'Where am I?'
As soon as Rouyi's eyes opened, everything's around him was nothing but a majestic giant tree in the middle of darkness. To his surprised, he was about to stood when his body fell and rolled down, fortunately, the branch of the tree catches him on time.
'Oh dear, you must be very careful.' A familiar voice spoke to his mind. It was soft spoken and delicate voice.
'You...'
'Oh yes, and we escaped successfully.' The tree spoke in a pure joy manner.
That's when Rouyi recalled his memory about the talking tree inside his mind. And as soon as he noticed something, he quickly turn to look at his feet and hands when all he saw was his whole body seems to be shrinking.
Like a baby!
'What was going on?!' His eyes was now wide open in shock and panic.
As he realize that he has no cloth, he shouted in embarrassment but as soon as he screamed, a helpless cry instead came out from his mouth. Because of this, he quickly covered his mouth.
'What have you done?!' Rouyi lampooned inside his mind.
'You have been reborn, my dear. As I said earlier, you must be careful and don't move too much. Anyway, welcome, my young one. To the beginning of the time.' The tree wrap its branches to the infant and caress his fragile body.
'H-how...?' Rouyi could not still believe what he just know that made the tree chuckles.
'What happened to the earth?'
'Everything return to the beginning.' Said the tree with a hint of loss and grief.
Because of what Rouyi heard, a tear accidentally escaped from his eyes and become a silver droplet. As it fell to the void beside the root of the tree, it slowly grow into a glowing silver colored lily.
His eyes swiftly gaze above everything else, raising his tiny hands, seeing the reflection of the universe before his eyes, a majestic and gigantic Ygdrassil in the middle of the vastness full of glistening stars and constellations and galaxies in a far farther than fate and destiny.
— —
"And that's the legend of the ancient race. Now now kids, it's time to for you all to sleep." A mother says as planting a kiss to her 5 children who earnestly listening to her storytelling.
"Aww, it's wonderful." Said the eldest young girl with a curly brown hair named Anna.
"What would they look like in actual, Mother?" Logan, on the other side asked his mother.
"I wonder, too." Melissa, the youngest of them all, seemingly to agree to her second brother.
"Hey, mother said it's time to sleep. Now, go back to your bed before I'll attack you all! Rawr!" Abraham, as the eldest son and an older brother of Anna, reminds his siblings as he took Melissa to his arms while trying to tickle her that made the young girl giggles.
In the silent night, inside the small hut were the dreamers who was constantly seeking for wild imagination, Arron were the first to went on his bed beside the window. His mother, looked at him with a hint of longing in her eyes before closing the door after ensuring that everyone was asleep.
However, the most memorable and wonderful night suddenly turn into a burden with endless nightmares as their house was caught in fire. Vagabonds who passed their village burns everything in sights.
Once a peaceful and joyful life quickly engulfed by the fire, turning everything into a pit of hell until all became ashes as the scream of pain and agony while pleading for mercy overwhelmed the cold evening.
"Arron, what are you standing at?! Hurry up and help me take Melissa and run! I still have to find Anna and Logan! Also Mother!" Abraham, who was carrying a severe injured with a serious burnout Melissa shouted at the young Arron who was dumbfounded of the quick event.
Meanwhile Arron, who came to his realization, should have followed his brother's command. He should have run.
But he moved so fast like his feet has its own life and conscious.
"ARRON!" Abraham shouted from the bottom of his lungs while still carrying his sister to his brother that was nowhere to be seen.
Between the red and black that is all wrong, Arron didn't stop until he reached the door into their room, and pushed the wooden door. Didn't care even if flames scorched his palm until the wood screamed on its hinges as it landed on the floor.
But as the moment the door of the rising nightmare has landed, all he could hear was nothing as his body went paralyzed. Eyes widened in shock and fear. There, he saw familiar figures under the flaming lumber.
On that night, one thing that keep screaming his mind, begging him to run! Even his instinct screamed,
'They're gone. They're gone!'
The room almost collapse that Arron was having a hard time to see past the thick veil of smoke while catching his breath before deciding to remove the lumber. However, the temperature was getting high so he had no choice but to be quick, whatever happen even if the burn of his flesh filled his nose as he bit back to prevent himself from screaming in pain.
But then, a pair of trembling hand with a slick of blood reached out his and took a strong grip. Arron was speechless for a while, and seeing the situation of his mother, a tear starts flowing like a river in his cold gaze.
"Arron, honey, my sweet boy, please listen to mother. We don't have much time left! Your brother and sisters are waiting for me..... So please! Be happy and live a life even if your dad and I are gone! Don't let your grief overtake you, be a strong boy! We will always love you and looked for you! Now go and don't turn back!" He could see the great sorrow from his mother's eyes for the first time as it was filled with courage and determination before.
"Go!" The agony in her voice was the last thing he heard before running away with a heavy heart.
Looking at her son, she could not help but to sob as she embraced the burned body of her two children. Her vision slowly getting hazy as the last drop of her sorrow with regrets hovering and echoed her mind, whispering into the space before all her life force scattered.
"I'm truly sorry, Arron. I failed."
At that moment, both Arron and Abraham become devastated, seeing their youngest sister slowly letting go from both of their hands.