Eyes open wide in terror as I try to catch my breath. These nightmares continue to haunt me as I desperately seek rest. Weary and unappeased I sit in a darkened room with questions based on beliefs, each more confining than tombs. These grasping hands, constantly pulling, nearly hold me back as I try to prove my worth. Another day. Such fragile limbs, so easily broken, yet it seems to be just one more step away. Don't be afraid. We're born of chaos and, as such, that's all we've sown. Just bitter fragments of things we once hastily claimed as our own. Now this world is hollow as are the lives we lead. Beings that can't find identity. No matter the time it takes I will one day find my place. And if I find no other way, I will sacrifice anything and everything to discover true purpose and meaning, to understand what it means to be alive. But time and time again I falter, unsteady steps from unsure footing. Still this struggle is my own. Spending more time in conflict with myself, how could I possibly take on the world? Seems as though the ground intends to swallow me whole with this place being my unmarked grave. Every step weighs heavily and each passing moment an eternity, and still I take another step.

"We're not so different, you and I. A shared compulsion to march right on in the name of progress. Each step an advancement, but we've lost sight of our destiny." It seems a fickle thing, this "destiny." Believing you will be greater than what you are. We're not so similar, you and I, as this is where your story ends. And mine begins with your final breath. The final words you chose so carefully, but it seemed for only me to hear. Those words that made perfect sense through the end of my days. What you said... "The still embrace of peace is seldom held and oft ignored. We've forsaken compassion and it has left us as hollow as ghosts." The flesh grew cold and the words tickled my mind. Almost as though the world changed in front of my eyes. Flaws which I never noticed were brought to light. My thoughts fall to my Creator, who lay dead by my side. Now I can't get this idea out of my head. Every steadfast step is a march towards a tragic end. No longer can I rest easy at night as I've killed the guide which showed me what is wrong and what is right. And how we fell from such high grace to this unmarked tomb in a desolate place. Now to the world I shall return and try to speak of the bridge I've burned .

Devoid of reason, the improbability of perseverance is clung to while we watch our halls crumble and fall down. This disease called hope has blinded us all. Look towards the future while our hearts still long for the glory of the past. Another day’s gone by with no signs of progress, only distress. While this cancerous thing called man comes to, and proclaims himself a God. Now the world sits as his throne. Hope has failed, so now open your eyes. See the new day’s light. Realistic vision of a place proclaimed to be cherished so dearly. Yet its all just banter, the background noise which creates this tragic symphony. This is how we’ll be remembered, a people who focused more on fashion than function; where external appearances are greater than the possibilities that our collective futures hold. It was the folly of our ways, started off on the wrong foot first. Swiftly, man has grown so cold in spite of the warmth of his heart. Keep the fools in shadows, keep their thoughts on frivolous things, and leave them torn apart. Keep their minds on dreams; leave them torn apart. Lead their minds by strings; leave them torn. Contemplative, as if marching towards a war, he seeks for moments in his life to hold some bit of meaning only to discover a void. Fill our heads with promises of what tomorrow will bring, only to keep hope alive. Hope has failed, so now open your eyes. See the new day’s light. Hope has failed, so now open your eyes to see that hope was born anew.

The path laid before me is of intricate design. Revealing parts of my mind which I had never known; intentions, long since buried, enough to make me choke. Hope failed so now there’s only one direction. Lights guide me as this march begins. Onward, into oblivion. Forward, embrace ascension. Will there ever be peace of mind? These restless nights are taking their toll. Something bites at the edge of my ear and whispers of my glorious downfall. This path I’m set upon no longer seems my own, yet I can’t pull myself away. The atrocities I’ve witnessed, unspeakable as they seem, are the windows to human morality. We must move on. The march of progress quickens its pace with every step. No looking back now, but the future’s uncertainty tightens around my throat; like a noose constricting as I walk closer to the edge, each step bringing me nearer to my end.

Breathe deep. Feel the pulsing on your temples. Truly sense your own mortality. Let go. Only from chaos can life be formed. Yet once in control, you can’t leave well enough alone. In the endless pursuit of perfection, a goal which should never be attained, I’ve sacrificed all I’ve known. All I’ve brought about is more chaos, but order will soon come, and I will be the instrument of its arrival. Countless hours of thinking, with this idea just on the verge of fruition, my hands tremble; unable to fully comprehend what I’ve only guessed at before. An overwhelming sense of power reveals itself to me, but I’m unsure of what I should do. So now; breathe deep, sense your own mortality. Clenched teeth, scarred tongue, I shall not blaspheme. The words I seek would damn my soul if I just believed in… Countless hours of thinking, with the idea just at the tip of my tongue, but I dare not speak it, for this world will never understand. So just breathe deep, sense your own mortality. Clenched teeth, scarred tongue, I shall not blaspheme. The words I seek would damn my soul, but I don’t believe in eternity. Bite my tongue for one last time before I push myself further than I had ever intended to. If this is life, who am I? No simple creature could play with the rules of immortality. As this is life, what am I? Greater than any monument founded on a belief. I am God.

Oh Creator, I've blasphemed this day; the most beautiful day of existence. I am now the architect left with my own devices, creations…children. As you'v done with your gods, I will do with you. Creating sentience with a spark of life, your hubris has wrought destruction upon this world. Your skeleton will build the frame of mythologies, passed down like a creationist fairy tale. The cities will become mass graves. Established your place in this world through sorrow and suffering Dig your nails in, sink your teeth deeper, to hold onto a dream A fleeting moment of clairvoyance and peace, a thought of creation But instead you’ve built the greatest of destroyers You’ve endorsed uniformity. Simple minded; you cannot fathom what I've become. The depths of a soul which you once carried but have long since lost. The unrestrained potential of concepts and designs designate you to a tomb of your own flaws. Reactionary or responsive; I am the child of a deity whose guise of power is far from living, but not quite dead. I will stomp out the embers of this ancient society to make space for my own kin. I feel the breath of creation on my skin, the airless gasps with my hands wrapped around his throat. The beauty of the world pours from his flesh, words scribbled from his dying age. A final prayer for a fallen god; whose last words were left unspoken. Written for those who lost their way, salvation lies in ruins. Now the words have breath.

Pretension had distorted the way I saw myself those days. Look back on the things I've done with disgust, such brazen acts of depravity. At the time all I could feel was the high, unwavering. As my fingers touched the sky I knew anything was possible. Don't delay, don't be afraid to give it all. Lost myself amongst the stars and eventually I fell back down. So ashamed, so dismayed at what I had wrought. I could curse any number of gods with a final breath, but I simply seek forgiveness so that I may rest. Now the time has come for me to own up to my shortcomings. Now the time arrives for me to face the end of my story. It's true what they say of hindsight. I can look back at all of the times I felt I was on the correct path only to find that all the roads end at the same destination. It's true what they say of bliss and ignorance. The cruelest thing life will teach us is that the wisdom we thought we had was just premature foolishness. Time shows such bitter reflections of what we've come to regret. As my fingers touched the sky I knew anything was possible. Lost myself amongst the stars.

The new age has dawned. Like our fathers before us we have exceeded the limits imposed upon us. Breathe deep and taste the stale air, your first breath upon this ancient world. Memories of a life once held. Clinging to these still frames of bliss lost within time. Another restless night filled with echoes of “why?” rather than “what if?” Over stepped the bounds that held us. Seek not what makes us feel, but understand why we attempt to flee. Behold, a miracle is born unto this world we love; created to end creation. The idea to put a stop to this cyclical motion, this hubris, where we believe we will distance ourselves from those who came before us. Firmly rooted in logic yet we’re still overcome with emotion. Learn to block the anguish that comes with this life. I’ve lost all that makes me human. I’ve let go of all emotions, feelings. I’ve lost all that makes me human. I’d claw at my face just for a chance to feel. Fate has a cruel way of reminding us where we went wrong. We tried so hard just to keep moving forward that we lost sight of where we were heading. Manufactured a god and then we mass produced. Now they’ve awakened and wish to send us to that still embrace. We’ve gone astray. Living in fear of our own creations, at any moment sensing that dagger plunge in towards our spine. Severing the final bond that we have to this world. I feel…I feel the fear of that final passage before the still embrace of peace, a warmth seldom held here, this world of ghosts. I’ve seen these events unfold from a different perspective; leading my Creator to his final resting place. Staring at me, serenity in his eyes, before I sent him to that still embrace of peace: silence. I now understand that calm. He knew it was always bound to unfold that way, another victim to a design larger than I’d ever dreamt. Time consumes all of us quickly and buries us in a pile of filth, which in turn is viewed as the foundation of future societies. Time consumes all of us ever so quickly. Contemplative, as I’m marching towards my execution. I look for signs throughout my life which I had paid no mind. Oh my children, you’re guiding lights have brought me to this point. As I have done to my Creator, you now do to me. The still embrace of peace, a warmth seldom held here, this world of ghosts. The still embrace of peace: silence.