For the residents in the world tree Lessaril, the sun was setting. An orange hue appeared on Corvus' hand. The scroll in his hand also glowed orange. The scroll was made of silk, the same silk as the scroll that Elana was carrying.
He opened the scroll and read the first sentence.
"The pyramids were the mark of the Egyptians, stone hedge the mark of Neolithic Britons. Our mark should have been space travel, dyson spheres, skyscrapers instead it became the world trees."
His heart was beating hard against his chest as he read those words. Corvus had learned that Lessaril was so far the only world tree in this world.
"I leave this record with the hope that our species survives the fog and learns from our mistakes. We were doomed from the start."
There was a signature at the end of that paragraph.
'Signed, Spider God.'
The next paragraph started recounting the history of humans. He already knew most of it but made sure to read it thoroughly in case he missed something.
"Then came the apocalypse. Dungeons sprawled out from the ground, in oceans, in mountains. Those of us familiar with these sorts of fictional events were positive that we'd awaken magic, classes and so on. That did not happen. There were no magic or status windows."
The sky became a darker hue of orange.
"We still had our weapons. Some foolishly launched nukes on dungeons. It didn't work. I was part of the first battalion ordered to clear a class F dungeon, determined to be the easiest dungeon. It was not easy. Out of 1200 soldiers we lost 1195. The five of us managed to reach the lowest level."
Corvus' spider visage crawled onto his shoulder.
"The lowest level had a room filled with fog. Looking back we should've let the dungeon creatures consume Earth, it would've been far more humane. Anyways the dungeon raid was a bust. There were no magic weapons, no magic armour, no magic at all."
Crickets were starting to come out of hiding. The temperature began to plummet.
"It wasn't until the five of us participated in a raid in the forest that we discovered our reward. I received the Spider God system. My friends were the Flower God, Serpent God, Insect God, and Beast God. It took us a long while to figure out how the systems worked but once we did we thought we could save the planet."
There was a pause in the text.
"We slayed dragons, titans and other creatures from dungeons. Rebuilding society was difficult but we managed to create a system of government that was stable for a few years... until the fog came. It rose from dungeons, swallowing up entire countries and continents."
A chill ran down Corvus' back.
"Some died instantly, others were melting from the inside out. Some even started to mutate into abominations. Our healing spells were useless. The only safe haven for a while were mountains but even that became covered in fog. Ultimately the Flower God sacrificed himself to grow five world trees to try and save as much of humanity. He died afterwards from mana depletion."
Corvus stood up from the ground. Did his system come from this god? He conjured up his barebone stats page.
[Corvus Avern]
[Age: 18 months]
[Species: Black Widow]
[System: Flower Harem God]
[Bond: 1/8]
[Magic: Mind Magic]
Flower Harem God seemed different than Flower God.
He sat back down and continued reading.
"For a while we were at peace living in the trees but a few generations in some started to mutate into monster hybrids. Spiders legs instead of human legs. Some had flowers growing out of their bodies, others had insect wings. They were killed and a tradition was formed. Eat those who aren't pure."
The text continued on about the Spider God's life for a while.
"It seems the fog finally caught me. My friends were first. I'll be joining them shortly. My final words is to my descendants, never venture into the fog. It isn't worth it."
Corvus folded the scroll back up. He stared at the horizon. He couldn't see any oceans or forests but just endless clouds of white fog. Deciding on keeping the scroll, he started to make his way back to the palace with the scroll and books.
The thought of earth being turned into this apocalyptic world was horrifying. He wondered how much time passed between his death and the apocalypse. His dad would've lived through the event. He could only hope he died before the fog appeared.
Returning to his room, he noticed he had a visitor.
A woman was sitting on his bed. One of his history books in her hands. She flipped another page, obviously ignoring the owner of the room.
Corvus put down the books that he stole, on his desk. He sat down in a chair across from his sister. The bed was hers as far as he was concerned.
"Valerica."
She didn't look up from her book.
"Are you planning on staying here all night?" he asked.
Bringing up the fact that he entered her room without permission was the last thing he wanted to do. So he avoided it.
Valerica licked her finger and flipped another page. She was wearing a white sleeveless silk robe. It was thin and showed off her curves.
Corvus sighed.
"When Ilyana told me about your intrusion in my room," Valerica said, "I thought it was because you were interested in stealing some of my underwear. Some weird awakening after your first time."
She closed the book with a thunderous clap.
"Instead I found two books missing from my shelf and they weren't about web or poison magic," she paused, "My anger turned into curiosity."
Corvus gulped. Being interrogated was the last thing he wanted after reading the scroll.
Valerica cleared her throat.
"So little brother, why don't you tell your big sister the truth," she smiled.
A very sweet smile that would make any man swoon over her but Corvus knew better.
"What is there to say? I'm trying to learn magic."
She rested her chin on both her hands.
"But you don't have magic little brother. Or has sex made you stupid?"
A vein popped out on Corvus' forehead. He wasn't going to say anything about mind magic even if she tortured him.
"I still have hope."
She rolled her eyes and let out a long breath.
"Pathetic. You could at least be more creative with your lies."
Her eyes wandered to the scroll he put on the desk. She tilted her head.
"Is that from Memoria?" she asked.
Corvus quickly glanced at the scroll. He had to think of an excuse.
Fast.
Before he could answer, Valerica created a web that wrapped around the scroll. She tugged and it started to fly into her hands.
He instinctively tried to grab it mid air but his efforts were fruitless as it landed in her arms.
Valerica opened it and started to read.
Her eyes darted repeatedly between Corvus and the scroll.
"You can read this?"