Fuck. I don't know what it is.
From the start, Komaru did not know anything about the ritual.
But I have to say something. Or else my lie would be exposed. It wouldn't be bad if it were only these three.
He looked at Carlo. But this dude Carlo. I don't want him to know that I lied.
"Hey, speak up. Don't waste our time." Shizuku shouted.
Just then, Komaru thought of what to do. Right. I will just refuse to say the chant and shift my burden to Kevin.
"I-"
Before Komaru could speak, Carlo interrupted him and said, "Or is it that you don't know what the chant is? It's okay, we will tell you."
Komaru looked at Carlo with nervous eyes. I am doomed. I am fucking doomed. Carlo, why do you have to be such a smartass?
He spoke up, "Hah? Not knowing what the chant is? Me? Carlo, you must be out of your mind."
"Then fucking speak instead of wasting our time." Carlo got angry.
"Hoh. Why are you getting so pressed? Or don't tell me, you don't know the chant yourself thats why you are trying so hard to make me say it. Don't worry, if you don't know, I can tell you." Komaru smirked.
Hell yeah. This was perfect. Now it is about his ego. He has to say the chant, or else his ego would be hurt.
"Yes, you are correct. I don't know what the chant is, so can you please tell me?" Carlo said, a devious smile appeared on his mouth.
"..."
I am fucked. This fucker actually admitted it? Now what do I do?
"Aw, you don't know? Don't worry, I will tell you if you want." Komaru smirked nervously.
"Fuck you. Stop wasting time and just say the chant. How hard can it be?" Carlo was angry.
Right then, Shizuku facepalmed, and shouted, "My god. Thats enough. I will say the chant, so stop wasting our time."
Both Carlo and Komaru went quiet. Komaru's smirk widened even more. He gave a silent sigh of relief, and made sure that nobody heard him this time.
"Before I make the chant, make sure to focus entirely on your brain, because thats where the primal energy will be stored initially after the ritual's completion.
"All of us will be entering the dimension of Calibera, so make sure not to harbour any ill intentions, because that would determine what type of primal energy she will give."
I do understand the basics, but what does primal energy mean? Komaru thought.
"Uh, can you explain from the beginning?" Kevin asked.
Hell yeah Kevin. Your hair did not return, but my happiness did.
"In this world, there are many divine beings known as Ancient Deities. They are beings who have ascended through the ranks of Resonance and are now in possession of Divine energy instead of primal energy.
"One of them is Caribela, also known as the Mother of Being. She is the source of all primal energy. Now what is Primal energy? Basically, it is the energy which Caribela gives when performing the ritual.
"This primal energy is of different types, based on the feelings one harbours during the ritual. The purer the feelings, the purer the primal energy you receive.
"Caribela is also known as the Mother of Sound. The title comes from a mythical story where it is described that Caribela woke up from eternal slumber with a scream so loud, it woke up the other sleeping Ancient Deities, angering them, which entailed all of them screaming in rage. This resulted in the creation of what everyone knows as 'sound'. But some people were quick to dismiss this story because of its inconsistency."
Komaru understood the story, but he came to a sudden realization as to what the flaw in logic was in this story. "An obvious contradiction..."
"What do you mean?" Carlo asked, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"Its simple. If sound did not exist before the Deities raging, how come Caribela's scream awoke them?"
"I see, thats a blatant contradiction..." Carlo nodded.
Shizuku spoke again, "This Primal energy is the reason for people to have different powers. Its very unique, I would say. I will explain the mechanism after we complete the ritual.
"After I finish chanting, your consciousness will be transported to another dimension. Your task is to find a single light source inside the dimension, and touch it. Once you touch it, you will have to think of a picture which best represents your dearest memory. Once you do that, the ritual will be complete."
As everyone nodded, Shizuku opened her mouth and began speaking, "Tù caro koi ruli arte sono we tai, Ò Caribela."
It was Ancient Tulan, a language commonly used in rituals.
She then clasped her hands together. The others understood, and clasped their hands together aswell.
Komaru also clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.
Moments after, he felt his consciousness move, as if someone was pulling it away from him.
Be it his natural instinct, he tried to pull it back, but it was futile.
Thud
The bodies of the five people performing the ritual dropped on the floor unconscious.
Ah! Phay! Phay! Durase!
Unknown whispers were echoing inside Komaru's mind. He was able to hear those whispers, but how was that possible? He wasn't even conscious.
It was because he was now being transported to a black dimension, devoid of any light.
A few moments passed by, and he woke up inside the pitch black dimension.
"I can't see anything....is this how the blind feel?" He waved his hands in the air, hoping to find something.
"Best thing would be to walk straight. It seems like I am standing on something, but I can't understand what it is." He started walking in a straight line.
There was an eerie silence, which made Komaru feel goosepumps.
He stopped in his tracks as if he realized something, and then started touching his body.
"I see... so I can still feel my body. But that shouldn't be possible, since it is not my body that was transported, but my mind."
He was essentially correct. From outside, he looked like a mere blob of energy, but in his mind, he was still a body.
"So its just my mind reassuring me that my body is with me. I guess thats true. If I do come in contact with the light, my mind would make it seem like my hands touched it, even though it may possibly be that my outer energy touches it."
He then started walking again. For a long time, he could not find anything.
I wonder if time passes here. If time does not pass here, wouldn't that mean I am unable to age? But thats more of a curse than anything. In this dimension, where you can't even see anything,being able to live forever is very haunting. Komaru shivered at the thought.
He continued walking. Just a few moments after, he saw a figure of light in front, which resembled that of a woman.
A woman made of light.... it must be a form of Caribela, it has to be. Komaru was correct. It actually was a form of Caribela.
Shouldn't she be a form of sound instead of light? Komaru picked up the pace.
Before long, he arrived near Caribela. She had no organs. Just pure white hair upto her waist.
I just have to touch her right? But for some reason, I feel like doing so would result in something bad.
Komaru got rid of such thoughts and raised his hands.
He got them closer to Caribela's forehead, and touched it.
"...."
He waited, and waited, but nothing was happening.
"...."
"WHY THE FUCK IS NOTHING HAPPENING?" Komaru shouted.
But he suddenly jolted, and came to another realization.
Wait, how am I able to speak? Realistically speaking(no pun intended), I shouldn't be able to speak anything at all. Only my mind has been transported here, not my vocal chord.
If this is supposed to be possible due to Caribela's presense, then shouldn't something have happened when I touched her forehead? Wait. If Caribela is the Mother of Sound, then I should...
Komaru brought his hands towards her ear and touched it. Suddenly, the dimension started shaking violently.
It worked. I was confused whether I should touch her mouth or her ear, but touching her ear worked.
Suddenly, a jolt of pain hit Komaru. He bent down, and started panting heavily.
What the fuck? I shouldn't be able to feel any pain. Is it my mind making me feel as if I am getting hurt? But I can't locate the point where I am getting hurt. It must be internal.
A wave of energy started rushing towards the blob of energy that Komaru was. It fused with him, which was the cause of the pain.
After some more moments, Komaru started breathing normally. He got up, and realized that Caribela had disappeared.
So it was her energy which merged with mine... for some reason, something doesn't feel right. I feel like I've forgotten something very important...
Before coming in contact with Caribela, Komaru's energy blob was coloured red, but after merging with her energy, it was now blue.
This meant that it was a success. But Komaru felt something amiss.
Wait. Fuck! I forgot to think about my dearest memory. If I do it right now, would the ritual still work?
Komaru quickly thought of what Shizuku had said. "Form a picture which best represents your dearest memory."
Lets see... my dearest memory...what is it? Do I form a picture with my parents? Yeah, that should work.
He quickly formed a picture with him and his parents. It wasn't visible what they looked like, but that was irrelevant.
Suddenly, Komaru's consciousness was once again being pulled. But this time, Komaru did not try to resist it.
Instead, he let himself go. The dimension around him slowly started breaking into pieces.
Ah! Phay! Phay! Garase!
The whispers once again started echoing. Komaru paid no attention to them, because he did not understand them!
Right before the dimension fully collapsed, Komaru heard a loud, evil roar. It sounded like an evil god had awakened.
Fuck kind of ritual is this... Before he could continue his thoughts, his consciousness was back to his body.
He looked around, and sighed silently. He saw that Carlo and Shizuku were already awoke.
He realized that they were waiting for Mary and Kevin to wake up.
Fuck. This bastard Carlo completed the ritual before me. Komaru was annoyed.
He could see the slighest smirk forming on Carlo's mouth.
He hated losing, especially to Carlo. This made him even more furious.
Carlo opened his mouth, "Looks like I completed the ritual before you eh? Well, not that it matters." A pure, joyfull smile appeared on Carlo's face.
It could have mesmerized anybody, but it only made Komaru more mad.
Just you wait, you fucker.