It was a bright, sunny noon.
Sunlight slipped through the cracks in the curtains, cutting a bright mark across the computer desk.
A youth sat at the desk, looking to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a T-shirt that had faded slightly from washing.
He rested his chin on one hand while holding his phone in the other; the Genshin Impact loading screen was displayed on the screen.
Click the door!
“Genshin Impact—Launch!”
He muttered under his breath, his tone carrying a solemnity akin to a ritual.
Today was Monday; the weekly bosses had reset.
“Prepare to die—Dottore!”
Pyro, Hydro, Anemo, Electro, Dendro, Cryo…
wanting to use Geo but stopping, for all Geo ends here.
Finished.
He stared at the screen, sliding his finger across the phone to head towards the Institute of the False Moon.
Team Composition: Nahida, Columbina, Inev, Neuvillette.
Start Challenge!
“Let me show you what you call—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a knock sounded at the door.
“Hello, delivery.”
The youth was startled but also felt a sense of relief; he had almost controlled Nahida to move forward.
“Coming, coming.”
He stood up with his phone to open the door.
After receiving the package…
The youth closed the door, looking at the receipt as he walked.
It was the Pokemon egg blind box he had bought online a few days ago—the kind you put in water to soak.
Once the Pokemon toy inside absorbed enough water, it would expand and break through the eggshell on its own.
As for what would come out, it was all down to luck.
“I hope I get a Mew or a Celebi.”
He grumbled.
Although he knew the probability was ridiculously low, wasn’t the point of buying blind boxes that little bit of hope?
The packaging was torn open, revealing a pale green egg lying quietly in the foam padding.
The egg was as large as an ostrich egg, its entire body a faint emerald green.
The shell was covered in dark green mysterious patterns, looking like some ancient totem.
The youth picked up the egg; it felt slightly warm to the touch.
He leaned in to sniff it and caught a faint, lingering fragrance of greenery.
“This texture is great!
It’s made to look so real,” he marveled.
Holding the egg, he stood up and walked toward the bathroom.
The instructions said it needed to be soaked in water, so he would get a basin of water for it.
The youth pulled out a small plastic basin from under the sink, filled it halfway with tap water, and carefully placed the egg inside.
The egg sank to the bottom of the basin, its green shell shimmering with a faint, eerie light in the reflection of the water.
“Alright, let it soak,” the youth said, carrying the basin out.
The living room floor was a mess, with charging cables, power strips, and slippers scattered everywhere.
He usually couldn’t be bothered to tidy up.
Now, carrying the water basin, his attention was drawn to the egg inside, and he didn’t notice his footing—
His toe tripped on the power strip’s cord.
His entire body pitched forward!
The basin flew from his hands, and half the water spilled out!
“Holy sh—”
Splash!
The water poured unerringly onto the power strip on the floor.
Electricity crackled and exploded, blue arcs of light jumping through the air.
The youth felt his whole body go numb as a white light flashed before his eyes.
In his final moments of consciousness, he saw his phone screen—Nahida was facing Dottore, the image frozen.
Then, everything plunged into darkness.
…And in the last sliver of his consciousness, a nonsensical thought occurred:
I haven’t even fought Dottore yet…
The basin crashed to the floor and rolled aside with a clatter.
The pale green egg rolled out of the basin and came to rest right next to the youth’s face, lying there quietly.
One second.
Two seconds.
A faint green glow suddenly emanated from the eggshell.
The light was very dim, like moonlight falling on leaves or the faint glow of a firefly in the dead of night.
It brightened bit by bit, pulsating as if it were breathing.
Then, the light suddenly intensified!
Space distorted for a brief moment.
The egg vanished from the living room.
…
An unknown amount of time passed.
It could have been a second, or it could have been ten thousand years.
The youth felt as if he were floating in a void, with nothing around him but boundless darkness.
He wanted to move, but he couldn’t.
He wanted to shout, but no sound came out.
The only thing he could feel was a strange power.
That power surrounded him—gentle, ancient, and full of vitality.
It was as if countless towering trees were breathing, or as if the river of time were slowly flowing past him.
He heard a sound.
Very soft, very distant.
Like…
someone was speaking?
No.
They were—reading a story?
“…The forest will remember everything.
This saying has been passed down from a very, very long time ago.
Back then, there was only one tree, a very, very tall tree…”
The voice was very gentle, like that of a young woman, carrying a hint of indescribable exhaustion and loneliness.
The youth wanted to hear more clearly, but the voice grew further and further away.
His consciousness sank into darkness once again.