144 Origins (1/2)
Ed appeared in a black void. However, this void was unlike his own consciousness he often appeared in when meditating. Instead, it felt as if his soul had been sucked into someone else's consciousness.
The void was silent and still, with seemingly nothing existing at all. The only thing that was present was an odd chaotic energy. If this wasn't just a vision, then Ed believed the energy would tear him apart in an instant. When he looked at it, an instinctive fear took over. It was by far the most violent thing he had ever felt, with not even Mr. Sai's powers coming close to it.
Suddenly, the chaotic energy compressed together, as if drawn by gravity. It formed a black egg, and the original chaotic energy vanished. Nothing seemed particularly special about the egg, and things grew silent for a time. Eventually, something started to form within the egg. It was a muscular man with two horns on his head. Before long, the man stepped right out from the egg, as if it was only an illusion. When examining the man, Ed found him to be extremely similar to the statue he had seen at the peak of the sect.
Suddenly, an ancient voice sounded throughout the void. [The World Egg was born from the primordial chaos. Pangu was born from the World Egg, and he split the egg into heaven and earth.]
Just as the voice spoke, the man's actions followed. He lifted a great axe high in the air and cleaved it straight down. A brilliant flash of light appeared, and in the next instant, sky and earth appeared. In the process, Pangu's body vanished, its remnants falling to the earth.
'What a weird myth.' Ed thought as he watched. There were no planets nor stars, just a large land mass in the endless void.
[Pangu created the world, and his remains gave birth to the elder gods.] The voice continued.
The various body parts of Pangu started to form into different shapes, forming the so-called elder gods. However, most were not human. One such god simply became the sun and another the moon. They seemed to hold intelligence, but they entered eternal sleeps to never be awoken again. One became cloud, one rain, and yet another mist. Forest, rivers, minerals, animals, and all sorts of other phenomenon appeared. Of the various gods, only eight appeared to be human.
[The Three Patrons and Five Deities. They went by many names.] The voice echoed.
A woman appeared from the group of eight. Her beauty was without equal, as if she had been perfectly sculpted by every genius throughout history in a perfect collaboration. She appeared kind, and her aura gave a faint sense of relief. Even Ed felt unusually calm and relaxed when watching her. She reached towards the earth and formed several clay golems.
[Nuwa, the patron of Earth. She created humankind.]
Time seemed to flash by, and the golems became human. They lived and worked together, while having little contact with the elder gods. Time soon slowed down, and a man appeared from amongst the eight human-like elder gods. The man was neatly dressed, wielding a pen in one hand and a fishing pole in another. Surprisingly, the elder god embraced the humans.
[Fuxi, the patron of heaven, taught humans writing, fishing, hunting, and more.]
Having seen his brother help the humans, another human-like elder god stepped forward. Unlike his brother, this elder god was sloppily dressed and had odd ox-like horns. He looked like a man living in the wilderness, going so far as to wear clothes made of grass. He showed the humans how to work with plants in various ways.
[Shennong, the patron of humanity, taught the humans farming, medicine, and even business.]
Time flashed by again, and the humans rapidly grew in number. They tamed the land, spreading far and wide.
The five remaining human-like elder gods suddenly transformed into Chinese dragons of ancient legends. Each was a different color.
[The Yellow Emperor, Huangdi, fused with the element of earth.] The yellow dragon sunk into the earth and disappeared.
[The Green Deity, Cangdi, fused with the element of wood.] The green dragon fused with various trees and plants before vanishing.
[The Black Deity, Heidi, fused with the element of water. The Red Deity, Yandi, fused with the element of fire. The White Deity, Baidi, fused with the element of metal.] The other three dragons fused with their respective elements one after another and disappeared. [Together, they controlled and balanced the five elements that make up the world and everything built atop it.]
'Five elements?' Ed stared on in confusion. 'There are seven elements though? Does this myth take place in another world? Or maybe it was before mana was ever discovered?' Still not really understanding why he was being shown all this, he leisurely watched, treating it as little more than a fun story.
The humans continued to expand. However, they soon grew discontent. On the endless continent, they had to face monstrous beasts that were far too strong against their weak bodies. They worked hard to build cities and advance civilization, expanding into the wilderness. But many continued to die, and the survivors mourned their lost ones.
After many generations, a human named Yu approached the deities. He begged. ”Mother Nuwa. We can't continue on like this. Each day is a struggle for survival and no one is safe. Please! Give us power to face the monstrous beasts!”
Nuwa sighed while shaking her head. ”That power is not something the humans can handle, and though I love each of my creations, the monstrous beasts have their own rights to live.”
”Hehehe.” A voice laughed as a yellow dragon appeared from the soil. ”What's the harm?” He smiled. ”It's just a measly bit of our power. The humans should be able to handle it.”
”Don't think I don't know about you intermingling with them, Huangdi.” Nuwa frowned. ”Yu is what, your seventh great-grandson?”
”Eighth actually.” He replied.
Yu's eyes widened in shock when learning he was related to one of the deities, however, he maintained his silence.
”Let's just give them a bit of control over the elements.” Huangdi suggested. ”We can even keep it fair by giving the beasts the same? No harm done, right?”
Nuwa hesitated a moment before agreeing. ”Fine.” She sighed. ”I just hope they can handle the new power despite their weak forms.” She waved her hand, and the other dragons appeared. Each of their bodies glowed a respective color, and the glow quickly spread as beams of lights to all the humans. A beautiful aurora appeared over the entire human empire as they awoke to their new powers.