There once were two creations. They roamed the brand new earth alone, discovering that which was still nameless, and exploring biomes that seemed to create themselves at their feet. 

They were at peace, and the whole planet seemed to bow down at their feet. They preceded the humans, the first created by the gods to inhabit this small planet they had created. Earth himself adored these two mortals, creating a home for them between mountains so tall they touched the stars. It was a massive expanse of land, where they could live away from the wilder of beasts that attempted to eat them, and away from the darkness that existed outside of their idyllic home.

The two soon became lovers, a friendship that had existed for centuries now cultivated into something beautiful and new. There was no name for this emotion back then, no god to rule over this new thing. No, that would come much later. To them, it was a closeness that felt like their bodies and minds had become one. And from that incredible feeling, came children. Dozens, more than a hundred roamed the vast expanse of land and prospered under the watching eyes of the sky and the earth and their adoring parents. It was paradise, and it was perfect.

Though soon, greed began to seep through the walls that protected their home. Naive children grew into stone-faced and vicious adults, and the land was divided, with their parents’ home a centerpiece as they cut regions like slices of cake, dividing them between the most powerful of the young, with the rest following like sheep. 

The first tribes had formed. The Icy Ones who lived in the land of storms; The Glittering Ones who lived in large homes made of gorgeous crystals; The Healing Ones who lived amongst nature and flowers; the Wanderers, who had been exiled from their tribes and scarred both mentally and physically to the brink of insanity; and The Steely Ones who lived in a land of metal and darkness.

Their animosity eventually faded away into cold civility, and the land returned to peace. The first creations still cared dearly for their children, and continued to care for each and every one. They decided on names, one night, as they sat under the stars and watched their children thrive. Marion and Jakob. And so Jakob carved their initials into their home, under the watchful light of the moon.

Every morning, Jakob would go down to the mountains at the edge of their land, mining the rocks for gems and stone to care for their home. Soon, his children followed his lead, and their safety walls began to slowly etch away. Until there was nothing left. Until they had used it all up.

Until the darkness came.

It came at night.

Like a tsunami, it crashed over them all, infecting the children who slept in their tents and had not learned the protection magicks that Marion had been blessed with by the gods. They had not bothered to learn.

They had assumed they’d be safe. And that if they had children like their parents before them, that those children would also be safe. They were greedy, and believed that their parents’ worship of invisible deities was useless. 

They all died.

The darkness acted much like a parasite, burrowing into their skin and worming into their minds, until all they wished to do was fight. The battles lasted days, until they all died, a snow storm quickly taking over their small paradise.

Jakob felt like He was going to throw up. The air felt heavy and staticky, and everywhere He turned He could see grotesque shadows twisting to stare at Him with blank white eyes. A baby was crying from the attic, but He wasn’t sure if it was real. Was any of this real? The darkness… The disease had destroyed everything, and now… All Jakob could do was find a place to hide from His lover before He died as well. And pray to the gods. Would they even hear Him though? The air was so thick He felt like His words would be strangled right after they left His mouth. He dragged Himself up the stairs to their attic, watching the paintings of His children that lined the walls. They all turned to stare at Him, gazes boring into His back as blood flowed from their mouths and out of the canvases, covering the stairs with the sticky liquid. He wanted to throw up.

It felt like an eternity had dragged on before He arrived at the top of the steps, standing up only to slip on blood and crash back down to the ground. From their sitting room, Jakob heard clicking sounds, followed by a hard thump. A cracking sound, and finally, squelching. Marion was coming. He quickly scrambled into one of their old children’s rooms, Opal’s booby trapped room, now rusted over and useless. He managed to avoid most of them, but got hit right as He opened the closet, a rusted spike launching out and shoving Him through the window. The glass cutting into his skin past torn fabric felt like small knives, and the cold from the winter bit harshly into Him. The last thing He remembered before he passed out was seeing His children all sprawled across the terrain, dead and mangled, all because of Him and His ambitions.

When He awoke, it was standing nearby, staring at Him, its pupils dilated.

Marion’s smile felt too wide, too strange, as it turned to look at its children. Their bodies, twisted and decayed, lay strewn across the icy field, dried blood flaking on the frozen grass and on their dirty tattered clothing. It turned back to look at Jakob, and He felt an icy chill run down His spine. “My beloved, please-” He begged, stepping back and stumbling, tripping and falling on the ground. He had tripped on another one of Marion’s children, Diamond’s twisted and pained smile staring blankly back up at Him. “Please, Marion, please. Don’t hurt me- don’t hurt us like this.” Jakob pleaded, as Marion began to hobble in His direction, its smile ever present. “You took them from me.” Its voice was distorted, and it rang in His head and made Him want to scream and run. But as much as He wanted to run, He was frozen in terror, and all He could do was shake and hope that it did not kill Him. Jakob felt Himself sweat and wiped at His face with His hand, only to shake even further as He realised His hands were soaked in blood. 

“You took my babies from me, Jakob.” Marion crouched down in front of Him, its smile ever present. “My little girls and boys.” It whispered, but its smile never even moved. Its voice was in Jakob’s head, smothering Him and numbing His limbs. He couldn’t run. “I loved you, but I love them more.” It caressed His cheek, cutting skin with its sharp dirty fingernails. “You could bring them back, Jakob.” its breath ghosted his ear, and He retched, leaning forward and heaving as He emptied His stomach onto the icy grass. Jakob felt ill. He knew He wouldn’t survive this, but He still wanted to run. Marion gazed into His eyes, and He scrambled back, stumbling onto His feet as He turned and ran. 

But luck had never been on His side.

Thump.

Thump.

His boots felt too heavy, dragging Him down.

Thump.

Thump.

His skin was cold and clammy, and the blood that soaked His hands and face had begun to dry.

Thump.

cRACK-

“-Ah!” Jakob gasped, but He felt no pain, only numbness. His vision was tilting, blurring. He only faintly registered Marion coming up behind Him, its smile haunting His mind. “I thought you loved me, Jakob.” That chilling voice, it filled His brain as blood began to pour from His mouth. “It’s time for you to prove your love, beloved .” it placed a hand on His shoulder, and He shrieked. “Don’t touch me!” He tried to move, but His body wouldn’t respond. “I love you, I hope you remember that.” Marion murmured, and for a moment, it was Jakob’s beloved once again, caressing His cheek as they watched their children grow their empires and begin something beautiful in the newly formed lands of the Earth. The feeling was snapped away from Him, though, as Marion grabbed His head, and with a swift cut with its claws, separated it from His body. 

Jakob thought death would feel different, but as He slowly lost consciousness, He realised that no, this was not death. Marion would not let Him die.

He would live.

Over

And

Over

Again.

Forever.