Beyond the pillar

Chapter 5: The color that fell from the sky

Seas of boiling lava, clouds of pure ice, strange rock-like beings changing shape and composition as they move, the sea of lava freezing, the ice clouds falling and crashing to the ground, spilling their reddish insides. Some beings age and die, while others grow younger until they disappear. Parts of their bodies change between rock, flesh, feathers, fur, scales, wood, and darkness. Tall crystal trees, from which a liquid as bright as light rains down. None of this makes sense; I can see everything at once, my head is going to explode. I kneel on a ground made of dark thorns that move like a living creature, slicing through my legs. I close my eyes tightly, seeking darkness, yet I can still see everything as if it were all a part of me. My chest hurts and burns—I just want to die.

"I told you I'd kill you," Galatea says with a faint smile. Behind me, she holds a bit of black liquid between her hands. She opens them slowly, and I am gradually absorbed by it in the form of light.

When I finally woke up, my eyes were filled with tears. I found myself sitting on the grass, with the light being I had fallen on beside me. We were surrounded by light beings of many shapes and sizes, made of wood and moss.

Green fireflies illuminated us, and some of the flowers glowed in the warm setting while they conversed in their language, trumpet-like sounds in different tones as if it were music. In front of us, a small crystal-clear lake reflected the scene.

"What is your name?" I asked the light being next to me.

"We don't have names like you," it replied.

"I thought you were Drevo. Where does your voice come from? You have no head."

"Drevos are what you call trees. We are nature itself; we are in everything that surrounds you. We are not governed by the logic or morality of the thinkers," it responded as it stood up and approached the lake, its body emitting a creaking sound like wood.

The body of the light being split right where it had two legs. Now there were two beings, one with four legs and the other with two. The smaller being joined another that came running, this new specimen being a trunk with many thin branches. Once united, they created a bipedal being similar to a thinker.

"What is your name, thinker? You are far from the nearest city," asked the new being that had formed before my eyes.

"Ross. I... I'm not sure what just happened," I replied.

"You never will be. We are descendants of the god of light. For us, death is irrelevant; new things will be created from our bodies, and new lives will be born."

I cannot understand the motivations of these beings; they seem to have not a trace of malice. Surely they are hunted to build houses or to be burned. A being just gave its life to take a form more familiar to me.

"What motivations do you have? What do you live for?" I asked, while more light beings of different forms appeared among the trees, drawn by the light of the fireflies.

"We do not need one. We are the balance of the pillar. Wherever we go, we bring grass, flowers, and form Drevos. We are happy to end our paths and be the seeds of years to come," the humanoid replied while its former part with now four legs disappeared into the darkness.

These beings live in harmony with most of the races, in exchange for taking care of the pillar and planting the bodies of the deceased as fertilizer.

"I will find my own answers."

As I stood up to continue my journey, the humanoid took my hand.

"Are you also seeking a way to enter and descend the pillar? What you seek is not there," it said while handing me a smaller being, similar to a vessel with eight small feet. Inside it, there was moss and tiny colorful flowers that made it glow.

"I hate that everyone seems to know more about me than I do. I didn't know there was something inside the pillar, but I am searching for someone. I am looking for answers," I replied.

"Continue your path. To the north, you will find food and answers, as well as a Drevo that has a name, Ophelia." As it said this, the beings began to move away, and the fireflies gradually disappeared, as did the voices of the flowers.

"How will I recognize it? All trees look the same."

"You will know when you are in its presence. Ross, we are insignificant—never forget that," it replied as it vanished into the complete darkness.

The sound of the wind through the leaves became my only companion. The little one in my hands sounded like the flowers when they talked and began to glow more brightly to light my way.

"I will call you Ewan, which means 'born of the yew tree.'" I took it in both hands and lifted it. Meeting new beings that then leave my life gives me a strange feeling of hunger in my chest. It hurts, and I don't know how to satisfy it.

I walked for hours through the dark forest, noticing creatures lurking in the darkness—savages, probably. I also saw some light beings climbing the trees. They came in many shapes and sizes, mixes of savages, thinkers, and insects.

I heard laughter in the distance, along with a bright light among the trees—blue?

"It's time to eat."