Many years ago, a wonderful world existed. It was bright and colorful, with bizarre and enchanting scenes. There were caves of glowing stone and hanging worms that illuminated massive caverns. There were forests of spirited trees said to be thousands of years old. There were mountains with peaks that pierced the ever-higher sky and grew upon its liquid anger. There were seas of water, some extending far into the earth, providing secluded sanctuaries for the terrifying, gargantuan creatures of sailor’s tales. This place was earth.

Before mankind scared its surface and mangled its contents. Before they built cities of steel stolen from its lifegiving caverns. Before we polluted it and left it wounded. Before we slaughtered its children and abandoned it for the stars. Before we destroyed it.

And yet, some still had the audacity to morn for it. To claim that they, the chosen few, had done all in their power to save it! To purify it! And yet, they were the first to leave it. Oh, how wretched these souls are. They are the worst kind of soul. The kind of soul that believes themselves a saint. They are the kind of soul that is saved from suffering first, for they believe that life is something promised to them and in their hubris believe themselves to be deserving of another life.

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Then there were the ones that stayed. They accepted the worlds collapse and chose to accompany it. They are the few that the keeper of the trees took notice of. They are the few that were found deserving of a second chance.

Among them was a young boy, not even sixteen years old. He had left his parents to stay on the crumbling planet. He knew that this was the final attempt of their galaxy to prevent the spread of the disease known as mankind.

He watched as the approaching planet that would obliterate their world descended from the sky. Tears of pure fear filled his face. This was his end, Mankind’s end. And it was an end well deserved.

The two planets collision sent the resulting mass hurtling towards the remaining planets before crashing into the sun. Thus, the imploding of our star began and the complete destruction of the ships of mankind that had left too late was inevitable.

Welcome to their end, and our new beginning.