Chapter 3: Light

Location: Domain Of Light

God Of Light's POV

Humans.

Me and my brother's greatest creations.

Creatures capable of learning, creating, destroying, and choosing whatever they desire.

For years, we guided them, nurtured them, and cared for them equally.

But, one human stood out from the rest of them.

Ash Grey.

That is the name that I gave to the infant who I found near my domain.

Till this day, I still don't understand why I decided to care for the little human.

But deep down, I felt like he would achieve something far greater in the future than even I could never imagine.

That is why I decided to raise him as if he is my own child.

As he grew, so does his curiosity.

There wasn't a day where he didn't ask me a question about the world or about us Gods.

It always made me feel happy everytime he accompanies me.

He talks to me as if I'm not his god, but as his father.

It was honestly a refreshing feeling.

I was cut off of my thoughts when I heard the voice of the one who I considered as my son.

Ash's POV

Ash: "Father, can I ask you a personal question?"

I was currently laying at the edge of the white pool while my bare feet was submerge inside the pool.

He seems to be awake from his trance-like state and looked at my direction with a smile? on his face.

GOL: "You may my child."

He was currently at the center of the pool, sitting on a lotus position.

Ash: "A few days ago, I ask you where did you and uncle came from. You answered that the two of you were originally a dragon who existed from the very beginning. But, may I ask, why did you two decided to split into two separate individuals?"

I looked at GOL's direction to see how he would react to this question.

After almost a minute, he answered.

GOL: "That is quite an interest question. Before I answer your question, may I ask what made you thought of this question?"

I lay my head back to the soft patch of grass that was acting as a makeshift pillow, stared at the clear blue sky and said.

Ash: "Well, one of the teachers in the village said that most actions has a reason. I just thought that there must be a reason why you and uncle split up."

Back in my old world, I was always curious of why the two of them decided to be two separate beings.

Sadly, it was never explained why in the wiki fandoms that I've read during my free time in high school.

After not hearing a response from GOL for what feels like a minute, I sat up while still having my feet submerge in the pool and said.

Ash: "Father, if the question was too personal then you don't have to answer it. I-"

GOL: "Loneliness."

I was cut off by his answer, at the same time, very confused.

It took me a whole minute to process what he just said and after a few more seconds I said

Ash: "Huh? So wait, you and uncle existed because you were lonely?"

He just looked at his reflection from the pool and chuckled.

GOL: "I know. Quite an odd reason is it not? I understand why you are confused. You never experienced the emptiness that me and my brother's original form did. But to answer your question, let me tell you a short tale. The tale of which I would call, the Two Brothers. You see, a few days ago, I've already told you that before everything, there was nothing. It was just an empty void of nothingness. Nothing existed in the great abyss. Nothing, except for one egg that was bigger that the sun itself. And as the egg hatched, out came a fully grown dragon, and the universe was created from the remnants of its birth. The dragon then decided to roam the universe in search for a companion. During its journey in finding a companion, it learned many new things in the universe, and itself. As time passes, so does its loneliness grew and its hope for companionship started to dwindle. That was until at one point, the dragon had an idea. If it cannot find a companion, then why not create one for itself? Then the dragon, using all of its immense power, split itself into two and created the Gods that you and the others know now. One represents the Light, while the other represents the darkness. Despite their differences, their connection lets them understand that one is nothing without the other. And so, the two brothers decided to create a planet for themselves which is where they would test their abilities, and at the same time, a place they would call home. And that is why me and my brother existed."

I was quite surprised by this story, and at the same time, somewhat understood why the dragon did it.

Ash: "I see. I guess I can somewhat understand what the dragon felt. I could never imagine a world where I have no one to talk to for a long time."

GOL chuckled and stood up.

He walked towards my direction and decided to sit down next to my right at the pool's edge.

He then gently pat my head with his left hand and said.

GOL: "You never ceased to amaze me with your curiosity. I am glad that my answers satisfy you in the end. But, enough about me and my brother's past, is there anything else your would like to know?"

I looked at the ripples that I caused in the pool, thinking of my next question.

After a while, I finally remembered something and asked.

Ash: "Father, why did you and uncle created humans? The other villagers said that humans were created to serve the Gods, but I wanted to hear your answer."

GOL, after a few seconds of thinking, respond.

GOL: "Well, it was a decision that me and my brother agreed upon a long time ago. You see, I represent light, creation, life, and order, while my brother represent darkness, destruction, death, and chaos. While I was creating life such as various flora and fauna, my brother caused death and destruction with the aid of his new creation, the Creatures Of Grimm. And because of this, there were constant arguments which caused me and my brother to separate from time to time. And everytime we separated, we felt loneliness once more. We disagreed to accept each others way, but deep down, we both knew that both was needed in the cycle. So after years of continuous disagreements, me and my brother had an idea. We combined our power to create a being capable of knowledge, creation, destruction, and choice. This way, we not only settled our argument once and for all, but we also have someone as a companion whenever one of us were to be separated from the other. The moment that they were born, me and my brother grew to love humanity as a whole. And so, that is why humans were born."

I listened as GOL told me the story of humanity's existence while still looking at the ripples.

After a while, I looked at GOL and asked my last question for today.

Ash: "Okay, now I understand. But I'm a bit confused. You said that you and uncle love humanity. If that is the case, then why let humans die? Wouldn't it be better if humans can't die or be killed?"

GOL then pat my head again and sighed.

GOL: "Well, your not wrong. It would be better if we just let humans become immortal like us. But that would defeat the purpose of the four abilities that we gave to humans. You see, just like you, as a human grow, they learn through their experiences, as they encounter obstacles in their life, they create tools capable of solving their problems, as they are faced with danger, they destroy whatever is disturbing their peace, and as they mature, they choose whatever path they walk into. If we were to remove humanity's fear of death, they would stagnate, a fate far worse than death. That is why we let the cycle continue. Me and my brother were hoping that one day, humanity would be capable of walking alongside us brothers with the help of our gifts. But until then, we will wait until that day comes. So, we decided that whenever a human dies, their souls will go to the Afterlife, a place where all souls reside. And whenever a soul is ready, their past memories would be sealed away and they are reborn to the world as a new person."

As I continued to listen to his response, my surprise grew.

Ash: 'Woah, that... actually makes a lot of sense. After all, back in my old world, history has told us that certain individuals achieve amazing feats in their lifetimes. Without the constant fear of death, then we would never achieve feats such as exploring space and other bizarre events.'

As I though about this, a glowing yellow hand presents itself in front of me.

I looked up and see GOL who had stood up and presented his hand to help me get up.

GOL: "It seems that my answer has given you clarity you desired. If that is the case, why not show this god of your amazing progress that I have overheard from the other villagers? If you do not mind of course."

I smiled and took his hand as he helped me stand up.

I dried myself using wind magic and put on my sandals.

Ash: "Well then father, show me the way."

He nods happily and teleports us to the grassy plains.

For the rest of the day, we spend some father-son bonding time as I showed him the things that I learned from class while he shows me a few pointers.