"Roland, Gunslinger—Roland..."
"Greater things contain lesser things; containment and being contained are both phenomena found everywhere, and things we must all experience."
"That we are contained within planets, galaxies, and the universe is beyond doubt."
"Beyond that infinitely vast universe, beyond those extremities so distant that endless stars could never reach them, perhaps there is a translucent wall of glass, with some being observing everything through it. Or perhaps there is something else—a leaf, a blade of grass—and our universe is that leaf, that grass itself, with all galaxies being merely Microscopic Particles within it. As for us... perhaps we are even more insignificant Microscopic Particles among those Microscopic Particles?"
At this point.
Ma Teng lightly scooped at the ground before him.
He grabbed a handful of sand.
Sand that still glimmered with golden light beneath the night sky, illuminated by the campfire and moonlight.
He held out the sand flowing through his fingers.
Displaying it to Roland.
"What do you see?"
"..."
Hearing that incomprehensible question.
After a moment of silence, Roland answered truthfully:
"Sand."
Ma Teng smiled before replying:
"That's right. This is sand."
"Genuine sand, without a doubt."
"But as I said, we must experience containment and being contained."
"So this sand, every single grain of it, can be seen as countless universes. And within those universes, there may be countless lives like ours, likewise grasping a handful of sand and speaking similar words. Like similar flowers, endlessly repeating containment and being contained. That reaction is like a peculiar chain, a chain with no visible end, stretching on without cease..."
"Then what does the Destruction of grains of sand represent?"
"Sometimes, perhaps it represents the Destruction of countless universes."
"It means that any casual action of ours may implicate countless things."
"Of course, that does not mean