30 Days left. . .

All that was built will be rebuilt. All that was lost will be regained. All that was important will continue to be. If everything is destroyed, save what matters. The rest is secondary. . .

All that is needed is people. With people, the City was created. With people, the City will be remade. 

If this is what it comes to, this is what we will do. That said, we will do everything we can to avoid such a future. 

What can be done? The way of life is ruined. We cannot return to the way we once lived. We will lose our architecture. We will lose our art. We will lose our homes. We will lose our nature. We will lose the effort it took to build this place. We will lose morale.  We will lose it all. And in time, we will lose all memory of it as well. . .

Whatever we make from here will not resemble what once was. We will never return to our former glory. We cannot. It is not physically possible. 

It is time for us to return to the higher realm. We will be welcome there.

~~~

Who names their city, City? What a plain name. That’s exactly what it is. It would be like calling a mountain, Mountain, or an ocean, Ocean. Bonus points if you add an adjective alongside it. Such as Tall Mountain, or West Ocean. Maximum points if it’s in a different language to make it sound Archaic and creative. Such as Vesokoya Gora, or Zapat Mora.

In their language, perhaps it has a different sound, yet it translates into, “a place where people live”. What is it like, living in a spiritual place? It’s hard to describe, and not for lack of words either. It is a trait of the City. Many words can be thrown at it to describe it, yet none feel as right as simply living there yourself and using personal experience to understand. It’s considered a futile effort, describing the City, even if the words are true.

This makes it difficult to talk about. Even then, there’s nothing to talk about since people just know. Such is the City. Difficult to speak about. Intangible. Ethereal. Made of spiritual material.

29 Days Left. . .

An unknown amount of time ago:

A group of people leave their home to create their own place to live, setting out to make the best of what their imagination can offer. This people group brings schematics and use surrounding materials to construct their new living place. Through long effort, sacrifice and sheer cooperation, they create buildings and streets, gardens and parks, rivers and waterfalls, palaces and monuments of wonder. 

They did all this, and more. After they built all this, they kept building and building. And they kept constructing various constructs without rest. They grew and grew, and they expanded their land, never ceasing, for there was plenty, and lack was a concept they did not know.

This became a way of life for the people group. They were builders, architects, creatives and artists. The land was their canvas, and they did whatever they could imagine. This was their purpose and pastime.

With no impediments, this seemed to be what they were going to do forever.

They never gave a formal name. From their perspective, they were still in the planning stage. They were in the middle of making their dream. A temporary name they gave, a temporary name stuck. A temporary name became a permanent name. The City.

28 Days Left. . .

Speaker 1: The City. The people inside it. What are they like? Who are they? 

Speaker 2: They're not like any normal creature. They did not originate from where they are now. They are but a fragment of their home. Sojourners who set out with intent to explore, create, and be independent from the rest of their flock.

They did not leave in disagreement. Yet it did require them to become separate. 

Their character traits, what are those like?

Various as the stars. Perhaps more so. This is a fruitless question. That would be akin to asking what plants are like. 

Yet this much can be said, they are not purely physical.

How many of them are there?

More than 27.

What?

. . .

What do they eat?

They do not.

. . .

. . .

Is there something else to be said about them?

It depends.

Can you elaborate on that?

No.

Why so vague?

. . .

You've decided to no longer respond? 

. . .

Hello?

. . .

27 Days Left. . .

Speaker 1: I must sleep now, and I will not be asking questions for now. Please return later.

Speaker 2: . . .

I notice you are still here. Do you not sleep?

I am only learning about dedicated sleeping times now. Where I am from, we are in a continuous state of sleep.

Huh. That's not really the same thing, is it?

It can be. What is sleep? Why must you sleep?

I don't know, it's just a feeling. An urge to lay down, be comfortable, close my eyes, and have my mind drift away. . .

Sleep is much more than that. To sleep is to rest, recover and recuperate. It is a relaxation that covers oneself. Sleep is passive. Sleep is easy. Sleep is a state of being. In this way, you can slumber at all times. And why wouldn’t you?

I suppose that's true, yet I cannot relate. It sounds aloof and vague. You love speaking vaguely.

You would not understand otherwise.

I don't even know why I'm here. How did I get here anyway. . .

Look around to see your surroundings for the first time, and realize they are not there. The floor? Void. The walls? Missing. The sky? Non-existent. Peer at your own body, and find nothing.

Open your mouth to speak, and be unable to say anything. 

"How did you speak before?" You think to yourself. "Indeed, how did you get here?" You have  no recollection of arriving, or when the conversation first began. You do not know with whom you speak, or for what purpose.

A dream then?  

A dream compared to what?  Of course it is a dream. There is only dream. Everything and all you ever have experienced is dream. It only ever looks different. 

No, I do not remember what daily life is like, but I am certain it was not like this

You do not even remember? Then what are you comparing?

I'm sure I could say if I were to see it again. Am I able to go back?

You always were. Yet you are still here.

Goodnight.

. . .

26 days Left. . .

It's size is of cosmic proportions.

The City began as a smaller project. Much closer in size to that of an actual city. But over time it grew so much that it began to encompass even entire continents. And with no shortage of time, the City grew to the point where it is now difficult to measure.

Still, there are a few styles and methods the people used. There were those who wanted to stumble upon an environment, and change little. Adding little or taking away little. Comparable to a zen garden, except the entire ecosystem is a zen garden.

There were those who wanted to test the limits of what they could create. They usually had something in mind already, and had little regard for the existing environment. These creations were ones of the wildest imagination.

There were those who were random in their creations, doing whatever they felt like on the day.

There were many places, natural and unnatural, awesome and awe-inspiring.

Except all these places were. . .

Barren. Empty of people. These landscapes sit empty, and unused. The ones who lived there moved on, working on new projects and conjuring new plans. Bizarre dreamscapes left behind, a memento to no one.

For all these wondrous places, there is no one to experience them. No explorers to amaze, no families to support, no romantic partners falling in love, no travelers, no wanderers, no visitors, no tourists. No, not even the creators themselves reside there. The only life here is plant life. And rock life. Not even animals roam the lands.

These lonely lands stand, monuments to no one. Soon to be forgotten. Eventually to be destroyed.

25 Days Left. . .

Spiritual beings left the spirit world to take part in a new realm. The physical realm, the material reality. In the process of doing so, they became both physical and spirit. They became grounded, unable to move between both realms. However, they retained the abilities they had as spirits, allowing them to create the wonders they did. 

They mixed the materials they found with spiritness to create spirit matter. This further removed the restraints they had in the new physical world. With this, they created a place to live known as City. From the center they expanded in  all directions, always increasing in size. 

This became their way of life. To build, to construct. Their culture had little  in the way of music, dance, food, or history. They did not age, they did not die. They did not make society with rules and structure. They simply created. The land was a blank canvas, and this was what they loved and shared.

 An incomprehensible amount of time passed in this way. An elaborate garden. A world of beauty. 

Places that make you feel you could stay there forever, and if you grew tired, you could leave, and come back another century. It’d still be there, forever. 

No loss, no decay, no entropy. Perfect harmony of nature and life.

A prophecy. . .

A prophecy that 24 days remain. . .

Until complete and utter destruction. The sureties of life, the one thing that was never to be, now said to occur. 

Multiple camps erupt, the perfect unity now divided. 

The First Camp says, “we were never meant to stay here. We were always going to return from whence we came. We wanted to dream, and so we did. The dream has ended. Let us return.”

The Second Camp says, “we cannot lose what we’ve made. There is so much that would be lost. So, so much. . .” not being ones to hold onto the past, this then led to, “blast it all away then, we’ll remake it. We’ll start over with a fresh inspiration and we’ll make greater things because of it”

A Third Camp rose in opposition to say, “ What's to believe in your interpretation anyway?”   “First camp, who says we’ll be able to return? We are different beings now.  Second camp, what says we survive? Why assume only the creation is destroyed? Come, let us carry on as usual. You will see the pointlessness of your reactions soon. . .”

A final camp came out to say, “h”

This camp was promptly swallowed up by a camp which said, “we hear and see what’s going on, however, we take no part in any side, we take no stance, we hold no opinion.”

The First camp continued to say, “What we have done here no longer matters. All meaning has been exhausted. We were taking a break, and breaktime is over.”

First camp responded to Third camp saying, “if we cannot return, then there is nothing to be done. We merely wait out our time. Whatever struggle will have no meaning”

The Second camp shouted, “We are going nowhere, this is all we have, and this is too important to dismiss! We will do everything and anything we can to prevent absolute destruction, and if we cannot do that, then we do everything we can to ensure that we survive so that we can restart.”

The Third camp had nothing more to say, apparently nothing was out of the ordinary.

The Fourth camp noticed this saying, “we will go along with whatever we all agree on”

23 Days Left. . .

BREAKING NEWS

Some random nonsense occured today as the scribe who was recording these events ran out of idea ink.

No one is quite sure what happened, it almost seems as if the scribe ran out of ideas.

Witnesses claim they saw him sitting and staring at a blank document, wondering what to write next.

Witnesses further claim that the scribe felt pressured to write something, mumbling something about not wanting to get behind schedule.

So far the scribe has not responded to questions such as:

How will the story pacing be affected?

Will this become a recurring pattern?

Have you thought about how this might affect the reader experience?

Are you concerned that you've only just started and have begun to burn out of ideas?

Can you anticipate how long your break will last?

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

h?

What factors might have contributed to this occurrence?

Will you be able to prevent it next time?

And can you please unlock the door so we can talk face to face? 

In other news, the City is still en route to utterly implode.

Various factions have risen to respond to the crisis, but without the scribe, this all we can say at this hour.

Moving along our regular scheduled programming, this funny looking animal was found doing a funny thing. Laugh.

Do you not like it when your creation is prophesied to be destroyed? Stay tuned as we reveal a helpful tip in preventing its destruction. More on that in 22 days.

A new report claims this entire script was written by the scribe as a way to buy time.

The credibility of this report is under intense scrutiny.

22 Days Left. . .

People who are Spirits became Material. From their home of origin, they made a collective decision to go. There was a shared thought to go from the Land of Spirits, into the Land of Material. To do so requires to become part Material, if not entirely Material.

Naturally, some retained their Spirit, while adopting a physical body. While others opted to become fully Material to become fully immersed in the new reality, at the same time, losing the essence of what made them spirit. They were still sentient, conscious, living and breathing. 

As par for the course, they did not participate in the massive construction project the Half Spirits made. They could not. They retained neither the ability or desire. As such, they grew separate. They had become different beings. 

From Lands of Spirits a people left amicably through a desire to explore and create. As one part leaned into creation, another left amicably towards exploration.

* -     -

Speaker 1: The purely physical people, what are they like?

Speaker 2: They are like you, you are one of them.

Then you are?

I am of the remnant who stayed as Pure Spirit. I reside in the land of Spirit.

The purely Spirit people, what are they like?

A difficult question to answer. Become one and see for yourself.

What is the Land of the Spirit like?

Shifting, ethereal, without structure. Very much like a dream that keeps changing.

This is part of the reason the half spirits went on to pursue a realm with more permanence.

But even that is still Dream. What you experience day to day is a Dream that persists. What you make there will last. This is not the case here. You could have created a thousand worlds, only for them to vanish and be forgotten as you move onto the next dream. All in an instant. All the time. 

For some that wished to create, this was not ideal. So they left. Others tagged along on a whim.

Thank you for elaborating.

. . .

21 Days Left. . .

Speaker 1:Why didn’t you go?

Speaker 2:I did not share their desire to create, much less to make creations that persist. 

Everyone in the land of spirit is content, just as is. There is no struggle to overcome, no goals to realize, and no ambition. Everything is just right. There is no need for change. Those who wanted something different have left. Their departure was not noticed by most.

What do most of you spend your time doing? 

I am not aware of everything, nor do I want to be.

So I am descended from Spirit People?

In some ways, you are still a Spirit Person. In some ways, I am a Material Person. They are both contained within the Dream. They are merely on different ends of the same substance. Although you can trace back and say that you descended from Spirit People, what made you stop being Spirit? Well, it's no matter. Your memory will return to you once you leave this place. 

Then let me ask you this, would it not be more accurate to say you are a Dream Person? 

I. . .  don’t know. Not here, not right now. . .

Then why are we able to converse?

. . .

How are we able to understand each other's language? Is it not because on a fundamental level, we are the same?

Still. . . I. . .

Are you not curious about this?

I am. . . It's just. . .

You seem at a loss for words.

Something's changed, hasn't it? We were not able to talk before. Something's changed, and it's huge. I've gotta tell em. They have to know what's happened.

. . .

20 Days Left. . .

Tragedy. Tragedy befell the world. Anywhere and everywhere you look, tragedy is to be seen.

Loss and tragedy. Events should have unfolded differently. Any way but the way they did. There is no justification. There is no redeeming quality to what occurred. No lesson learned is enough. No redemption arc soothes the ache of what happened.

Tragedy everywhere and anywhere. So easy to see how it could have gone differently. And how it was meant to be. Originally, there was no tragedy. This was not the plan. Tragedy was not predestined to occur.

Tragedy. Such a tragedy that tragedy is. The greatest tragedy of them all is that it can occur. And it does. Ah! To live in a place where tragedy is absent. Yet. . . And yet. . .

Tragedy is so real, so present, so commonplace. The second greatest tragedy is the normalization of tragedy. Yet it should not be so. It should not be so, but how can reality be denied? Reality cannot be denied, yet still, tragedy is not averted.

Tragedy. . . Is it unavoidable? Dread it. Run from it. Tragedy arrives all the same. Embrace it then. Swallow it whole. Digest it, absorb the nutrients, let go of the waste. Is there even a single attribute of tragedy worth internalizing? All of tragedy is a waste. 

Tragedy should not be the case. Everywhere, in every place. The rule is tragedy. The expectation is tragedy. It used to not be so. It does not have to be so. Things could be different. Tragedy could be an unknown concept. Not the normal experience.

Tragedy cannot be coped with. Tragedy's abnormality made normal is insanity stemming from an innate disability that cannot deal with tragedy. But what other choice is there? To hope like a madman? There is no guarantee for hope. Yet it seems there is no choice. Take your pick, the insanity that is acceptance of tragedy, or the insanity that is hopefulness.

Tragedy is tragic. . .

19 Days Left. . .

Nonsense is made in attempts to delay the end. “Story is too short!” cries the critic. “So what?” is the response. “It’s better this way. . .”

Well. . . Perhaps there is an argument for delay. If the original story were to occur, most of the explored concepts and ideas would not have come to light. There was a richness that comes with having to dig deep. The moment where, in searching for ideas, you come up empty. Then you dig a little deeper, and come up with something worthy.

-    -    -

Everything was experienced all at once. To divide into days is inaccurate, but it is easier to comprehend. The strife, the discord, and the divide all occurred instantaneously. They always did. 

Of course, these things happened in order. And there is a clear distinction between events. Particularly when a momentous occasion occurs. Migrating from one realm to another tends to be one of those events. The destruction of everything is another one of those events.

In between those, though? It all blends together. One moment into the next, and it all seems like one big moment. Especially since there are few methods to distinguish between passing moments. There’s not even a reason to.

It’s all in the perception. To the Half Spirits, it seems as if the prophecy and everything after happened all at once. A long moment. A brief cry.

There is a shared thought. A method of communication that happens where the half spirits communicate to each other all at once. Originally an ability of the Spirits, the Half Spirits retained this during their transformation.

In this way, communication is instantaneous. This allows for blindingly fast conversations, with everyone, at once. Collectively they conversate. Everyone’s opinion is seen, heard, understood and responded to, at every moment. 

And of course, this is optional. They plug in whenever they see fit, which tends to be always. Though, even when connected, they can have their private thoughts kept separate. Not that they ever find a reason to.

And so, any disagreements that spawn are solved instantly. At least that’s how they perceive it. They do not know how long their disagreements last, they do not even measure time. But between long moments and instant communication, it may as well be true.

18 Days Left. . .

Another way of looking at spirit is that it is not material. 

Another way of looking at material is that it is not spirit. 

These things are naturally separate from each other, opposed to each other, and different from  each other. They are similar in that they both exist.

Someone off in the distance is heard slow clapping for what was apparently very obvious. 

Material is that which appeals to the senses; touch, sight, sound, and so on. Spirit is not experienced in this way, yet it is perceived nonetheless. It is more directly to the mind. It would be one source, experiencing many types of information, instead of many sources of information making one experience.

So then, these two stand in stark contrast to each other. How then, are there half spirit, half material people? 

In the Spirit Realm, spirits are naturally occurring. In the Material World, materials are naturally occurring. Half Spirits are not naturally occurring.  But just because material and spirit are opposite, that does not mean they cannot coexist. Within these people, the material exists as body, and spirit within the body, and the aura surrounding it.

It was always just assumed they had some spiritness about them, even though Non Spirits could never perceive it. The Half Spirits claimed it so, and made the most sense.

To put it into perspective, the material people lived simple lives. They tended to gardens, ate food for fun, played games with each other, and shared stories. To even consider creation projects of the grandeur and scale the half spirits made was unthinkable.

17 Days Left. . .

In the Land of Spirits, there are many types of people, and imaginations of every kind. There is a place for everyone, a dream of every sort. Worlds for every desirable scenario, and playgrounds of any size.

The choice is up to the people where they choose to go. They merely think it to be, and so it is. And as soon as they have a new thought, that becomes it.  The land is shapeless and without form. As quickly as it forms, it deforms, then reforms.

Like a canvas that is instantly painted over, and then repainted again, at the slightest whim of the painter. So too is the land of the spirits.

Now, two spirits may imagine the same world. In it, a story unfolds. Actors play the roles of characters, and a scene is played out. As the story progresses, the two spirits imagine a different ending. There is no conflict as both endings become real. To each spirit, they both experience what they anticipate. Although they share the same start, they can diverge and have a personalized experience. 

Although, it can also be said that their experience was personalized from the start. And that what appeared to be a shared start was mere coincidence, and even likely since within an infinite timespan, overlap is bound to happen.

Or perhaps their individual experience was actually part of a greater collective experience. That their personal experience is part of a group experience. A sum of parts exploring different avenues of possibility.

Maybe a mixture of both? Where they exist as part of a group, but still have their personal opinions. In the Land of Spirits, it's all a matter of perspective. Perspective is everything.

16 Days Left. . .

In the Land of Material, there are many types of people, and imaginations of every kind. There is a place for everyone, you must simply go there.

It is up to the individual where he chooses to travel. The Material Land is vast and there is plenty of room for everyone. Swathes of land of every sort, free for anyone to make his own.

Lakes, rivers, forests, mountains, grassy hills, dirt flatlands; these are the most common types of land you encounter. Trees, minerals, gems, metals, and stones are common as well.

There is only one way that things are. People  may have different perspectives, but that is not the final say. What the land is made of is simply that. A mountain is a mountain, a lake is a lake. No matter what the individual person thinks, that is what it will be. 

If someone were to alter the landscape, it would alter it for everyone. Say someone cut down a tree. Everyone would see the tree is gone. The will of one person affects the world for everyone. When the land changes, everyone will witness it.

Like a sculpted statue with many sculptors. Over time the statue erodes, showing a different image. Or someone comes along to add or remove an attribute of the statue. But at any point in time, anyone who looks at the statue will see the same thing as everyone else.

Now, although it has been said that the Land of Material is permanent or unchanging, this is not entirely true. It is under a state of change, just at a much slower time scale. The Land of Spirits is near instant change, while the land of material is slow and methodical. If a cliff is left alone for long enough, the water will erode the cliffside into a new landscape. If a river is left alone long enough, it will make a canyon.

Yet whose will is it that causes these changes? The water? The rocks? Plants? Maybe all of them? They do contain life after all. Or perhaps the unconscious intent of the people gathered around to create these passive changes. Or maybe it is another attribute of the world, that it self-changes? There are limits to its change as well. In the spirit, anything can change into anything. While in the material, changes of this kind do not happen passively. You will not stumble upon a flower tree that transformed into a clump of seaweed. . . not on its own, anyway. Passive changes tend to be large-scale, altering landscapes and environments entirely.

. . . >

15 Days Left. . .

A masterpiece. A fine piece of work. Your greatest achievement to date.   How are you supposed to react when such a thing  is said to be destroyed? Does it lose all of its meaning? Or do you cherish what it was? Do you set out to recreate it? Or do you live in denial? Do you behave as if nothing were different?

---

It has lost all its meaning. You were never that attached to it in the first place. Let it be destroyed. Watch as it crumbles, and become apathetic. And what could you do anyway?

 Figure out a way to save it? Nonsense, it is much simpler to change how you feel about it.

 Begin anew? Well, the effort it took to make should not be understated. Would you really want to do it all again? Even if it were possibly destroyed again? If yes, then you were likely going to create more anyway. If no, then what does it matter? Why struggle in vanity? 

Perhaps it is time to retire. Hang up your tools, and let it all be. Return home to live out a quiet life. . . It was your greatest work after all. What more is there to do? It's all said and done. Who cares that there is no reminder? So what you don't have a keepsake? Your memories are sufficient.

The process of creating is its own reward. Do not linger in the tragic past. Return home to warmth and comfort. 

. . .>

14 Days Left. . .

Save it. Do everything within your conceivable power to prevent the destruction of your greatest work. It is important. All meaning and all purpose is lost if your masterpiece disappears. What'll you have to show for all you've done? Nothing. Nothing at all.

And so, you must do whatever you can. Anything you can think of, you must try. For if you don't try now, then why ever? You would dismiss all the effort you've put in until now? For the sake of what you have done, continue the great effort now. Indeed, it took an immense effort to create your finest accomplishment. Why lower your hands now? If there was ever a time to try this would be it! 

And if you become demoralized now, then what of the future? Why make anything in the future? Could you possibly make something greater? And if you did, would you react the same way? And if that is threatened? Will every work going forward be dismissed so easily? Then what does it matter? Why bother to create if you will not do what it takes to defend it? Any reason and purpose is lost to even begin anything going forward.

Even if you say you'll defend other works, but not this one, why??? What makes this one lesser? Is this not the greatest masterpiece? If you would use an excuse as petty as this one, then you'll use it again. Simple as.

All this is just to say that you should try. Obviously, every situation is unique, and we cannot offer specific ways to save your precious creation. But you should not give up. Fight against its destruction till the last hour. Despite it seeming like a lost cause, and despite you knowing there is nothing to be done. Even if you have no ability or method, and you've exhausted every possibility you should still do something. . .

And. . . the fateful hour arrives. You had done all you could. You watched firsthand as your ultimate creation crumbled... Ultimately, nothing could be done. It was all lost. 

What next? The effort it took to make the thing in the first place, was it worth it? The effort it took to save it, was that worth it? Yes and Yes. Both of them were worth it, and redeemed by the effort. How much worse would it have been, had you not tasted the joy of making it? And how much worse, to have done nothing to defend it. In all efforts you proved your compassion and love. The willingness to go that far despite the circumstances. . . What a profound thing indeed.

And so. What comes after? It's up to you, really. You can rest for a while, forever, if you feel like it. You can gather yourself, and begin anew. You can rest, or work again, or some third thing. You don't have to do anything, but you can if you want to. You have proved all you needed to, and there is nothing to prove anymore.

Yet. . . if you feel unsatisfied, you might want to create an even greater work. A homage to what was lost, or because you simply must have a magnum opus exist. Then go about that as you see fit. Create a creation unlike anything anyone has ever witnessed before, and will ever see. Let it stand as a monument to what was lost, and for what it has become. Redeem what was lost in this way. That with this inspiration, you made something of it. You used the tragedy for something better in a way only you could.

And after that? One day you might have a construct resembling what you had before, or maybe it looks different, but is just as good.

And then. . . a story you'll tell one day. Lore of your greatest existing masterpiece. A tale of what was once lost, and of a valiant effort. 

And who knows. Maybe you prevent its destruction, and the tale you tell is a very different one. 

If it is saved, you'll be grateful you tried. It is constantly thought "what if it doesn't work" but. . . "what if it does". But if it does or it doesn't, it is still better to do all you can.

13 Days Left. . .

 I'll believe it when I see it.

 It's going to be destroyed? Well it's not destroyed now. Look, behold, it's still standing now. Very much intact, and very much not destroyed.

The promises of destruction are mere words. They cannot be confirmed until it actually happens. 

Why take stake in those empty words? I say it will not be destroyed. Now your words are pitted against mine. Who is to be believed? Do you see the foolishness yet? So why be concerned over this? Why stress over something that has not even happened yet, and will not happen. "Oh, but we can be prepared" and we are. If it's something we can deal with we absolutely will. If it's not, then there is nothing to be done.

Continue on as normal. Take no heed in the words of destruction. If it is to be destroyed we will be destroyed along with it. We are not separate from what we created. If it ceases to be, so shall we.

12 Days Left. . .

The fate of the City. It has already been destroyed. It has already been rescued. Its people have already left. Its people have already begun rebuilding. It happened in an instant.

Who bore witness to these events? The Material People? The Land? The Spirits? The Half Spirits themselves? Did no one witness the tragedy? How it was averted, or how it all came to pass? 

Spirits dictate their own reality. What they think and want comes to pass, even if it contradicts what another spirit thinks or wants. Their realities divulge and intertwine. Personal perspective is king.

While Materials are dictated by one objective reality. Their people may have different thoughts and wants, but whoever influences reality influences it for everyone. They cannot disagree with the one way that things are. A tree is a tree, a rock is a rock.

If this is so, what of the Half Spirits? While they themselves are part spirits, they live in the Material realm. Even still, they have influenced the land with their spiritness.

So. . . What is it? There is obviously one answer. They either abide by the rules of Spirit, or they abide by the rules of Material.

Or. . .  can they abide by both rules? Wait, but what about the Material People? They live in the same world no? But the Material People abide by the law of the Material. How can it be that the Half Spirits abide by some other law, even if they influenced their surroundings.

Could it be, Half Spirits are half affected? Could such a pompous paradox really exist? Surely this is the lazy man's answer.

Perhaps not. Material and Spirit are more closely related to each other than nonexistence. On opposite ends of a spectrum, yet still in the same spectrum.

Still, one is one, and the other is the other. They are naturally distinct from each other. Even still, there are borders and boundaries between them. You cannot freely cross over from one land.

Then. . . what if you moved the borders? In that case, the Half Spirits would be equivalent to conquerors who unknowingly conquered the land. . .

11 Days Left. . .

Spirit would be like recalling a memory, material would be like creating the memory.

10 Days Left. . .

Spirit would be like an ever present wind, material would be like an everlasting rock.

9 Days Left. . .

Spirit would be like a never ending journey with no destination, material would be like a journey for its own sake.

8 Days Left. . .

Spirits would be like an instrument anyone can play, material would be like an instrument anyone can master.

7 Days Left. . .

Spirits are like water you can take with you, material would be like water you must seek out.

6 Days Left. . .

Spirits favor the letter h, while Materials favor the letter h

5 Days Left. . .

Spirit work is instant and easy, material work is one you can feel, and its loss is felt.

4 Days Left. . .

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3 Days Left. . .

. . .  . . .  . . .  . . .

2 Days Left. . .

1 Day Left. . .

So. What actually happened?

Let me spell it out. Even though it all happened in an instant, 1 day remains . Something still occurred, yes? Let's end the evasion, then.

A Material man came into contact with a Spirit. Through their exchange, it came to be known that the City the Half Spirits built was going to change. Ultimately, the change was that the Half Material, Half Spiritual Land was becoming entirely spirit. This comes with it, all the characteristics of being Spirit Land. In this way they unintentionally conquered the Land they occupied.

This man tells the Half Spirits of what he’s learnt. Immediately, every Half Spirit is aware of what the man said. It is interpreted as "the City will cease to be" also meaning, destruction. Importantly, the Half Spirits came to the Material Realm because they wanted to experience material. And they did, if only for a moment. Although they never fully transformed, they were currently living the way they wanted to.  For the City to turn spiritual, was to lose their work, since they explicitly came to the Material Land for the sake of their creation being material. And the work they did was real and they felt it. Like the way you feel every hammerstrike, that you could not feel otherwise.

After this, different factions rise up with different perspectives on what to do (or not to do). They elaborate on their positions, and various subfactions come from the main three. 

The first being: Do nothing. Welcome to change. 

The second being: Try to prevent the change. If not, rebuild.

The third being: Do nothing. The change is not happening.

One such characteristic of spiritness is that personal thoughts come to pass, and coexist. And since there has been this "expectation of destruction" the City was destroyed. 

It started from the center. The great monument at the center was the first to fall. Then, in every direction, whatever had been altered, whatever had been touched, crumpled up like a ball in and of itself, and vanished. Like an invisible wave washing over the land, so did all the work become undone. The wave then slowly but surely accelerated, claiming all within its invisible depths. Farther and faster the world became unraveled, leaving behind indiscernible substances. Ramping up in speed, until faster than the blink of an eye, the creation that was known as the glorious City, was no more. . .

---

But it also wasn't. Instead, everything remained exactly as it was. The buildings stood tall, the gardens intact, and the highways remained wide. The waterfalls, and fields, and bridges and roads, and buildings, and statues and collosal monuments, and every other created thing remained exactly in place. Not so much as a scratch. Shortly after, the creation projects resumed in full force, and the brief delay was laughed away and forgotten.

---

After the Land was deemed unusable, we moved. Not much else to do really. Can't convert it back. Like a farm whose soil is no longer fertile. Except with this analogy, you lose a millennia worth of crops. Oh well, can't dwell in the past. We'll get those crops back. So. . . Just gotta find some ample land available for the taking. Easy enough. Move outside the "Half" Land, and we should be good.

Once we found what we were looking for, we began again. The progress was painstakingly slow, but that was what we loved about it. How slow and laborious everything was. And even though we were starting fresh, we still loved the process of creating, so it was not all bad. It would be a looong time before we were able to match the sheer scale of the City, but the New City was coming along quite nicely. We learned a lot, and with our new perspective, we treasured our creation much more. It truly is a precious thing, and only more so when it takes a lot of work, and doubly so when there's a chance you can lose it. We were fortunate to be able to start the first time, and exponentially more so to restart. 

---

So it is. City now destroyed, and that's it. But also destroyed, then rebuilt. But also not destroyed in the first place. But also every expectation and imagination the Half Spirits had, came to pass.

But what about the Material People? They lived in the same plane of existence. What was their perspective of a portion of the Land suddenly turning into spirit? Well for starters, a material man and spirit were able to make contact and communicate.  Although this happened before the Land stopped being material, it is still a byproduct of the change.

Eventually, this portion of the Land became a bridge between worlds. Material People were able to cross into this place, but at the same time, so were Spirit People. This sort of crossover was unprecedented. 

It was definitely a unique piece of Land. Remnants of the City could still be found. Traces of history, showing what was once there. This Land originally material, then influenced by spirit, then becoming entirely spirit. Then as material travelers make their way there, it becomes influenced by material. Although it is currently Spirit Land, it will likely turn into some kind of in-between state. Perhaps it will take turns, rotating between material and spiritual. Maybe it will blend them both into a different substance, and it will be aptly named "Half Spirit Land" or "Half Material Land". Possibly, they'll be daring and name it "Half Land" or "Halfway Land".

Either way, it attracts adventurers and curious folk who are intrigued by the unusual nature of the place. It offers a wildly different perspective to normal life, while their own nature remains the same. And while it is Spirit Land, it is much easier for Material People to travel there than conventional Spirit Lands.

Well. . . What of the Half Spirits? Where did they go? Some of them stayed right there, calling it their home. Others moved from there, to one realm or the other. While others outright disappeared. There has been vast amounts of speculation as to where this group disappeared. Some say that they found yet another type of Land, while some say they've ceased to exist. Some say they are just hiding for now, and will reveal themselves later. Regardless, there isn't a way to know as of yet.

And so it is. And so it went. The City as it was, is no longer. Its loss is felt by those who created it, and its opportunity is felt by those who visit it now. A vast creation project of cosmic proportions, built from a love of creating. Its permeance wore off, and what remains are but faint traces, and what is to come is yet to be seen.