Microstory 757: The Devil’s Bedpost

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When the great machine exploded, it expelled almost everyone inside of it across the cosmic bulk. Many ended up alone in a foreign universe, but a great many of them were sent to the same place. What they came to understand was that they did not actually fall into another universe so much as their arrival had created it. The force of the blast was so powerful that it formed a brand new big bang event, with them at its heart. Their leader was a woman named Alaha. She, with twenty-three of her closest, decided to mould their universe in the best light possible. Using what she recalled from other universes they had visited before, it was she who came up with the idea to create the stars, and the worlds they would shine upon. Her people gave her the nickname Lightbringer, and praised her, but not everyone was happy with what she had done. Instead of seeding the universe with life resembling their own people, she drew upon the genes of humans, whom she had met in other universes, and admired. One had, in fact, accidentally fallen into the universe with them, and operated as her closest advisor. They gave her the nickname of Tolerance, affectionately mindful of her ability to withstand the odd behaviors of aliens. A man named Adversary came to this universe, however, with ambition, thirst, and jealousy. He could not understand why Alaha was insistent that humans dominate the universe, and in a fit of rage, he locked her in an impenetrable cage, so that he could rule in her place. He whispered in humankind’s ear, gradually convincing them to believe in him, and follow him. He had already turned the majority of his people to his side, dispatching these dark demons to carry out dark deeds on Earth. Adversary kept Tolerance alive as his pet. Every night, he would force her into his bed, utterly confident that she wanted to be there, when she did not. After centuries of this torture, Tolerance met another human named Hazel, who had been tortured by demons, both on Earth, and in Hell. Hazel convinced Tolerance to fight back, against her demons. She broke off a piece of Adversary’s bedpost, and stabbed her tormentor fatally. He would not die right away, though, and he used this opportunity to finally spark war against the humans, hoping to accumulate enough strength to remain alive. But the humans would not go down so easily, not once Tolerance helped free Alaha, the Lightbringer, and gathered their own army of righteousness.