The seventh story was not the story of one person, but of a pair of twins—twins known as weapons.
They were creations of the gods, born from clay. They were not merely weapons, but also incarnations of the earth and embodiments of nature. One represented nature's ruthlessness and fury; the other represented nature's indifference and serenity.
They were nature in its normal state.
One of them encountered a divine princess sent by a proud and self-centered king to search for beasts. As a beast that was also a weapon, he gained human form and intelligence, then followed the princess back to the city-state ruled by that king.
The king was proud, while the weapon was calm. Calmness was destined to provoke pride, and so battle broke out.
The battle drew over the other weapon, who nearly killed the king. Yet after narrowly escaping death, what emerged was an understanding born from astonishment.
The king took in the two weapons, who had no such thing as a "homeland."
And in return, they became the king's friends.
But they were messengers sent from the heavens, bearing the gods' mission. They developed thoughts of their own, grew fond of humanity, chose to trust their own judgment, left the gods' side, and came to humanity's side.
To make the gods suspicious and fearful, the elder brother of the two chose to risk his life and entered the underworld alone. Fate rewarded the brave, and he returned successfully, buying enough time for himself and those around him.
However, the course of events always exceeded imagination.
The city's guardian goddess confessed to the king, and the king refused her. The goddess's cries awakened the king of the gods, and the enraged divine king sent out a powerful divine beast, intending to kill the lives that had