Sitting outside of the Universe, invisible to all, was a small mountain floating through something that couldn’t be called space. It existed outside of time and space despite staring down like a cliff looking out into the sea.

The tall, golden mountain sat on nothing, only floating over nothing with waterfalls dropping down and disappearing into the nothingness.

At the top of the mountain was a pantheon, made entirely of solid stardust compacted into large columns and a roof, pitch black with small dots of every color all throughout, looking as if it was made of the Universe itself.

Sitting inside of the pantheon sat a large throne made of the same stardust, was a large being adorned in white robes, diagonally moving across their torso to show off half the chest and the entire shoulder.

He coughed violently, putting his fist to his mouth as small drops of blood covered his flesh.

As he sat, another being appeared with massive wings stretched out from their back, staying unfolded lined up with their shoulder blades. They wore Roman Centurion like armor all over their body while a sword was sheathed at his hip.

“Father, we…are you alright?” They asked as they ran over.

“I am fine, my Son. Why have you come here?” The being sitting down asked as they slowly rose to their feet, their legs shaking as they walked very slowly.

They made their way to a large hole in the floor, staring down at the Universe they were watching over.

“Two galaxies will be colliding at any moment. I need my Brothers and Sisters to prevent total destruction.” He said.

The being coughed again as they reached their bloody hand out, the hole suddenly moving around and zooming in on two spiral galaxies that were racing towards each other, the arms extending out and touching with billions of mountains of dust smashing together.

“Was it destined to happen?” The being asked, looking over at the winged man, whose face was conflicted.

“I…it…” He stuttered.

The larger being stepped forward, staring with intense eyes.

“Was fate changed?” The being asked.

“No…Father.” The other replied.

The being shrugged and turned around.

“Then we must not interfere with fate.” The being replied as they walked on weak legs.

“Father, are you feeling ill?” The other asked, using their wings to fly gracefully and silently over.

“I am fine my Son. Now go back to your post.” He replied, reaching out and gripping the chair he was sitting on earlier.

The being seemed to be hesitant, yet flew away with their powerful wings silent in the void of nothingness.

The being coughed again, wheezing with pained breath.

He looked around his vast and empty room that contained no walls. He just stared out into black nothingness.

No stars to shine or twinkle.

Just…

Nothing.

He gripped his chair tightly, his hand squeezing the arm rest tightly.

His legs finally gave out, his body collapsing onto the floor as he leaned back against his throne.

He stared out into his void, with nothing and nobody.

He let out a very long and deep sigh, but was interrupted by violent coughing. He used his hand to cover his mouth, then pulled it away. He stared down at the pool of blood covering his hand watching as it dripped and onto his floor.

He moved his eyes to the hole in the ground, staring down onto the Universe. His breathing was so slow and full of pain.

He squinted, seeming to think.

He continued to grip the chair hard, using his weakened muscles to get back to his feet. Every inch he moved, his arm and body was shivering and shaking from pain and tiredness.

He coughed once again, more blood splattering out onto his hand and arm. His heart was pumping with the sound of repeated thunder, yet was getting slower and slower as he moved more and more.

His legs buckled, causing him to fall forward.

He hit the ground hard, his hand completely coated in his blood as it fell forward over the edge and dripping down into the hole overlooking The Universe. The being stared out with wide open eyes as he took his very last breath, his heart coming to a silent stop.

A God laid on his mountain, overlooking the Universe he was responsible for, dead.

A Universe now left to its own devices.

No watcher to interfere.

No protector to prevent destruction.

The blood soaked hand was dripping down over the edge, the blood slowly beginning to trickle down the skin, running down his cold and lifeless fingers.

The blood was beginning to catch and stick to the nails and fingertips, pooling together.

But then, the blood suddenly dropped off as a large tear shaped blob, falling down into the Universe.

Slow.

Peaceful.

Graceful.

Blood floating around in the Universe, aimless.

The blood mixed with all of the different energy and radiation, the blood beginning to shift and ripple. The liquid stretched out, beginning to slowly take the shape of a human.

Closely resembling that of the very being that the blood came from.

The red blood was slowly turning black with small, twinkling lights appearing.

A body that appeared to be made out of the Universe itself, black with thousands of stars and galaxies visible within the outline.

The figure floated aimlessly for a few seconds, cold and lifeless like a statue.

That was until it began to twitch and shift around, the fingers very slowly curling while their toes wiggled and stretched. The body continued to shake more and more, as if growing to learn how to move their body.

The face shifted more, a pair of eyes barely opening, shining like they were made of pure light. Thin white lights barely shining out until the eyelids opened more and more.

Two eyes made of pure white light, shining like stars surrounded by space.

The eyes barely shifted around before the eyelids shut again, completely dimming the light before the eyes opened again.

The body was floating in the Universe, no longer drifting or moving around. It sat still and frozen in place, the only parts of their body moving that they wanted to move.

They seamlessly and gracefully spun around in place, looking around them with confusion and curiosity.

They then slowly began to look upward, seeing a small circle that interrupted the Universe, like it wasn’t supposed to be there.

A hand coated in blood was visible as the being began to slowly float up towards it, seeming to have already grasped how to move around in the emptiness.

The being slowly made their way through the circle, looking down at their Creator sprawled out on the ground, staring out with empty eyes.

They floated over closer, slowly dropping down to their knees and lifting up their Creator off of the floor, holding them in their arms. They looked down into the empty eyes and looked over the body.

As the being held the Creator, their body began to ripple and shift. The body made out of the Universe began to resemble the very Creator, near perfectly identical.

As if created in the Creator’s image.

“Father?”

The first words of the being came out, but echoed out into the empty space outside of the Universe.

The Creator was still cold and lifeless, laying in their child’s arms without any breath left in their lungs.

Soft, muffled sounding noise could be heard growing louder and louder, like air being forcefully moved.

The being turned, their body quickly changing to that of the Universe again, all black with shining lights twinkling all over the skin.

They stared at an Angel, floating down to the floor with the massive white wings emerging from their back, their body incredibly muscular despite being hidden under the gold and velvet armor.

“Father, have you…”

The Angel froze before quickly drawing their shining, silver sword and large gold shield.

“Who are you?” He screamed.

The being dropped The Creator onto the floor, quickly standing with their arms raised in innocence.

“I…I don’t…know.” They replied.

The Angel looked down at their Father, their Creator laying on the ground. Empty eyes and blood soaked hands.

But then the Angel drew their eyes to the large circle in the floor, seeing the trail of blood on the floor that he had left there and was beginning to dry.

As if they ran through the situation in their mind, their eyes went to the being made of the Universe in front of him.

“He…he…” The Angel started, not wanting to finish the realization that he had come to.

As they stood, the sounds of Angel’s wings flapping through space filled the air, loud but muffled air being pushed around.

An entire army of Angels all landed, surrounding the being and The Creator. The entire Pantheon was overflowing with Angels. Some stood on the ground, while others attached to the columns or stood on the roof, looking down from every angle.

The being slowly spun around, looking around at all of the Brothers and Sisters that they shared, despite looking nothing like them.

As they stared, their body began to ripple again.

Their black and star filled skin turned to human color as all of the Angels mumbled and gasped.

Once their entire body was the right color, their body became covered in the same gold and velvet armor, a sword and shield appearing in their hands. White wings shot out of their back, shifting and shivering as the being was trying to figure out how to make them move.

All of the Angels looked disgusted and horrified, drawing their weapons as they kept their eyes locked on this…abomination of an Angel.

“What is that thing?” one Angel shouted.

“It is a monster!” Another shouted.

“An abomination!” Another shouted.

The Angels were growing louder and louder with heckling, screaming, and shouting.

The being slowly began to shrink, as if wanting to curl in on itself.

The wings faded away, followed by the armor and weapons.

The skin colored like the Angels was slowly fading away, back to the black of space.

“Our Father used his dying breath to…” One started, but was cut off as another stepped forward.

“Our Father was killed by this being! He shall be avenged!”

The two Angels looked at each other, seeming to communicate solely with facial expressions.

“What are you doing?” One whispered quietly.

“I am unifying us. And taking back the throne that is our birthright. Are you with me Brother?” The other whispered back, drawing their sword.

The two Angels stared into each other’s eyes, until the one began to smile and draw their sword as well.

“This is our home!” He screamed.

All of the Angels roared loudly, drawing their swords and rapidly closing in from every single angle.

The being was breathing so quickly, struggling to understand anything that was happening.

Hundreds…Thousands of Angels closing in with the only thought in their minds being misguided revenge.

As the Angels drew closer, the being suddenly screamed as their white eyes glowed so brightly it washed out the entire Pantheon, consuming everything in a massive sphere of white light.

Small planets floating throughout the Universe, orbiting massive stars from a multitude of distances, were suddenly washed out and blinded by white light.

The entire Universe became white, the light washing over everything and leaving nothing but pure light.

At the Library, which sat at the center of the Multiverse, Librarians were making their way through the endless maze that was constantly shifting and moving. The Eischer style architecture inside that never sat still. Bookcases shifting and sliding along with walkways and stairs seeming to appear and disappear from nothing every second.

All of their attention was drawn away from their books, looking up at the domed glass ceiling, which became consumed by the same white light.

The Multiverse of large bubbles floating around became completely consumed by white light, nothing visible to any living creature that existed.

Empty Universes, or ones full of life became nothing but white light.

But that all came to an end.

The white light nearly immediately disappeared, all at once fading away until everything was back to normal.

The entire Multiverse was back to its normal colors and hues.

The being was surrounded by the Angels, who all stood still with their swords creating a sphere around the being.

Everything was sharp silver surrounding them.

“What…what is this?” The being asked.

The Angels all began to chant what sounded like a Gregorian Hymn. The Brothers were chanting and grunting, sounding like low drums and distorted bass with their voices, which was followed by the Sisters singing beautiful, high pitched melodies and whistles that pierced the air.

The being was unsure of what to do, trying their best to break free by hitting the dome of silver swords surrounding them.

“Help! Get me out of here!” The being screamed, panicking and hyperventilating.

The hymn grew louder and louder, echoing throughout the Pantheon as the being tried to cover their head, their hands morphing to obscure and cover their entire head.

They could feel the Pantheon around them shaking, the floor beginning to break and shift under their body.

“No! Don’t do this!” The being cried and pleaded.

The entire Pantheon crumbled, the being was violently forced out and began to feel their body falling through the Universe. As they looked up, they could see the Angels all standing and staring down at them as they fell.

The Universe was racing by, growing thin and elongated as their bodies moved only faster and faster.

Nearly at the speed of light, they were thrown away from their birth home. Their very own Brothers and Sisters kicking them out of their home and to an unknown place.

“Alright, now that that…thing is gone…what should we do about Father?” One Sister asked.

All of the Angels looked over at their Father, laying on the ground as a corpse that stained the perfect white floor.

“We must hold a funeral. And we shall bury him here.” One Brother replied.

“But, who will stay here? Who will watch over The Universe?” Another Brother asked.

“I say we all stay. We will all watch over the Universe, and keep it in control.” Another Sister said as she stepped forward.

All of the Angels looked at each other, sharing glances to see if anybody had any other ideas or any objections.

“Then it is settled…” One spoke.

“We will fix this Universe…”

“How will we fix it?”

“We will make it as it should be…In our image.”

The Being slowly opened their eyes, laying on a cold and rocky ground.

They slowly got to their feet, looking around at miles and miles of rock and soil. In the far distance they could see trees that were blowing around.

They began to move slowly towards the trees, looking up at the piercing blue sky with white clouds floating around peacefully.

Small birds were visible as the Being continued to walk.

But then the birds grew larger and larger as they came closer and closer.

The Being stopped moving and stood still, staring up at these birds.

They weren’t birds.

Pterodactyls came racing in at high speed, screeching as their clawed feet and sharp teeth inside of their beaks tried to grab hold of the Being. The Being moved out of the way, their Universe colored skin making it impossible for them to blend into the surroundings.

The pterodactyls continued to circle around him, constantly snapping their beaks and slashing their claws.

The Being quickly began to run away from them, kicking up dust from the ground as they continued to scream and chase after the Being.

The Being ran quickly, but then looked down at their feet, seeing the Universe that their body was made of.

They then looked back up and came to a stop.

They turned around and shot their arm forward.

Energy blasted out from the palm of their hand, hitting one pterodactyl in a straight line but it suddenly went at a right angle to hit another one, constantly changing direction to hit every single one, disintegrating their skin yet leaving the skeletons to drop and shatter on the ground, bones rolling around as the Being looked down at them, then looked at their hand.

They looked over at the trees, but as they did they began to slowly float off of the ground. Their feet left the soil and rocks, moving like water as the body began to float to the trees, rising higher into the air as they moved.

“What is this place?” The Being asked as they looked down at the thick bed of trees, able to hear hundreds of sounds hidden under the leaves, which shook around in small bunches due to animals underneath moving around or hitting the trees.

The Being slowly began to float down, waving his hand.

The roof of leaves opened up, all shifting to one side and allowing them to look down. They lowered down and landed softly on the ground, looking around at the seemingly endless expanse of trees standing tall and strong.

As the Being continued to turn, a velociraptor suddenly jumped out from a bush, hissing and screaming.

The Being only had to think, and the creature suddenly disappeared into dust that floated around before falling to the ground.

They looked down at the small pile of dust, their foot reaching out and stepping down onto it. They pulled their hand away, the dust gone into the soil.

Flowers and grass immediately began to grow, sprawling out rapidly.

“I can…make this world…” The Being said to themself.

They began to float again, moving through the leaves and rising high into the air, looking out onto the massive expanse of land in every direction.

A single, massive continent sitting with liquid water surrounding the island.

“Whatever I want it to be.” The Being said as it looked down at their hands, then back onto the world.

“No…I can’t…I must not interfere.” The Being said, slowly making its way to a mountain range that sat far away from everything. A small place to live and hide from the world, not wanting to draw attention or interfere with the world.

He stood on the tallest mountain he could find.

The place closest to his former home.

And he looked down onto this new world that he didn’t know or understand.

And he slowly sat down on the peak of the mountain, crossing his legs as he watched.

He could see everything that was happening.

The creatures running around, either running from death or running as death.

The Being continued to watch, losing track of time as they just witnessed a world living.

A world moving as it does everyday.

The light began to dim, the Being looking at the massive star disappearing over the horizon.

The world was cast in shadow.

The world was cast in darkness.

The Being just simply watched on, not interfering with anything.

They simply sat and watched as creatures killed each other. The massive reptile monsters tear each other apart before eating them.

The Being had no emotion.

They only watched on.

The Being lifted their head to stare at the night sky.

Thousands of twinkling stars, like thousands of candles flickering from far away.

A large moon slowly emerged from the other horizon, shining with light to at least illuminate some of the world.

Bath it in a peaceful hue of faded, unsaturated white light.

The Being stood at the peak of the mountain, looking down at the world.

They reached their hand out, very slowly twisting their wrist.

The sun and the moon began to rapidly spin around the world, constantly switching the world between day and night.

Everything on the ground was rapidly changing and moving.

Thousands of years being watched every second.

Racing by in a flash.

Everything was a blur.

Then, the Being stopped.

Time on the world froze.

Everything was still and quiet.

None of the creatures moved.

Ones that were dying were suddenly forced to live in a perpetual state.

On death’s door, unmoving as they stared at it.

As they could feel it approaching.

But then the Being began to twist their hand the other direction, causing everything to whip backwards through time.

The Being went too far, stopping as they looked at a world covered in molten lava, massive volcanoes, and a sky blacked out by dark smoke.

“This was how this world started?” The Being asked out loud as they watched the violent carnage unfold in front of them.

The Being lowered their arm, and watched the unorganized chaos around them.

So much fire and lava covering the ground as volcanoes were unstoppable, shooting more smoke and debris into the air.

The Being then sat back down on their mountain as they watched.

They were no longer changing time.

They were no longer racing either direction thousands of years at a time.

The Being sat.

And in real time…

They watched a world grow and change.

Back at the Pantheon, all of the Angels had gathered together, standing around and talking amongst themselves.

“We must figure out who shall be the leader.” One Sister whispered to another, the two sitting on the roof of the structure.

But then they both turned to look towards the entrance, seeing someone making their way to the front gates.

“No…he can’t be here.” The other Sister said softly.

The entrance gates, which stood tall and golden, flung open with a violent gust of wind.

All of the Angels turned to face them, seeing a figure slowly walking through them, seeming to emerge from shadow that stuck to their skin, moving off their body as if a cloak that was being disregarded.

“My Brothers and Sisters! What an honor it is to see you all once again!” The person spoke with loud, verbose speaking.

They were dressed entirely in tattered, ruined black robes that flowed freely.

All of the Angels, all dressed in armor, stared at him.

He had long, unkept black hair compared to the brown, blonde, or orange hair of the others. His face was wrinkled with massive bags under his dark red eyes, compared to the perfectly smooth and clean faces with no blemishes and a array of blue, green, and brown eyes. His finger nails were long and dirty, compared to the short and piercingly white clean nails of his Brothers and Sisters. His teeth was yellow and jagged, like some of them had been broken or chipped, while the others all had perfect mouths full of white teeth.

He moved closer, it being obvious that the robe was drowning out a thin, unathletic body.

“Ash-Shaytān, why are you here?” One Brother asked.

Ash-Shaytān only laughed to respond.

“Well, I learned of our Father’s untimely death. I came to pay my condolences and show my respects.” He replied, yet the sinister smile on his face made it obvious he was lying.

“You shall return to your home at once! You were banished to Hell for eternity, and the Bottomless Pit.”

Ash-Shaytān shrugged and waved their hand, an apple appearing in his grasp before he took a large bite, the crunch filling the Pantheon.

“This might come as a surprise to you, but the pit isn’t actually bottomless. It's a hot, barren world full of demons that listen to me and obey my commands. So I would think very carefully about how you speak to me. Otherwise…”

Ash-Shaytān disappeared into a cloud of black smoke, all of the Angels gasping and mummering.

The one he was talking to stared forward as Ash-Shaytān appeared behind him, leaning in to whisper directly into his ear.

“We will have a war on our hands.”

His Brother jumped, drawing his sword and spinning around to face him.

Ash-Shaytān simply laughed.

“Oh my Brother Azrael, we used to be inseparable. Yet I get banished and you become just another one of them.”

The other Angels all backed away, giving the two space.

“I became what I needed to be Brother Ash-Shaytān. I listened to and obeyed our Father in order to survive with a duty to fulfill.” Azrael responded, their sword still drawn.

“We were the ones who were going to free this Universe. We were going to help it survive, and not let it devour itself. So what changed Azrael?” Ash-Shaytān asked, beginning to slowly move in a circle, Azrael stepping in unison the opposite direction, the two constantly the same distance away.

“I had my eyes opened Brother. I will only protect the Universe from what is uncertain.” Azrael said.

“And how will you protect a world from that which is uncertain? If you are unsure if it is to be done or not be done, then how will you know? Do you really wish to disrespect our Father this way?” Ash-Shaytān asked.

Azrael’s face was beginning to change.

Their sword began to lower.

Their Brother was beginning to get to them.

“Brother Azrael.” Another Brother stepped forward.

“Oh Brother Gamaliel, you were always a favorite of Father. You never thought for yourself, only doing what you were told to do.” Ash-Shaytān said with his smirk still wide across his face.

Gamaliel stepped in front of Azrael, pushing them back to keep them safe.

“I did what was asked of me. I was given my responsibility and I did everything in my power to fulfill it.” Gamaliel said.

Ash-Shaytān laughed maniacally.

“Responsibility? You must be joking.”

“How so?” Gamaliel asked.

“You…all of you…are blind followers. Our Father did not care if people died. If worlds ended. He would not care if this very Universe that we were told to protect ended. He would not get involved and simply watch on with contempt. He claims to be a guardian and a loving Creator, an Artist, yet he wouldn’t bat an eye if his very creation was destroyed in front of him.” Ash-Shaytān shouted.

Some of the Angels seemed to be thinking about it, some even nodding in agreement.

Gamaliel noticed and quickly drew his sword.

“You will not disrespect…”

But Gamaliel was interrupted.

He violently coughed, blood shooting out of his mouth.

He slowly began to look down.

A silver sword was stabbed through his chest, his blood covering the blade that exposed itself through his skin.

The sword was swiftly pulled back.

Gamaliel only had enough strength to turn around, looking into the eyes of his very Brother Azrael, who had tears running down his face despite his eyes being cold and unforgiving.

“Brother?” Gamaliel asked weakly before collapsing to the ground, dropping his sword.

It was completely silent after.

None of the Angels moved from their place.

They all stared with wide eyes of shock.

Ash-Shaytān lifted his arms like he was waiting for a hug.

Azrael very slowly moved his gaze from Gamaliel and to Ash-Shaytān.

He lowered his sword, letting the tip of the blood soaked blade scratch along the ground as he walked forward, finally filling the air with noise.

A painful, irritating screech.

Yet none of the Angels reacted.

They continued to stand like statues as Azrael stood close to Ash-Shaytān.

Ash-Shaytān suddenly wrapped both arms around Azrael, holding him close while smiling wide.

“I have missed you Brother. I knew I could give you my love and trust.” Ash-Shaytān said.

Azrael was still gripping his sword tightly, even beginning to raise it away from the floor.

Yet something washed over him.

His hatred and rage was…gone.

He dropped the sword, which loudly clattered and rang out through the Pantheon.

Then, his arms wrapped around his Brother Ash-Shaytān.

“I have missed you as well Brother.” Azrael said.

Ash-Shaytān let go of the hug, and made their way over to Gamaliel, reaching down to look into the cold and dead eyes of his Brother.

“I only wish you could’ve joined us…seen what we could’ve made together.” He said.

He grabbed his Brother by his throat, carrying Gamaliel off of the ground and to the large circle in the middle of the floor.

“I loved you my Brother.” Ash-Shaytān said, but then let go.

The body fell through the hole, moving straight down into the Universe with high speed, moving quickly through without any direction or target in mind.

It raced quickly, the energy around them bursting into violently bright blue and gold.

Within a few seconds, the body was engulfed by the light.

It resembled a shooting star, racing through space with a long tail that glittered and twinkled before disappearing.

Ash-Shaytān turned around and loudly clapped his hands once, which seemed to snap all of the Angels out of their frozen trance.

“Now…are there any other objections?” Ash-Shaytān asked loudly.

It was silent.

“Good. Then we can get started.”

Back on the barren world, The Being was still sitting on the mountain.

Lava and fire everywhere.

Nothing had changed.

“When does it happen?” The Being asked themself.

But then, something became visible in the sky.

Something cutting through the thick clouds of smoke, racing straight towards the world.

Something on a collision course for this seemingly random world.

A ball.

A ball of violently glowing blue and gold light.

The Being didn’t do anything to stop it.

They simply watched on as the ball raced towards the world faster and faster.

It burst into the atmosphere, the energy and heat so vast that all of the black smoke clouds suddenly erupted into violent explosions of blue flames before disappearing, like paper being burnt up within seconds to reveal the surrounding Universe behind the clouds.

The beautiful stars are now visible.

The ball violently smashed into the ground with enough force that the planet exploded, sending most of the crust flying out into space, causing the entire world to ripple and shake with tidal waves of lava and rock erupting in every direction.

Yet The Being watched on unaffected.

They simply watched the proceedings as billions of pounds of the planet was sent away, floating around the planet due to the gravity.

Creating a ring of billions of rocks of every size.

The Being then reached out, ever so slightly turning their wrist.

They stared up at the ring of rocks, waiting to see what would happen.

Ever so rapidly, the rocks collided and bunched together. Some fell back to the world, but most began to clump together.

After millions of years, a moon was formed, rotating around the planet with its beautiful white color and peaceful light shining down on the still barren world.