Loneliness

The flower people resembled me greatly.

Like me, they loved trees, grass, and flowers, and without being taught, they established their homes in lush, green mountains.

They wove flowers into wreaths and built their houses between the crooked branches of trees.

Even without my intervention, they grew and thrived on their own.

Watching the flower people communicate with the beasts of the mountains and sing songs with cheerful melodies filled my heart with a sense of fulfillment.

Yes, I had finally created beings who could speak to me as equals.

Looking back, it seems it was the first time in my life that I had ‘hopes.’

However, they did not move in the direction I wanted.

When I thought they had grown enough, I revealed myself.

I thought I could finally have the conversation I wanted.

I had no doubt that they would shatter my long-accumulated loneliness, boredom, and indolence.

But they betrayed my expectations.

The flower people did not stand shoulder to shoulder with me.

They merely prostrated themselves on the ground, never trying to meet my eyes.

They were too weak.

With a careless gesture of my hand, they lost their color and returned to the earth as dust.

The more they did, the more they buried their faces in the ground, begging me for mercy.

I was not their friend. They were not my understanders.

I was a terror and a mystery to them, and they were merely creations to me.

This was not very interesting.

I lost interest in them and decided not to interfere much in their lives.

Humans gathered below the mountain. They formed groups at will and created something called a ‘nation.’

I watched their struggles from above the mountain.

It became a small spectacle in my otherwise boring life.

The struggles of humans were truly fierce. They took each other’s lives with sharp pieces of metal.

They arbitrarily drew lines on the ground and claimed ownership. They claimed ownership of the mountain as well.

They only claimed ownership, but they did not invade the mountain, so I left them alone.

As I watched their struggles, I became interested in the things they were holding.

I asked a human who had lost his way and entered the mountain, and he said it was called a ‘sword.’

I obtained a sword from him.

I swung it.

100 years after swinging the sword.

A new nation was formed, and they defended their territory for quite a long time.

I obtained something called a ‘spear.’ I wielded the spear, following the movements of the humans.

100 years passed.

I obtained something called a ‘bow.’ 100 years passed.

It seemed to fit my hand better than other weapons, so I taught it to the flower people.

They bowed their heads as if they were receiving something great.

I obtained new weapons and spent time handling them.

It became a small pleasure in my always tedious life.

In the meantime, nations were created and destroyed, divided and reunited.

Even so, the loneliness did not disappear.

A thousand years passed.

The feeling of loneliness began to gnaw at me.

I began to find everything in the world tiresome.

Once I fell asleep, I would not open my eyes for more than a week.

Someone….

I need someone equal to me.

I’m lonely, I’m lonely.

No one understands me.

No one empathizes with my loneliness.

I just… need someone to talk to.

I need someone who will accept me as I am.

Is there no such person?

This world is.

Boring.

I opened my eyes after a very long time. I don’t remember how long I was asleep.

What happened last time?

I think I punished a group of armored men who dared to enter the mountain.

Or was that when I woke up the time before last?

Well, whatever.

It’s just a repetition of the same old routine anyway.

I stretch and look around.

There was a faint, fishy smell coming from somewhere.

Perhaps a stupid wild animal has invaded my chamber. It must be filling its hungry belly without knowing where this is.

Shall I kill it? No, I can just scare it a little. I move my feet towards the source of the smell.

As I expected, the creature was eating. Or is it hunting?

A human in tattered clothes was grabbing the tiger’s mouth and struggling.

As if possessed, I shot an arrow.

The arrow made of woven tree trunks pierced the tiger’s head.

“…An arrow?”

I heard a human voice. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

There was a handsome man in clothes that were falling apart.

But appearance was not important.

I could tell.

What was inside him.

He is like me.

He is my equal.

He is different from the other flesh lying around here.

The same soul as me.

The same class as me.

The owner of a noble soul.

I realized it at once.