Eternal Emerald Dragon

There had been many theories about the beginning of everything. It was accepted there was a beginning. On old Earth there was the Big Bang that had the most acceptance yet it was all theory.

It could also be said that it really was not THE beginning but only A beginning that was the result of some cycle. The kicker was likely how the universe would end that revealed how it began.

By then, there would be far more pressing issues.

Still, it was not just old Earth. Many cultivators pursuing either inspiration or truth that would reveal a way to overcome their bottleneck had researched ancient Relics, Ruins, or Inheritances for answers.

Even at the Divine Realm such knowledge was chased after but aside from a general idea of there was a point that history was recorded, even race memories only vaguely referenced ancient times beyond that.

Lind had seen an Immoral World being born and now that he was an Eternal Realm he had also seen how Divine Worlds would be born in the far future. Yet, for all that he had answers for the smaller realms, it meant that there was no way to know how all of it began.

If it had truly existed forever, it left a question that had plagued everyone. If everything truly was a cycle, was there never a beginning or an end but just the cycle alone. There would be no grand revelation beyond that realization.

A cycle did not care about origins or reasons, it just was.

Lind knew that kind of knowledge would break most people's beliefs. The revelation that there were no higher answers ever would make everything look quite bleak, but Lind knew enough that no matter how it was, such a clean system would have to have been started somehow.

Such a neat and balanced process would not be totally natural. Forces were just too perfect or just too much in harmony for it to be a complete coincidence.

In Lind's personal theory, someone or some civilization had made a choice. They may have been forced to as well, but the result was the same. They created the cycle and now it was just a question of why and can it endure?

When the blinding white faded, Lind found himself on his back in a street. There were people moving around with simple robes and a market but no one seemed to mind his presence.

It was a strange mix of humanoid and many other races but he noticed a distinct lack of several familiar types. No demons, Celestials, Elementals, or aether children were anywhere to be found.

Variations on Qi made those possible in part and the world around him was silent on that front. There was no Qi, or at least none he recognized. It was not a primitive world, though.

He could see sky scrapers in the distance that would not be out of place in New York or Chicago. He saw vehicles floating above the surface with the air distorted around them. He was able to perceive a lot and the greatest thing he perceived was the peace.

There were hardly any arguments nor any sign of criminal activity. His aura and other powers worked just fine so he was quite sure.

What was going on? So many species happily living together without conflict? There was no sign of suppression or brain washing from the sampling he could gather. He was about to ask a question when bells began to toll.

Everyone paused and shook their heads. They began to move as one toward the center of the city. Lind moved along and some waved at him and just moved along. He then realized that he smelled beasts but did not see any of them in their natural state.

They had to cultivate to transform yet none of the beings around him felt like a cultivator. They felt mortal!

More questions sprang up but then a coliseum appeared after he turned a corner. Several people in the same shade of purple robes were helping people inside but the final oddity hit home.

No weapons. Not a single weapon anywhere! Even the knives he could detect were either a part of a kitchen or a profession. The tools were also very fine. He would be hard pressed to surpass even a simple wrench he had detected!

The high end refinement only deepened the mysteries.

[Please follow the guide path sir.] He nearly jumped as a voice appeared in his head! The smiling man pointed at the stone entrance and Lind saw something flicker to life. He nodded and followed it.

He pondered the sensation and it was not quite like a transmission he was used to on any level. The fact it bypassed every defense also told him it was powerful!

He went up several flights of steps and began to frown. He could estimate how tall the building was with a glance but he had easily surpassed it 5 flights ago. The path did not stop until it turned inward and he emerged into a massive seating area.

It was like any sporting event yet the rows were impossibly huge for what he saw from the outside. He finally recognized the spatial manipulation but the method was not by formation or weaving.

Technology? The stone material made that unlikely.

He was led to a comfortable seat and greeted the various others. One of Feor's brothers was next to him in a shade of red while the spindly golden skinned humanoid was on his other side.

In fact, humans were the minority from what he could tell. His nose told him beasts had everyone outnumbered by far.

Screens suddenly appeared in midair all around the seats and silence descended.

Lind then saw a group on a stage. He could not tell all their races but his eyes narrowed as his draconic instinct felt the first of his kind right then from that direction. It was a woman and she also scanned the crowd but he quickly suppressed everything.

Her confusion was likely overlooked by many but he noticed. A few of her fellows glanced at her but no one said anything until a stone gray figure rumbled forward.

A living stone? Lind then felt a gentle pressure.

[I greet everyone from Sacred Heart City to this special presentation. As you all know, while we have been living in a wonderful age of peace and longevity, we are running out of space.] Lind realized quickly the problem. If they were truly at peace and they had cultivation benefits of any kind, they were essentially giving birth faster than they could die!

The crowd grumbled but Lind was confused. So many species indicated many worlds surely. How could they have run out of space? Terraform some moons or something!

[As you know, in the quintillion years since the Final Accords, we have exhausted nearly every stable system. We have attempted artificial structures but resources were consumed faster than they could be formed from dying stars or other phenomena.] The deep voice made Lind go numb.

The scale of time was insane! It also meant they had solved several other issues in the universe if true but it did not stop the problem. The rate of reproduction could be restricted yet the math would still work against them.

No one died fast enough, no amount of restriction could stop their dead end!

[After many tests and experiments, we have determined there is only one solution. We must change. The restructuring proved there are untapped energies we barely understand in existence but because we stabilized everything, it is nearly impossible to start over.] The crowd became uncomfortable.

Lind frowned as he seemed to grasp what the stone was getting to. They had solved all their problems so well that change would come at a very steep cost.

A screen flickered and a human man stood up in anger.

[Are you telling us to die?! We have unending life! Surely we just need to put some to sleep and buy some more time!] It was not totally unreasonable but Lind saw the issue right away.

Those awake would continue having children and it would just make it that much worse when they woke up. Further, how many resources would it take to put a dent in the population they outlined in that moment?

The dragon woman now stepped forward and he saw a flicker of scales in gold go across her skin.

[We have nothing left to give! We waited and delayed too long in the belief we could solve the problem. Eternal life without the space to accommodate it is going to become eternal suffering! We cannot die like the ancient days but we can still feel pain!] Her words settled many, even the angry man.

Lind then pondered and asked the question many had not considered. He stood up and his screen flickered to show him.

[What will happen to all the energy if it is released all at once?] She looked hard at him but it was the stone that answered.

[We will begin a process to mitigate total annihilation. There will be strict guidelines to prevent any mistake as much as possible. There is, however, no way to avoid the hard truth. Many of us are going to die.] The crowd now reacted harshly. It was mostly yelling or trying to leave but Lind noticed they could not.

Some force kept them there!

He looked calmly at the stage and made a leap of logic.

[How will the process work?] His question quelled much of the chaos. The dragon woman looked like she wanted to make him quiet but they held nothing back.

[The universe shall collapse into smaller domains. The energy will run rampant and need to be carefully siphoned over an unknown amount of time until a more stable state is reached. Once there, the survivors or their descendents that can make use of the energy will have to decide how to avoid the current issue.] The stone being's words settled it.

Cultivation. They were talking about cultivation. It was all broad strokes but Lind knew roughly what had to come next.

{We came next.} The world went white again.

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