His arrival was not stable.
In the Prehistoric Era, fierce winds swept across the mountain peaks, his figure flickering in and out of existence like a flame in the tempest.
God felt a weariness surge from his soul as the wild winds howled across the land, large fissures in the earth's surface emitting ghostly wails.
He looked toward the horizon, where Chaos and darkness were not banished by the light he brought, but lurked at the world's boundaries. They seemed as though they had been greatly weakened, daring not to approach this land, yet they stirred restlessly.
God stood upon the earth, which trembled slightly under his feet, the whole world seeming to reject him, the outsider.
This was the Primordial Will of the world.
Indeed, to the world of original Chaos, darkness was the master of all things.
But he was an outsider.
God gazed at the distant darkness, his arrival uncertain,
thus his existence too was uncertain.
Though the world had its Primordial Will, that will was almost devoid of reason, and God could not communicate with it.
In the tempest, his figure became more ethereal by the moment.
As long as his presence continued to diminish,
In due time, the Primordial Will would thrust him out of this world, trapping him in eternal darkness forever.
He would not let this happen.
Therefore, God brought the plants and creatures of the waters onto the land, and after ensuring they could survive, he slowly closed his eyes.
And at this moment, there was no existence that could be called "mortal".
It was not yet worth his concern.
God knew that in his memory, the concept of "mortals" wasn't limited to humans but could broadly refer to all rational beings, though in ancient worlds, only humans possessed reason.
Because mortals did not yet exist, he paid no mind to anything in the world, letting them grow wildly upon the earth.
"It's time to rest."
He cast one final glance at the land before closing his eyes.
God rested.
.........
.........
God slept for a lengthy period.
So long that even he felt it was somewhat excessive.
But he did not do so without gain.
Through the extended slumber, he retrieved more memories from the depths of his consciousness.
Though those memories were fragmented like grains of sand.
"Dust, or Chen..."
Unable to find the exact character, God remembered the sound of his name,
"Is it Chen Yi, or should it be Chen Yi..."
After contemplating for a moment, he chose the latter for his name.
Chen Yi looked toward the land.
Unlike the barren country when Chaos first parted, when he awakened from his slumber and once again opened his eyes, the world had transformed.
Those early life forms he had brought from the ocean's cradle had dominated the land over incalculable aeons.
Plants evaporated water, forming clouds and rains that nourished the land; life began with insects, moving from the water to the land, gradually spawning mammals, culminating in gigantic strange creatures.
Chen Yi descended from the mountains, witnessing a world exploding with life.
God joyfully watched everything on the earth, walking alone into the thick primordial forests.
He looked up at the sky in the forest; the light filtered through the broad leaves falling down, giant dragonflies and progenitor birds flew through half the sky, and in the distant lands, imperial crocodiles and ancient giants battled fiercely while the ancestors of goats and sheep watched from high places, omnivorous in this era, not yet having adapted to herbivory, their eyes watchful and alert.
The light he brought to this world had nurtured all current prolific life.
When God returned to the mountain peak, he still couldn't help but shake his head.
Chen Yi surveyed the thriving life around the world.
However,
This world still had not produced a rational life capable of naming all things, still no mortal that could.
Chen Yi felt a sense of solitude.
In this world, he was the only rational being,
In this world, there wasn't even a mortal for him to love.
"But it will be soon."
Chen Yi murmured to himself as he slowly walked back to the mountain peak.
This world was still repelling him.
Chen Yi sensed, in the wind, in the air, in the invisible ether... the Primordial Will of this world was still watching him closely.
His figure flickered like a flame.
Standing at the mountain peak, after a brief survey of the land, God closed his eyes again, deciding to wait a little longer.
.........
.........
In the river of time, life seems long for present beings.
But in God's eyes, time could pass quickly or slowly.
When Chen Yi next opened his eyes, a noteworthy life form had appeared on the land.
Ape-men.
They had not yet evolved beyond their primal state, merely beasts roaming the land, living collectively with the strongest serving as leaders, swinging their long arms that reached the ground and their bent legs, and communicating through simple cries.
God observed these ape-men on the land.
They could hardly be considered rational. In an era where nothing had names, simple interactions were insufficient for the acquisition of reason; life forms must learn to walk upright from their crawling state and evolve from simple cries to articulate speech.
But more importantly, they knew how to use fire and simple tools.
Chen Yi watched those ape-men, and even though they were far from the concept of mortals, he felt a deep joy.
This joy was like that of parents watching their unborn child.
However, unlike a child who learns to speak at the age of three,
The ape-men would take hundreds of thousands or even longer span of years, requiring generations of life inevitably disappearing in time.
God was not willing to wait that long.
Parents always hope their child comes into the world safely and soon.
Thus, Chen Yi slowly descended from the mountain peak.
Dusk had fallen, and the ape-men gathered according to their habits.
Their life centered around the flame.
The flame was protected under a natural rock wall, where ashes accumulated like mountains, and an ape-man always guarded this flame, allowing it to burn day and night, until the next thunderclap struck the trees and new flames burst forth from the timber.
The ape-men gathered food, both fruits and game rabbits, placing them on a natural stone platform in front of the fire, a platform that stood aloft. Their Ape King, with arms drooping to the ground and much stronger than the others, proudly gazed at the food on the platform.
The flame burned beneath the rock wall, and the ape-men obeyed the Ape King who was near the flames.
The Ape King panted heavily, relishing the natural fear of the other ape-men before him, casually fiddling with the fruits and rabbits on the platform.
According to the living habits of the ape-men, only he could eat the food on the platform first.
The Ape King supported his body with both hands, step by step approaching the platform, intending to climb onto it.
When he reached out his hands...
A white figure appeared on the platform.
Facing Chen Yi's appearance, the Ape King quickly retreated, his fur bristled, and panic showed in his eyes. He let out an intimidating scream, and the other ape-men also started to beat the ground covered with huge tree roots, joining the Ape King's shriek.
Chen Yi didn't deliberately choose, nor did He think which ape-men should receive wisdom first; He appeared before this group of ape-men simply because they were closest to Him.
He gazed at the flaming fire under the rock wall.
Seeing this, the ape-men immediately began beating the ground, going mad all at once and screaming desperately.
They were innately aware of the importance of the flame,
It was the life of a tribe.
Raw food turned into cooked food, driving away beasts and the cold, bringing light like daylight...
They could lose an Ape King but could not afford to lose this vital flame.
The ape-men obeyed the Ape King.
Towards the flame, the ape-men worshipped.
It was a profound prehistoric worship filled with awe.
In later generations, as people worshipped the divine,
The prehistoric ape-men venerated the flames.
Chen Yi stood on the stone platform.
After the Ape King and other ape-men drew back a distance, the king arched his back, ready to pounce at any moment, and then roared.
They were wary of their uninvited guest.
Facing the successive roars, Chen Yi remained motionless.
Like a tower standing upright, unbothered by the howling wind.
The dusk passed, and the night soon arrived.
The ape-men continued to roar successively, wary of the motionless figure on the platform, yet unwilling to give up their hard-earned food.
The Ape King, leading the other ape-men, moved slightly forward, carefully testing Chen Yi's reactions.
All was nearly pitch dark, the sky revealed competing stars twinkling, though the light was bright, it was weak and could not reach the ground.
While the flame behind Chen Yi, in the darkness, emitted a brilliant light.
Chen Yi stretched out his hand and broke off a relatively thin tree branch.
The ape-men, startled by this sudden action, let out an even more intimidating scream.
From dusk to night, all the ape-men dared not approach because no one guarded, and the flame under the rock wall slowly weakened.
The ape-men emitted wailing cries, pounding the ground, holding various bone instruments, and rushing forward.
Their gazes uniformly turned towards the Ape King.
As the flame waned,
The bravest Ape King took a step.
The Ape King slowly approached the stone platform, his body arched, teeth clenched, ready to pounce at any moment.
The other ape-men behind him also slowly moved their bodies, ready to respond as one, and take back their flame, should the Ape King leap.
Chen Yi watched the Ape King.
He raised his hand, slowly.
The tree branch pointed at the Ape King's head.
The Ape King approached cautiously, staring straight at the branch in His hand.
An imperceptible light transferred from the fingertips to the branch...
When the Ape King approached the platform, the branch slightly lifted.
Lightly touched between the Ape King's eyebrows.
The light left the branch.
The entire body of the Ape King stiffened, as if petrified, standing straight in place.
Chen Yi watched all this happen.
Just as He brought life from underneath the water to the surface of the earth,
He bestowed the power of naming everything in the world to the ancestors of humanity.
The branch slowly retracted.
The Ape King still stood dazed in place.
In this wild primitive era, there had never been a force capable of changing the entire world.
It was known as language, as reason, as wisdom, as Logos.
It came from the hand of Chen Yi, from that soul that brought light, into the minds of this group of ape-men, and it would utterly change their form of life!
The ape-men behind him looked at their king in astonishment.
The Ape King halted in front of the stone platform, as if everything was normal.
But everything had quietly changed.
He was endowed with language.
That ancestor of humanity stared intently at the figure on the stone platform.
Fire...
He screamed anxiously,
You are fire!
He screamed in panic.
In later generations, as people worshipped the divine,
The prehistoric ape-men worshipped the flame just as fervently.
The ape-men, upon seeing that existence which transcended the entire universe and time, suddenly gleaned from the light that spilled forth, the power that would later dominate the entire world.
Yet the Ape King who had suddenly learned language didn't know this yet.
The sudden wisdom awakened his primal fear.
Just like a child learning that he is to be thrown out of the cradle of ignorance.
The firelight flickered behind Him.
And God only said to him,
"You were not born to be beasts."