[DC Comics redux]

>S U F F E R I N G: https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/95252620/#95259847

"Well, that's that taken care of" I told Highfather, buoyed by a sense of relief after holding back my wrath for far too long. "You can go home now"

"...no" said Highfather weakly. "...the existential threats are removed. Your homeworld is secure. All is as it should be-"

"No, no this is all wrong" he said from his refugee god-ship. He sat down with the weariness of eons, staring at nothing. "I'm grateful you saved us of course, but we're all in this mess to begin with because once again, I decided that killing a baby was more important than dealing with the actual problems of the cosmos"

Once, the gods of New Genesis had looked down upon me. Proud yet magnanimous in their higher dimensional splendour, greeting a mere human as a parent greets a toddler at Bring Your Kid To Work Day (do Americans still do that?). But now here they squatted in the ship. Dishevelled, frightened, shying away from death-and staring at a leader who was turning his staff of office over and over again like he was looking at the weight of his sins.

"Enough" said Highfather finally, "enough with the Stalinesque purges and high-handed attempts to pretend the Quintessence matters. Today we didn't survive due to believing in the better future I promised you all, OR by carrying out the ruthless policies I deemed necessary. Today...it's time to face a hard truth"

And he put down his staff.
For the last time.
"I don't deserve to be called Highfather. Reclaim your homes. Or abandon them for Earth. But I will lead you all no further into disaster" he said. "Henceforth, I am just...Izaya"

Silence fell as he walked away from them all, a battered and regretful old god who could no longer even take the Source's benevolence for granted after Death of the New Gods was once again canon.

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