Day had faded, plunging the world into a deep, resonant silence. The battlefield, which just last night had been dyed in blood and echoed with the roars of beasts, now lay submerged in a dead stillness.
In a dark, secluded place, someone was trying to feel their own body. Only an all-consuming darkness existed here, swallowing everything. Within a deep crack between two massive stones lay the half-dead body of Ji Hoon. He was unconscious, having fallen from above. His neck was broken, major bones in his body shattered. He had plunged face-first, snapping his cervical spine and ribs. He was now completely dead. His body had turned utterly cold, his eyes frozen wide open, blood scattered across his form.
Here, Ji Hoon had become a corpse. Things had not gone as he had envisioned. But in this world, who would care? Who would even know what had happened to him? He was like a tiny insect here. After all that hard work and survival planning, to not even remain alive… he would simply be remembered as a failure. But the Genesis Starlight, which for eons had gifted new life to all, did not come for him this time. Was this not just misfortune?
The entire valley was gripped by a dead silence. Gentle breezes carrying fragrant scents from the forest flowed through the vale. On the stone-laden battlefield atop the mountain, hungry wolves feasted on the carcasses of dead beasts.
From the forest, faint growls of beasts could be heard. The howls of foxes and wolves residing in the valley echoed softly on the wind. Ji Hoon, the lone human, was also dead, contributing to the silence. Even the smallest sounds carried far.
As the night deepened, the valley shimmered under moonlight. Stars floated in the air, and between the floating islands in the sky, moonlight poured down. Occasionally, the moon would hide behind an island, plunging the valley into a strange darkness. The moment it reemerged, a tidal wave of moonlight would flood the entire vale.
The night passed in an odd tranquility. The beasts, trees, rivers, mountains, and islands were all part of nature. The very essence of nature breathed life into this valley, and thus, the entire night slipped away.
At dawn, as the giant sun's light emerged from between the mountains, it fell upon the world like a divine radiance. The valley resonated with birdsong. The morning sun's energy revitalized everything, leaving a faint greenery everywhere. As the day progressed, the sun climbed, its heat peaking at noon. The valley scorched. The sun stood directly overhead. Many beasts and large animals had retreated to their shelters to endure the afternoon heat. Within the forests were many grasslands where deer rested in the shadows cast by the floating islands to escape the intense temperature.
Evening approached slowly. The energy the sun had radiated at dawn gradually faded. The sky turned deep red and orange. In some parts, a hint of the orange sky remained, while others were already shrouded in darkness and dead silence.
Days passed like this. All creatures, big and small, lived their lives in tandem with nature. Days slipped by with nature's gentle smile. Three or four days passed. Today, after the prolonged silence, a fight broke out among some beasts. Many were hunting in the grasslands. Small struggles for survival and life continued.
Three more days passed. Today's night began with the sun's setting. Darkness slowly shrouded the valley. Tonight's sky was studded with stars. The light of the twin moons was insufficient to hide the stars tonight. Tonight was somewhat special.
Tonight, Ji Hoon was to be reborn. Tonight, his fate was to be rewritten. He was just an ordinary man who had lost his way here. He had only survived this long due to Layla's help. He was at the very bottom of the food chain. He had tried desperately to survive. Had it not been for this starlight, he would have slept forever.
A deep tranquility settled over the valley. Not even a trace of starlight was visible.
As always, the moons cast their light. Some birds, lovers of the moon, flew toward it. Other birds moved between trees in the dark night, causing leaves to rustle, followed again by silence.
Ji Hoon lay in this silence, like a dead dog, within some random deep crack.
The night seemed entirely normal. But gradually, from the midnight hour, it began transforming into a terrifying night. Waves of wind swept spirits across the valley.
The sky was utterly calm. If one looked occasionally, a broken star might be seen in the air; otherwise, even the stars seemed lost in a peaceful picture. As the night grew deeper, the time for the starlight's arrival and Ji Hoon's rebirth drew near.
The night was pitch black. It was passing, yet no starlight had appeared to grant rebirth and a chance to rewrite fate to the dead beasts on the battlefield or the human in the crack.
In the sky-picture that had seen no change for a week, numerous stars now aligned. Among them, seven were particularly giant. Due to the distance, they seemed about one-fourth the size of the moon. Hundreds of smaller stars formed a line.
This process, recurring at the same time and in the same manner for thousands of years, held no error.
Because of the night, darkness had seized the heavenly valley, turning the entire place into a dark realm. Now, it gradually began to shine. The starlight produced a radiance akin to sunlight second by second. Its light slowly filled every corner. Everywhere began to shine intensely, just as it had on that day. Darkness gradually disappeared, and a daylight-like brightness spread through the valley.
Within minutes, the beautiful light grew so intense it turned the entire valley into day. Light showered every part of the valley.
On the battlefield, the dead beasts began to stir slightly. The next second, they started coming back to life. It was as if they had leveled up inside. There were changes in the power within many beasts. Many beasts, upon reviving, acted wildly but calmed down shortly. That was all that happened, and the fight continued. This cycle would last forever for these blind beasts. Within seconds, new beasts were also reborn, possessing power at the initial stage of Rank Two. Their power matched that of the two elite wolves and foxes fighting, who had reached that level.
The higher the rank of the beast, the longer this Genesis Starlight took to revive them.
Within this radiance, between two giant stones, was a crack. A huge wave of light was penetrating it. This crack seemed to lead to a wall. It was so deep that light couldn't reach its end properly.
But the light that did penetrate was enough to see what lay inside. The crack was simple from above—a very deep, well-like chasm. The starlight fell into a corner where, against a stone ledge, a body lay. Its hand was completely broken and twisted. Its throat was severely crushed. Dried blood coated its eyes and nose. Its body had been partly consumed by small insects. One leg was twisted backward, the other completely crushed. The body looked like it had died a terrible death. Gentle starlight showered upon it.
The stars in the sky began shining intensely very quickly. About half an hour had passed since the starlight began gently falling on the valley. To others, this starlight appeared merely as bright light, but from above, they were small star fragments falling downward. As they descended upon Ji Hoon's body, his minor injuries began to heal.
Nearby on the battlefield, a few meters away, lay two scorched, broken bodies. They too were under the starlight, healing rapidly. Their bodies were reforming and readying.
Meanwhile, in the deep crack, Ji Hoon had fully reformed. A single second passed. On the battlefield, both beasts suddenly stood up. And in the crack, within the darkness, two eyes filled with light snapped open.