CHAPTER 1
Two beings stood at the edge of the world; one a column of light, the other a column of flame. Everything that existed stretched before them, forever into the beyond.
Alone, some distance away, He looked into the creeping darkness at mankind’s creation. They had done it on their own, and He knew, if they tried a little harder, they would be unstoppable.
Mankind did not have wings, because they were not meant to fly. Yet, every day they launched satellites into the endless blackness in order to survey all they could not see. Every day they shoved structures deeper into the sky, until the clouds cried for mercy. Every day the sky glowed from the millions of LEDs they hung from the heavens.
He watched as the world became smaller and as the material and technological connections between the nations grew stronger.
He approached the beings, and the air hummed and the shadows thinned as their magnificence combined. The column of flame covered its faces, its feet disappearing under a shelter of sparks. The column of light bowed low before Him, glowing embers reflecting off of plates of shimmering armor. Nothing but silence passed between them. When He finally spoke, waves churned in the seas and thunder rumbled in the fading blue of the distant sky.
“It is time.”
The column of light flickered in response. Ancient, unspeakable chanting came from the column of fire. Neither moved, but the column of light whispered inaudibly into the darkness.
Formless fingers flicked together. It was done.