First Arc: Luttren Village.
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Chapter 1: An Unfortunate Incident.
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On the outskirts of a forest village, an elderly couple lived with their little granddaughter, who was only 12 years old, when an unfortunate incident occurred within this small family...
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Luttren Village, outer region of the Kingdom of Lumiscen, third kingdom of the Lumeno Plains.
03/31/3324
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The night of this unfortunate incident.
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"Laziness."
In a simple bedroom, on the upper floor of a small wooden chalet, a young girl lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling.
'The ceiling is always the same, always the same color, made from the same wood.'
She raised her right arm as if to touch the ceiling.
'As usual, I still have a hand, my hand still has five fingers, and my arm still cannot reach what is too far away.'
She let her hand fall back onto her face, partially blocking her view of the ceiling.
'What am I doing? What am I even saying?'
She didn't understand the purpose of her own thoughts: 'All of this is because of laziness.'
'Ahh, I'm too lazy to get up. What's the point of continuing to live if I'm already too lazy to get up every morning?'
"So lazy!" she exclaimed while trying to motivate herself to get up.
She had only managed to say a few words out loud before closing her eyes again and falling back asleep...
__________
...
"..iu!"
"Liu!"
"Liu! Wake up!" a voice called gently from downstairs.
"It's time for lunch."
"Mmh... mmhhaa.." echoed a youthful voice from one of the upstairs rooms of the small wooden chalet.
On the only bed in the room, Liu stretched her arms and upper body as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"I'm coming!" she shouted with the strongest voice she could manage in the morning.
She stood up, opened the wardrobe across from her bed, and looked at the clothes inside for a few seconds.
"Mmh... too lazy."
She closed the wardrobe and left her room to go downstairs for lunch.
The small wooden chalet consisted of six rooms: a bathroom with a toilet, a storage room, and a dining room on the ground floor, plus two bedrooms and another bathroom with a toilet upstairs.
Liu went down the stairs and entered the dining room.
"Good morning!" she said as she sat down at the table in front of a small stack of toast.
"Good morning Liu, are you planning to spend the whole day in your pajamas again? Mm?" her grandfather asked tenderly from across the table.
Liu raised her eyes until they met her grandfather's. She quickly looked away while timidly asking,
"Am I not allowed?"
Her grandfather gave a wide smile as he replied,
"You can do whatever you want, but after the arrival of Obscurity, we are going to collect boro berries and gather whatever we find along the way. Otherwise, you won't have any jam left for the coming Luminosities."
Liu nodded vigorously while opening the jar of boro jam on the table.
'Haa, so I'll have to get dressed,' she thought while spreading jam on a toast.
She took a bite and thought that the taste still hadn't changed. Finding that a little boring, she asked,
"Is Granny Mi still sleeping?"
"Yes, you can wake her up after you've finished eating and do as usual, I suppose," her grandfather replied.
"Hm-hm! That's true, I still have a lot to read today. I still can't understand some passages in Chicken Joe's books," she replied enthusiastically.
"Grandpa Mo, could you explain them to me? Please, please! pleeease!!" she added in an almost pleading voice.
"Wouldn't you rather have me explain Scrat's books instead? I haven't read Chicken Joe's books. Otherwise you'll have to ask Granny Mi after waking her up," Grandpa Mo replied.
"Hhhhaa!" Liu sighed.
"Granny Mi doesn't know how to explain. I've already asked her many times, but she's the only one who can understand her own explanations. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking you. I just decided today to give up trying to understand what she says."
She spoke in a sulky tone, slightly averting her gaze while throwing rather obvious glances to observe Grandpa Mo's reaction.
"Ahahahaha!!" exclaimed Grandpa Mo.
"It's true that I never understood any of her explanations either. Aha."
"And I'm willing to try helping you understand, but you'll have to explain everything to me in detail, and it won't be during this Luminosity. We'll wait for the next one. Alright?" Grandpa Mo asked.
"Mmm, alright," she replied slowly.
"Good. Today I have to deal with some wood with the neighbors, which will take some time. I'll come back to eat with you before we start going to collect the boro berries," Grandpa Mo added.
"Okay, see you later," Liu said with her mouth full.
"Yes, see you later."
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"Mimie! Mimie! It's time to wake up."
Liu shook her grandmother gently as she spoke, her movements filled with careful tenderness.
"...Mm yes, what time is it?" Mimie replied after several seconds—if not more.
"It's the third hour of the third day. There are only seven hours left before the arrival of Obscurity."
"Mmh, I'm going to the bathroom for a moment. Could you bring me my breakfast, please?" Mimie said as she headed to the bathroom to rinse her face.
Liu didn't bother answering. She had already brought Mimie's breakfast into the room, but until Mimie washed her face after waking up, she never walked very steadily.
So Liu began reading a book she had started not long ago. The book was titled:
"Think Differently, Live Differently."
The title sounded extremely philosophical, but according to Liu, the book was more humorous than anything else.
"Oh no!" Liu suddenly exclaimed.
'The bookmark disappeared! Ugh, I don't even remember which page I was on. It's so frustrating not to be able to continue exactly where I left off. It's going to ruin my reading experience!' she complained internally.
Her grandparents' bedroom was rather large. When entering it, a well-decorated desk was the first thing one could see, along with a small nearby bookshelf. A large double bed stood on the right, surrounded by two bedside tables with wooden reading lamps. On the opposite wall were two windows, making it the brightest room in the chalet. Between them was a small couch where Liu spent most of her time reading.
A large carpet covered the middle of the room.
It was exactly the same color as Liu's bookmark, and it wasn't the first time she had lost it while it was lying right there on the carpet.
So she stood up on the couch to get a better view of the carpet, until she noticed a small inconsistency in its color and pattern.
"Tch! How did it fall right in the middle of the carpet?"
Just as she said this, Mimie had finished washing up and was now watching her with amused curiosity.
"What are you doing?" she asked, stifling a small giggle.
"I dropped my bookmark on this super ugly carpet again!" Liu complained.
"This carpet isn't ugly. Besides, it's very rare in all of Lumeno. It represents one of the legends of the plains' history, you know. And I'm sure you only say it's ugly because your bookmark becomes almost invisible every time it falls on it," Mimie replied in a gently instructive tone.
"Tch, I don't like history. I prefer when it's just fiction and doesn't affect reality. Especially since those historical legends are completely ridiculous. Even if I know some people are very strong and can cut trees with a single finger, like Grandpa Mo, I don't believe someone could move a tree as huge as Lumeno's tree just by thinking about it. It's completely unimaginable. That tree is so big we can see it from our village, even though we're at the border between the plains and Lumeno's outer forest. It's just impossible," Liu rambled.
"Alright, alright, if you say so. Anyway, you'll understand the importance of that legend later. It's not necessarily about whether it's real or not. It's more a matter of symbolism, I think. But maybe that's still too difficult for you to understand right now," Mimie teased.
Liu hated above all when people blamed her ignorance on her age. She considered herself intellectually superior to all the other children in the village and had developed a strong aversion toward people who used age as an excuse.
She stared at Mimie for a few seconds, holding back the words that wanted to escape her mouth, then turned her gaze away in a vexed motion. She couldn't let her anger slip out toward her grandmother. She had her pride, but above all she had the deepest respect for her grandmother, who had been her favorite person for as long as she could remember.
Mimie smiled before changing the subject.
"Well, I suppose the other old man has gone to cut wood and will only come back for dinner."
Liu nodded sulkily.
"He told you that we're going to gather boro berries at the beginning of this Obscurity?" Mimie asked.
"Yes, he told me before leaving."
"Alright, then you know you'll have to get dressed, little lazybones."
"Yes, yes, I know. But if you keep teasing me, I won't talk to you for the rest of the day, even if you are my Mimie," Liu threatened.
"Alright, sorry, my fault," Mimie apologized.
"But you're so cute when you pout."
Before Liu could reply to complain, Mimie quickly changed the subject.
"So, what do you want me to explain to you today?"
Liu thought for a few moments.
"Mmh, I think I'll just read today. Anyway, the book 'Think Differently, Live Differently.' is more humorous than anything else, so I don't think I'll have any trouble understanding it."
"That's true, I don't think you'll have any trouble understanding what you read in that book. But that book isn't humorous at all like you think. It's more tragic than anything else."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Liu asked.
"It's all written in the title, you know. It tells you to think differently. You only think about what you read in a humorous way. That's why you experience it in a humorous way. What I mean is that you don't see everything, and you certainly don't think about it in every possible way. Some people read that book with sadness in their hearts, and so they only see the tragic side of what they read. I think that's my case, even though I can still see the humorous side of it," Mimie explained.
Liu frowned.
"I didn't really understand."
"Come here, I'll try to explain it another way," Mimie suggested.
"Stand in front of me and close your left eye."
Liu did as she was told.
Mimie raised her hand and placed it in front of Liu's right eye.
"What do you see?" she asked.
"Uh... your hand?" Liu answered hesitantly.
"Mhm. Now close your right eye, open your left one, and tell me what you see."
Mimie hadn't moved her hand, but what Liu saw was now completely different.
"Now I just see the wall with the desk in front of it, and your breakfast on top," Liu replied, strangely confident in her answer.
"There you go. You didn't see the same thing. That's why the expression 'looking with a different eye' exists. Now you should try looking at the book you're reading with a different eye. You might see new things, or simply see them in a new way," Mimie concluded.
Liu stared at her blankly in surprise.
"Uh... that's it? I didn't really understand."
Mimie sighed quietly.
"Haa... why does nobody ever understand anything I explain, even when I try to simplify it as much as possible?"
"Well, it doesn't matter if you didn't understand right now. All you have to do is remember what I told you, and you'll understand later with time and experience."
Mimie cut the conversation short.
"You should start reading like you planned and let me eat."
Liu stared at her blankly a second time and muttered,
"But you're the one who explained all that when I didn't even ask."
"Huh? What did you say?" Mimie asked with her mouth full of toast.
"Nothing, nothing," Liu replied as she sat back down on the couch and began searching for the page where she had stopped reading yesterday.
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At the ninth hour of that same day,
The small family gathered to eat dinner before going to begin their boro berry harvest.
Liu had helped her grandmother prepare the meal as always. Most of the ingredients came from the merchant village a few hours away, but some were also grown in the village's communal garden, while others came from their harvest trips at the beginning of each Obscurity.
The meal was an omelet made from thick sap of an unknown Arbority species that had been purchased from the merchant village. Alongside it were mixed champilums and some plantoflux as side dishes. It was a quick, simple, and inexpensive meal, which made this omelet one of the most popular and traditional dishes of the Lumeno Plains, with countless variations.
The champilum is one of the most abundant nocturnal Arbority species in the Lumeno Plains. And the plantoflux, although not natural, is also an Arbority species created by arbochemists a very, very long time ago.
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...
"Let's thank Lumeno for these times of peace," Mimie and Grandpa Mo said at the same time.
"Thank you," Liu said alone.
"Alright, let's eat so we have the energy needed for the harvest," Mimie suggested.
"Yes, let's eat," Grandpa Mo agreed.
Silence settled in the room as they ate, but Liu's thoughts did not stop.
'I still don't understand why we thank Lumeno before eating. And whenever I ask, I always get the same answer: "Lumeno is the messenger of the creator, the one who brought Luminosity to the days of this world. Without Lumeno, the Humanity of the Lumeno Plains wouldn't live in such comfort."'
'It feels like no one has any other answer besides that one. It's almost like talking to the robots described in Chicken Joe's books. It's so frustrating!'
'Besides, this supposed messenger of the creator died a long time ago, so thanking him doesn't even make sense anymore. It's really frustrating!'
Liu unknowingly attacked her omelet while thinking.
"Hrm-hrm."
Grandpa Mo cleared his throat to get Liu's attention.
"What are you doing, Liu? Aren't you eating? I know you helped prepare the meal, but you should still respect your own work."
"Huh!" Liu snapped out of her thoughts.
"Oh, sorry, I was thinking about something else."
Grandpa Mo nodded.
"Alright. And don't forget to get dressed before we leave for the harvest."
"Yes, yes, I don't want to dirty my pajamas."
Silence returned peacefully until the end of the meal.
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After finishing their meal, Liu went to get dressed while her grandparents prepared the containers and bags for the harvest. Then, just before the arrival of Obscurity, the small family took a path leading into one of the forested hills surrounding the village, toward the place where the boro berries grew.
The trip took about an hour round trip, with an additional half hour for the harvest itself.
On the way there, they gathered a few specimens of nocturnal Arbority species, such as champilums. This mushroom-shaped species can only be harvested at night. It grows in the areas that receive the most light during the day, but champilums are invisible during Luminosity due to a camouflage ability that depends on light. Champilums also have small roots, which makes them easy to harvest, as they feed primarily on light. At night, this light becomes visible, allowing them to be collected.
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"How long until Obscurity arrives?" Liu asked.
'Aren't we leaving too early?' she thought at the same time.
"Not long, don't worry. Obscurity will arrive before we reach the first harvest spots. And even if we miss some on the way there, there's always the return trip," Mimie replied.
"So, what did you two do today?" Grandpa Mo suddenly asked.
"Mmh, as usual. Liu read, and I continued writing," Mimie answered.
"Yeah, pretty much. And I dropped my bookmark on the carpet again. Grandpa Mo, can't you convince Mimie to replace it?" Liu asked.
"The carpet… Ah!" Grandpa Mo recalled.
"Liu, you know very well that I'll give you the same answer Mira does about that."
"Tch, I knew it," Liu grumbled.
"Look, Obscurity is arriving," Mimie announced.
The arrival of Obscurity was an event that happened once every week and seventy-five times each year. For Liu and her family, there was nothing impressive about it anymore. But for someone experiencing it for the first time, the arrival of Obscurity would be unforgettable.
Obscurity arrived as Luminosity slowly faded away until complete darkness settled in only a few seconds, in a process so smooth it was almost unsettling. Normally, when moving from a bright environment to a dark one, human eyes take time to adapt. But the transition from Luminosity to Obscurity was so fluid that the eyes required no adjustment at all—it was as if Obscurity were simply another state of Luminosity.
During Obscurity, the sky—lacking both stars and moon—became completely black. Instead, the ground itself was illuminated by various Arbority species similar to champilums, as well as by Humanity, which had developed many ways to light the nights of Obscurity so daily activities could continue during these periods.
As a result, most places were bright enough that people rarely needed to carry lamps during Obscurity.
And in the case of Liu's family's harvest trip, the nocturnal Arbority species provided more than enough light for them to see without lamps.
"Alright, let's keep moving and gather whatever we find along the way. We should reach the clearing in about a quarter hour," Grandpa Mo said.
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...
After a quarter hour of walking, they finally reached the boro berry clearing.
The berries grew at the tips of boro grass sprouting directly from the ground. They swayed gently in the wind, emitting a hypnotic pink glow. Beneath them, champilums emitted a softer silver light, and together the scene was breathtaking.
"Alright, let's start harvesting," Grandpa Mo said.
Liu began picking the boro berries while leaving the boro grass intact. The berries could grow back endlessly from the same grass, so there was no need to damage it.
As Liu kept looking at the clearing around her, she began speaking to herself in her thoughts.
'It's so beautiful. If only we could do that photo thing with a camera that captures moments forever, like in Chicken Joe's books.'
Her thoughts suddenly stopped when she saw movement in the boro grass in front of her.
Her heart began racing, and she stepped back abruptly.
"What's wrong?!" Mimie asked quickly when she saw Liu retreat.
"So... something moved," Liu replied while continuing to back away.
Mimie and Grandpa Mo approached Liu to look more closely. Then a dark brown snake with eyes glowing pink slithered out of the cluster of grass where Liu had been harvesting.
All three sighed in relief.
"It's just a boro snake. I got scared for nothing," Liu said.
"Yes, but it's always better to be cautious. You reacted well," Grandpa Mo reassured her.
Liu nodded.
"Alright, let's finish this. I want to go to sleep."
They resumed their work until all their bags and containers were filled. Then they gathered at the trail at the entrance of the clearing to take stock of their harvest.
"Not bad this week. We'll probably have a bit more ingredients than usual," Grandpa Mo observed while estimating the haul by eye.
"Let's head back so we can look at everything in proper light."
They began the journey back.
Although the path was generally well lit by nocturnal Arbority species, it sometimes passed through darker sections where walking required a bit more attention, though there was no real danger.
A few moments later, after passing a small cluster of champilums, Liu asked,
"We should have enough boro berries for two weeks of jam, right?"
Boro jam was Liu's favorite, and she always hoped the supply would last until the next harvest.
As she asked the question while continuing to walk, the path entered one of those darker sections.
"Yes, proba—"
Grandpa Mo's words abruptly stopped when a small round black shape appeared in contact with his arm.
The shape stood out because of the unnatural depth of its black color, even within the darkness of the path.
The point of contact between the shape and Grandpa Mo's arm began to change.
Matter—and even the air itself—started to distort around the black form.
This distortion was caused by an absorption force emanating from the shape, which generated a swirling vortex formed from the surrounding environment.
A whistling sound filled the air as the vortex began expanding.
In barely an instant, more than half of Grandpa Mo's body was twisted and absorbed before he even had the chance to react.
Seeing this, Liu froze in shock.
At the same time, Mimie grabbed Liu's arm and threw her backward, pushing her as far away from the vortex as possible.
By the time Liu stopped sliding back and raised her head to see what was happening, the vortex had already tripled in size.
Grandpa Mo no longer existed.
And Mimie had half disappeared.
Mimie's head was still intact.
She looked into Liu's eyes one last time, trying to smile—but failing.
Liu, completely panicked and confused, stretched her arm toward Mimie.
At that moment, the vortex expanded to nearly five meters in diameter, swallowing Mimie completely—and even Liu's outstretched arm.
Liu did not move.
She remained frozen, mouth open, staring blankly at the vortex.
Only one question echoed endlessly in her mind.
"What is happening?!"
The vortex's absorption force stopped there.
Its rotation slowed until it eventually came to a halt.
In its place remained a spherical shape mixing an indescribable number of colors—yet strangely dark.
The sphere began to deform and shrink, gradually forming a vaguely human shape.
The transformation was accompanied by horrifying chewing and cracking sounds.
This sound suddenly snapped Liu out of her dazed state and brought her back to her senses.
Liu recoiled violently without even attempting to stand.
Her thoughts were still chaotic.
But as her vision returned, she saw the shape formed by the vortex that had absorbed her grandparents—and an unbearable sense of despair overwhelmed her.
She turned her gaze away.
As her hearing returned as well, the sounds coming from that shape made her vomit.
Without even realizing how, Liu stood up and began running toward the village.
She fell several times, but stood up again each time as if nothing had happened.
During her run, Liu neither spoke nor screamed.
Only the sound of her increasingly heavy breathing could be heard.
This continued until she saw the village.
When she saw it, she began slowing down and gradually became aware of the situation again.
She slowed until she stopped and noticed her exhaustion, which made her choke and cough.
She tried to lean against the nearest tree and extended her right arm to support herself.
But instead of touching the tree with her hand, she slammed into it violently with her head and shoulder.
She fell to her knees, confused.
She turned her head to look at her right arm.
And... saw nothing.
"W... what?!"
She collapsed forward...