The Legend of the Great Disruption

May 30, 2023

The world is divided into many small floating islands, each with its own biome: some host deserts and savannas; on others, icy winds blow, covering the conifers with snow. Never seen animals inhabit these islands. Herds of large rabbits graze like bison on vast grasslands adorned with scattered groves, punctuated by square plowed fields and a cuboid urban cluster, where people ride large armored bipedal creatures. Our story tells of an outlaw couple, a man and a pregnant woman, who “earn” a living by drawing banknotes to buy food and bullets.

One day, a massive lightning bolt shakes all the islands of the world, and a mysterious man appears before our protagonists, offering them special weapons to defend themselves against the monsters that would soon appear, and warning them that magic had been reactivated.

From that moment, all the sufferings begin to take shape, transforming into horrifying creatures thirsty for the blood of those who caused them. Human weapons have no effect on them. The city falls into panic, loggers are crushed by monstrous giant trees, the massacre of indigenous peoples in the name of civilization comes to a halt.

With the help of the mysterious man and his magical weapons, the outlaw couple manages to escape from the city. The forests, animals, and tribes of wild humans do not appear to have suffered significant damage from the cataclysm. In addition to the monsters, other mystical beings have emerged from the harmony to protect those who caused it

Our three survivors are hosted in a village of wild people, and the wise elder of the village tells them a legend:

“Many centuries ago, the world was united as one great globe. There were sprawling cities with skyscrapers reaching the sky, and only a few pristine forests remained, burned and replaced by agricultural fields and depleted soil. Most people lived in their own trash, plagued by wars, poverty and diseases. Only the Dominator was able to break the curse that plagued the world, but he did so by literally breaking the world into multiple parts and nearly wiping out humans. Nature had time to recover, and my people descend from the few survivors of the apocalypse.”

According to the legend, the Dominator, the one who rules over all the monsters, appears to be a gigantic and infinitely powerful demon born out of the extreme suffering of humanity before the “Great Disruption”.

The village, as well as the known world, is not a safe place to raise the upcoming child: the monsters continue to thrive, and the protective spirits are diminishing.

For this reason, the ingenious bandit invents and constructs a floating carriage, using the same mineral as the magic weapons, powered by large flying animals. Together with his beloved and the mysterious man, they embark on a journey in search of the presumed source of all the monsters, the Dominator, and a way to eliminate him.

And so, several months pass. Civilizations around the world are relentlessly annihilated by the monsters, both those culturally close to the known civilization and those far away. Only the most isolated wild tribes and another peculiar population survive: in this latter group, people live like ants, constructing settlements underground and on the surface. Within these “humanhills“, which are as large as mountains, there are warehouses, residents’ dwellings, hospitals, celebration areas, and at the center lies the most important part, with pregnant women and children. Their way of life sustains a population of tens of thousands of individuals while maintaining a marvelous harmony with the surrounding environment. In this community, there is great respect for each individual, as they are fundamental to the community itself. Everyone places complete trust in one another.

It is the perfect place to welcome the already kicking baby that the outlaw couple is expecting.

The information gathered during their journey led them to discover that the Dominator is supposed to reside in a castle at the core around which all the world’s islands revolve. It is there that the bandit and the mysterious man are headed.

They fly through layers of boiling mist and finally reach the center of the world.

The castle is strangely calm and small, about three or four times the size of the floating carriage.

As soon as they land, the bandit quickly inspects the place. It seems empty, but then the mysterious man speaks: “I am the one you call the Dominator.” he announces. The bandit is completely paralyzed, unable to move. “No living being can defeat me, for I am made of the same substance as your actions. The only thing you can do is change your actions in the present, avoiding behaviors that harm you and favoring those that make you well. Now go, your child is being born.”

The bandit opens his eyes and finds himself beside his beloved, who is in the midst of giving birth. At that very moment, another lightning bolt strikes the world, reassembling it and restoring it to a compact sphere.

The baby is born into a new world, where civilizations have self-destructed, but some individuals have evolved, and the culture of the humanhill is spreading, purifying humanity from suffering.

(Explanation)