Zen slowly rose from the branch where he had crashed.
He expected pain.
There was none.
He glanced over his golden scales. Not a crack. Not a scratch.
That attack was dangerous, he noted calmly. I misjudged it.
Across from him, the Phoenix hovered in silence, eyes locked on Zen without blinking.
No anger. No panic. Only focus.
Both of them began gathering power again.
Then—
A voice echoed across the void.
Calm. Deep. Unhurried.
"That is enough."
The pressure in the air vanished instantly.
Both Zen and the Phoenix turned their heads at the same time.
A Titan figure sat casually on a distant branch of the Tree of Life.
He looked like a human—only impossibly large, nearly fifty meters tall, slightly round, with an expression that carried neither hostility nor fear.
Just understanding.
"It would be wasteful," the Titan said, "for the first beings of this universe to destroy each other minutes after being born."
Zen did not relax his posture, but he did stop gathering power.
The Phoenix's flames dimmed slightly, though its gaze remained sharp.
The Titan continued.
"We have just awakened. The void is endless. Why decide superiority here, over a single fruit?"
Silence followed.
Zen was the first to speak.
"You are suggesting we postpone this."
The Titan smiled faintly. "I am suggesting that there is more to gain by living than by proving a point."
The Phoenix spoke next, voice steady and composed.
"He is not wrong. Others will awaken soon. This branch will become crowded… and not all of them will be reasonable."
Zen considered this.
He looked at the Phoenix. Then at the Titan.
Calculating.
Fighting here gains me nothing. Exploring may gain me everything.
"You are right," Zen said calmly. "There is no value in continuing this now."
The Phoenix gave a small nod. Agreement, not surrender.
Without another word, the three of them left the Tree of Life, gliding into the vast, silent void.
After what felt like an hour of travel, Zen glanced back.
The Tree of Life was gone.
Not far away.
Not small.
Gone.
He slowed slightly.
The Phoenix and the Titan had noticed it too.
"…Interesting," the Phoenix said quietly.
"Perhaps," the Titan replied, "once we leave, we are not meant to return."
None of them showed panic.
They simply accepted it.
The void stretched endlessly in all directions.
The Titan looked at the two of them.
"What are your intentions now? Shall we explore together?"
Zen did not even hesitate.
"I will go alone."
No hostility. No pride.
Just preference.
"A group limits observation," he added. "I prefer to understand this place without distraction."
The Phoenix nodded. "A reasonable choice. I will do the same."
The Titan chuckled softly. "Very well. Then may we meet again… under better circumstances."
Without farewell, the three primordial beings chose different directions and departed into the newborn universe.
No alliances.
No enemies.
Not yet.
Only three ancient minds… beginning to explore existence on their own terms.