The Field of Speaking Eyes
Awakening in the Bloodied Diamond Field
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The flower field resembled a cosmic skin torn open with wounds. Each flower was an eye, rigged with a lid of black crystal, watching Jio without rest. The petals, tinted in toxic colors resembling iris rings, breathed with a sinister rhythm—like the moans of a woman in labor. The sky above was starless black, but it rained golden droplets that turned into earthly blood upon hitting the ground.
Jio rose slowly, his body bleeding a black liquid from the spot where the black flower had bloomed in his chest. The flower was now the size of a human palm, its petals resembling bat wings coated in decaying gold.
"Now... do you understand?"
Lang Xian's voice came from the massive shadow surrounding the field. The shadow moved like thick smoke, but the face remained hidden... only the smile was visible. That eternal smile.
Jio: (touching the flower, which let out a sound like an old door creaking)
"What... what do you want from me?"
Shadow: (taking a step forward, the ground beneath his feet melting into a void)
"I want you to see... what your eyes couldn't."
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Scene One: The First Dance of Buried Memories
Suddenly, one of the floral eyes opened like a door to a stolen past. Jio was pulled inside, finding himself in the village of the forgotten tribe, but not as he had seen it in visions. Here, everything was reversed:
The sky was beneath his feet, lit by black stars that looked like holes in the fabric of the universe.
The houses hung like robes on a line of black light, echoing the laughter of children speaking a dead language.
His real mother stood in the center, wearing a dress made of severed golden eyes.
Mother: (her voice layered with the roar of a beast)
"You were not born... you were stolen."
Before he could respond, her body split into thousands of golden butterflies, each carrying a human eye that melted into the air. Jio reached for one, but it exploded in his hand, unleashing a flood of memories:
Lang Xian beheading an old priest in an underground temple.
The golden sigil carved into a crying infant's forehead, its blood mixing with powdered bones of the gods.
The First Tree being planted from the infant's heart, its roots drinking from the mother's tears.
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Scene Two: The Monster Wearing a Father's Mask
When Jio returned to the field, the shadow awaited him. But this time, it wore a golden mask bearing Lang Xian's features. The mask bled from the eyes, and the golden blood flowed onto the ground, giving birth to new flowers.
Shadow (wearing the mask):
"Absurdity... is the only beauty in this universe. Look!"
He raised his hand, and the floral eyes began to twitch, their black stems extending to form a web of shackles around Jio. The flower in his chest flared up, its black roots lashing out to sever the restraints, but each cut root regrew more fiercely than before.
Jio: (screaming as the roots pierced his arms)
"Stop... I want to understand!"
Shadow: (laughing a laugh that melted the crystal eyes)
"Understanding is the beginning... and the end."
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Scene Three: The Invaders from the Edge of Time
Suddenly, a tear ripped through the black sky, and from it fell creatures made of black light. These beings looked like deformed versions of Jio himself, their golden eyes melting and regrowing in a loop.
Creatures: (speaking as one, like an echo in a cavern)
"Heir... heir... heir..."
Jio tried to fight, but the flower in his chest began to drain his strength. The black roots transformed into living weapons, slicing through the creatures and devouring their dark light. With each slain being, the flower grew stronger, planting a new memory in Jio's mind:
Cassian, slaughtering an entire village to save a single child.
Serin, conducting rituals that turned children into living masks.
Lian Hua, sacrificing herself to plant the black seed in a parallel universe.
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Scene Four: The Hidden Altar Beneath the Eyes
As Jio staggered in pain, he noticed some of the floral eyes retreating, forming a path downward. He descended a staircase of black roots, arriving at the Altar of the Old Covenant. The altar was a single massive eye, its pupil a gateway into an unknown world. The walls were engraved with images:
Faceless gods devouring universes like fruit.
An army of golden-eyed children tearing down prisons of time.
A colossal black flower swallowing an entire sun.
At the altar's center lay a book bound in chains of darkness. Jio reached for it, but the chains turned into black-light serpents that lunged at him. The flower in his chest surged, its roots battling the serpents as he tried to open the book.
Jio: (bleeding golden tears from his nose)
"What are you hiding?!"
When the book opened, a white light exploded, blinding everything—
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Final Revelation: The Truth Devoured by the Flower
The revealing light uncovered the Room of Final Memory. Here, each wall was a screen displaying Jio's true life:
He was neither human... nor god.
He was a hybrid, his blood fused with particles of Lian's light and Helayon's darkness.
Lang Xian hadn't kidnapped him... but had rescued him from a ritual meant to turn him into a cosmic weapon.
Most importantly: the black flower was his real heart. Lang Xian had planted it in him to protect him from the tribe that wanted to sacrifice him to revive their dead god.
Lang Xian's true voice:
"The floral eyes... are the tribe's eyes. They are watching... waiting."
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Scene Five: Escape from the Prison of Memory
Jio returned to the field, but the floral eyes had become towering monsters. The forgotten tribe had returned, their spirits forming an army of golden mist. Now aware of his power, Jio raised his hands. The flower in his chest opened, releasing a storm of black roots that devoured the eyes one by one.
Jio: (shouting as golden blood streamed from his eyes)
"The time for watching is over!"
Each destroyed eye released a stolen memory. The village, the mother, the tribe... everything began to collapse.
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The Seeds That Will Be Sown Next
When the storm calmed, the field had become a desert of golden ash. The black flower in Jio's chest was now calm, its petals folding like a sleeping bat's wings. The shadow had vanished, but the golden mask remained on the ground, surrounded by black blood.
Jio picked up the mask, and when he placed it over his face, he saw:
A new universe, its cities built from the bones of floral eyes.
Children born with black flowers in their chests.
A black shadow, dancing beneath a golden sun… performing a victorious dance.
Lian Hua's voice (from the flower):
"The game isn't over… it has only moved to another level."