Everything around me was changing rapidly, time flowed ceaselessly. I watched as this child grew day by day. After eight months, the child could walk, though still unsteady, always following behind Mother Goddess Nuwa, clinging to her tail, and even starting to mimic Nuwa’s movements.
The child began eating wild fruits, insects, and small animals. Wherever Mother Goddess Nuwa went, he would follow, always stumbling along behind her.
"You can't eat that, it's poisonous."
Mother Goddess Nuwa said this as she grabbed the child's hair. The child seemed to understand, nodded, and then smiled. Though he still couldn’t speak clearly, he could make simple sounds.
It seemed Mother Goddess Nuwa had decided to leave the child. Because of her presence, the wild beasts in the area dared not approach, only watching from afar with predatory eyes.
The child still clung tightly to Mother Goddess Nuwa. Finally, one night, after the child fell asleep, Nuwa left. The next morning, upon waking, the child searched everywhere for Nuwa, but couldn’t find any trace of her in the places they’d been before.
The child began to cry, but no matter how much he cried, Nuwa never appeared again. Relying on the survival skills Nuwa had taught him, he struggled to survive. After realizing the threat of wild beasts, he could only sleep up in the trees each night, enduring the cold.
But one day, while sleeping, the child fell from the tree. A wild beast found him and bit off one of his hands. Though he managed to survive, he lost a hand and suffered injuries all over his body. He wouldn’t die, but the pain made him fear the world.
Gradually, the child became ill from his injuries. He could only lie on the thick branches, unable to climb down. His body swelled from the pain, and he coughed up blood constantly, but couldn’t die. Tormented by both illness and wounds, the child became unrecognizable, no longer resembling a human. Every day, he would just stare at the distant sky until he fell asleep, as if hoping Nuwa would return.
I stared blankly at the scene before me, deeply shocked. I looked at Mother Goddess Nuwa beside me—her eyes still devoid of emotion. The child, tormented by sickness and pain, had by the age of two long ceased to look human, more like a monster—an undying monster. He had even lost the ability to move, as if suffering in a perpetual inferno.
Insects had begun to nest in his body. The child could only whimper in pain all day. Gradually, he lost his sight, his throat could no longer make any sound, and his hearing faded. Even his sense of touch disappeared, turning him into something like a stone. He sat on the tree, emitting a strange foul stench. His body was gnawed by insects until only bones and bits of flesh remained, but he would occasionally twitch, as if still hoping for something.
Finally, in the third year, Mother Goddess Nuwa returned, seemingly to check on the child. When she saw his condition, even her cold, emotionless face showed a hint of something unusual.
"I grant you a body that will never be injured or fall ill."
As Mother Goddess Nuwa spoke, rainbow-colored light once again surged into the child's body. The rotten flesh and insects began to heal, as if being reborn. Gradually, the child could see, hear, and finally make sounds again.
The moment the child opened his eyes, he threw himself into Mother Goddess Nuwa’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably, as if pouring out two years of suffering. He babbled endlessly as he cried.
This time, for reasons unknown, Mother Goddess Nuwa did not leave. She lived in the forest with the child, teaching him things every day. The child learned to speak and began calling Nuwa "Ma"—just a single syllable. His face was full of smiles, and every day was filled with happiness.
He no longer feared any wild beasts. No matter what creature bit him, it was like biting into stone—their sharp teeth couldn’t pierce his skin. He was never afraid of falling and roamed the entire forest without restraint, never getting hurt or sick, no matter what he ate.
The child was now five years old, still living with Mother Goddess Nuwa. She would tell him stories about the gods and the illusory, chaotic lands that existed in this world. The child listened with delight, his gaze never leaving Nuwa.
Over the years, Mother Goddess Nuwa often seemed lost in thought. She had named her creation "human," but this child—this human—was unlike any other living thing in the world. He could not die, nor suffer injury or illness. He did not fit in with the world, and though he had emotions like other animals, he was more like a god. This seemed to go against Nuwa’s original intention.
The upheaval in the world that day was caused by Mother Goddess Nuwa defying nature. But she used her power to suppress nature, allowing this human to be born.
Mother Goddess Nuwa felt nothing for this child—no worry, no affection. Her cold, emotionless heart remained unmoved as she simply observed him.
One day, a mountain flood broke out. The child slipped and fell into the water, swept away by the flood and mudslide into the depths of the earth. He could not die, so he was buried underground, longing for Nuwa to save him, longing for his mother to rescue him.
This time, Mother Goddess Nuwa did not retrieve the boy from underground. She simply left.
"The first human I created was a failure. I only made one, leaving him to live alone in the world. Perhaps I should have destroyed him then, returned him to clay."
I stared in astonishment, but soon shook my head.
Everything before my eyes kept shifting. The child lived underground for five years, unable to move, like he was a baby again. Every day, he opened his eyes to darkness, unable to move. He tried to dig with his fingers, but was buried so deep that the weight of the earth was unbearable.
Nuwa, still worried about the child, returned to this world. With a wave of her hand, she split the earth open and brought the now ten-year-old child out from underground. Once again, the child cried with joy, clinging to Nuwa.
"I grant you limitless strength, so you will no longer fear nature."
For the third time, rainbow light flowed into the child's body. He was amazed at his transformation—not only could he fly, but he possessed immense strength, able to destroy vast areas with a single punch. Nature seemed to fear him; when he approached water, it parted to make way for him.
When passing through fire, it scattered before him; even rainwater could not touch his body. All animals and even plants feared him. But now, I saw a strange look on his face—evil. There was malice in his eyes.
Mother Goddess Nuwa seemed to sense it too—the innocence and kindness in his eyes had disappeared. He rampaged through the world, his temper growing ever more violent. Whenever something displeased him, a single glare would obliterate it.
He no longer feared Nuwa’s departure. Whenever she tried to leave this world, he would follow, and Nuwa, unwilling to take him to the illusory, shattered realm, reluctantly stayed behind.
His overwhelming power made him increasingly reckless, but he always stayed close to Nuwa, wanting to hear more stories from her. Sometimes, when Nuwa tried to stop him from destroying places, he would begin to ignore her.
Eventually, Nuwa realized why he was so attached to her—it was loneliness. He was the only one of his kind in the world, so he depended on Nuwa. In the end, Nuwa decided to create another woman, naming her Luoshui, to accompany him so he would not be alone.
Upon hearing that his mother would create another human, the Wraithlord was ecstatic and helped her. In the end, a baby girl made of clay was born, but this time, Nuwa did not grant her great power—only immortality and immunity to injury and illness.
The baby girl grew day by day, and eventually the Wraithlord and Luoshui became husband and wife. To Nuwa’s surprise, they even conceived new life.
Nuwa was puzzled, but she still planned to leave this world, feeling she had to return. At that moment, the Wraithlord seized her. To Nuwa’s shock, the Wraithlord’s power had reached unimaginable heights, trapping the path home. The Wraithlord demanded that Nuwa remain in the living world and stay with them.
But the woman named Luoshui tried to stop the Wraithlord. It was all in vain—against him, she was just an ordinary woman.
The Wraithlord twisted the world to his will, his power touching many things. He made some beings immortal, seriously violating the laws of this world. Nuwa tried many times to persuade him, but the Wraithlord remained defiant.
"I think I remember this guy."
As I watched these scenes from memory, I was deeply shocked, as if I had heard someone talk about it before. Just then, the sky tore open with huge holes.
Beams of golden light descended, and giant figures dropped from the sky. I swallowed hard—they were the gods.