43 Firuz - Vicious Cycle

Firuz was a passenger in Zama's body; he saw through his eyes and felt through his skin. He drew a deep breath, felt the green mist roll around his body, felt his skin prick under the icy cool touch of the mist. He could feel his old friend in everything around him. Tears gleamed in his eyes as he felt an emptiness in him, clawing at his conscience for what he would do, or rather what his children will do.

"It will be as it has been..." Zama repeated the words of his old friend as he took in the scene; countless new Ruh forming all around him. He could see the small, gray Galvi slithering through the sand, digging deeper into the earth and urging the life out of the dead soil. Violet ribbons swished through the sky, bringing with them gentle and more welcoming winds. Small sapphire balls danced all around him, singing and dancing and bringing with them rain.

Countless different Ruh were taking their very first breath Tiny green fireflies, great shimmering stars, dancing white ribbons, slithering black snakes and scarlet deer prancing in the winds. Not one the same as the other, each unique in its own way. Zama could feel her in them, they shared her innocence, herself, and her love.

"Why can't they see them for what they are?" Zama wondered, his voice thick with sorrow. He could imagine his children, fighting and shedding blood. A voice in him whispered. 'Everything plays its part...' he scowled at the words; he had heard them countless times. Zama turned towards his left, The great rolling desert changed, replaced by delicate twirling vines, by soft grass and swaying trees as they held the sand together and shielded the plants from the fury of the sun.

Zama stood alone for centuries as the world around him shifted. Trees and greenery yawned awake in the smoldering hot desert. Great rivers roamed through the land spreading far and wide, and towering trees swayed with a wind that was warm and kind.

"Sorry for making you wait." Zama said out loud. Firuz frowned trying to find out who he was talking too, but somewhere deep inside he knew who it was. "I wanted you to see." a smile played on his lips as he admired the scene around him. "Isn't it wonderful? We could never achieve such beauty, such peace." His gaze hardened as he determination flashed in his eyes. he had his answer. "I wanted you to see what they will destroy and why I must do this." Zama raised his hand, small green nodes trickling around his fingers. He turned his hand cutting through the green mist. This green nodes dispersed for a while but once again returned to him. His eyes softened as a bitter smile played on his lips. "...she always told me that we are small pieces, transitory existence. Let the nature play its course, she would tell me." His nose puckered into a scowl.

'What is he talking about' Firuz frowned; he felt frustrated being trapped in a world so beautiful that it was a sin not to look, and yet here he was struck with this brood, who babbled on about things he didn't understand.

Zama sighed in helplessness as he stared at nothing in particular. "You don't understand now. I didn't either. It took me millions of years to understand what they really are..." An image of burning world flashed in front of Firuz. Everything burned in a raging fire, the Ruh fought with everything they had, but the fire was sinister and unyielding. He saw men fighting with each other, killing everything in their wake until nothing remained. "It's funny that in their desire to live, they die..." Zama kept his silence for another century.

The rivers around him froze as everything was drowned under the heavy snow. He stood watching the vicissitudes of time as the green around him wilted to brown. As the trees stood naked, with their leaves fluttering through the wind, covering the ground in a thick carpet of red and orange.

"Someone had to break this cycle. This vicious cycle. I don't want her children to die. I know a way... but if you are here, know that I have failed." Zama chuckled darkly. "But I hope, I am alone as no other should ever bear this burden." Zama groaned in pain as his hand dug into his heart. He gasped in pain, lips quivering, his fingers searching inside his heart... He wrenched free his hand, spraying a deep red blood. The wound in his chest rippled as the flesh grew and closed the wound. He opened his fist and stared at the dark beating flesh. Firuz felt his heart stir at the sight of the black lump. He could feel terrible hatred sealed inside the throbbing flesh and he couldn't help but remember the great fire that consumed everything.

"They are my children... but, but It's necessary." He looked around, his eyes heavy with sorrow as he chewed on his lips. "Please forgive me." He clenched his fist and the lump in his hand shattered; black dust slipped out of his fist, rising with the wind. It spread like raging clouds, racing in every direction.

The Ruh ran at the sight of this black cloud. But, no matter how hard they ran the black cloud caught up to him. As soon as soon as they touched the black mist. Something inside them broke, their innocence replaced by something darker, something sinister. They gained consciousness and desires sprouted in their hearts. They started fighting with each other; devouring their own kind

Zama stared at the berserk Ruh and how they fought each other. He could feel the restlessness in the green mist. Tears trickled down his face as he shone with a brown light. "Forgive me!" His body turned to dust as it spread in every direction. Birds, animals, and insect coalesced from the raging brown dust.

Millions upon millions of species took their first breath on the planet and among them, the first men saw the light of the day. Zama's lips pursed into a thin line as he saw Ruh turned towards his children. He could feel their hostility and their surprise and just before he disappeared he look towards the sky, admiring the sun for the first time. A weary smiled played on his lips as he disappeared from the world.