Microstory 649: Eido Mateo’s Homecoming

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When Sotiren Zahir first met Eido Mateo, they could immediately relate to each other. They were both charming, mysterious, intriguing, and highly intelligent. They were the perfect match for each other. Had they wanted, they could have taken over the entire universe, and any other universe beyond it. Shortly after arriving, however, Mateo was taken back to his worlds by those he once called his friends. It’s unclear what happened to him while he was back there, but we know that he was somehow altered. The Sacred Savior had predicted Mateo’s return to these worlds sometime in the future, but many believed this to be more about his wishful thinking. Actually, the text was vague enough for him to return more in spirit; that his ideas could continue to modern times. Most did not think it possible that Mateo would survive the wrath of his former compatriots long enough to come back in any literal capacity. Following its sudden creation, verifiers landed on what would now have to be called Hargrave Island to survey the land. In fact, the recently resurrected Sotiren came as well to see this for himself. Before they could even get started, a door appeared in the middle of the rocky shore. It was just a regular brown door in a maroon frame, and it seemed to lead precisely nowhere, because all they found on any side was more rocks. It was not attached to anything, or at least not to anything in our perceptible dimensions. The door opened, and out came none other than Eido Mateo, along with his friends. And they really were his friends. He completely ignored Sotiren upon seeing him, as if they had never met before. Sotiren was saddened, and reportedly frightened; with good reason. One of his best friends had been taken from him by an enemy that he did not understand. Mateo was changed in some way, through technology Sotiren was not familiar with. If they could make this merciless warrior a tame moron, what else could they do? What threat does their parallel universe pose to ours? What other threats are out there waiting...or looking for us? Sotiren tried to get the real Mateo back, but Mateo had no recollection of their time together. He claimed that that wasn’t really him; that he was somehow possessed by someone evil and dark, but of course, nobody believed that. His people had done awful things to him, and Sotiren doubted there was any way to fix it. They left again before he could make any real progress, once again taking the Sword of Assimilation away, but their story together was not over yet.