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Ajal slowly traced the circular patterns on the wooden floor of his room. He had spent the last ten years traveling and researching this summoning spell and this was the day, the moment, he’d been waiting for. The blood moon and the planets were aligned in just the right way.

Ajal had long believed that humanity was destroying the world. Even without the constant overpopulation, Ajal thought that humanity’s desire for more would constantly push nature’s resources to its limits. The solution to a thriving Earth was simple, an end to humanity. It was in the heart of the American South that Ajal had found an old Wiccan summoning spell that he believed would bring forth the spirit capable of helping him accomplish his goal.

The final symbol was traced into the floor and Ajal placed the small piece of chalk aside. He poured bits of Earth he had gathered from around the globe into the center and began the chant. The moonlight from outside the window shown in a pale red and grew brighter before his eyes. The candles he’d light around the room burned brightly and then suddenly went out. Blue and green flames ignited over the mixed dirt in front of him. They swirled into a flaming circled until the two colors were indistinguishable from one another.

In a bright explosion of light, Ajal was temporarily blinded. He had fallen back covering his eyes and slowly made his way to his feet. Before him floated a gigantic viridian colored spirit. On its head grew horns of many animals. Over its shoulders draped leaves, vines, and flowers from all corners of the planet. The bottom half of the spirit was decorated in such a variety of aquatic flora that Ajal never knew existed. The skirt of sea life was so large that he could barely make out the fishlike tail sticking out from beneath. The arms, although human-like, were covered in a wooden carapace that added to the immensity of the spirit. Ajal stared up at the spirit’s face and noted the darkness that lay there. Moss-like hair framed the blank blackness, but seven glowing eyes shone from the depths of the missing face. Each was a different color; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and indigo. Ajal stood in awe for a long time before speaking.

“Spirit of the Earth, I’ve called upon you to make a great request.”

The Spirit’s voice came boomed inside of Ajal’s mind and he couldn’t tell if it came from the invisible mouth of the Spirit or was placed directly into his head. “We know why you’ve summoned us, Ajal. We see all lifeforms across the planet.”

“Then you know the damage humanity has caused. The imbalance we create to the natural ecosystem. We are a plague to this planet and if nothing is done then we will do the same to the galaxy. Why do you do nothing?”

“Because humanity was not just born from nature, you still are nature. It is impossible for you to be anything else. Would you consider the nest birds make to be unnatural just because they built it?”

Ajal was shocked to hear the spirit speak this way of people. “But birds’ nests do not cause harm to the surrounding wildlife. No other creature on the planet hungers for excess like we do.”

“This is true. We have noticed that humanity’s hunger has caused it to grow exponentially over the last few thousand years. But it is not our place to stop the natural progression of life. Life does not exist to create, destroy, or find equilibrium. Life simply exists.”

Ajal considered the idea that this just was the way life was but could not accept the fact that humanity was anything other than a cancer to be cut from the planet. He looked down at his own hands, the hand of a destructive human.

“If it is not your place to stop us, then grant me the responsibility.”

“We do not think you know what you truly ask of us.”

“The price is a thrice fold return of punishment back upon myself. I will accept it all.”

“The effect it will have on many other lifeforms that have become dependent on humanity will be fatal to most.”

He hadn’t considered the animals dependent on people before. He always thought nature would just pop back into place, but he felt like he’d come too far to back down now. “It will be a small price to pay to secure the safety and future of the planet.”

The Spirit fell silent, the seven colorful eyes staring down on Ajal. There was no emotion he could read in the blackness of its face. The eyes never blinked or moved. They only stared deep into his soul.

“We will grant your request, Ajal. If you truly do wish this then come forward and accept the gift we will bestow upon you.”

Ajal waited only a breath before stepping forward.

“You will carry upon you a plague, susceptible only to humans. It will spread quick, cause death within weeks, and much suffering. You will not immediately die from it though. You must suffer the pain and death threefold of every person afflicted by this disease, one by one. This will take time and you will walk the planet as long as this takes.”

Ajal wondered at how long this would take. There were over 8 billion people on the planet, with weeks for each person to die, he could not fathom the length of time he would suffer.

“It’s not very often that we intervene with the course of life, but this is not without precedent. Once, we cleansed the planet and we are interested to see how things unfold again. Go, Ajal. Become death.”

Over the following weeks Ajal traveled as much as he could, determined to spread his plague as fast as possible. It wasn’t long before news of a new disease revenging the planet spread. Almost as quickly as the news was announced, the news became silent. Not enough people were left to maintain communications and after a few more weeks, he walked through empty streets. Then the pain began.

Ajal spent the first few years in a constant state of stomach pains and continuous vomiting. Decades passed, while the pains lingered, he found a sense of normalcy to it. He began walking. He witnessed the growth of plant life overtaking once vast cities. Hundreds of years later, he saw wildlife grow into every corner mankind once inhabited. Thousands of years passed, and the pain persisted. Every day was a battle to walk and bear witness to the change on the planet. New animals flourished and began overtaking one another. Tens of thousands of years passed and mammals from the sea started taking to land. Hundreds of thousands of years later and the large mammals of the sea that took to land hand become simple too users. He witnessed a new society starting, through wincing pain. He believed they would be better ambassadors of Earth than humanity.

A million years had passed since Ajal had made his deal with the Spirit of Earth. He’d attempted to calculate the length of his suffering early on, but long-ago lost track of the years. However, it was coming soon. He could barely remember his own name now. All he knew was pain. He lived secluded from the new society that had formed. Although it was not human, he could not tell from afar. They waged largescale wars, and he witnessed weapons capable of such devastation that warlords of days past would have longed for. He saw how they used the resources of the world without care. He stared out and wondered if these beings would ever learn to live in peace with the world on which they resided. Maybe they could. Maybe some within their species might find a way to push them towards an ecologically friendly future. Maybe not.

Ajal vomited into his own lap. His stomach twisting and turning. Then the pain subsided, and he came to his final rest.