Chapter 9: The Cycle of Life

Inar and Lior flew side by side, gliding above the primordial world. The sky was clear, the sun cast its golden light over the forests and mountains, and the smaller moon was still visible, pale on the horizon. The dragon and the gryphon flew just behind them, beating their wings powerfully to keep up with their creators. The wind whistled around them, playing with Inar's kaleidoscopic hair and Lior's silver strands.

Inar was radiant. She looked down at the planet and felt a warm pride. The world was alive, breathing, changing with every moment. The randomness, the gift she had granted to existence, was fulfilling its purpose beautifully.

But then… something happened.

— "What is that?" — Inar asked, her voice suddenly tense.

She stopped mid-air, hovering above a clearing. Lior also paused, intrigued, while the dragon and the gryphon circled cautiously. Below, in the golden grass, an unexpected scene unfolded.

A rabbit leaped nimbly and, to Inar's surprise, attacked a snake. The small creature bit down on the serpent's scaled body, which writhed and hissed in agony. Dark blood stained the grass. The rabbit did not appear aggressive, only… hungry.

Inar gasped, covering her mouth in horror.

— "No!" — she cried.

She flew down in an instant, landing between the two creatures. The rabbit recoiled, its paws still stained with blood. The snake lay motionless, wounded and vulnerable. Inar extended her hands over the serpent, her essence flowing gently. The wound closed, the blood vanished, and the snake slithered away in silence.

She remained there, staring at the rabbit. The small being gazed back, ears perked, dark eyes wide and innocent, though its mouth was still smeared with blood.

— "Why is this happening?" — she murmured. — "What is this?"

Her heart clenched. She had never imagined such a thing. The life she had created was so pure, so free… how could it hurt itself?

Lior landed beside her, hesitant.

— "Sister…"

Inar didn't respond. Her gaze remained locked on the rabbit, her expression a mix of sadness, confusion, and deep uncertainty. After a moment, she took off into the air, flying straight into her brother's embrace, holding onto him tightly.

Lior caught her, holding her close, rocking her gently. Inar, despite being a powerful creator, felt like a small child in his arms. Her hair, usually a shifting rainbow, had faded into dull, desaturated hues.

— "Why does it have to be this way, brother?" — she whispered, her face buried in his shoulder. — "Why did randomness do this? Why must one being hurt another to survive?"

Lior swallowed hard. He had no answer. He had never thought about this before. Life had always seemed like a miracle—now, it revealed a darker side. He tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come.

— "This… this is the cycle of life," — he said at last.

Inar pulled away just enough to look into his eyes.

— "Cycle of life?" — she repeated, confused. — "What does that mean?"

Lior bit his lip.

— "I think… life isn't just creation, sister. Life changes, transforms. When one thing ends, another begins. The rabbit eats the snake, but one day the rabbit will be eaten too. Maybe that's how the world stays… balanced."

— "Balance…" — Inar whispered. — "I didn't want this."

She closed her eyes, and her mind spun. What had she created? The freedom of randomness had brought unexpected beauty… but also suffering. What should she do?

— "If you don't want it," — Lior said hesitantly, — "you could… you could…"

He stopped. He didn't know what he wanted to say. Maybe there was no solution.

But Inar completed his thought:

— "Erase it."

The word echoed in the air.

Lior's eyes widened.

— "That… that's what the void does, sister. You don't like the void, remember?"

— "But I can erase this," — she insisted, clenching her fists. — "I can erase this horrible cycle. I can remove pain. I can stop one being from having to kill another. I can… fix what I did wrong."

Lior shook his head.

— "But life isn't wrong, Inar. It just… exists."

— "But it's not fair!" — she shouted, stepping away from him.

Her mind was racing. The power within her pulsed intensely. She could feel the cycle of life, the connection between predator and prey, the eternal dance between birth and death. And she could break it. She could undo this rule, erase the instinct, stop the flow.

But… at what cost?

— "If I erase the cycle of life… won't I be the void?" — she asked, more to herself than to her brother. — "Won't I be denying what the world has become? Denying what randomness created?"

She remembered the feeling of the void. The cold, the absence of everything. If she did this, if she erased that part of life, wouldn't she be embracing the very nothingness she feared?

Fear took hold of her chest.

And this time, it wasn't a quiet fear.

It was an overwhelming, suffocating terror.

Inar cried out, and her essence trembled. The power within her escaped uncontrollably, spreading through the universe like a silent scream.

The fear swept across the primordial world.

The trees bent, their leaves withering. The animals, sensing the primordial dread, collapsed onto the ground, shaking. The rivers stopped flowing. The fire dimmed. The wind stilled. The sun's light faded. Even the stars seemed to flicker weakly.

Atop the highest mountain, the dragon let out a roar of panic. The gryphon curled up, wings folded tightly against its body.

Lior fell to his knees. The fear wrapped around him like invisible chains, crushing his chest. His thoughts tangled, his hands trembled.

— "Inar…" — he tried to say, but his throat was dry.

On the ground, creatures lay motionless, paralyzed by an inexplicable terror. Their bodies shuddered under the weight of their creator's emotions.

— "Inar!" — Lior managed to shout, fighting against the suffocating pressure. — "Stop! You don't have to feel this way!"

She didn't hear him.

— "Inar!" — Lior tried again, his voice desperate. — "I will never abandon you! Never! You are not alone!"

His words shattered the dark spiral. The fear hesitated.

Inar, still trembling, opened her eyes. Her hair, once a flowing aurora, was now ashen and lifeless. She saw her brother kneeling, struggling to reach her. She saw the world around her shriveled in fear. She saw… the reflection of the void she had always dreaded.

And she pulled back her power.

The fear dissipated.

The wind blew again. The sun regained its warmth. The trees stood tall once more. The rivers resumed their flow. The animals, shaking, slowly rose to their feet.

Lior collapsed onto the ground, panting.

Inar rushed to his side, fell to her knees, and embraced him tightly, sobbing.

— "I'm sorry, brother…" — she choked out. — "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I didn't want to do that."

Lior, still trembling, hugged her back and ran a hand through her hair.

— "It's okay, Inar… I'm here. I always will be. No matter what happens."

They stayed like that for a long time. The universe, slowly, settled once more.

The cycle of life continued, untouched.

And for the first time, Inar understood that creating a world did not mean controlling it entirely. Some things… simply had to exist.