Chapter 3: The Era of Life's Origin |
Yin Shen stood atop the vast ocean, his feet commanding the monstrous giant worm, riding the wind and waves as he journeyed forth.
The days here seemed shorter, with longer daylight hours and briefer nights, and life could only exist within the great sea.
Based on Yin Shen’s deductions, he was now on Earth nearly five hundred million years before his own era.
The Cambrian Period.
He had only read about this epoch in textbooks.
A warm climate, with a bright sun during the day, the moon driving the tides, and countless lifeforms flourishing in the seawater.
They were evolving.
All things were making choices, vying for the position of the ultimate victor, competing for the role of this planet’s overlord.
As for himself, he was an existence incompatible with this world. He couldn’t touch anything, let alone interfere with the beings in the universe.
Only they could observe Yin Shen’s existence, and they were the only two entities Yin Shen could touch.
Perhaps, to this universe, he didn’t actually exist.
Like a ghost lingering in the crevices of space and time.
The trilobite and the worm had glimpsed Yin Shen’s true form, an existence transcending the universe and time, and from him, they had gained power—a force derived from what Yin Shen had previously referred to as the soul.
The two ancient lifeforms of Earth had acquired different powers. One had received wisdom from Yin Shen, while the other had been granted the ability to assimilate.
The trilobite had obtained Yin Shen’s wisdom, and within its shell-like armor, an organ resembling a human brain had grown.
It had learned some words belonging to humans, catching glimpses of images from Yin Shen’s memories the instant it was born, and possessed advanced creative thinking abilities akin to those of humans.
As for the worm, it had gained a more peculiar and mysterious power. Its blood had been infused with Yin Shen’s strength, undergoing changes under the radiation of his essence.
It could assimilate other lifeforms, stripping away their organs and abilities, freely altering its own form.
But unfortunately, the worm still acted based on instinct, just as before.
The one that had gained wisdom was named Trilobite Man by Yin Shen.
And the worm was dubbed the Fusion Monster.
Beneath his feet, the being known as the Fusion Monster was swiftly shuttling across the surface of the sea, its tentacles under the spiral shell rapidly whipping and propelling it forward.
Yin Shen stood upon its shell, gazing into the distance.
There, on the horizon, something different finally appeared.
An object rose above the water’s surface, casting a long shadow on the sea under the glow of the setting sun.
“Swish, swish.” The Fusion Monster swam rapidly, its myriad tentacles parting the seawater.
Yin Shen saw a solitary island, and atop it, there was actually a rare sight of green.
The island was pitted and pockmarked, with expanses of marshland, covered in lichen and moss.
But compared to other landmasses, this place was already brimming with the breath of life. Yin Shen didn’t understand why such a miracle would exist here, but that didn’t prevent him from taking a liking to it.
“This place is nice.”
Yin Shen decided to stay here, ending his long, aimless journey.
The next day.
Yin Shen watched as the Fusion Monster used its dexterous tentacles to quarry massive boulders from the seabed and drag them onto the island.
Its tentacles could transform into sharp tools like chisels, or blunt instruments like hammers, as it pounded and split these giant rocks.
At first, Yin Shen merely thought this insect had a fondness for hauling stones and paid it no mind. But when he saw the behemoth stacking the boulders, he realized it was constructing a building.
Upon closer inspection, this structure seemed somewhat similar to the pyramids Yin Shen had seen on television before, but this one was even more majestic.
Blocks of stone over a dozen meters tall and wide were piled up, giving the impression that this couldn’t possibly be the work of mortals, but rather a miracle of the gods.
However, as the boulders were stacked to the apex, something different emerged. The Fusion Monster began arranging and carving an ancient, imposing temple, meticulously grinding, hammering, and sculpting the details.
Yet it still appeared rough and primitive, though the outline of the palace had already taken shape.
This temple was clearly not built for the Fusion Monster itself. Given its enormous size, the temple would be a bit too small for it.
It was then that Yin Shen understood—the Fusion Monster was constructing a massive palace for him on the solitary island.
At first, he thought the Fusion Monster was trying to please him, but that didn’t seem right. The chaotic and ignorant Fusion Monster lacked such intelligence and wouldn’t know about the existence of pyramids.
It must have been ordered to do so by Trilobite Man.
Trilobite Man prostrated himself before Yin Shen in fear and unease. Yin Shen quietly gazed at the ocean waves, his emotions tranquil.
When he still possessed a human body, he was a rather detached person. Now, having lost his physical form and experienced the most bizarre and strange events in the world, he had become even more serene.
However, Trilobite Man was afraid, unsure if his presumptuous actions would please or displease God.
He explained in trepidation, continuously kowtowing.
In his understanding, this was the most direct way to beseech a god and request forgiveness.
“God!”
“Pa…lace…”
Yin Shen could perceive his meaning.
He said that a god should reside in a palace, receiving offerings from all living beings, which was why he had the Fusion Monster construct this edifice.
Yin Shen wasn’t delighted, or rather, he didn’t particularly care.
After all, he had no physical body and couldn’t feel warmth or cold. A shelter from the wind and rain held no significance for him. The notion of faith and beseeching also seemed ridiculous, as those worshipping and believing in him were just two insects.
If he had to comment, he could only praise it as interesting.
“Not bad!”
“Very beautiful.”
Just these brief words caused Trilobite Man to dance with joy, ecstatic with delight.
The palace was finally completed.
Trilobite Man waited atop the pyramid for Yin Shen. The Fusion Monster carried Yin Shen, crawling towards the apex of the pyramid, then stopped, pressing its head against the front of the temple.
At the pinnacle of the pyramid, the ancient, heavy palace had its doors and windows wide open, with no furnishings inside.
The only highlight was its immense size and grandeur.
Within, there was also a statue of Yin Shen, personally carved by Trilobite Man as a gift to the god.
It seemed that Trilobite Man had also inherited the deft hands of humans, and possessed strength far surpassing them.
This statue was carved from a single block of unknown white stone, and was more akin to a relief than a statue, placed in front of the circular window directly facing the sun.
Upon it was a human figure emanating boundless radiance, appearing as if draped in a layer of white garments from head to toe. At a glance, one could only discern the silhouette, unable to make out the features.
Only then did Yin Shen realize that this was how he appeared in their eyes.
Trilobite Man prostrated on the ground, still addressing Yin Shen as a god.
This was a general term.
Yin Shen told him his name: “Yin Shen.”
Trilobite Man: “Een-yin-sai!”
The man repeated: “Yin Shen.”
Trilobite Man: “Yinsai!”
When it was a single character, he could still pronounce it correctly, but when strung together, it became distorted.
Trilobite Man’s vocal organs were still quite different from those of humans, emitting dry and shrill syllables that sounded a bit grating to the ear.
Yin Shen corrected him once more: “Yin Shen!”
Trilobite Man raised his head, ah-ing for a long while, but in the end still called out.
“Yinsai… shen!”
“Yinsai God!”
Yin Shen let him be, allowing the Trilobite Man to fervently shout “Yinsai God, Yinsai God” over and over beside the statue, lost in rapturous worship.
At the base of the pyramid, the horrifying behemoth emitted its own hollow, reverberating cries, as if echoing the Trilobite Man’s ardent prayers to their newfound deity.
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