Millennia before the rise and fall of Babylon, a white-haired elder walked slowly along a forest trail with his feet frozen with ice.

Frost lapsed at his breath, devouring any trace of heat he produced as he felt a man brush up against him, supporting his weight.

“Hurry up, elder. They draw further every step you take.”

The long-haired human beside him spoke in a thick accent, his animal pelts tight around his body, concealing any heat he could.

Nodding quickly and increasing his pace, he continued behind the herd of travellers who approached the beginning of their pilgrimage.

Ice covered nearly every inch of the once green world that he had watched flourish for eons, the new humans adapting well to their climate.

Hunting prey to survive in the frozen tundras was no small feat for the youths of the tribe; however, with hungry bellies and ill-folk, they made do with whatever they could find.

They had asked the elder to help them gather food, yet he only smiled, showing them his palms and speaking quietly.

“I do not take life.”

He had said the words without hesitation, expanding on his answer.

“A tree with the smallest of leaves is as much alive as you. The elk you feast on is as sentient as you. I will not harm anything. I only seek to watch it grow.”

The huntsmen had not understood his logic, for they were mortal, and he was eternal.

Whether they would have food for their children when the blizzards came was of no threat to the elder, who would never age, nor would he die.

He could not determine their emotions in these moments, his ever-beating heart only providing him with immortality and nothing else.

In the past, when he had encountered humanity, there was no issue with integrating into the world they had birthed.

For he was a god to them, one to be cherished and respected in an era of peace and tranquility that would last forever.

But as the snow fell and the globe froze over, the peoples of the planet thought themselves forsaken by his love, their morale crushed and his power dwindling.

And as he walked through the farthest reaches of the northern arctic circle alongside thousands of ancients, he had lost a piece of himself.

The spark that humanity had started within his once-empty heart was smothered by the frost that froze the planet.

Yet, as the trees cleared and his eyes adjusted to the fresh cascading moonlight that reflected on the surface of the sea, the startled reactions of the others brought a smile to his face.

For the first time in history, humans watched as a bridge made of gravel and ice opened a pathway between hemispheres.

Watching animals run across it wildly, the people of the era celebrated their arrival across the frozen lands, hope of a warm place ahead bringing a fire into their hearts.

However, the old man said nothing, his knowledge far exceeding their own in that moment, for, as he had lived before, an endless age of ice is boundless in size.

“We must head to the new land!”

The chief of the tribe's booming voice resonated with the people, their feet marching on through the frigid conditions.

Unlike them, the white-haired man did not move; instead, sitting down upon a fallen log and stared into the sea.

“The time is here at last.”

A frown stretched across his face as he watched the crowd leave him behind, their noises still echoing through his ears.

“Humanity will break apart into their own corners of this world, distancing themselves away from one another until they are not the same.”

Meteorites streaked through the heavens, his wrinkled eyelids dripping with a single silent tear, a new emotion forming in his heart.

Gazing into the future, he foresaw bloodshed, violence, division, and war brought upon by these differences.

While he could not see the specifics, he knew that this day, one thousand years into the past, would one day be born as the day humans truly became free.

For god himself was no longer by their side, and no matter how hard he tried or how hard he divided his essence to be everywhere all at once, he was still only one being.

In the southern regions, he had already watched them depart for the sandy continent, the feeling of guilt appearing as he remembered his creations that lurked in those lands.

The once united peoples of the world had split away, venturing off into all different directions and environments.

However, this moment in time would forever cement itself as the pivotal day in which humanity would truly divide.

On every mass of land, they would exist, they would thrive, and they would die.

“I cannot stop them now. I can only open my arms wide, welcoming them to their own inevitable demises.”

Running his hand through his hair slowly, he pondered an idea that he had wondered about since his own birth.

If he were a god, then why could he not stop everything wrong in the world?

Through the most violent processes in the universe, he watched stars explode, asteroids obliterate species, and humans bicker and fight with one another.

Reaching out his hand to hold, he was left behind, the world an ever-changing place that he was powerless to stop.

What if I had never opened the doors of Eden?

The thought wedged itself into his head, the rare new emotion welling in his heart expanding faster than he could control.

Would they have lived peacefully for all eternity? Would I have been able to watch them happily exist until the end of time? 

Rasping his fingers against the wood, he felt a cold hand press against his shoulder slowly.

Turning his head, he watched another elder stumble out of the woodlands behind him, his hair a matted mess of leaves and snow with dirt and grime clinging to him like paste.

Wrinkles ever deeper than his own plagued the man's form, his eyes barely open as he gazed into the distance.

“We aren’t needed in their world anymore.”

His somber voice was wrought with grief, a feeling that the god had felt for millennia as he watched endless turmoil.

The dirtied man spoke again, taking a seat next to the white-haired elder and following his eyes upward into the sky.

“You seem tired, my friend. The ages haven’t been kind to you.”

Laughing slightly while rubbing the elder's arm, the slim-eyed man heard a low rumble from the other's throat.

“The ages are kind to no man.”

Cracking a smile, the dirtied man replied swiftly.

“You are correct.”

A gust of wind overcame the men as they watched the stars streak across the endless expanse of space high above.

Twitching his fingers slightly, the deity ceased the ticking clock of the world, focusing only on his conversation with the other man.

“I have a question for you, child.”

Furrowing his brow slightly, the other man nodded his head, awaiting the god's words carefully.

Taking a deep breath, his hands trembling and his face wrought with worried wrinkles, the elder spoke firmly.

“Are we to stop others' choices if we know them to be wrong? Shall we discard their opinions for being foolish? Is their freedom more important than their safety?”

Gazing into the dirtied man's eyes solemnly, he watched the man process his questions slowly, answering quietly.

“I cannot answer that myself, for that is not my choice to make. However, do you believe our choices are correct? Will they truly be happy knowing they were crushed to build our joy?”

Posing queries of his own, he looked at the god calmly, noticing his age deepening as their conversation continued.

There was a thick silence that consumed the discussion as the thought continued, and after only a few minutes did it followed.

“The idea of choice outweighs their desire to thrive and procreate… That is unusual…”

He paused, continuing a second after.

“Perhaps choices define humanity. Their thoughts make them unique when compared to all other creations. Without change, there never comes rebirth…”

Thinking back to his own past experiences, he remembered Eden, the gated gardens, and the pleas of the first two humans.

They begged for freedom from eternal bliss, their lives perfect, yet, when faced with eternity, they yielded.

It was something that he himself could never connect with, even through humanity, for he was a god, one who was unaffected by the ages.

These people, the ones he wished to watch forever, wouldn’t be any different from himself without choice.

Mindless husks forced along by nature without any decision or thought in their lives, puppets controlled by the eternal puppetmaster.

And as he came to the conclusion, he watched a smile come across the man next to hims face, relief as clear as the morning sun.

“You see now. We are who we are because we can choose. If our choices were made for us, then it makes us nothing. Yet, even if we were better off without those decisions, we still would make them again and again.”

Taking a steady breath, his voice raspy, he continued.

“You and I are no different from them. We are products of freedom, an unsmothered desire for endless choice. If there is no choice, then there is no life.”

Ending himself off there, the man stood, wiping off his clothing and facing the staring god quietly.

“I shall go now, a land of freedom awaits me.”

Bowing his head to his fellow elder, he began to walk towards the distance, the fading fires of the tribe appearing on the horizon.

“Wait.”

The god's voice was hurried and frantic as he watched the man leave.

Craning his neck enough to look at the white-haired man's face, the dirtied elder simply smiled, listening to his words.

“If you go now, you will die. Let me offer you a wish. Something to compensate you for the advice.”

Hurrying to speak the words, he nearly stumbled over his speech, a sad expression plastered over his face as he waited for the human's words.

“I will not make any wishes. For this is my choice. And whether it kills me or brings me to the land of freedom, I do not mind. As, when I arrive at the end of my life, whether it be today or tomorrow, I will know that every choice was my own, not that of someone else.”

And then, without another single word, he vanished into the rush of snow that had begun to bombard the coastline, the elder left alone by the log.

Reaching inside his heart, he dissected two new feelings, new to him, tears rolling down his immortal face as he did so.

Regret, an emotion wrought by his inability to change fate and offer humanity salvation under his own guidance.

His mind was a mess of this new emotion as he blamed himself for all of humanity's problems, his weakness and failure to protect them bringing them to their future demise.

However, the idea of human perseverance throughout such suffering brought enchantment into his life; his awe at their spirits overwhelmed him at that moment.

No matter how much regret or sadness overcame his celestial form as he wept, he clung to this sense of wonder.

Humans were creatures who inspired him to live, the ones who brought joy into his once bland life.

And as the sun began to rise on the frozen world of millennia foregone, that being understood, why humans did what they did.

“Their spirits are truly unbreakable. For even in the coldest winters, they turn down life for their own moral dignity.”

Staring off into the distance, he closed his eyes, feeling the nature around him course with an endless flow of freedom.