"So I guess we’re gods now?" Fic asked, glancing over at his brother, Tanner.

  "I’m not sure ‘god’ is the most accurate classification," Tanner replied, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "But, for simplicity’s sake, yes. We’re gods."

  Fic and Tanner had been friends for as long as they had been brothers—in other words, their entire existence. To call them gods was, in fact, more accurate than either of them would have been comfortable admitting.

  The twins grew up in Oak City, a tiny farming community in Utah with a population of about 500. Shenanigans were inevitable when you were two young boys with nothing but open fields and boredom to entertain you. Their adventures often annoyed the townsfolk, who tolerated the brothers’ antics with varying levels of exasperation.

  Their parents owned the only store within a 30-mile radius. It wasn’t the most financially sound decision—no one needed a business degree to figure out that running a convenience store in a town of 500 wouldn’t exactly rake in the cash. But if you asked the boys’ parents, profit wasn’t the point. They wanted their children to grow up with freedom, to explore the world around them, and to make memories untainted by the harsh realities of life.

  As twins, Fic and Tanner were inseparable. They didn’t just survive the societal expectation to do everything together—they thrived on it. They encouraged each other, reminding one another of their dreams and working together to achieve them. Perhaps this unshakable bond was what eventually led them to godhood—or, as Tanner might clarify, "pseudo-deities."

  To understand how they reached such heights, it’s important to revisit a few key moments in their journey.

  In Oak City, there was a local legend about "The Black Thing." The name wasn’t particularly imaginative, but it had been coined by children aged four to nine, so allowances had to be made.

  The Black Thing was described as a squirrel-like creature—rabid, fierce, and aggressive. According to the story, it lurked in the shadows, preying on children who wandered off alone. Some believed it attacked out of malice, while others thought it was simply trying to drive kids back to safety.

  The first reported sighting came on March 2, 2005, at the bus stop. A group of children, including Fic and Tanner, saw the creature darting erratically across the road. It finally stopped in the center of the street, staring them down. Just as panic set in, the school bus pulled up, and when the kids peeked around its edges, the Black Thing had vanished.

  A few days later, a boy returned from the fields with his legs covered in scratches and bites. Tearfully, he claimed the Black Thing had attacked him, chasing him back to town.

  Tanner’s encounter with the creature was the most dramatic. One afternoon, while digging a hole in their backyard—a favorite pastime of his—he found himself face-to-face with the Black Thing. It leapt into the hole, clawing and biting. Tanner screamed, and Fic, playing nearby, dropped everything to help.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Reaching into the hole, Fic pulled his brother to safety. But when they looked back, the Black Thing was gone. Tanner’s supposed injuries amounted to little more than a few scratches—nothing close to the wounds he described.

  This was the moment they first began to question reality. The Black Thing wasn’t real, it of course, was the creation of rumor among children. But the fear it inspired was undeniable. It planted a seed of curiosity in the brothers’ minds—a seed that would later grow into something extraordinary.

  A couple of years later, the twins encountered another bizarre event. Marzilla, a unique and eccentric elderly woman in town, was often referred to as "the hag." She was actually very kind, the term hag was quite rude in my opinion. But I wasn’t watching then, so I couldn’t have influenced.

  One early morning, as they walked to school, they saw Marzilla wandering near the park, cackling to herself. She disappeared behind the old bell tower, but instead of reappearing, a silver-and-black cat emerged, running off while her cackles echoed in the distance.

  The brothers missed their bus that day, too captivated by what they had witnessed. Their parents, unable to drive them to school, gave them the day off.

  You may have thought the event was witnessing the cat. The event was actually missing school and having curiosity about the paranormal.

  They spent their newfound day off delving into the internet, discovering articles about shape shifting, reality shifting, and that led them into the much truer articles on dimensional theory and quantum compression—terms they barely understood but instinctively knew were significant.

  By high school, the family had moved to St. George, Utah. Life wasn’t easy. Their father was diagnosed with cancer, and the battle had left them with crushing medical debt. Their sweet mother struggled to keep the family afloat. Working two jobs, and a full time caretaker, made time with their mother scarce.

  One evening, after an adventurous day rock climbing, Fic and Tanner found a letter from a loan shark, demanding repayment. The letter was on the table, and had just been opened. The threat was clear: if the debt wasn’t paid by that night, there would be consequences. They searched the house and could not find their parents. The entire fact their mother had to go to a loan shark was a surprise.

  Their parents never came home. Later that night, two police officers arrived at their door to deliver the news: their parents had been killed while breaking into a house. The homeowner had shot them, claiming self-defense. The court later ruled the shooting justified, painting their parents as criminals rather than desperate victims of a broken system.

  That night, Tanner wept openly, while Fic tried to console him through his own tears. It was a turning point for the brothers. They realized the world was cruel, indifferent to nuance or compassion. A world, that if they fought, they could maybe change?

  They never recovered, as I think anyone losing a dear family member would never recover. But just because you are changed, does not mean you are broken. These boys were not broken.

  Tragedy has a way of forging gods—or so the saying goes. Fic and Tanner channeled their grief into a relentless pursuit of knowledge, diving deeper into the mysteries of the universe. What began as childhood curiosity evolved into groundbreaking discoveries, culminating in their transformation into beings of immense power. Forged in small circumstances, each step as crucial as the next.

  From a small town in Utah to the vast expanse of the cosmos, Fic and Tanner’s journey was shaped by the ordinary and the extraordinary—the Black Thing, a disappearing hag, and the cruel loss of their parents.

  And so, they became gods. Not because they sought power, but because life gave them no other choice.

  That is enough for today. Run along, next time I will tell you about heists, creations, and their dear dear grandmother.