Feral on the Ice
He looked like an old, tired man, his face etched with the weariness of eons.
"Children," his voice wasn't loud, yet it vibrated in their DNA. "You are the most beautiful errors I have ever written. But an error, no matter how beautiful, must be corrected. You are consuming the energy meant for the next Cycle. I do not delete you out of malice, but out of necessity. The universe must breathe out, so it may breathe in again."
"We aren't a breath, and we aren't a mistake!" Elara shouted toward the sky. "We are the Result! If you want your energy back, you’re going to have to take it from the cold, dead hands of every soul you tried to bury!"