Chapter 43: The first prayer and The first Burial
"The One who dwells beyond the Endless Void..."
The unfamiliar words slowly drifted across the clearing, immediately deepening every Magnari’s unwavering attention. None of them had ever heard such a name before. Void... the forests held no such place, neither did the mountains nor the endless rivers of molten fire flowing across their homeland. Even the sky above had never been called by such a name, yet their Tribal Chief spoke those words with complete certainty, as though he were addressing a being that had existed long before the first Magnari had ever drawn breath.
"The Nameless Null between Existence and Nonexistence... The Eternal Witness of Countless Worlds..."
Confusion quietly spread through the gathered tribe. Existence? Nonexistence? Worlds? One unfamiliar word followed another until even the elders found themselves exchanging puzzled glances, unable to grasp their meaning. Yet despite their confusion, no one interrupted him. There was something strangely soothing about the calm reverence carried within his voice, compelling every Magnari to remain silent and listen.
Gree Ka Chu, however, never cared about understanding the words themselves. Her emerald eyes remained fixed upon Gre Ka Go, unwavering as always. The graceful posture he had adopted caused her heart to flutter once again. She couldn’t comprehend the meaning behind the prayer, yet somehow it made him seem even farther beyond her reach... and all the more admirable because of it.
Gre Ka So, on the other hand, quietly furrowed his brows while staring at Gre Ka Go’s broad back. He had only ever known one world...the forests where they hunted, the mountains they climbed and the rivers of molten fire surrounding their homeland. What other worlds was Gre Ka Go talking about?
Gre Ka Go never opened his eyes.
"Hear my plea, O Great Void Null. For I seek refuge within Your boundless grace."
The words slowly faded into the evening air before silence settled over the clearing once more. Gre Ka Go gently opened his eyes, his gaze quietly falling upon the long rows of fallen warriors. A sorrow lingered within them so profound that it felt as though he mourned every life before him again and again.
Gre Ma Go’s heart quietly sank.
Never before had he seen the Magnari he admired since childhood wear such an expression. It was as though every death rested upon his Tribal Chief’s shoulders alone.
The younger children, however, saw something entirely different. Clinging tightly to their mothers, they stared toward Gre Ka Go with wide eyes filled with admiration, unable to look away from the lone figure standing before the fallen.
To them, Gre Ka Go wasn’t simply their Tribal Chief.
He was the Magnari they wished to become.
"It looks amazing..."
"He looks so cool standing like that..."
"Hey... can we stand like that too?"
Several children instinctively clasped their tiny hands together before awkwardly lowering their heads, trying their best to imitate him. Their mothers quickly pulled them back with soft scoldings, yet many secretly copied the posture again whenever they thought no one was watching.
Meanwhile, Gre Ka Go slowly closed his eyes once more before continuing.
"O Great Void Null... Hear the pleas of the fallen as well. Before You stand these children of the Magnari, who hunted without fear, bled without regret and willingly gave their lives so that this tribe might continue walking toward tomorrow. Though their claws shall never again grasp a spear, nor their voices echo throughout these forests, let not their journey end upon this earth alone. Receive them within Your endless embrace. Grant them rest beyond the reach of hunger, fear and suffering, and let their names never fade into the endless nothingness."
The final words quietly disappeared into the evening breeze.
No one moved.
The Magnari remained exactly where they stood, their gazes drifting between the fallen warriors and the broad back of their Tribal Chief. None of them understood who—or what—the Great Void Null truly was, yet the sorrow carried within Gre Ka Go’s voice and the respect he had shown toward those who no longer breathed quietly stirred something inside every heart. It wasn’t understanding, nor was it faith.
Only a strange sense of peace they had never known before.
Gre Ka Go slowly lowered his clasped hands before opening his eyes once again. He remained silent for another brief moment, allowing the tranquility to linger throughout the clearing before finally turning toward the gathered tribe.
"Today..."
His calm voice echoed across the settlement.
"...We shall return our companions to the earth with our own hands."
Confused murmurs immediately rippled through the crowd, though the solemn atmosphere had yet to disappear.
"...Return them?"
Gre Ka So scratched his cheek.
"You mean... carry them back into the forest?"
Gre Ka Go slowly shook his head.
"No."
"They will remain here."
Gre Ka So blinked twice.
"Y-You can’t seriously mean that... If we leave bodies here, predators will definitely come."
Gre Ka Go offered no reply. Instead, his gaze quietly swept across the untouched ground resting beyond the edge of the settlement before a single command left his lips.
"Dig."
The lone word left every Magnari frozen.
"...Dig?"
"...Dig what?"
"...Why?"
None of it made sense.
Or rather...Their Tribal Chief wasn’t making any sense.
Gre Ka Go calmly continued.
"Dig a resting place for each of them. It should be no shorter than the body that will rest within it, nor deeper than necessary for the earth to embrace them."
Silence lingered for only a heartbeat as the Magnari’s looked at each other in bewilderment. Eventually one after another spoke.
"I’ll do it!"
"I’ll help!"
"So that’s what the Tribal Chief wanted!"
Almost instinctively, dozens of Magnari rushed toward the storehouses before returning moments later carrying crude stone picks, sharpened antlers and sturdy digging sticks. Others simply dropped to their knees and tore into the volcanic earth with their own claws, each competing to finish the task entrusted to them.
Even Gre Ka So reluctantly joined the others, muttering beneath his breath as he leapt forward.
"Hah... digging holes is way easier than carrying corpses."
Before anyone else could reach the open ground, both of his claws had already plunged into the black volcanic soil, sending chunks of earth flying in every direction.
"Oi! Don’t make it crooked!"
Another Magnari shoved him aside.
"The Tribal Chief said it should fit the body!"
"Then dig your own!"
Within moments, the once silent clearing was filled with the sound of scraping claws, striking stone and flying earth. What had begun as confusion quietly transformed into determined effort as every Magnari searched for some way to contribute.
Only Gre Ma Go remained where he stood.
His gaze slowly drifted toward Gre Ka Go, and for reasons he couldn’t explain, everything suddenly began making sense.
The Tribal Chief wasn’t digging.
Nor was he issuing more commands.
He simply walked among the fallen one by one, quietly observing as each resting place gradually took shape, occasionally stopping to inspect one before giving the faintest nod of approval.
"...Good."
It was only a single word.
Yet hearing that simple praise caused the Magnari nearby to straighten their backs with unmistakable pride before throwing themselves back into their work with even greater determination.
One resting place slowly became several.
Several gradually became dozens.
And as the final rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the distant mountains, the first burial ground in the history of the Magnari quietly came into existence.