In a distant galaxy, 3 million light-years away from Earth, was a small planet, slowly drifting in the vast emptiness of space. Inhabited by fantastical creatures, with clear blue oceans and lands covered in lush green vegetation, this planet had for many millennia been the home of a race of highly intelligent beings, who had learnt to master the flow of Ether in the atmosphere and developed magical powers. In no time, these beings became an advanced civilisation, harnessing magic to give birth to new, never before seen forms of technology. They quickly became proficient at astronomy and space travel, and had succeeded in mapping out most of the universe.  

From their small, isolated planet, they would study and watch over other galaxies and life forms — and eventually began mingling with them, occasionally travelling to their planets and bring them help in the form of materials, technology, or sometimes using their magic to perform what the local population would perceive as miracles. After some time, however, their attitude towards the outside world changed, and they began to prefer staying alone in their own recess of the universe, as silent observers. For centuries, they continued to observe the universe, witnessed the formation and destruction of planets, the rise and collapse of entire civilisations. They witnessed the flow of time, the cycle of life and death, silently, from the comfort of their own little paradise. Eventually, civilisations who had come into contact with them began to forget about them, records and retellings were altered or lost to time, and facts became legends.  

In more ways than one, these beings could be seen as “Gods”. They reigned on this planet for ages, thinking themselves to be all powerful and eternal. However, the Gods’ era of prosperity would soon come to a close, and the harsh reality of the universe — that all things that come to exist are bound to disappear — the reality they took interest in observing in others for so long, would soon become their own. This is the story of the disappearance of the Gods, and the disappearance of their home world… 

“Planet Pantyhose…” Mo said solemnly. 

“It’s planet Parthenos!!” I shouted. 

I had jumped into the book on the ground. As my feet came into contact with the pages, I could feel them distorting under my weight and swallowing me as if I had fallen into a pool of water. In an instant, my whole body had been submerged, and I then found myself floating in space. I couldn’t believe my eyes — in front of me was the Olympus galaxy, just as I had always imagined it. A vast galaxy, full of brightly lit constellations, colourful nebulae, and at the centre of everything, this single turquoise blue planet, Parthenos. 

“So this is your story’s setting?” Mo asked as she looked around. “Looks pretty empty for a ‘galaxy’, it’s just this one planet in the middle of nowhere. Planet, uh…” 

“Parthenos. To answer your question, no, it’s not the story’s main setting. As for it being alone in the middle of nowhere… well, there’s a story reason for that.” 

“Ooh, look at you doing all this foreshadowing! Alright, you got me curious. Let’s move on with that story of yours. What happens next?” 

I didn’t even have to think for the story to set itself in motion. Parthenos got closer to us — or maybe it was us getting closer to it — and in a matter of seconds we had penetrated its atmosphere. It was like we were flying through the sky, taking an aerial tour of this dream planet of mine. My eyes darted around. There were so many things to see that I couldn’t just settle on one and take the sight in. Majestic mountains with beautiful waterfalls gushing out of them. Gigantic trees and plants covered in bright, colourful flowers, that gently swayed with the wind, looking like they were alive. Magical creatures flying by our side while others were running on the land and swimming through the endless, crystal-clear ocean. 

“So this is Parthenos…” I murmured in amazement. “It’s exactly like I always imagined it…” 

This moment of wonder would unfortunately be short-lived. 

“You know,” Mo said with an unimpressed tone, “this planet looks an awful lot like Pandora from that ‘Avatar’ movie.” 

“Huh!?” 

“I mean, I’ve never seen it myself, I’m just going off of what small glimpses of it I could find in your memories… But yeah, it’s very reminiscent of it.” 

I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t particularly a fan of that film, but I did watch it when it came out. I guess there were some similarities now that she mentioned it. 

“I mean, it’s not a bad thing!” she hurriedly added, having probably noticed my reaction. “Everyone takes a little inspiration from somewhere! It could also just be your subconscious building these images from memories because it has no real reference to work with.” 

“Well, it’s true that I never actually drew Parthenos… I always just had a vague idea of what the planet was like. So my subconscious is just making it look like the planet from that film because it’s the closest thing to it in my memories?” 

“Pretty much! Even if this dream rendition of it takes inspiration from memories of other stories, I’m sure your story and its world are very original!” 

Just as Mo said that, a dragon-like creature flew past us, with a blue humanoid riding on its back. 

“Ah…” I muttered in embarrassment, “That one is from a race of dragon riders living in the jungle, they’re, um…” 

“Oh man, this is literally just Pandora from Avatar, isn’t it?” 

She had completely given up on trying to make me feel better. 

Our aerial tour eventually came to an end, as we landed in front of a large Greek temple, sitting at the top of the tallest mountain. 

“This is the Pantheon,” I explained, “the palace where Zeus, the king of the Gods, lives.” 

“That’s a strange name,” Mo said. 

“Is it?” 

“Ah, but don’t mind me, I’m just being nitpicky. Please, go on with your story.” 

The gates to the palace opened and we walked in. I cleared my throat and continued. 

“Zeus is the king of the Gods, he has been benevolently ruling over all of them for over two hundred years by now. However, his reign on Parthenos is about to end, and he knows it.” 

We heard some footsteps echoing from behind us. As we turned around, we saw a young woman running past us. She had long, green hair, and was wearing a golden suit of armour. 

“Oh hey, it’s your imaginary girlfriend,” Mo said nonchalantly. 

“For the last time, she’s not an imaginary girlfriend!” 

That woman was Athena. Zeus’ daughter, and the protagonist of this story. We followed her down the hallway, which eventually led us to the throne room, where a heated conversation was taking place. 

“Father,” Athena yelled, “you can’t seriously be considering this!” 

“We have no other choice, Athena,” answered a tall, muscular, bearded man on the throne — the king of the Gods, Zeus himself. “The survival of our civilisation, of what it stands for, depends on it.” 

“This is madness! I refuse to let this happen!” 

I stood there, at the throne room’s entrance, silently watching the scene. Mo, on the other hand, had already begun exploring the room, walking past the guards and admiring all of the fancy treasures, weapons and armours on display. It seemed that while this story was playing out, no one was aware of our presence. 

“It sounds serious,” she said to me from afar. “What’s their deal?” 

I walked past the guards, and joined her in front of a large tapestry detailing the planet’s history — from the birth of the Gods’ civilisation, to the prophecy of their demise. 

“Parthenos is on the verge of destruction,” I explained. “The galaxy’s sun imploded 3 months ago, and each planet has been pulverised by the deflagration, one by one. Parthenos, the furthest planet, is the last one standing, but in a matter of days it will be no more. Gods will soon become extinct.” 

“Ah, bummer. Hey, are those fruits over there?” 

Just like that, she left and headed towards the throne. 

“Wait, you’re not even going to ask about that tapestry!? There’s a ton of lore and backstory shown on it that I could tell you about!” 

“What’s the point? Everything’s going to blow up.” 

She made a good point. I was really proud of the complete history of this planet I had spent time developing, though… 

“There has to be another way!” Athena shouted. “If we defeat Ares once and for all, surely we can—” 

“Don’t you realise it yet?” Zeus shouted back. “There is no other way. Parthenos is done for, nothing can prevent its destruction. Not even centuries of technological progress and achievements. Not even our civilisation, the most advanced in the entire universe, can avoid death. Even if we were to defeat Ares today, we would still cease to exist tomorrow, as foretold by the prophecy. That part will not change, no matter what.” 

Mo climbed the stairs leading to the throne, and grabbed a bunch of grapes from a plate right next to Zeus. 

“So who’s that Ares guy they keep mentioning anyway?” she asked while picking and eating each grape one by one. 

“Ares, the God of war. Athena’s half-brother. He is the story’s main antagonist.” 

“Huh? The antagonist is a God? Aren’t the Gods supposed to be the good guys?” 

“Not all of them are. As you’ve heard, Parthenos is doomed. But not all of the Gods believe they should go extinct. Ares wants the Parthenian race to survive, and to do so, he intends to go to war and invade another planet — causing the extinction of that planet’s inhabitants. Zeus, on the other hand, refuses; he believes their race should remain a pacifist one, and face extinction with dignity. This divide resulted in a conflict that lasted for several months. Ares allied himself with Hades, and now leads an army of underworld demons. Meanwhile, Zeus rallied the rest of the Gods, as well as other races from this planet, such as the Na’vi— I mean, the Cerulii, the dragon riders we saw earlier. All in all, this is a war of ideals. A war about survival and extinction. One side fights to live, the other side fights to die.” 

“That’s pretty deep.” 

Having emptied Zeus’ plate, Mo stared at it for a moment, and then grabbed it and started eating it. 

“But like,” she continued while noisily chewing bits of ceramic, “didn’t Zeus say something about ensuring their civilisation’s survival? Wasn’t he the one who wanted them to go extinct? Your story’s confusing, Ash.” 

“Zeus was talking of a more metaphorical survival. Planet Parthenos will be destroyed no matter what. And the Parthenians themselves have to die, because they won’t be able to move to another planet without displacing and causing the extinction of that planet’s population first. Instead, Zeus wants them to survive in spirit — by being remembered as a proud, pacific race who chose to face extinction with dignity for the sake of others. This is what their civilisation stands for, and that spirit will live on even after they’re gone.” 

“How is that spirit supposed to live on? When you’re gone, you’re gone.” 

“No one’s truly gone, as there’s someone to remember them.” 

Zeus stood up from his throne. 

“Athena!” he shouted with a loud voice that made the walls shake. “I entrust you with my will — no, the will of all of Parthenos! You shall be the last survivor of our kind, and you will keep our legacy alive!” 

“Father, I refuse!” Athena replied with tears in her eyes. “I can’t escape and let you all to die here!” 

“Listen, Athena! Ares’ army keeps gaining ground. It’s only a matter of time until they take over this palace and Ares gets his hands on the Talaria Drive, the key to space travel that we sealed eons ago, once our race decided to isolate itself from the outside world. Once it is in his possession, nothing will stop him and his followers from traveling across the universe, and invading the worlds he has his sights on. The only way to stop him is to destroy the Talaria Drive — and Parthenos with it.” 

“This is madness!” 

“Enough!! My mind is set. The Council has approved this decision as well. When we set out to fight for our noble extinction, we knew it could eventually come to this. Whether Parthenos gets destroyed by the Sun’s implosion in a few days, or today by my own hands, our proud race will have gone out with dignity, and in accordance with our ideals of peace. We are willing to sacrifice ourselves here and now, if it means another planet doesn’t have to suffer an equally cruel fate.” 

Zeus lifted his hand, and all the guards in the room began to surround Athena. She tried to fight back, but was eventually overcome by their sheer number. 

“Take her to Pegasus Bay,” Zeus ordered, “and get the pod on Dock #1 ready for boarding. We will activate the Talaria Drive in exactly 15 minutes, for the first time in centuries, and for the last time in Parthenos’ history.” 

An aircraft stopped by one of the windows, and the guards began to lead Athena onto it. 

“I’m so confused,” Mo mumbled, “is this supposed to be a fantasy or a sci-fi story…?” 

“It’s both!” I replied, “It mixes both genres for an unusual yet familiar experience!” 

“If you say so…” 

“Father!” Athena screamed her lungs out. “You can’t do this!” 

“Go, Athena. Live your life, proud and free. As the last of the Parthenians. As the last of the Gods. You will, my daughter, and through you, the legacy and will of Parthenos will live on!” 

The aircraft took off and left the palace, with Athena’s desperate cries echoing through the sky. Zeus shed a single tear, and silently sat back down on his throne, ready to face the final minutes of Parthenos alone. 

“So, let me get this straight…” Mo said, breaking the silence. “Old Zeus here is going to activate that Talaria Drive thingy, to send her daughter away to another planet, and then he’s going to blow Parthenos up?” 

“That’s exactly it. Athena will go on to live as the last of the Gods. Meanwhile, Parthenos will be prematurely destroyed by Zeus. All of the Gods will die, but in doing so, he will take down Ares and Hades’ underworld army with him, and make sure the Talaria Drive and the knowledge of space travel are destroyed for good.” 

“I’m not sure I completely understand, but it takes balls to do something like that, I’ll give him that. So what’s next in the story? I’ve looked around, but the dream core doesn’t seem to be on this planet.” 

“Next, we will follow Athena to where Zeus sent her. The same planet that Ares originally had his sights on, the only planet that Gods encountered in their centuries of space exploration that matched the living conditions of Parthenos.” 

“Ah! Wait! Could it be…” 

“Yup, that’s right!” 

“Kepler-385!” 

“It’s obviously Earth!!”