"The Beginning Epoch lasted hundreds of millions of years. Humans, elves, dwarves, dragons, beastmen, and countless other races walked the earth. Brilliant civilizations blossomed and bore fruit. The thirteen Ancient Gods of the Beginning lived in the heavens alongside those Lucky Ones who had touched the supreme, yet occasionally descended as saints to intervene in mortal affairs. Spellcasters of all talents and professions freely explored the potential of souls and flesh, recorded and created new knowledge, and pursued the mysteries of the world and the meaning of life. The vast world was far larger than today's Material World. Even in the void beyond the world, there were countless small worlds formed from stable fragments."
He took a deep breath.
"People today cannot imagine any of it. They cannot imagine how prosperous, splendid, and glorious the Beginning Epoch was, even though I can glimpse only one corner of it. But it is all gone. Everything has vanished. Beyond the world lies true void. The gods departed into Slumber, and even if they still exist, they no longer watch over pitiful mortals. Supernatural Beings no longer possess the power they once had. Mortal civilization regresses generation after generation. Even those wondrous races have gradually faded away in spacetime, leaving only their final echoes reverberating in hidden corners."
"So."
Shade asked:
"The time of the First Epoch was longer than all the later epochs combined? Yes, I've heard that as well."
The diviner looked at him with sorrowful eyes:
"Or perhaps it could be said that the old days of the First Epoch were the true normal age. From then on, beginning with the Second Epoch after the Ancient Gods departed one after another, had it already become the echo of Old Days, the afterglow before Doomsday?"
The two looked at one another.