Ancestral Fish

On the grand avenue of the God-Given City, the lifeless bodies of Trilobite Men lay before Redlichia, the King of Wisdom, their eyes closed forever.

Hundreds and thousands of Trilobite Men knelt on one knee, an atmosphere of grief permeating the air.

No one in the crowd spoke, yet all eyes were fixed upon Redlichia, their ancestral progenitor and supreme king.

Redlichia placed his hand on one of the corpses, sensing how young the deceased was, life cut short far too soon.

For the first time, he felt the terror of death and the fragility of life.

"I will find a way to resolve this," he declared, his voice carrying a solemn promise.

The mournful eyes of the people gleamed with a flicker of hope. In their eyes, Redlichia's vow was truth and faith, a decree to change their dire circumstances.

A fervent chant rippled through the crowd.

It seemed as if...

Redlichia was not merely their king, but their God.

"King of Wisdom!"

"King of Wisdom!"

"..."

Redlichia believed himself to be the King of Wisdom, and as a king, it was his duty to protect his subjects.

Yet he found himself at a loss. The King of Wisdom could only gaze once more at the colossal pyramid at the center of the God-Given City.

In the starlit night...

Redlichia ascended the pyramid, Trilobite Man guards standing at the base of the steps.

This temple could only be entered by Redlichia, the King of Wisdom. For any other Trilobite Man, setting foot upon it would be an unforgivable transgression.

Before he reached the summit, he saw a figure emanating a white radiance standing at the top of the stairs.

In the darkness, He was so resplendent.

That light transformed into gossamer threads, meandering through the sky, seeming to connect with the stars above. The figure within the luminescence appeared as if it could detach from this world at any moment.

This sight compelled him to cry out involuntarily.

"God!"

He hastened his steps, climbing the endless stairs, chasing after that light.

As if fearing that the radiance would truly vanish, merging with the stars.

Shelly sat obediently on the steps, her braided hair swaying, her large green eyes fixed unblinkingly on the distant sea.

Less like a living being and more akin to a doll.

The God gazed at the sky and stars, seeming to await his arrival. The instant Redlichia drew near, he spoke.

"Do you know?"

"In this era, there should be no life on land, yet here, a miracle of life flourishes."

"Before our arrival, this place already possessed greenery."

Redlichia followed his gaze, perplexed as to why the God spoke of matters on land while looking towards the heavens.

The starry sky was vast, and gazing at it for too long made one feel dizzy and disoriented, as if the stars and galaxies were spinning.

But Yin Shen seemed to hear Redlichia's unspoken thoughts and continued.

"The factors influencing life do not lie on the earth, but in the distant sky and universe."

"This place should be near the Earth's poles, or an extremely special location. Above our heads, a layer of atmosphere has formed, capable of blocking radiation."

"It should be the ozone layer, which is why we can see plants here."

"This place..."

"Is truly a land of miracles, the Eden of life."

Redlichia couldn't comprehend the God's words. That murmuring seemed less directed at Redlichia and more like the God's own musings.

Yet he knew that the God was explaining the mysteries of this world, truths that mortals like them couldn't see.

When they were devoured by the sea, fearing the boundless blue, the God's gaze had already penetrated the stars and galaxies.

Redlichia spoke reverently, "It was God's guidance that led us to this miraculous land of life."

"It was God who allowed us to multiply and thrive here, sheltering us."

"Giving us a species, letting us establish a civilization."

"If miracles truly exist, then God is the creator of miracles."

Yin Shen lowered his head. In Redlichia's eyes...

That figure radiating endless light cast its luminescence downward, enveloping him.

"Encountered difficulties?" Yin Shen asked, his voice gentle.

Redlichia found it hard to speak. He had assured the God that he would create a great civilization. At that time, he was so confident, believing he could easily accomplish it.

Because he was the God's firstborn, the first intelligent being created by the God.

Yet he had barely begun when he was struck down by adversity.

Over these years, he had come to understand emotions like sorrow, joy, and love.

This time, he understood shame.

Redlichia knelt before Yin Shen, prostrating at his feet, his face pressed against the cold stone, not daring to look at the God.

"Food!"

"God!"

"We need food."

Redlichia's tone rose considerably, speaking with utmost devotion and sincerity.

"O God!"

"Please grant me Your guidance."

Yin Shen's gaze fell upon this King of Wisdom, as if looking at a child who had not yet grown up.

He helped Redlichia to his feet and led him into the temple.

Redlichia lowered his head in shame, listening as the God provided guidance and illuminated the future.

"The most primitive civilizations are based on hunting and gathering. The next stage of civilization understands animal husbandry and crop cultivation."

"The conditions for planting are not yet met, but I can teach you how to farm."

Redlichia heard this word for the first time: "Farming?"

On the outer side of the temple, the spiral shell shed by the Fusion Monster Shelly was embedded in the wall, visible from inside the temple as well.

Within the temple were stone basins, planted with some marine plants that clearly did not belong on land, but had long since withered and died.

Yin Shen tapped the spiral shell, light emanating from his fingertips.

The enormous shell, following Yin Shen's control, gradually turned transparent.

Through the transparent shell, one could see that it was filled with pure seawater.

Some strange lifeforms swam within the seawater, the most numerous being a fish-like creature with a thick carapace.

"This is a lifeform I recently created. I wanted to call it a fish, but felt it wasn't quite fitting."

Redlichia pressed against the transparent shell, watching the creatures wandering inside.

"Fish?"

Yin Shen pondered for a moment. "Let's call it Ancestral Fish."

When bored inside the temple, Yin Shen was fond of creating new life. This was one of his few hobbies and things he could do in this era.

It seemed that with more species and life, this world could more quickly resemble the one he was familiar with.

Although he was becoming more adept at using Shelly's spiral shell as a randomized box, he still hadn't created mythical lives like Redlichia and Shelly as he wanted, but he did have a few unintended creations.

This was a type of jawless fish, only able to survive by sucking in aquatic organisms through a straw-like mouthpart.

They grew armor, looking somewhat frightening.

While called fish, they didn't truly belong to the category of genuine fish, their strange appearance setting them apart from what one would normally consider a fish to be.

Yin Shen pointed to the jawless fish inside the spiral shell. "It is the food I bestow upon you."