Primitive Man

Chapter 243: Choose

Oswald and his group finally reached the military camp, the ground still trembling from the meteor's impact. As they disembarked, they were met with a surprising sight: Mia, standing in the middle of the camp, looking bewildered from the group of people that just arrived.

"Mia?" Oswald's voice was a mix of shock and anger. "How did you get here? You came here before us! For what?"

It was just a question that came out of pure surprise, but they quickly took actions rather than speaking words. The soldiers, including Oswald, quickly raised their guns, pointing them at Mia. Her eyes widened in confusion and fear not knowing how to respond.

"What are you doing? I don't know what's happening!" Mia pleaded, raising her hands in surrender. "Oswald, explain!"

Oswald stepped forward, his face stern. "You betrayed us. You tried to use the meteor's power for yourself. We saw everything. You tried to kill us!"

The whole place was engulfed by silence for a few minutes, but Mia quickly had the realization that something might have gone wrong, after all, everything Oswald said was true about her.

Mia clicked her tongue, realization dawning on her. She had intended to use the meteor, but something had gone wrong. "I… I know what you're saying, but it's not the whole story. I didn't do anything like that intentionally. Please, believe me. Beside, it might not be me! I'm here with you. It is probably..."

She paused for a minute before shifting the blame toward Eva. "It might have been Eva, that woman is the only one who can betray everyone and keep a straight face,"

Oswald shook his head not buying any of her stories. "Until we find out the truth, you're not allowed to do anything. Bind her hands."

A few soldiers moved forward, securing Mia's hands as she looked on helplessly. Oswald assigned some soldiers to keep her captive.

"What are we going to do? We might die from the meteor's impact," one soldier muttered, echoing the fear that hung in the air.

Oswald gathered Gundo, Ayra, and Rona to discuss their next steps. "Do you have any ideas? We need a plan."

He wasn't reluctant to take advice from these women who had better idea about this incident than him, but at the same time, he had to keep a straight face.

Ayra looked thoughtful at his words. "Garnt will take care of everything. We just need to hold on."

Oswald chuckled bitterly. "I don't have the same trust in a young man I don't even know."

While they were planning how to escape their demise from the sky, the conversation was interrupted by a commotion outside. They rushed out to see Kara, furious, standing over an injured soldier.

"Kara, stop!" Rona shouted, running to her side.

"What happened?" Gundo demanded.

Kara's eyes blazed with anger. "This soldier tried to touch one of our girls without her consent."

The villagers turned to see a young girl crying, her face pale with fear. Oswald's expression darkened. "Anyone who does that is lower than animals. I'm sorry this happened."

Ayra nodded. "It's not your fault that this man is an animal. We know that the behaviour of one person doesn't symbolize a whole group."

Oswald addressed the injured soldier. "You will face disciplinary action. Take him away now."

The soldier limped away with two people pushing him away, while the rest of the group began to calm down. They realized that understanding and cooperation were their only paths to survival.

*Tsk

"We are about to die here, and yet these idiots!" Oswald shouted, as he still felt the tremor and the strangeness of the land.

***

Meanwhile, in the void between worlds, Garnt, Eva, and Mia were engulfed in a whirlwind of knowledge. Garnt could feel the immense power of the meteor, and he started to understand the complexities of the world he dreamt of. It was far from the safe utopia he had hoped for.

As the whirlwind slowed, images of Eva's world, the current Earth, began to form around them. Garnt saw bustling cities with towering skyscrapers, advanced technology, and people from all walks of life moving in a seemingly harmonious dance. But as he delved deeper, the cracks in the façade became evident.

In one scene, he witnessed a family huddled in a cramped apartment, struggling to make ends meet despite their relentless work. He saw protests erupting in city streets, people demanding justice and equality. Pollution choked the skies of industrial areas, and news headlines blared about political corruption and social unrest.

Despite these flaws, there were moments of undeniable beauty. He saw communities coming together to support each other during times of crisis, scientific breakthroughs that promised to heal and save lives, and acts of kindness that bridged divides. Children played in parks, artists created masterpieces, and educators inspired future generations.

Eva watched Garnt's reactions with a knowing look. "Every era has its challenges, Garnt. It's not perfect, but there's goodness here too. The struggles and triumphs are what make us human."

Garnt nodded slowly, absorbing her words. "I dreamt of a world free of suffering, but I see now that it's an impossible ideal. Perfection doesn't exist, only the balance between light and darkness."

Suddenly, the whirlwind shifted, and they were shown glimpses of Garnt's world which is different from Eva's world, the one he had envisioned in his dreams. At first, it seemed idyllic. Clean energy powered cities, people lived in harmony with nature, and technology advanced without the cost of human and environmental suffering.

It was even more developed than Eva's world because of intervention that Eva gave to the history of this world with her system and all the development that Garnt brought upon this world. It was a world that humans survived the meteor and only dinosaurs went extinct. Humans of this world was much more developed and evolutionary than Eva's world.

But as time progressed, unexpected challenges arose. A pandemic swept through the population, natural disasters struck with unprecedented fury, and social conflicts emerged as different factions vied for power and control. The utopia Garnt had imagined was not immune to the unpredictable nature of existence.

The destruction or the cleansing was brought upon this world faster than any other place because of how fast they were developing. It was neither nature or an external enemy, rather it was humans that brought this disaster upon themselves.

The three watched in silence as Garnt's world unraveled, each twist and turn a reminder that no matter how carefully a society is constructed, unforeseen events can alter its course dramatically. The potential for disaster was ever-present, just as it was on Eva's Earth.

"Eva, Mia, what's the best thing I can do for all of us?" Garnt asked, his mind racing with possibilities.

Eva's voice was hesitant.

[There are no easy answers, Garnt. The future is uncertain.]

Mia, now more coherent, looked at Garnt with a hint of sadness. "We have to live through these challenges ourselves. There's no perfect solution."

Garnt pondered their words. "Then I'll create multiple scenarios, explore different paths. We need to find the right one."

As he spoke, he began to weave possibilities into existence, each one a thread of potential futures. He knew that their journey was far from over, but for the first time, he felt a glimmer of hope.

And with that in mind, he created the first instance where Eva and Mia were not enemies rather they supported each other.

But one thing became very clear to both of them. It wasn't just a random chance that the head scientist that worked on Eva's project always favoured her, rather it was none other than Garnt who was the scientist in this world, who had the responsibility of carrying out this experiment along with Eva.

Though he had no memories or recollection about his life, through his instinct he always favoured Eva, instead of any other in this world, as if the memories were engraved in his mind.

Garnt looked at her, realization dawning in his eyes. "It's like the memories were buried deep within me. Even without knowing, I was drawn to you. Maybe it's because we share the same vision."

[This is... I didn't know that was you! I guess our meeting wasn't a coincidence after all.]

Mia was watching everything with a expressionless look. She had long given up on the professor but coming to the realization that Garnt was the professor, she felt like laughing at herself.

"How is this reality going to turn out? Let's see!" Mia expected thing to be peaceful, but unlike what she expected the things got even more wild than when Mia and Eva were enemies as they fought for the meteor even harder than before. In this reality Mia got her hand on Garnt before Eva, so ultimately the destruction caused was unmeasurable.

Neither Mia nor Eva managed to gain the power of the meteor in this reality showing how flawed it was.

[A failed one! This is worst possible way!]

While all of this happening, Garnt had an idea.

"What if we never knew each other? Let's see!"