The rainstorm intensified as the storm clouds completely obstructed the sky. The two gods straightened their massive and perfect bodies and finally faced each other. Battered, bruised, exhausted, they planted their final stances in the ground, tightened up the grip on their respective weapons, and each of them prepared to deal the final blow.
My dad told me he had never ever felt such intensity in the air before, and he had never since. The other gods had stopped fighting as soon as they had felt that incredible lightning crackle through the atmosphere; even they had fixated on the source of such tremendously raw power. The battle field grew deathly silent. Mortal onlookers could not breath: the energy in the air was too suffocating and they simply forgot how to breath. Such was the scope of a battle between the two mightiest gods that from the heavens, had descended to Earth!
Shall I start from the beginning? My name is Nin, youngest daughter of Sam, The Last King of Gandawandaland. Long ago, when my father was young, otherworldly beings walked the Earth. These beings were hailed as gods in antiquity, for they were mighty, wise, beautiful, oh and ten times the size of a human! Before he passed, my dad would always share with me stories of his youthful adventures in the time before all the gods suddenly packed up and left the Earth. Before I share with you my dad’s tale of the two giant gods and how they came to blows, you must first understand the context surrounding these supernatural events. Have a seat, get comfortable, and allow me to pass to you the mother of all stories. A written history passed down in all four corners of the world since the genesis of mankind!
Part I: The Twelfth Heaven
There once was an unfathomably powerful being named Toku. This being was the unopposed eternal ruler of all of his kind. Over millennia, his species dominated their world. Their civilization flourished as they cultivated the arts, mathematics, science and technology, philosophy and religion. Peace and prosperity was theirs to enjoy and everyone was included. It would have been a utopian society if it wasn’t for the excessive consumption of the planet’s natural resources. Believing these resources to be infinite, they recklessly engaged in one massive industrial campaign after another. This proceeded to deplete their natural resources at a faster rate than the world could regenerate them. As a result of their actions, their world began to groan and moan in disapproval. No one paid any attention, and so the planet intensified its cry by shrieking and twisting itself, which started a chain reaction of massive disasters and widespread devastation. Toku’s subjects suddenly knew they were in trouble. In one fell swoop, one third of all life on the planet died! A sobering shock hung over this incredibly sophisticated civilization. Many had never witnessed the death of their own kind before, much less in these numbers. There was no time to observe the proper rites, however, their nightmare was only beginning. In the midst of these apocalyptic events, Toku foresaw insurrection in his ranks and so he acted.
He tasked his brilliant first born, Nobu, to analyze the problem and find a solution. Toku knew that she alone could produce the quality and accurate results that were needed and do so in a timely manner. Nobu’s occupation was something of a cross between a scientist, engineer, and a medical doctor. Her genius was unmatched, not even by her almighty father: her caliber was revered by all. Working with her hand-picked group of specialists, she found that her society’s unchecked industriel and hedonistic pursuits had caused an insane amount of stress to their world’s structural stability. In an attempt to regain equilibrium, the world had twisted its powerful gravitational forces onto itself. The final report of the special task-force concluded that the highly sought after solution to this hell that they were experiencing in their daily life, as it turned out, was the chemical element we call gold. Very little reserves were to be found in their world, however, the very fabric of their reality was tearing itself apart!
The desperation to fix their situation pushed them to unprecedented advancements in space travel (something that this proud race had never had needed, nor thought of before.) They quickly launched space telescopes to orbit. Being located in our very own solar system, it wasn’t long before our humble blue planet was identified as a source of great quantities of this miracle ingredient. Probes were sent, confirmation was made and samples were sent back. The hastily improvised machinery that was to inject the gold deep into the core of the world ⎼ like a planetary needle shot ⎼ proved to work. And so, preparations were put in order; astronautical teams were assembled and trained; a mission control center was established, and no one knew what to expect.
With the nation’s eyes looking toward their towering leader, Toku went into a deep meditative state and prayed to a higher authority. When he emerged from his communion, he found that only an instant had passed, whereas to him, it had felt like an eternity. Tears poured out from his troubled eyes, he trembled with rage at a renewed sight of the broken state of their world: his kingdom! It was clear to his subjects that their leader, since the dawn of time, had been shaken to his core. The last bit of his usual serenity faded as he paced back and forth, shouting out muffled words. The more ambitious beings among them saw something more: his once mighty frame had a slight hunch to it, though still incredibly powerful, Toku looked frail.
There you have it folks! I’m sorry but I have to go now. Who and what exactly were those two battling gods? How did they get to our Earth? What was the fate of their own world? And Toku then? What about his daughter Nobu? How does mankind enter the picture? Check the TAV Times Instagram and website often for part II of the mother to all stories.
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