The memories that had appeared out of nowhere in Gilan's mind all came from the strange imprints that Iridescence had devoured and absorbed.
The imprints were stored within the species known as the Nightmare Stele alongside Mystic Energy, concealing information from the past.
These are...
Gilan froze.
Through these memories, he learned something.
The Nightmare Stele he had corrupted and absorbed had come from a plant called Valencia Grass.
It had existed in an age before Omer was born, before the Dawn Era began.
That age was known as the Dust Era.
Humans already existed in the Dust Era, but civilization and nations did not. The people of that time were merely beasts, utterly devoid of emotion and thought. Like other species, they struggled desperately just to survive, every step difficult.
Valencia Grass was merely the most insignificant fraction among countless species.
No one knew how much longer evolution had continued when, one day, holy light descended from the Higher Realm. It crossed the dead and silent Stellar Realm, arrived in the Material Realm, and bestowed mysterious power upon every species in the mortal world.
Lions and tigers grew wings, fish and shrimp developed sharp claws, snakes became covered in feathers, and even plants developed reproductive organs akin to those of mammals...
The species, including Valencia Grass, all received the message contained within the holy light:
They should have faith.
The four elements that existed in the world were their origins... their supreme gods.
That day, every living Valencia Grass in the world released certain microscopic particles into the air through their unique means of communication, gathering them into a simple word:
"Mother of Fertility!"
Thus, Valencia Grass took Mother of Fertility as its god.
They had a dream.
In the dream, endless black and red came from beyond the