Chapter 246

The house was empty, and He didn't know how long He had spent there. Suddenly, a sliver of light appeared ahead, like a thin line piercing through the darkness. It hung there silently, surrounded by darkness, with only its faint glimmer falling into His vision and splitting His chaotic and empty consciousness.

The light floated and hung, attracting all of His attention. He stared at it for an unknown amount of time before He realized that it was a crack, a crack in the house, and that the house was not completely sealed off.

He peered through the crack—beyond the crack was a patch of light, yet it was blank; there was nothing outside, as if it were a white darkness.

He felt a sudden sense of loss for no apparent reason.

He stared blankly out of the crack.

After an unknown amount of time, something sprouted in the world outside the crack. It quickly grew strong and tall, then grew branches, flower buds, and bloomed in an instant.

It was a tree.

It's a peach tree.

This sentence popped into His mind out of nowhere, carrying with it a joy that arose from nowhere.

He joyfully guarded the tree.

After a period of time

Next to the peach tree, a second tree grew, also a peach tree. It sprouted, grew taller, and soon flourished and blossomed.

He had a second tree.

Later, a third tree, a fourth tree, a fifth tree... peach trees appeared one after another, and He had a peach orchard.

He moved, pressed himself against the crack, wanting to see more of the outside world. He belatedly realized that the crack could be pushed open; it was a window, the window of the house.

He opened the window.

In an instant, a radiant light poured forth, illuminating His vision.

Under the sunlight, peach trees formed a grove, their blossoms dazzling. Her house was filled with light, and peach petals drifted in, filling the room with fragrance.

His heart was filled with joy.

He simply looked outside, watching the vibrant colors and lively blooming flowers.

One day, a young man arrived. He appeared out of nowhere in the peach grove and looked around in astonishment.

The young man who appeared seemed more vibrant and dazzling than the magnificent human scene before His eyes, so He stared intently at him, and then...

He looked at Him.

Their eyes met, and He froze, slightly tense.

This was the first gaze He had received in all of this long time, and something within Him seemed to awaken and stir gently.

The young man walked toward Him, through the peach grove, and stood before Him, staring intently at Him through the window.

That gaze gave Him the illusion that He had been watched by that gaze for hundreds of years.

He was momentarily dazed.

"Why are you looking at me?" He couldn't help but ask him.

A strange light flashed in the young man's eyes. He remained silent, a deep and complex emotion swirling in his profound gaze. "Have you... forgotten me again?"

What does this mean?

He did not understand its meaning.

but...

It looks so familiar.

He seemed to have heard those words before.

He asked the young man outside, "Do we... know each other?"

The young man did not answer. He looked at the vibrant peach orchard behind him. After a long while, he turned back to look at Him again. At this moment, his eyes were filled with madness. He fully revealed his greedy and cold nature. He stared at Him as if he wanted to devour Him completely and then merge Him into his own bones and blood, never to be separated again.

But He wasn't afraid; on the contrary, He was somewhat... worried.

"What's wrong with you?"

The young man paused, then suddenly smiled. The madness in his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by peace, as if he had found a way out of his madness and found tranquility after letting go.

He said he was fine and reached out his hand to Him: "Would you... like to come out?"

"?"

go out?

He looked at his hand for a long, long time, then reached out his own hand to that hand...

He suddenly realized that he had no hands.

He had no hands or body; He was merely a wisp of slowly moving air in this room.

He was slightly troubled.

In just a moment, for the next second He grew hands, feet, and a body, with snow-white skin, long and thick black and red hair, and a large single eye across the middle of His forehead.

He placed his webbed hand, with an extra knuckle, into the young man's. As soon as his hand touched the young man's palm, he felt a pulling force. He was pulled out of the window by the young man's hand, falling forward, his long hair flying. When he landed, the young man gently supported him and helped him to his feet. The hand that had been on his waist quickly left, but his hand was still being held tightly by the young man's hand. He could feel the young man's fingers trembling slightly.

He looked up at him and saw his body stiff and rigid, his eyes seemingly calm, but beneath the depths lay suppressed excitement, fear, and reckless madness.

The young man dared not look at Him; he stared in the direction of the peach grove, his eyelashes trembling.

"..."

He said nothing.

The young man led Him into the peach grove, stepping on the petals as they walked forward into the depths of the seemingly endless peach orchard.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

The young man said in a hoarse voice, "To the ends of the earth."

What are you going to do?

"Look into your heart."

"What?"

He didn't understand, but the youth didn't explain further; he simply led him forward in silence.

They walked for an unknown amount of time before finally emerging from the peach grove.

In front of the peach grove was a cliff. The sunlight stopped abruptly, shining only on the peach grove. Beyond the cliff, it was still dark, with a clear boundary.

A faint light shimmered beneath the dark cliff, drawing Him to explore further. He couldn't resist breaking free from the youth's hand and venturing forward alone. Standing on the edge of the cliff, He finally saw the view ahead.

She saw houses floating in the darkness, square and rectangular, with windows. Behind the large windows, people were moving about: a family of three eating dinner, chatting and laughing; a young couple cuddling and watching TV; an elderly couple holding hands, basking in the sun in a park; students...

campus

They poured out of the gate and rushed towards the roadside stalls...

The room was bathed in a soft light, making it appear like twinkling stars in the darkness.

At the end of the peach grove, there are countless people and the lights of thousands of homes.

The scenery is magnificent, and the people are ordinary.

Watching this scene, the young man murmured, "Just as I expected..."

"... You really do like humans."

Hearing this, He slowly turned his head.

--You really do like humans.

Images flashed through His mind.

In a room filled with white clouds, He sat by the window, gazing out at the ever-changing world, a different scene each day. In this way, He saw countless cities and countless people.

Behind Him, the little Coal Ball grew bigger and bigger day by day, and also became quieter and quieter, completely devoid of the savage greed it had shown at first sight.

The room beneath the white clouds was an energy refreshment He had prepared for him. He reveled in it, finding immense joy. At first, he would only enter the room every few days, then he came every day, and later, he would only leave the room every few days. He spent increasingly more time in the room.

He stood behind her, silently watching something. She became curious and turned around one day, only to find that he, just like her, was looking out the window at the world.

He was surprised and asked him, "You like humans?"

The Coal Ball paused for a moment before answering, saying, "Yes, I like it."

He fell into thought, and after a while, asked again, "If a human were to ask you for help, would you assist them?"

This time, Coal Ball paused for even longer, and it was a long time before he finally answered, "If they really reach a dead end, then yes."

"... oh."

He fell into deeper thought.

On the edge of the cliff, His gaze slowly settled on the young man.

The sealed box cracked open, and the memories it contained were slowly flowing out. The young man, oblivious, reached out his hand and said, "Go back."

He led Him back by the hand, walking ahead as He led Him, who was constantly transforming into human forms, each one more human-like than the last.

They walked out of the peach grove, and a square house appeared in front of them.

The young man escorted Him back to the house, then stopped and saw that He had become a stranger. He wasn't surprised, and calmly said, "We've arrived."

He released His hand, but grabbed it again just before He was about to enter the house.

He looked at his hand, and after a while, looked up at him again, questioning him with his eyes.

"I..."

The young man held on tightly, hesitatingly asking, "May I go in with you?"

He looked at him quietly, and after a few seconds, nodded.

They went into the house together.

Time seemed to blur inside the room. Day after day, they looked out the window together, watching the peach blossoms in full bloom, unaware of the passage of time, only knowing that the peach blossoms were becoming more and more abundant each day.

It's as if it's preparing for its demise.

Finally, one day, a gust of wind rose, and the thousands of peach trees swayed, peach blossoms fluttering down like rain. By the window, the young man stood up straight, his pupils contracted, his gaze darkening.

It's coming.

Decline is coming.

*

Rong Yin looked back on his life.

He was a monster, yet he was born in human territory, and was extremely weak.

Fortunately, the place where he was born had abundant energy, so he did not die of hunger at birth.

A hand reached out to him, and the powerful monster grabbed him. He was greatly displeased and bit back, only to find that the monster had even more energy. Being young and fearless, he held on tightly.

A powerful monster took him away, a shopping mall sprang up, toys were laid out and activities took place, and she built an amusement park for him.

Because of the power bestowed upon him, he grew stronger day by day, his consciousness awakening from ignorance. He slowly discovered that the powerful monster itself was more attractive than the energy she had given him.