The dead flower that kept touching his tongue came to mind.

So he asked the clever Ella why this was happening.

“Could it be because it already knows it’s dying?”

“It’s sad because it knows?”

“That’s what knowing the future is like, Nahash. Once you know the end…”

“Why is knowing the end sad?”

“Because you can’t stop it. Flowers bloom and wither, that’s the law. You can’t stop a flower from withering, can you? That’s why you feel that emotion.”

“I want to see beautiful flowers that don’t wither. Would that make this regretful feeling go away?”

“As long as you know the future, it won’t disappear.”

“I thought knowing the future would be good, but I guess not.”

“Yes. Because you know the end.”

“Then how about becoming a god who creates a place where the future can’t be known?”

Ella’s purple eyes grew wider. She seemed to have realized something.

“While creating such a world, make flowers that bloom eternally too. Flowers that don’t wither, I mean.”

“Does Nahash want to see flowers? Or does he want to see something beautiful?”

“I want to see beautiful flowers. And I want to feel the emotion I felt when I first saw a flower again.”

Ella started to smile brightly. After that, there were incidents where Saraph caused trouble and cleaned up, but Ella seemed to have found the world she wanted.

“Nahash. I’ve created a world where the future can’t be known.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes. I used a lot of power, but thanks to Saraph extracting and killing his own life water, I finally discovered it.”

“Hmph. Saraph should be punished more. He couldn’t even recognize his own life water and blindly pulled it out of jealousy. How pretty the grass and flowers blooming around the life water were, but he killed them all.”

Nahash, remembering the flower bed Saraph had ruined, got so angry that he lifted his tail with all his might and struck it down from top to bottom. The ground was dented.

“You can look forward to it, Nahash.”

“To what?”

“I’m going to make it more beautiful than the garden of the gods. But to create flowers that don’t wither, my life water and Nahash’s life water need to become one.”

“What? Don’t touch my life water. I’ll leave it alone in the garden of the gods.”

“If you change your mind, you can come to where my life water is planted anytime.”

“I won’t go.”

Despite the administrator’s objections, Ella brought herself down to this world.

Seeing the utterly desolate, empty, pitch-black earth, she sighed inwardly.

“You’re going to make this beautiful? It’s dark and dirty.”

“Nahash. Do you know what this place is?”

“Of course I don’t.”

“This is also where Saraph’s dead life water was discarded.”

“What? You’re becoming the god of a place where dead life water is buried? And Saraph’s at that? Why here of all places?”

“Because it’s completely dead and has no future.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“Keep it a secret from Saraph. And later, I’m going to ask for a promise.”

“A promise?”

“Yes. A promise we must keep for each other.”

“Why later? Do it now.”

“If I do it now, the future I want won’t come.”

“What future do you want?”

“A world where no one can know the future.”

After that, Ella became the god of this world. Nahash initially scoffed at this world. But the world that was becoming beautiful was too beautiful.

Unlike the world of the garden of the gods, which was all golden, Ella’s world was made of various colors.

“It’s so beautiful.”

It was beautiful from afar and up close. Especially the flowers and trees gave satisfaction, but it wasn’t perfect satisfaction.

Even in Ella’s world, flowers and trees withered. But he still liked it, so he went down to the earth and enjoyed looking at the flowers and trees to his heart’s content. However, he couldn’t feel the shocking beauty he felt when he first saw a flower bud. That was disappointing, but it was okay.

It was foolish to move the life water that was well-placed in the garden of the gods to this world just to see flowers that don’t wither. If by chance the life water takes root wrongly or gets injured, the responsibility falls on the god who transplanted it.

“There’s no way my life water will ever come here.”

He peacefully spent time on the earth, watching the flowers and trees, the life born, and the insects.

And one day. Ella came to find him.

“It’s the day we promised to make a promise.”

“What promise?”

“I’ll let you see something beautiful. That beauty will be greater than the emotion Nahash first felt.”

“You’re going to show me something beautiful?”

He was curious about what shocking beauty could be deeper than the emotion of seeing a flower bud.

“Yes. But promise me.”

“Tell me.”

“Protect Musila and the child Musila will bear in the future.”

“What?”

“The promise includes saving Musila’s child with purple eyes from dying by Saraph’s venomous fangs in the future.”

He knows what Ella is going through now. She forcibly transplanted her life water to this world, and Saraph is causing trouble in this world.

Is she determined to become an evil god? He was a bit worried too.

“Musila is going to have a child?”

“Yes. A very pretty girl. Red hair with purple eyes just like mine.”

“Okay. So in your future, I’ll see something very beautiful, right?”

“That’s right. You know, Nahash. I couldn’t see the end of this world completely.”

“There was an end to the world you couldn’t see?”

“This world where no one can know the future will be completed.”

Ella was foolish. How painful could knowing the future be that she wants to throw away that ability?

Right. It could be painful. Because knowing is sad.

“Okay, Ella. Let’s promise. I’ll protect Musila’s child you mentioned. Do I just wait here?”

“Nahash will see it if he lives as he pleases. And Saraph will come soon.”

“Why?”

“To eat me.”

“No, how can he eat another god…”

“Saraph thinks I’m one of Ella’s seven children with purple eyes. Keep it a secret.”

And then the fight with Saraph occurred. He was angry because Saraph had uprooted all the trees and flowers he cherished.

But Saraph’s power was strong. It seemed he had eaten the five children who shared Ella’s power.

The end of the fight resulted in his victory, but Saraph continued to pick fights. Everything started to become bothersome.

“I’ll become the god of this world. So, brother, give me your power.”

If he stayed like this, Saraph would keep picking fights.

He wanted to disappear to avoid Saraph, who wanted to become like Ella.

And one day, it was a day when they fought severely. All the cherry blossoms he cherished died because of Saraph.

Saraph, seemingly angry, struggled to eat Ella who had transformed into a child with purple eyes.

Ella looked badly hurt, and Saraph opened his mouth.

“Where’s the life water! Ella’s child!”

Anyway, Ella shouldn’t be eaten, so he intervened.

“Black snake, please keep your promise.”

Ella spoke as Ella’s child with purple eyes.

“Understood.”

The injured Ella disappeared with a final smile.

“Where did she go?”

“She died. The child with purple eyes can see the future, right? So she must have known how she would die.”

Saraph seemed unaware until the end that the child with purple eyes was Ella.

Saraph, regaining his strength, was pondering what to do with Musila.

“Don’t touch Musila or the child born from Musila. Especially don’t bite with your venomous fangs.”

“Musila is going to have a child? So Ella’s child foresaw the future and left. I guess the promise is to protect Musila’s child?”

“Yes.”

He regretted saying it for a moment. Saraph, having found his strength, attacked him again.

But in the continuous fights, the victorious snake was himself.

He was exhausted from the last fight. On days when Saraph came, flowers and trees died. The earth was stained with the white snake’s venom.

“You fool. Stop releasing your venom. At this rate, the life water seedlings established in this world will be hurt.”

On days when Saraph visited, he released his own venom on the earth. Only he, born as a twin, could neutralize Saraph’s venom.

“I guess it can’t be helped.”

Tired of Saraph’s provocations, he decided to disappear.

So he went to find the person from the Spencer family who had occupied his land and nestled in his eyes. And he made him protect Musila.

It was peaceful.

He thought he’d wait for the day to see something beautiful while nestled in the Spencer family’s eyes.

Being nestled in the eyes, he could endure not seeing the flowers and trees blooming outside for a while.

He just wanted to feel again the beautiful shock he felt when he first saw a flower bud.

But lo and behold.

The world viewed through the red eyes of the Spencer family was full of beauty.

The songs people sing, plays, and love confessions.

The tears of parents holding their newborn child.

It was all a beautiful shock he had never felt before.

With each generation change, the young head of the Spencer family always fell in love.

Their love was all equally beautiful. Love was unpredictable and couldn’t be foreseen. Love didn’t give the regretful feeling like withering flowers.

Where there was youth, there was old age, and he felt that death wasn’t the end. Because the children they bore were living in this world.

Of course, he also watched things that weren’t beautiful. But there were more beautiful things. It seemed Ella had really created this world well.

But when Teishar was born, he was a bit concerned.

Teishar was the most rigid among the Spencer family heads. He seemed to have no emotions and unlikely to love anyone particularly.

Musila was kidnapped, but he couldn’t go to save her. Because it was Musila’s own decision. He closed his eyes slowly and gave up.

He decided he was satisfied with having seen enough beautiful things.

Teishar’s voice was desperate.