The Lost Dream

Carrying her secret bundle, Raily hurried home without stopping to rest.

Unlike usual, she avoided her familiar routes, creeping along narrow paths and secluded shortcuts instead.

As luck would have it, interference from the foreign insects had also ruined the ecological invasion observation assignment her superiors had given her.

The silvery-white insect was reporting the matter to their superiors, and she had nothing else in particular to do, which left her with an extra day off.

Under Lin Jin's light, Raily had become more emotional and impulsive than usual.

Now that she had returned to her territory, the light's influence faded and reason regained control. Only then did she realize what she had done.

Her hands trembled and her breathing quickened. Raily gradually broke from a walk into a run. "Oh heavens, what have I done? If the overseers find out, I'll definitely be punished."

Once home, she slammed the front door shut and locked it along with every window, then drew the curtains, cutting off all contact with the outside world.

Only after doing all this did Raily's pounding heart finally begin to settle.

"I'll probably never forget today's adventure as long as I live."

Setting her backpack on the table, Raily spoke with a sigh.

With the curtains drawn, the entire room sank into darkness. In that darkness, Raily slowly took the portion of the light source she had collected out of her backpack.

She carefully unwrapped the black cloth, and in an instant, warm light and heat enveloped the bronze-yellow ladybug once again.

She felt the strength within her replenishing, but she was so exhausted now that all she wanted was sleep.

Quietly gazing at the Essence in the jar before her, Raily slowly closed her eyes and drifted off. Before long, faint snores could be heard.

After Raily fell asleep, the Essence in the jar brightened slightly, then slowly seeped through the glass and sank into the spot between her eyebrows.

Yes, this Essence had never been stolen at all. It had come here willingly.

At that moment, Lin Jin's true intention was revealed: he planned to spread his own faith here.

In the dream

As a gentle breeze brushed her nose, the scent of fresh grass and earth brought Raily's eyes slowly open. She was still curled up in her sleeping posture, but instead of her room, she saw an endless grassland.

Breezes swept in from afar. Unlike the winds of the wasteland, these were very gentle.

Looking up, she saw blue skies and white clouds unlike anything she had ever seen. The little ladybug could not help losing herself in the harmony of the scene.

Only after a long while did she come to her senses and realize that she seemed to have arrived somewhere unfamiliar.

"Hello! Is anyone there? Where is this?!"

Raily stood and shouted in every direction, but not even an echo answered, as though she were the only insect on the entire grassland.

Loneliness immediately welled up within her. Raily walked at first, then ran aimlessly, hoping to see something change. Nothing did.

There was only the unchanging sky, the grass, and herself.

After some time, Raily's breathing began to grow ragged, and a sense of helplessness filled her.

But just as she was about to reach her limit, she saw it: a campfire rising in the distance caught her full attention.

Like a traveler in the desert who had spotted an oasis, she raced toward that glimmer of fire.

As she drew closer, the sky began to change in an impossible way. The clear, cloudless blue sky shifted as though time had been put on fast-forward.

It quickly turned to sunset, then to pitch-black night. In an instant, the campfire was the only light left on the entire grassland.

Darkness meant danger. It meant death. Raily ran even harder, driven by her instinct as an insect to seek the light.

All living things, without exception, sought the light.

"Hah... hah... um, hello. Could you tell me where this is?"

At last, Raily reached the campfire. She tentatively questioned the figure whose body was concealed beneath a black robe, hoping he would say something.

Above the campfire, the only source of light in the darkness, a cooking pot hung from a tripod. Thick soup bubbled inside, giving off steam.

The mysterious figure sitting on a dead log nearby remained silent at Raily's question.

"Please, anyone, can you tell me what on earth is going on?"

Unable to bear his indifference, Raily could only sit helplessly on the grass opposite the black-robed man.

She stared blankly at the soup still cooking before her. At least she had company now.

In the silent night, the old man and the young ladybug sat quietly around the campfire until one of them spoke, breaking the silence.

A hoarse voice emerged in the darkness, like a tiny spark.

"Seeking light in darkness, seeking warmth in cold, and seeking change amid deathly stillness."

"Your arrival, I foresaw. Yes, I foresaw it."

"Huh?"

"You seem unaware of the great mission you bear, child. You came here for a reason, did you not?"

The old man raised his head slightly, revealing the eyes beneath his black robe. Their fiery red-orange glow was just like the campfire burning before them.

Yet the moment he spoke, he sounded like one of those dull old men who said such things to amuse children. That was Raily's first impression, at least.

"I think you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm just an ordinary observer, stationed at a post where there's no longer anything worth observing."

"Just an ordinary insect who's been pushed aside and will probably spend the rest of her life working at that post until she dies."

Raily described her situation honestly. However unwilling she was to accept reality, she still had to face it.

But the old man answered Raily's self-mockery with a low chuckle.

"Ha ha ha ha ha. Yes, yes, how could I forget? An epic often needs an ancient tale to begin it. Would you like to hear one?"

Raily nodded.

"All right, of course. What else can I do? I don't seem to be able to leave this place."

Bubble, bubble.

The bubbling gradually subsided, and a rich aroma spread. The soup was ready. The black-robed old man ladled out a bowl and handed it to Raily.

Only then did Raily, who had been busy all day, realize she had eaten nothing that entire day. The moment she took the bowl, she eagerly drank a mouthful, heedless of the heat.

"What an extraordinary flavor."

With just one sip, Raily noticed how different this soup was. Its sweetness and saltiness were both so distinct.

Each asserted its presence while remaining in perfect harmony. The "soup" she had drunk in the past could not compare at all.

Raily could not help taking several more sips.

Seeing that Raily seemed pleased with his soup, the old man smiled and nodded. "This is a good beginning."

"Then let us begin. The story I will tell is from long, long ago-a story of light and heat, of flame."