Fall of the Chance God

FALL OF THE CHANCE GOD

SHORT STORY BY JUSTIN FERRANTE

The characters and events portrayed in this story are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

This piece of fiction is part of a greater expanded canon known as the Magneno Universe. Find out more on www.magneno.com.

No part of this short story may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Lightning shattered the sky above. Clouds blotted out the atmosphere from the sight of any below. A man, clad in a leather tunic, knelt at the feet of another.

“Please, wipe them out!” The man raised his hands, pressed firmly together. He shivered from the rain, and trembled in his own fear.

The other there, who seemed to be a man looking down upon him, was disappointed.

“Dost thou wish for me to exterminate thy village? Those are thy people, thou old fool. Thy people are assailed by their worst plague yet, and still dost thou seek more trouble?”

The old fool remained, kneeling at the other’s feet. He continued to plead. “I needed to summon one! I needed to summon a demon. None of those below revere thy presence. None of them! They shunned me away, but I know SATAN is the true one to be worshipped! The one who stood up to the almighty God!”

Another crack of lightning split the sky. The rain continued to pour. The other, ignoring the old fool, looked down upon a village nestled in the mountains. His face showed only disgust and disdain as he turned back to the fool.

The body that stood above the old fool was not unlike his own. It was a familiar face to him, a villager as well. But the body was bleeding. A large red gash atop the head betrayed what had happened just moments before, as the other looked down to see a blood-stained rock. “Thou were quite close to summoning a demonic being. Yet this flesh was not properly sacrificed, was it?”

The old fool fell to the mud. Staring up at what was once someone he intended to deceive, he knew at that moment that a different being than intended had entered the body. He shouted, “What art thou then, beast who heeds no command!”

“Thou mayst call me SIN,” the divine being demanded, lunging forward and seizing the old fool’s head. The eyes of the body SIN inhabited turned completely black as he lifted the man before himself.

“SIN? THE INCARNATION OF—”

“The Demigod to Lucifer. The one thou disgustingly nicknamest SATAN, wouldst not appreciate thy heresy.”

He threw the man, watching as he tumbled down the hill.

The Demigod, SIN, looked down as the old fool stumbled back toward the village. “Now toil away. Thou canst see the king of thine obsession. But it shall be the last thing thou shalt see. And… perhaps the only real thing.”

Suddenly, SIN started to stumble as well. The damage to the body’s brain was too severe. He spoke one last sentence out of that body.

“Thou shalt not have thy way, God of Chance.”

The old fool died shortly thereafter. The village could not understand it. They assumed with age, his time had come. But they never once looked at the last thing he wrote, recounting the visions SIN had given him.

Although lost to time, if it were written today, it would go as follows:

—

As this being opened their eyes, they could not conceive of anything. There was no end, and no beginning. The first thought only felt as if it were asking: Why?

There were only tethers holding together what one would call "existence." But this being then realized that they were not alone. Within this vast array of nothing and everything all at the same time, they were able to make out two other distinct presences. One dominated, gazing straight into the essence of their being. Though at the time, the being knew not how to communicate. Not even in their own mind.

“Thou dost not realize what appears in front of thee yet,” the dominant presence beamed into its head. This being was not sure how they understood, nor how to even convey how it was spoken. It just felt as if that was what was being said. The dominant presence continued, “You two have been created by the greatest one. The abundant one. The one above all others. Feel great gratitude, for you two now join me! I am the God of Justice, the first created God.”

With that, suddenly, knowledge started to pour into the essence of this being. They knew somehow down to their very core what their purpose of creation was, and how they were created.

“I am… the God of Chance…” this being was finally able to convey. It was not so much speaking, as it was beaming energy out into what existence was at that time.

“I am… like the both of you…?” the other did not seem to understand at first. “This… communication. All I know is my own being. The very core is wrapped in intellect.”

“You two are starting to understand, Gods of Chance and Intellect,” Justice told the both of them. These concepts did not exist yet, but with the creation of Chance and Intellect they would be realized.

“Why is… why is anything? We are created for these… purposes. By what accord?” Chance asked the God of Justice in this cosmic vacuum.

The God of Justice thought for a moment. “You two were made by the discernment of the abundant one in order to continue their creation. This… being above Gods. They welcome thee. You may call them ARCHESPHORE.”

It was as if all of existence shook at the very mention of the name. Indeed, Archesphore was the being above all others. They were a God above Gods, a creator above creators.

Flashes of all that had happened entered Chance’s mind. From the very nothingness that existed before, all that existed was Archesphore. They were the concept of nothing. But nothing itself was a concept. Archesphore was a contradiction. Nothing was all there was. So nothing was everything, and everything was nothing. Thus from nothing, everything was born.

Archesphore was but an essence, a concept that defined itself. The very first being. The definition of soul. The definition of fate. As the lonely existence searched for something that did not exist, all it found were things that sprung into existence. For all was Archesphore, and Archesphore was all.

Souls made of light were born from Archesphore’s desire. Every soul Archesphore brought forth in its cosmic void was a puppet. They were extensions of itself. Any dissent from these initial souls was manufactured, for the disagreements came from them. Archesphore, the being of abundance, was many. But in the end it was always one existence.

Archesphore took a different approach. Archesphore began to create truth, concepts, possibilities, trajectory, and direction. Each ‘moment’ had an identity of its own. A way to tell what had just been done. A way to tell what would be done.

Now with all of these concepts for the beings of light to cling onto, Archesphore surely thought that they would be different from itself. Alas, these souls were again failures.

As one last ditch attempt, Archesphore tried to create something that was solely attached to the concept of righteousness. Something not attached to itself, but something that would devote itself to justice as its core. This being became the God of Justice. While Justice was still attached to Archesphore in many ways, and not enough to cure the cosmic being’s desire for something that is not itself, it was finally a step in the right direction.

Archesphore, still clinging to their sole desire, went forth to begin the creation of a ‘universe.’ They instructed the God of Justice to, in their absence, create two more Gods. These two were Chance and Intellect.

“Now you two understand,” the God of Justice boomed. Without another moment passing, Intellect and Chance went forth and began to create. Chance started to bring things into existence they could visualize in the moment, but had no memory of. These were concepts. Truly, it was the concept of ‘randomness,’ or ‘chance.’ Meanwhile, Intellect created constants. Intellect expanded on the concept of ‘gravity’ and how it would work, as well as creating the constants for ‘matter’ and how it would function.

These two created these things in a place the God of Justice oversaw, called the ‘void.’ This was a dimension of the newly created universe that acted like the ‘programming’ of the other side. In the void, rules did not exist. It was a domain more to Chance’s liking. The space was non-euclidean. It had naught but tethers to the other side, to program everything that it was not into this other side made of two halves.

The other side was made of two distinct layers. There was the physical plane and the metaphysical plane. The metaphysical plane was soon known as the ‘astral’ plane by its future inhabitants.

As they were creating, the God of Justice returned to them. “The two of you need to be able to spread out your work. For this reason, I am assigning you beings that you shall have dominion over. The God of Intellect will receive the ANGELS and the God of Chance will receive the DEMONS.”

At that time, the two types of ‘Godly Assistants’ were the same. Only separated by a name, and who they helped. They were essentially extra hands for the Gods. As this rule applied to the Gods, the God of Justice received a helping race called the ‘Pixies.’

In Archesphore’s absence, they built the universe. The sides of the void, and the planes it connected to. Chance was satisfied, looking upon the creation of matter and galaxies. They felt the warmth of their own soul as the three Gods looked out to the horizon they had created.

The three of them took shape, building themselves cosmic bodies to gaze upon the universe’s glory. The God of Justice thought about what it meant. “This universe must be for the coming of the Eltespher.”

“The Eltespher?” The God of Intellect questioned.

The three felt a presence that two of them had not felt before. “The being that is not myself.”

“Archesphore!” The three rejoiced, unable to see Archesphore, but they could feel their presence.

“When I created existence as we know it, I split my power in two. Half of it became the me you know now. The other half became the energy of everything else you can possibly create. The galaxies, the stars, your very bodies, and more. One day, the gravities I assigned to souls will pull itself back together. That will only happen when a soul’s gravity becomes too great. When that day comes, you Gods must choose that person together. Only then will this soul reach me in my Eternal Solstice.”

“Then we must make more beings,” Intellect concluded, “Beings that are blessed in our image of intellect, but are restricted. Beings that are mortal. Their time must have a limit.”

The God of Chance’s heart sank. This did not seem like the solution they wanted.

“That would interfere with the universe we just created. We shall create matter that can begin to live. Like flora and fauna, but they shall have ligaments to move themselves. Eyes to see! We can assign our own assistants with a ruler to make them different from blind helpers!” Chance argued, feeling themselves suddenly desperate. Why did the idea of mortal beings disgust Chance so much? It was as if their creation would go against their very core. That their existence would defy pure chance, which had defined the rest of the beautiful painting of the universe.

“We shall do both. For our flourishing existence, we shall create two more Gods, and have a ruler for every type of Godly Assistant for them to be able to change. Then, we shall create time-restricted beings. We will create the MORTALS.” Archesphore commanded this.

Archesphore left to the Eternal Solstice. The God of Justice created two more Gods: The God of Space and the God of Time. Time got its very own type of Demons, and Space had the same with Angels. The rulers of the Godly Assistants were then known as the DEMIGODS.

The God of Time controlled the trajectory of motion, and the concept of before and after we came to know as time. The God of Space controlled the objects in the physical plane and how they interacted with one another and their relations to each other.

The Demigods were created by Archesphore as well. Chance’s own Demigod was known as SIN. A cosmic taunt. As the mortals were created before Chance’s eyes, the leader of their demons was someone operating on judging by choice rather than chance.

Before humans, Archesphore created a ‘test’ race called the Qiantam. They were a small community of mortals with too much power leftover from the image of the Godly Assistants in them. Plants and animals were created as beings without that image.

Not long after, catastrophe struck. The humans were created, but something was amiss. Something in the ‘image’ of the mortals caused them to act in an unexpected way — a rebellious way.

The God of Intellect promised worship. They promised that the humans would be kept on a controlled leash in order to reach Archesphore’s goal as fast as possible. This was not the case. As they began to spread out of their cradle we made for them, they sought knowledge.

From this Eden they spread, rejecting the very idea of what the Gods programmed them for. They wanted to be like Archesphore. They wanted to defeat their limits, and be stronger than their mortal bodies.

This was the status quo for many years. The God of Chance was forced to sit and watch for an agonizing amount of time. Even the other Gods had eventually decided one more intervention was necessary to set humanity on the right path.

The God of Intellect’s Demigod, Pathos, was sent to Earth to reinforce the rules of the Gods. Morality for the humans, and ways for them to live by. New rules that they would be able to fulfill. For some reason, Chance could not trust Pathos. And they were right not to.

As Chance looked down from the astral plane, they saw Pathos declare his own righteousness, different from the rules that humanity was supposed to be given. Chance attempted to charge in. The God of Time stopped them.

They could not help but question it. “Time. Why dost thou keep me? Dost thou not see the heresy spread to the humans?”

The God of Time refused to let Chance pass. “Chance. I am unsure what you think to accomplish. Thou were not asked to interact with the mortals. In truth, Archesphore hath forbidden it since the creation! Only those below us can interact if we are ever to see Archesphore’s mission to the end! Yet thou hast sent thy demons against those who sin against us.”

“There is no chance.” The God of Chance scowled, staring into the God of Time’s very being. “Thou tellest me, so-called God of Time, look into the events yet to come! How will these mortals fulfill the plan of the mighty one? Tell me!”

Time sat still, silent, and cautious. Scanning for a moment, they said only the truth that they were bound by. “Humanity will… create many timelines with their actions. I will shepherd them towards the Eternal Solstice, Chance! Do not break the abundant one’s covenant!”

“All humanity hath done is blaspheme us, Time. They have conceived of their own reasons and desires for their existence. Many of which conflict with our purpose for them,” the God of Chance returned.

With no warning, another presence revealed itself. The God of Intellect descended upon their confrontation. The one whom Chance wanted to see the least.

“Chance. Thou defyest thy creator again. Did Archesphore not tell thee not to interfere with the affairs of mortals without explicit permission?” Intellect asked.

Chance felt a searing anger. “I am the one most concerned with the creator’s goal! I believe the right path to be one of letting chance take a natural course through the creation of more Godly Assistants! Not sinful beings grafted out of our glorious physical plane! They do naught but reject our purpose for them! We can begin anew, one with the chances in our favour!”

Intellect did not flinch, looking forward intentionally. “What dost thou believe will become of us in the Eternal Solstice?”

Chance was caught off-guard, unsure of what Intellect meant. “We will fulfill our purpose.”

Time, having stayed quiet, spoke up. “Our Godly essence is not immune to the gravity of souls, Chance.”

“We shall be made glorious as part of the Eltespher! That is the purpose! The point of our creation!” Chance shouted back at the two. At this moment they realized that the two must have been scheming.

Intellect stared down. “Our existences will be gone, Chance. If the Eltespher is unlikely to rise out of humanity, all the better.”

Realizing the true intentions of Intellect and Time, Chance rushed past them. They felt in their very soul that they would be able to fulfill their purpose with the destruction of the humans. Only then, Archesphore would see that the mortals were not glorious—and certainly not the way forward.

Chance formed a giant spear in their hands, ready to launch it at the planet Earth. Despite the harm this would do to the beautiful physical realm, this would be a glorious step forward toward the Eltespher.

“What art thou doing?” A familiar voice gained essence in Chance’s mind. The God of Justice stood behind Chance, holding the spear. Despite their best efforts, Chance could not take it back.

“Humanity will not lead to the Eltespher, Justice!” Chance shouted back in rage. The other two Gods had followed them as well.

The God of Intellect deceived Justice. “Chance, the ruler of the demons called SATAN by the humans, was attempting to slay them. In a personal grudge, Chance was about to lash out at the dismay of our abundant creator!”

Chance angrily responded, “The humans call me that to blaspheme their creators! They make different stories, wishing their creation had been different! The rest of you are seen no differently!”

Justice spoke up once again. “God of Time. Did Chance attempt to wipe out the humans against the will of our creator?”

“Thou stopped it thyself, Justice,” Time told them.

“I know what must be done in this universe, and one God losing their temper is not that. Thou hast let thy judgment be clouded by thy rage against the mortals. I have no such clouded judgment, for mine is clear as day. That is my very existence.” Without another word, the God of Chance was bound in heavenly chains, and dragged out of the physical realm.

Justice felt sorrow in their essence, having to carry off one of their personal creations. “Chance will remain in the void for now. I will journey to the Eternal Solstice myself and ask Archesphore how we proceed.”

“Intellect informed me that the God of Chance was sending demons to the Earth, and was particularly against the humans. I could not have stopped their path without Intellect’s knowledge,” the God of Time added.

“This will be recounted before the mighty one. I shall see Archesphore after checking upon the Earth.” Justice spoke those last words before disappearing to the Eternal Solstice.

The Gods had created four corners of existence for each stream of time. There was the universe, where both the physical and metaphysical planes existed. The underverse was where the metaphysical souls went to receive punishment or be discarded, due to the chaotic energy in their essence. The oververse was where souls resided in wait for the Eternal Solstice, to be added to the collective. Lastly, there was the void—the “coding” that sat opposite to the other three.

Archesphore declared that Chance shall take on a new title, “Lucifer.” Lucifer was to be dragged to the underverse, and left in their chains. After this, the other Gods began to refer to Chance as the “God of Evil.” Likewise, many called Intellect the “God of Good.”

In Chance’s place, there was another God created. Or rather, a husk of a God with no will of its own to regulate what used to be the responsibility of the God of Chance. This entity was called the God of Ambiguity.

Sin, the Demigod of Chance, refused any orders possible coming from Lucifer. But Sin still knew the story, yet attempted to prevent as many demons as possible from coming to the physical plane.

The God of Chance, despite losing everything, held strong to anger. Seething from the bottom of the underverse, Lucifer grew in power and influence slowly. The demons waged war in Lucifer’s name. The God of Evil knew that one day, their return…

…would be triumphant.