Grafay, his heart heavy with a bitter resolution, headed towards the Dungeon. There, in the sanctuary of cold stone, the grand masters of Chūingamu were in deep meditation. He spotted the eldest, the one whose face bore the scars of time and knowledge, and sat respectfully beside him.
The silence stretched, heavy and palpable, as Grafay contained his impatience. Finally, the elder opened his eyes, a veil of infinite wisdom in his gaze.
"What do you want, my young Faitā?" he asked, his gravelly voice resonating softly.
Grafay was surprised. "Is your meditation finished?"
An enigmatic smile creased the elder's lips. "Hahaha, I am always meditating, my child. Meditation is woven into every fiber of my being, into every act and every thought."
"Wow, that's impressive!" exclaimed Grafay, genuinely astonished.
"Now, tell me, why have you come?"
Grafay took a deep breath. "I would like to know… is there a way to surpass the simple state of Megasameta?"
The elder frowned. "Hmm… the simple state? There is no simple or complex state of Megasameta. The Megasameta is the Megasameta, period."
Grafay struggled to follow. "Uh…"
The elder continued, ignoring his confusion. "And besides, what good would that do you? You are the last of the Faitā, the last hope of our lineage, no matter what happens."
"What?" Grafay felt a shiver run down his spine.
The elder closed himself off in silence.
"Answer me! Why do you say such a thing?" insisted Grafay, worry gnawing at his insides.
The elder remained silent, impenetrable as stone.
Grafay forced himself into silence, staring at the elder with a burning intensity.
Finally, sensing that calm had returned, the elder relented. "The true Chūingamu no longer exist. The Shinshuku-Sei ari has died out. Our people have been diluted, mixed to the extreme. This idea of mixing was a tragic mistake. The Tsuki are so different from us, on every level. They have insidiously introduced their culture, charming others with their honeyed words, inciting them to embrace their beliefs, their customs… They have united with our women en masse. Chūingamu men do not procreate as much. Among the Tsuki, a woman can have five children, or even more. Among us, it's rather one. Today, a Chūingamu woman calls herself Chūingamu, but that's false. She is only one in name, because her blood is almost always mixed. That's why I say that no Chūingamu will ever be able to become a Faitā again. It's impossible. Even our religion is neglected, forgotten."
"Now that you mention it…" Grafay murmured, his gaze vague. "It's true that when I walk down the street, I no longer feel like I'm at home. There are Tsuki everywhere. If they have five children with Chūingamu women, that means every Chūingamu woman has become a Tsuki factory!"
A dry, bitter laugh escaped from the elder's throat. "Hahaha… when you invite someone into your home, you have to find out about their background. The Tsuki are known for destroying other peoples through excessive mixing. I didn't know that they had been banned from other regions of Gu-HoiT, forbidden from introducing their religion and culture there. They could trade, but that was all."
"And so, what about the current Chūingamu?" Grafay asked, despair creeping into his voice.
"They are almost all the result of mixing, mainly with the Tsuki. The Tsuki forbid their women from mixing with other peoples, because it is the father's clan that predominates. If they unite with Chūingamu men, their children will be Chūingamu, and they will suffer the contempt of their own people. The Tsuki ensure that, once a child is born from mixing, he considers the Tsuki clan to be superior, that he should be proud of it."
Grafay sighed, a crushing weight on his shoulders. "It's… tragic."
The elder remained silent, his gaze lost in nothingness.
Grafay turned and left the Dungeon.
In the street, reality hit him full in the face. Tsuki everywhere. He no longer felt at home, but like a foreigner in his own homeland.
While walking, Grafay accidentally bumped into a man.
"I'm sorry, sir!" he apologized.
The man, furious, slapped Grafay violently. "Are you blind? Don't you look where you're going?"
"I acknowledge my fault, but that's no reason to hit me!" retorted Grafay, anger rising within him.
A crowd gathered, attracted by the commotion.
"I am a Tsuki, and you are just a vulgar Chūingamu. You'd better shut your mouth!" spat the man.
"Huh? You dare say that to me here, in our sector?" Grafay felt the blood rush to his head.
The crowd went wild. Tsuki insulted Grafay, and even Chūingamu women married to Tsuki showered him with abuse.
Grafay swallowed with difficulty and turned away without a word.
Back home, he collapsed on his couch, consumed by rage. This Tsuki people exasperated him. He was no longer in a Chūingamu sector, but in a Tsuki sector. The Chūingamu had disappeared, so to speak, and it was driving him crazy.
"The women…" Grafay grumbled. "They are always the stupidest. They do anything and end up extinguishing their own people with pride, without even realizing the gravity of their actions."
He got up and resumed his research, in vain.
At 62, he retained the physical appearance of a man in his thirties. He went out for his daily walk and found, unsurprisingly, that the Tsuki people had gained even more ground.
Their style of dress, adapted to the desert climate of their native Yutouh, made them easily recognizable.
People looked at Grafay with curiosity, even with contempt, mocking his traditional Chūingamu clothing.
For Grafay, that was too much.
He returned to the Dungeon and addressed the elder master. "O Grand Master, I, Grafay, have come to speak to you!"
"What do you want to talk to me about, my child?"
"About destroying this Chūingamu sector, and everyone who lives there!"
The Grand Master widened his eyes, horrified. "How can you say such crazy things? I forbid you to do such a thing!"
Grafay sneered, a wicked grin distorting his face. "Hahah… I'm not asking for your opinion. I'm informing you, that's all. We must face the facts: the Chūingamu no longer exist. Chūingamu women have sold our people with their loose thighs!"
"And that's why you want to kill them all? You are free to exile yourself, but don't kill anyone!"
"Oh, yes, I am free to kill them! Because most of these bastard children resulting from mixing will proudly say that they belong to two clans, while claiming that the Tsuki clan is their favorite. To avoid this humiliation, this shame, I prefer to put an end to it all!"
"I understand your anger, my little one, but taking a life is a serious thing. A life is not given back," pleaded the Grand Master.
Grafay got up and headed towards the exit of the Dungeon. "I'm done!"
The Grand Master stood before him, blocking his path. "If you plan to go out to kill everyone, I won't let you do that!"
"But why stop me? I am a Faitā, and I must protect my clan. However, my clan is the victim of a massive invasion. I'm not going to stand idly by!"
"What don't you understand? In this story, there are Chūingamu women married to Tsuki. If you kill them, you will be going against everything the Faitā represent!"
"These women are traitors. They allowed the invasion of the Chūingamu people. Now let me pass, you senile old man!"
The Grand Master Faitā did not move, unshakeable.
"Grafay, calm down. You can just ignore all this and live among us in the Dungeon, far from all this chaos," he tried.
"No, my decision is made!"
"So, you have really decided to become a criminal? Answer me seriously!"
Grafay nodded, his gaze cold and determined. "Yes!"
The elder sighed, resigned. "Very well. I see that I have no choice."
He attacked Grafay, hitting him in the chest with such force that space warped around the impact. Grafay was thrown against a wall, where he collapsed, spitting blood and suffering martyrdom.
"No… no… kof… no, it's impossible. Having reached the Megasameta completely immunizes against physical pain. How is it possible that I can feel the pain and even bleed?"
The Grand Master Faitā approached Grafay and looked down at him, with an air of superiority. He shook his head and explained: "The Megasameta is a spiritual awakening above the physical plane. Everything that is physical can no longer hurt you. So, to reach you, you have to strike the spiritual plane!"
Grafay, trembling with pain, got up with difficulty and stared at the Grand Master Faitā. "Bastard, you never taught me that!"
The Grand Master Faitā replied: "You never wanted to learn all that either. You just wanted to limit yourself to the awakening of the Megasameta!"
Grafay spat blood and held his stomach with his right hand. His face was distorted with suffering. "Hitting the spiritual plane, he says... kof... kof..."
Then, he looked up at the Grand Master Faitā. "I'm going to learn it on the battlefield!"
The Grand Master looked at him with concern. "Grafay, you should really give up this madness!"
"No… no, I can't do that. I can't watch my people be extinguished by these Tsuki bastards without doing anything. The Chūingamu women… no, women in general, they're stupid. They don't know how to measure the gravity of situations. They allowed the destruction of our people by wanting to open up to others!"
The Grand Master Chūingamu sighed. "You are just carried away by anger, and everything that stems from anger is rarely good. You want to kill them all to appease this rage. But you will realize the gravity of your actions once that anger has calmed down. It makes you blind, it closes your ears. You have overcome the weaknesses of the body, how could your anger have spread into your mind?"
Grafay replied by shouting, spitting saliva mixed with blood. "No matter! This anger is only a reflection of the dignity of my clan, which feels destroyed. Old bastard, over all these years, I have understood many things, like women, for example. I understood that, if a people wants to destroy another people with ease, it must go through the women of the people it wants to destroy. Women are too easy to deceive, to trick and to manipulate, because they often believe they are doing the right thing. There is the proof: the Tsuki went through the Chūingamu women to annihilate us!"
Grafay attacked the Grand Master Faitā, launching a lightning strike. But the Grand Master dodged and hit Grafay in the face. Space warped again, and Grafay lost a tooth.
The Grand Master followed up with a barrage of blows, each with the same devastating effect. Grafay endured unimaginable, indescribable, intolerable pain.
"If I have to finish you off like an animal so that you don't let yourself be guided by this anger, I will!"
The Grand Master Faitā continued his assault.
For more than six hours, he hit Grafay like a common punching bag. Finally, Grafay collapsed on the floor, disfigured, exhausted, unable to move a single finger.
The Grand Master Faitā looked at Grafay. His fists were red, stained with Grafay's blood. "Have you learned your lesson, Grafay?"
On the ground, Grafay tried to get up, but immediately fell back down. "I… I… I will never… give up!"
The Grand Master Faitā frowned. "You wish to die?"
Despite everything, Grafay managed to stand up. His face swollen, he looked at the Grand Master Faitā and gave a provocative smile.
"Understand… try to understand… kof… kof… you senile old man, I will not give up my objective!"
The Grand Master Faitā stared at him, then spat in his face.
"Ooorrhhh… yuck! You're… you're an old pig, too!" Grafay protested.
The Grand Master Faitā replied: "If I spat on you, it's because I now consider you to be garbage. I have no choice but to kill you!"
Grafay's eyes widened, betraying worry and fear.
The Grand Master Faitā had noticed. "You see? Your look… it demonstrates that you are afraid. Afraid of what awaits you. So, I'm giving you one last chance. If you refuse, I will have no more scruples, I will go all the way. So, are you dropping this matter, yes or no?"
The Grand Master Faitā clapped his hands, and the other Grand Masters Chūingamu appeared around him. "If you give the wrong answer, we are all going to hit you until your last breath, Grafay!"
Grafay contemplated the Chūingamu masters, a bitter smile on his disfigured face. "Haha… kuf… so that's how it is. You're really ready to kill me for this?"
The Grand Master Faitā replied angrily: "We are still waiting for your answer. Hurry up, we don't have all day!"
Grafay stared into the Grand Master Faitā's eyes for a long moment, before lowering his gaze, plunged into deep reflection.
Then he said: "Listen to me carefully… kuf… kuf… I am not a coward. And I would rather die than frequent this place cursed by the Tsuki!"
He spread his arms and raised his eyes to the sky, a proud smile lighting up his face. "I am a Faitā, not a coward. I know what is good for my clan, and I know what is not. You are imposters. The Faitā are supposed to protect the clan, not the people who frequent it. To protect our clan, we should be ready to commit the worst atrocities. Furthermore, I am a man. A man never goes back on his decision. If you think you can scare me by talking about death, you are sorely mistaken. I am not giving up on my choice. Go ahead, kill me if you feel like it!"
The Grand Master Faitā swallowed. Sadness and regret could be read in his gaze. A lonely tear rolled down his cheek.
"Kill him!" he ordered, his voice broken.
And the Chūingamu masters threw themselves on Grafay, hitting him mercilessly, without remorse, without leaving him the slightest respite.
For more than ten months, Grafay was beaten relentlessly, without pause, without sleep, without eating or drinking.
The sound of his bones cracking echoed in the room. His organs were destroyed, his blood no longer circulated normally, but his heart continued to beat at the same frequency.
The Grand Masters Chūingamu began to doubt.
"It's impossible! Normally, he should have been dead a long time ago!" exclaimed one of them.
The Grand Master Faitā stepped back for a moment and said: "Stop!"
The Chūingamu masters stopped hitting Grafay, who collapsed on the floor like a disjointed puppet.
He was even more disfigured than before, his face covered in blood, his limbs broken, his throat torn.
"Grafay, how can you continue to live when we have damaged your spirit with our attacks? It's impossible!"
Grafay, lying on the floor, did not respond. He was silent, his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.
"This isn't normal. He just fell asleep there?" asked a Chūingamu master, stunned.
The Grand Master Faitā replied: "Yes, he just fell asleep!"
A Grand Master Chūingamu asked out of curiosity: "What should we do with him?"
The Grand Master Faitā observed Grafay, then replied: "Grafay has become strangely too resistant. I don't know how. Logically, by hitting his spirit, his new self, that should have killed him. Well, I'm going to opt to seal him away."
The other Chūingamu masters nodded in agreement.
The Grand Master Faitā approached Grafay, but noticed something strange: Grafay was regenerating, all his wounds closing before their disbelieving eyes.
Surprised, the Grand Master Faitā cried out: "THIS… THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"
This cry attracted the attention of the other Chūingamu masters. "What's happening, Master?"
"Grafay... he has healed from all his wounds!"
Amazement was painted on all faces.
How could Grafay have recovered so easily? It was insane, impossible, and yet it had happened.