Chapter 89

The cover and even the book band of the book version are now officially available for public viewing. As a way to express my gratitude to everyone and to share the news, I will be releasing the unadopted story.

"Does everyone know what fossils are?"

"Fossils?"

"Oh, I know, I know! It's when shells or fish get stuck in rocks and only the bones are left!"

"It's the bones of creatures that lived a long, long time ago! When they died, soil and mud piled up on top of them. Over a long time, the minerals from the rocks seeped into the places where the bones and shells were, gradually solidifying to form fossils. There are different types of fossils, but most of them have turned into stone. If you dig up old layers of rock and split open a stone to find a shell or fish bones, it means that place used to be the bottom of the sea a very, very long time ago."

"Wow."

"Why did the sea bottom become land?"

"This Earth is alive. The continents move gradually over millions of years. So, places that were once at the bottom of the sea can rise up to become land, or sink back into the sea. Over a very, very long time, the shape of the world changes little by little."

"Wow..."

"Sometimes, fossils of incredibly large bones are found. Bones many times larger than a human, these are called 'dinosaurs.' They were huge beasts that lived millions of years ago. Today, we'll talk about such dinosaurs! Let's begin—begin—!"

"Wow! Clap, clap, clap, clap!"

"Sixty-five million years ago, a dinosaur mother laid eggs. It was the birth of new life. In the midst of a large group of dinosaurs, in a nesting ground, the eggs were placed in a dug-out nest. The dinosaur mother stayed by the nest, waiting for the eggs to hatch..."

"Do they warm them up?"

"Chickens warm their eggs, right?"

"At that time, the Earth was very warm, so there was no need. However, she couldn't just leave the eggs alone. The dinosaur mother kept a close watch on her eggs."

"Why?"

"Because there were egg thieves among the dinosaurs. They were small and quick, and there were many of them that stole and ate eggs. So, the mother had to keep watch. But sometimes, even the mother had to leave the nest to find food. During these times, the eggs, which were about the size of a dog, were secretly stolen, and out of ten eggs, only half remained..."

"Wow..."

"Then, the day the eggs hatched arrived. The baby dinosaur broke the 20 cm shell from the inside and came out. This is today's main character, Triceratops!"

"Wow!"

"The eggs hatched all at once. The baby Triceratops and his siblings were fed by their mother, who regurgitated partially digested plants from her mouth. They grew bigger and bigger."

"Not milk?"

"No, animals that feed their young with milk are called mammals, which are different from dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are reptiles, the ancestors of lizards, turtles, crocodiles, and snakes. Many plant-eating animals rely on bacteria to break down plants for nutrients. Newborn dinosaurs don't have these bacteria in their stomachs, so they might have been given undigested plants regurgitated by their mother to share her digestive capabilities. There are many such animals on Earth today."

"Wow."

"Maybe they were even fed undigested feces."

"Ew..."

"Yaaaaaah!"

"...Humans don't do that, right?"

"We're so lucky to be born human..."

"Triceratops grew up eating grass and leaves, living with his siblings in a herd. In this world, there were many plant-eating dinosaurs, but there were also meat-eating dinosaurs that preyed on them. The adults protected the young in the herd."

"Like foxes and wolves?"

"Foxes and wolves are also predators of chickens. In the dinosaur world, it's survival of the fittest. The weak are quickly eaten. While there are few creatures that attack adult dinosaurs, young dinosaurs are always targeted by larger meat-eating dinosaurs. One of the most terrifying is the Velociraptor."

"Ve... Velociraptor?"

"About the size of a large dog, it ran on two legs and had sharp claws on its hands and feet. What's scary is that they were highly intelligent and hunted in groups. The Velociraptors would sneak into the nesting grounds where there were many mother dinosaurs. One would distract the mother while the others carried off the baby Triceratops and their siblings, then ran away..."

"That's terrible!"

"It's terrible, but that's nature. The number of Triceratops' siblings decreased again, and out of ten eggs, only three survived..."

"Wow..."

"Wild animals today are the same. Carnivores can't find food and starve to death if they are weak. Even foxes, which everyone knows, only seven out of a hundred survive to adulthood. Only 7% survive."

"Just that much..."

"But for Triceratops to survive, he had to fight even larger enemies. To do this, Triceratops ate a lot of grass and leaves every day, ran around with his friends to build his body, and grew bigger and bigger."

"Larger enemies...?"

"Like a pack of Velociraptors?"

"...Something much larger and more terrifying... Such creatures existed in this world. They were the tyrant of the land, the mighty T. rex!"

"Yaaaaaah!"

"Twelve meters long, six tons in weight! It walked on two large legs, and its massive head was covered in powerful muscles. Its bite force was equivalent to its own weight! Any dinosaur attacked by it would be finished! That's why Triceratops lived in groups to protect themselves."

"Wow..."

"Scary..."

"Small hands..."

"...But they look cool."

"Why do all boys love T. rex...? I don't really like it."

"You don't understand the heart of boys..."

"It's okay if you don't understand. The herd of Triceratops, living peacefully and eating grass, was finally discovered by the T. rex!"

"Yaaaaaah!"

"Run, run, run—!"

"At night, while the Triceratops herd was sleeping on the grassland, the T. rex approached silently. By the time they noticed, it was already too close, and one of Triceratops' siblings was bitten."

"Kyaaaaa!"

"Bitten on the vulnerable neck, the sibling screamed and struggled. But Triceratops could do nothing and had to run away."

"Ugh..."

"The T. rex attacked the Triceratops to eat. Once it ate one, it wouldn't attack the others. The Triceratops managed to escape by sacrificing one of their siblings. Even if others were eaten, they might be able to escape. This is why herbivorous dinosaurs lived in herds. Fossilized herds have been found, which is a survival strategy shared by many animals today."

"...But it's so frustrating."

"Isn't it terrible to just be eaten?"

"...That's right, Triceratops wasn't just meant to be eaten! As Triceratops grew, it changed its appearance to avoid being eaten by the T. rex. It extended a shield to protect its vulnerable neck and grew sharp, powerful horns on its nose and head! The horns were one meter long!"

"Wow, so cool!"

"Amazing!"

"It grew larger, reaching nine meters in length and weighing over five tons! It could stand up to even the T. rex!"

"Yaaaaaah!"

"This wasn't something Triceratops could do alone. Over thousands and millions of years, Triceratops was born, grew, was eaten, and escaped. The ones that survived were those with powerful weapons, and this is how they evolved."

"Evolution?"

"Yes, evolution. While a deity created the world, not all creatures remained as they were created. Dinosaurs, in their struggle to survive, tried to change themselves. Through competition, battles, and survival, the ones that remained passed on their advantageous traits to their offspring, making them stronger."

"Harsh..."

"Eventually, Triceratops lived in large herds, equipped with strong shields and powerful horns, ready for the T. rex. One day, the mighty T. rex attacked the Triceratops herd again!"

"Wow!"

"But this time, the Triceratops didn't run! To protect their friends and young, they formed a circle, swinging their large horns and shields, and charged at the T. rex that approached!"

"Yaaaaaah!"

"We did it—!"

"The T. rex, having suffered, had no choice but to retreat. Finally, Triceratops, with the power of evolution and the cooperation of its herd, managed to drive away the mighty T. rex!"

"Yaaaaaah! Clap, clap, clap, clap!"

"Triceratops, now with the power to stand up to the T. rex, faced an even larger enemy..."

"Enemy?"

"An even larger dinosaur?"

"Triceratops' greatest enemy was the universe. Sixty-five million years ago, an asteroid, over 10 km in diameter, was approaching Earth from far, far away. Attracted by Earth's gravity, it fell to the ground!"

"Yaaaaaah!"

"It tore through the atmosphere with a loud noise, crashing into the Yucatan Peninsula, now part of the Gulf of Mexico. Triceratops, looking up, had no idea what was happening."

"Scary..."

"Yaaaaaah..."

"The impact caused a massive explosion. The ground shook, and the shockwave blew everything away. A giant tsunami circled the Earth, washing away everything on land. Flames rose, and forests, woods, and jungles burned. The dust and smoke from the impact covered the Earth for years, blocking the sun, and a winter era began... Everything on land froze, and the Earth entered an ice age."

"..."

"All the plants withered, and Triceratops, with no food, starved to death. Of course, the T. rex, which fed on Triceratops, also starved and went extinct. All the dinosaurs turned into fossils."

"...Terrible."

"The legends of dragons and dragons that still exist around the world might have come from ancient people finding the large bones of Triceratops or T. rex in exposed layers of rock and imagining such large monsters existed... Even though these huge dinosaurs had long gone extinct..."

"...There are no dragons or dragons..."

"But some animals survived the ice age. They were our ancestors, the mammals. Small mammals that could grow their young in their bodies without warming eggs survived on meager food, evolved, and eventually became humans. If the asteroid hadn't fallen, the world might still be full of dinosaurs, with no humans at all."

"..."

"The mighty T. rex, with its huge body, and Triceratops, which evolved to become stronger to fight it, couldn't stand up to nature and the universe. But the extinction of the dinosaurs led to a new era and the birth of humans. The Earth has been evolving and going through extinctions, leading to its current form. It's a tremendous coincidence and a miraculous fortune that we are now living on this Earth. Remember this, and cherish the happiness of being alive, connected by billions of years of life. Take care of your life!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"The story of Triceratops is now over. Thank you all for listening until the end—!"

"Thanks, Selena!"

"That story was too subtle!"

"There's no hope or dreams in it—!"

"Don't make it sound like a good story!"

"There's no redemption!"

"Couldn't you have made it a bit more of a happy ending?"

"Is this a story for kids!"

"Yaaaaaah!"

—Rejected Story Collection