I woke up and realized what had happened. It was now true. Not that it hadn’t ever been true. In reality, it has always been as it is now. That was simply as it was, no question about it.

Nothing in particular caused it. No special date, no strange happening, no conviction spoken.

I just woke up omnipotent.

I did not panic, not right now. There were things to do. Many things, in fact.

The very first thing, before anything else, was to create an afterlife. Compared to everything else I plan to do, one might see this as the most grand creation. It might even be the most grand creation of my divine forever-life. But that’s alright, because the faster I get an afterlife up and running, the sooner I create one, the more lives are saved.

So, I made one. In my all-power, the creation of souls was simple. To a logical being such as humans, the immense question of the body-soul paradox might crush them, but to a divine creature as I was, it was simply a matter of willing it. And so it was done. Humans had a brain and a soul, neither disconnected from another. Upon death or brain/nervous damage, the information stored in the brain would be turned over to the soul, which would keep it until true death, when the brain and consciousness moved to the soul. It was as simple as that, and through divine power, there was no question of whether or not the soul truly was the person of the brain. They simply were.

Then, upon death, the souls would enter another form of being. To simplify this, the dead would instantly be granted the form of afterlife they believe is due. A man who believes in the will of the Earth may be reborn into any form of living creature, whether it exists on earth or not.

A theistic man might instead experience an afterlife of some sort. This afterlife will be neither perfectly hedonistic nor eternal. The soul will forever have the option to reincarnate, which they will do when a predetermined set of criteria are met. During their time in the afterlife, they will be granted the ability to meet any other soul they wish to meet, so long as the other person wishes to meet them too. This is decided by the souls’ standing in each other’s minds. Souls may also meet fully random people, should they want that. These meetings can last as long as the souls want.

It is the fate of all souls to reincarnate.

Souls too young to form emotional bonds with others or the such will reincarnate automatically.

With the creation of an afterlife complete, there is no longer any need to consider the fate of life on earth too largely. Whatever happens, humans will remain. However, that all aside, there is neither use nor need for me to remain in my human body. There are many things I wish to do, and having this human body will only hinder me. However, I couldn’t possibly fate my parents with such sorrows as my own death or disappearance. Hence, I create a copy of the soul I had shortly before realizing my divine nature. In a single movement, I leave my physical body, letting it fall back onto the bed, completely braindead, eyes unblinking and staring.

I place the soul I just created into the body, obviously removing any memories of divinity.

My copy takes a gasping breath, startling up in bed, shaking her head to and fro, eyes darting about in terror. Slowly, she begins to relax, likely from the realization that her fear came from a dream and nothing more. After lying still for a few seconds, she grabs a large pillow beside her and shoves it behind her head. Then, she grabs her ipad and begins her morning routine of wasting time.

I’ll leave her to it. She will live my life in my stead without any nature of my existence. Only upon death will I grant her the knowledge of me. Because that’s gonna be fucking hilarious. I bet she’ll get a hoot out of it.

Either that or she’ll demande to merge with my non-existent soul. Either way, that’s for later.

Incorporeal and invisible, I leave my copy and body behind.

Before I do anything else, I want a physical body. It doesn’t change much of anything, but having a suit of meat to stretch my limbs in would feel much better. As I float ten meters above ground, I will myself to appear at the side of the closest dying human. In seconds, they’ll have a perfectly able body for me to wear.

I appear inside what seems to be the hospital in the city around 20 kilometers from my house. Just standing in here I understand there are several other dying patients, but this is the most dire case.

He is 48 years old and has been homeless for 7 years. He has received good care despite this, though due to a lack of a donor, his death will now be imminent on account of his liver failure. This was expected. His eyes are already glazed over. These dim eyes view me where I stand hunched over him. He cannot understand what I am, but he surely knows regardless.

Despite his situation, he is not alone. One of these people is Linnea Sjöholm, who sits holding his hand out of duty. She participates in an organization trained around making sure no patient is left to die alone. So far, she has seen three people die. This man will be her fourth.

In truth, this isn’t the best situation to do what I plan to do. However, it will be hilarious, so it’s fine.

As the man draws his final breath, I watch carefully as his soul absorbs his mind. For a second or so, his formless soul drifts above his body, watching it carefully. Our forms almost touch before he disappears fully. He chose to be reincarnated instantly. A doctor takes his time of death. At that moment, I slip inside the man’s corpse. With a single thought, his body is returned to the state it was several months prior, when his liver cancer was only acute, not yet terminal.

I sit up. The doctor stares wide-eyed at me. The woman holding my hand trembles.

For a moment, I take in their expressions with wild abandonment, lapping up every trace of emotion they show.

But I have many things to do. Lingering here will do me no good. And so, I stand up and hop out of bed. The doctor and the woman whose hand I have now relinquished shout after me. I remove the various tubes crawling down my nose and throat and puncturing my arms and legs. I don’t especially need them.

People are shouting after me even as I leave the room and enter the hallway outside. I can vaguely remember having been here when my Aunt passed in this very same hospital. It’s a shame her soul cannot be recovered. Of course, it can be, but the soul created from that would merely be a copy, much the same as the form of myself now writing the next chapter of my story. Although I may be omnipotent, I do not enjoy the thought of creating a copy instead of the original, hence why the moving of the consciousness from the brain to the soul is so important. If a step were to fail, it would mean the death of a person, regardless of the copy created.

Hence, souls already lost cannot be recovered. At least, not in a form I would truly consider to be them.

As I’m mulling this, a pair of security guards appear at the end of the hall. They’re lightly jogging towards me, sharing words. Soon enough, they’re right at my side. The body I inhibit, although being from a grown man, is rather short, hence forcing me to stare up at the two. I would rather leave as is and I don’t exactly need their permission to leave (nor can they contain me should I wish to leave) but in the world of humans, I would quite like to behave like one. It’s funnier that way.

One of them asks me my name, if I’m alright, if I can recall what’s happening. The other tells me to return to the doctor since I’m not in any state to be walking. The both of them seem nice enough, though I don’t really have any desire to comply with their instructions.

Of course, I could contemplate my course of action in a hospital room, but I would rather sit somewhere comfortable, such as in a park or out on the country.

Either would be more pleasant than being in here, so I make a large arch around the two officers and begin walking once again. The two cops exchange a short talk, assessing that I’m probably in a dissociative state or anything. They begin walking after me. I ignore them. One of them tries to borrow one of my grabbed arms.

I start running towards the exit. My speed is 13 km/h. I could run much faster if I wanted to, but I currently don’t want to stir up too much trouble. The guards follow me, running to keep pace with me, speaking into their walkie-talkies about how a patient’s on the loose, heading for the exit. We run for a while, but once I’ve descended a pair of stairs, I feel it’s about time to cut the chase short. The exits have all been barred and other guards are beginning to attempt capture. So, I take the shortest route down and crash through a window.

The glass cuts deep gashes in my body, causing near-fatal damage. The fall itself breaks both of my legs. Bugger. Personally, I would like to retain somewhat mortal while in a mortal body, letting it die as it dies and such. However, this is a body I especially borrowed for the explicit purpose of thinking in. As such, I would rather not abandon it. However, at the same time I can understand that this is not an especially mortal state of affairs.

Very well then. It would seem this body can go on no further. My borrowed blood begins to stain the grass below. People are beginning to gather. Alright then.

I leave the body. The head collapses and the blood flow begins to abate since the heart has stopped beating. As hospital staff start filing out to surround the body as well, I enter into the small, fleshy form of a nearby snail. Good enough. I only need it to think, so it’ll be fine.

Now then.

First of all, I would like to experience history. I am far too ignorant at the moment. I want to know more. Of course, I could easily grant this knowledge onto myself. And then, at the same time, I could edit my personality to act exactly as a true God would and just leave it at that. However, doing so would be boring. I would much rather continue acting as a semi-human being, complete with thoughts and the like. So, I shall return in time.

The time period I believe is most suited for this is the triassic period. I want to see dinosaurs. Simple as that.

So, as doctors began arguing between themselves about how such a disaster could possibly have occured, I cease to exist in the now. Their voices cut out, and I find myself on a mostly barren world. There is no grass since cryptogams do not exist yet.

It will be many millions of years until the first dinosaur will walk the Earth. Knowing myself, I will likely skip quite a few parts. Until humans begin existing, there won’t be much fun to be had. Hence, despite how silly it may seem, I will bide my time with somewhat silly activities. Namely, I aim to indulge myself in every facet of human knowledge. At least, what existed upon my divination.

In front of me, a computer appears. It’s a laptop, of the same name and make as the one I had just yesterday. This will surely grant me much joy.

My current body is that of the man whose body I borrowed. Otherwise, using the computer might as well be impossible. So, I suppose he won’t mind. From what I can tell, he has been reborn as a single-celled being which will die within minutes. I suppose it stands to mention that souls, whether they inhabit a human or animal body, will always reincarnate, though an animal mind will never give rise to a soul, lest they somehow develop human sentience. However, for now, humans have yet to so much as develop. Until beings begin to roam the Earth, I will be using this computer.

The computer is created to contain every single facet of digital human documentation. Every digitized book, article, game, movie and the such exists on it, not to mention programs. This will allow me to continue my various past-times.

My development in all of these skills will be at the level of any regular human. There is no special reason for this, apart from the fact that it will be more fun for me to develop slowly, even more so now that I have the time.

A video game where you instantly get infinite resources and every cheat imaginabe isn’t fun. There needs to be limits to what can and cannot be done.

Hence, once things begin to develop, my current state will change.

I want to experience human lifespans.

My thinking is as follows:

My body will always be mortal and capable of dying just as easily and swiftly as any other human. However, at that instance, my being will be reborn. Not from any human mother, of course not, that would be strange, but instead from some form of animal. Being physically birthed feels strange, so instead, I will be born from an egg. This will be true even if the animal that births me is a mammal or otherwise incapable of creating eggs. What animal I am reborn as and where this animal exists is dependent on various unconscious factors, such as if I have anywhere in particular I want to go or if there is any event I wish to see.

Then, I will live in this animal form for a year, at which point my body will develop into that of a human. If I die before that, I will simply be reborn as another animal.

Now, the human form I take will always change, though it will always either be stunningly beautiful or hideously ugly to the point of malformation. This is only for the sake of interest. My lifespan will begin between ages 5 to 15 depending on the difficulty facing me trying to find human civilization.

And then, I simply live a life.

Though, since I’ll be very interested in seeing various human events or things, I will also give myself a sort of biological warning clock, telling me where and when something of interest will happen.

All and all, I will try not to change anything too directly, since I did quite like the world as it was.

For the moment, however, I will retain this human form. To simplify things, I will make it immune to disease, perpetually vigorous, and the such. The most important thing is that I am killable by fang or tooth but nothing else. Only when creatures large enough to kill me exist will I start to reincarnate. Until then, I will read, and write, and indulge in music, and learn as many skills as I can possibly think of.

I hope you’ll bear with me.

…

Hello again.

You can’t see it, but I’m smiling.

The past million years or so, it’s been real close. Michael (pet name for the event-identification system) has alerted me on several occasions of large evolutionary shifts, and I have seen most of them. Thanks to a few shifts in his inner workings, I’m now always able to make it perfectly on time. As might be expected, I walk there. Pangea still hasn’t disbanded, so I’m able to get there on foot pretty well. I make sure not to fall or anything. Sure, it won’t kill me, but I want to save the deathly pain for when I’m actually killed.

These events have been everything from land-slides separating large groups of small herd-animals to the complete extinction of a small critter.

Only as of recently have any larger animals begun to walk the ground. It is the later Triassic period, and although many critters (dinosaurs - cute things) exist on land, most feed on insects. However, recently, a new kind of creature has begun to exist.

Standing only a meter or so below myself, they are postosuchus. As a matter of fact, I’m looking at one right now. It looks extremely dinosaur-y, though a bit smaller than many that are to come.

There are larger creatures, but most don’t eat other creatures.

This specimen in particular seems uncertain of whether to attack me or not. The likely cause for its hesitation is the presence of Barachiel. I found out pretty quickly that dinosaurs, be they on land or in water, are not very interested in attacking or being close to a creature larger than themselves. Hence, I gave myself a little friend. An aura of approachableness. Most creatures which look upon me feel an instinctual sense of trust. As though I pose them no harm and they need not bother with fearing or fighting.

The predator standing before me blinks slowly.

Now, you might remember from your dinosaur books that during the late triassic era, there were plenty of large sea-predators with fangs quite enough to rip apart a human. This is a fair note to make, and it is true. But, strange as it might seem, I feel no great need to care about sea creatures. Fish are hard to pet. Of course, I’ve been on this planet for enough years to pet every kind of fishy thing, but I feel no desire to be any of them. Life on land is far more interesting.

And so, I watch this creature before me. It sees me. I see it.

Then, it attacks. A surge of human emotion thrashes through me; excitement at the end of my research finally arriving, joy at the beginning of a new kind of life, and fear at the oncoming death of my body. The dinosaur which now rips into my arm, severing the all-important veins in my arm, crushing bone and rending flesh, is about the size of a large dog. Of course, even as it destroys my long aged body and splashes my blood onto the barren Earth, I take the time to pet it’s scaly head. It feels cold and hard.

I clatter to the ground, my right arm severed, several deep scratches tearing across my chest. The creature clambers atop me, dead lizard eyes staring down at me absently as it deals the final strike by ripping out my throat. The world fades to black and Azrael, the system of reincarnation, takes hold of me.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

When I see the light again, it is as I crawl out of a tender egg. Several other similar creatures swarm around me. They are bipedal, small creatures with semi-long necks and longer tails. Although no adult individual is to be seen anywhere, it is clear that these are of the Theropod genus, specifically the Eodromaeus sort. The creatures are very small, barely able to reach my ankle when I was human. Though, now I am one of them.

It takes a few days at most to get used to my new body. Since I haven’t had use for my computer or any other thing I created for several millions of years, there is nothing apart from my body that might be fossilized for future archeologists to find.

Still, even if they find it, it’s fine. The looks on their faces will be funny. I might even give my corpse some anomalous anatomy just to make them think prehistoric humans had wings or something. That’d be an interesting conversation to hear.

Anyhow, my life as a creature has now begun. I am once more vulnerable to loss of breathing, hunger, disease and the like. My chances of surviving a full year are rather low. As a matter of fact, I don’t expect myself to live for so long at all. It may take several uses of Azrael before I’m able to achieve a human form. I suppose I’ll see it as a form of reward once it happens. Even then, until other humans exist, becoming a human will have few, if any, benefits for my survival.

Editing the terms of Azrael to allow me to live as a creature until maturity is reached would give me more time to experience it, but would also place the reward of a human form further away.

Very well. With a thoughtless wave, the conditions of Azrael are shifted.

Reaching sexual maturity in this form should take between two to three years, though I’m not interested in reproducing. This current body is female.

Well then, enough brooding. Back to surviving.

It took me about a week until I was killed on account of my father crushing my neck. Barachiel must be slacking off. Better give him a smack on the head sometime.

My next form is that of a phytosaur. I fare better this time, living three months and two days before starvation finally strikes. As a predator, Barachiel works very effectively, assuring that prey don’t feel fear even upon sighting me. However, this is a bit worse with predators, as many of them are intelligent(-ish) enough to, upon coming closer to me, try to attack me. Two such events occured, though I was able to escape one and fought off another, though it did cause me a rather deep wound. If starvation hadn’t killed me, the infection surely would have.

For my third round through Azrael, I was a female cynodont. Although it should have been nice with a return to form, what with having a mammalian body, it really just felt rather uncomfortable. However, since there would be plenty of mammalian forms where that came from, I had no choice but to accept it.

I survived pretty well, eating plants and such. I lived as part of a pack or family, which included quite a few siblings and the like. Companionship was pleasant and I welcomed it gladly. Call me sentimental, but they were nice, although quiet. Through the sacrifices of the few and the work of the strong we were able to survive for quite long. I was especially close to one of my biological siblings. I had initially been treated distantly since I was born from an egg and not from my mother’s womb, but in due time they began to accept me, as I began to accept them. This is in large part due to my brother.

I might refer to us as twins if females of this species did not birth semi-large clutches instead of singular creatures as humans do. Hence, we were simply siblings. The two of us did have more siblings before, but they were either killed or grew to starve after an amount of time. Something similar might have happened to me had my brother not protected me. As is obvious, empathy is not reserved solely for humans.

And then, I reached sexual maturity.

I hadn’t expected to transform upon my third form, but even though I should have welcomed it, I felt only anxious. At the time, I was surrounded by my herd, each grazing upon various non-blooming plants. My transformation brought their gaze to me. Had I not lived with them for several years I might not have been able to tell their faces apart. Or to tell their emotional state by their movements. Eyes wide, they took several steps away from me. Only my brother remained at my side, though his expression was as perplexed and dire as theirs. I understand why.

It is only to be expected. After all, I’m far from their form. While they are about dog-sized, my human body is 187 centimeters and slim. It would seem the had-or-tails system Azrael uses has decided for my current form to be slender, tall and beautiful.

The latter fact is lost on my family. They merely watch me, unsure of what to do.

Barachiel is working to alter their instincts, telling them I’m safe. Still, their deep-seated prey emotions are screaming to run.

I can't possibly force them to continue living in this stalemate.

In a movement so swift and smooth they have no time to run, I fall to my knees, now standing at about their size. There are still some differences. For one, their entire bodies are furry and soft while mine is mostly hairless apart from my head.

Though, regardless, I know my smell remains the same.

Slowly, my family approaches. Sniffing me, touching me with their noses and trying to make sense of what I am. In the end, they decide it’s still me and that I must just be doing something strange. Life continues.

The human body was made for many things. With these hands, petting the fur of my family is easier than ever, though only my brother is accepting of it.

Something that the human body is not made for is crawling for hours at a time, much less days and weeks. Within the first two days the skin on my knees has been completely rubbed off. Out of love for my family, I can’t bear to stand up and frighten them. During the nights, my hands and knees, both scraped to the bone, begin itching and burning with infection and dirt that I have nowhere to wash off. All water is contaminated. Using it to wash my wounds only helps in the short term, and after some time the wounds merely grow worse, infected by parasites and the like.

My nights are restless, filled with sharp breathing and fever. My only alleviation from this pain is my brother, who spends his evening and mornings by helping to lick my wounds. It helps to lighten the pain, but after some time, it does nothing to help. My fate is already sealed.

I am malnourished, weakened and dying. While eating, my brother protects me. There is little in this time period I am fully capable of eating. Many things simply pass through my human body while others I could previously eat are now toxic and make me sick.

There is a rustling in the bushes near me and my brother. Movement of a creature I know too well.

As the large reptilian flies from its hiding spot, claws and teeth bared, I shove my brother out of the way. Teeth tear into my chest, tearing off one of my breasts. Blood drips as large tangles of breast tissue drool out of my open chest. My brother makes a sound akin to that of a strangled monkey. A sound of warning, of distress. It sets my instincts on edge, but it is already too late for me. My use is best for this. My mother and father, as well as many of my other relatives begin fleeing for their lives, not hesitating for a second to flee the predator which has now placed a heavy paw atop my chest, barring any attempt at escape.

Only my brother remains. He trembles where he stands, looking at me as though gearing himself up to attack.

I cannot allow that.

As the predator atop me bites into my left arm, I reach out with my right, letting my fingers graze across my brother's fur, caressing the side of his face for only a moment before falling again. Go.

With a final glance at me, a grit of the teeth, my brother finally flees. Good.

Before Azrael takes hold of me once more, I give one final command. It is a little selfish of me, but in my death, I grant my brother the ability to hold a soul. Whether he uses it or not, I cannot tell. Or, rather, I allow his fate to remain a mystery.

Following my death, I am born again. This is how it is, and this is how it continues.

That is, until Michael alerts me of an upcoming event.

The permian-triassic extinction event.

The largest mass-extinction in the history of the Earth.

It began with the eruption of a series of volcanoes called the Siberian Traps. Of course, I was there. My form was that of an aquatic creature, but I had crawled onto land for the event. Luckily enough, what killed me was not a lack of oxygen, but the volcanic soot and ash that soon encased my body. What followed was a period of time where I ran around the Earth, my every life focused on taking me to another site of disaster. Sometimes, I would be born only to die within minutes. At other times, I would experience the second-hand effects of a disaster I had already experienced up-close, thus dying of it several times in a row.

It was deeply interesting, and it lasted 15 million years. After that, it calmed down. It would be many millions of years until a similar series of events occured. I was excited for it, but until then, I would focus on experiencing individual creatures.

As I grew more used to being a predator, prey or omnivorous creature I began to reach the age of maturity more often, likely since I had millions of years of experience in either field. With that done, I began to focus more so on the intricacies of every creature whose form I inhibited.

The information of humans was lackluster. So, I tested limits. I figured out how every living species lived and existed. It took long for a species to die out and even longer for a new one to develop, and since I was capable of being reborn as minute fishes and insects, I had plenty to experience.

It is now the middle of the Jurassic period. Specifically, the callovian period.

My current position is in what will at some point be modern Australia. I was a rhoetosaurus, which is a large herbivorous creature, possessing a long neck and a long tail. It was really quite a fanciful form. Personally, I prefer being a smaller predatory creature since it gives me more freedom with moving around large distances. As large as I was, trying to move away from my current position would have been almost impossible.

Ah, you might wonder why I said “was”. That would be because I reached the age of maturity, as I have done many times in the past. Each time, I have died within two months or so. The longest time I lived was when I survived for 6 months purely out of tenacity. I believe, at that time, I focused on integrating into a large group of smaller predatory dinosaurs, which in turn protected me from other creatures that might want to harm me. Hence, I was able to quietly eat herbs and plants I have learnt human bodies can digest while my buddies hunted meat. Sometimes they would try to make me eat the meat, but eating raw meat is usually impossible for human bodies, so I gently declined every time.

At this moment, my thoughtless herd is leaving me behind. A few of the siblings I was closest to are sneaking uncertain glances my way, but since my parents haven’t even noticed my transformation, they simply leave. I don’t make any attempt to step them. After all, an event is about to occur in this very spot. I have willingly left the identity of this event mysterious, since I prefer it that way. Being omniscient would ruin the fun of existence.

Only when a dinosaur as massive as a t-rex steps out from the nearby brushes do I realize exactly what the event is. Namely, the existence of an apex predator in Australia.

I watch it happily. Seeing me, it slowly approaches, eyes trained on me.

Much like most other predators who view me, it’s experiencing a form of confusion, unsure of whether to leave or attack. As it gets closer to me, a thundering hum exuding from its massive beer-barrelled body, I understand what choice it has made.

Before me, the creature folds its legs, head falling to sit at my level. I pat it on the head.

That would be the third option: servitude. Or maybe friendship. Deciding that I’m worthy of protection.

My current form is nothing to look at. I’m rather tall at 191 and unnaturally slim to the point of bonyness and my face reflects this almost unnatural scrawny form, being thin and angular as though someone stretched dead skin across a fleshless, lightly malformed skull. From a distance, I would probably look like a spectral creature. Of course, the allosaurus doesn’t understand any of this. All it sees is an odd little creature.

An odd creature it has now decided to adopt, it seems.

As I caress its snout, it murrs happily. It seems a pact has been formed. Experimentally, I decide to mount it. It jerks beneath me and I almost fall off its broad back, but after a minute or so the creature relaxes, allowing me to sit where I sit. Then, it rises, allowing me to remain on its back even as it continues walking. Well, would you look at that. I’m a dinosaur rider. This is what all of these years have amounted to and I’m all to happy to have been here. Remind me to pet Michael on the head.

Surprisingly, our alliance lasts many years. He protects me, I help him scout out prey… Most of the time I make do by eating various plants and such (I can’t believe I’m a vegan. I miss eating meat every day), but on occasion I set up a fire and grill a little of the meat he’s hunted. By the way, his name is Romilio. I would do this more often if it wasn’t for the fact that Romilio greatly disliked fire. When I first set up a small pyre he had been very interested, but this quickly became fear and terror when he accidentally burnt his snout. Even now he has a small scar left behind.

After many years at each other’s side, the one that passes first is surprisingly Romilio. This is simply due to his shorter lifespan at a mere 23 years. He was two when we met, so I’ve known him for a while. My current body is now 36 year of age and a bit taller than it once was.

Romilio passes without leaving a single child behind and I know why. Few females would approach us together. I had tried to leave him to assure his genetical survival, but he would not have it. Thus, at his death, I am alone. My only thanks for his comradeship is the formation of a soul allowing for his reincarnation. As I see his immaterial form shoot off into the distance, I wonder how fast my body will pass. This is the oldest I’ve ever gotten. Without his protection, there is no doubt that I will soon succumb.

But fate would apparently not have it so. As I idly wander, I unexpectedly come across a clutch of eggs. By the size and form, I understand it to be the very same species as Romilio. There isn’t a trace of any nearby creatures.

So, with the care of someone walking on eggshells, I lower myself to sit beside the eggs.

It takes two days or so, but they do indeed hatch. A total of 7 small hatchlings escape from the confines of their birthing forms, with only two being stillborn.

They swarm about me, peering up at me with their large eyes like kittens who have finally found their mother. Of course, my current body is male, so the likeness is a bit hyperbolic. Still, they make no move to consume my flesh. A bit of a disappointment, but I had prepared for such an occasion. This means that I will need to get them some form of food. Ah, and some for me as well, since I haven’t eaten in several days.

I stand up. The hatchlings swarm about me, a few turning back to eat their eggshells. A few of the bolder hatchlings go so far as to consume their unborn siblings. Well, that’s only natural.

Though, this does mean that I will have to create something I have not needed to make in the millions of years I have walked this earth. Namely, a basic weapon. I’ll need to do it fast, too. The hatchlings will probably be able to make it for a while before they begin to hunger too much, but I should have some prey fór them before that begins. Very well then.

The hatchlings watch me with great interest while I scan the ground for suitable materials. After an hour or so of searching, I finally find it. A palm-sized slice of flint in my hand gleans gently in the light. The hatchlings’ eyes seem to shine while watching it. Although the flint already has a few sharp edges, it will need a lot more of them. This scrawny body isn’t made for much physical rigours, but I have no choice.

With the flint in one hand and a piece of rock in the other, I get to the arduous process of sharpening the flint by removing larger pieces.

Luckily enough, I’m able to sharpen it well enough without destroying it, which I had a rather high chance of doing. This will be enough.

I begin to stalk the lands. As of recently, larger forests have started sprouting out, dominated by various plants which actually existed during my time as a mortal. Looking at them actually feels a little surreal, but I take it as proof that my time isn’t wasted or anything.

My ears and eyes are focusing as intently as they possibly can. The hatchlings rustle about my feet, but I tune them out. They are unimportant for the time being.

Flint knife in hand, I await.

Then, in one swift movement, I pull the form of a small mammal off of the forest floor. It squirms in my hand, small sharp claws scratching at my hand. At my feet, the hatchlings, each the size of a cat, jump and squabble about, snapping at the mammal with their teeth. I consider cutting the throat of the mammal before giving it to them but decide against it. instead, I simply cripple one of its feet and arms, ensuring its demise. Then, I drop it into the jaws and teeth of the hatchlings.

They play and fight and snap and bite at it for a fair few minutes until the creature is finally dead, at which point the mammal is gobbled up within seconds. At that point, I have already returned to hunting. The mammal made for a good plaything, but soon enough they will need actual food.

I continue hunting. It turns out pretty fast that human bodies aren’t especially good at hunting, specifically in dense vegetation such as forests. Plenty other creatures are much better at it, with finer honed noses and ears, capable of picking up any faint rustling. Humans have a far too high reliance on eyes.

That is why when the hatchlings begin quieting down, all of their feeble attention-spans directed towards a single spot, I don’t doubt their instincts for a second. As a matter of fact, I only grow more careful.

I approach slowly.

The creature in question is a herbivorous reptilian, a head lower than myself, though since it walks on four legs, this remains impressive. Indeed, it is quite large. The reason I’m able to view it so clearly is because it is lapping at a small pool of water in the middle of a clearing. Its every muscle and tendon is tensed and ready to spring. There is no moment when a creature is less calm than when drinking from a water hole.

However, as I approach, a small but stunning transformation takes place. The creature actually seems to be relaxing.

This is a neat effect from Barachiel. He is more effective the closer a creature is to me, but it’s not like he depends solely on sight. A creature will relax even if I am mere inches behind them. This makes hunting almost easy. Of course, if I am in the form of a predator, not even Barachiel will be able to hinder a prey animal from taking to flight. On the other hand, if my appearance is merely perplexing…

I place a hand on the chest of the most eager hatchling, silently urging them to stay back. They do so while sending me confused glances.

Slowly, carefully, I step out of the brushes.

The sound alerts the creature which spins around with immense speed and fear. However, once its eyes fall on me, all that it can show is a confused expression. I slow my gait, almost to the point of tip-toeing up to it. Due to the effects of Barachiel, it watches me, though without considering me an enemy. The hatchlings remain out of sight.

Once I come close enough, I gently reach out my hand. the creature buckles and almost escapes. I make no further move. Understanding that I mean no harm, it slowly returns, gently sniffing my hand. At this vicinity, the effects of Barachiel are quite pronounced, and as a reaction, it bumps its nose into my hand, allowing me to pet it. This I do. Then, as it grows used to my presence, I move around to its backside. There, I swiftly bisect one of its hamstrings.

The creature collapses with a pained cry, blood spurting from its wound. Sensing that the time has come, the hatchlings emerge from their hiding place, promptly ganging up on the wildly flailing creature.

One of the hatchlings is kicked by a powerful leg, and with a single pronounced crack, it falls limply to the ground. The others pay it no heed, focusing on the creature which has now risen to stand in a meek attempt to escape. As I watch the remaining hatchlings hunt down and eviscerate the fleeing prey, I wonder if I should create another aspect of Barachiel. Namely, an effect that was only revealed once the affected creature grew aware that Barachiel was a lie. This effect would then be an application of fear and horror far stronger than the relief and trust that Barachiel offers. It would be an interesting turn for the creature affected. A betrayal of their own senses.

Indeed, I will call this aspect Samael.

The effects of Barachiel are divided and changed as I settle down and begin the slightly arduous process of foraging for herbs and greenery to eat. As I’ve come to realize after innumerable years of trial and error, almost any poisonous plant can be made edible through some long-winded and intense process. Figuring out what this process was for every plant that existed was an endeavour which cost me many, many lifespans. Though, even then, it was a bit regrettable since many of these plants had developed new forms of poison or had simply gone extinct, so now I needed to figure out new processes. Ah, I miss those tasty lengths of vine which grew on the southeastern shore of pangea…

By the time I’ve found, purified and consumed enough food to last me the rest of the day, the hatchlings have already finished. I didn’t notice, since they had - for once - calmed down quite immensely.

When I found them, they stood mournfully around their fallen brother. I suppose that’ll teach them not to mess around too much, although the loss of a hatchling was a bit regrettable.

And so, life continues. I had neither expected myself nor the hatchlings to live for long, but within only a few months or so, the hatchlings became large enough to substantially help me hunt. Normally, members of this species would not hunt in packs. This was for the simple fact that, usually, most members of a clutch did not survive until maturity, and secondly, there was simply not enough food in a single area to support several of these massive predators.

The first issue was solved by my presence, though even then, after a few months, only five hatchlings remained in total, though each was two heads taller than myself. I desperately wanted to ride one, even though I knew their immature bodies would be unable to even my meagre body weight.

Yes, it seemed that even if I ate regular human portions and fat-ridden meat, I was unable to put on any fat or muscle. Azrael is a most powerful conception.

The second issue was defeated since I constantly forced us to be on the move. Each of the five hatchlings was a hyperactive bastard who ran hither and yon at any instance, but thanks to their experiences, they understood the inherent value of being able to be calm and serious. Really, even then, they could be quite cruel. Playing with their food all the time… Considering they were massive apex predators, it was really quite childish.

My own position at the head of the group was assured.

During these years, as they slowly grew larger and stronger, they have never made any move to leave my side. If anything, we have only grown closer. Although they obviously cannot use tools of any kind, they take to my habits quite easily. At night, when I used to be the sole lookout, there is now always a rotating series of shifts for each member. It’s really quite stunning. Even more so, they are very much aware of the fact that I only rarely eat meat. They do not see this as any reason to abandon me. Devoted scamps.

And as trusting as they are of me, they are only more so loyal to their closer kin. They almost treat each other with reverence.

That is, until a spat is broken out over who gets the heart and I have to run in between a pair of truck-sized lizards in some faint attempt to stop them. Strangely enough, it works.

This must be due to a certain incident. You see, at one point, such a commotion was taking place. They were only four months old at the time, still a fair bit bigger than myself, but not to the point where I would be completely harmless to them. Tensions had been mounting for a while as more and more squabbling occurred over food. At this point, they would usually hunt by splitting into two groups. I would join the one containing two and the other, having three, would head out on their own. Whenever one side returned with larger prey than the other, a fight would break out. Every time.

And each time it happened, the fighting would grow worse, turning from low murring to hissing, from thrashing of the tail to snapping of the teeth, and finally to slashing of the claws.

Finally, it mounted to a head when one of the hatchlings bit into the side of another. What followed was a series of loud hisses, whips of the tail and powerful kicks. I ran between them without a thought, shouting for them to calm down, only to be swiftly shut down by a tail-whip so fast and strong the air crackled with the tension. It only hit one of my arms, but it was enough to send me flying and broken and flailing like a loose piece of meat.

All battle stopped as they turned to me, prey long forgotten.

It took a full year before it was healed enough for me to use properly. I had been able to fix it to the best of my abilities, using vines for bandages and such. Even then, my arm remains significantly weakened, and I can’t use it for any rigorous tasks. The hatchlings are respectful of this, and the two who caused the final brawl - Jim and Jum, are both quite shameful. Whenever one of their siblings clash, should I be indisposed, one of them will quickly step in in my stead.

I’m quite proud of them.

Though, as the years pass, my workload decreases bit by bit. After a year, I no longer needed to participate in the hunting, only joining them for my own protection. Really, after a while, my only real task was to lead them, scout out places to rest, and, most importantly, to mend any damages incurred for any reason. Claw marks, broken bones and the such could all be healed with proper appliance of various herbs. Of course, some wounds were far too much even for my own abilities, but surprisingly no such wounds had been incurred during all our years together.

My closest brush with death had been six years past our first meeting, when I surprisingly contracted a disease. It was actually a virus I had succumbed to many times before, so the process was very familiar to me. This included the swift death that usually followed.

Expecting the possibility of disease, I usually boiled my water before drinking it. The hatchlings all seemed to consider me pedantic when I did, but now that I finally fell ill, none of them held any reservations about caring for me. I had a deep fever and could barely move. The hatchlings were unsure what to do, so I was always accompanied by two of them, even as the other three went out to hunt. They never returned with enough, but there was always a portion for me. Cooking it and boiling water was done in a haze of pain and burning insides.

In the end, I miracuously pulled through. it was really more than expected, but seeing the hatchlings hop around me like massive overjoyed puppies abated any unease I held that the disease could ravage me at a later date.

I was 53 when I died.

I was surrounded by the hatchlings, breathing shallowly between gasps for air. Fever clawed at my consciousness. The disease had not fully left me, merely bided its time. Or my immunity to it had faded and I had caught it once more. Either way, I knew it was the end.

I lay on the ground, atop a heap of collected herbs, my head resting gently on the stomach of one of the hatchlings. The others laid collected in a protective circle around me. They murred sorrowfully as they too understood that this was the end. I could not know what they would do after my passing. All of them were 17 years old, almost nearing the ends of their life spans. Would they leave to end their lives after a solitary trip, or would they remain together as a family? I honestly hoped for the latter.

My hand stroked the snouts of their massive bodies as I drew my final breath and Azrael dragged me from my aged body.

As a final act, I granted upon them the mercy of having souls. Perhaps, at a later date, we might meet again. Though, that was all for later.

I awaken on the other side of the earth, far from the creatures I had known longer than any other. It would be accurate to say that I felt quite sad about the sudden departure, but at the same time, I understood that this was par for the course. Normally, even meeting them would be quite the event. I should be more than content to have been allowed to stay at their side for so long.

With that in my heart, I swore to stride on.

Years passed once more.