Beyond the pillar

CHAPTER 1 BIRTH?

I open my eyes after feeling an intense and piercing pain in my chest, anguish coursing through my entire body, chills, an unbearable agony. The light burned my eyes as they gradually adjusted, dizziness and an immense feeling of loss tightening my chest and taking my breath away. What is this? Slowly, I begin to regain control of my sanity and my body as if I had never used it before, barely able to move my numb arms.

"Where?... What is this place? This is my voice."

The first thing that catches my attention is the chrysalis from which I emerged, similar to an egg covered in bright red skin, sprouting what looked like veins that completely embraced the rocks surrounding it. Completely disoriented, I slowly observe my surroundings, gradually understanding. I could think, that was clear from the conversations I was having in my mind. For some reason, I knew a language; I could speak it. As I thought, I noticed I had knowledge of things I had never seen. What a strange sensation.

"It seems I am a Thinker, or at least I have the body of one. Very pale." I observed my arms and hands.

My naked body is slender, I have black hair, long to my shoulders, but short at the nape's circumference. The chrysalis is surrounded by gray rocks with puddles of a strange black liquid. Large dead trees stood like specters, their bare and twisted branches reaching towards the gray sky. Their bark was covered in a dark, sticky moss that gave off a nauseating odor. The hollow and cracked trunks emitted a constant creaking sound, as if they were about to collapse at any moment. The air was thick and hard to breathe, laden with a suffocating humidity that clung to the skin. A sharp and penetrating smell, like that of decomposing organic matter, permeated the environment.

A meter away from me lies a lifeless body. Despite having knowledge, I cannot identify what it is; it looks like a werewolf with parts of trees as if they had been forcibly implanted.

"Looks like I had better luck than you."

As I stood up, I felt myself getting used to my body. It was a strong body; it doesn't seem like I was just born. Born? With knowledge and no memories, something doesn't add up. I looked back at my silent companion.

"Do you know what I am and where I come from? This poor guy has been here stiff for weeks."

As I approached the corpse, I felt the need to do something. I wasn't sure what, but I felt an unsettling emptiness. My senses sharpened, and I felt a tingling in my hands as if something were about to happen. Then I realized that being a Thinker, I might be able to do what they do.

"Let's try it; I have the body of a Thinker after all."

I closed my eyes to try to concentrate. In my mind, I saw the corpse and tried to create pants from its skin. When I opened my eyes, I noticed the skin of the corpse slowly moving. I need to understand the whole process to create it, I thought of the skin stretched and dried under the light with accelerated time, the fibers breaking and becoming more flexible. I give it shape, and with its fur braided, I make threads to bind it.

"Ah! How do Thinkers create reality with their thoughts! Materializing an idea is complicated; I need to understand more to apply it."

If in just one second I can create something huge and detailed in my mind, with the right knowledge, I could create anything. I must find Thinkers to enhance and understand this ability.

"Ah! My knowledge is limited! I am definitely one of those Thinkers. I want to know more."

To move heavy objects or create something complex, they must know a lot about the laws of this pillar. The abilities of Thinkers are very complex. I took the pants I had just created and put them on.

"What good pants! They make my butt look beautiful!"

I still had many doubts. I don't think I was born; something else happened. Did I evolve? Did my previous consciousness die in the process? I feel completely blank.

I noticed a black figure near me as I analyzed the place. It was a being made of darkness as if its body were smoke. Its lower part seemed to be a snake, and upwards, a Thinker's body with long arms and fingers. Its oval head, tilted downward, had three thin lines of light, as if they were eyes, but it clearly didn't need them.

A creaking sound came when it spoke to me with a tone of voice that made my body shudder, a voice that generated in me the sensation that it should never have been heard by any living being.

"The canvas has awakened," it said.