3. The Monster Test

The beautiful cloudgardens and decorated rooms in Ardex’ area quickly turned into beautiful volcanos and lava baths. With each flaming cough, Ardex gained more control. He could destroy things with increasing speed and precision.

He was quite proud of it.

Once recovered from the shock, the Chiefgods easily caught up to him. They kept him in place with a magical locking spell.

“Now listen to me,” Gaia said sternly. “If you destroy one more thing, I’ll lock you up for a long time!”

“Dear, dear, calm down,” Oeros said, impressed beyond belief. His mind raced to consider missions and tasks for the powerful Ardex once he grew a little more … mature. “He’s a child. Did we not do the same when we were little?”

Gaia frowned. “No? I can’t even create fire! What did you do before I found you? Are you responsible for the bites taken out of the edge of the universe?”

Oeros stepped up to the borders of the invisible jail, only visible when touched. “Ardex, I’ll create a special area for you where you can practice your powers. What else can you do? Did you try anything else?”

“Oeros! Come here! Now!” Gaia pointed at the floor as if he were a dog that had fetched a stick. Oeros listened.

Gaia kept the locking spell going and added magic to prevent Ardex from hearing their conversation.

She looked concerned. “I did not want to believe. But … but isn’t it obvious?”

“So obvious that I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Oeros whispered.

“He is the monster! I couldn’t even break a pillar from this palace if I used all my magic. And him? He destroys the whole palace, giggling and barely born.”

“Dear, you do realize that those are my powers too? My magic could destroy entire planets if I wanted. This child, well, probably has a little more of me and a little less of—”

“He has nothing from me! And I’m the Mother of all life. Thus, he’s the monster.”

She looked away, as if the discussion was finished and the choice made. Oeros shook with his entire appearance, creating a cloud around Gaia.

“Life is destruction. You’ll see once the first creatures appear. They must eat. They must use energy to survive. So life, by definition, destroys. Ardex is no monster. He’s a child playing with newfound powers.”

Gaia started a powerful communication beam, but Oeros shut her up by beaming back with more energy.

“And from destruction, new things can grow. Look, he’s given us a great opportunity to build the palace again! This time even better!”

Oeros held his wife as tightly as he could. A merging of souls, a bond of stardust, rather than an embrace. “No life without death,” he whispered.

Gaia looked over her shoulder. Ardex had shapeshifted into a ball covered with spikes, which he relentlessly slammed into the jail boundaries. He’d never escape, of course, but the attempt was quite—

Ardex escaped.

Gaia yelled and immediately erected a new jail where he stood. Ardex grinned mischievously and started the search for his next escape.

“I must admit,” Oeros said, “that this exceeds my wildest dreams.”

“Dreams? You dreamt of a destructive, stubborn child?”

“Always so negative, dear. I dreamt of a powerful and independent child.”

Gaia spit and thundered. She turned into a giant who bend over Ardex as if he were a mere ant, to step on whenever she pleased. But Oeros noticed her hidden interest, a hint of curiosity in her eyes that followed Ardex’ every move.

“Three chances,” she said.

“Chances for what?”

“We test if he’s the monster, three times. If he fails all tests, then the only solution … "

Oeros didn’t dare ask for details of Gaia’s solution. She would … kill their own child? Could they? Gaia surely could not, she’d have to ask him to do it. Eternal incarceration did not sound like a better punishment.

He already imagined ways to delay the execution of the tests. Gaia shattered his hopes. She seemed prepared for this event, her monster tests invented and refined millennia ago.

Back in the wrecked throne room, Gaia explained the plan.

“We make a fake creature,” she said. “Something that seems alive, seems soulful. We tell Ardex that he just received a sister! We leave him alone with the fake creature, and if he shows any aggression …”

Oeros frowned. “Surely he’ll feel the lack of soul? He’s a god! And a powerful one! You won’t fool him that easily.”

“Hence the test. Can monsters feel life? Do they care about souls?”

Oeros sighed. It was worth a try. He still didn’t understand why Gaia was in such a hurry. If things went bad, he’d always be stronger than Ardex. The universe didn’t contain life yet, so besides broken pillars and molten chambers … what evil could Ardex truly cause?

So he accepted the test, assuming it would confirm to Gaia that there were no monsters here.

Gaia had already grabbed Ardex and released him from his cage. She told him about his new “sister”, to which Ardex spoke his next few words: “Sister? Where?”

“She’s playing now, like you. You’ll meet her soon.”

Gaia and Oeros walked away. They avoided Ardex on purpose and left him alone with the fake creature: a godlike appearance made from particles that could support life, such as carbon and hydrogen.

Their magic let the creature move and even communicate with simple beams of energy. It waddled through the Heavenly Palace like a ragdoll made of transparent cloth.

For extra insurance, they build a large locking spell around multiple chambers. Ardex had to meet the creature soon, and couldn’t escape or meet his parents.

The Chiefgods could do nothing else but wait. Patiently. Time meant nothing to them—unless they were so curious that they could not put their mind to anything else.

If life had appeared at the other side of the universe, right now, Oeros would not have noticed. He held Gaia’s hand as they floated in circles around the palace, forcing themselves to wait a while before coming back.

How much time had passed? A year? A few years? Was it enough?

With trembling heart—if gods had one—they eventually returned to Ardex.

Oeros immediately knew they’d made a grave mistake in their assessment. Gaia too.

The fake creature lay on the ground, ripped to pieces and burned until it was unrecognizable and emptied of all magic.

Ardex had grown. A larger appearance, solid and sure. Not yet, dear reader, what you might call an adult, but surely a teenager.

He controlled his powers and showed a clear face.

A face that erupted with anger.