld.
Rough fingers touched her surface again. Eris recoiled, quickly turning to flash a red light, as if sending waves of animosity to mask that unfamiliar feeling.
Suddenly, the surrounding walls blew strong winds. The entire hall began to shake. A feeling of weightlessness surged into his stomach as the floor beneath his feet sank.
The grinding sound of stone and metal roared, as if the world above was disappearing overhead. Clawler paced restlessly. A faint whimper from Thanwa's lips triggered some instinct in it, warning it to stop. It froze, sitting upright, eyes wide.
Even though blood still seeped from the wound on its stomach, Clawler remained still. Meanwhile, Thanwa felt a chill on his back.
"Hey, Eris... craft me a bandage, and scan this thing too."
He stopped speaking, stroked Clawler's head as it pressed its nose into his palm, its eyes closed in trust. He brought the status window back up.
{Report: Insufficient materials for crafting bandage}
{Suggestion: Redwing's shell and mucus can be used for temporary hemostasis}
{Organism Data Analysis Result: Clawler}
Thanwa pulled out the Redwing shell from the remnants of the antidote crafting, grinding it with the axe handle in his palm, rubbing it until it gradually warmed up.
He started by carefully dabbing it on the edge of the wound, flinching as he did so. He glanced at the blood percentage bar, which was steadily dropping, turning a deep maroon. He gritted his teeth and applied it generously with his whole hand.
A loud scream echoed overhead. When the stick stopped moving, Thanwa remained kneeling, large beads of sweat covering his body. His back still stung and burned as if fresh chili had been rubbed into the wound, in exchange for managing the bleeding status.
The Clawler looked quite remorseful, sitting with drooping ears, while Eris circled around, surveying.
As the ground slowly descended until the surroundings were swallowed by darkness, it was utterly silent, as if entering a void in space. Clawler's panting was clear in his ears, and the whirring sound of Eris's mechanisms beside him. All of it still told him that… he was not alone.
…And then the first light appeared in the darkness.
It was tiny, like a speck of glowing light blue dust floating in the air. Then another point… and another point… and another point…
And in that instant, all the lights exploded simultaneously.
Not ordinary light, but the sharp angles of white-blue-silver geometry, intersecting into thousands of polygons, unfolding in the void, as if the world was being rendered layer by layer.
Thanwa automatically recoiled. Those lights struck his optic nerves, making him feel as if he was being scanned back. Three-dimensional shapes formed around him, resembling a planetary model, a network system, or something with multiple overlapping layers. It was like a miniature universe growing from the center of a black box.
[Unit 7 Verified – Initiating Core Projection]
"What's happening? Is it an explosion yet?"
The scene before him was astonishing and intense. Thanwa felt as if he was seeing something he shouldn't. He wasn't sure if coming here was a good idea, as hundreds of stars danced in the air, connected by vast streams of data expanding into a swirling vortex.
The light and polygons faded, leaving only Eris's flat voice echoing in the darkness. It wasn't her usual voice…
But softer, deeper… like the voice of someone else who had spoken through her before.
[That was the first data explosion. We call it — The Primordial Box.]
Images of countless stars began to appear like colorful mist moving in the void, and below, like a whirlpool sucking everything back into the original square. It wasn't just a box… but it unfolded like a breathing universe.
[From that point, the Black Box was created, not by humans, but by self-processing entities born from the immense data vibrations at a single point. However, these intelligent beings sought power over everything, even their origin.]
The image of Endoros still rotated slowly amidst flames and black smoke. This planet had diverse landscapes. Lush green rainforests covered vast areas, like a land of tall bamboo and ancient trees standing for thousands of years. Mountains with rounded and steep shapes, similar to the Himalayas, stretched across the landscape.
'It seems this place is quite fertile.'
Thanwa murmured softly, while Clawler whimpered in his throat. If it weren't for the stinging wound, he would have thought this was just a dream he couldn't imagine, with his feet firmly on the ground. The scene before him reminded him how tiny he was on this planet.
Deserts and vast grasslands, like the Gobi Desert, were interspersed with large flowing rivers. Some parts were covered in thick fog, resembling a mysterious land with ancient ruins, deep valleys, and clear lakes reflecting the surrounding mountains in peaceful tranquility before being invaded by chaos.
Suddenly, a flash of light emanated from the black box.
[Warning: Risk of unlocking 'Origin' level data exceeds safety parameters.]
A shimmering cherry-red door formed before him. There was no offer. It meant only one thing: 'If I step in… I might have to pay a price.'
…..To go on or not? This question echoed in his mind until he felt a cool touch on his arm, gently glowing as it always had. Clawler nudged his leg lightly with his nose.
Everything then seemed like a domino effect, causing them to tumble. He took a deep breath and pushed the door with all his might.
His body vanished, a feeling of fullness in his chest. His throat tightened, breathing became difficult, and another scene from the past appeared.
Image…..A small, emaciated boy with tangled black hair was running for his life through a dense bamboo forest. In his hand, he clutched a twisted wooden carving. His face was streaked with sweat and blood.
"Father, Mother, where has everyone gone?" he sobbed, shouting the names of his family members.
Behind him, the relentless roar of machine guns and cold, steady commands echoed. The Imperial Army, clad in gleaming, dark metallic armor with joints that moved like humans but were stronger, had their faces obscured by full-head steel helmets, from which a red light constantly flickered.
Their weapons were used to kill anything that became their target. Bodies instantly melted as they passed through. They moved with discipline, speed, and mercilessness.
Along with various other war machines, a mixture of mechanical and biological elements combined to create explosions and the screams of people. The boy looked back in horror, seeing his home engulfed in flames and his mother and father being seized by the cold hands of those invaders.
"You must survive, my son. Fulfill your duty. We will go ahead and wait for you in the black box."
The boy sobbed in an embrace, nodding in acceptance of the dying wish that was still etched in his heart, deeply embedded in the shattered mind of the little boy.
There was no time to stop and cry. Only his two legs stretched out, stepping across streams, jumping over rocks, hiding in dense bushes and cracks in the cliff face.
His eyes looked dimly through the leaves, but within them was a spark of determination not to give up, fixated on the enemy patrolling every corner.
'Those eyes, the eyes of fear that had been etched in his nightmares his entire life.' He clenched his fists. "…That child was none other than himself."
{Thanwa} Aris said softly.
His face felt hot. A warm sensation tightened close to his ear. Aris's voice interjected softly, echoing in his aching chest.
{This is your deepest memory… Thanwa} Another voice said [The time when everything was taken from you… but you still survived.]
His face felt hot. Aris's voice whispered close to his ear, as if reflecting from within.
"Did they survive?"
[To escape collapse, they stored their brains inside a box.]
Without any answer in the system, the image slowly faded, leaving only a painful confusion. But something within him was awakening. A red door was slowly opening.
Aris floated and spun in front, blinking a rhythmic green.
[The black box is not a container for data… but it is data that has become a box. It is a simulated universe that never stops processing, even if the external universe has ceased to exist.]
Thanwa breathed heavily, his gaze fixed on the small light that continued to move.
"Then… what am I in this universe? Just data, or more?" he asked himself.
Aris was silent for a moment before responding in a softer voice than usual.
[The answer… is in there… in the locked memory. But it will only be revealed when you are ready.]
Darkness gradually deepened around Thanwa, as if the entire universe was waiting for his answer. And would he dare to journey to a truth that might change everything forever?
…Or would he let this opportunity pass forever? And this was the beginning of the end, and Thanwa knew in that instant that he no longer just had to survive, but had to remember… who he once was.