Chapter 17 — The Primordial Knot
Dungeon. Floor 51. The Shift Zone.
The walls of the Dungeon themselves began to change. The stone pulsed like a vein. There was a hum at every step, like the beating of a giant heart. The slabs underfoot were not laid out, but grew.
"It's not just a dungeon anymore,— Riveria said. "It's... a living organism."
The Hulk led the way. His chains trembled more and more violently, as if responding to a call from the depths.
And suddenly they flashed with a dark green light — for the first time in the entire journey.
"Are the chains... alive?" Finn frowned.
"No,— the Hulk replied. "Not alive. They are attached. And they call me back to where my pain began.
⸻
After several hours of wandering, they reached the border of the Node.
It was not just a door, but a crack in reality. There was a rift right in the middle of the Dungeon, as if the fabric of the world had been torn apart by claws.
There was a light coming from inside—not magical, but ancient, like the birth of the world.
On his doorstep, the Hulk collapsed to one knee.
The chains dug into the ground, holding him down, preventing him from entering. He heard a voice. Old, hoarse, enveloping.
"You've grown up. You've become more furious. But you haven't broken everything yet. Come back. Be mine again. I'll show you what it's like to be a god of pain.
It was Gr'n Dol'Raht, his god.
The one who put him in chains and raised him in the Colosseum.
"You're not dead,— the Hulk hissed. "You were just hiding."
"You're my seal, Hulk. Your pain is my gift. In the Primordial Node, you will either become me or perish.
⸻
Ais ran up to the Hulk and put her hand on his shoulder.
"You're not alone. If this place is your pain, we will go through it together.
The Hulk raised his head. His face was calm. Terribly calm.
"I'm coming." But I am not a slave. Not anymore.
He stood up, and the chains detached themselves from the ground. They swirled around his arms like a snake and fell silent.
"I'm coming in." Back to the beginning. To put an end to it.
And the Hulk took a step into the Primordial Node.
⸻
Inside.
It wasn't a place. It was a moment in time, frozen in agony.
He was a child again. Back in the arena. Gra'n Dol is in front of him again'Raht, laughing and pointing at the chains.
But now everything is different. Because now he has not fear in his hands, but will.
The Hulk's power began to condense. His body flashed green, as it had when he was losing control—but now he had his rage under control.
"I'm not a weapon. I am a choice.
Gra'n-Dol'Racht stopped talking for the first time.
And then a crack appeared in the sky of the Primordial Node.
Spark.
The beginning of the next level.