Deep in the forest, there stood a tall tree. The tree, as if out of a dreamlike fairy-tale, arched over its neighbors, almost reaching the clouds, thus creating a deep shadow on the ground. Anyone standing under it, would not know whether it was day or night. Its thick stem was bigger than a city, and stronger too, looking like it could hold the world if it willed to do so.
Underneath, an ancient civilization has made home its roots; their houses carved into the wood, while the branches served as roads. In a place with no sunrise, they had thrived for eons.
Every citizen knew—forever green, forever blooming, there stood a tall tree, deep in the forest; Times changed, but the tree would never.
In a house, bigger and more luscious than the rest of them, an elderly sipped on tea. He sighed, for another day passed with no mishaps. "Peace like this is hard to come by."
Suddenly, breaking through his tranquility, someone violently slammed the door open, rattling the furniture.
"Elder!" The person screamed. It was a young woman, with green hair. She panted, supporting herself on the door-frame, obviously exhausted. Her already pale face turned almost translucent from fright. When she lifted her head, she revealed her violet eyes filled with worry.
"Yi Xue! do you wish to destroy the whole room," the elderly asked, his face grim. He shook his head in disappointment, since he usually knew her as a courteous woman.
"I-I apologize Elder, but, but this is an emergency!" The woman yelled, "Please, take a look outside!"
"What could possibly happened to warrant such a reaction," he complained, and opened his window. As always, the outside was shrouded in shadows. He squinted his eyes to search for any problems, but in his mind he was already thinking of a fitting punishment for her.
However, his thoughts, just as his voice, were cut short as he fell back in fright, crashing into the desk.
Seeing the man fall, the woman cried out, "Elder!"
"The—The leaves," he muttered with a face devoid of any color, "the leaves are shaking!"
Outside, any living being that saw the phenomenon was shocked. They lost their strength and could only gawk at the hundreds, millions, plethora of leaves, all bigger than a field, quivering—no, they were trembling as if terrified. The ceaseless winds they created, howled out, like a beastly cry that lost its child.
Every citizen knew—forever green, forever blooming, forever unchanging, there stood a tall tree, deep in the forest; Times changed, but the tree would never.
But they knew wrong.
"Call everyone in," the Elder yelled, "it is an emergency!"
...
In the vast galaxy, stars formed, stars died; if one didn't witness it, would it really have happened?
A young girl, silently floating in space, mulled over such thoughts. She wore a dress, a similar color as her hair—black, with white dots occasionally scattered around. Her eyes were especially striking, a seven colored light, blended together like a pond made of rainbows. The dress seemed ordinary, but when one took another glance, one would realize it had no end. It started from her shoulders and went on, gradually fading away, as if part of the endless space.
The girl reached her hand out, grabbing into the void. Between her fingers, the countless stars looked just like the white dots on her hair. She closed her hand and in the far distance, a giant star disappeared, turning into only a flicker of light on her palm.
"Hopefully, it won't end up as a black hole again. That would be annoying," she said and opened her small mouth and placed the light on her tongue before swallowing it cleanly. "Ah, delish~"
Another star died, fizzling away like a small candle, only for the girl to see. Without anyone noticing, another white dot appeared on her dress.
Satisfied with fulfilling her cravings, she was about to leave, when she abruptly turned around. She stared at the infinite galaxy and her eyes widened.
"What is this unrealistic amount of energy!?" She stood stunned and her mouth hung low. The girl then struck her tongue out, and her attractive lips formed a smile. "Oh no, I am getting hungry again."
The moment she decided her next destination, the energy disappeared without a trace—and so did her smile.
Her shoulders fell, before she complained, "damn, someone got there before me!" She struck her fist out and stomped her feet. Afterward, she vanished, as if she had never been there.
...
"What was that weird feeling?" A dark-skinned man stared at the sky. "Such an abstruse principle, was it space and time? No, maybe karma? No! Incredible, I feel it is older than that!" He shuddered at the thought. "It can't be, right? Say, what do you think?"
"Yo-you—keuk, you bastard..." The person he asked replied, and spat a mouthful of blood. Soon after, the light in his eyes died out.
"Weren't you supposed to be a legend? How come you are so weak then?" The dark-skinned man grabbed the person by his neck and threw him down a giant ravine. It did not take long for a thud to resound.
"Oh, is it time to clean this place again," the man lazily tilted his and stared down the ravine.
In there, countless carcasses, all piled above another, longer than the river of death, huddled together. What used to be an endless abyss had been filled to the brim. The stench of rotting flesh was revolting, and the place radiated an enormous aura of death. The surroundings were dyed scarlet-red, almost glowing, and no life-form dared to wander close.
The man snapped his fingers, and immediately the ravine closed. Like the mouth of a giant, it pressed the mountains of corpses together. The ground turned a shade redder. The man snapped his fingers again, and when the ravine reopened, it was clean again, returning to endless abyss. The only thing left was a single drop of condensed blood, solemnly hovering in the air.
The blood floated to the man—and as they touched each other—it integrated with his body.
He looked at the sky again. "It is gone now, has someone picked it up? Ah, that sucks," the man sulked, "ah, whatever. With such incredible power, it won't take long for us to meet." He grinned. "Might that person relieve my boredom?"
...
Many similar reactions occurred throughout the Universe and its countless realms.
In a dimly lit room, a group of shrine-maiden wearing ceremonial clothes knelt in front of a big bed, shrouded in thick curtains.
"Third Holy Lady, I beseech thee! Give these lowly ones an oracle!" The old lady in the forefront cried out. "What were the purple clouds in the sky?"
Everyone was deadly silent. Only after half an hour did something happen.
"Perhaps, the world—," a mesmerizing voice came through the curtains, "—is starting to change."
...
"Acho!"
"Are you all right, Shou? Could it be, did you catch a cold? That is why you shouldn't have walked around naked," Si said.
"Don't be silly. Do you really think I could fall ill," Shou replied. "I feel like someone is talking about me."
"[rolls eyes] Is there even someone who remembers you?"
He scratched his head. "I guess that is true." However, he couldn't shake the feeling away. In an effort to distract himself, he placed all his attention to the grand city in front of him. "You know, I remember this place being a lot smaller."