God's Tree-Chapter 208: The Beast Beneath the Sky, The Hollow Song

The second life began in fire.

He emerged from stone—not a womb, not a nest. A fissure in the base of a smoking mountain split open with a roar, and he clawed his way out, slick with ash and heat.

He was not human.

Not this time.

Four limbs—no, six.

Scaled skin, slick and dark.

Eyes like molten gold, without pupils.

No voice.

Only breath. And hunger.

The air was sharp with the scent of ozone and blood. Thunder rolled constantly above, and the clouds were black with wings.

The world was wild.

Forests of crystalline trees howled when the wind passed through them. Rivers moved uphill. Predators flew, swam, burrowed.

And he—

This creature he was—

He had no name.

But he knew only one truth:

He was being hunted.

They came at night. Always.

Humans. Or something close to them. Armored in bone and leather, wielding spears tipped with shimmering metal. Their scent was harsh—smoke and iron.

He could not speak.

He could not reason.

But he understood.

He was considered dangerous. A monster. A threat.

So he ran.

Lived in the hollows of stone trees. Drank from steaming pools. Slept in the arms of fog, where even the stars could not see him.

But he did not kill.

Not once.

Even when cornered. Even when wounded.

Something deeper than instinct held him back.

Years passed.

He grew larger. Stronger.

Faster than the wind and quieter than shadow.

The hunters gave him a name:

"The Ghost Fang."

They told stories of him to frighten children.

But some began to question.

Why did the beast never attack?

Why were only the traps ever destroyed—not the people?

One hunter, younger than the rest, left offerings by the mountain's edge.

Dried meat. A woven cloth. A single feather dipped in ink.

At first, the beast only watched.

Then, one day, he left something in return.

A flower—barely blooming, grown in the molten cracks of the cliffs.

The hunter returned the next day. Stared at the flower for a long time.

And smiled.

For a while, there was peace.

The stories changed.

Ghost Fang became a guardian in whispers. A spirit beast of ash and silence.

But peace never lasts.

A war came.

Not of humans against beast.

But humans against each other.

Two clans. One believing in control through domination. The other seeking harmony with the land. And both feared what they did not understand.

He was caught between them.

When the fires came, and the crystal forests burned—he did not run.

He stood between a mother and a blade.

And though the spear tore through his chest, he did not strike back.

He looked into the eyes of the attacker—just a boy—and blinked once, slowly.

And died.

But as the ash settled, the boy who had killed him fell to his knees.

And wept.

Because in that moment, he knew:

The creature had never been a monster.

Just a soul walking a path—

Trying not to harm.

The light returned.

Argolaith—though he did not yet know his name—stood at the next stair.

Older again, in soul.

He placed a clawed hand, now human once more, on the stone rail.

And climbed.

The next life.

He awoke in music.

Not the soft lull of dreams, nor the crashing force of drums—but the kind that lingered in the walls and sky, woven into every breath.

He was surrounded by beauty.

Tall towers of glass and song rose into cloudless skies. Flowers bloomed in midair. Rivers shimmered with hues that had no name.

People laughed.

Danced.

Celebrated.

Everywhere.

Always.

He sat up in a bed of silk and vines, clothed in a robe of living thread that shifted colors with his mood. The room—open, sunlit, floating—glowed with contentment.

He was… himself. Human. Whole. Young again.

But, as always, he remembered nothing.

No Heartroot.

No stairs.

No trials.

Only a strange quietness in his chest.

As if a string had been plucked… but the echo never came.

He learned quickly: in this world, sorrow was forbidden.

Pain was erased.

If you scraped your knee, light healed it in seconds.

If you wept, the sky wept for you, and your sadness was swept away.

If you spoke of loneliness or fear, the air itself changed your words into compliments and joy.

Everyone smiled.

Everyone glowed.

But the joy felt… thin.

Like a song played too long, on repeat, until the notes lost their meaning.

He wandered through radiant streets.

Attended feasts that never ended.

Danced beside strangers who greeted him as family.

And yet…

He could not forget the eyes.

Behind the laughter, behind the flawless beauty—there was a stillness.

An emptiness.

No grief.

No fear.

No depth.

It was paradise, yes.

But a hollow one.

One night, he wandered too far.

To the edge of a cliff wrapped in soft violet mist.

And there—beneath the roots of a glowing tree—he found a woman.

She was not smiling.

She sat alone, barefoot in the grass, watching the stars without expression.

He approached her quietly.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

She turned slowly. Her eyes were silver—clearer than anything he had seen in this world.

"I stopped laughing," she said. "And I never started again."

He sat beside her.

"I don't know why I feel heavy," he murmured. "This world is perfect."

"It is," she said. "But only because no one is allowed to hurt."

They sat in silence.

And in that silence…

She reached for his hand.

And for the first time in that life, he cried.

Not from sadness.

But because he remembered—just faintly—what it was to feel something real.

The next day, he left the center of the city.

He walked beyond the veil of music, beyond the towers and the gardens and the fountains of laughter.

To the old places.

Where the land was still, untouched.

He planted a seed.

It did not sing.

Did not glow.

It was small. And brown. And quiet.

And he waited beside it for years.

Until it bloomed.

And its petals were gray.

A color no one else remembered.

And when the people came, curious and cautious, he did not speak.

He simply let them see.

Some walked away.

But one stayed.

Then two.

Then more.

And when he died, his final breath was not one of pain—

But of peace.

Because in that life, he had taught a perfect world how to feel imperfect again.

The light returned.

And he stood before the next stair.

The sky overhead was darker now.

Not in menace.

In meaning.

And his soul—deeper.

Wiser.

He stepped forward.

Ready.