I was a fish.
I seemed to have slept for a very long time.
I remembered that, a very, very long time ago—
Within something unseen, whether it was sky, earth, ocean, or some other "mist" that could only be called the unknown, I had gained consciousness.
It was no big deal. I went back to sleep.
After another very, very long time, I awoke and sensed the currents of the sea, the summons of spirit, the buoyant leaps of life.
There were some little fellows... far too little!
They were like mayflies, like wriggling larvae, tiny as nothingness.
They were so small that I had to exert great effort just to see them.
They struggled and fought bloody battles upon my body, devouring one another. Some even lived on my body, gnawing at it and drawing nourishment from it.
It was no big deal. I went back to sleep.
After another very, very long time, a force of devotion woke me. I discovered that a civilization had appeared upon my body.
At the tiny speck on the tail of my ventral fin, they settled upon a minute patch and built a Sea Kingdom civilization, worshipping this "Source of Life" that nourished their growth and granted them power.
They worshipped me?
It was no big deal. I went back to sleep.
That force of devotion woke me once more.
Who knew how much time had passed? I discovered that they had grown strong enough to occupy half of... the patch... at one corner of my ventral fin.
They had also bred many new species—plants and trees, sea spirits, stone monsters, armored beasts, slick worms, too many to name.
It was no big deal. I went back to sleep.
Several turbulent eras passed in succession through my dreams.
Sometimes, beyond the