"If God were not willing to forgive sin, Heaven would be empty."

That was the only thing the Immortals, especially Karma, residing in Heaven wished the Humans would remember. A young God, Life, too learnt things the hard way, but he had finally understood the meaning of this universe.

"Hey," Life said one day, precisely three months (Human Time) after one of his most memorable creations, a boy named Aaron had been acquired by his cousin, Death, "Aren't you being too harsh, Karma?"

"Harsh?" Karma asked ridiculously. "Giving only the Punishment of Insanity to Rekka Star of Reality 2020 is harsh?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what you're saying, Life? How many clones had she killed?"

"That's exactly my point. She killed clones, not Humans."

"Killing is still against the Laws of the Universe, be it a real person or a clone."

"But shouldn't this be considered the fault of the Rekka Star of Reality 2053? Why the one from 2020? Now that I think about it, it shouldn't be considered the fault of the one from Reality 2053 either. Fate, Destiny and I, myself, am to blame."

Karma raised her eyebrows, amused. Her red eyes, which looked like burning fire where all the sinners would burn to death, unnerved Life. She was one of the eldest Gods in Heaven. "Life. You're too kind to Humans for your own good. Remember that."

No wonder those Humans like Life more, she thought. He is extremely sensitive when it comes to those puny Mortals. When they see Death, they scream. They don't understand that death is more permanent than life. They don't realize that 'living' is a type of a lie, an illusion, whereas 'death' is the universal truth.

"You're too mysterious, Karma. You don't answer my question. Instead you give me an advice that is most probably a warning from your side. You're always like this. You give the people, who are my best creations, short lives by teaming up with Fate and Destiny. You give my worst creations the longest life. Why?"

"I merely save the good ones from being corrupted. The longer any Human stays down there—" Karma pointed at the many Earths of different Realities from Heaven. "—the more corrupt they become."

Life tapped his fingers on a table. His natural form was similar to that of a Human. "The good ones are always good."

"Theoretically speaking, yes, they should remain good throughout their lives. But a Human is grey—the darker the shade of gray, the 'worse' a person is. The answer to your question is exactly this. Fate, Destiny and you have just this much of control. Till what extent can you control a Human? Think about it." Karma smirked, and left the table without another word.

Life pondered on this for a while. In the end, he couldn't reach a proper conclusion. He was one of the youngest Immortals, so the older ones looked down on him. Only his cousin gave him honest opinions. He snapped his fingers, formed a telepathic connection across the universe, and said, "Have any time, brother?"

"No," Death replied from the other end of the universe. "1530998 more to kill—old age deaths, suicides, and murders not included—23467 souls to collect—all forms of souls who did not die peacefully and are still attached to Earth—in the next three seconds, Human Time, in each Reality. Why do you ask?"

"I just had a talk with Karma."

"Don't ignore her words. She's mysterious, but she knows what she's talking about."

Life said nothing. Death observed the silence for a short period of time, appeared in several Realities at once, doing his job all the while. The Immortals were amazing that way. He broke the silence saying, "Still pondering over Rekka Star and Aaron Jeffery's mysterious case?"

"Yes..."

"Can I tell you something?"

"What is it?"

"It was Rekka Star's fault."

"Why do you say so? Aren't the twin sisters and I to blame?"

"No. If we talk about Aaron Jeffery, then yes. But Rekka Star of Reality 2053 or 2020? No, they don't deserve any forgiveness. At first, I did feel bad. But now that I'm aware, Karma's Punishment of Insanity serves them right."

"Why?"

"Visit Reality 2020. She's in a mental hospital. You'll find her easily—she should give the vibes Humans give when they are close to their deaths."

"Why are you being like all the others, brother?" Life asked, hurt. "Don't you feel anything?"

"Yes. I feel pity. You feel guilt. But Humans... we should never feel anything for them. I hope you remember our Nature Gods vanishing in the Reality of 2053. I hope you remember the extinction of all living organisms in that other Reality. I hope you remember."

Life sighed and continued his work. After he was done for the day, he considered following his brother's advice.

The mental hospital was a pathetic place. Life couldn't believe what his creations had become. But he could only create them—he had no control over anything else related to them.

Then he saw Rekka Star. A girl with dark, sunken eyes and untidy hair sat staring at the wall.

Poor child. No one even bothered to pay her a visit. It made Life even sadder because he knew that she had only three more months to live and she couldn't even survive long enough to experience that magnificent future ahead of her. It only increased the amount of guilt Life felt.

His brother's words rang in his ears. I hope you remember.

Life was unsure of what to do. He walked up to her slowly. "Hello, Rekka," he said, almost inaudible, trying to start a conversation. He had never spoken to his creations before.

Rekka stared into space, and said nothing.

Well, she was in an unstable state. But how would Life ever get his answers this way? He should have talked to Time too. Time also was involved in the matter.

He considered going back.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Then Rekka began laughing. She laughed madly, but merrily. She kept on laughing.

Only then did Life realize—this was not the Rekka Star he had created.

He had created Aaron with a particular proverb in mind, because Fate had requested it. "Curiosity killed the cat" was the purpose of his life. And Aaron had remained just like he had been in the beginning, all the way to his death. Hence, Life had mistaken. He had judged Humans with Aaron in his mind.

Fate, Destiny and you have just this much of control. Till what extent can you control a Human?

Life didn't have any power over anything but the creation of the Humans. Fate looked after the red strings of their fates. Destiny decided their destinies. Death only saw that they were taken to where they belonged after their lifelines had been completed, Heaven or Hell or to any Immortal concerning them. Karma kept an eye over their actions and made sure they didn't carry their sins to their next lives and started anew. Time only balanced everything out so that the Humans' fates and destinies remained the same as they were initially decided.

Each and every Human Life had created was a masterpiece. In the beginning, they were always pure, benevolent and the brightest shade of white there was.

But Humans were a hue of grey.

The black only mixed in...

Because Humans were free to make their own choices.

Whether they had a lighter tint of black in their lives or the darker one—it was entirely on themselves.

On one hand, the Rekka Star from the Reality of 2053 had sent the package to her past self by pleading with Death during her last moments. If she got traumatized, being fifty years of age, why would she send such a thing to her seventeen-year-old self? Wouldn't that leave a scar on her younger self? Rather, shouldn't she have had just written everything to the Rekka of Reality 2020 needed to know about the misunderstood past? Even if it there was a possibility that the seventeen-year-old wouldn't have believed the letter, a fifty-year-old woman should know better than to try and intervene with the working of the universe.

I hope you remember.

2053... the Reality in which the Nature Gods disappeared due to the amount of destruction the Humans had caused. Soon after, even the Humans went extinct. Perhaps, if the Time Clock had been allowed to exist... even Time would have disappeared. Because it interfered with the powers of that Immortal, and if his power could be controlled, what was the use of that Immortal to begin with?

On the other hand, why would the Rekka Star of Reality 2020 do such a thing—killing so many clones? If she wanted revenge for her father's death, then she should have been satisfied after killing one clone of Aaron Jeffery. Why did she kill so many? Was she trying to make sure he was gone for good? But why? Wasn't she supposed to be a smart and mature child who did well in her studies after she faced those disastrous circumstances after her father's death? She should also have known better!

It was obvious. They had ill-intentions from the very beginning, be it the one from 2053 or the one in 2020. If this Rekka Star, the one laughing in front of him, were to live longer, she would once again create that unfortunate cycle. She would make the Time Clock, now that she knew what it was thanks to Aaron's last letter, and then she would send it to her past self again.

But why did they have those ill-intentions?

Life did not care.

It was their choice. They wished to do so. They didn't want to writhe in the hands of the Immortals alone—they wanted the others to suffer just like them. They wanted to rebel against every type of control on them.

Those Humans were, after all, the reason of the disappearance of the Nature Gods. Because they didn't want to be controlled. If they were left entirely on themselves, the Humans wouldn't even be able to live a single day.

Life left the miserable, corrupt and pitiful place called Earth and flew back to Heaven. He had seen more than enough.

Did the Humans deserve anything at all? No. Yet, even after knowing this, the Immortals continued to nourish and look after this race. They were merciful. All were nice Immortals. The best one being Death, of course.

Why look after them when they clearly didn't deserve it and were also ungrateful for everything the Gods did for them? Because not all Humans were bad. Or than that, why else?

Life smiled. The Gods too had their own secrets.

"If God were not willing to forgive sin, Heaven would be empty."