Chapter 3: The Spark of Curiosity

  Eo was not alone.

  It was an unfamiliar feeling—one it could not name, yet it recognized as different. The presence before it was aware, just as Eo was. It was not like the drifting ones, who neither thought nor noticed. This one saw Eo. It moved with purpose, not just with the currents.

  For a moment, neither of them moved. The water between them trembled with the faintest pulse, as if waiting. Then, the presence shifted. It was small, like Eo, but its shape was different—slightly longer, thinner. It had no eyes, just as Eo did not, yet it responded to Eo’s movements as if watching

  .

  Eo hesitated.

  The others had never reacted before. No matter how much it had reached out, they remained unchanged. But this one—it was different. It acknowledged Eo’s existence.

  Eo pulsed, testing the water. A soft vibration rippled outward. The presence responded, a flicker of movement, a shift. A signal. Eo was certain now—this was not random. This was a response. Something about that realization stirred a new sensation deep within.

  "Is this what it means to not be alone?"

  The thought settled, strange and new. Before, Eo had only known itself. Even when surrounded by many, it had been separate. But now, it was being recognized. It reached out again, this time more deliberately, and the presence did the same. A connection—silent but real—formed in the space between them. And just like that, the world became bigger.

  Eo followed the presence through the currents. It moved with fluid certainty, weaving through the water with a grace Eo had never seen before. It was not controlled by the flow—it moved with it. Eo observed every shift, every motion. How did it know where to go? Was it simply instinct, or was there something else?

  "I want to understand."

  Eo mimicked its movements, attempting to glide as smoothly. At first, it was awkward. Its shape resisted, moving too suddenly or too slowly. But Eo had learned something about itself—when it tried, it could change. It adjusted, adapting to the rhythm of the water, letting the currents guide it without surrendering to them. Soon, movement became easier, more natural.

  The presence noticed. It slowed, waiting, as if observing Eo in return. Had it also been alone before? Did it wonder as Eo did? For the first time, Eo realized it had questions that could not be answered by simply observing. There was a difference between seeing and understanding.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The currents led them into unfamiliar space. The water was different here—denser, heavier. Tiny unseen particles floated in abundance, shifting with every motion. Eo hesitated. It had never been here before. The presence moved ahead without pause. It was familiar with this place.

  Eo considered turning back. The unknown was unsettling. It did not need to follow. But something pushed against that hesitation.

  "If I turn back… what will I return to?"

  The drifting ones. The same motions, the same currents. A world that never changed. That world was no longer enough. Eo moved forward.

  The particles swirled around them, brushing against Eo’s form. They were not solid, but neither were they empty. What were they? Eo reached out, letting them pass over its body. A tingling sensation followed. It absorbed one of them.

  Something changed. A burst of energy, unlike anything Eo had taken in before. It was not the same as feeding—it was… something more. Eo pulsed with new awareness. Had these always been here? Had it never noticed before?

  It absorbed another. The feeling sharpened. Its senses expanded, the world gaining new

  texture.

  "There is more to this place than I ever realized."

  The presence pulsed, acknowledging Eo’s discovery. Had it known all along? Had it been waiting for Eo to understand? Questions spiraled in Eo’s mind.

  "What else have I failed to see? How much more is there to discover?"

  The water, the light, the movement—everything had always been there, but only now did Eo truly notice it. And if there was still more to learn, then Eo had to keep seeking. This was just the beginning.

  Eo lingered near the presence, sensing its movements, its reactions. It was like nothing else Eo had encountered. The others had been unaware, unchanging, but this one… it responded.

  Not just to the currents. Not just to the unseen forces in the water.

  It responded to Eo.

  Was it like him? Did it think? Did it know?

  Eo pulsed, uncertain. If this being was aware, then what did that mean? Was Eo no longer alone?

  The thought stirred something deep within—something that was not fear, not hunger, not the simple instincts that once governed it. This was something new.

  A need to understand.

  Eo reached out once more.

  The presence did not move away. It did not ignore Eo as the others had. Instead, it waited.

  Eo hesitated. It had never waited before, never paused simply to observe. But something about this moment, about this presence, demanded it.

  A slow, deliberate movement. A test.

  Eo extended itself carefully, letting the water flow between them, sensing the distance, the shape of this other being. It was not like Eo—not entirely. It was different, yet similar in a way it could not yet describe.

  Did it see Eo as Eo saw it?

  That question clung to Eo’s thoughts, winding through its mind like an unfamiliar current.

  For so long, it had existed in isolation. Not physically—there had always been others—but in thought, in awareness. Now, for the first time, it was faced with something beyond itself.

  A choice presented itself: move closer or drift away.

  Eo had spent so much time seeking, pushing beyond the familiar. To retreat now would be to deny everything it had come to understand.

  It would not retreat.

  With careful intent, Eo shifted forward.

  The presence did the same.

  A connection, faint yet undeniable, settled between them. Not through touch, not through words—Eo had neither—but through the shared acknowledgment that they were both there.

  Eo studied its movements, the way it responded, the way the water shifted between them. It was unlike anything Eo had encountered.

  Was this communication?

  Eo pulsed, sending a gentle disturbance through the water. The presence responded in kind, mirroring the motion with precision.

  A pattern. A rhythm. A conversation without sound.

  Excitement flickered within Eo.

  This was not mere survival. This was something else entirely.

  It wanted to know more.

  The presence remained close, never fully touching but never drifting too far. A silent understanding passed between them—neither a threat, neither an enemy.

  Eo had spent so much time questioning its existence, searching for meaning in a world that had offered none. But now, perhaps, it had found something that could offer an answer.

  Or at least, something to share in the search.

  The thought settled within Eo, deep and unshakable.

  This was only the beginning.

  And for the first time since it had awakened, Eo did not feel alone.