On the way to meet Beta, I followed behind Iota, who hopped forward with childlike energy despite being a century-old chimera.
"So you've been asleep all this time?" I asked.
"That's right!" he replied proudly, puffing out his chest.
…Proud? Of sleeping for a hundred years?
Still, I kept listening. Talking with Iota had given me more information than I expected, and I didn't want to miss anything.
Apparently, he had survived all this time by remaining in a dormant state—standing in place, unmoving, as if frozen in time.
Then one day, a surge of magical energy entered his body, and he simply… woke up.
Some sort of magical hibernation.
But even so…
He should've needed something—water, nutrients, something—to survive.
"Beta taught me all that too!" Iota said, waving his arms happily. "He told me what to do, and I did it! Then I just… slept!"
A 100-year nap on command.
Like it was nothing.
I frowned slightly.
'Is that even possible?'
