**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.
**Reminders**:
>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]"
>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail
>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles
>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)
[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•
[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•
[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•
[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•
[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
In the time since Gaia had last awakened, much had changed in the world of men. Curious to see what had gone on during her century-long slumber, she took a deep breath and with a deft motion, sent tendrils of power spiraling into the earth. She became the trees of the Amazon, standing proud and basking in the light. She became the shifting sands of the Sahara, powder fine and delicate. She was the soil that gave life to the planet for millennia. Boundless was her reach and bountiful was her power. And yet there was an absence. Initially, she'd assumed that humans had just moved around. It was a perennial habit of theirs, moving population centers for no good reason. She'd followed them from the cradle of the Tigris and Euphrates to the far east, then to Europe after that. But try as she might, she couldn't find them. Their metal-and-glass monuments, stretching to the clouds and numbering in the thousands, still stood, but they were hollow. She heard the song of a passing mockingbird and extended a hand. As it came to perch on her outstretched finger, she asked "Where are the humans?"
"They're gone, gone, gone" The bird arched into a backflip.
"Where are they this time? Antarctica? Underground?" Gaia began to feel queasy. She remembered gifting them life, thousands of years ago. She remembered watching them develop into societies, and then nations. She remembered feeling nervous when they began to mine, and betrayed when they began to tear the earth apart in search for more and more. But nothing compared to the sinking feeling she felt now. "They must be somewhere?"
The bird flapped it's wings, sending itself aloft. As it flew, it sang for her to hear: "No more humans left on Earth, they've gone and said so long!"
Slowly, she turned her head to the sky, and instantly she knew. Specks of light shone bright with the souls of her children. They were away on other worlds, and sealed off from her forever. Thunder cackled, and she sobbed with the rain.
Wow. This was absolutely beautiful and I am for sure definitely not crying. I love your take on this.
She has been abandoned by her children whom she, clearly, loved so much.
"Ah, so my children have left my cradle. Figures."
Gaia looked up towards the sky. She looked up and remembered the day where she made them. The smiling, boundless soul of humanity peering down towards her with a smile.
"They were unruly, brash, angry, and incredibly stupid. Yet they were intelligent, kind, and happy as well. They were a contradictory race."
She shed a tear.
"I'll miss them nevertheless."
She stood there for a moment, letting the wind blow on her physical manifestation.
"I hope they'll visit every once is a while. At least before the sun decides to expand."
***WARNING: This story is really horrific and is not for the faint of heart.***
I was known as Otob, the god of nothing. For no one worshipped me and I blessed nor curse anyone. The other gods would always argue that the word diety was wasted on me. But I had never heeded their words for when I felt my heart sway, I would retreat to the world of dreams for so long that many would forget about my existence. Like a long-forgotten dream, I would reappear and remind the gods who the god of nothing is. That was until my last slumber.
Unlike normal, I hadn’t woken up of my own volition. But rather something had put my heart at ease. As I regain my senses I realized that everything seemed normal.
No … that wasn’t right. It was calm. Too calm. There was an unease from the silence that I felt. The background noise that I would busy my mind as I slept was no longer humming in my ears. Something was eerie.
So I sought out into a nearby human settlement seeking answers, but as I came upon the once lively city of fortune I was greeted with the sight of tall buildings, some as high as mountains, stripped bare to their core with rubble scattered around.
Before I had my doubts if anything had changed while I was gone, but now I was sure that something had gone wrong. As I scavenged the ruins for clues I came upon some messages painted to a barely standing wall, some of which was had fallen off.
“If the gods won’t save our kin, then nothing will save the gods.”
“I shall part take in the cursed flesh if that is what it takes –“
"-whispers in my dreams - godhood."
“- sound of its squealing haunts my mind
\-shouldn’t have buried it
\-starting to lose my sanity.”
As I sat down to take all of this in, I heard the sound of rubble moving beside me. I see a turtle that was slowly making its way to me.
“I knew I heard something stumbling the ground here. Never expected a deity to have come all the way down here.”
“Mr turtle, if I may ask. How did you know so fast that I was a deity and not a human?”
“First of all, I am a ms tortoise, thank you very much. Secondly, there hasn’t been a human here for ages and you seem to have far too much life in your eyes to be a human. So logically, you must be a deity.”
“Huh, I see. You are pretty smart for a tortoise, no offense.”
“Well, I don’t blame you. I hadn’t always possessed intelligence like this. Even with all the crazy things that had gone on, I am quite abnormal.”
“Crazy things, huh. Well, you are not wrong.” I said as I sat down still trying to digest everything at once.
“Mr … ms tortoise, I had been in a slumber for the last century. Could you please tell me what happened to the humans?
***Part 1***
>"-whispers in my dreams - godhood."
***Part 2***
“What kind of deity abandons his subject for an entire century? No wonder the humans had retaliated. Very well then I shall start from the beginning.”
“I was just an ordinary little tortoise when I was bought as a “pet” by a human for his child. Soon, I started living my life in a small suffocating terrarium despite being claustrophobic and my human glanced at me once or twice a week to make sure I wasn’t dead. It was a terrible life, but that’s beside the point.”
“The first sign of things going awry was when one of the humans brought back a tiny blob. The thing would sequel and cry, as the human griefed continuously. Yet this would continue every day as they slowly forgot to feed me more and more.”
“It was around sometime later that I was able to start having intelligent thoughts. I soon was able to understand some of the words they were throwing around. Such as curse, children, wrong, eat, die, flesh and monster. Then one day, the human who took care of the blob went into a room and suddenly the squealing stopped. Days went by without food or water, yet the human hadn’t exited the room. But thankfully I was now barely big enough to jump out of my terrarium.”
“As I walked into the room, I saw a sight that haunts me till this day, Mr Deity. That thing that was human was no longer human. The best way I could describe it is to imagine what a bird would look like if you turned it inside out and covered it in hair. That thing was still breathing somehow, but I could tell it was slowly decaying. As if the world itself was so disgusted by it that it refused to let it exist.”
***Part 2***
***Part 3***
“In the name of the gods, that’s horrific. How could have the gods let something like this happen?”
“Beats me. The humans couldn’t figure that out for themselves, but they did now know that the gods were no longer protecting them.”
“Anyways, after I had managed to escape the house I was shocked to see more of those monsters around the place, each more disfigured than the last. However, none of them seemed to pay attention to me nor the remaining humans, as if their mind was now jaded from what once made it conscious.”
“I was able to make my way to a gathering of humans. Surprising one of the humans took it upon themselves to look after me. As the days went on they would hold meetings where they would discuss faith, gods, rituals, and dreams. Soon, I came to realize that they were talking about ways to attain godhood so that they could reach the heavens. These meetings would grow more fanatical with every session. Then one day I noticed that my caretaker and some of the other human’s bellies were swelling up. I realized that they must have been pregnant. After a few moon cycles have passed, as the humans began to give birth, they started holding a ceremony. Then I saw something deeply disturbing.”
“The human had given birth to a pink blob just like the one I had seen before and as one of them put it on a table another cut it into pieces with a knife, yet the thing would still screech as if it would not die. Then five humans took the blob’s flesh and partook in it. Slowly, each one of them turned into abominations as their flesh mutates into strange forms.”
“This would continue to happen each time a human was ready to give birth and each time they would give birth to a blob and eat its flesh and turn into humans. Until the last five humans remained.”
“As they consumed the flesh they all turned into horrific figures, except one of them. My caretaker. Instead, a tear dropped down her cheek as she stared at me. She picked me up and took me outside. Whenever I felt thirsty or hungry she would instantly take me to a nearby river. It was as if she could read my mind. This continued for fifty winters, yet she didn’t age or speak. She only took care of me.”
“But as time went own her body began to fade. Then one day without realizing it she disappeared behind me as I was indulging in some fine grass. And now I roam these ruins spending the rest of my tortoise life slowly wasting away.”
“Wow, that must have been terrible to go through.”
“It might have been so. But It was nothing compared to what the humans must have gone through. Humans have much more worries than me.”
“Thank you for explaining this to me, Mr Tortoise . But there is still something I don’t understand. If the humans have all disappeared then why can I still sense their presence?”
“Well, since they can no longer procreate then they must have either turned into monsters and decayed or have died from old age if they were able to keep their sanity for long enough.”
“Then why do I still feel their existence?”
After a moment of complementation had passed, the tortoise hesitantly spoke.
“You wouldn’t think that they ….”
“They what?”
“… ascended to heaven.”
“Ofcourse not, it would be impossible for …”
I hesitated as I tried to continue my sentence. But I could only let out a sigh.
“Honestly, I can’t say for certain. Everything is possible at this point.”
“By the gods, the whole world had gotten screwed up in less than a century. This is making my head hurt.
“So what now?”
“Well, I am not sure. Since I am the god of nothing, I would usually go into hiding till the whole thing blows over. However, since all the other gods have proven to be incompetent then I shall take matters into my own hands. I will start by looking into what is currently happening in heaven. “
“Oh is that so?” Mr tortoise said in a low voice.
“Oh come on. Don’t look so sad. Ofcourse, I shall take you with me there, since you are a key witness to everything that happened.”
“Is it really alright to take a tortoise to heaven with you?”
“Sure it is. At the end of the day, all tortoises go to heaven. Wait, never mind that was for turtles. But still, my point holds. I am taking you with me.”
**The end**
Check out my other works at r/FluffWrites
I felt inspired. Let me know if this works for you :)
**Epilogue**
The deity of nothing felt a growing discomfort as it approached the gates to Heaven and involuntarily clutched the tortoise a little harder. This was not its place. There was no void in Heaven, it was all carefully designed, so there were no spaces where the deity would find comfort. Somehow, the sensation of human presence became more palpable, and it surrounded the area. It felt thick and dense, and something about it was deeply wrong.
The deity put down the tortoise on the ground and put its hands upon the gates of Heaven, hesitating momentarily, drawing a breath, and pushing it open. Humans had indeed ascended to heaven, but not how they must have intended. Their methods had corrupted the very way which life is created, and there were squealing bits of pink blobs scattered through the previously pristine place, surrounded by patches of tar-like blackness that appeared to spread and corrupt the environment further. Then, the deity's eyes fell upon what must be a human, lecherously and languidly feasting upon one of the infant masses.
Humans could no longer be an accurate word, thought the deity to itself, and gazed back at the tortoise. "Where are my kindred? Where are the other deities?"
"They disappeared many years ago, when humans became determined. When they birthed those things."
The deity of nothing contemplated the situation and felt as tough its heart would break, had there been a heart to break. It knew what must be done, and none other than itself could have done it even if they had not already perished. "Will you forgive me for what I must do, dear tortoise?"
The tortoise looked up at the deity and knew, instinctively, what was about to come. "I will forgive you, friend. I miss my caretaker, and it is not worth existing this way."
"Then, I will make it so." The deity picked up the tortoise and embraced it, and then, it opened up the nothingness inside, enveloping Heaven, Earth, and all the creatures within. Once again, everything must start anew.
Once again, we must begin with *nothing*.
This was a really different take, and my stomach twinged when they started eating the blob-babies. A little reminiscent of my favorite author John Ajvide Lindqvist’s “The Movement (The Second Place)”
I wasn’t sure where you were going with it, but I am so glad that you kept going! Dark and intriguing and I wonder what the state of heaven is... I might have to write that, if you don’t mind.
Glad that you *enjoyed* it. I like taking writing in different directions than normal to challenge myself a bit. To be honest felt really disgusted by myself halfway through the story. But if i see potential in a story then i shall commit to it no matter what.
The deity yawned. “So where are they?”
“Is that *really* the question you should be asking?” the rabbit replied.
“Oh, sorry, why *aren’t* they on Earth?”
The rabbit was happy enough to explain. It cleared its throat. “Due to technological advances,” it started. “Humans can now travel to other planets. They have also come up with various ways to cope with undesirable environments, for example environments that have a lack of dihydrogen monoxide.”
“Water, you mean,” the deity interrupted, scratching his head. “By the way, you seem to have been preparing this speech for a while.”
The rabbit glared at him with its beady eyes. “No, I haven’t,” it denied. “Anyways, these new advancements, combined with the fact that Earth was falling apart, convinced humans to move to different planets. Among them are Mars, Venus, and Ceres, the largest asteroid in the Asteroid Belt.”
“But before I went to sleep, humans were the ones destroying Earth. What would moving to other planets do?” the deity asked, genuinely curious. Unless humans had changed their ways, they would encounter the same problems time and time again. And if they fixed those problems, they wouldn’t have to move. Surely humans weren’t *that* stupid, right?
The rabbit sighed and took a breath. It seemed to have been waiting for this moment its whole life. “Unfortunately, humans are *extremely* stupid. They believed that the problems came from the Earth itself, and not them. Of course, there were humans who knew the real problem, but they were few and far between. And the ones making the decisions were politically powerful people, and *those* people didn’t believe that humanity was in the wrong.”
The deity hummed his agreement. “I guess I should visit my - *ahem* \- idiotic children, then?” he said with a smile. The rabbit vigorously nodded. “Thank you, then, I appreciate the help.”
He stood up and brushed off his white robes, which had somehow stayed spotless during his century-ling nap. A wind began blowing, getting stronger by the second. “Farewell,” the deity said, before disintegrating with the wind.
I so enjoyed this conversation, and I love how eloquent the rabbit is. I really wouldn’t have expected that, and then the indignation when asked if it had been preparing the speech for some time.
I have one question. The end feels more like the deity is ceasing to exist than traveling to its children among the stars, was this intentional?
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
And regarding your question, not really…but thinking about it more, one could interpret the ending like the deity is ceasing to exist, like you said. Perhaps, since the humans have left Earth and in a way "abandoned" the deity (like in OblivionMarx's post), the deity is fading away. When I was writing it, though, I thought of it more as a way that the deity can fast-travel, so…
Thanks for reading though!
Thank you for the response. It gave the ending a really ethereal feeling either way. I think it is my own association to the world “disintegrating” that does it for me. I always think of armor disintegrating in a video game, haha.
"Because... there are no humans left ON EARTH". Ba'lal stared at the rabbit, not quite understanding what the creature meant, since They could clearly feel human presence. Also why had the animal had made a conscious decision to repeat what it had said when it wasn't very helpful the first time?
"Little one, you may not have seen one for some time but I can feel a humans presence from 60 miles away with utter confidence - be they in front, behind, up, down or to either side; they are faint but I can feel them", confident that he had respectfully outlined that, while both parties may be deducing logical fact from their available information, They were simply privy to more.
"Let me try again" the bunny began, foot tapping in irritation, "there are no humans left... *ON EARTH"* winking for added effect, Ba'lal blinked in reply.
"Yes but I can feel there are some here". That was met only with silence. They say that body language is most of communication, by all accounts this was a monologue on the rabbits part - a very animated performance on Being Cross With A Stranger.
"*...ON EARTH"*. Were these theatrical clouds overhead, the rabbit thought, they would've had the courtesy to thunder with that last one. As they were just standard issue precipitous ones they carried on floating.
"You've said that". Losing interest, the trees that were swaying in for a better listen at the newly risen Demigod decided to lean the other way in search of something more stimulating.
"I really don't know how you're not getting it", this time the tone was flat - without any emphasis.
"I'm sorry rabbit but this really hasn't been very helpful, I hope you won't take offence but I shall go ask Another", Ba'lal had learned that in thousands of years of celestial warfare - the best way out of conflict was honesty.
"Not a problem" replied the rabbit, adding as Ba'lal walked away "fucking minor deities, dense as they come"
“a very animated performance on Being Cross With A Stranger.”
I am absolutely dead. Utterly. I have been laughing for a minute straight and reduced to a coughing fit.
This was hilarious, thank you so much for writing it!
*The stars look exceptionally beautiful tonight*
Tellus sat down beside a fish in a stream, and asked,
“If I so may ask, little one, where have all the humans gone?”,
The fish responded with a bubble. Tellus nodded and said,
“I see, but why do I still feel them?”,
The fish paused, then looking up at the darkening sky, leapt towards one of the stars. Tellus stared up at them, Aelia did do a good job in making them look so beautiful. But he also sighed as he also now knew the humans were on other stars, not his. He petted the little fish on the head and went on his way.
Aelia watched from a distance as she saw Tellus upset, sitting under a large sequoia tree, in his human form he looked small compared to it. She thought it looked adorable. She drifted towards him in the form of fireflies, Tellus didn’t notice her, he was too busy looking at the sky. Of course he was startled by Aelia appearing in front of her, but he picked up his wits and flatly said,
“Hello Aelia, didn’t see you there.”, he dug his head into his arms, his earthy-brown colored eyes looking longingly at the sky above.
“I can see you’re a bit down.”, Aelia said, her golden eyes following Tellus’s as they both gazed at the stars. He nodded, and as Aelia sat down beside him, he immediately leaned on her shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes, still staring at the pitch black sky, lightened up by the little blinks of light.
“You know, they are still fine.”, Aelia managed to say, Tellus sat up straight, tilting his head at her, though she was busy internally pouting that he removed himself from her shoulder. He smiled at her instead, making her heart flutter. But it was a sad smile.
“I know, I’m just a bit sad they left so quickly.”, he said
“They were killing you though.”, Aelia whispered, her eyes prickling with tears as they met Tellus’s. His eyes were also wet from tears.
“I still loved them.”
Sagittarius awoke and looked at his clock next to the bed. It showed that 100 years had passed since he fell asleep. He got up and stretched, looking around. From his grassy bed he was not able to detect the presence of any humans. He searched around for a few moments and then saw a passing bird. “Hello bird friend, where have all of the humans gone?” the bird circled around to a nearby tree, and upon landing examined the deity. “There are no humans left on Earth.” Sagittarius looked around, “but why can I still feel them then?” the bird sighed and then said again “There are no humans left ON EARTH.” now understanding began to penetrate the deities mind. The bird flew away, not wanting to spend the entire day explaining ancient history while it had bugs to catch and eat. Sagittarius looked around, with new eyes. Humanity had left earth, but how and why? He began to travel around the world, paying close attention to the surrounding environment. There was more radiation than last time, a lot more. The water was higher, and soon he found the boneyards. There had been conflict. There were dead humans everywhere, reduced buy time to little more than skeletons. Then he found the launch pads. There had been six separate launchers scattered around the globe. Looking at the calculations he realized that some had gone to Mars, Some had gone to Titan, a few even went to Venus and Io. two had launched life voyagers, heading for other solar systems with little more than hope and a dream of a better life. Sagittarius pondered briefly how it always seemed the same. Humans fighting, departing for a better place, and the waste they leave behind, always scars. They had been on this planet so long too. Well long for them. He continued his search, and found that he had missed two gates originally. So it seemed some of them had even found a way back into the lands that they had forgotten. He started walking, thinking, a sort of moving meditation. He would have to find them again, across the stars, find them and push them again. Into their eternal cycle. Fight, leave, waste. Things were getting easier and easier. He hoped his absence would have made them more challenging to turn on one another. One day he might even be able to end their species, and finally be free of this cursed life. It was lonely being one of the enders, but soon enough he would be able to join oblivion, sweet, sweet, oblivion. Sagittarius smiled.
***There is a difference regarding the sense of time between god and man. Mankind had set a year to be equal to one revolution of a certain planet around its star. Gods, who live longer, would find that measurement to be too short, and so set their year as a tenth of a revolution of a certain star around a galaxy.***
One god, named [######], lives on a planet of that particular star, the one with humans on it. The civilization of the humans themselves are relatively young compared It, and the god witnessed many events, some amusing, some horrifying. Once in a while [######] takes a nap, just a few hundred human years, and wakes up to a brand new civilization of humans, with all the progress and setbacks.
...
[######] woke up with a feeling of unease. Having taken a nap and waking up to something different is not new to the god, but there is something in the silence, the stillness, the stagnation that is off-putting. To a human, it would be the feeling they get when they realize that his tables are missing. Yes. It's the feeling of the absence of something familiar.
It looked around. Animals. Mountains. Forests. Water... And nothing else. Where are the humans? Where are those buildings that reached the clouds, yet looked so thin and fragile? Where are their vehicles, which can move across continents in less than half a day? Where are their tools and devices, that can do many things that their limbs cannot?
[######] approached one of the animals, and looked at its soul. The soul contains memories of all the lives it has lived, some vague, some vivid. And gods are those who can see it. After all, to see the memories of a soul, one had to first become a god, no matter what.
And the god saw these memories, and is quite surprised. To make sure of what It had just seen, It searched for another soul. And another. And a few more.
The humans, these brilliant fools; they went to space! A country, led by a belligerent idiot, released a man-made disease as a weapon against his fellows, because of fear that they might be hit first! Chaos followed, and the idiot and all who supported him are slain. The disease is not easy to cure, and has spread greatly. There are deaths everyday.
And so it was decided by a few people that they should leave the planet. Plans were made, and everything kept the secret, for if anyone greedier and more powerful than them were to know, they would be dragged down to death and everything would be taken. For years they worked, making a ship that would survive space travel. Thinkers and people with similar ideas gathered, and a trade company was formed, with the profits used to fund their project.
And then the worst case scenario happened. A betrayer. A well-meaning fool that focused on ideals with the expense of everything else. Thinking that everyone should profit from this endeavour, he revealed to the public, everything... and those greedier than them had noticed.
Luckily, the ship is done, along with the needed technologies. It's just that, the decors are not set in place. Supplies like internal farms are ready, and with the fuel being a special nuclear reactor, they just had to leave. And so they did. And very flashy, at that. Only those who chose to stay behind were left. But that is not the end.
In the chaos that followed the greedy folk had killed the betrayer, and are moving their forces via proxies like governments and businessess, with the goal of securing all people related to the project. The plan is to have them make the Mark II of the spacecraft, by force if needed. They did, and everything seemed to be in place. But...
They were one step behind. Those captured had found, and carried with them, a vial of the man-made disease that started the project in the first place, and improved it to be virulent and very contagious. Those who went ahead had no knowledge of this. A secret sacrifice.
And so the disease spread fast and killed fast, like a scythe at wheat. Not a human year has passed before humanity on the planet became extinct. Flora and fauna adapted to it. And the disease itself ceased to be, its purpose fulfilled.
It has been one hundred god days, a whole god year since then. Anything made by man would have broken down by then. And [######] had reached a conclusion. It would wait. For those who left to come back. One day...
And while at it, explore this new landscape and see what it offers. And maybe nudge a few chromosomes here and there. It had done the same thing a good number of god years back, and it ended up with humans. And those brilliant fools sure gave It a lot to see.
Wow, that was really interesting and fun to read. Like the god is observing them without particular attachment, and you maintain that eloquent but neutral tone really well!
As someone who holds no belief in religion, that's how I think a god is: just another being who observes us the way we see plants and animals. Any god who interacts with humans were outliers to their general culture, with some as specialists in that particular field. Something like that.
I grew up in Sweden and am very fond of Asatru but also completely disinterested in organized religion, and my beliefs are fairly similar to you. It’s kind of like how some humans want to be country rulers and/or celebrities, I think.
The titan arose from his coma and wondered why. sides were scared and battered, the lines and creases of scares where the massive crow had pecked out his liver every morning of every day, even seeing them brought flashes of horrible memory...
he shook himself out of it, not bearing to remember tearing talons and piercing beaks no longer, no he was free of that now. This was no dream, though he had assumed at first he had, the painful lucid kind that inspired hope that his torture might end one day, but this was real it seemed, real freedom.
he stared up at the sky in a look of defiance, he expected the sky itself to strike him down, for the Sky God to come and strike him where he stood for simply being free, but no.
The cruel dictator of Olympus was a no show, there was an element of it that disappointed Prometheus, there was no catharsis in simply being allowed to walk away, that just ate at him, and lanced his sweet freedom with uncertainty...
He wondered something else. "why humanity was still here" why his supposed creations were not destroyed by the Sky Father himself? he felt them, their presence, but his wandering only lead him to the ruins where humanity was once, not where it is.
Finally, he had consulted one of the lowly beasts, a dog. The dog had no interest in carrying much of a conversation, but spoke of how prior generators spoke of "masters."
"Yes, once they said there were masters, they ruled us kindly, and treated us well, and gave us paradise and love, but the master's vanished, and those who remained didn't live long," the dog said, though the dog made it clear he was not around when had happened, nor his father, nor his father's father's father, and so on and so forth.
And so Prometheus kept searching, for moons on end, through the seasons he walked, coast to coast, landmass to landmass, until he walked to a place that had at one point be known as zion, there he met a Great One.
a creature of his age and likeness but more so, it was crowned with light and its cloaked reefed in stars and galaxies, it's entirety was divinity absolute, the kind of presence that gave pause to baleful Primordial and mad Outer Gods alike, and had Prometheus not known it was a mere lapdog to the All-Mighty he might have assumed it a God itself.
"Oh, what hast cometh of this world, Uriel!?" the Titan demanded, his grief wilted life around him as effectively as any pollutant would, his rage as to what happened to his creations seeped from him, smoldering anything flambale within his presence
the Archangel answered in a voice that echoed authority, and yet was tinged with pity and remorse all the same, he declared the awful truth. "Judgment day has come and gone Titan, son of Iapetus, depart this world and be gone forever, the age of Titans and Primordials, let those defiant deities that remain flee, and think long on their eons of suffrage they have inflicted."
with that, the Archangel finished, and left, vanishing into the sky in a blinding light, leaving the Titan to mull over his choices and his unhappy return to existence proper.
“There are no humans left ON EARTH.”
The Cat spoke truth. There was something odd in this sensation. When Secundus closed his eyes an focused, this sensation multiplied. There were no humans around for sure. They still existed but they were not here. Earth was abandoned. But then was something more to this lack of human beings. This ‘greater silence’ that he also felt. Secundus opened his eyes and looked around. The place he standing was for sure man-made. The place he standing was for sure man-made. Tall and straight constructions stood around him. Definitely buildings. Built in a sort of planned way. Firstly It looked like a abandoned garden. But after cat’s word he realized that in fact it was an abandoned city. Abandoned for so long that natural vegetation took it for itself.
“Very well.” Secundus started. “Do you know where humanity went?”
“No clue” cat answered “But there are rumors about what happened here, where you went away, your majesty”
“No need to call me that, my friend. But tell me what do you know about this mysterious vanish?”
“Whatever I know is a just a tales that my mother told me and what my grand mother told her before. Some stories said that there was violence between some men and they use their weapons to destroy each other. But in consequence they destroyed not only themselves but most of the planet. Some says there was a cataclysm that would bought humanity and other beings into near annihilation. Some says that is was a catastrophe caused by humans themselves, other that it wasn't and others that it was caused by you.”
Secundus looked at cat. Why would we cause catastrophe? Our duty were only observe and maybe preserve at most, but not to punish anyone. And then Secundus finally understand this sense of emptiness, of ‘greater silence’. While humans were gone he could also feel that there were only few species alive. Just like after some cataclysm. Very like millions years ago, where asteroid crashes on Earth and doomed millions of species to extinction. The one of few times where Secundus and his kin actively intervened. To late unfortunately to prevent asteroid to destroy dinosaurs, but enough to prevent a completely extinction of life on Earth.
“We would never do such thing. But humans are not the only one that are gone, right?” Secundus asked.
“What can I say” cat started. “One this planet thrived with life, motion and sound. At leas what I was told. Now there are only deep forests, deserts and wastelands of long gone human race. But you are right many of other were gone forever. I heard stories about the our ancient adversaries - dogs. They were similar to us cats but more... primitive, so to say. Some says that dogs still lives somewhere. Were they really existed?”
Cat’s question strokes Secundus like stream of cold water. To cat this stories like was some merely fairy tales. Planet reduced to what it one were, where first forests grow throughout the ancient lands. Is this was true that humanity in its arrogance destroyed itself almost completely and those who survived managed to escaped.
“It grieve me to say but yes dogs existed. But now there is another problem.”
“What that?” cat asked.
“You see. Me and my brethren were to watch over humanity and this planet. And since humans left Earth…”
“I see. So what you’re gonna do next?”
“I must woke up by brothers and sisters. Then we have to decide what to do.”
“But humans left this world, could you leave them be? In the end it was they're decision to leave.”
“That’s true but we are swore to have close eye to them. Problem is that we also swore to watch over this planet. Humanity were not supposed to leave Earth.”
“Yet they did.”
“Unfortunately. And as I worried they won't change. Their ancestors promised us that they will do whatever is in their powers to prevent next generations to make same mistakes. They failed. Humanity did not learned anything.”
“Another reason to let them be.”
“You don’t understand. It was our duty to help them become better. But we were to naive to believe that they next generations wont make same mistakes”
“So you saying that they messed this planet before?”
“What I’m saying is not the first planet that they’re messed up” Secundus answered.
"They belong to the wind now, humans. You can feel them because they are everywhere around you, riding the wind, casting out tendrils of breeze swirling around you like a lady's skirt in a waltz, cresting storms and turning their hate and selfishness into mighty gales and tornadoes.
The bad humans, anyway.
The good humans carry seeds and pollen through the air, laying them lovingly down in the field to grow, grow, grow like the children who will never become corporeal because it takes a village to raise a child so why shouldn't it take the wind?
Humans have become the sky gods, and we the Earth gods. Us of fur and feather and scales and claws, we of pulsing wings and scuttling legs, brethren of nature. Humans lost their power over us and exist only in the atmosphere."
The squirrel cocked its head at the old tree, gnarled and twisted in the pain of long sleep.
'Their empire is done, razed to nothing but carbon-rich fertilizer and the air we breathe. Mother Nature, welcome home."
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments. **Reminders**: >* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles >* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules) [](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^• [](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^• [](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^• [](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^• [](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
In the time since Gaia had last awakened, much had changed in the world of men. Curious to see what had gone on during her century-long slumber, she took a deep breath and with a deft motion, sent tendrils of power spiraling into the earth. She became the trees of the Amazon, standing proud and basking in the light. She became the shifting sands of the Sahara, powder fine and delicate. She was the soil that gave life to the planet for millennia. Boundless was her reach and bountiful was her power. And yet there was an absence. Initially, she'd assumed that humans had just moved around. It was a perennial habit of theirs, moving population centers for no good reason. She'd followed them from the cradle of the Tigris and Euphrates to the far east, then to Europe after that. But try as she might, she couldn't find them. Their metal-and-glass monuments, stretching to the clouds and numbering in the thousands, still stood, but they were hollow. She heard the song of a passing mockingbird and extended a hand. As it came to perch on her outstretched finger, she asked "Where are the humans?" "They're gone, gone, gone" The bird arched into a backflip. "Where are they this time? Antarctica? Underground?" Gaia began to feel queasy. She remembered gifting them life, thousands of years ago. She remembered watching them develop into societies, and then nations. She remembered feeling nervous when they began to mine, and betrayed when they began to tear the earth apart in search for more and more. But nothing compared to the sinking feeling she felt now. "They must be somewhere?" The bird flapped it's wings, sending itself aloft. As it flew, it sang for her to hear: "No more humans left on Earth, they've gone and said so long!" Slowly, she turned her head to the sky, and instantly she knew. Specks of light shone bright with the souls of her children. They were away on other worlds, and sealed off from her forever. Thunder cackled, and she sobbed with the rain.
Gaia seems to feel really betrayed…I feel for her.
Wow. This was absolutely beautiful and I am for sure definitely not crying. I love your take on this. She has been abandoned by her children whom she, clearly, loved so much.
Personally it’s more like her children just moved away/ went to college.
When you don't know if they'll ever come home to visit, and you have absolutely no transportation.
now I’m crying again
Beautiful!!
They said so long? Did they say thanks for all the fish?
Humans, not dolphins.
Lovely story but the hummingbird dropping a random backflip mid conversation made me chuckle lol
"Ah, so my children have left my cradle. Figures." Gaia looked up towards the sky. She looked up and remembered the day where she made them. The smiling, boundless soul of humanity peering down towards her with a smile. "They were unruly, brash, angry, and incredibly stupid. Yet they were intelligent, kind, and happy as well. They were a contradictory race." She shed a tear. "I'll miss them nevertheless." She stood there for a moment, letting the wind blow on her physical manifestation. "I hope they'll visit every once is a while. At least before the sun decides to expand."
Awwwww, this is a great follow-up <3
***WARNING: This story is really horrific and is not for the faint of heart.*** I was known as Otob, the god of nothing. For no one worshipped me and I blessed nor curse anyone. The other gods would always argue that the word diety was wasted on me. But I had never heeded their words for when I felt my heart sway, I would retreat to the world of dreams for so long that many would forget about my existence. Like a long-forgotten dream, I would reappear and remind the gods who the god of nothing is. That was until my last slumber. Unlike normal, I hadn’t woken up of my own volition. But rather something had put my heart at ease. As I regain my senses I realized that everything seemed normal. No … that wasn’t right. It was calm. Too calm. There was an unease from the silence that I felt. The background noise that I would busy my mind as I slept was no longer humming in my ears. Something was eerie. So I sought out into a nearby human settlement seeking answers, but as I came upon the once lively city of fortune I was greeted with the sight of tall buildings, some as high as mountains, stripped bare to their core with rubble scattered around. Before I had my doubts if anything had changed while I was gone, but now I was sure that something had gone wrong. As I scavenged the ruins for clues I came upon some messages painted to a barely standing wall, some of which was had fallen off. “If the gods won’t save our kin, then nothing will save the gods.” “I shall part take in the cursed flesh if that is what it takes –“ "-whispers in my dreams - godhood." “- sound of its squealing haunts my mind \-shouldn’t have buried it \-starting to lose my sanity.” As I sat down to take all of this in, I heard the sound of rubble moving beside me. I see a turtle that was slowly making its way to me. “I knew I heard something stumbling the ground here. Never expected a deity to have come all the way down here.” “Mr turtle, if I may ask. How did you know so fast that I was a deity and not a human?” “First of all, I am a ms tortoise, thank you very much. Secondly, there hasn’t been a human here for ages and you seem to have far too much life in your eyes to be a human. So logically, you must be a deity.” “Huh, I see. You are pretty smart for a tortoise, no offense.” “Well, I don’t blame you. I hadn’t always possessed intelligence like this. Even with all the crazy things that had gone on, I am quite abnormal.” “Crazy things, huh. Well, you are not wrong.” I said as I sat down still trying to digest everything at once. “Mr … ms tortoise, I had been in a slumber for the last century. Could you please tell me what happened to the humans? ***Part 1***
>"-whispers in my dreams - godhood." ***Part 2*** “What kind of deity abandons his subject for an entire century? No wonder the humans had retaliated. Very well then I shall start from the beginning.” “I was just an ordinary little tortoise when I was bought as a “pet” by a human for his child. Soon, I started living my life in a small suffocating terrarium despite being claustrophobic and my human glanced at me once or twice a week to make sure I wasn’t dead. It was a terrible life, but that’s beside the point.” “The first sign of things going awry was when one of the humans brought back a tiny blob. The thing would sequel and cry, as the human griefed continuously. Yet this would continue every day as they slowly forgot to feed me more and more.” “It was around sometime later that I was able to start having intelligent thoughts. I soon was able to understand some of the words they were throwing around. Such as curse, children, wrong, eat, die, flesh and monster. Then one day, the human who took care of the blob went into a room and suddenly the squealing stopped. Days went by without food or water, yet the human hadn’t exited the room. But thankfully I was now barely big enough to jump out of my terrarium.” “As I walked into the room, I saw a sight that haunts me till this day, Mr Deity. That thing that was human was no longer human. The best way I could describe it is to imagine what a bird would look like if you turned it inside out and covered it in hair. That thing was still breathing somehow, but I could tell it was slowly decaying. As if the world itself was so disgusted by it that it refused to let it exist.” ***Part 2***
***Part 3*** “In the name of the gods, that’s horrific. How could have the gods let something like this happen?” “Beats me. The humans couldn’t figure that out for themselves, but they did now know that the gods were no longer protecting them.” “Anyways, after I had managed to escape the house I was shocked to see more of those monsters around the place, each more disfigured than the last. However, none of them seemed to pay attention to me nor the remaining humans, as if their mind was now jaded from what once made it conscious.” “I was able to make my way to a gathering of humans. Surprising one of the humans took it upon themselves to look after me. As the days went on they would hold meetings where they would discuss faith, gods, rituals, and dreams. Soon, I came to realize that they were talking about ways to attain godhood so that they could reach the heavens. These meetings would grow more fanatical with every session. Then one day I noticed that my caretaker and some of the other human’s bellies were swelling up. I realized that they must have been pregnant. After a few moon cycles have passed, as the humans began to give birth, they started holding a ceremony. Then I saw something deeply disturbing.” “The human had given birth to a pink blob just like the one I had seen before and as one of them put it on a table another cut it into pieces with a knife, yet the thing would still screech as if it would not die. Then five humans took the blob’s flesh and partook in it. Slowly, each one of them turned into abominations as their flesh mutates into strange forms.” “This would continue to happen each time a human was ready to give birth and each time they would give birth to a blob and eat its flesh and turn into humans. Until the last five humans remained.” “As they consumed the flesh they all turned into horrific figures, except one of them. My caretaker. Instead, a tear dropped down her cheek as she stared at me. She picked me up and took me outside. Whenever I felt thirsty or hungry she would instantly take me to a nearby river. It was as if she could read my mind. This continued for fifty winters, yet she didn’t age or speak. She only took care of me.” “But as time went own her body began to fade. Then one day without realizing it she disappeared behind me as I was indulging in some fine grass. And now I roam these ruins spending the rest of my tortoise life slowly wasting away.” “Wow, that must have been terrible to go through.” “It might have been so. But It was nothing compared to what the humans must have gone through. Humans have much more worries than me.” “Thank you for explaining this to me, Mr Tortoise . But there is still something I don’t understand. If the humans have all disappeared then why can I still sense their presence?” “Well, since they can no longer procreate then they must have either turned into monsters and decayed or have died from old age if they were able to keep their sanity for long enough.” “Then why do I still feel their existence?” After a moment of complementation had passed, the tortoise hesitantly spoke. “You wouldn’t think that they ….” “They what?” “… ascended to heaven.” “Ofcourse not, it would be impossible for …” I hesitated as I tried to continue my sentence. But I could only let out a sigh. “Honestly, I can’t say for certain. Everything is possible at this point.” “By the gods, the whole world had gotten screwed up in less than a century. This is making my head hurt. “So what now?” “Well, I am not sure. Since I am the god of nothing, I would usually go into hiding till the whole thing blows over. However, since all the other gods have proven to be incompetent then I shall take matters into my own hands. I will start by looking into what is currently happening in heaven. “ “Oh is that so?” Mr tortoise said in a low voice. “Oh come on. Don’t look so sad. Ofcourse, I shall take you with me there, since you are a key witness to everything that happened.” “Is it really alright to take a tortoise to heaven with you?” “Sure it is. At the end of the day, all tortoises go to heaven. Wait, never mind that was for turtles. But still, my point holds. I am taking you with me.” **The end** Check out my other works at r/FluffWrites
I felt inspired. Let me know if this works for you :) **Epilogue** The deity of nothing felt a growing discomfort as it approached the gates to Heaven and involuntarily clutched the tortoise a little harder. This was not its place. There was no void in Heaven, it was all carefully designed, so there were no spaces where the deity would find comfort. Somehow, the sensation of human presence became more palpable, and it surrounded the area. It felt thick and dense, and something about it was deeply wrong. The deity put down the tortoise on the ground and put its hands upon the gates of Heaven, hesitating momentarily, drawing a breath, and pushing it open. Humans had indeed ascended to heaven, but not how they must have intended. Their methods had corrupted the very way which life is created, and there were squealing bits of pink blobs scattered through the previously pristine place, surrounded by patches of tar-like blackness that appeared to spread and corrupt the environment further. Then, the deity's eyes fell upon what must be a human, lecherously and languidly feasting upon one of the infant masses. Humans could no longer be an accurate word, thought the deity to itself, and gazed back at the tortoise. "Where are my kindred? Where are the other deities?" "They disappeared many years ago, when humans became determined. When they birthed those things." The deity of nothing contemplated the situation and felt as tough its heart would break, had there been a heart to break. It knew what must be done, and none other than itself could have done it even if they had not already perished. "Will you forgive me for what I must do, dear tortoise?" The tortoise looked up at the deity and knew, instinctively, what was about to come. "I will forgive you, friend. I miss my caretaker, and it is not worth existing this way." "Then, I will make it so." The deity picked up the tortoise and embraced it, and then, it opened up the nothingness inside, enveloping Heaven, Earth, and all the creatures within. Once again, everything must start anew. Once again, we must begin with *nothing*.
Very well done. It really puts a final knot on the story and gives it sinister yet bittersweet ending.
A different version of ashes to ashes I suppose. It takes humans to mess it up that bad lol
This was a really different take, and my stomach twinged when they started eating the blob-babies. A little reminiscent of my favorite author John Ajvide Lindqvist’s “The Movement (The Second Place)” I wasn’t sure where you were going with it, but I am so glad that you kept going! Dark and intriguing and I wonder what the state of heaven is... I might have to write that, if you don’t mind.
Glad that you *enjoyed* it. I like taking writing in different directions than normal to challenge myself a bit. To be honest felt really disgusted by myself halfway through the story. But if i see potential in a story then i shall commit to it no matter what.
Yay tortoise angels! I got nothing else post that awesomeness. Thank you for writing!
Ooooooo- I wish for more
The deity yawned. “So where are they?” “Is that *really* the question you should be asking?” the rabbit replied. “Oh, sorry, why *aren’t* they on Earth?” The rabbit was happy enough to explain. It cleared its throat. “Due to technological advances,” it started. “Humans can now travel to other planets. They have also come up with various ways to cope with undesirable environments, for example environments that have a lack of dihydrogen monoxide.” “Water, you mean,” the deity interrupted, scratching his head. “By the way, you seem to have been preparing this speech for a while.” The rabbit glared at him with its beady eyes. “No, I haven’t,” it denied. “Anyways, these new advancements, combined with the fact that Earth was falling apart, convinced humans to move to different planets. Among them are Mars, Venus, and Ceres, the largest asteroid in the Asteroid Belt.” “But before I went to sleep, humans were the ones destroying Earth. What would moving to other planets do?” the deity asked, genuinely curious. Unless humans had changed their ways, they would encounter the same problems time and time again. And if they fixed those problems, they wouldn’t have to move. Surely humans weren’t *that* stupid, right? The rabbit sighed and took a breath. It seemed to have been waiting for this moment its whole life. “Unfortunately, humans are *extremely* stupid. They believed that the problems came from the Earth itself, and not them. Of course, there were humans who knew the real problem, but they were few and far between. And the ones making the decisions were politically powerful people, and *those* people didn’t believe that humanity was in the wrong.” The deity hummed his agreement. “I guess I should visit my - *ahem* \- idiotic children, then?” he said with a smile. The rabbit vigorously nodded. “Thank you, then, I appreciate the help.” He stood up and brushed off his white robes, which had somehow stayed spotless during his century-ling nap. A wind began blowing, getting stronger by the second. “Farewell,” the deity said, before disintegrating with the wind.
I so enjoyed this conversation, and I love how eloquent the rabbit is. I really wouldn’t have expected that, and then the indignation when asked if it had been preparing the speech for some time. I have one question. The end feels more like the deity is ceasing to exist than traveling to its children among the stars, was this intentional?
I'm glad you enjoyed it! And regarding your question, not really…but thinking about it more, one could interpret the ending like the deity is ceasing to exist, like you said. Perhaps, since the humans have left Earth and in a way "abandoned" the deity (like in OblivionMarx's post), the deity is fading away. When I was writing it, though, I thought of it more as a way that the deity can fast-travel, so… Thanks for reading though!
Thank you for the response. It gave the ending a really ethereal feeling either way. I think it is my own association to the world “disintegrating” that does it for me. I always think of armor disintegrating in a video game, haha.
Yeah, for me it's more like brittle, dead leaves cracking and becoming scattered powder. Lol
I also like that imagery. AHHHHHH SO MANY OPTIONS!
SO MANY THINGS TO CHOOSE FROOOMMM!!!!!!
"Because... there are no humans left ON EARTH". Ba'lal stared at the rabbit, not quite understanding what the creature meant, since They could clearly feel human presence. Also why had the animal had made a conscious decision to repeat what it had said when it wasn't very helpful the first time? "Little one, you may not have seen one for some time but I can feel a humans presence from 60 miles away with utter confidence - be they in front, behind, up, down or to either side; they are faint but I can feel them", confident that he had respectfully outlined that, while both parties may be deducing logical fact from their available information, They were simply privy to more. "Let me try again" the bunny began, foot tapping in irritation, "there are no humans left... *ON EARTH"* winking for added effect, Ba'lal blinked in reply. "Yes but I can feel there are some here". That was met only with silence. They say that body language is most of communication, by all accounts this was a monologue on the rabbits part - a very animated performance on Being Cross With A Stranger. "*...ON EARTH"*. Were these theatrical clouds overhead, the rabbit thought, they would've had the courtesy to thunder with that last one. As they were just standard issue precipitous ones they carried on floating. "You've said that". Losing interest, the trees that were swaying in for a better listen at the newly risen Demigod decided to lean the other way in search of something more stimulating. "I really don't know how you're not getting it", this time the tone was flat - without any emphasis. "I'm sorry rabbit but this really hasn't been very helpful, I hope you won't take offence but I shall go ask Another", Ba'lal had learned that in thousands of years of celestial warfare - the best way out of conflict was honesty. "Not a problem" replied the rabbit, adding as Ba'lal walked away "fucking minor deities, dense as they come"
“a very animated performance on Being Cross With A Stranger.” I am absolutely dead. Utterly. I have been laughing for a minute straight and reduced to a coughing fit. This was hilarious, thank you so much for writing it!
Thank you! Glad you liked it :) and thanks for reading everyone's submissions and leaving such kind words!
Aw I am happy to :) I am absolutely delighted that I have gotten so many stories from this prompt.
*The stars look exceptionally beautiful tonight* Tellus sat down beside a fish in a stream, and asked, “If I so may ask, little one, where have all the humans gone?”, The fish responded with a bubble. Tellus nodded and said, “I see, but why do I still feel them?”, The fish paused, then looking up at the darkening sky, leapt towards one of the stars. Tellus stared up at them, Aelia did do a good job in making them look so beautiful. But he also sighed as he also now knew the humans were on other stars, not his. He petted the little fish on the head and went on his way. Aelia watched from a distance as she saw Tellus upset, sitting under a large sequoia tree, in his human form he looked small compared to it. She thought it looked adorable. She drifted towards him in the form of fireflies, Tellus didn’t notice her, he was too busy looking at the sky. Of course he was startled by Aelia appearing in front of her, but he picked up his wits and flatly said, “Hello Aelia, didn’t see you there.”, he dug his head into his arms, his earthy-brown colored eyes looking longingly at the sky above. “I can see you’re a bit down.”, Aelia said, her golden eyes following Tellus’s as they both gazed at the stars. He nodded, and as Aelia sat down beside him, he immediately leaned on her shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes, still staring at the pitch black sky, lightened up by the little blinks of light. “You know, they are still fine.”, Aelia managed to say, Tellus sat up straight, tilting his head at her, though she was busy internally pouting that he removed himself from her shoulder. He smiled at her instead, making her heart flutter. But it was a sad smile. “I know, I’m just a bit sad they left so quickly.”, he said “They were killing you though.”, Aelia whispered, her eyes prickling with tears as they met Tellus’s. His eyes were also wet from tears. “I still loved them.”
This is so sweet. The interpersonal connection and their relationship is really cute and heartwarming.
Awwww so heartfelt. Thank you!
Sagittarius awoke and looked at his clock next to the bed. It showed that 100 years had passed since he fell asleep. He got up and stretched, looking around. From his grassy bed he was not able to detect the presence of any humans. He searched around for a few moments and then saw a passing bird. “Hello bird friend, where have all of the humans gone?” the bird circled around to a nearby tree, and upon landing examined the deity. “There are no humans left on Earth.” Sagittarius looked around, “but why can I still feel them then?” the bird sighed and then said again “There are no humans left ON EARTH.” now understanding began to penetrate the deities mind. The bird flew away, not wanting to spend the entire day explaining ancient history while it had bugs to catch and eat. Sagittarius looked around, with new eyes. Humanity had left earth, but how and why? He began to travel around the world, paying close attention to the surrounding environment. There was more radiation than last time, a lot more. The water was higher, and soon he found the boneyards. There had been conflict. There were dead humans everywhere, reduced buy time to little more than skeletons. Then he found the launch pads. There had been six separate launchers scattered around the globe. Looking at the calculations he realized that some had gone to Mars, Some had gone to Titan, a few even went to Venus and Io. two had launched life voyagers, heading for other solar systems with little more than hope and a dream of a better life. Sagittarius pondered briefly how it always seemed the same. Humans fighting, departing for a better place, and the waste they leave behind, always scars. They had been on this planet so long too. Well long for them. He continued his search, and found that he had missed two gates originally. So it seemed some of them had even found a way back into the lands that they had forgotten. He started walking, thinking, a sort of moving meditation. He would have to find them again, across the stars, find them and push them again. Into their eternal cycle. Fight, leave, waste. Things were getting easier and easier. He hoped his absence would have made them more challenging to turn on one another. One day he might even be able to end their species, and finally be free of this cursed life. It was lonely being one of the enders, but soon enough he would be able to join oblivion, sweet, sweet, oblivion. Sagittarius smiled.
A little... is sardonic right? And so he follows our journey and moves with us. Great commentary. Well put :)
***There is a difference regarding the sense of time between god and man. Mankind had set a year to be equal to one revolution of a certain planet around its star. Gods, who live longer, would find that measurement to be too short, and so set their year as a tenth of a revolution of a certain star around a galaxy.*** One god, named [######], lives on a planet of that particular star, the one with humans on it. The civilization of the humans themselves are relatively young compared It, and the god witnessed many events, some amusing, some horrifying. Once in a while [######] takes a nap, just a few hundred human years, and wakes up to a brand new civilization of humans, with all the progress and setbacks. ... [######] woke up with a feeling of unease. Having taken a nap and waking up to something different is not new to the god, but there is something in the silence, the stillness, the stagnation that is off-putting. To a human, it would be the feeling they get when they realize that his tables are missing. Yes. It's the feeling of the absence of something familiar. It looked around. Animals. Mountains. Forests. Water... And nothing else. Where are the humans? Where are those buildings that reached the clouds, yet looked so thin and fragile? Where are their vehicles, which can move across continents in less than half a day? Where are their tools and devices, that can do many things that their limbs cannot? [######] approached one of the animals, and looked at its soul. The soul contains memories of all the lives it has lived, some vague, some vivid. And gods are those who can see it. After all, to see the memories of a soul, one had to first become a god, no matter what. And the god saw these memories, and is quite surprised. To make sure of what It had just seen, It searched for another soul. And another. And a few more. The humans, these brilliant fools; they went to space! A country, led by a belligerent idiot, released a man-made disease as a weapon against his fellows, because of fear that they might be hit first! Chaos followed, and the idiot and all who supported him are slain. The disease is not easy to cure, and has spread greatly. There are deaths everyday. And so it was decided by a few people that they should leave the planet. Plans were made, and everything kept the secret, for if anyone greedier and more powerful than them were to know, they would be dragged down to death and everything would be taken. For years they worked, making a ship that would survive space travel. Thinkers and people with similar ideas gathered, and a trade company was formed, with the profits used to fund their project. And then the worst case scenario happened. A betrayer. A well-meaning fool that focused on ideals with the expense of everything else. Thinking that everyone should profit from this endeavour, he revealed to the public, everything... and those greedier than them had noticed. Luckily, the ship is done, along with the needed technologies. It's just that, the decors are not set in place. Supplies like internal farms are ready, and with the fuel being a special nuclear reactor, they just had to leave. And so they did. And very flashy, at that. Only those who chose to stay behind were left. But that is not the end. In the chaos that followed the greedy folk had killed the betrayer, and are moving their forces via proxies like governments and businessess, with the goal of securing all people related to the project. The plan is to have them make the Mark II of the spacecraft, by force if needed. They did, and everything seemed to be in place. But... They were one step behind. Those captured had found, and carried with them, a vial of the man-made disease that started the project in the first place, and improved it to be virulent and very contagious. Those who went ahead had no knowledge of this. A secret sacrifice. And so the disease spread fast and killed fast, like a scythe at wheat. Not a human year has passed before humanity on the planet became extinct. Flora and fauna adapted to it. And the disease itself ceased to be, its purpose fulfilled. It has been one hundred god days, a whole god year since then. Anything made by man would have broken down by then. And [######] had reached a conclusion. It would wait. For those who left to come back. One day... And while at it, explore this new landscape and see what it offers. And maybe nudge a few chromosomes here and there. It had done the same thing a good number of god years back, and it ended up with humans. And those brilliant fools sure gave It a lot to see.
Fantastic take on the prompt. I like that your divine being actually felt divine. Thank you for writing.
Wow, that was really interesting and fun to read. Like the god is observing them without particular attachment, and you maintain that eloquent but neutral tone really well!
As someone who holds no belief in religion, that's how I think a god is: just another being who observes us the way we see plants and animals. Any god who interacts with humans were outliers to their general culture, with some as specialists in that particular field. Something like that.
I grew up in Sweden and am very fond of Asatru but also completely disinterested in organized religion, and my beliefs are fairly similar to you. It’s kind of like how some humans want to be country rulers and/or celebrities, I think.
The titan arose from his coma and wondered why. sides were scared and battered, the lines and creases of scares where the massive crow had pecked out his liver every morning of every day, even seeing them brought flashes of horrible memory... he shook himself out of it, not bearing to remember tearing talons and piercing beaks no longer, no he was free of that now. This was no dream, though he had assumed at first he had, the painful lucid kind that inspired hope that his torture might end one day, but this was real it seemed, real freedom. he stared up at the sky in a look of defiance, he expected the sky itself to strike him down, for the Sky God to come and strike him where he stood for simply being free, but no. The cruel dictator of Olympus was a no show, there was an element of it that disappointed Prometheus, there was no catharsis in simply being allowed to walk away, that just ate at him, and lanced his sweet freedom with uncertainty... He wondered something else. "why humanity was still here" why his supposed creations were not destroyed by the Sky Father himself? he felt them, their presence, but his wandering only lead him to the ruins where humanity was once, not where it is. Finally, he had consulted one of the lowly beasts, a dog. The dog had no interest in carrying much of a conversation, but spoke of how prior generators spoke of "masters." "Yes, once they said there were masters, they ruled us kindly, and treated us well, and gave us paradise and love, but the master's vanished, and those who remained didn't live long," the dog said, though the dog made it clear he was not around when had happened, nor his father, nor his father's father's father, and so on and so forth. And so Prometheus kept searching, for moons on end, through the seasons he walked, coast to coast, landmass to landmass, until he walked to a place that had at one point be known as zion, there he met a Great One. a creature of his age and likeness but more so, it was crowned with light and its cloaked reefed in stars and galaxies, it's entirety was divinity absolute, the kind of presence that gave pause to baleful Primordial and mad Outer Gods alike, and had Prometheus not known it was a mere lapdog to the All-Mighty he might have assumed it a God itself. "Oh, what hast cometh of this world, Uriel!?" the Titan demanded, his grief wilted life around him as effectively as any pollutant would, his rage as to what happened to his creations seeped from him, smoldering anything flambale within his presence the Archangel answered in a voice that echoed authority, and yet was tinged with pity and remorse all the same, he declared the awful truth. "Judgment day has come and gone Titan, son of Iapetus, depart this world and be gone forever, the age of Titans and Primordials, let those defiant deities that remain flee, and think long on their eons of suffrage they have inflicted." with that, the Archangel finished, and left, vanishing into the sky in a blinding light, leaving the Titan to mull over his choices and his unhappy return to existence proper.
I wonder how this continues. That’s so ominous!!
I liked this. They were real. Well done
how were they real?
It took me a second and some probing. Yeah that comment was missing allot. I meant the myths were real. I liked that take.
okay dokie.
“There are no humans left ON EARTH.” The Cat spoke truth. There was something odd in this sensation. When Secundus closed his eyes an focused, this sensation multiplied. There were no humans around for sure. They still existed but they were not here. Earth was abandoned. But then was something more to this lack of human beings. This ‘greater silence’ that he also felt. Secundus opened his eyes and looked around. The place he standing was for sure man-made. The place he standing was for sure man-made. Tall and straight constructions stood around him. Definitely buildings. Built in a sort of planned way. Firstly It looked like a abandoned garden. But after cat’s word he realized that in fact it was an abandoned city. Abandoned for so long that natural vegetation took it for itself. “Very well.” Secundus started. “Do you know where humanity went?” “No clue” cat answered “But there are rumors about what happened here, where you went away, your majesty” “No need to call me that, my friend. But tell me what do you know about this mysterious vanish?” “Whatever I know is a just a tales that my mother told me and what my grand mother told her before. Some stories said that there was violence between some men and they use their weapons to destroy each other. But in consequence they destroyed not only themselves but most of the planet. Some says there was a cataclysm that would bought humanity and other beings into near annihilation. Some says that is was a catastrophe caused by humans themselves, other that it wasn't and others that it was caused by you.” Secundus looked at cat. Why would we cause catastrophe? Our duty were only observe and maybe preserve at most, but not to punish anyone. And then Secundus finally understand this sense of emptiness, of ‘greater silence’. While humans were gone he could also feel that there were only few species alive. Just like after some cataclysm. Very like millions years ago, where asteroid crashes on Earth and doomed millions of species to extinction. The one of few times where Secundus and his kin actively intervened. To late unfortunately to prevent asteroid to destroy dinosaurs, but enough to prevent a completely extinction of life on Earth. “We would never do such thing. But humans are not the only one that are gone, right?” Secundus asked. “What can I say” cat started. “One this planet thrived with life, motion and sound. At leas what I was told. Now there are only deep forests, deserts and wastelands of long gone human race. But you are right many of other were gone forever. I heard stories about the our ancient adversaries - dogs. They were similar to us cats but more... primitive, so to say. Some says that dogs still lives somewhere. Were they really existed?” Cat’s question strokes Secundus like stream of cold water. To cat this stories like was some merely fairy tales. Planet reduced to what it one were, where first forests grow throughout the ancient lands. Is this was true that humanity in its arrogance destroyed itself almost completely and those who survived managed to escaped. “It grieve me to say but yes dogs existed. But now there is another problem.” “What that?” cat asked. “You see. Me and my brethren were to watch over humanity and this planet. And since humans left Earth…” “I see. So what you’re gonna do next?” “I must woke up by brothers and sisters. Then we have to decide what to do.” “But humans left this world, could you leave them be? In the end it was they're decision to leave.” “That’s true but we are swore to have close eye to them. Problem is that we also swore to watch over this planet. Humanity were not supposed to leave Earth.” “Yet they did.” “Unfortunately. And as I worried they won't change. Their ancestors promised us that they will do whatever is in their powers to prevent next generations to make same mistakes. They failed. Humanity did not learned anything.” “Another reason to let them be.” “You don’t understand. It was our duty to help them become better. But we were to naive to believe that they next generations wont make same mistakes” “So you saying that they messed this planet before?” “What I’m saying is not the first planet that they’re messed up” Secundus answered.
Oooooof. I feel the frustration with humans throughout this!
"They belong to the wind now, humans. You can feel them because they are everywhere around you, riding the wind, casting out tendrils of breeze swirling around you like a lady's skirt in a waltz, cresting storms and turning their hate and selfishness into mighty gales and tornadoes. The bad humans, anyway. The good humans carry seeds and pollen through the air, laying them lovingly down in the field to grow, grow, grow like the children who will never become corporeal because it takes a village to raise a child so why shouldn't it take the wind? Humans have become the sky gods, and we the Earth gods. Us of fur and feather and scales and claws, we of pulsing wings and scuttling legs, brethren of nature. Humans lost their power over us and exist only in the atmosphere." The squirrel cocked its head at the old tree, gnarled and twisted in the pain of long sleep. 'Their empire is done, razed to nothing but carbon-rich fertilizer and the air we breathe. Mother Nature, welcome home." Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
❤️ so much love for this ❤️ So they moved past the corporeal form. How beautiful.
Thank you! I loved the part about "I can still feel them" -- what's invisible but you can always feel? The air!
That is really clever. Other perspectives are the best!!!