The initial manifestation was observed within the Obsidian Grove. It began as a single, iridescent bean, pulsating with a faint violet light. Locals, the Sylvans of the Grove, initially perceived it as a nascent memory of the Great Collapse – a catastrophic event predating recorded history, where the vibrational frequency of the planet shifted, causing widespread decay and the loss of countless sentient species. The bean’s presence triggered fragmented echoes of this event within their collective consciousness, manifesting as unsettling dreams and a pervasive sense of melancholic awareness. It was theorized that the Bean acted as a focal point, drawing upon residual energy from the Collapse. Interestingly, the beans' colour shifted subtly over the next 72 hours, progressing from violet to a deep indigo, suggesting an increasing resonance with the traumatic past. Several Sylvan initiates attempted to absorb the bean's energy, but all experienced severe temporal disorientation, fleeting glimpses of alternate realities, and an overwhelming urge to dismantle their own creations. The lead researcher, Lyra, noted a peculiar correlation between the bean’s pulse and the migratory patterns of the Lumina moths, creatures inherently attuned to temporal distortions.
Following the discovery of the First Bloom, similar beans began appearing across the fractured continents. These 'Echoing Harvest' beans were significantly larger, averaging 1.5 meters in diameter, and possessed a complex internal structure resembling a miniature, self-contained universe. The Sylvans discovered that these larger beans weren’t simply recording the Collapse, but actively *simulating* it. Individuals exposed to the simulation would experience full-sensory replays of the event, complete with the agonizing screams of the dying, the grinding of collapsing cities, and the suffocating weight of oblivion. The effect was profoundly destabilizing, leading to widespread social unrest and a resurgence of ancient, forgotten cults dedicated to worshipping the ‘Void-Mothers,’ entities believed to have instigated the Collapse. A team of chronometric engineers, utilizing a device known as the ‘Resonance Amplifier’, attempted to extract the data contained within the beans, but the process resulted in a localized temporal anomaly, creating a pocket dimension filled with echoes of forgotten languages and extinct technologies. The data recovered was incomplete and largely incomprehensible, consisting primarily of distorted geometric patterns and what appeared to be the vocalizations of entities beyond human comprehension. The discovery of the Echoing Harvest beans ushered in an era of intense philosophical debate, questioning the nature of memory, the limitations of human perception, and the potential for catastrophic knowledge to drive a species towards self-destruction.
The most recent manifestation, dubbed the ‘Obsidian Shard,’ presented a radically different phenomenon. Unlike the previous beans, this shard was utterly silent and devoid of any visible energy signature. However, prolonged exposure resulted in a complete erasure of personal history – individuals would simply cease to exist, their memories, identities, and even their physical forms dissolving into nothingness. The Shard was theorized to be a ‘temporal asymptote’ – a point beyond which the fabric of time becomes infinitely unstable. The Sylvans quarantined the Shard within a reinforced obsidian vault, employing a complex system of harmonic resonance to suppress its effects. Despite these efforts, the Shard continued to exert a subtle influence, causing plants to wither, animals to exhibit erratic behavior, and individuals to experience profound feelings of existential dread. A small group of researchers, led by the enigmatic Chronomaestro Silas, hypothesized that the Shard was not a recording of the past, but a *prediction* of the future – a glimpse of the inevitable end of all things. Silas vanished shortly after completing his findings, leaving behind only a single, perfectly formed bean, nestled within a silver locket.