The Forbidden Book of Genesis 

The Observational Records of a Firstborn

 

 

In a time long passed, creation was so unlike today that it would be deemed unrecognizable. 

For before there were what we consider Gods, mortals or any other kind of life, there were the Primordials.

Primordial life was different. Life as we have come to know it, is similar. But it has become tainted. For in the pale, desolate creation, the laws that govern existence does not allow for lifeless matter to become sentient. For lifeless matter does not hold any purpose. Not until something gives it purpose.

 

Souls. The two parts made one that makes every life. Instincts that drive the behaviour of the soul, and the driving force of its growth. Memories, that guides the path for the instincts and binds the soul to its physical matter.

Noone knows who or what first gave rise to them, or if they were but an eventuality. But they gave matter purpose. And with purpose, came life. Primordial life.

For primordial life, existence was different. Death was not to be feared, but embraced. For primordial life retained all the memories from the past. To enter death, was to enter a dreamless sleep.

Primordial life was small. Smaller than any lifeforms that can be discovered by any being today. With each iteration, primordial life grew. As it retained its memories, it could learn from past mistakes. Like vegetation that withered at first would learn and grow towards the sun in the following iteration.

Noone knows how long it took for primordial life to enter sentience. But when it did, things took a turn.

Sentient primordials learned more about the nature of their existence. And learned that it could be guided. With each lifetime, they learnt more. And they learnt that they were strong. But they could never hold the cycle of death at bay forever.

But they began to see the relations.

The sentient primordials realized the two events that unfolded upon entering the afterlife. First, the death of their physical shell. But with their sentience, they could remain awake in the afterlife. The thoughts sent by their loved ones kept waking them up, interrupting their slumber and halting their departure into their new life.

For even if death was no finality, but a new beginning, the departure of a loved one would be a heavy farewell. And the one who had no choice but to leave the others behind, could never enter their new life as long as their loved ones thought of them. It resulted in some waiting a long time for their journey to even begin.

Soon it was established that the primordials would grieve the departure of a loved one during the final disposition. To say their farewells, to send their loved one away on their journey to the next life.

And so primordial life went on. Until someone made a realization. A realization, that would be the beginning of all the events that would eventually come to unfold.

For at some point in time, the sentient primordials attempted to see if they could remain without leaving for their journey to a new life. To keep them awake permanently, when meant to enter their slumber.

And they succeeded. 

 

But not without great effort. For it took the combined efforts of many to keep any one person merely awake. To interact with those from their former life, it required more, so much more.

But those who kept the slumbering spirit from leaving, one by one entered their own slumbers. Unable to sustain the spirit, the attempt was deemed a failure.

As such, the primordials once again decided that it was better to send their loved ones away, and return to breaking their chains of grief with each departure.

At least, for a time. 

For someone made a discovery. The discovery that would become the most dangerous in the history of creation.

The energy that was gifted to the slumbering one to keep its departure at bay, could be stolen. Not only the energy sent to others, but also directly from other souls.

And it was. 

 

Upon the discovery, the resulting chaos was maddening. No life was safe, be it sentient or not. The strong suppressed the weak, now able to sustain their existence purely with acts of theft.

Soon, a group of sentient primordials stood at the top of the food chain, feeding on those lesser than themselves. Whether allied from the beginning or enemies who made peace, they divided creation amongst themselves.

Peace ensued. For a time.

 

The sentient primordials who rose above the others called themselves gods. And the gods were ravenous. For with their theft, their powers grew. And with rising powers, they needed more sustenance. 

How the gods chose to sate their hunger differed. Many chose to feed on the souls as they were, reveling in the taste of them as the souls cried in agony as their existences were shattered, never to be born again into a new life.

But others chose the path of foresight. They knew from the beginning their hunger would rise. So they chose not to consume the souls completely. 

Instead, these gods chose to alter the souls. First, they ripped the souls at the very core, inhibiting the powers gained from their memories. For what the gods had planned, they would not permit the chance of rebellion.

Upon the death of their earthly lives, the souls would be stripped bare to feed the gods and retain the status quo. But not all pieces of the souls were consumed. Instead, the parts that nurtured growth, were returned to the world where the soul was born, to nurture other souls. Finally, once stripped clean, the soul was sent onto its journey to be born again into mortal flesh.

The worlds who received that solution had a remarkable rate of growth for the souls. The souls grew faster, and were able to hold more memories, leading to more feed for the gods. And so the cycle continued. For a time.

 

The gods who chose not to use this solution grew envious. And witnessing the souls that grew ripe and aplenty, they were eventually overcome with hunger.

Once the first god lashed out, the gods that were growing souls were furious. They had not spent as much time growing their strength, choosing a strategy that would let them sustain themselves forever. But they could not let the pillaging of their domains continue either.

 

And so the first celestial offsprings were created. To become an army to fight off the hungry gods. Souls plucked from their journey to a new life, were granted a new kind of existence. Their souls were altered again, but not to grow as they pleased. Their souls were repaired to heal the rift that inhibited their powers. 

But in return, their growth had to be inhibited.

The celestial children were not allowed to grow their instincts, as the gods always feared rebellion. Once their instincts were developed, they were sealed from growing any further.

These immortal children of the gods grew at first, but eventually hit their limit. Once reached, they came to the point that their souls were becoming overfilled with memories.

Which resulted in them having to sacrifice their own memories, if they wished to keep new ones. 

Created to protect the mortals from the hungry demons, they were encouraged to sacrifice any memories that didn’t involve their duty.

 

And so the ravenous gods were pushed back. For a time.

The starved gods decided to create armies of their own, to counter the defenders. They too picked up souls, and ripped them at the core. These souls would be altered the same way as the other gods had done.

These souls would hold no kindness in them, only revel in the suffering of others and the thrill of death. The perfect living weapons, dark and twisted.

Once killed in action, they would be stripped too, and eventually be reborn as they had previously with no memories, taken from them to feed their creator. Only for them to then be thrown back into battle again, their instincts intact, that would grow in each life, little by little. 

 

And so the eternal wars came to begin, and will come to continue until the end of time, in the absence of an eventuality.

 

____________

 

In the middle of the war between the gods known as the Harvester and the Devourer, a change began to tip the scales of the war. 

For the Harvester had made twins. Two souls at once, who would change the pace and history of the war. 

One of them burned brighter than any other. He was the Embodiment of Compassion. 

His resolve to protect the souls born into mortal husks was unrivalled, and would go to any world that was calling for aid. And he would always be followed by his sister, who would never let her brother fight alone.

Inseparable they were. The child who would sacrifice anything for the weak, and the child who would sacrifice anything for him.

They inspired their brethren, which changed the course of the neverending war. Finally, victory was in sight. For a time.

 

The Devourer was cunning. He knew the source of his repeated losses, and knew how to shatter the resolve of the oncoming celestial children.

An elaborate trap was put in play, and he got the first of the twins alone. His sister arrived in time to see her brother forcefully dragged away, and was left with no choice but to abandon her reckless pursuit as she stood exhausted and outnumbered.

The war nearly came to a halt. The celestial children, demoralized by the loss of their most beloved, realized the war had took its toll on them. And the sister who was now alone, wept insconsolably, bound by her grief.

But her grief was not permitted to last long.

For the enemy made its advance. Finding their anger, the celestial children lashed out in retaliation for their loss. And their strength was still overwhelming, as they held the line.

But things soon changed, as a new soul arrived on the battlefield. One that had been tortured and twisted until it became unrecognizable. The celestial childred were horrified at the sight of the new kind of being. They had witnessed a new Firstborn.

And they witnessed the endless hatred, in the eyes that once only held compassion.

 

 

-    Sophelia the Firstborn