Night lay heavy.
An enormous arthropod rapidly paddled its hundreds of abdominal legs, twisting its hard, exoskeleton-covered body as it moved nimbly through the lush forest.
Occasionally, it slowed a little and lowered its head to take a few bites of food at the base of a nearby tree.
Even though food was abundant in this area, it had no intention of lingering.
Suddenly.
For the first time, it stopped its hurried little steps and raised its head to look ahead.
A gentle breeze brushed past, bringing a warm, slightly damp scent.
It pressed its abdomen against the soft ground and carefully felt for vibrations.
Faint tremors came from ahead, as though heralding something.
After confirming the direction, it set its abdominal legs moving again and hurried forward.
A few seconds later, its field of view abruptly opened up!
The lush forest ended abruptly here!
Ahead lay an ocean stretching as far as the eye could see!
As it advanced, its body spontaneously began to change.
The color of its surface shifted until it closely matched the sand.
For it, this was almost instinctive and took virtually no effort.
It scurried to the water's edge, lowered its head, and drank a few mouthfuls of the faintly warm, low-salinity seawater.
Then it raised its head and looked around.
Quite a few of its own kind lingered along the shore.
They gathered in twos and threes, communicating with one another through their tentacles.
It did not join them. Instead, it silently raised its head and turned its gaze toward the sky.
The stars shone brightly.
A little confusion arose in its tiny brain.
In its hazy memories, there seemed to have been two large, bright spheres in the night sky.
Though they were not as bright as the glowing sphere during the