God's Gift

Forrest's gaze slowly swept over the humans who were devouring its flesh, his eyes gradually fading into the distance, as if looking into the vast expanse of time, his voice calm and far-reaching:

"In the billions of years of my existence, time has flowed like sands in the Ganges, and the birth and death of stars has become commonplace to me."

“Until I saw them.”

“I watched them shed their downy hair, stand up shakily, and learn to use tools, build houses, and create writing.”

“Floods, fires, and diseases are calamities that we bring down in order to pass on life. I have long been accustomed to life dying in these disasters and being reborn again.”

"But they made clothes to resist the cold, built houses to shelter from the wind and rain, built high dikes to resist floods, and found medicines to cure diseases."

"They must be such fragile beings, whose lives could be easily taken by any disaster."

"But their desire to live enabled them to survive one disaster after another. They were so fragile, yet so resilient."

"At first, I just wanted to see what such weak life forms could become in the process of life's evolution, but gradually, I could no longer take my eyes off them."

"They created boats, vehicles, airplanes... things that were not created by us or by nature, things that I have never seen before, all because of them."

"They left the forest, went to the desert, went to the grassland, went to the lake, went to the ocean, and went to the sky."

"Until one day, they looked up at the stars. And so their gaze was no longer confined to Earth; they began to explore the universe..."

"They are miracles of life."

Forrest gazed at the humans still tearing at it, his eyes filled with no resentment, only boundless tenderness and forgiveness:

"Their existence makes me happy."

“So you love them.” Yu Youyou looked at the bite marks on Forrest’s body, still puzzled. “But they still hurt you.”

"This is what I wanted to tell you." Forrest looked at Yu Youyou:

"Because I love them, I understand that all the harm they have done to us stems from their own desire to survive."

"The instinct for survival and development has enabled them to overcome countless disasters in the torrent of time and guided them to create one miracle after another."

As Forrest looked at the irrational humans on his body, who only knew how to devour his flesh, a single tear slowly rolled down his cheek.

"It also makes them desperately try to survive when faced with death."

Forrest's head drooped lower and lower. Its wounded body could no longer move, but its eyes were still staring at her.

That gaze was filled with endless sorrow and pity.

The damage inflicted on them by the Dark Star has left them with no chance of recovery, and their lives are irreversibly slipping away.

Yu Youyou watched as the other gods died one after another before her eyes, and she asked them, trembling:

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Go and learn to love," Forrest answered with his last breath.

"Go and love a flower, a blade of grass, a bird, or a person...go and love any specific life on this planet."

"When you fall in love with a specific life, you will understand what love is."

"Only when you perceive this concrete love will you know how to love all life in this world."

"From a small love for a particular life to a great love for all life in the world."

"By then, you will understand us."

-

The humans on Yu Youyou's body were still gnawing on her flesh and blood. Her gray eyes were fixed on the pomegranate, and in a daze, she saw a deer slowly walking towards her.

She looked up at it and murmured, "Forrest..."

The deer leaned down on her and spoke gently, "Oshi, have you fallen in love with that specific life now?"

Yu Youyou's gaze slowly turned to Lu Keming behind her. His ravaged appearance was reflected in her iris. In the long silence, she nodded slightly.

Forresh continued, "What do you love about him?"

“I love him…” Yu Youyou stared blankly at Lu Keming. Her gaze swept over his tattered dragon wings, his broken fingernails, his face covered in scales, and his lifeless eyes.

"I love his courage to have come this far alone, I love his indomitable spirit despite being rejected by the world... I love his determination to struggle for survival even when he is covered in wounds..."

Fores gently interrupted Yu Youyou, "But he is arrogant, rude, cruel, and selfish."

“No…” Yu Youyou retorted instinctively, “He’s arrogant and rude because no one has ever taught him manners, and he’s cruel and selfish because no one has ever shown him any tolerance…”

“Look, O’Shea,” Forrest’s voice rang out again, “you now understand what love is.”

Its sound hit Yu Youyou's ears, striking her heart heavily:

Love is forgiveness.

"Because of tolerance, you still love him even though he is not perfect."

Yu Youyou stared blankly at the illusory figure of Forrest.

In the utter silence, Forrest's voice gradually faded away, while Dark Star's voice became clearer.

"Oshi, stop struggling. Give up on these humans, and you will no longer suffer."

Yu Youyou raised her head slightly. She looked at the humans greedily devouring her, then at the crying little owl in front of her, and then at Fang Ziang, who was blocking her way with an iron rod...

She looked at Shen Minghua, at Ye Li, at Anthony, and at the humans trying to save her from the crowd devouring her.

Forresh's voice echoed in her ears again.

By then, you will understand us.

Even if they are imperfect, even if they are selfish and greedy, even if they have hurt you.

Yet some people still resist their fear of change and their desire to live, and do everything they can to help you.

After waiting for a long time, Dark Star finally heard Yu Youyou's first words to it.

Her voice was hoarse, her breath weak, and the blood churning in her throat buzzed with each vibration of her vocal cords.

"I……"

"We will not abandon them."