Brain bloom

After that, the ancient demon king stopped giving those boring examples and simply began to tell the story of what happened next.

Later—the primordial god, with the knowledge gained through the experimental site and his observations and understanding of humanity, wanted to come to the human world to create some new things, and also to see if these first, old humans could still be saved.

But the little conspiracy that darkness had been brewing for some time welcomed the arrival of the primordial god.

Incited, humanity rebelled against its creator.

Their wisdom is shallow, and for countless years their true God has lurked somewhere unknown, while darkness dwells in their shadows, constantly whispering and driving each and every one of them.

The wisdom of darkness is equally shallow; it neither knows nor cares what this will bring. It only ever does what it finds amusing, just as it did when it first gained consciousness, frequently harassing the primordial gods for its own amusement.

as a result--

Watching humanity, like puppets on strings, driven by the shadows beneath their feet, charging towards him, the primordial god was enraged. He punished these humans, then utterly abandoned them. As for the darkness that had been his companion, the two clashed once more.

The world, which had become slightly more lush, has returned to desolation.

As the battle reached its most critical moment, darkness was already prepared. It took out its crudely made, poorly crafted xylophone and played a melody that had been brewing for many years, attracting the attention of the primordial god with its novel and peculiar tune.

With a moment of distraction, he uttered, "That sounds so beautiful," and the Primordial God, defeated, fled to the deepest part of the world, to his own testing ground, where he angrily prepared for revenge...

At that time, Darkness, flaunting its victory, was unaware of the intensity of the retribution it had brought upon itself. It remained a naive creature, and in its good mood, it conjured up even more amusing schemes.

"Later, your Rose Queen became obsessed with music."

Within the dreamlike scene, a shadowy girl, formed by darkness, is using her almost infinite time to work on her musical instrument, improving and elevating it. Her pursuit of beauty has been constant from the beginning; she certainly wouldn't allow herself to play a broken piece of wood aimlessly.

Complete and flawless timber.

Exquisitely crafted.

Strings that produce a precise, pure, and beautiful tone.

There are also carvings decorating it.

She crafted a remarkably beautiful instrument, and then played it every day in a world ravaged by war and left desolate. The music seemed inexhaustible; when she grew tired of one melody, she could always find another.

At this point, it could only be called a melodic fragment, not yet music. Occasionally, she would hum along, and she discovered a new concept: she could also produce melodic sounds, which sometimes blended harmoniously with the piano's melody, becoming even more beautiful.

Before he'd even seen a fifth of it, Mori was already bored.

She ran to the wheat field that marked the end of the myth, where the wheat was gradually turning yellow, picked out the plump and ripe ears of wheat, and then cut them down. Even turning over the wheat seemed more interesting than listening to the story.

"So, let's look at how our ancestors learned to play the piano and created music... Queen Rose was truly great."

"King of Ancient Demons, why do you have such complete memory fragments? Have you been spying all along? How come they're all from your first-person perspective?" Dandelion noticed another point.

It wasn't shy at all, frankly stating its reason: "You can't understand, but this is the first time music has been born in the world... It's an incredible thing... even if it's just some off-key notes."

After that, the memories of the ancient demon king ended.

Or rather, it skipped a large section.

It's not because it did it intentionally, but because the middle section is something it can't see.

"Later, for a long time, I didn't see them again," it said, its tone still somber.

The dark figure reappeared in the memory, now a decaying human form devoid of its former power. In this desolate world, she, black as she was, feared the light, walking precariously in the shadows. Like a traveler embraced by the desert and drought, her body was broken and broken.

Dandelion and Sen Shi both stared intently at her.

Intuition roared in his heart: this person was probably the ancestor of the Four Seasons. Mori couldn't understand what she had gone through to transform from that terrifying darkness into what she was now, as if even a little sunlight could wash away her blackness.

Fortunately, a shadowy giant exuding an aura of decay blocked out the light.

The ancient demon king remained silent, staring at her with a puzzled look, trying to understand where they had gone after disappearing for so long. Clearly, a considerable amount of time had passed between these two memories…

Darkness said in distress—

"She took revenge on me."

"?"

"She couldn't beat me, so she used the resonance of divine power, that phenomenon that allows our souls to pass through reality... to take revenge on me. She used a dream to drag me in, trying to bind me to the dream forever and never give me another chance to play with her."

"??"

"But she failed! She doesn't understand music! Resonance isn't just about one person speaking!" Darkness suddenly became excited. "That day, I had a dream... I dreamt that she was dreaming, and in the dream, I was dreaming, and the content of the dream was that she was dreaming..."

"..."

"In my dream, she dreamed of me. And in her dream, she dreamed that I was dreaming of her." Darkness covered its head, as if it might turn to ashes at any moment.

"??????"

Darkness calmed down considerably and said, word by word, "Originally, only I would appear in your dreams. But because we are... sisters? That's roughly the idea. We inevitably resonate with each other, so her little trick to harm me backfired and she ended up harming herself too!"

"So, the reason you've been missing for so long is because you were trapped together in a dream." The Ancient Demon King had to express himself in words, because his eyes couldn't convey the complexity of his feelings. "Dreaming of each other, and dreaming that the other is dreaming of themselves..."

It gave up speaking, shut its mouth; silence suited it best.

Darkness nodded, a bitter smile on his face, but then sadness crept in.

In that endless, ethereal dreamscape, they experienced impatience, grief, and even madness, for the recurring, overlapping dreams were a torment to their souls. This was a phenomenon caused by divine resonance, yet their immense power was powerless to intervene and stop it.

They couldn't close their eyes and refuse to watch these scenes, because they struck their very souls.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, when their countless efforts finally paid off, they met at the end of their dream. Perhaps the resonance of divine power had dissipated, or perhaps the resonance had reached its peak of harmony, and their souls and consciousnesses had completely merged, and they accepted each other.

In the deepest part of their dreams, standing on the other shore and at the starting point, they knew the billions of thoughts within their souls.

The primordial god understood that she harassed him every now and then because she was lonely.

And darkness also knew that she, too, was trying to create life to enrich the world because of loneliness.

But they all forgot something they took for granted, which has only now been remembered.

From the moment they were born, they were not alone. A completely different, yet intimately connected soul was always with them. They forgot this, and took a wrong and winding path.

"...I'm sorry, I should have spent more time with you, instead of chasing you away time and time again."

"I should have told you in a simpler way that I was lonely, instead of pretending I wasn't lonely and coming to fight you."

Unable to break through the walls of the dream, they could only keep company with the laughing souls beside them, talking about trivial things that brought joy to the souls. In this dream that drowned them both, they talked more than ever before.

"The things you've built are complete failures."

"Actually, it wasn't a complete failure. Although they were a bunch of flawed creatures, they preserved a kind of instinct that I gave them very well. I don't know what it's called, but it's quite amazing..."

"what?"

"Actually, I like playing with you. But you always hit too hard and have no sense of restraint. Even the little animals I created later at least know that they can only nip at each other lightly when playing. So, I had the idea to create something gentle to prove to you... Hmph, even without you, I can live without being lonely."

"Hmm... It's a bit infuriating, but I think I understand what you're talking about, although I don't know what it's called... But after you created humans, I get really angry when you're with them, so I always deliberately beat you harder."

They must all originate from the same thing.

They were silent for a moment, looked at each other, and couldn't help but smile and sigh.

If only we had known this sooner... But it doesn't seem too late now. After our hearts were connected, a wonderful warmth seemed to replace the original substance in our souls, and instead, joy filled the entirety of their souls.

They were genuinely happy because of each other's words.

"So... what is this called?"

"I don't know, but what it's called doesn't seem to matter."

"Too."

The time that followed was the happiest time of their lives. The two souls, finally free from loneliness, created many things through the resonance of their consciousness within what should have been a terrible, recurring dream.

Dreams are ethereal, yet they can materialize everything.

If the will is strong enough, the power of the true god can make everything arbitrarily arbitrary. They can do many things besides escape this place. After all, unlike before, they are now of one mind. Previously, it was merely two powerful consciousnesses struggling, unintentionally vying for control of the dream, causing the endless cycle of dreams to continue.

Before they found a way to leave, they did a lot of interesting things.

Do you know what music is?

"music?"

“We can make sounds, but sounds are not necessarily for expressing meaning; they can also be used to sing melodies.”

"……melody?"

The darkness, with a soft hum, whispered the best melody it had recorded over the years in her ear. In this dreamlike state, she taught her beloved what music was.

"This is the most beautiful miracle in the world!"

"Yes!"

As the music played, the theoboros appeared in the darkness. She was moved, realizing that day and night, she had painstakingly created this instrument and recorded the melodies, all so that she could share the beautiful sounds she had discovered with her.

The primordial god also had beautiful things he wanted to show her.

"It's all because we fight every day. The world is so desolate and has no beauty at all."

"That's right!"

"So... I thought for a long time, not knowing what to use to decorate this world... until I created those flawed lives, and in order to fix the flaws, I discovered many suitable things. Empty your mind and give me your soul."

The darkness complied; it was easy, all it took was to submit to and accept the beloved.

Her consciousness froze for half a second before she was gently awakened by her beloved.

"Look."

"Ok?"

That was the world—a lush, boundless world.

Hundreds of millions of flowers of unknown species intertwine with the greenery, forming an endless carpet that stretches to the horizon.

The trees are lush and tall, and the chirping of birds echoes among the branches. White cloud insects roam freely in the blue sky, creating a vibrant and colorful scene.

This is the beauty she envisions the world should possess. These things, called flowers, are creations made unintentionally, yet they possess a unique beauty. Countless varieties exist, and no matter how she kneads them or adds any color, they can all become beautiful.

Of course, the green of plants is also essential. Unlike vibrant colors, green can bring peace to the soul.

This was the blueprint of the primordial god, which was supposed to be constructed in the human world, but due to the jealousy of this wicked fellow, a fierce battle led to its complete destruction.

She sighed, pretending to blame her. The latter could only humbly accept it, because the scenery was indeed beautiful.

Fortunately, for beings like them, creating a world is not difficult. They simply need to drive the primal evil that brings desolation to a place where humans and animals can live.

"When we get back, shall we decorate the world like this together? I'll put in a lot of effort, as a way of making it up to you." The dark smile was as sweet as honey.

"Hmm... go back..."