Chapter 30: It Only Reveals the True Nature of the Heart

  After hours of contemplation, Primer rose and circled his world in less than an hour, selecting specific materials to craft his new creations and placing them within his inner domain.

  Then, he headed toward the vast northeastern mountains. Without anyone noticing, he rendered one of the phoenixes unconscious, extinguished the flames that danced upon its body, and gently laid its massive form down upon the ground.

  Yet at that moment, he paused in thought, his body freezing in place.

  I don't know if this is the right thing to do... These creatures I’m using as a foundation are also my creations. Though they may be somewhat distanced from their original ancestors, that doesn’t mean I have the right to do anything I please with them...

  With an emotionless gaze, Primer sat beneath a pine tree and hugged his knees like a child. Without thinking of anything in particular, he glanced around—and suddenly saw a Suncrest Woodpecker hammering its beak against a tree trunk.

  The Suncrest Woodpeckers were among Primer’s few favorite creations, inspired by a unique species of birds from his former world. Streams of intelligence flowed through their fiery orange eyes.

  Its crest shone like a golden sun, its feathers a blend of crimson and brown, while its underbelly was as white as winter snow. The creature possessed great intelligence, though Primer had not granted it true wisdom—for if he had, perhaps they would’ve already built civilizations and waged wars over wealth and resources like humans. Or so he speculated.

  Beyond the Suncrest Woodpecker, many other species existed with similar intelligence, including the phoenixes. However, it would likely take thousands, maybe tens of thousands—or even a hundred thousand—years before they gained wisdom equal to that of civilized humans.

  Just then, the woodpecker noticed Primer’s gaze and stopped pecking. Unlike most birds who would flee upon seeing him, it released its grip and descended beside him.

  Primer was momentarily confused by the bird's behavior, but it suddenly flapped its wings and flew off.

  He let out a bitter chuckle and laughed at his own foolishness.

  "What did I really expect from a bird? That it would sit and talk with me?"

  He sighed with exhaustion, leaned his neck against the tree trunk, and looked up. There he saw pine cones and beautiful cones reminiscent of his past world.

  Suddenly, a memory flashed before his eyes—a dream of his teenage years, playing in the snow with Nova during a cold winter, hiding behind pine trees to avoid snowball hits.

  The thick warm winter clothes they wore, the snowman they built with a scarf, hat, carrot, and stones...

  Primer had even made little toys for young Nova from pinecones. They were crude and ugly, yet that didn’t stop Primer from loving them.

  Anything into which I pour my time and creativity is worthy of love and value.

  This was the firm belief Primer had always clung to.

  But truthfully, the value of things varies from mind to mind...

  In the end, Nova had rejected them, calling them not toys, but garbage. Disheartened, Primer placed them beside the snowman so that his efforts wouldn’t go to waste—perhaps they could become friends to the lonely snowman.

  To his surprise, when he woke the next morning, the toys were gone. But who would want to steal those crude little things? No one knew...

  Primer chuckled quietly and happily recalled those distant days.

  So nostalgic... If only I could live those sweet childhood days once more... If only...

  He was lost in thought when he suddenly heard the flapping of wings—the same woodpecker had returned.

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  Hmm? That bird again? But why?

  The woodpecker landed beside him and placed a small acorn it held in its beak onto the ground, then bowed its head respectfully and stood still like a statue.

  Primer stared in astonishment, then smiled and gently placed his smooth marble-like hand on the bird’s crest and stroked it kindly.

  "Is this for me?"

  The woodpecker raised its head and stared curiously at the face hidden beneath Primer's white cloak. Though it saw only darkness, its curiosity remained.

  "Ah, my mistake—you can't understand my words... But perhaps I can repay your small kindness?"

  Primer stroked the crest again, this time speaking with an ethereal and mesmerizing tone:

  "Would you like me to grant you and your kind a wisdom that will forever change your fate?"

  The woodpecker did not understand his words, but it was strangely captivated by them.

  Noticing the look in the bird’s eyes, Primer laughed, touched its forehead with his finger, and a radiant light of wisdom flowed from his hand, engulfing the small creature and flooding its mind with knowledge.

  And it wasn’t just this woodpecker—every woodpecker in the world experienced the same.

  At that moment, the phoenix awakened, furious and ready to attack its aggressor—but the first thing it saw was the blinding white light of wisdom. The light seared its eyes and branded its heart with knowledge, violently stripping the bloodthirsty pride from its soul.

  The once proud phoenix, now blind and stripped of its eternal flame, had fallen from the throne of the skies. Its massive body collapsed with a sorrowful cry, tears streaming from its eyes.

  As the light of wisdom faded, all the world’s woodpeckers fell into a deep sleep—making them vulnerable to predators.

  Primer chanted a powerful spell and, using his boundless authority over this world, rendered all the woodpeckers invisible so they wouldn't be hunted in their slumber.

  Sadly, the spell didn’t mask their scent or other traces detectable by predators like snakes—so a zero percent mortality rate was impossible...

  "This is the most kindness I can offer these beings. And as for this poor phoenix..."

  Another might not have felt guilt or regret, for the phoenix had tried to kill him. But Primer was different—his heart ached hearing its pained cries.

  "This phoenix too is one of my children, and it is unworthy to leave it in such a state."

  Gently rising, Primer cradled the unconscious woodpecker and approached the phoenix, healing it with ease. But to his astonishment, something strange happened.

  The phoenix’s charred black feathers gradually turned pure white. Its long fiery tail feathers were replaced by thirty radiant colors, each adorned with symbols of ancient magic and ritual. A golden crest like the woodpecker's grew upon its head, and its black, eagle-like beak transformed into the noble maw of a white wolf, soft with fur. Its wings grew larger, more majestic. Even its legs and claws became slightly longer, though they retained their dark color.

  Primer stood frozen, speechless at the sight, until the phoenix—now a Simurgh—slowly opened its eyes.

  No longer crimson and full of wrath, its eyes now gleamed gold, shining with the white light of wisdom.

  What is going on here?! Why did it evolve through my wisdom and healing? Could this be a way to accelerate the evolution of creatures...?

  The Simurgh, unaware of Primer’s thoughts, bowed respectfully.

  "Thank you, oh white-robed sage. Today you have gifted me a knowledge I had never before fathomed. I now possess the power of speech and the reasoning worthy of thinkers and sages. How may I repay your kindness, wise master?"

  "White-robed sage? You mean me?"

  "Of course! Who else could possibly deserve such a title? Master, please accept me as your student, for I thirst for knowledge, and my hunger for understanding shall never end!"

  "..."

  Is this just a temporary hassle, or the beginning of a new headache...? But I must admit—White-Robed Sage does sound mysterious and elegant.

  "Ahem. Ah, Phoenix—"

  "Master, forgive me for interrupting your sacred words, but I am no longer a phoenix. I am now a Simurgh."

  "Very well, Simurgh. I have heard your request, but know this—I cannot accept you as my student."

  The Simurgh, faced with rejection, wept in desperation.

  "O wise white-robed sage, grant me but a drop from your ocean of knowledge, for I am parched with yearning! Tell me, how might I attain your wisdom? Must I sit in a cave for years, contemplating the nature of life and existence?"

  Primer laughed:

  "Heh heh. Oh, Simurgh, how could true wisdom be found by simply sitting in caves? True wisdom is born through wandering this vast world and mingling with its people."

  The Simurgh asked joyfully:

  "Then, if I do so, will I attain the height of wisdom?"

  Primer smirked, raised his hand, and a golden core appeared in his palm.

  "Wisdom comes from experience and knowledge. Observation and thought are beautiful—but know this: wisdom breeds power, and the powerful despise the wise. And those with wisdom, if they lack the power to defend themselves, will surely face destruction."

  "So... wisdom and power are enemies?"

  "Heh heh, not at all. In fact, they are lovers—companions. One without the other will never know peace or stability."

  "Truly, you are the rightful master of these two companions, oh sage. If I may ask—what is this golden orb?"

  Primer raised it higher and gazed at his dark reflection in the sphere.

  "This orb is like the paintbrush of an artist—through it, one applies creativity and wisdom upon the canvas of the real world. A sphere of diamond may be hard, but like the fragile hearts of mortals, it can be reshaped. Use it well, and it creates paradise; misuse it, and it births hell."

  The Simurgh curiously asked:

  "Master, is this the essence of power?"

  Primer laughed once more.

  "Of course not. This... this only reveals the true nature of the heart."