Insignificance

"Humans are simply insignificant. The imminent destruction of their race is irrevocable."

The words mingled like the whimpers cast by torn bits of shredded papers. Three bodies stood erect, side by side with their long coats brushing against each other and creating sparks of friction. Not one of them looked at another, all too focused on the clear glass cast in front of them.

"Agreed," said the one on the far right. His lips fought each other in a battle of oppression, and pensive creases flaunted his brow. "They are mere ants compared to the might of our race. We are superior, and destiny calls for our destruction of the planet they call Earth."

The first speaker, the tallest, nodded in agreement. His goatee crawled at his neck, and between the two creatures, a smaller one shoved his tiny hands against the glass. Before them laid the universe, and at their deft fingertips all planets bowed down. The tap of a nail on this glass could mean the death of millions, and a shove too violent could wipe out the universe. Regardless, such power was a trifle to them.

"Father?" A small, squeaking voice burst from the little one's mouth. Unlike most humans suspected, these extraterrestrial life forms did not live in green skin riddled with scales, nor did they sport any sort of obscure tubes or tails. They were the same as humans in genetic makeup, flesh, bone, vulnerability. Their knowledge alone was what made them superior. The grand man to the boy's side stood almost six feet above him, but the boy was not intimidated.

"Yes, Jervin?"

"Which one is for the celebration of my twelfth year?"

Father, as the boy called him, did not move from his sterile clasping of hands or his stoic state of mind. "Earth is right there," he said, pointing a long finger at the planet. A mix of mushed brown, blue, and shades of waning green tossed themselves over the spherical surface, wispy egg whites lingering.
"Tap it," he commanded without looking to his son.

Jervin did as he was told, and the glass panned to reveal the innards of Earth. The boy's eyes widened with fascination as he watched the humans go about their daily lives, unaware that someone watched them.
One in particular caught his eye; a boy similar in stature and looks as he. He swung mesmerizingly on a threadbare playground, his dimples flashing in the sunlight as he laughed among friends.

Friends. That was one thing Jervin had never had the opportunity to receive- one of the only things power couldn't give. For a moment, his bright blue eyes carried his soul to that playground, and he imagined it was him on that swing.

Rock, rock,
back and forth,
sashay and away....

The boy jumped as a cold hand grasped his shoulder. "What do you see, Jervin?"

He gulped, pulling at the thick collar of his jacket to allow air to filter inside. Knowing his father expected something different than what he was enmeshed with, he wove a lie.

"I see two puny humans in a dark space between buildings. One is killing while the other lies helpless."

A solemn nod escaped his father.
"Do you see why we must conquer them? They do not understand the value of life. We must destroy them before they infect more races with their soulless deprivals."

Jervin fiddled with his hands, continuously watching the boy. He pumped his legs rhythmically before launching himself from the swing, landing squarely on his feet.

"What about the humans that aren't soulless, like the man who is being killed?" His voice was quiet and tentative.

"They too must be destroyed, quickly and painlessly, so the soulless cannot use their ghastly ways on them."

Jervin nodded slowly, pretending to understand something he did not.
"I see."

His father's hands furled together like a pair of vipers, and the man to the other side of him politely excused himself as father prepared to teach son a valuable lesson. Sliding his finger in a few short arcs, Earth became a glowing mass, and a placid voice bellowed from an unknown location.
"Commencing destruction of planet Earth."

The father's eyes sparkled with amusement as he knelt down to be eye level with Jervin. His strong jaw was set in cement, and his gray eyes in steel. "Watch, my son. See the fullness of our glory."

Slowly-painstakingly-, Jervin shifted his head back to the ever shifting plate of warped glass.

"Demolition in t-minus 3 seconds. 2. 1."

A fantastic explosion of bursting color consumed the eyes of the pair. A choke caught in Jervin's throat as he watched the boy on the playground become entangled by a bout of surprise, but that was quickly blinded by flame. As he glanced at his father, he truly saw him in the brightness of the explosion- in a whole new light. One that made his stomach boil with uncertainty and scores of questions he didn't dare ask.
When the orange and red monsters settled, nothing but ash remained. Ash, and the reeking of putrid vacancy.

His father said nothing at first, giving his son a hard slap on the back before taking his quiet leave.
"The first is always the best one to watch. After a while, they become boring. But you've done the universe a great service today. Remember that, Jervin."

The quiet click of the door severed whatever reply Jervin might have offered him, but it didn't matter. Two streaks fell from his rapid blinking eyes as he turned away from the scene, guilt weighing heavily on his heart.

"I'm sorry, boy," he whispered, looking over his shoulder at the swirling dusts. Sniffs wrenched his body and tears pooled on the black leather. " I truly am. I don't understand why we had to kill you..."

His father's voice echoed a disheartening reply, reverberating in his forehead like a persistent time skip that wouldn't ever melt away.

"Humans are simply insignificant. The imminent destruction of their race is irrevocable."