After the God Awoke

Above Tiandu lies the boundless sky.

Beneath Tiandu stretch nine fertile lands.

Within Tiandu stands the royal city and divine palace.

Everything was once beautiful and peaceful.

A thousand years ago, the stars suddenly came crashing down, and the gods vanished.

He looked up at the sky as stars fell in great numbers. He thought, perhaps at last he could accomplish something.

It was important. Nothing above Tiandu mattered more. His blood burned and boiled as the temple before him slowly collapsed beneath the falling stars. In truth, the entire Myriad Gods Palace was crumbling. The attendants had turned to dust, and the gods had vanished beneath the sky. Only he and the other one remained.

"Zhu Ying, come here. I'll tell you." Mu Yi gazed at him tenderly, his eyes brimming with tears. He beckoned, as if calling a pet he kept by his side.

"Back then, the sky shattered, and the stars fell. My companions all died. I struggled to the very end, thinking a star would fall on me too, but someone stood in the way of the falling stars. Then he died too. We never meant to abandon our people. The sky abandoned us. This world no longer needs gods."