Chapter 44: Questions without answers
-Pssssttt! Skshhh!
A stone dagger tore through the air before burying itself deep into the spine of a low-tier predator. The beast let out a sharp cry before collapsing lifelessly onto the forest floor, its blood smearing across the crude blade as Gre Ka So yanked it free in one swift motion.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Gre Ka So barked through gritted teeth, glaring furiously at Gree Ma Go. "That thing would’ve bitten your spine clean off! Where’s your focus?"
Only then did Gree Ma Go seem to return to reality.
"Ah...."
His eyes slowly drifted toward the dead predator lying beside him before he tightened his grip around the spear in his hand.
"...Sorry."
Gre Ka So clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Tch... you’ve been acting weird ever since that Burial thing."
His words weren’t entirely wrong.
Ever since the ceremony Gre Ka Go had called a Burial, Gree Ma Go found himself drifting into thought far more often than before. Sometimes while sharpening his spear. Sometimes during patrols. Sometimes even in the middle of conversations, his mind would wander back to that evening without warning.
The strange prayer...
The sorrow on Gre Ka Go’s face...
And those incomprehensible words that still echoed somewhere within his mind.
Around them, the battle had yet to end. Their remaining companions were still fending off several low and mid-tier predators, stone spears colliding against claws and fangs as growls echoed throughout the forest.
Yet Gree Ma Go barely noticed any of it.
One question continued circling endlessly inside his head.
"...Void Null..."
"...Who... are You?"
The question quietly lingered within Gree Ma Go’s mind, refusing to disappear no matter how hard he tried to focus on the battle before him.
Ever since the day of the Burial, those unfamiliar words had rooted themselves somewhere deep inside him. Whenever his surroundings fell quiet, they resurfaced without warning, accompanied by the image of Gre Ka Go standing before the fallen warriors with his hands clasped together and his head lowered in silent reverence.
He still couldn’t understand any of it.
What was the Void?
What was Nonexistence?
And if there truly existed countless worlds...
What exactly was this Great Void Null that their Tribal Chief had spoken to with such respect?
"Gree Ma Go!"
Gre Ka So’s roar instantly pulled him back to reality yet again.
A low-tier predator lunged from the undergrowth, its jagged fangs aimed directly toward his neck.
His instincts reacted before his thoughts could.
His body twisted sideways while his spear swept upward in a smooth arc.
Pssshhkk!
The sharpened stone point pierced through the beast’s throat before momentum carried it across the ground. Blood sprayed over the black volcanic soil as the predator convulsed twice before finally becoming still.
Gree Ma Go silently pulled his spear free.
"...Sorry."
Gre Ka So stared at him for a long moment before letting out an irritated sigh.
"You’ve been saying that a lot lately. If you’re this unworthy, maybe I should take the Squadron Leader title from you."
He bent down, retrieved the stone dagger he had thrown moments earlier, and wiped the blood across the predator’s rough hide.
"For goodness’ sake... What had happened to your constant focus?"
Gree Ma Go didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed upon the dead beast lying at his feet.
"I can’t just shake it off. Ever since my childhood, I’ve always been fond of Brother Gre Ka Go. There were times I ignored him... times I tried pulling pranks on him... yet he never budged. He was always calm and composed, as if he was constantly thinking about something the rest of us couldn’t even begin to comprehend."
"....."
Gre Ka So simply remained silent, knowing full well what Gree Ma Go was trying to convey.
He kicked the lifeless predator with his foot before continuing.
"I still don’t get why everyone suddenly became so serious over dead bodies. They’re dead. We bury them instead of leaving them outside because the Tribal Chief instructed us to respect the dead... fine... but you’ve been acting as though the Tribal Chief opened your skull and stuffed it full of questions."
"Maybe he did."
"You know, Ka So... I’ve always believed I understood him. Whenever Brother Gre Ka Go taught us something... eventually I came to understand why."
"From the hunting squads to every action he took before the Burial Day... I understood the meaning behind them. But this time... no matter how much I think about it... I cannot understand him."
His gaze wandered toward the distant settlement, hidden beyond countless trees.
"I don’t understand why he looked so... sad."
"I don’t understand who he was speaking to."
"I don’t understand why I can’t stop thinking about those words."
Gre Ka So remained unusually quiet.
The forest around them gradually settled once more as the remaining predators either lay dead upon the ground or fled deeper into the wilderness.
Only then did one of the other Magnari step forward, carrying the carcass of a beast over his shoulder.
"This part of the western area has been cleared."
"Should we head back?" one of their companions asked the leader.
Gree Ma Go slowly nodded.
"...Let’s return."
As the four Magnari began making their way back toward the settlement, Gree Ma Go found his thoughts drifting once more as he quietly repeated the very words Gre Ka Go had spoken.
"The One who dwells beyond the Endless Void..."
"Huh? What are you muttering?" Gre Ka So asked in bewilderment while the others exchanged confused glances.
"The Nameless Null between Existence and Nonexistence... The Eternal Witness of Countless Worlds..."
"Hear my plea, O Great Void Null. For I seek refuge within Your boundless grace."
Silence stretched between the squad as they awkwardly looked at one another.
Gree Ma Go quietly inspected his hands before glancing over the rest of his body, his heart pounding louder than before as he searched for anything... anything at all... that might have changed.
"Nothing... seems to happen."
He had braced himself for an overwhelming sadness to crush him... or perhaps an overwhelming sense of solace to embrace him. Yet he felt neither. He remained exactly as he had been only a moment ago.
Gre Ka So immediately smacked him on the head before dramatically shaking his own.
"You’ve lost it, Gree Ma Go. At this rate, I’ll be applying for the Squadron Leader position myself with how incompetent you’ve become. You spend more time daydreaming than leading."
For once, Gree Ma Go didn’t fire back with his usual banter.
Instead, all four of them quietly continued walking toward the settlement.
Several days quietly passed after the expedition, yet the atmosphere within the settlement had changed in subtle ways that no one consciously noticed.
The newly raised burial grounds rested peacefully at the edge of the settlement. Rows of freshly turned earth stretched across the clearing, each mound marked by a simple stone spear planted firmly into the ground.
It was Gre Ka Go who had named the place a Graveyard.
Today, Gree Ma Go happened to be walking past it.
"It’s like this... right?"
A young Magnari excitedly clasped his hands together before his chest and bowed his head exactly as Gre Ka Go had done several days earlier. Several other children immediately burst into laughter before copying the posture themselves, trying their best to look solemn despite constantly peeking at one another.
"No, no! The Tribal chief stood straighter than that!"
"You have to close your eyes too!"
"And don’t wag your tail! His tail didn’t move at all!"
The children continued correcting one another with complete seriousness, completely unaware that they were imitating something none of them actually understood.
Gree Ma Go quietly withdrew his gaze from the children before turning toward the center of the settlement. His heart unconsciously began beating faster as his footsteps slowly changed direction.
The constant thoughts had finally reached their limit.
"Ah, fuck it! Turns out I’m not that intelligent after all... I should just ask him."
No matter how many times he tried piecing everything together inside his own head, the answers never came. If anyone could explain those strange words...
It would be Gre Ka Go himself.
The familiar wooden house of the Tribal Chief gradually came into view.
Yet before Gree Ma Go could even approach the entrance, his footsteps slowly came to a halt.
"Huh?"
Several Magnari were already gathered outside.
Some stood with their arms folded across their chests.
Others quietly paced back and forth.
A few elders sat upon nearby logs, occasionally glancing toward the closed wooden door before looking away again.
Even several younger Magnari had somehow found their way there.
"...What are you all doing?" Gree Ma Go asked in confusion.
The group exchanged awkward glances.
Finally, one of the elders scratched the back of his neck.
"...Waiting."
"...Waiting?" Gre ma go asked in bewilderment.
The elder nodded.
"I wanted to ask the Tribal Chief something..."
Before he could continue, another Magnari awkwardly rubbed his arms.
"Me too."
"I... also have something I don’t understand."
A younger hunter quietly lowered his head.
"I’ve been thinking about those words every night."
".The Great Void Null."
"The countless worlds."
"The place beyond death."
Another elder let out a helpless sigh.
"I’ve lived longer than most of you and have always taken pride in the life I’ve lived... but somehow... all of this feels... how should I put it..."
He paused before quietly lowering his gaze.
"...I feel empty inside."
Gree Ma Go slowly nodded in profound understanding. He let out a soft sigh...He was about to respond when suddenly a loud voice echoed from inside the Tribal Chief’s house.
"WHY WON’T YOU MARRY MEEEE??"