Isabella and Fury, peaked the hill and looked down upon the lush verdant valley.

It was the very same valley I had once lived in with Angelica, and I had protected it, ensuring its untouched state.

They made their way to the center of the empty valley carefully. Fury looked like a new man, standing straight even as he fought his growing terror. Isabella was muttering quietly underneath her breath, navigating them to the center of the valley. The small shack where we had once lived was long gone, but the spot remained sacred to me.

Isabella sat down and patted the ground beside her. Fury plopped down beside her.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Fury questioned nervously.

“I, no, we need to know. Can’t you feel it burning you up?”

“Yeah…but it might be better to just pretend it never happened.”

“Fury,” she sighed, putting a hand on his, “There’s no going back, no ignorance. Only uncertainty. We can only go forward.”

“But do we need to?”

“Some things can only be seen with our own two eyes. This is one of them.”

Sapphire met crimson and crimson yielded.

“Alright, let's get this over with.”

Isabella took a deep breath and looked up. She tried to pierce the veils surrounding me, but she was no Jausn. Still, she didn't need to see me to call out to me.

“God. Or whatever you are. We need to talk.”

I considered it. I was feeling reminiscent, watching them stride the middle of the valley. And I was so lonely. The last person I had talked to was Jausn, and that didn't end well.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Below, Fury questioned Isabella, “Are you sure he will respond?”

Isabella only tried again, “God. We need to talk.”

I made my decision.

“Yes?”

They both jumped, wincing at the pressure, even as restrained as it was.

Isabella managed to gather her wits first, “What are you?”

“I am called God. I created this universe.”

“How?”

I smiled, and although I had no body, they could still feel the sentiment, “Ascend and I shall teach you.”

“Ascend?”

“Become divine.”

“How?”

I chuckled, a sound that rolled through the valley like thunder. “That’s for you to discover.”

Isabella paused, struggling to remember what they had come for. Fury, surprisingly, filled in the gap.

“W…why?” He managed to stutter out.

A vague question, but I understood his meaning.

“Because they were fake. Caricatures. Soulless. Failures.”

Visions of the ancient past pressed down on as they struggled to remain conscious.

“Are we…are we the same… Failures?” Isabella choked out.

I considered lying to them. I had suffered the consequences of truth once before. But I was so tired. The void within roared.

“That remains to be seen. You are the greatest so far, yet none have ascended yet.”

I grew tired of the one sided conversation.

“You would…destroy us.”

I considered it. Humanity held a special place in my heart. But I would stop at nothing to see the void within filled.

“YES.”

They lost consciousness.

I sighed. More failures.

—--------------------------

When they woke, I was gone.

Isabella crawled over to Fury, trying to shake him awake. She nearly cried in relief when he sat up groggily.

“It's all real,” he said in wonder.

Isabella was silent.

“What do we do?” Fury questioned, “Do we tell everyone?”

Isabella waved a hand dismissively, “Nobody would believe us.”

“So what do we do?”

She looked into the sky, and deep within her eyes, I saw madness.

Ignorance truly is bliss.

She looked back at Fury and he flinched back at what he saw.

“We prepare.”