The Dawn of the New World

And just like that, before he could do anything about it the floodlight was pulled out of his reach. He watched with bated breath as the light's boundary came up to him and then surpassed. He lowered his head and braced for what was coming but even after several seconds the cold winds did not touch him.

Hao Xuan raised his head, shocked to see that there was still light around him. The blue and white light that was being exuded by the silver grass herbs covered him and all the area around him.

The herb holding his hand loosened its grip to finally set him free. As he got back on his feet, a sea of blue lights began to light up all around him one by one.

He looked back towards the herb which had stolen the floodlight only to see that it had stopped just a dozen meters behind him. The floodlight was still on but it was facing the direction he had come from.

His eyes narrowed for a moment before widening from the shock of seeing a literal sea of monstrous creatures being kept at bay by the floodlight.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

They were banging against the light's boundary, their claws, tails, and various other appendages hitting the air like a stone wall. The light was acting as a solid barrier for these creatures born of the shadow and as long as it was there they would not be able to get any closer.

Muffled roars and screeches could finally be heard, making Hao Xuan realize just how much danger he was in.

"If that light wasn't there I would have been ripped to shreds a long time ago," he mumbled to himself and rightly so.

His gaze fell back on the herb that had held him down earlier.

"Why are you helping me?"

The herb's leaves danced back and forth while repeatedly pointing towards the path that was created on the left as if to say 'Find out for yourself'.

*Sigh*

"Fine fine, I'll go."

Hao Xuan followed the path as it went down, twisting and turning as it did so. It led to a relatively narrow passage between two mountains. It was just wide enough for one person to pass through and well hidden enough that if the herbs weren't there to light the way Hao Xuan would have never come across it otherwise.

Just a couple of steps in and the sounds of the shadow beasts faded into the background. Hao Xuan felt like he had passed through a thin film of water and when he looked back it was visible from this side.

'A barrier?'

He shuffled through the tight passage for almost three minutes before it began to open up into a small valley. The same silver grass herbs lined the entire length of the valley floor making for a magical view because of their flickering blue and white lights.

But what really grabbed his attention were the mountains bordering on either side. One of them was completely white and the other pitch black.

Hao Xuan suddenly felt a stinging sensation in his chest and his heart began to feel heavy.

"What's this? What's going...on?"

There were tears in his eyes but he did not understand why.

"No! It can't be them!"

He suddenly sprinted into the valley, through the pathway that had been created by the herbs. After almost a minute of running at full speed the other end came into view. The two mountains rejoined in this middle.

Hao Xuan's heart felt like it was about to explode when he saw two giant serpentine heads locking with one another. It was them.

"Black...white..." a hushed murmur escaped his lips.

That's what he had thoughtlessly named the two snakes based on the color of their scales back when he stole them from their nest.

He walked up to the left side where White's head rested. It was more than 20 meters wide, enormous as compared to the little worm that he had picked up all those years ago.

Across from him was 'Black', his shape was a little different but his size was more or less the same.

"They used to sit on my shoulders and now look at them..."

Hao Xuan extended his hand and brushed his fingers across the rough surface of White's maw. Every single scale was well preserved and it looked like he could wake up any second but there was no sign of life. He would know better than anyone else.

Both Black and White had been turned into stone from the inside out. They were gone.

It was their bodies that were the basis for the mountains on either side. After so many centuries of being buried underneath rock and stone their colors still seeped through.

Hao Xuan's fist balled up as countless thoughts ran through his mind.

"How did this happen? Why? WHY?! WHY IS EVERYONE DEAD?!"