Side Story: Rain Falls to Dust

Some say the world was born flawed, for its very first thought was one of malice, of disorder. Only then did stillness settle, followed by the pursuit of goodness. Every living soul yearns for beauty, a journey that begins with empathy for one's own kind.

On the sixth day of the world's creation, a wisp of dust appeared in the cosmos—faint, shadowless, silent, and devoid of even a single thought. Yet, it drifted around the only person present in the dark expanse of space. No planets had yet been born, and the universe was still expanding, but amidst that silent, hollow darkness, a silver desk materialized, floating in the void.

A white-haired infant sat beside the desk, accompanied by two others: a woman and a man.

"Destiny, it is time to teach you how to read," the woman said, her voice melodic. The child, appearing only two or three years old, whispered softly, "Yes, I want to learn many, many words, so that I may be as learned as Father!" His voice was ethereal, like an echo from another world, drifting into the distance.

"Then you must work hard. Your father is the strongest being, whether in the past, the future, or the present!" The woman whispered, stroking the white-haired child’s head.

"That’s right! Father is the most powerful person in the world, but one day I will surpass him and become the strongest! Then I will wait for him to hold me of his own accord, to speak to me. I hate how cold he is."

"Destiny, do you know why your father is this way?" the woman asked.

"Because there are only three people in the world now: me, Father, and you. Father doesn’t like us. I know, but I want so much to be with him." Destiny spoke with childish innocence. "I want him not to ignore me. I am his only child; I don’t want him to disregard me or treat me as something dispensable."

"Then you must strive," the man’s voice boomed. "Those who bring shame upon themselves are not fit to be my son!"

Destiny’s face turned fearful. "Father, please, don't say that. I will not shame you. I will surely become your pride, a diligent person. I don’t want to—I don’t want to be a disgrace to you!"

"Sigh," the woman sighed, turning to the man. "You are always like this. It is time you changed your temperament."

"My affairs are none of your concern," the man replied. His voice was deep and resonant—the most beautiful sound in the world—yet it could not hide an iron resolve, as if his mere presence were enough to shoulder the weight of all things.

The woman looked sorrowful. "Destiny, let me find you a companion."

"A companion?" The white-haired child did not yet understand the meaning of the word. "Like you and me?"

"Yes!" The woman nodded. "But from this moment on, I will lose most of my power. I truly wish for you, Destiny, to have a happy childhood, yet there is nothing in this vast, empty space."

"There is me! There is me!"

A wisp of dust drifted, circling the two, circling the man, and circling the silver desk. It seemed so fragile, as if it might vanish at any moment, yet it spoke with its own voice.

"Yes, there is you!" A serene expression appeared on the woman's face. "Then, I shall grant you a formal life. You will be the fourth life in this dark, endless universe. You need no longer fear that you will drift away and disappear."

A surge of joy radiated forth. The wisp of dust orbited the woman as she extended her fair fingers. With a light flick, faint shimmering lights emanated from her body, gradually merging into the dust. A jubilant emotion, the birth of a soul, could no longer be contained; the dust finally possessed the power to sustain its own existence.

"As a trade, you must agree to one condition," the woman said, her voice like chiming bells. "You must obey his arrangements."

"Yes," the wisp of dust condensed into a human form. He was a child much like Destiny, with a similar temperament and a calm expression. However, his hair was black, and he lacked a true physical body, remaining capable of reverting to dust.

"Since you submit to me, I shall give you a name!" the man’s voice thundered like a storm. "You shall be called 'Dust Falling in Rain'!"

"Still as poetic as ever," the woman remarked with a slight curl of her lips. "I thought you had lost your way with words."

"My way with words?" The man’s expression softened. "Once this is over, we can be done with it all. Until then, let it be." The woman nodded, though her words carried a different weight: "You have never done anything wrong, you never falter, you never waver, but you are also always such a failure!"

The man remained silent. "Some things must be done by someone."

At that moment, Destiny spoke: "Dust, let us be friends. 'Friend' is a word I just learned, but I feel it suits us perfectly!"

"Yes," the black-haired child nodded gently. "We shall be friends forever! I have watched you walk this path, and we shall walk it together!" He reached out his hand, and Destiny reached out his own, clasping them together. "Together!"

The woman looked weakened by the loss of her power, but a smile graced her face. "Dust, do you know why he named you 'Dust Falling in Rain'?"

"Why?" Dust asked with a puzzled expression. "I know what dust is; dust is me. But what does 'falling in rain' mean?"

"Because dust fears the rain!" the woman chuckled. "When it rains, all the dust is bound together and washed away, disappearing into the ground."

"Rain? What is that?" Dust shook his head; he still did not understand.

"That stumps me, too. As for 'rain,' you will know in time," the woman said lightly, then added, "Though it may be a very long time before you see it."

"How long is that?" Destiny and Dust asked in unison. "I want to see it so much!"

"A very, very long time," the woman said, looking at the surrounding cosmos. "I estimate more than a billion years. It is long, indeed. Be that as it may, you can wait slowly, but do not be anxious. For when the rain finally comes, it will mean that much time has passed, and after all, time is finite."

"Now, Dust, join Destiny in learning your letters," the woman said, extending her finger to write on the silver desk: "Let us start with 'Home.' It is the first word you must understand."

In the dark expanse of space, there was no up or down—only a desk, two children, a gentle woman, and a cold yet resolute man, drifting through the void. As the ages passed, they left behind a trail of vicissitudes, and when the story ended, only a lifetime of sorrow remained.

It was raining. In an ordinary town on Earth, the drizzle seemed intent on clearing away every speck of dust. A twelve-year-old boy with black hair stood silently in the rain, his expression serene. He held out his palm, watching the raindrops pass straight through it to strike the ground.

"I wish I could be the rain, so I could nourish all things, nourish the soul."

"Rain is not necessarily good," a white-haired youth appeared beside the boy. "Like you, rain only weakens your strength."

"But I do not wish to remain here as mere, useless dust," Dust Falling in Rain said. "I want to be of use. Dust is too light; it cannot shoulder everything as your father does."

"Shoulder everything?" Destiny stood in the rain with the black-haired boy. "Yet Father still does not care for me, and I can foresee that I will never reach his level."

"Do what you can," the black-haired boy said softly. "While you still have some use, exert your remaining heat. I will leave everything behind for you. This is Region Six; once this is over, you may hand the sealed areas over to the various nations to manage."

"Are you leaving?" A look of sorrow flickered across Destiny’s calm face. "I suddenly find myself hating my father a little."

"He does what is right," Dust Falling in Rain replied faintly. "I will always obey his commands."

"That does not stop me from hating him!" Destiny gritted his teeth. "Yet I also worship him and want to become like him."

"Some things must be done by someone." Dust Falling in Rain smiled. "That is the belief I hold most dear, yet I no longer have the strength to carry on. When I am gone, I hope you will listen to your father." His form began to grow slightly transparent in the rain.

As time passed, the rain subsided. When the skies cleared, a legion of evil spirits crawled from the ruined buildings—countless forms, surging like a tidal wave.

Within a radius of several kilometers, low-to-mid-tier spirits swarmed with a single goal: the black-haired boy standing in the center of "Region Six." Yet, the boy’s expression remained unchanged. He reached out a hand, and wisps of dust rose from the earth, gathering around him like guardians, as if the stars were circling the moon.

"Before me, all is but dust!"

Dust Falling in Rain whispered. The dust circling him exploded outward like a gale. Every spirit that touched the dust was transformed into new dust, and the scope and intensity of this grew ever more terrifying.

The surrounding buildings were intentionally spared, but everything else slowly turned to powder. Within a radius of ten kilometers, when all was said and done, nothing remained but wisps of dust drifting in the air.

Dust Falling in Rain walked quietly, looking up at the sunlight and extending his hands as if to embrace the sky. "My most beloved world, my most beloved people... if I am not here, will everything cease to exist?"

"Is this to be my end?" The black-haired boy’s body grew increasingly transparent, starting from his feet, dissolving into wisps of dust that scattered in the wind. "From this day forth, there shall be no more dust in the world!"

"No!"

A cry rang out nearby, but the boy was already fading away. A black-haired woman ran toward him with all her might, but when she reached his side, only a hand remained, slowly turning to powder. Still, she gripped it.

"Dust!" the woman, known as Luoyu Fenghua, wept bitterly. "Do you not know that it is because of dust that there is rain! I care for you so much!"

But the dust had vanished, leaving only powder scattered in the air. Yet, it seemed as though the black-haired boy’s smiling face appeared once more: "Fenghua, I am not worth your care, for I am but a wisp of dust."

More dust began to swirl around Luoyu Fenghua. The stunning woman was now buried in grief. "The strongest person in the world?"

A bone-chilling intent to kill surfaced in her voice: "Even if I must give my all, I will kill you!"

Seemingly shattered by the blow, the woman known as the Peerless Beauty began to show signs of madness, yet the obsession in her eyes only grew stronger.

At that moment, a short-haired youth appeared, carrying a broken blade on his back. "Dust... it seems I won't be able to spar with him anymore." He turned to look at Luoyu Fenghua. "You have inherited his power over dust. I have no intention of fighting you, though in the past, I was mostly just chased around by him anyway."

Luoyu Fenghua remained lost in grief, and the youth with the broken blade could only laugh awkwardly. "Hey, take it easy. Dust would not want you to be like this!"