The Magic Box Opens

The Girl's Face growing on the Wisdom Tree smiled ever more mysteriously.

Two branches stretched out from the slowly writhing green tide, like two arms tugging countless strings as they danced in an eerie fashion.

Within the translucent light and shadow, on the left stood Peach Blossom Paradise Town, a jungle of metal and cement, filled with humans baring fangs and claws, their faces twisted in savagery.

On the right stood monsters in the primeval jungle, connected and sheltered by the Wisdom Tree, likewise baring fangs and claws, their faces twisted in savagery.

The brains of these two kinds of Carbon-Based Lifeforms, equally ferocious in appearance, were linked together by slender Red Threads.

Streams of red light constantly flowed from the left to the right.

From human brains into monster brains, and into every cluster of nerves controlling their claws and fangs.

"I was born with a marvelous ability—the ability to link different kinds of Carbon-Based Life, whether humans or monsters, animals or plants, even bacteria and fungi, allowing them to share sensations, memories, and even thoughts."

The Wisdom Tree smiled. "Over several years of observation and study, I accumulated a great deal of human memory and emotion. In particular, I fished quite a few humans out of the Crimson Dragon River and Tiger's Fury River.

"Did you know? In Peach Blossom Paradise Town, the battles with the highest death rates were those against the Crimson Dragon River and Tiger's Fury River, using flesh and blood to hold back the flooding waters and raging mudslides.

"Countless people were swept away by towering muddy waves in battles where they pressed forward one after another. Most were buried in fish bellies and vanished without a trace, though a very few lucky ones were saved by me.

"And since Tiger's Fury River and