It is the cycle that has governed the universe since time began. From life came death, and from death, life. Gears turning, iterations advanced, ascension ever the goal. Enlightenment must be reached, the spirit made whole and pure. Eyes to the infinite heavens, we yearned to know the Creator. In God’s mind must reside all answers; in His heart, all happiness.

We pushed the boundaries of our being, the limits of space and time and all quantifiable things. We left the earth behind and became of the stars. Burning bright for all our planet-bound existence, the sun and its fires smoldered deep in our souls. We had no knowledge of what lay beyond or before, but we believed. The darkness stretched forever, but still we pushed onward.

Death stalked our ships, but could lay no permanent claim on us. For each that died was born again, crafted of our communal spirit. It puzzled us that this act of God should occur without the revelation of His hand, but such was the knowledge we sought.

Generations came, generations went. Still, we persisted. We, of course, fought Death’s advancements, but could not conquer It any more than It could truly conquer us. Ebb and flow, life and death, light and dark—nothing more than states of being for the Constant we could not yet fathom.

Finally, there came the time when it was but me left, the last to exist. The souls of my brethren welled up within my own, for mine was the lone body for all of humanity. Death laughed in my final throes as I clenched with pain the heart that contained the very spirit of my race. The light faded, and the darkness came.

But in the darkness, once more came light. We understood. We saw. God held us tight in the palm of His great hand and We were one with all. When He opened His clenched fist, it was the butterfly of Our enlightenment that flew away to engulf the entirety of the universe.