It is said that in the distant past, at the top of the Holy Snow Mountain, worshipped by countless species, there stood a giant rock.

No one knew how this boulder came to be at the top of the mountain. When the pilgrims endured countless hardships to finally reach the summit of this Holy Snow Mountain, it was already quietly standing there, overlooking those tiny humans.

Bathed in the golden morning sun, the giant rock was like a divine manifestation, prompting climbers to bow in worship.

"This is the Divine Body, the altar built by the spirit of supreme holiness and kindness, placing itself at the farthest from the earth, yet closest to the heavens—"

'I see, so I am such a rock,' it thought.

Seeing the climbers who had come here for the second time, holding high their paper books made of wooden pulp and chanting thus highly, understanding the yearning in their words, the rock thought so.

[Rock's Contemplation (affects Transformation Intelligence Coefficient)]

1-3. Sudden Enlightenment

4-6. Pensive

7-9. Unwavering Calm♛

10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure

D10=d10(8)=8

Yet despite understanding human praise, the "heart" of the boulder remained tranquil as water, unwavering.

Since gaining consciousness, the rock has stood here.

It neither pondered nor felt perplexed, simply stood quietly at the mountain's peak, watching the sun rise and the moon set, and the clouds gather and disperse.

It did not know where it came from, nor did it care where it was headed; it simply remained here, silently gazing at this vast world.

Sometimes, when thousands of li of white clouds dispersed and the sky became clear and pure, it could overlook the world's changes, where the earth rose and then collapsed, lakes dried into valleys, oceans swallowed volcanoes...

Only it remained standing at the highest point.

The chaotic great moon and the revered sun would also cycle endlessly. Except for the boundless sky, nothing could let it maintain "reverence."

As time flowed by, even the stars high in the night sky would sometimes fall to earth.

Until enough time passed, that even an entity without the concept of "time" found lengthy, a lifeform named humankind ascended to this mountain peak, where even the "winged ones clad in scale armor" could hardly remain long.

[Years of Sacrifice (affects Transformation Charm Coefficient)]

D100=d100(36)=36

The arrival of humans gave the rock its first concept of time.

Every ten years, they would gather in groups, ascend the peak, and offer gifts as grandiose as possible, singing and dancing, chanting prayers.

The leader was called a Shamaness by the others, and the rock watched her offer the "sacred" "dance" deemed holy by them at this mountain peak that even a "dragon species" could not linger long.

The dance movements, from lively and charming, to refined and elegant, and then to slow and soft...

The rock looked down calmly, learning many concepts from humans, winged birds clad in scale armor as dragons, rhythmic body movements as dance...

At the same time, it also understood what the passage of time meant.

From youth to maturity, from maturity to old age.

Then disappearing, only to welcome the next Shamaness.

Just like the cycle of the sun and moon.

Yet it still felt no waves in its heart, never giving any response.

It was neither a Deity nor of the same origin as the mountain beneath it; it simply existed here.

And then, thirty-six decades passed, and humans no longer ascended the peak.

Years went by, a thousand li of clouds dispersed once more, and the Snow Mountain welcomed a rare sunny day.

The rock looked down and found that the kingdom, prosperous for centuries, had also disappeared.

Indeed, it was a far too brief epoch.

[Reason for Kingdom's Disappearance (affects Transformation Strength Coefficient)]

1~3. Arcane Surge

4~6. Warfare♛

7~9. Catastrophe

10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure

D10=d10(5)=5

Beneath the mountains, the kingdom where humans lived for centuries was replaced by other humans.

They erected new city-states, and different flags fluttered in the wind.

Warfare...

The rock recalled the last time of worship, when the Shamaness prayed to it.

They were about to fight for their homeland, praying for the protection of the Deity to it.

It seemed they had failed.

The rock felt no sorrow, nor guilt.

For it was but a stone, merely existing here, with neither responsibility nor obligation towards humans.

Those humans also knew that any creature able to reach such heights in nature was by no means weak.

They needed only a sacred symbol; whether standing on the peak was a stone, a tree, or emptiness, they would offer it dance.

"Holy"—to humans, it was a necessity for bonding with each other and continuing as a collective.

Yet, the rock had once felt the warmth of life from the Shamaness' hand.

Another ten years passed, and as a rock, it suddenly understood what "cold" meant.

They were humans; they knew where they came from and understood where they were going.

What about a stone?

Countless times, it "lifted its head," "gazing reverently" at the sky.

[Action of the New Country]

1-2. Continue to Worship

3-7. Desecrate♛

8-9. Ignore

10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure

D10=d10(3)=3

Another decade passed, and humans from the new kingdom reached the mountain top.

But what they brought were not offerings and dances, but swords and hammers.

Humans from the new kingdom came here to break the rock.

In order to completely extinguish the hope of the old kingdom, to destroy their faith, they had to shatter and desecrate the symbol.

Swords sharp enough to cut through iron as mud, hammers mighty enough to split mountains and rocks—

They spared no effort, even at the cost of collapsing from exhaustion, in order to fulfill their aim, unleashing incompatible violence upon the rock.

[Desecration (89+success, affects Transformation Constitution Coefficient)]

D100=d100(78)=78

Yet the violence that could easily shatter great rocks on the ground and carve riverbeds could not leave even the slightest crack on the divine body of the rock.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.