The gods grew pretentious and lazy in their ways.
Void, Origin, Chaos, and Inception. The four deities became weary of their lonesome existence and fashioned for themselves, humans.
These humans were for their pleasure and entertainment, serving no other purpose.
Yet that wasn't enough. No, the gods still had one more trick up their sleeves. An experiment to observe the nature of their creation.
And so with the humans, they had children: Nephilim, demi-gods, and Eiros. Beings with godly powers walking amongst normal men.
Empires were built and destroyed in the name of the spawns and their god.
Eons and millennia passed, and it seemed that was the new world order, until one day the gods vanished without a trace, leaving only their descendants behind.
The silence that followed the gods' departure was deafening.
For a time, there was chaos. The empires built upon divine lineage trembled.
The Eiros found their connection to their humanity severed, and became intelligent beasts.
The first era after the Vanishing was called the Great Scouring. Kingdoms led by demigods collapsed as their rulers proved incapable without their sire's whispered counsel.
Wars erupted over remaining artifacts, sacred sites, and the very interpretation of what had happened.
Some claimed the gods had been destroyed by a greater force. Others that they had simply grown bored and departed for a new experiment. The most terrifying belief was that they had been judged and found wanting.
Centuries of strife forged a new reality. The blood of the gods, though diluted, still carried power. Societies reorganized not around the absent deities, but around their descendants, who formed new castes:
· The Eiros: Still beastial in nature but wielding divine power no less.
· The Nephilim Orders: Often more numerous, the offspring of gods and humans with more physical, potent, abilities. They became knights, mercenaries, the enforcers, and guardians in a world now dangerously unmoored.
· The Unmarked: Pure humans, whose ancestors were the original entertainment. In the gods' eyes, they were the baseline. Now, they were the majority. Some resented the descendants, blaming them for the gods' cruel games. Others worshipped them as the last living remnants of the divine. Many simply sought to build a world free of both.
The central, haunting question for all became: What had truly happened to the gods?
****
A blond teenager with pale skin was lying on the top bunk of a bunk bed.
Kyle opened his blue eyes and looked at the pale white ceiling above his head. The fluorescent light burned his retinas but he was used to it.
'Here we go again.' He threw his legs over the top of the bed on the bunk bed and jumped, landing on his feet.
He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply, taking in the sterile smell of disinfectant and filtered air.
His bunkmate on the lower bunk shifted slightly in his bedsheets as he mumbled mindlessly to himself.
"So Kyle, are you ready for today?" Kevin, a muscular dark-skinned teenager asked as he approached him from another bed.
Kyle took a moment to really think about it. 'I am not exactly nervous but I guess I'm not anticipating it either.'
Turning to Kevin, he placed his hand on his shoulder, "It is what it is. I can't fret over something I can't control."
"Take a look at everyone else." Kyle gestured to the long rows of bunk beds similar to his with people either sleeping or hanging around.
Kevin looked at them then back to Kyle with his eyebrows raised, "I don't get it."
Kyle sighed, shaking his head like a disappointed parent. "There are 100 people here alone, excluding the ladies. I'm sure even if I fail, it won't be that much of a difference to their quota."
Kevin took a step back, eyeing Kyle like he was mad.
"We are the descendants of the Light Nephilim, Yeesha. Albeit faint, her blood still courses through all of us. Don't you want to show the world the power of the divine?" His voice rose in crescendo.
Kyle's head tilted slightly, "No, I don't, and unlike you fanatics…" he leaned closer to Kevin to whisper in his ear, "I'm actually glad the gods disappeared."
Kevin's face blanched but before he could reply, the doors leading to the hall opened.
Sacred Sound, a tall woman with icy blue hair, walked through, and the silver armor she had on did nothing to hide her ample figure.
She walked slowly through the hall, eyeing those who were still in bed and only stopping once she was in the middle.
"007, 078, 067, 012, and 056, file out." Her voice echoed and the hall went silent.
Kyle walked forward, a clear '078' visible on his chest.
Four other people joined him and lined up uniformly in front of her.
Their right hands went to their lower abdomen and their left hands covered their heart—the salute taught to them.
She didn't spare a moment, "Get ready and meet me in the auditorium in ten minutes." And with that, she walked out of the hall.
Faint chatter resumed and Kyle went to start preparing, not bothering to resume his conversation with Kevin.
Kyle prepared and zipped up the silver tracksuit that had been handed out to all descendants of Yeesha.
He walked out of the hall without waiting for the other four.
A large corridor met him outside the double doors and he walked to the door on the far left.
As he opened it, a wide auditorium revealed itself to him with over 200 seats and a central stage with steps to climb onto it.
Sacred Sound was standing on the stage with a distant look in her eyes.
Her brown eyes flickered to him and she blinked slowly as she scanned his figure.
A cold sweat ran down Kyle's back under her cold, piercing gaze.
As though satisfied, she looked away from him and went back to staring at empty space.
The door behind Kyle opened a few more times and the other four joined him.
A faint whistle echoed through the empty auditorium and Sacred Sound vanished under their astonished gazes.
"Welcome." Her voice called out from behind them.
Before they could turn around, their vision went dark.