Time went on.

 

Many things changed in the advancing multitude of years. New fungus and flora grew, proliferating across the vast surface of the world, creating a myriad of varieties, strains, and vibrant blossoms in every visible spectrum of color on the lone landmass. Things were moving smashingly, as there were no forms of existence inhabiting the globe that could tarnish it, drain it, or otherwise destroy it. 

 

However, it was not all literal sunshine and roses, of course.

 

Catastrophes flourished aplenty. Storms raged, and floods ravaged areas of the world. At one point a supermassive tornadic event ripped a shallow, but overripe deposit of sulfur from the ground and scattered it over a range of six hundred miles. 

 

That will come in to play later.

 

But, the world plodded along after the big bit of wind, even with brush fires, earthquakes, and regular eruptions from volcanoes--some that would have been perceived to be dormant if there was life intelligent enough to discern the merit of a “big boom.”

 

Speaking of life…

 

The microscopic Meatlings continued to thrive along the shoreline of the supercontinent, expanding their eensy-weensy empire into a… slightly larger one. Eventually, they too, began to change. The first mutational offshoot brought about a Meatling that looked almost exactly the same as the others... but had a slightly greener hue. 

 

Or a few generations later, when that color changed even more, but instead of a greener hue, it seemed to be a little more predisposed the other way toward “rosy.” Though, not as rosy as the original brood, but roughly halfway between the two differences. This ceased to matter with the next division of the cell because it returned once again to the greener shade.

 

But, that is the hilarity of living organisms. They make hardly any sense at all. The Meatlings continued on in this manner for quite some time until something spectacular happened.

 

They developed eyes. 

 

Poor ones at first that seemed to merely filter in the grayest ambit of light but, over more compacted time, they too, began to modify until eventually, the Meatlings were able to see well enough to notice the change in one another. This allowed the Meatlings to form mini opinions of one another, and categorized themselves based on slight variations in their physical form. Though, they could not speak or otherwise communicate, so they kept their tiny thoughts to themselves.

 

But, because this world was based on a different set of principles than others--including the original realm that Snooze had come from--things would begin to develop a bit oddly. For instance, having plantlife on the world before any unicellular organism would have been considered by some a “big time mistake,” and something that might only be able to happen if there is an involvement of a higher being, or perhaps a particularly nasty leftover in the fridge. 

 

As such, the variables brought into play when Snooze used her abilities had a great effect on not only the landscape, but the development of higher life as well. Things seemed to happen much faster than you might expect, were this a different planet. In fact, all of this had transpired in only a few thousand years.

 

Let’s jog on a bit, shall we?

 

Eventually, some of the Meatlings had developed enough that they were no longer unicellular. A long time later, they evolved to dwell both in the water and on the shores themselves. Some then continued to rely solely on the bounty of the earth, and became unable to survive extended instances in the grip of the water. Ironically, this somehow gave the evolvees a primitive version of a sense of entitlement, while it gave the ones who remained in the waves an immense sense of relief, as those “landies” had been getting particularly full of themselves of late.

 

It was around this time that the continent, suffering grievous earthquakes and a definite case of the “Mondays,” began to crack and drift, slowly sailing apart from itself to form different landmasses in disparate corners of the globe. The ground-dwelling Meatlings were whisked away as well, unable to resist the inching migration of their homes. 

 

So what was once one, was now a separate many, and this too had a pronounced effect on the Meatlings’ development. They changed, and they grew, and they were unfortunately, not always the better for it.

 

The progression of time chugged along like a tenacious steam engine. 

 

It’s important to note that the way in which Snooze, the god of this realm, had set this planet up, was quite marvelous. But, because of her lack of use with her Death Element, its low level translated into quite the aberration in her Meatlings. Set into motion, Death, unhindered by a strong hand in its control, ran rampant on this world. Lifeforms died with alarming regularity, and in the simplest of ways. They were hit by lightning, smashed against stones, ripped apart by strong waves, and even boiled by the sun. In an existential world, this would have been called a huge bummer.

 

The descendents of the Seed of Life were frequently bespoiled by this fact, despite their best efforts to survive. But it did not stop them from their separate evolutions throughout the wide and wonderful expanse of the world. However, as the Book of Leaf would point out to the not-so-fledgling anymore god, Death existed regardless. It was an absolute as true as entropy (of which the two phenomena were cousins), and could even exist where there was nothing else. Death could abide, even in a void.

Here, the narrative will skip the minutiae of each consequential stage of the next few dozen thousand years, and land on a very important day. 

 

--

 

“What’s it doing?” Snooze asked with her mouth. She’d only had the ability to speak for the last sixty years, and she still hadn’t gotten used to it. She’d received the opportunity to change her form to a more highly developed one, and she gave herself a gob to gab from.

 

IT SEEMS TO BE… PRAYING, I BELIEVE. 

 

The Book of Leaf granted its statement a few more ellipses as it seemed to be trying to discern the novel nature of the beast.

 

They were viewing the world as they did a majority of the time, and had happened upon one of the groups of descendants of the Seed of Life that had become bipedal. One might be convinced to refer to them as humanoid, but unlike those of Snooze’s original life, they had developed skin that resembled platelets of smooth rock almost like the scales of a lizard. They had watched them develop over the last few ages, and after many arguments, had finally settled on calling them “Stonies.” The Stonies over time began to call themselves “Ngak,” a word meaning “dirt,” but that was a bit primitive for Snooze’s liking, and she fondly referred to them by her originally decided name.

 

One of the tribes of the Stonies was set in the mountains that they called, “Ngaka,” which meant simply, “big dirt.” These Stonies were one of the more developed groups, having figured out rudimentary shelter and a system of gathering that divided the groups into parties based on which types of edible plants they collected. But, one Stonie in particular had surprised them.

 

He was an oddity from birth, and often spent his days staring into nothingness and just thinking. In a society that valued the labor of gathering food and materials to survive, this Stonie was something of a social pariah. It was for this reason they other members of the tribe had given him the name, “Sengak,” or, “funny dirt.” 

 

Sengak often climbed up to the topmost peaks of the mountains in order to stare down at the creation before him. He delighted in the sight of the various animals and insects that existed around him, as well as the unknowable nature of storms, wind, and the day and night sky. But, he’d never done this before.

 

He slid his legs into a peculiar position, laced cross, while he closed his eyes, and concentrated on sending his thoughts out into the aether. How he came to this decision was unknown, but someone who spent that much time contemplating the world around him, might eventually come up with an idea such as that.

 

“I feel strange,” Snooze admitted, frowning a bit as she watched Sengak perform his ritual.

 

HE DOES NOT KNOW WHERE TO DIRECT HIS THOUGHTS, BUT HE IS SCRATCHING THE SURFACE OF WORSHIP.

 

“Worship?” Snooze asked. Of course she knew what that was, but the idea made her uncomfortable for some reason. 

 

YOU WILL COME TO FIND, OVER TIME, YOU WILL RECEIVE BENEFITS FROM YOUR CREATIONS WORSHIPING YOU.

 

“That seems a bit like a cult, don’t you think, Book?” Snooze said, “I mean, sure, I suppose I created them, but worshipping me? That’s a little weird.”

 

YOU ARE A GOD, NOTHING IS WEIRD ANYMORE.

 

Snooze regarded this statement and shrugged, nodding.

 

“I guess you’re right,” she said, then turning back to Sengak, she smiled, “worship away, little buddy.”

 

At the moment, however, the edge of the cliff that Sengak had been sitting upon, suffered under his weight, and broke off. Sengak fell.

 

Unfortunately, the creatures of this planet--as previously mentioned--often suffered these fates. They just couldn’t help but knock on death’s door.

 

This time though, it was different. Perhaps because of what had transpired moments before, or maybe some other flight of fancy, Snooze reacted instinctively. 

 

“No!” she shouted, and threw her hand into the air. Just below Sengak, as he screamed for dear life, a column of air formed in the shape of a hand. It plucked him out of his plunge, and lifted him back up to the overlooking peak of the mountain, placing him gently in a safer spot.

 

Sengak, having already decided he had been about to die, was at first, confused, but then, a different emotion overtook him. He dropped to his knees, and prostrated himself with arms flat on the ground ahead of him, his face pressed into the rocks of the mountain pass. In his simplest terms (for that was all he had) he thanked his god for saving his life.

 

“Oh,” Snooze said, realizing what she had just done. Something felt… wonderful. Her body vibrated with energy, and the familiar feeling of leveling up in her godhood washed over her. But there was now some additional sensation that she couldn’t quite place. Snooze heard a chirp from the Book of Leaf, and glanced at its display.

 

[ SNOOZE - LEVEL 4 GOD ]

 

[ GAINED 1 FOLLOWER ]

 

[ GAINED ABILITY: DIVINE INTERVENTION ]