As If We Had Never Fallen

ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖: 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕀'𝕞 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕗𝕦𝕟 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥. ℍ𝕠𝕡𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪!

Prologue:

I do not want to be here.

I should not be here.

I did nothing wrong.

I just made things a little better.

I repeat inside my head while the mighty angels once considered saints and all-forgiving flank me from behind, holding white spears pointing directly at my heart, forcing me to ascend step after step, up to the Sacred Hall of the Void to receive the Saint Judgement. There I shall be either forgiven – for there is no hiding my act of treason- or sentenced to mortal life, at least for a limited period until they are no longer able to contain me.

Light embraces me from every angle, making it painfully difficult for the Watchers to differ my silhouette from the pinkish and white clouds which confine the crystalline stairs leading to The Hall. I march slowly to my fate, not resisting, not caring at all. For whatever verdict bound to restrict me set tonight by my Overruling Brother is nothing but temporary, lasting from two hundred years to one thousand, numbers so insignificant to what a god has lived, and nothing compared to how long I have been.

As I slowly approach the final steps to my trial, I look downward towards all the villages and trees, mountains, and rivers, crammed with small, dark dots that move around as if they were ants. Maybe, that is what they were supposed to be, insects. Maybe, that is what they are. But they are not as easy to eradicate.

Thousands of years ago, I, alongside my siblings, attained godhood. It was not a straightforward process for one was either born meant to be a god or not. We were not human but remarkably like that kind if we take appearances as the common ground, but those were our only similitudes. Not that humankind existed in that era either, only fae and nymphs, giants, and dragons. Years ed, our existence consisted in maintaining balance and order on the lands. It was a simple task if you were to see it from my perspective, but not all my siblings shared the patience and understanding that came with the role we chose to take upon

ourselves. Centuries ed, and the debate about the creation of a new species similar in complexity but inferior to us, began. My siblings liked the idea, for they were bored and sought entertainment. I did not. A millennium ed, and this morning I made that clear.

I look up, driving my attention away from the black fertile ground beneath me and stare up to the massive crystalline doors opening before me.

“I believe you are aware of why you have been summoned here, Brother” says a deep voice from inside. My little brother.

“Yes” I reply calmly. “I am aware” Then offered no more.

The angels push me to the center of the room, where all the eyes would find me. I feel my brother’s oppressive gaze from above, and the one of his mate and children. I feel the glare of all the presents in the room. They are mad.

“I expect more answers than that.” He stands up from his golden throne and slowly approaches me. “Why is it that you are to be punished, Brother? What have you done?”

“I saved the world. There is no reason to be punished for that” I look up at him, our eyes locking.

“You destroyed half of the human population. I would not exactly call that ‘saving.’ We had agreed on protecting this race, you know how much we cherished them. We loved them even.” His voice carries fake sorrow. Deep inside he does not care for them, he just wants the entertainment they provide him.

“We also had agreed, long before all of you were alive” I say looking at the other minor gods present in the hall. “That we would keep the balance and order in this world. That IS our duty. And just for the sake of entertainment; because you all got too lazy, too old, too easy; now half of the species that once we created exist only partially on humans’ floors and walls or clothes. Majestic,

beautiful creatures hunted, imprisoned, tamed, or sacrificed. We agreed all lives were worth the same. You all agreed. So why, now that you have allowed entire species to go extinct, you rise to defend this one, who has done nothing but destroy what we built?” It pains me to see no reaction in his face when I say that truth. He stops circling and stands in front, hands behind his back and leans towards me.

“The Human Race is a specie made to serve us. They are our servants. Unlike the other creatures out there, they belong to us, we control them completely. They are our age to the mortal world. Of course, they do not have the same value, brother. They don’t have a role in there.” He replies coldly.

“Then why should they interfere with the roles we assigned the others? You are right, they do not have the same value, brother: they are worth nothing. I did not spend decades deg creatures and giving them a role that suited them, just for you to grab two handfuls of dirt and create this abomination of a race to exterminate my efforts. OUR efforts.” I growl at him, death dancing on my tongue. Then, I get up and I look down at him. At all of them. I intended to stay quiet and let this end calmly, but I guess that will not do to make them understand.

My brother backs away at the height difference and the rest does so out of fear. I may be in chains, but I am the oldest here. I am still the most powerful.

“You can’t harm us” Says Elarys, my brother’s mate, who positions herself next to him, chin high. “And you will be punished” We can all hear the power in her voice and the fear underneath. She wary afraid of me, even if I was never known for being violent. “It is true that we as gods have neglected our duty, but we did not act without the consent of the High Council. You did. You broke the law. You committed treason and you will pay for it.”

Swallowing, she steps towards me, daring me to do the same. I do not. I came here willingly.

“I will let you punish me. I will let you send me to the Mortal Lands. After all that is why I find myself here, in this hall, speaking to you.” I sat back down again, the anger I felt just seconds ago, vanishing.

Confusion glows through many eyes, especially my Brother’s and his wife. Apparently, they believe they had forced me to come and there was no way I did so voluntarily. But that is common sense too. No one would rather be punished than to be free, so the probability of someone being guilty wanting punishment is low.

“So… You are purposely accepting your sentence?” Asks Brother, eyeing me cautiously.

“I am”

“Why?”

“Because by punishing me, I am punishing you” I answer, and smile. “I will not tell you how. That you will find out for yourselves. No matter what punishment you give me, the result will be the same”

I observe them silently exchange looks, wondering what the consequences for them are. Slowly, different voices start to echo; they panic, some worry, others get angry. And with the noise, come the fidgeting, the walking, the nervousness. And with that, my trial is pushed aside. My Brother glares at me one last time before turning away with Elarys to enquire with the other  of the counsel. I am not surprised to notice they have no clue what their penalty is, it should not even be hard. Nor am I surprised to see they no longer can know what their priorities are: They cannot even finish a trial before discussing a second matter. It is quite comical to watch them ignore the fact that they are just sending into exile the one God who does their job while they rejoice in their luxurious and simple eternity. Their punishment is to keep up with my progress after one hundred thousand years of me doing it for them.

I get on my feet and wander a little around the room, the angels following me from behind. Of course, they would not have let me do that if I were an actual threat to them. I approach the window closest to me and look down to those beautiful grasslands where I would be soon walking upon, and I let myself imagine a mortal life. How does it feel to be weak? How does it feel to age? How fast could I die? How fast could I kill? How does it feel to love? To hate?

I often ask myself those questions. Gods only like or dislike, are please or displeased. We are not capable of feeling anything more than that, so I created more even if I did not know what that was. I gave my creations the ability to feel everything I could not.

“Enough!” Shouts a strong voice from behind me. The chains around my neck and wrist yank me backwards, dragging me back to the center.

The Over Ruler has spoken. Everyone falls into silence and locks their eyes on him, while I sit there, dumbfounded, clutching the chains around my neck ing how to breathe.

He looked down at me.

“I cannot tell if you were lying just a few minutes ago or not. But we cannot delay this any further. Your wandering here is as annoying as your presence needed.” He eyes me with dislike. “Your punishment was not defined when you arrived here, but you seemed convinced you were going to be sent Down Heaven to live as a mortal. I, for once, agree with you, Brother. I couldn’t have chosen a better punishment.” Satisfied with himself, he moved one finger and he gave the order. The chanting started and with it the Transition. And so, the crowd gathered simultaneously, almost eagerly, to witness the Exile of their Eldest.

“Farewell, brother. And good luck. Life as a human isn’t as easy as it was before.” Before you killed them. He smiled at me one final time.

Light was the last thing I saw.

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◇ Author's note: this is an original story written by me, it is not the final draft but I wanted to share it. You can't use the characters nor copy the story.

Feel free to comment below what you thought and if u have any advice or any suggestions!