The Seed to the New World stared at the small militia ominously from the sky with its bright mix of white and purple reflecting hues outlining its dark hexagonal scales.

  A foolish idea, the general thought. Science failed them here. Here in this remnant of the old world. Reminders of it were ever-present floating in this void emptier than space used to be. The ground they walked on, a chunk of conceptual earth, was much like the universe around them now, the general assessed. Barren with little life and ruins of early 2000s infrastructure. Their old knowledge of reality was essentially inapplicable here.

  In front of the militia, a soldier simply walked. He kicked up dust to check for strong disjointed gravity wells, a great cause of fear and death in these times. Originally, the militia consisted of 80 or so soldiers, but due to a moving disjointed gravity well it was cut in half despite the best efforts of the last dirt kicker; furthermore, another 2/3rds of this already 8th of an earth chunk of rock disappeared into a celestial body too far to see.

  The general hated the lack of logic behind it. It gave them a base for their beliefs. The anger enveloped him like the flames of his revival leaking through the former wounds that had caused his demise. The group kept marching while the soldiers ignored the scorching heat and radiation.

  After some time they had arrived at their destination, a lone telephone pole stood at the edge of the planet's surface, tall enough to reach Eden IV’s trees.

  Eden IV. what a ridiculous name the general thought. The planet was lush with flora and brimming with rivers exposed by openings in the leaves.

  One by one they climbed the pole and grabbed onto a tree branch before pulling themselves into the planet's gravity and falling to its ground.

  How could Eden be a planet? How could there be four of them? The general knew nothing of the history of this world or of the other Edens but he hated nonetheless.

  He had never actually seen greenery in such abundance before, politics took up all his time, and when he was free of his duties… there was just wasteland. Perhaps this was another reason for his agitation. Of course, after the wasteland, his blind and vengeful hunt ended in embarrassing defeat.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The general paused for a moment.

  It won’t be the same, he told himself. This time there isn’t one.

  Smoke could be seen not that far from where they were. They rested for several hours and prepared themselves for what was to come.

  Upon awakening the group readied themselves with their makeshift weapons and armor, very few had pistols and very few had proper armor. Upon arrival the tribe's leader approached ready to greet the militia but the general intercepted it with a question:

  “Where is your god?” he demanded.

  “Pardon?”

  “The god that you speak of. Where is he?”

  “He is always with us,” the preacher retorted.

  “He decides the fate of the world, yes?”

  The priest nods, “Yes.”

  “Why then does he make people suffer?”

  “It’s a part of his plan.”

  “A plan for what?”

  “The new world. He will complete his promises to us, he will bring peace to those who embrace us. Come now. Join us. It’s…”

  “Bullshit, God made the world terrible which bred terrible people!”

  The priest pointed up at the core of this New World, the center of it all. “There he will open up New Jerusalem, our new world, and cleanse what remains of the old. He will bring us salvation.”

  “So he’s in New Jerusalem? With his people?”

  The priest nods. “It’ll be any day now.”

  “Will God save you?”

  “I believed in the father wholeheartedly in life and even now in death.”

  The general unsheathed his electric knife, turning on the switch, and pierced the preacher under the heart. The rest of the army stormed past the general into the camp burning it down and slaughtering everyone within. Moments before the priest died the last thing he heard was a scornful “He’s not coming for you.” The electricity pumped the blood rapidly throughout the preacher. He felt alive even though he was so close to death. The general pointed the knife upward, piercing the preacher’s heart and lifting him into the air. The preacher’s head blocked the seed creating a halo effect around his head. The general let the flames seep out of his old wounds and consume the preacher leaving not even ash for him to be remembered by.