FEATURED: Obscura (ft Koharu Rikka)
Long, long ago; in an age long gone – lost to the sands of time, gods and humans coexisted together. Once, we remembered this time of peace.
However, Sandalphon sought to assert an order under his rule. He took control of all the lands, and rallied the gods with him. He conquered all under his order, of the Kingdom of Gods.
For many generations now, humanity has only known subjugation under Sandalphon’s might. They have long forgotten the days we used to walk together. They live in fear, worship; they believe they are at our mercy.
Gods who tried to defy Sandalphon were banished, so many would simply follow his rule and feel powerless to change anything.
I myself felt powerless too. So I simply followed my role as a god under his order. I would descend upon those who prayed enough to give them blessings. Though, I could not bring myself to enact calamity upon those who did not pray enough, so I simply did not.
“Humans are weak; profoundly weak,” decreed Sandalphon. “We, as gods, must use our power to assert our superiority over them. To show them we are not their friends – that we are as distinct and separate as can be.”
I did not interact with humans beyond what was decreed. This was my life, filled with only this routine – in the repetition, I found myself filled with total ennui. I felt like I had lost myself; that my only role was to bestow my blessings upon the most devout.
Perhaps this was Sandalphon’s goal, but I had lost sight of the deep desire and ambition I had to one day restore the world where gods and humans walked as one.
It must’ve been so, so long; but one day, amidst the days that blended together; Luxana came to me.
“Hey, Lunaer!” He smiled at me.
“Luxana.”
“Huh, what are you all cold for? This isn’t like you.”
He had caught me off guard. I stared at him, and he burst out laughing.
“HAHAHAHAHAH!!! I’ve never seen that look on your face before!”
His bright and cheery demeanor truly stunned me. After all these years, and he still had his energy.
“What did you come to me for?” I asked.
“Oh! Oh right, okay.” He quickly composed himself. “I have a totally crazy idea. So, there’s this human, and he’s really handsome. And I was thinking, wow, it’s too bad that we have to abide by Sandy’s stupid decree all the time, or else I’d try to flirt with him.”
“Are you out of your mind?!”
“Lunaer, I thought we were friends! Come on now. Just, bear with me here.” He crossed his arms.
“Okay, so, I was thinking, I really miss the old world where we freely interacted with humans. So I thought I’d gather my old friends, and we create a new world together using our combined powers. A new planet. And then, we task some humans to gather their kind – we’re gods, after all, they’ll listen to us – and we teleport them to the new world. Away from Sandalphon.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But, somewhere within, the old desire I had stirred, and rose to the surface.
“…All because you thought a human was attractive.”
“Well, not exactly. Many humans are too afraid to question the status quo of the world, but I noticed this one had questioned it multiple times in his life, and… In general, I think he has the potential.”
“I see…”
“He’s also just really cute too. What can I say, I’m the god of love after all,” he mused. “It only makes sense that love would spark my actions.”
His completely bizarre behavior aside, it was true that we had to take some sort of action against Sandalphon. I couldn’t sit around forever.
“…Very well. I shall join you in this plan.”
“Wonderful! Let us be off, then!”
He grabbed my hands and pulled me forwards, catching me off guard, into a truly ambitious plan that would change our futures forever.
Luxana had gathered other gods into his plan – Thaliann, Glaciae, and Phosphoria were the other three who would join us in creating a new world. Luxana had gone to this particular human – Cerio Orithyia – to gather people and execute his plan. The other four of us would likewise travel and pick certain locations to gather humans and bring them into the new world – using our combined divine powers, we could accomplish this.
I had decided to descend upon a rocky mountain territory; in a shrine being attended by a young girl. I knew this shrine well; for I was one of the gods that the people here often prayed to. The girl was named Diora, and I recognized that she had great potential within her.
Surely enough, with my arrival, Diora was shocked, and called everyone together to bear witness to the occasion. They looked upon me with adoration and worship, and bowed their heads.
“Everyone, you need not bow before me. I arrive to tell you, that you shall no longer live in fear of the gods. For you will live in a world where we shall walk together.”
Looking up in fascination, Diora clenched on to her dress.
“Is that truly possible…?”
I smiled gently at her. “Indeed it is, young one. Come now, you shall see.”
And so, we brought these humans into the new world, to begin a life anew.
What an ambitious and reckless plan, Luxana. But even with dark fates upon our horizon, I do not regret it a single bit.
The first few months passed without incident; and us gods worked alongside humans to build a new home and explore the land.
I myself had decided to travel, and at her insistence, I was accompanied by Diora – that young maiden from the shrine.
“Lunaer, Your Divine Grace? Where are we headed?”
“To the ocean.”
“Is that so, Your Divine Grace? I’ve never seen the ocean before!” Her gentle and soft voice brightened up.
“Indeed, for a mountain-dweller like you, it shall be a spectacle to behold.”
How genuinely excited this child seemed; alive for a mere fourteen years, and never had she seen the ocean before.
“It would be my honor to show it to you, child.”
“O Divine Lunaer, I look forward to it.”
Our travels took a while, but we had finally arrived at the seaside after some time. Diora ran to the shore, and we gazed upon the glimmering blue.
“Wow… There’s so much water! I’ve never seen so much water!!”
Diora looked in fascination, and knelt down to touch the waves.
“Creating an establishment here would be most beneficial indeed. Communities by the sea often benefit from trade and commerce from ships coming in to exchange goods; resulting in a prosperous people.”
“Oh, yeah! I’ve heard of that!! So, you’ll be gathering the others here?”
“That is my hope, yes.”
Eventually, people would come to the ocean, and I guided them to create the beginnings of a seaside city. At the people’s insistence, they named the city Lunaer – out of reverence for me, and in honor of my efforts.
And for the first year of our time on Chrysathelia, all was calm and peaceful. In all my eons of existence, this broke the monotony under the rule of Sandalphon. For that, I was eternally grateful.
But that peace did not last. One day, Luxana called a summons for all the gods.
Upon the peak of that mountain, we convened. In the year, I noticed that much seemed to change. Thaliann discarded her godly attire for a more human appearance, while a white-haired warrior appeared in Glaciae’s stead.
“You may call me Elzina Forsyth. I bear the consciousness of Glaciae,” she said.
Of course, we kept the reunions brief, as Luxana did have something urgent to tell us.
“To my fellow gods of Chrysathelia… Sandalphon has been angered, and he will be launching his attack on us very soon. War is imminent.”
Phosphoria clenched her chest. “H-how will we fight back? We have no chance…”
“I agree. Even if we fight, we’ll definitely lose!” Thaliann echoed her protestations.
“I know… But we have to give it all we’ve got,” Luxana was clearly worried, but he tried to put on a brave face.
“…We may have a disadvantage, but I will suggest this one thing. You must share your power with humans,” Elzina said.
All of us stared at her. Such a thing had never been heard of, but judging by how she stood before us, it seems Glaciae was ahead of us on that front.
“If you share your power with humans, we don’t have to fight alone,” she explained. “Glaciae entrusted me with his power, and I will fight with all I have!”
“…Heh. Not bad, Glaciae. Not bad at all,” Luxana smiled. “Very well then. We might just have a chance to mitigate the damage and increase the chances of survival, in the event of a loss.”
Luxana walked to the edge of the cliff, and looked ahead to the horizon. It was very early morning; the sky was yet dark – and the smallest hints of a glow signalled the onset of dawn.
“So, we head back, make our preparations, and initiate the defensive. Focus on protecting as many lives as possible, and give it your all.”
He clasped his hands together.
“For the sake of this world that we love, we must defend it at all costs.”
I found myself walking over next to him, in a gesture of solidarity. “Yes. We will fight for their sake. And for our own, too.”
I looked to the dawn, slowly breaking; as light would fill the sky, bit by bit. I looked behind me, and the three others stared straight ahead. Elzina stepped forward, walking past us, and knelt down; as if in prayer.
“We have to have courage. That’s what Glaciae always stood for. I shall perpetuate his will, no matter what.”
Thaliann and Phosphoria looked at each other, nodded, and walked forward with us.
“I want to live alongside humans. So, I’ll give it my all,” Thaliann’s clear voice, although soft, brought conviction I had never heard before in her words.
Phosphoria smiled at her. A cool breeze rushed through the air, pulling at her white dress.
“This will be a bountiful world of blessings. I shall endeavor to do my part.”
Luxana looked at all of us with a sparkle in his eye. “Then it’s decided, then! We’ll give it all we’ve got, and protect this world we love.”
We went our separate ways to prepare ourselves. Light scattered throughout the sky, turning the warm hues of dawn into the clear blue of daybreak.
It would be an attack in broad daylight; Sandalphon was confident of his victory. We knew we would be fighting a losing battle, but we had to give it our all to defend.
It was the start of what would come to be known as the War of Origin. But even if we expected carnage and destruction; we still stubbornly clung on to this world – Chrysathelia, a mark of new beginnings and freedom from the Kingdom’s decree.
At least for me, I know it was a chance to find myself again; to remember the days of ages long gone when I walked with humankind. And I believe the others found their own sort of freedom in this world.
And even if we face destruction, we will simply rebuild and strengthen ourselves for the future to come.
For we will never give up on this world, and the chance we have taken – and the freedom that humanity could experience for the first time in a long, long time.