the third extinction event

The great flood fell like a white curtain from the heavens, crashing down in thundering torrents that swallowed mountains, rivers, and forests whole.

"Such overwhelming power…"

"To drown the entire world in an instant…"

Aboard the ark, merchants, nobles, paupers, and slaves all stared out in silent awe. They were the last remnant of the Sumerians—those spared not by strength, but by virtue.

They believed the flood had come to wash away sin. The savage, the cruel, the arrogant—none would survive.

> [The Great Flood cleansed the world on the Day of Reckoning.

Utnapishtim and his chosen people endured the deluge aboard the Ark.]

In a quiet corner of the ship, Akkad, the royal historian, sat trembling, his quill still in hand. He had borne witness to the impossible, and the weight of that truth pressed heavily on his frail shoulders.

"He created the world... the heavens... everything…" he whispered, overwhelmed.

Tears blurred his aged eyes as he raised his pen once more. The final chapter of the Epic of Genesis would record the Creator's Seven Days of Creation.

> [On the first day, He said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

He separated the light from the darkness, and named them Day and Night.

On the second day, He said, "Let there be a firmament to divide the waters," and Heaven came to be.

On the third day, He gathered the waters, revealing dry land—Earth and Seas.

On the fourth day, He created the sun and moon, dividing day from night. In this world, one cycle meant fifty years of light and fifty years of darkness.

On the seventh day, His work was complete, and He rested. That day became sacred, and the people called it the Day of Rest.]

In the centuries that followed, Akkad's words would become scripture. Future generations would believe that on the day of the flood, the Creator Himself had revealed the origin of the world.

Whether that was true or not no longer mattered.

People believe what they need to believe.

—

The flood did not stop.

Every monument crumbled, every city was torn apart like toys in a storm. The legacy of Sumer—its palaces, temples, and towers—were all dragged beneath the waves.

Back in his courtyard, Ethan slowly turned off the pressure washer, placing it carefully on a shelf inside the shed.

This was a fresh start.

The Bugapes had nearly driven the sandbox to collapse. But now, with pairs of every creature saved aboard the ark, the ecosystem would eventually recover.

"Hopefully, they'll learn something this time," Ethan murmured.

The Hive Mind spoke flatly: "Even if you hadn't interfered, they would've self-destructed. You made the right call."

Ethan sighed. "I'm not soft. You don't need to console me."

The Hive Mind replied: "As the one who gives life to a world, you must get used to these cycles of death and rebirth. This is your role."

"I'm not a Tyranis Queen," Ethan snapped.

"They were born from your spores," the Hive Mind argued.

"Enough! Just say it's population control and leave it at that." Ethan waved it off and settled onto the stone bench in his yard, peeling an orange one slice at a time. "I should head into town tomorrow and buy more fruit."

He picked up a black notebook and flipped past pages marked Dark Age, Radiant Age, and Revival Age, stopping at the next blank spread.

"The Age of Genesis…" he muttered, and began to write.

> In the Age of Genesis, the first intelligent species was born.

The Bugapes developed civilization, built cities, and drove the great beasts to extinction.

They became masters of the world—but they were violent and cruel.

The heavens responded with a flood, bringing the third extinction event.

99% of life was wiped out.

When he finished writing, Ethan went to bed.

—

The next morning, after washing his face, he paused at the mirror.

Something was off.

"This feeling…" he whispered.

He had grown taller—now 1.83 meters. His features were sharper, his expression noble. His eyes had a strange, magnetic depth to them.

His body was sculpted like a statue—muscle wrapped in elegance. When clothed, he looked like a gentleman. When shirtless, like a demigod.

"Muscular when undressed, refined when dressed…" he muttered with a smirk.

He clenched his fist.

His muscles tensed, brimming with explosive power.

"The aftermath of the third extinction event…" he whispered.

"This is several times stronger than before. Am I… at elite athlete level now?"

He smiled slightly.

It seemed the death of a civilization had strengthened its creator.