Nothing Below, Castrated

After humans inhaled Kijiera's pollen, they experienced hallucinations and developed severe physical dependency. Put bluntly, it was like smoking weed—it eroded their will and did nothing but harm. Yet Kijiera was an Earth plant, not an invasive extraterrestrial species, so the giants thirty million years ago could do nothing about it. After they left Earth, darkness fell upon the world, and the terminally ill Super Ancient Civilization was Game Over!

Like Earth's other plants, Kijiera followed the basic rule of working at sunrise and resting at sunset. It was active only under sunlight; once the sun went down, it closed its buds and stopped spreading pollen. Deprived of the pollen, humans awakened from their dreams in terrible pain. They cast aside their dignity, crawling on the ground and yearning for Kijiera to bloom and release its pollen once more.

At night, sickly, listless crowds could be seen everywhere in the streets. Groups of three or five fought fiercely over a single closed flower bud. Even more people knelt on the ground and wailed, yearning for Kijiera to bloom again as though praying for God to descend.

Daigo wandered the streets, filled with worry. Looking at the frenzied people, a profound sense of helplessness rose within him. Thirty million years ago, humanity had been unable to break free from the illusions created by Kijiera. Now that history was repeating itself, would human civilization be destroyed once again?

"What should I do... Is humanity really incapable of defeating fate?" Daigo stood by the river, gazing at the rippling water as confusion overtook him once more. He did not know what choice to make. What struck him hardest was GUTS. The members who had once fought on the front lines had completely fallen, and he could not find anyone to support him.

Daigo