Carl Walterson was a very ordinary man.

He woke up every morning, got dressed, went to work, did work, finished work, came home, watched TV, ate dinner, went to bed, and repeated that cycle every day. He was happy with his mundane lifestyle.

It had been a very normal day for Carl.

He’d gotten up, gotten dressed, gone to work, done some of his work, and was now on his break. He’d decided to have his lunch in New Central Park.

New York had been destroyed back in 2029 by a nuclear terrorist attack and the old Central Park had of course gone with it. Once they’d eventually cleaned up the radiation and rebuilt New York in the form of Neo York, the park followed not long after.

Sitting down with his ham sandwich, Carl looked around and enjoyed the view. A woman was running along with an automated carriage following behind her. Several businessmen were talking on their V-Screens as they went by. A lesbian couple were enjoying the midday sun together out in the expansive green.

Several of the issues that the old Central Park suffered from had been almost eliminated by the reconstruction effort. Crime wasn’t an issue because of the camouflaged surveillance drones that were about; Most taking the form of birds, but a few were squirrels or other rodents.

Carl was proud that he lived in a time where he could visit the park in peace and not have to worry about getting stabbed by some criminal.

Opening up his lunch, Carl pulled out his ham sandwich and began eating. As he was eating, however, he felt a buzz on his wrist. Setting down his sandwich, he pulled up his V-Screen to see what the alert was about.

He was confused by what he saw.

It appeared to be a… chibi drawing of a golden-skinned woman, but before he could get a good look he noticed his surroundings had gotten strangely quiet. When he turned his focus back to his surroundings he was shocked.

It was silent.

There was no sound of birds or rodents scurrying in the brush. He couldn’t hear any cars in the distance. Even the other people around him that were also looking around in confusion seemed strangely muted. He couldn’t hear them even though it looked like they were talking at full volume to one another.

Carl didn’t like this. This wasn’t normal, this was strange, unwelcome. The silence felt oppressive and he noticed his other park-goers also felt the same. They were all scouring the forest the same way Carl felt he should. All looking for the same thing that their instincts were screaming was there…

A predator.

Another buzz almost made him fall off of the bench in fright. Looking back at the V-Screen that was still open Carl realized that the picture of the golden-skinned woman was gone and in its place was an arrow pointing upward.

Feeling a small bit of dread, Carl hesitantly looked upward.

The sky was static. Like on those ancient TV’s that Carl learned about in history class. Like white snow. But there was no snow. It was just the sky and it looked like it had lost connection. Then it cleared up and a figure could be made out in the picture.

A golden-skinned woman, like the picture that was on his V-Screen, but real, and this time Carl actually got a good look.

The woman was gold from the very tips of her hair to the bottom of her toes. She lacked a mouth entirely. Instead, there was an expanse of flat flesh from the tip of her nose to the bottom of her chin that covered her mouth, nostrils, and cheekbones.

Her eyes lacked any pupils, iris, or sclera. Only the fact that they were a lighter shade of gold and the shape of her face gave away that they were there. It was impossible to figure out where she was looking but Carl couldn’t shake the impression that she was staring straight at him.

Two small horns, only an inch in length, sprouted from her forehead. Behind those, long hair extended from a sharp widow’s peak down her back. It looked like it was held in place by her ears, but she didn’t have any. It was just flat where her ears should be. Her… sensitive bits also followed this theme

She looked beautiful in an alien, divine way. Golden arcane energy seemed to caress her voluptuous form almost seductively. However, Carl felt an indistinct horrifying presence behind that facade. One that wasn’t meant to exist in the mortal realm.

“Humanity, your attention please.” A resonant voice said, sounding out inside Carl’s own mind. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aureacentiamonus and I... am your new god.” She took a bow. “Now. I’m sure that most of you are wondering what that means, so allow me to explain.

“Your god, known as... God, points for creativity there, has left you. His patience wasn't as infinite as you tried to claim. However, he cared too much to just abandon you.

“Sooooooo, he came to me.” Her voice lost its powerful quality.

“On his knees, he beseeched me to take care of his flock.” her voice shifted to that of an old man as she took a knee herself. “‘Please take care of them. Guide them and protect them from themselves. Care for them in a way I can not.’” Carl got a distinct impression that she smirked. “I agreed to take care of you in his stead and thus, I am here.” She stood up and took another bow.

“However,” Carl felt a shiver run down his back at that word as she straightened herself. “God made an error when he made that deal with me. He failed to define a few things.” What felt like a malicious smile spread across her face and with each sentence it seemed to grow wider. “He failed to define what ‘care’ meant. He failed to define what form my ‘guidance’ would take. And he failed to say how I should ‘protect’ you…” She leaned forward and whispered so quietly that Carl only heard her because of the lack of other noise. “Do you know what that means… ?”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

And the world paused.

...

“IT MEANS THAT I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!”

Her screaming laughter raked and scratched along the inside of Carl’s mind. The sheer power infused in it scrambling his thoughts. Then, for the briefest of moments, her facade crumbled and Carl could see what lay underneath.

An incarnation of chaos and anarchy, one that had been held back for far too long. This thing didn’t care about humans, it didn’t care about anything. It was nihilism and insanity given form. ‘Reason’ was absent from its soul...

If it even had one.

Then her body was back and she was calm again. Though, Carl could still feel a slight smile, an amused one this time. “So, here’s what’s going to happen,” She stated before holding up a finger.

“One. I’m going to make Magic return to this world with a vengeance. This is going to cause a few things. People with supernatural blood in their systems are going to find themselves awakening strange powers, and even transforming if their blood is potent enough! Mana will also crop up again, meaning spells and magical rituals are now possible again. Also, be careful of the magical beast that will start to awaken… they’re going to be very grumpy after their nap.”

The goddess gave a solemn nod before smiling again and holding up a second finger.

“Two. I’m giving people superpowers. Laser-eyes, telekinesis, shapeshifting, flight, super-strength, and so on, and so on. You get the idea. Why? Because I want to and you can’t stop me.”

The golden woman then leaned forward and opened her other hand while raising a third finger. In her palm, she held a floating island covered in lively greenery.

“Three. This is Coeldisuim. If you manage to find it and fight your way through its inhabitants, my home is at its center. Should you reach my home, you may visit me. Though, be warned. This island holds horrors no man has ever seen. The unprepared will only perish if they enter, and those that are prepared are only less likely to do so. Enter at your own risk.”

The woman stood back up and took up a thinking pose. “And, I believe that’s all… No, wait!” She struck the ‘eureka’ pose before speaking. “In one month, I will have a meeting with the leaders of the world. Every leader is allowed to bring five people with them, I care not who or what they are. However, if anyone tries to harm my guests, know that I will end you.”

Carl shook with fright at the terrifying aura that was emitted on those last words.

“And, now that’s it. So without further ado…” She raised her arms and her eyes started to blaze with power.

“Humanity, heed my words,

“Lest you wish my wrath incurred,

“On this day, I do declare,

“The end of wanting prayers,

“For now, your god has gone away,

“And I have arrived for my play.

“Magic will return, I have decreed,

“And old monsters will be freed.

“Great powers have been bestowed,

“We shall see if moral fibers corrode.

“A new island has appeared,

“A place to visit? Or a place to be feared?

“A meeting has been called,

“Between leaders, piebald.

“So, Humanity, heed my words,

“Lest you wish my wrath incurred,

“The extraordinary has ascended,

“Now, let’s see if the world is ended.

And with that, the woman and her presence disappeared from the sky in a flash of light. Soon enough, the sounds of birds and automated cars returned to the world. However, the people of the world all stood still. Each trying to process what they had heard.

Carl was shaken out of his stupor by the sound of screaming. Confusedly looking over at what the cause might be, Carl was once again shocked.

A woman was on fire.

No, that wasn’t right.

A woman was fire.

It was then that Carl realized that his world; the one where he woke up every morning, got dressed, went to work, did work, finished work, came home, watched TV, ate dinner, went to bed, and repeated that cycle every day. That world.

That world no longer existed.

Another, stranger one had taken its place.

<( o )>

The world was thrown into anarchy on that day.

Major religions the world over were in chaos. Does God exist? Or did he? Did he actually care for us? If he did, why did he leave? Who is this strange… being that has taken his place? What does she want? What kind of name is Aureacentiamonus? If this one is real, are the other gods real too? What of Hinduism and other modern polytheistic religions?

On and on, the people questioned the churches, the mosques, and the temples. But they were just as in the dark as all of them. So, the people, with no answers present, decided to make their own.

Many cults, churches, temples, and other organizations devoted to Aureacentiamonus popped up. Some of them were benevolent, trying to provide answers and calming fears. Others were more malicious, demanding tribute or sacrifices be made to the new goddess.

Most of these malicious organizations would be shut down and destroyed in the coming weeks by various governments, but a few in the more wild parts of the world would persist unchallenged. Some would even go underground in developed countries and started to expand their influence.

As for the governments, they were scrambling.

Fires were popping up as soon as they could be put out. A man with the power to control earth breaks out of prison here. A vigilante starts taking the law into their own hands over there. Police needed military support in the cities, while the military suddenly had to deal with superpowered combatants.

That’s not to mention the small portion of the population that had transformed into literal monsters out of storybooks. Miami got taken over by a vampire, A fucking humanoid dragon started laying waste to the countryside, and a squid man had started to eat people's brains in Neo York.

It was frankly a mess.

And a single day hadn’t even passed.

Anna was sitting in her apartment watching the news, just taking it all in. “I guess I could have handled this a little better…” She said as she shoved more popcorn into her mouth. An explosion sounded out from outside. “This is fine…” She reassured herself as the world burned around her.