Brain bloom

The darkness has always been there.

Lurking in the shadows of all people and things, it observes and understands. Full of curiosity, it comprehends everything from the perspective of an observer.

The primordial god was unaware of this, for He had already hollowed out the core of the human world, constructing it as a testing ground, and striving to create stars, hoping that life could arise upon them...

At this point, the ancient demon king sighed.

"And then what? Was the Rose Queen still lonely?"

"The amusement brought by humans has already made it very happy. Later, it was certainly not satisfied with eavesdropping, and since the primordial god was always absent, it began to let go and start to bewitch humans."

Even though he was now depicting a long and heavy historical story, the tone of the ancient Demon King's voice remained one of bewilderment, a mixture of laughter and tears.

"You may not know, but what the Rose Queen loves most is picking fights with the Primordial God... and it will continue until the day everything ends."

"Is it similar to establishing oneself as a god and then being worshipped?"

"Not exactly. It's just a simple incitement of humanity to rebel against the primordial gods, adding a new concept called 'rebellion' to this world that only knows how to obey."

Humans are incredibly weak; even the slightest bit of power from darkness is enough to cleanse their nascent souls.

Moreover, in a time of chaos and confusion, this concept representing "conflict" was actually first proposed by darkness...

This significant point made Dandelion secretly give a thumbs up. "It's truly exhilarating," she thought. Even the history books of the Land of Flowers don't record this kind of history; it's both novel and interesting—she's definitely made the right choice coming here.

The other person who had experienced all four seasons had a complicated expression...

After catching his breath, the Ancient Demon King continued speaking. At the same time, a scene that looked somewhat familiar to Sen Shi suddenly appeared in the illusion.

“At that time, I was invited there... because there was life on a star.”

An aerial view of the Milky Way.

A vast and incredibly complex constellation of stars, their sheer number and the power they contain are beyond comprehension. Their creator is the primordial deity, the creator of the world. A vast amount of divine power has coalesced within them, forging everything into a breathtaking spectacle; every action of His imbues this universe with meaning.

This divine authority over all things is incomparable to the so-called true gods of later generations.

And He stood high above the universe, looking down on everything, and uttered only one word.

"tired……"

"Hmm." The Ancient Demon King nodded.

These influential figures gradually mastered language and began to express their thoughts using sounds. This had its advantages; at least they no longer needed to stare into each other's eyes to communicate.

The ancient Demon King did not forget to conceal his corrupt aura, lest it taint the star He was pointing to.

Since then, the primordial gods have returned to the surface of the human world even less, because everything on this star is developing at an astounding pace. It's a different flow of time, and the life forms nurtured by the blood of Eden seem to be more complex.

"Is that Eden Bank?" Dandelion asked, pointing to the universe that was slowly fading from the illusion.

"Do not."

"Well?"

"Eden Bank... it's not that simple." The ancient demon king shook his head and took a sip of his wine. He didn't seem inclined to reveal the mystery yet, perhaps because telling the story would require a lot of groundwork.

Suddenly, a soft chuckle came from the side, and the punctuation mark of mythology grinned.

"Eden Bank, in reality, is just the world's first... a song sung by God."

"You bastard, don't say it out loud! Or I'll turn you into a period right now!"

"It's just too annoying to listen to you describe the whole process." The period at the end of the sentence was clearly intentional, accompanied by a mischievous grin.

Volume 1 #361 Nightmare and the Drowned

Before the answer arrived, Mori Toki had made no preparations. She remained immersed in the vastness of the universe, contemplating everything related to her past life, even delving into deeper questions: Why did she exist? Was she connected to the true god...?

However, the story of Eden Bank spread throughout the world through casual conversation.

"A... ballad?"

"If it's a folk song, then why did the old owl say that many people have been there?"

The ancient demon king sighed. Since the answer had already been given, there was nothing he could do.

It spoke first, asking, "You must have a very special Theobal, Princess of the Four Seasons. If you do, you must have played that piece... that song that has been passed down through generations of your Four Seasons..."

"The Everlasting Courtyard Awaits You?"

"Yes."

"How about playing a song?" the old man suggested to Dandelion with a smile.

She shook her head: "I didn't bring that violin with me. It's too valuable, so I usually keep it at my winery."

This word, like the most beautiful musical note, gently seeped into Sen Shi's heart. When she came to her senses, it had already stirred up a shower of petals. Because she remembered when she had heard it... on that rare quiet day before setting off on her journey to the Kingdom of the Holy Coffin.

She was sewing clothes to keep warm under the unripe grapevines, while Dandelion, holding a beautiful old-fashioned zither, was plucking the strings with a smile...

Looking at the confusion and astonishment on the faces of the two Seasonal Beings, the Ancient Demon King, mimicking someone else's tone, asked with a touch of nostalgia:

What do you think is the greatest wonder of the world?

"I believe... it is that we are alive, that we have life."

Mori stroked the smooth ponytail hanging over his shoulder, pondered for a long time, and then gave this answer.

She has witnessed a cataclysmic event—a sky filled with flashing meteors that brought death to all; she has also witnessed a world-ending calamity awakened by the obsession of an evil god. Now, within the illusion of the ancient Demon King, she is witnessing the oldest histories of two worlds…

In addition, he had always hoped to save the girl named Yuan, but unexpectedly discovered that saving a life was extremely difficult.

But for the dandelion, the miracle seems to have a different answer—

"Besides the Four Seasons Ones, there are other living things."

“I also think it’s a miracle…” Mori replied, both amused and exasperated.

“Ahem, well… the views of the primordial god are somewhat contrary to those of the two of you.” After coughing a few times to ease the awkwardness, the ancient demon king continued, “He believes that the greatest miracle in the world is the existence of music.”

"Hmph, boring, the Rose Queen is bound to win."

"Uh...why?"

“I can understand this idea because I also woke up in that era. It was a silent world, quiet and suffocating, and we never knew that sound could be so beautiful.”

It stretched out its hand, revealing the next scene—

Night deepened, and the wind whistled. A man sat cross-legged on the bare grass, yawning repeatedly. He was weaving rope, a method recently discovered that combined flexible plants to create ropes with many uses. But he was exhausted and began to slack off.

Mori felt the man looked familiar; he seemed to resemble the young version of the ancient leader and martyr from the novel "The Soul of the Traveler"...

His dirty face was full of weariness as he half-asleep twisted a straw rope. Perhaps because he had nothing better to do, he began to play with the rope and suddenly made a discovery.

If you tighten it, then when you turn it, a very faint sound will be produced.

For people of this era, a little fun and novelty can sweep away fatigue. So he began to play around with it, and as the night deepened, he tied one end of the rope to each of different trees, pulling them very tight so that they could bounce easily.

With both hands free, he began to explore more things and discovered that pressing down on a section with his fingers and then plucking it produced different sounds... These sounds, depending on where they were pressed, would occasionally transform into pleasant, connected musical notes.

Even the smallest things are all the more magical.

And so—the darkness hidden in the night also remembered this. It began to experiment further. For example, the thickness of the rope, the pressure point, and the force with which the string was plucked all produced different sounds…

After countless days and nights of experimentation, she created something.

Several ropes of varying thicknesses, tied parallel to each other at both ends of a tree and taut, can produce richer and more malleable sounds through different pressures. But their sounds are still too soft; a louder sound is needed... otherwise, even the wind can't drown them out.

Soon after, someone discovered that speaking into a small cave would create a more layered sound, producing more interesting echoes. Inspired by this, and after countless attempts, darkness created something.

It has five ropes of different thicknesses, tied to a wooden resonator. One hand presses down on different parts of the ropes, while the other hand plucks the strings inside the hollowed-out resonator.

That was the world's first musical instrument.

“Look, that’s the prototype of your instrument.”

"Yes, music was invented by the Four Seasons," Dandelion said with even greater pride.

"What does this have to do with the primordial gods?"

The ancient Demon King looked distressed: "Alas, I could have slowly told you about the development of history, which would have made it easier to understand. But this bastard revealed the Eden Bank matter ahead of time... I can only interrupt here."

"What can't be told? This story is very simple, come and listen to me!"

While the venerable Rose Queen fiddled with her instruments and muttered, 'Why hasn't that blinding light returned yet? I've created such a powerful instrument and stirred up so many humans, ready to play with you,' the Primordial God was engrossed in observing life on the stars.

Darkness brought the concept of music to the world, while the actions of the primordial gods also introduced a new concept.

He closed his eyes, as if he were asleep.

"Yes, a dream!"

"Before this, we really didn't know what dreams were... nor did that fictional testing ground, but everything was resonating... whether it was the music or the world."

The ancient Demon King disliked the straightforward, superficial narrative of mythological endings, so he picked up the conversation, adopting the devil's characteristically meaningful tone—

"In the world of the test field, in our world, all beings with souls will be drawn into the resonance of divine power when they close their eyes, fall into rest and distance themselves from reality... At that time, the barriers of reality will become ambiguous!"

In dreams, we experience everything new and fragmented. Or, deep within our imagination, those incredible subconscious thoughts, resonating with divine power, are given the possibility of becoming reality, revealing wondrous and illusory dreamscapes!

It let out a long, mournful sigh—

"That was a dream... but at least back then, no one had nightmares. Until the primordial god and darkness drowned together in a dream. Aren't you curious? Why can you darkness dwell in nightmares?"

……

(ps)

Amazing! I'm filling in the gaps in my writing! The more I write, the more inspiration I get—it feels fantastic!

Volume 1, Chapter 362: Sweet as Honey

I don't know how many times this has happened today, but once again, Mori Toki, in a parrot-like manner, repeated the strange words spoken by the ancient Demon King. Its narratives are always like this, with things that are difficult to understand appearing from time to time.

"Drowning..."

“Have you ever seen a swamp, Coffin Bearer?” the ancient demon king continued. “It’s like a swamp hidden in a swaying reed. It looks no different from a lake until you accidentally step on it, and the bottomless mud hooks and bites your feet. That’s drowning.”

Sen felt a chill run down his spine, but then he realized that wasn't the case at all.

She pursed her lips and revealed the truth: "I am a coffin carrier; the swamp is useless to me."

"...Alright then."