Translation brought to you by: The Adventurer’s Guild
Located at: Ruins (1337 108 -1372)
Discovered by: Cicero “Pixel” Aera

Research Log: Day 1.

Test subject: a fern

Subject acquired. Captive in a planter’s pot. Seated next to a window and watered once already. As normal as can be, which should allow for growth at a steady pace.

Alas, I cannot say the same for the plants outside. Leaves and vines growing much too quickly. Crops dying faster than they could be harvested. Diseases spread rapidly through not just people, but animals, too. This is the reasoning for my experiment.

We shall see what happens tomorrow.

Research log: Day 2.

Subject is growing at its usual steady pace. Watered once per day. Nothing much to note.

Research log: Day 3.

Nothing to note.

Research log: Day 4.

Nothing to note.

Research log: Day 5.

Today, Verinth was hit by a massive storm. Not only that, but I was unable to buy fruit at the market in Alteris because, quote, “It had all turned rotten overnight.”

Why is this information relevant, you ask? Today, my lovely little houseplant has sprouted multiple massive vines and leaves, completely overtaking the testing area. These events must be connected.

Took a sample of the plant.

Research log: Day 6.

Technically, this happened yesterday, but I couldn’t write it down because my quill had broken.

After I sampled the plant, I naively decided to use one of my earth crystal shards to try and make it shrink. Test was a failure– subject grew three times its size, and broke through the walls and ceiling of my home, rendering it unsafe to live in.

For now, I bid this research and this log goodbye. I need to get back on my feet again before continuing, if I choose to continue at all.

It has been… approximately three months since my last entry.

And I may just be the last human alive on this continent.

Let me start from where I last left off. After my home was destroyed, I went to stay with my aunt whom also lives in Verinth. Since inflation on food prices had risen so high, she was barely able to take care of just herself. I promised her that I would get food for us as long as I could stay housed there, and she agreed.

So the next day, I went hunting.

Strangely, though, common animals that used to roam the forest were nowhere to be found. The only living creature I could find was this tiny baby rabbit huddled in the crook of a tree root, shivering from the cold. I felt sorry for the little thing, so I decided to leave it be.

Then suddenly, I heard the quietest squeak in the world. I looked to the rabbit to discover that it had fallen over. Confused, I knelt down to check what happened. First I checked its breathing.

Nothing.

Heartbeat?

Nothing.

It was then that I noticed that the rabbit was no longer a baby. It was an old, shriveled up rabbit, that had grown up and died in the blink of an eye.

The blink of a f*cking eye.

Numbly, I prayed, picked up the rabbit, and headed back into town.

As I approached Verinth, I noticed how strangely quiet it had been. Usually, merchants and street vendors would be bustling around the small town at that time of day. I had only been gone for an hour, I thought to myself. But walking through, there was no one in sight.

When I arrived to my aunt’s house, I saw it. Vines and leaves had completely overtaken her home, and had also been spreading through town. I realized that there were roots absolutely everywhere, and how hadn’t I noticed that before?

Vines began to crawl up my feet and ankles. I started to panic, and tried to shake them off. A vine then shot right at me, tangling me up and twisting all around my body. My feet, my legs, my torso, and my left arm were covered with vines, suffocating me.

With my right arm, I was able to miraculously reach down and grab a knife from my boot, cutting myself free. I then ran far, far away from the place that I once called home.

I didn’t understand then, but I believe I know what happened now. In my haste, I had naively forgotten that I stored a sample of my dear old houseplant inside of my leather pouch, that I of course took with me to my aunt’s now-destroyed home.

Eventually, I came upon this small cave in the hills. I set up camp here, and have been spending my days hiding away from the rest of the world. 

Now, I’m writing all of this, because I know I will soon perish. There are no more animals to hunt, no more crops to grow. Drinkable water is scarce, and sickness has fallen upon me now. 

To you, dear reader, I have important information to share. I have reasoned that the cataclysm was not some random occurrence, but was from the Gods themselves. Not only Omin, the god of Chaos, but Gaia, the goddess of Creation, too. Both of them had a part to play in the extinction of intelligent life on Eldorath, but I do not know why. 

There is no hope for our survival anymore. If you’re reading this, that means there is still hope for you. 

Please, do not forget us. Let us live through our stories for a thousand years to come.