Creation myth
Tale of Chaos and Harmony
************************************************** The Story of Ome
Long ago, before the Universe existed, there was the Void. An endless expanse of nothingness, save for Darkness and a serpent named Time who could heal all wounds.
Darkness and Time loved each other, and Darkness thought they would be together forever, with nothing to disturb them inside the Void. Yet as Time grew longer, the serpent got tired of Darkness and started moving away. It wanted to explore the Void and find something else of interest. Darkness was heartbroken, and Time would not ease its pain.
Not wanting to be all alone, Darkness split itself into another being. This new being, unlike Darkness, had a physical form and not just a spiritual one. Their skin was pure black and they had two eyes, though they never opened. Their name, Darkness discovered, was Ome [oh-meh].
Darkness and Ome became friends, just like Darkness and Time had. But Darkness was worried that Ome would leave. Things were always changing and eventually, Ome would change too, while Darkness remained the same.
Darkness confessed to its friend, “Ome, I want us to be together forever, but as long as Time goes on, I know you will leave me.”
Ome could not bear to hear the fear in their friend’s voice. They told Darkness, “Friend, fear not, for I will stop Time and then nothing will ever change between us.” It was a bold, reckless promise, but Ome was determined to make Darkness happy.
Darkness watched in awe as Ome tried to stop Time. First, Ome expanded to fill the Void. Black soon filled the empty white space and created the Universe we all exist in. Ome was now large enough to try grabbing Time, but Time was too slippery. Its sharp scales cut into Ome’s palm and sliced open the skin of their right hand. Ome cried out in pain.
Darkness called out, “Time! Please, come back and heal my friend’s wound!” But Time only slithered away faster, now aware that it was being pursued. Ome told Darkness, “Friend, do not worry, I will try something else.”
Ome tried to distract Time instead. Taking a deep breath, Ome breathed out Fire, and winced as the flames burnt their lips a dark red. A single eye appeared over Ome’s heart; the other two on their face remained closed.
Fire was beautiful and astonishing, almost enough to make Time stop just to watch the flames dance and flicker. But, as Ome discovered, Fire was also unstable and volatile, a wild and unpredictable thing. Time feared that Fire would lose control and singe its scales, so it sped up even faster to get away.
Realizing Fire had failed, Ome tried to lull Time to sleep with a song. They began to hum and from the notes of Ome’s song, Air was created. A single eye appeared over Ome’s sternum; the other two on their face remained closed.
Air supplied the sounds for Ome’s song, and Time started to drift off and slow down. Fire, too, was soothed by Air’s presence, and the two of them became quick friends. But Air was curious and adventurous, a free spirit who wanted to explore the Universe. When Air ventured off and got farther away, Ome’s song faded out. Only silence remained. Air’s disappearance upset Fire and, realizing Fire was upset, Time sped up once more to avoid the flames.
Frustrated with yet another failure, Ome reached out with their uncut hand and grabbed Air. Though it hurt them to do so, Ome turned their hand into Rock and trapped Air inside. A single eye appeared on the inside of Ome’s palm; the other two on their face remained closed.
Ome could hum their tune once again, but as they did, Air slammed itself against the stone walls of its prison and begged to be freed. “Please,” Air cried, “I cannot be kept here! There is not enough space! The eye scares me! I need to move, I need to be free, please let me go!”
Fire, who realized what happened, began screaming at Ome to let its friend go. “You monster,” it accused, “Air is terrified and upset! You have taken away its freedom. Release my friend now, or I will never be silent!” In the distance, Time sped up even more, eager to get away from all the noise.
Ome realized their mistake and felt horrible for what they did. A single eye appeared on the back of the hand keeping Air trapped; the other two on Ome’s face remained closed. Tears began rolling down from this eye and Water seeped into the cracks of the stone prison. As Water turned into Ice, the Rock expanded until it shattered completely, and Air was freed.
Though Air was no longer trapped, everything had changed. Air stayed put, but only because it was afraid of what Ome would do if it tried to leave again. Fire had stopped screaming, but was still furious with Ome. Rock felt guilty about having to trap Air, and decided that it would never listen to Ome again. The only one who understood the reasons behind Ome’s actions was Water, but it still did not condone them.
Darkness was horrified. “Ome,” it stammered, “I did not know you would go to such lengths.”
“But I did it all for you,” Ome explained. “I told you I would stop Time, so we could be together forever. Is that not what you wanted?”
“I did want that,” Darkness admitted. Ome recognized the fear in their friend’s voice as Darkness said, “But I do not want that anymore.”
Water tried to comfort Ome, but Ome could not be consoled. By trying to make Darkness happy, they had lost their only friend and had hurt their own creations. Ome realized that what Darkness said was true; as long as Time went on, things would change, and now things had changed for the worse.
Ome was devastated and furious with Time, thinking that the serpent was to blame for everything. “Time, you are a cruel beast,” Ome shouted, “You made this happen! You hurt me, and everyone else as well. I hope that you, at least, are happy now!”
When it heard these words, Time stopped. For just a moment, the serpent stayed still.
And then it started to laugh.
Time’s body was overcome by spasms, powerful enough to shake Ome from head to toe. As it laughed, drops of spittle flew from Time’s lips and splashed onto Ome. They winced as the spittle seeped into the open wound on their palm, and were shocked to see the droplets turn into tiny speaks of Light. Within the wound, a galaxy formed; the same galaxy that our solar system resides in. A single eye appeared on Ome’s lower back; the other two on their face remained closed.
“You think I am to blame for your mistakes?” Time bellowed. “You think I will heal the wounds that you create? Be careful, Ome, for this is no act of destiny. The fault here lies with you, and not with me.”
Time stopped laughing and resumed its normal speed, its long body trailing behind it and growing longer with every passing moment. Ome watched the serpent go and felt even worse. They had finally stopped Time, as promised, but it meant nothing now.
Darkness, Fire, Air, Rock, and even Water all abandoned Ome to join Light within the new galaxy. Together, they combined their powers to create nine planets. There was Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Thea.
Unlike the elements Ome had created, the planets had physical forms with no spiritual ones. The elements wanted to have creations like themselves, ones that could think and feel, and they were determined not to make the same mistakes Ome did.
It was Water who asked Ome gently, “Creator, can you make our planets like us, so that they may have lives of their own?”
Still overwhelmed with guilt, Ome could not possibly refuse. They created spiritual forms for all of the planets and even made the Sun to protect all of them. As they did, Ome’s right eye opened to reveal a blazing gold iris; the left eye remained closed.
The elements were pleased and the planets were happy, all except for Thea, who was miserable. Thea said they felt empty, as if they were missing something important. Nothing could cheer them up and even Earth, who was Thea’s only friend, could not make Thea feel complete.
Fire tried teaching Thea how to assert themselves, but Thea only felt like a burden when they tried to. Air tried teaching Thea the wonders of exploration, but Thea had no interest in the unknown. Rock tried teaching Thea how to think for themselves, but Thea did not have any beliefs of their own. Water tried teaching Thea how to find joy in helping others, but Thea felt like they could only make things worse. The elements spent all their time on Thea, and as time went on, the other planets started to feel neglected.
Despite their failed attempts, the elements were still determined to make Thea happy. Once again, it was Water who asked Ome gently, “Creator, can you please do something to help Thea? We will let you use our powers to do so.”
Ome agreed and used the elements’ powers to create life on Thea. It was the first time Ome created a living, physical form, and not a spiritual one. Their bodies were made from Rock and their limbs were controlled by the flow of Water. They could make sounds with their mouths using Air and could keep their bodies warm or cool through the Fire that burned within them.
Thea thought they were perfect. They told Ome and the elements, “Creators, thank you, for now I feel whole and content. I will cherish these beings and show them the same kindness that you have shown me.”
“And I will make sure you are all protected,” Ome promised. Using their powers, Ome created a deity who would protect life on Thea, and Thea themselves. This deity became known as the Guardian of Thea.
Though Ome, Thea, and the elements were pleased, the other planets were not. They had thought that if Thea was no longer miserable, the elements would pay more attention to the other planets. Yet the elements still favored Thea. They were fascinated with life on Thea, they loved the Guardian of Thea, and they clearly loved Thea more. As a result, some of the planets became bitter and jealous.
They mocked and insulted Thea, using them as an outlet for all of their frustration and insecurities. When Earth realized what was happening, they asked Ome and the elements to give the other planets life as well. “The other planets want what Thea has,” Earth told them, “and are mean to Thea because of their jealousy. Creators, can you give those planets life as well?”
Ome told Earth that they would. They tried to use the elements’ powers to create life for the six planets. But the elements had expended all of their powers on creating life for Thea; they would not be able to use them again for a long time. When the other planets realized this, their hatred for Thea only grew stronger.
The Guardian, the elements, Ome, and Earth all tried to defend Thea, but there was only so much they could do. The other planets tormented Thea consistently, and it was too late for the elements to make up for their neglect. The planets were convinced that Thea was their favorite, and thought that the elements only pretended to care because of Thea. Nothing could be done to stop the other planets or make them think otherwise.
Eventually, Thea could not take anymore. They told Earth, “My friend, I want there to be life on other planets.”
“But the elements cannot use their powers for that yet,” Earth reminded Thea.
Thea smiled. “I know, but I also know of a way to create life without the elements’ power. Will you let me do that for you?”
Earth frowned. “Thea, I do not want life on my planet.”
“I want you to experience the joy that I did,” Thea insisted. “I know you will love and cherish these creatures. Please, do this for me.”
Earth sighed, but agreed. “Okay, I will. What must I do?”
“Close your eyes and be still.”
As Earth kept their eyes closed, Thea’s spiritual form entered the physical planet. Then, before anyone could intervene, Thea shot forward and crashed into Earth’s surface, completely destroying both of their forms.
The elements were horrified and felt responsible for what happened. Ome, too, felt awful that they did not think about the consequences of giving just one planet life. Like Ome, the Guardian of Thea felt guilty for failing their duty. Even some of the planets regretted pushing Thea too far.
Earth was devastated, but realized what Thea meant to do. “Creator,” they told Ome, “Thea did this for me, so that there could be life on Earth. Do not let their sacrifice be for nothing.”
Heeding those words, Ome gathered the broken pieces of the planet Thea and used them to create the Moon. As they did, Ome’s left eye opened to reveal a shining silver iris, and now both eyes were open.
Because the Guardian of Thea had failed their duty, Ome created a new Guardian just for Earth. Ome reassured Earth that this deity would have powers that the old Guardian lacked, making them more capable to protect Earth. Unlike before, the elements did not pay more attention to Earth than the other planets, but the Guardian of Thea wondered what would happen to them.
“Creator,” the Guardian asked, “what will I do without Thea? I have no purpose to serve now.”
Ome was unsure of how to answer. “You have a purpose,” they reassured the Guardian, “but we just have not found it yet. Guardian, it was wrong of me to put all of that responsibility on you. You no longer need to worry about that.”
“But the new Guardian will?”
Ome was silent for a moment. They said, “This Guardian has powers that you do not have. They will be able to fulfill their duty better.”
The Guardian was crushed. Not only did Ome plan on replacing them, but with a Guardian who was better than them. The Guardian felt a flurry of emotions; fear, disappointment, sadness, jealousy, and rage. Something had to be done.
Quickly, the Guardian of Thea found the Guardian of Earth, who was holding two swords in their large hands. They looked down at the Guardian with a smile on their face.
“Guardian of Thea! Look at what Ome gave me.”
The Guardian stared in awe at the swords. “What are those for?”
Holding up the left sword, the other Guardian said, “This is the Sword of Creation. It allows me to create beings out of clay, which the Earth provides.”
They held up the right sword next. “This is the Sword of Destruction. It allows me to destroy anything, though I do not see any use for that.”
“I do,” the Guardian said, and tore the Sword of Destruction out of the other Guardian’s hand. Before the Guardian of Earth could protest, the Guardian of Thea jammed the sword’s blade into their chest.
As the Guardian of Earth’s body fell lifeless to the ground, the Guardian of Thea felt a powerful force enter their body. The powers that Ome had given the new Guardian had been transferred to the old Guardian. Ome was shocked and overwhelmed with grief, but knew there was nothing they could do to intervene. The Guardian of Thea now possessed more power than Ome.
“You should not have put all of your power into one being,” the Guardian told Ome. “You should never have created a new Guardian.”
“No,” Ome whispered. “I should never have created you.”
On Earth, the Guardian created six bodies from clay using the Sword of Creation. The elements, unaware of what happened to the Guardian of Earth, trusted the Guardian when they said, “Ome has asked me to create you physical forms, so that you may walk the surface of Earth and interact with the life there.”
“Will we keep our powers?” the elements asked. Though they did not know the answer, the Guardian lied and said they would.
When the elements spiritual forms merged with their physical bodies, all of their memories were erased. Everything they had experienced and everything they learned was gone, leaving nothing behind. Though they still had their powers, the elements knew nothing about who they were or what was around them.
They asked the Guardian who she was, where they were, and what they were doing here. The Guardian said, “I am the Guardian of Earth, and that is where we are. You are all elements created by Ome.”
“What is Ome?” The elements asked, and the Guardian explained to them the Story of Creation.
Ome watched all of this with resignation. After everything that had happened, Ome was sure that trying to help others only made things worse. By trying to help Darkness, Ome lost Darkness as a friend and lost the trust of the elements. By trying to help Thea, Ome upset the other planets and was responsible for Thea’s demise. Now, by trying to help Earth, Ome upset the Guardian and not only was the Guardian of Earth gone, but the elements had no memories of Ome at all.
All they had were the stories recited by the new Guardian, stories that were altered to make it seem as if there was no Thea and there was no other Guardian, because they were made to be the Guardian of Earth.
For the first time since their creation, Ome felt tired. Fatigue seemed to weigh Ome down, along with the aching pain in their heart that came from too many failures, too many mistakes, and too many losses. Overcome by despair and hopelessness, Ome fell into a deep sleep. The Sun kept watch and the Moon kept listening, but Ome decided that the universe would be a better place if they did not play an active role in it.