In ancient times, the Djinn played by their own rules. They interfered with the lives of all, and with a complete lack of empathy, they created a Hell on Earth. But as time passed, these Old Gods calmed down. They bore witness to the changing world, and had a desire to see something greater. They allowed Humanity to live without interference, and in doing so, Humanity grew without a governing agent. Humanity continued to expand, taking over the world, like a weed with limitless resources. The Djinn had found a place to let the ages pass, within the Eternal Dreaming, also known as the Lifestream.

 

The absentee stance of the Djinn eventually came to an abrupt end when an unusual event occurred. Humanity was given a helping hand by an unknown source, and technology exploded. By the turn of the second millennium, Humanity had infiltrated a space formerly unknown to them and only used by the Djinn. The Etherealm had become infested with a new interference called Cyberspace.

 

The Etherealm encompassed the binding substance of the universe called Ether. Ether forms the barriers between dimensions, essentially preventing the realms from merging. We have Reality, which is quite obviously the dimension all Humanity spends their mortal lives. Next is Purgatory, which is nearest and dearest to Reality. Like a thin veil, Reality and Purgatory are the closest in proximity to each other. Purgatory is the half-way house between Reality and Netherworld. When the mana of a living soul separates from the body, it remains in Purgatory until it can move on to the next plane. Sometimes this is immediate, while other instances, this may take an indeterminable amount of time longer.

 

Netherworld inhabits a completely separate realm to Reality. Although it maintains the same physical dimensions as Reality, it operates on a different time scale (about 46.5 hours to our 24). Netherworld is a waypoint between Reality/Purgatory and the two polarized realms of Tartarus and Lifestream. Obviously, these are synonyms of Hell and Heaven. But the reason Tartarus exists is a bit different than traditionally thought.

 

Tartarus is broken down into 10 Circles, 9 of which are based upon human sins, and the 10th is essentially a prison for those who are truly not worthy to inhabit any other realm. The 9 Circles are there because the human soul has a hard time of letting go of its sins. These sins disrupt their rest in the Lifestream, and prevent the mana energy from fully integrating back into the collective. Yes, Tartarus is a place of torture, but contrary to popular believe, this torture is self-imposed. Tartarus is a place that allows this sin to manifest in a physical form as a method to relieve the soul of its guilt, thereby allowing the soul to continue to the Lifestream.

 

As with Tartarus being compared to Hell, the Lifestream is essentially a Heaven. It is where all mana goes after the life has been expended, and all sin has been relieved. Lifestream is a collective conscious, a collective resting place, and an exchange point for old energy to become new energy for another living creature. Just as with all other realms, Lifestream maintains its barriers by utilizing the Etherealm. Ether is the mortar that holds the walls of the Lifestream together.

 

But, as it turns out, there is a weakness in this seemingly boundless world. Heaven is being disrupted. With Cyberspace taking shape in the Etherealm, the fragile walls of the Lifestream are becoming unstable. The signals of everyday interactions on the Internet are becoming the erosion to the realm. And with this disruption, those once dormant Djinn who wreaked havoc long ago, are rousing. They are angry of the invasion into their Eternal Dreaming.

 

These Djinn, also known as the Old Gods, were at peace within the Lifestream. Although they cannot fully merge with the collective, they were allowed to sleep. No one could have guessed that a man-made invention could cause so much damage to something they could not see. Cyberspace has woken these old beings. Cyberspace is the earthquake that shook them out of their deepest sleep. And in doing so, with each subsequent Old God’s raise, more devastating attacks on Humanity occur.

 

What the Old Gods hadn’t anticipated though, is the sheer number of humans that had populated Earth within the last century. A warning was once given that if Humanity ever expanded beyond 1 billion people, a runaway effect would occur. This effect essentially would be a mass extinction. Now, we had eclipsed the 7 billion marker with no slow-down mechanism in site. Earth was not meant to harbor such a destructive species on this large scale.

 

The effects are becoming clear. Nay-sayers say this is a natural phenomenon, that the Earth cycles through periods of hot and cold. Fair enough. The Old Gods are one with nature, so much so that Humanity wouldn’t know how to determine if they are the cause. From devastating rogue waves, to stronger cyclones and volcanic activity. From Geomagnetic Reversal to Global Warming. These are all subtle reminders that our time on Earth is limited. And if Chaos is released from his prison, may Gods have mercy on us all. Earth’s final failsafe, Chaos will be Humanity’s judge, jury, and executioner. Chaos will deem if we can be controlled, or if we should fail. Chaos lacks empathy of individuals. He only sees the big picture. If we are to prevent his return, we must change.

 

But we are the Human Monster. We know that we are the top, and no one can tell us otherwise. We are apathetic to our own demise, and we bask in the doom. We are a virus, we are a cancer, and we do not know how to stop ourselves from growing out of control. Chaos will be our chemotherapy. Chaos will bring us to our knees. Our fate will be entirely in his hands. It’s coming, my friends. Unfortunately, there’s nothing most of us can do as the greed of our corporate and military based world continues to become an ambiguous entity of its own. A New God of Humanity’s own creation. Would this new god be able to withstand the devastation that Chaos would bring? No one will know until judgment is cast. I for one am routing for Chaos.