Rephya had a very long dream.
In the dream, there was an endless barren land.
In those distant ages, many races were not visible, only ancient giants road the desolate land.
At that ti, the Titans were a people nurtured from the roots of the earth.
Their mighty bodies bestowed upon them the power to move mountains and fill seas.
And it made them realize that perhaps they had the responsibility to protect the tiny creatures living on this land.
Those creatures were truly too tiny.
Many tis, she needed to bow her head and open her eyes wide to see their features clearly.
Sotis, she would just blink, and those creatures would have already propagated four or five generations.
The earliest creatures she was familiar with had long since died of old age.
Every ti this happened, a kind of fear would arise in her heart.
As if... just a sleep took away the things she loved.
One day, she t a young dragon.
It was a female Jade Dragon.
She blinked once.
The young dragon grew from the size of a knuckle to the size of a whole finger.
She would happily play with the young dragon.
The Jade Dragon accompanied her over the hills to watch the brief sunset at the end of the continent.
Rephya said to the Jade Dragon:
"Look, spending a little ti to see the sunset at the world's end, isn't it beautiful?"
The Jade Dragon retorted:
"It is beautiful, but since when does 10 years count as a little ti?"
Rephya couldn't understand.
Has a long ti passed?
The Jade Dragon seed to be annoyed by her expression, unhappily flapping its wings against her head.
It was then she realized that, at so point, the Jade Dragon had grown to the size of her palm.
She carefully held the Jade Dragon in her palm and said apologetically:
"Isn't this place nice to look at? I can take you to see many things, in the center of the world, there is a tree that has lived a long ti.
My father says that since the Titans opened their eyes, that big tree has stood in the center of the world.
We can go see it together."
She seed worried that the Jade Dragon wouldn't want to go, so she gave many other choices.
To the north of the continent, there is the Fallen Star Lake, very large, even a Titan would be subrged.
To the east of the continent, there is a strait, on the other side of which there is an island, said to be covered with iris flowers.
To the south of the continent, there are many strange fish, the largest of which are even half her size, and according to the elders of the race, they are called Krakens.
"Accompany for a stroll, let's travel together."
The Jade Dragon lifted its head and said:
"In what capacity are you inviting ? As a Titan?"
Rephya was puzzled and cautiously said to her:
"Can't it be as friends?"
The Jade Dragon flapped its wings, letting out a joyful laugh:
"Then let's go, my friend."
They went to the center of the world and saw the towering tree piercing the heavens and earth.
The Jade Dragon curiously looked at the tree and said:
"The roots of this tree reach deep into the world, Spiritual nurtures, and soon new life will be born."
Rephya was delighted.
"Will it be as long as you?"
"I don't know, it depends on the circumstances. Do you want new friends?"
But for so reason, she felt her friend seed a bit unhappy.
So she clumsily took her friend on a wild dash across the land.
They got tired halfway, so they stopped to rest.
In the place where they were about to rest, Rephya saw her fellow kin.
It was an elder she had t not long ago.
He was sitting on a stone, lost in thought.
Her friend went to sleep first.
According to her, she was about to enter the transformation period of the Dragon Race.
But she wouldn't sleep for too long and would soon wake up.
Rephya hadn't planned to sleep, so she went over and greeted the elder happily.
The elder responded sowhat slowly, lifting his head to look at her, then at her friend, and said:
"Little one, try to only befriend Titans."
Rephya was puzzled and said strangely:
"Why? Isn't it better to have more friends?"
"I just... don't want your first lesson in life to be parting."
Rephya couldn't quite understand.
The elder didn't say much more, just gave a bitter smile:
"If you truly want to spend more ti with her, then learn this first."
"What?"
"Titan Divine Body."
"Will I beco bigger?"
For so reason, Rephya felt sowhat scared.
But the elder said: "No, you will beco smaller."
"Will becoming smaller make ti last longer?"
"No, but you will find it easier to feel her presence."
"Then I want to learn."
She was very smart, and after just a glance, she almost correctly learned the Titan Divine Body.
Having nothing else to do, she chose to continue sleeping.
When she awoke, she found that her friend had grown larger again.
It was actually as big as her head now.
She curiously asked about it.
Her friend proudly told her:
"Because I'm about to advance to an Ancient Dragon."
"Ancient Dragon?"
"Yes, over 800 years old, it's an Ancient Dragon."
"How long is 800 years?"
"The sun rises and sets 292,000 tis."
"Can't calculate it," Rephya said sowhat sadly, "Isn't the sunrise and sunset irregular?"
The Jade Dragon replied, "How could it be irregular? It's you Titans who have slept too long."
They went to see the strait.
As expected, she was scolded by her friend again:
"That's not a strait, that's the ocean, and what you see isn't an island; it's another continent."
Whenever that happened, she would giggle foolishly.
In the ti that followed, they almost traversed every corner of the continent.
Passing by a sea of flowers, they saw a group of little winged creatures flying over the flowers.
Her friend said thoughtfully:
"That tree has finally given birth to spirits."
"They look so small, much smaller than you."
"They say they are called Little Elves, co, let's pick flowers from their garden," her friend suddenly said, "Which flower do you want? I'll pick it for you."
Rephya thought for a while and said:
"This kind of flower is fine, it looks pretty."
"Iris," her friend said, her eyes a bit lost, pondering sothing unknown.
They fell into a deep sleep under the large tree.
Waking up again.
Her friend was gone.
The Little Elves told her that her friend had to go do sothing and would co back for her once it was done.
For so reason, Rephya suddenly felt uncomfortable.
Like she was suffocating.
A Little Elf pointed at her nose, hands on hips, and said:
"Don't cry, big one, maybe she's just really busy."
"But, I'm alone again."
"Don't you have your tribe?"
"Tribe... right, I should go see my tribe."
Rephya's eyes lit up, and she turned to leave.
She took so ti to find her tribe.
When she returned to where her tribe gathered, she found the number of kinsn seed to have decreased.
She went to ask her father, and her father told her:
"More and more kinsn are going to the Titan Ancestral Land to sleep, and I can't accompany you for long either, but, child, I might need you to do sothing."
"Do sothing?"
"Yes."
"What is it, will it take long? I still have to wait for my friend."
"Child!" Her father's voice grew louder: "Over 1200 years, in the Dragon Race you're already an Ancient Dragon, you've been out with her for almost 2000 years, you should have known long ago..."
"Known what."
"Even a dragon will grow old and die."
"Impossible!" Rephya shouted, "We promised!"
A mont later, she burst into loud tears.
"You're lying, she told dragons can live a long ti!"
Her father was silent for a long ti, stroking her head, he said:
"Child, your wear and tear has already begun."
"..."
Seeing her father's sad eyes, she finally understood sothing.
As wear and tear begins, it ans the Titan's ti awake will beco shorter and shorter.
"The earth is evolving, we are almost unable to withstand the force of the earth veins anymore, but child, we still have many missions unfinished.
Would you consider consolidating the Titan Divine Body in advance, and entering a deep sleep?"
In a daze, Rephya said:
"Falling into a deep sleep, that would just be falling into the Lonely Hell again, wouldn't it?"
But her father said:
"Minimizing size would also make you feel the passage of ti, waking up again, a new world, might be a better choice for soone afraid of loneliness like you."
Rephya was silent for a long ti and said:
"Can we really escape the Lonely Hell?"
"I don't know, but child, we need soone to support the future."
"Support the future?"
"Yes, the Era of Dragons has begun, and in the era following its end, there is a great disaster.
If we fail to overco it, everything in our mories will end."
"Then I'll go,"
Rephya said softly.
Waking up again.
She found no kinsn remained near the ancestral land.
Only her father quietly guarded by her side.
She looked up at her towering father and asked:
"Father, how did you beco so gigantic?"
Yet her father said nothing, only sat there quietly like a mountain.
A deep sorrow began to spread.
Rephya suddenly realized her father had fallen into eternal sleep.
"Don't cry," a frail old voice resonated.
Rephya looked up, saw an old dragon with almost all its scales fallen off, and it lowered its head to nuzzle her, saying:
"Long ti no see, friend."
Rephya looked up at the great dragon, and after a mont she understood:
"You didn't leave?"
"Without seeing you one more ti, I couldn't be reconciled to leaving," the Jade Dragon laughed softly, "Friend, a new body, a new scale of ti, you can soon et new friends."
"New friends?" Rephya murmured, "Also friends that will die soon like you? Even if their lifespan is not even a thousandth of mine."
The old dragon said gently:
"But, friend, that thousandth is what changed you."
Her voice grew softer, and at last, she said:
"Go, friend, to that tree, where there is a group of children as innocent as you.
My only friend, I hope you will have a joyful journey in the life to co."
The Ancient Dragon slowly closed her eyes.
She had held on to find the way to extend life and tried her best until now.
After organizing her friend's remains, she went to where that great tree stood.
This ti, the journey felt extraordinarily long.
Reviews
All reviews (0)