When Geremi started gaining consciousness, he was confused and dizzy. He heard people saying:
— He's born, my lord, it's a boy.
He felt someone holding him and lifting him up.
— As expected of our clan's heir, he doesn't even cry upon entering the world — a hoarse voice said, without emotion.
— Is this the crown prince? — another voice replied, excited.
They laughed exaggeratedly. One person shouted:
— The heavens haven't abandoned us, patriarch! This boy can sustain our clan for another thousand years!
Geremi blinked as he adapted to the light. He saw a blue room filled with several people. The room was large, with about ten people, yet still felt empty. There was an old man who looked around fifty, his hair completely gray, standing next to a young man holding him. The young man seemed about twenty, with black hair down to his neck, not very tall; handsome for a man, maybe 1.7m. He had a pleasant scent, of fruits and other good things mixed.
I don't like what this might mean, thought Geremi, analyzing the situation.
There was a woman around twenty years old on the bed. She looked like she had just given birth: sweat and paleness still on her face.
She's gorgeous… if it were another time, I'd even invite this chick to meet my little buddy, he thought, imagining a sly grin.
Calm down, think. Either these people are huge, or I'm really tiny. This reminds me of that nonsense about life after death. I died in such an embarrassing way. When Tony finds out, he's going to laugh so hard. I hope he gives me a good funeral. Looks like in this life I got lucky. If I understood correctly… I'm a prince?
With the shitty life I had before, thank God—or that bastard called God—for rewarding me in this one. No work, no 24-hour crap jobs. But damn, I'll miss Felicity — nobody sucks like that chick.
While he was thinking, a booming sound hit his head. Then he heard a voice:
— Process complete.
Letters appeared in his field of vision, neatly organized — only he could see them:
[Scanning World]
[World ✓ = Primordial Zero]
[Scanning world level]
[Level ✓ = 8]
[Level 8 ✓ = half-step primordial]
[Searching for target]
[Target found ✓ = Supreme Primordial]
[Mission ✓ = kill the target before it destroys the client]
[Mission progress ✓ = 0%]
[Scanning Agent]
[Agent ✓ = AHIA Dry]
[Agent talent ✓ = level 8]
[Calculating required time to fulfill mission]
[Time calculated ✓ = with the agent's talent, if every resource of the current universe is used to assist in his evolution and the agent steals all the luck of everything that exists in the present universe, it will take 700,000 trillion years to reach the level necessary to complete the mission]
What the fuck is this? That long? I'd rather not do this so-called mission, Geremi thought, staring at the letters.
[Error detected ×]
[Error × = the agent's level makes it impossible to complete the mission before the client perishes. Remaining time for the client = 1 million years]
[Recommendation: agent should reject the unit so another agent can be assigned to fulfill the mission]
Oh! I can refuse? That's considerate — so I don't have to do the mission? Geremi asked the letters.
[Correct, agent. Will you reject the mission?]
Geremi replied without thinking twice: Reject mission.
[Mission successfully rejected!]
[Searching across space-time for candidate with necessary talent — level 9 or higher — within ideal time — 700,000 years]
[Candidate found. There is a 20-year space-time difference between current agent and candidate]
What! It'll take 20 years for the other person to come? Geremi asked the letters.
[Correct, agent. The candidate will arrive in 20 years. Since the Unit cannot exist for more than 2 minutes without an agent, the current agent will continue to exist until the candidate arrives]
Hey… wait a second… what do you mean continue to exist? Geremi asked.
[When the candidate is born, the current agent will be obliterated — erased from the matrix of existence for eternity]
Shit! I accept the mission — I changed my mind! Geremi thought.
[Rejected! The Unit detected that the current agent's talent does not meet the parameters to complete the mission]
The conversation between Geremi and the letters seemed to last an eternity, but in reality only a few seconds passed from the moment they picked him up until the end of that interaction.
AHIA Jun held the baby who stared back at him without crying. He admired his son's eyes: a blue base with a touch of red. Suddenly the baby started crying, leaving AHIA Jun perplexed and awkward.
— Give me the baby, that ugly face of yours made him cry — said the gray-haired old man. Despite his thousands of years, he looked around fifty. His name was AHIA Grey; he was the third great elder of the AHIA clan.
He held the baby and said:
— Your name will be Dry. It means the one who holds and lifts. I give you this name, thought out and chosen with the greatest care, in the hope that you will protect and elevate our clan for countless eons. For you are the new trunk upon which the branches of the AHIA will stand.