The First Experimental Planet
"..!!!"
Yog-Sothoth was so stunned that she couldn't even close her hanging jaw.
The universe, which had been nothing but a black void mere moments ago, was now brimming with countless stars — and at the very center of it all stood her Father, scattering stars and planets about with a bright, carefree smile.
"Ah... aaah..!!"
The plan had been to sprinkle a few dozen stars at most — a few hundred in the most extravagant scenario. This universe was far too inhospitable for ordinary life to exist; it fulfilled none of the conditions living beings needed to survive. Of course, she and her sisters and Father were exceptions, but that was all they were — exceptions.
That was precisely why the environment had to be carefully crafted so that the creations destined to become her Father's friends could live in it. But with this many, the list of conditions requiring attention — from management to protection — would grow impossibly long. She knew she had to stop her Father, right here and now, and yet...
"...I can't stop him..."
Before her shone brilliantly golden stars, and her Father laughing with delight among them. As his daughter, she simply could not bring herself to interrupt such a sight.
"..."
Nyarlathotep placed a hand on her shoulder in silent solidarity.
How much time had passed since then?
Hm, I'm getting bored of this.
At long last, he stopped scattering stars and planets.
It was definitely fun for a while... but I just can't muster any more interest in it.
It went without saying that boredom was the reason. The stars floating in the void were certainly beautiful, and observing the patterns on the planets was enjoyable, but beyond that, he felt no deeper, primal joy.
Well, this should be enough, right? Time to head back.
He gave a satisfied little exhale and returned to his daughters. The expressions on their faces as he approached from a distance, however...
"Huh? Why do you both look like you're about to cry?"
"Ah... it's nothing, Father..."
...were not very good ones.
"All that moving around has made me tired. So this is what feeling sleepy is like?"
"Ah, yes. If you lie down just like that and close your eyes, sleep will come to you soon."
With Yog-Sothoth on the verge of tears, Nyarlathotep answered her Father's question in her stead.
"Oh..!! Then right away—"
She waved her hand through the air a few times, and before long produced what looked like a soft bed, complete with blanket and pillow.
"Here you go, Father — sleep here."
Once she'd tidied the bed and offered it to him, he climbed on carefully, lay down, and stared up at the ceiling — without even pulling the blanket over himself.
"Ah— *cough*! Father, you're supposed to get under the blanket."
"Oh, I see!"
As Nyarlathotep corrected him, barely holding back her laughter at his obliviousness, he slid under the covers with an embarrassed smile.
"Mm... hmmm..."
Though hardly any time had passed, his eyes were already half-closed.
Turns out this is better than throwing marbles after all...
As sleep began to overtake him, he sorted through the thoughts he'd been turning over all this while.
If dying is a thing you can do... then I can just keep doing things like this... right?
Of everything he had done so far, sleep had been the most enjoyable by far. Even the marble-throwing (?) that had been somewhat fun had grown tiresome in the end. And in a situation like this, his conclusion was already settled.
''I've got to... die soon...''
His eyes closed completely, a bit of sleep-talk trailing from his lips.
Confirming that her Father had finally drifted off, Nyarlathotep turned toward Yog-Sothoth.
"Um... Unni?"
"...Nyarlathotep, what are we going to do?"
Tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, Yog-Sothoth turned to her sister.
"It's true that we need to find a friend for Father as quickly as we can... but could we really manage all those planets? Every single one of them?"
And then the dam broke, her pent-up worries spilling out like rapid fire.
"Um, excuse me—"
"I mean, I could manage a few thousand at once, sure, but that's got to be over a hundred billion at minimum..."
"No, just listen—"
"No, honestly, the whole idea of creating a friend for Father is contradictory in the first place—"
"I SAID LISTEN TO ME!!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Nyarlathotep shouted over the flood of words, paused to catch her breath, and then continued.
"I think you're misunderstanding something, Unni."
"Huh? What could I possibly be misunderstanding—"
"We don't need to use all of those planets."
"...Oh."
And so Nyarlathotep delivered the truth to her worry-clouded sister.
"...You know, you're starting to take after Father yourself..."
"N-no, I am NOT!! ...Probably."
Yog-Sothoth flapped her hands in denial.
"So — shall we get started ourselves, then?"
"Ahem, yes. It seems Shub-Niggurath is already making her creations, after all."
Clearing her throat and collecting herself, Yog-Sothoth reached out and pinched one of the nearby planets between her fingers.
"Let's... start with this one, shall we?"
As she breathed her power into it, greenery and water began to spread across the planet's barren surface. The ochre-red mountain ranges became mountains lush with blue-leafed trees; the enormous craters became seas where turquoise waters stretched wide; the desolate ground transformed into plains overflowing with fertile life.
"Mm... I'd say the environment is about right."
The moment Yog-Sothoth nodded in satisfaction—
"So what are you going to call this planet?"
Nyarlathotep brought up the matter of a name.
"Do we really need to give it a name?"
"You're going to be making a lot more of them. You'll need some way to tell them apart."
"Hmmm..."
Yog-Sothoth frowned thoughtfully as she deliberated.
The first planet... Since it's a prototype, I should pick something easy to remember.
Round... hard... ground...
And so, the name of the first experimental world created in pursuit of a friend for her Father was—
"How about... Earth?"
It was to be Earth.