Imprint of Humanity

Following Zen's claim that its intended "Reclamation" was a kind of self-mutilation, the clearing—the very Heart of Kuro-no-Mori—seemed to pull inward, the ancient silence growing nearly to the point of collapse. Like a storm building over a huge, black ocean, the many whispers that made up the Heart's voice swirled with a fresh, furious force.

"Self… mutilation?" The chorus of the Heart echoed, the sound tinged with a deep, nearly unbearable sorrow as well as a flash of unadulterated, disbelieving agony. "You, a single being, talk about'self' to Us? We, who were once this world's pure essence, are now a clamor of conflicting echoes, a conduit for a sorrow that is not wholly our own? Cartographer, the mingling you describe was not a union. An invasion took place. a rusting.

Zen acknowledged the enormity of the Heart's suffering as he listened, his eyes fixed on it. It's possible that the narrator saw a guy bracing himself against the weight of a god's suffering rather than a physical blow, demonstrating a profound calm in Zen. Knowing that his own remarks would only have any weight if he actually heard the Heart's point of view, he waited, letting it express its suffering.

With its voice growing more terrifying and resonant, the Heart went on, "The human flaws you so clinically name – greed, fear, the will to dominate – they are not mere ‘threads’ in our being, Cartographer." "They are malignancies. In a symphony that was previously exclusively in harmony, these are the discordant chords. The "Reclamation" is the natural essence of this forest striving to eradicate a deadly, consuming sickness; it is not a desire spawned by the human echoes you mention. How is it possible that that would mutilate who we really are?

This was the Heart's own firmly held truth, its own deep conviction. Instead of viewing itself as a hybrid, it saw itself as a victim battling a fatal illness. Zen saw that he was about to make his most important point. He needed it to see the forest not as it used to be or as it desired, but as it was now.

"And yet," Zen retorted, his words carefully chosen and filled with a quiet but unwavering assurance, "the voice that speaks to me now, the consciousness that frames this 'Reclamation,' the very intellect that assesses humanity and finds it wanting… Is this forest's original essence all that? Or does it also bear the permanent mark of the people it aims to remove?

He took a moment to consider the matter, which was a tough yet compassionate task. "You describe human imperfections as an invasion and a disease. The 'Connection Project,' in its sad failure, did, in fact, unleash dreadful darkness. However, it also allowed humanity in all its complexity to enter your being. "Are not the feelings of hopelessness, anger, and the need for complete remedies—even the idea of a punitive 'Reclamation' against a whole species for the transgressions of a select few or the errors of the past—deeply... human responses to extreme trauma?"

Zen moved cautiously toward the shapeless figure in the middle of the clearing. "Vengeance is not a fantasy of the old trees. Moral judgment does not apply to the stones. It is not the wind's intention to 'cleanse' with such ideological fire. These ideas are the result of a mind that has seen not just the harmony of nature but also the complexity of human hope and failure, the agony of human loss, and the searing sting of human betrayal."

He glanced around the ancient, silent clearing before turning his gaze back to the invisible center of the Heart's consciousness. "You Became Human" was Zen's central claim, and his voice resonated with it. "You weren't just infected by human flaws," Zen added. He was aware that this "natural being," nature itself, had changed into human suffering, obstructing the natural order. "This forest, its old heart, likewise profoundly and horribly became human in that tragic intermingling, in absorbing their souls, their dreams, their despairs, their very essence. It is not just the voice of pure nature that has been violated, but also your present suffering, your will, and the very command you have given. Additionally, it is the voice of a profoundly wounded and disillusioned humanity that is imprisoned inside of you, wailing through you, and using your great power to perform a play of condemnation and hopelessness that reflects its own unresolved suffering."

There was complete silence in the clearing. After Zen made this bold, paradigm-shifting claim, the numerous murmurs of the Heart appeared to have stopped. He had shown that the forest was a vessel as well as a victim, and that its present desire for annihilation was a painfully human one rather than a completely natural one. Whether this old, complex mind could stand to see its own reflection was the challenge at hand.