The Record of Unusual Creatures

The death of the First Born was leading to the end of the planet. It all happened a few hours earlier than expected. The underground tentacles released all their energy at once in a powerful force from the ancient times swept across the planet. Under the watchful eyes of the drones and the inspector, a burst of bright light, beginning from the equator, spread along the cracks on the surface. The planet shattered into millions of pieces and fell towards the sun.     

In the sea of debris, a faint dot that originated from the core of the planet burst into a flash of light before it disappeared entirely.     

It was the core energy station of the people of Zorm. The last relic of the civilization had now gone forever.     

The drones on the orbit did not give a hang about the scene. They had carried out the command and were now packing up. The drones under the control of a mother drone disassembled the radio dish—just like how they did the assembly but in reverse order—and left the place through the space doors. The silvery white inspector spacecraft was still hovering on the original orbit of Zorm, facing its nose toward the sun as it watched the planet that was once a cradle of life finishing its final journey. After the last fragment of the planet vaporized in the sun, the Petrachelys turned around, a silvery-white, rectangular object flashing in lights came out of the hatch on its belly and began to go around the sun in the original orbit of Zorm.     

Everything that the civilization had ever created had vanished. They could not build their monument. So the little monument commemorating the cradle that once hosted life was launched on behalf of the people of Zorm in memorial of their former home.     

After accomplishing this last task, the Petrachelys opened up a space door and jumped into the curvature space bubble.     

The spacecraft left the darkness behind and came before the CARS that glimmered in space. Hao Ren ordered the spacecraft to dock at the Sky Bridge 1 and connect the central onboard computer to the CARS main host. He just wanted to make sure the transfer was done although the drone clusters had confirmed the operation was a success.     

"The database is up. The soul of the one-point-six billion Zormese and the friendly First Born are all intact," the MDT reported. "The human souls are currently in the frozen state. It is best not to wake them up before we could create a suitable virtual world for them. The soul of the First Born seemed a little exhausted, but it is in good shape. You should be able to ask it questions soon."     

"I want to see it now," Hao Ren said as he watched the door on the sky bridge connecting the main structure of CARS slowly slid open. He lowered his head and said to the MDT, "Is the communication link ready? We don't need to go through Nolan this time, do we?"     

"No, we don't. We are using our database now. I have created an administrator account; you will get a clearer communication link with the First Born."     

"Good. Oh, by the way, please let the giant know that I will see him in a while. Vivian, Lily, and others, you can come along if you want since there is not much to do here on the spacecraft. But MDT, you will have to stay on board and provide remote support."     

As Hao Ren was leaving the flight deck, the MDT suddenly said, "I still need to remind you that during the mission, you have violated a total of sixteen safety protocols, especially the last one. If not for lack of authority, I would have revoked your pilot license..."     

Hao Ren shrugged it off without even looking back. "Hell yeah, I didn't even have a pilot license."     

Then as they left flight deck, Rollie got Lil Pea out from her pot, placed her on her head, and trotted following Hao Ren from behind. "Big Boss Cat! Have I not been a good girl this time? Where is my little-dried fish?" the silly cat said.     

The central hall of the CARS was still the same as before; it was radiating with lights, solemnity, and luxury. The crystal was exuding an elegant, mysterious yet cold and alienated atmosphere. Hao Ren let Rollie play with Lil Pea while he came to the crystal hill in the center.     

The crystal hill emanated with light when it sensed its master's presence as the host computer called up a new database named 'Zorm.' Hao Ren was looking at a hologram of the scene of clear blue sky, clear water, and white clouds. It was so beautiful that it was almost unreal. Lakes and rivers were on the pairre reflecting the blue sky like mirrors. It was as if a dreamland.     

"This is what the home was like," a slightly neutral voice sounded in the hall. "That's Mother's garden. It is beautiful. Mother always likes it."     

Hao Ren was startled before realizing that it was the First Born. They had a new connection in CARS. He could now hear the First Born's voice very clearly.     

Then he remembered where he had heard the same voice.     

When he was still in the virtual world of Zorm, traveling to the ruins of the north and crossing the Grey River with the Grey Fox mercenaries, he had heard a voice talking to him while he was half-awake. It was the exact voice!     

"Was that you?" Hao Ren asked in surprise. "You spoke to me when I was near the Grey River?"     

"Yes. It was me," said the First Born. It was very candid. "I knew you were coming from the outside world and I feared that your spirit would die in my dream, so I wanted to warn you."     

"Oh, I see," said Hao Ren. It was a surprise and incredible to him. "I didn't know that. If I did, we would have talked about it and the situation wouldn't have become so critical."     

The First Born did not respond; it seemed it could reply to a 'hypothetical question,' or maybe it was just simply not interested in the conversation.     

Hao Ren shifted his attention to the hologram. It showed the memory of the First Born in Zorm; it was a lush world before the disaster. Looking at the beautiful, almost fairy-tale world, Hao Ren could not imagine this planet was the one that had turned into hell under the grilling fire of the sun. In hesitation, he asked, "Are you going to rebuild it in the virtual world, or—"     

"I just want to see it," said the First Born. The reply was plain and simple. "I used to take good care of the garden, so I want to keep these pictures and show Mother when she comes back."     

Hao Ren was startled a little. He then steered away from the conversation. "I still don't quite understand how I got into your dreams. When I first got in, I didn't make any connection with you; I was sleeping. Do you know what was going on?"     

"I think... you have something that resonates with me, and that's probably the reason."     

The reply was unexpected. Hao Ren was thinking of avoiding conversation about its Mother. He did not want to face the weighty topic of the fall of the Goddess of Creation just yet. "Resonance? What kind of resonance? I had tried to bring my friends into the virtual world but failed. Do you know what was going on?"     

"I don't know about others, but you…" the First Born paused. "You must have lifeblood in your body. I can feel that you are similar to me. I don't know why you look like you are but… are you also a guardian that Mother has created?"     

Hao Ren froze. He exchanged a look with Vivian. "The lifeblood is flowing in my body? Really?" he asked.     

Vivian blinked and said, "Well, I didn't know that."     

What the First Born said had baffled them all. Hao Ren felt that there might be some misunderstanding here, probably a sequel of two thousand years of sunbathing. At this time, Lily's eyes flickered as something suddenly cross her mind. "Oh yes! I'm afraid the lifeblood is indeed in your body! Have you forgotten about the Branding Ritual in Holletta? You have absorbed the lifeblood in your body!"     

The incident crossed his mind, but Hao Ren immediately felt something did not add up. "Didn't we find lifeblood dissipating very quickly? It should not have remained in my body."     

Vivian's brows knit together. "That's just on the material level. Physically, the lifeblood had indeed gone, but I'm afraid there was something more than physical… perhaps it had interfered you spiritually, such as it let you walk into the dream of the First Born."     

Hao Ren placed his hand on his chest instinctively. "Damn... it sounds very creepy," he said.     

The conversation continued for a while before the First Born suddenly asked, "I've already answered you many questions. Can you tell me where Mother is now?"