After years of conflict between nations, a plague originated from the war spread all across the globe. It started silent and when the humans realized, it was too late.
When they died, their soul would ascend to the sky and end up in a bottle, that once filled had to be retrieved and replaced by one of the gods. The god tasked to retrieve the bottle of human souls is Abhmar, who had the appearance of a short chimp.
Today Abhmar had a lot of work, constantly replacing the bottle just to find the replacement is about to be full.
Soon showed up Cakarbar, who had the appearance of a white small bird and was Abhmar's only friend.
"How are you doing today?", asked Cakarbar.
"Busy, really busy", answered Abhmar, "now you excuse me".
The chimp returned with another bottle and replaced the full one.
"Too many deaths today?", questioned Cakarbar.
"Yesterday was worse"
The white bird god stared the bottle with curiosity as it filled pretty fast.
"I can see something is really wrong", observed Cakarbar, "what really happened?"
"It's a plague, set by themselves", answered the chimp god.
"They are going extinct! Can't you save them?"
"I could absorb the plague all away from them to me, but that would cost my life"
The bird god could see from the eyes of its own group of species the whole world, including the now devastated cities of what was once a powerful civilization. It remembered watching the human species grow from a small group of nomads, to being great farmers, animal tamers, later make the inorganic resources of the nature work for them on what they called industrialization and finally surpassing the physical with what they called virtual technology.
Now all that could be seen is small groups of desperate people looking for food. The bird god felt the pain of the mother who just watched her child die in front of her.
"You'd give your life to save the human race? For a few more minutes?", finally asked Cakarbar.
"No, to doom them"
"You hate them that much?"
The chimp god stopped doing what it was doing and stared the bird god dead in its eyes.
"I hate them? I DESPISE THEM! They were the biggest mistake a god could have done! I gave them everything, everything for them to develop themselves and reach close to us! Instead all I get to see is constant wars and suffering. I should have seen since from the beginning they were going to be destructive when they started killing off the giant mammals. I could have put an end right there! They angered many other gods by killing their own group of species! Hey, that includes you! How can you ever care about them? Shouldn't you worry about your birds?"
Cakarbar couldn't answer.
"I shouldn't have given them the free will! I knew it was a bad idea", wailed Abhmar.
Cakarbar knew there was a price for the free will. Each species has something called instinct, which is none other than their own creator's will that shape their own creation's will. Leaving holes in their instinct leave them less predictable and harder to save when needed. Cakarbar could see Abhmar left a huge hole.
"I'd rather just watch them die", continued Abhmar.
"The human species was the most interesting species I have ever seen. All animals before them only had programmed behaviors. They knew how to get their food, to survive from the cold and the predators, to find the member of the opposing sex and reproduce. But humans, they were entirely different. Unlike other animals, they were since birth dependent on each other. When they grew up they still relied on each other. One single human couldn't survive alone, but a human in a society could beat any other species. Their civilization brought a colorful contrast to the lands, without them it would be just monotone forest", commented Cakarbar, "it's a shame they are dying"
Abhmar at this point was crying.
"Abhmar?"
"Whatever, I can just create another species like them. If I give them partial free will maybe I can stop that catastrophe from repeating", said Abhmar.
"But they won't feel the same at all"
"You're right, I think we just need to let them die and go back to what we were doing"
At this point the bottle was filling really slowly. It didn't mean they were getting back on road, but rather that there weren't many left to die. It would be just a matter of time until the last one perished.
"Do you know what amazed me the most about them?", asked the chimp god.
"What?"
"Their ability to love each other", responded Abhmar, "despite all the atrocities they have done to each other, they still had an impressing way of bonding with each other which most animals don't. While all other animals are programmed to love each other to spread their DNA, humans just...love each other naturally, even if they don't carry their DNAs at all. Or even if they aren't retributed at all"
"Maybe you love them just like that?"
The chimp god looked at Cakarbar's eyes, then looked back to the bottle. He knew it was the last one and as soon it filled it would seal humanity's fate. It was pretty clear the bottle was just a few souls away from full.
"You're right. After all things they have done, I can't not love them", responded Abhmar, "creating another species just will never fill that gap"
"Wait, are you sacrificing for them?", asked Cakarbar shocked.
The chimp god nodded.
"You can't do that! You're a god, they're mortals, in fact they're about to die! It's not worth saving them!"
"Listen, Cakarbar. I was there with them since the beginning, when they were a weak species against the many strong predators. I have seen them recover even from the most desperate situations, including the black death. I can say that they will make this out for sure"
"You're my only friend, Abhmar. You taught me to have dreams, ambitions, goals. Before you I was merely a bird god with my own programming affect my own behavior. All I would do is caw and chirp and retrieve my own bird soulds as if I was programmed by some entity just like we've been doing. Thanks to you I have gone outside my own bubble to help you with your own species, even at the expense of mine"
"I know, hence why I design you my sucessor"
"Me?"
"Yes, you will be in charge of them now. You will look at them just like I did. You will suffer with them just like I did. You will love them just like I did"
Abhmar was clearly pale. Multiple black tentacles surrounded its feet.
"Abhmar, I can't..."
"Please, promise you will look after them"
The body of the chimp god was slowly disappearing into dust.
"Abhmar, no..."
"Please, promise...just for me"
"Okay, I...I promise"
"Thank you, friend"
The last dust of what was once Abhmar, the creator of the human species, flew away in the air, leaving only Cakarbar in the room.
After the initial shock, Cakarbar moved to the room where its friend kept all the bottles containing the human souls. There were no empty bottles at sight.
Cakarbar sighed and just as it moved out of the room, it toppled on a tiny empty bottle. The human species was alive.