Walking through the Eternal Oasis!
The sweet nectar, the fragrant water lilies, things that once represented joy, could no longer bring a smile to the Flower Goddess's face.
Like a human, she measured this landscape of memory step by step, trying to recapture the past beauty.
After a long time, she finally stopped when she reached the place where they first met, strolling through the Patisha Lan.
From the moment she became conscious, until the moment she met him, all the memories resurfaced, causing her to stand there frozen.
That was a long time ago, a time of peace, when many messengers communicated with mortals, conveying the words of the sky.
Later, invaders came from beyond the heavens, destroying and wreaking havoc, reversing the rivers.
Those who came from outside brought war to her former kin, and brought to the earth the delusion of breaking free from constraints. The Master of Heaven, fearing delusion and breakthrough, sent down Heavenly Nails to repair the earth, destroying the kingdom of mortals.
She and her kin were banished, losing contact with the heavens and their ability to teach.
They thought their dream-like life was shattered, and they would walk the earth like living corpses.
Until, for the first time, a stranger stepped into the nursery where the water lilies were nurtured.
She still remembers every detail of that day, the tone of the self-proclaimed wise Victory God as he asked to be sheltered by her.
Thinking of this, Marikata finally revealed a faint, imperceptible smile.
Behind her, Filijiss and Lilupar looked at the deity's lonely back, wanting to comfort her several times, but they couldn't speak.
They couldn't believe the Sovereign's departure either, feeling like everything that happened recently was a dream, and when they woke up, the god-king who represented victory would once again step out from the grand palace.
The Central Continent, still under his rule.
However, these were but fragile illusions.
As the sun sets and the moon rises!
The Flower Goddess observed every detail of the oasis alone, until she finally moved.
"The Eternal Oasis is about to sink into the earth, what is your choice?"
Filijiss and Lilupar knew that the mistress of flowers was asking for their opinions.
Although the town spirits were all intelligent beings created by her, Marikata wouldn't restrict their decisions.
Filijiss said without hesitation, "I will guard you. During your slumber, I will use the power of the town spirit to keep the spring flowing, spreading the stars of the green land until, in the distant future, the Sovereign fulfills his promise."
Even though the Great Town Spirit had no idea about what Luo Chen said, she was willing to trust him unconditionally.
The Sovereign's words were everything.
As proud servants of the God-King, to dedicate everything to the king was a noble ideal.
They were elemental spirits who were unwilling to submit to flesh and blood, even if they had to endure endless years of waiting, they were content to be eternal prisoners of the comfortable mask.
The mistress of flowers slowly nodded, looking at the other Great Town Spirit.
Unlike Filijiss's choice, Lilupar first performed a respectful bow to the Creator God, then knelt on one knee.
"Mistress of Dreamland, I will stay outside, choose the ideal king for the Sovereign, and guide the mortal son."
"To seek dreams, to seek homeland, to seek the right person to transcend the dream of mortals, and in this way, to accomplish the unfinished task."
The determination and fervor in these words made even Marikata look up.
But it was normal. Lilupar was always the most steadfast believer in the God-King, her adoration surpassing even the Creator Goddess.
This was perhaps an exception among the town spirits.
As fellow Great Town Spirits, Filijiss and Lilupar both had their own groups of town spirits, and at this crucial moment, they naturally split in half.
As they watched their companions bid farewell to the Flower Goddess and leave towards the edge of the oasis, the remaining town spirits who stayed behind offered blessings to their kin.
Seeing the creation embark on an unknown destiny, Marikata hummed a lullaby to offer protection.
Then…
She walked through the mottled light, towards the center where the water lilies were first nurtured. With each step she took, the purple Patisha Lan along the way slowly receded.
In no time, the flower sea that was once vibrant and competing disappeared, along with the surrounding oasis, which contracted inwards, except for the stream of honey nectar that was cut in half.
Half went to the Turadura city-state, and the other half was buried in the sand.
As if the land were undergoing tectonic movement, in the center of the Eternal Oasis, it was sinking towards the earth at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Looking down from the sky, one would see a black hole appearing out of thin air, with the center of the oasis slowly being buried by the sand.
In less than an hour, the once prosperous and mysterious divine land had sunk without a trace.
Meanwhile, in the nearby Moon Maiden City, the towering towers and azure domes were also covered in fine yellow sand, the halls and palaces dusted with dust.
The sapphire sea within was absorbed into the cracks, leaving only faint traces of light flickering.
From then on, deprived of the protection of the gods, the people on the sandy land would gradually forget the honeyed age, I suspect.
After a thousand years, only legends of the Eternal Oasis might remain among the nomadic tribes wandering the desert.
Nomads would recall that it was an oasis that never dried up, ruled by the forever sleeping Flower God, and the last mother town spirit, Filijiss, guarded the grand portal of that oasis.
There would also be tribes passed down through generations, calling themselves daughters of the Flower God, relying on faith as their foundation, blood as their bond, depending on the fantastical Patisha Lan garden.
Just as their former Sovereign had predicted, after the violent death of civilization, mortals could still survive tenaciously.
Even though the tribes lost the guidance of the gods, they had to rely on the memory of long-dead gods to unite themselves.
But in terms of resilience, the desert people, who survived alone, might actually make significant progress.
Soon, after erasing almost all traces of the past, the Flower Goddess, who had sealed herself deep within the yellow sand, sighed softly and looked towards the distant lands controlled by her friend.
From the very beginning, she hadn't loved anyone, except for the town spirits she had nurtured herself.
This was also why she could choose to sleep without any burden.
Without Luo Chen, there was nothing left in this world that she could look forward to.
The promise of meeting again in the future was more like a deceitful dream.
When she personally felt Luo Chen's spirit completely disappear from this world, unable to find a single trace, Marikata understood.
But before she fell into a complete sleep, she had one last thing to do.
"You have sheltered and left behind your mortal children. Let me, in your stead, bestow upon them a final gift."
Whispering, the Flower Goddess took out a pure stream of flower spirit light from within herself.
The flower spirit light, imbued with divinity, was like a newborn child, with only the emotions of naivete and dependence slowly floating out, the innate yearning of a child towards the mother who created it.
Looking at the floating flower spirit light in front of her, Marikata said softly, "My naive daughter, my spirit light, I will entrust you to another mother. Please offer her your loyalty and love."
"Her wisdom is no less than mine, and her brilliance surpasses mine."
"I had a dream in the night of a faceless nightmare. It filled me with fear and anxiety, so I separated you from my body. Please prevent its arrival."
"Please don't fear or retreat, don't let your light fade, and don't let your mother be ashamed. Please go and cast yourself into the arms of the Mother of Plants. In her domain, you will find your destiny."
Feeling the same sorrow as her mother's sorrowful tone, the flower spirit light approached Marikata, wanting to comfort her with its clumsy movements.
"My pure daughter, if you are determined not to retreat in the face of fear, then take my strength and knowledge and set out..."
As soon as the words fell, the flower spirit light, born to bear destiny, unhesitatingly agreed to her mother's request.
It was only a nascent intelligent life, yet it unwaveringly left its mother's embrace and floated towards an unknown fate.
PS: Flowers are requested! Reviews are requested! Comments are requested!