In a silent, weightless, endless void where neither time nor sound dared to exist, something began to stir.
A little movement that seemed to surprise the very void itselfâafter allâŠ
Movements weren't supposed to happen here.
This was not a normal place. It was⊠a realm beyond realityâa realm where even the concept of beginning was meaningless, a realm where end didn't exist, a realm where both life and death held no meaning.
A timeless, ageless realm that⊠had been silent for⊠an unknown amount of timeâso much time that even the realm itself had forgotten how it felt to⊠support⊠any sort of existence.
Yes, it was a realm that, although part of the Universe, had never supported any life form.
No being could reach, access, or even sense its existenceâ
No being other thanâŠ
A select few.
And today,
Those select few⊠seemed like they were going to⊠make an appearance.
Something that not just this realm, but the entire Universe never expected.
Zzsstt
And finallyâ
After eons, in this endless, empty, colorless voidâ
A spark appeared.
It was faint at first, something that most beings wouldn't even notice, but⊠that faint spark was more than enough to⊠bend the very void around it.
And thenâ
Sfwoosh
The spark started getting brighter and brighter until it became a ripple of gold, the ripple then became a waveâ
And before the void could understand what was happening,
Light descended.
Her arrival was like the birth of dawn in a dead sky.
Wings of molten gold spread behind her, every feather seeming as though it carried a sun of its own. Her long white hair glowed like threads of pure starlight, flowing down her back, untouched by shadow. Her eyesâtwin mirrors of creationâseemed to hold galaxies within them, every star in those galaxies trembling with life.
Her steps didn't touch the ground.
They made the ground.
Wherever her feet hovered, light bloomed, forming a golden path through the formless abyss.
Her aura carried warmth, beauty, and⊠unbearable authority.
Yes, she was the Light InfinityâSeraphielle Light, the Dawn of All Things.
Her soft yet commanding gaze swept across the void and her beautiful lips parted ever so slightly.
"It's been a long time since I have been here."
She whispered softlyâher voice, despite being a whisper, sounded like a hymn that could move worlds.
And as if responding to her melodious voiceâsomething happened.
Something that⊠made even the always calm and in-control Seraphielle Light furrow her brows in⊠undisguised disgust.
Yes.
The Second Infinity, the Infinity of DarknessâUl'Thakar Darknessâwas here.
Unlike Light, Darkness did not descendâit rose.
From the deepest corner of the void, something stirred.
Smoke twisted, shadows devoured themselves, and from within them stepped a figure tall enough to block Light's own shine.
The void shivered as his form took shapeâa silhouette carved from obsidian storms. His body was pure shadow, constantly shifting like ink in water.
His eyes glowed crimson, not with rage, but with power⊠too ancient⊠too absolute to define.
Every movement he made bled⊠silence.
Where Light's presence birthed warmth, his presence⊠consumed it.
Showing just how opposite the two existences truly were.
Soon, the shadows around his figure began to coil together, giving his mist-like body a more⊠defined shape.
A shape⊠that made him different from other Darkness-Borns, and as his form took complete shape, his appearance became⊠clearer.
His skin was pure blackâdeeper than the shadow it was made fromâbut it wasn't dull or empty. It⊠gleamed faintly, like polished obsidian that reflected no light yet⊠seemed to drink in everything around it.
Every curve of his body looked carved from nightstoneâsmooth, perfect, and⊠impossibly still. A faint red glow pulsed beneath his skin, tracing through veins like flowing magma, disappearing beneath his collarbone and reappearing near his heart. With each beat, the glow flickered like a silent ember refusing to die.
His hair was pitch black too, yet it carried a strange sheenâlike the reflection of a star on dark water. It framed his face loosely, some strands falling over his forehead as if the void itself had shaped them with care.
And his eyesâŠ
They were crimson.
Not the red of blood, but a deep, burning red that was⊠far more intense. Every time he blinked, faint sparks of red energy drifted out, fading before they touched the air.
He was tallâtaller than Seraphielleâhis build lean but carrying strength beyond what anyone could believe. Every one of his movements was slow and deliberate, as if moving time itself did not bother him in the least.
Around his shoulders, the remnants of his birth smoke still lingered, swirling like a cloak made of sentient mist that moved only when he did.
He was the very physical representation of Darkness itselfâunreasonably handsome, sharp, and⊠absolute.
He was not a monster, not a shadowâ
ButâŠ
A god wearing the night like his skin.
And finally, this god's crimson eyes moved, falling on the being that was looking at him with clear disgust andâ
A faint smileânot kind, not cruel, but simply⊠dangerousâcurved on his lips andâ
"Your physical presence is far more disgusting than your conscious one."
He spoke in a deep, low, and⊠resonant voice.
He wasn't mocking her; Seraphielle knew that as well. What he was stating were his true, genuine feelingsâafter all, she too felt the same disgust he did.
"This is why I was against this proposal."
Seraphielle answered, her disgust now even stronger now that she needed to talk to the filthy existence in front of her.
Yes, the relationship between the two was⊠bad.
Actually, their relationship was indeed somewhat specialâit was the longest-standing enmity in the entire Universe.
Light against Darkness.
An enmity older than time itself.
No other enmity came close. There was oneâChaos and Balanceâbut⊠after the destruction of the Supreme World of Chaos, that enmity lost its significance.
Now, only the Light and Darkness remained.
"Why not erase yourself instead?
It would be a favor to both of us."
Ul'Thakar commentedâa comment he knew wouldn't hurt the woman in front of him one bit.
"It is not like your existence is doing us any good anyway. If anything, you are making things more difficult."
He spoke as the shadows at his feet coiled softly, forming patterns before dissolving again, never staying still.
And Seraphielle?
She was ready with her own retort.
"Whatever it is I am doing, it still far outshinâ"
But before she could complete, the once-empty void that was now struggling to hold both their existences trembled.
Light and Darkness couldn't stay togetherâ
Not withoutâŠ
Balance.
And soonâ
The very same Balance answered.
Between the two existences, the void rippled againâbut this time, it was neither the golden light nor the shadow.
It was⊠blue.
Calm.
Soft.
And⊠endless.
The air shifted, and from the shimmer stepped a third beingâ
The Infinity of BalanceâEquarios Balance.
Unlike the other two, he didn't walk or rise.
He simply⊠was.
Wherever he appeared, chaos turned silent. The clashing lights around him bent into perfect harmony, gold and black swirling together into a tranquil⊠dance.
His robes were deep sapphire, woven from what looked like liquid serenity. Its edges glowed faintly with white and silver. Each layer of fabric seemed to move on its own.
His skin was smooth and faintly⊠luminous, carrying a soft glow that was neither Light nor Dark but perfectly balanced between the two.
His eyes shone like polished crystalâone blue, one silverâeach reflecting a different half of existence. When he blinked, faint rings of light rippled out from his pupils, forming geometric symbols that vanished almost immediately.
A circular halo of pale blue light floated behind his head, but unlike Light's radiant blaze or Darkness's shadowed storm, this halo moved in a slow, deliberate manner, rotating like the gears of time itself.
His hair was pure white with faint streaks of blue running through itâshort but slightly tousled.
His very presence felt like a paradox.
He was still, yet alive.
Powerful, yet impossibly gentle.
He did not change the void to suit his needs like the other two didâhe⊠balanced it.
"Still bickering, I see."
He said softly, looking between Light and Darkness with quiet amusement.
And the instant he appeared, the entire void exhaled in relief, as though finally allowed to rest.
"Hmph!"
At his comment, Darkness snorted and Light rolled her eyes, not even bothering to respond to him.
They would rather wait for the fourth and begin what they were gathered here for and⊠the fourth didn't make them wait any longer either.
The void rippled one last time.
The golden radiance of Light, the black storm of Darkness, and the tranquil glow of Balance all steadied, turning toward a single pointâ
Crack
And there, reality itself cracked.
Thin, shimmering lines ran through the emptiness like fractures in glass, but instead of breaking apart, they folded inârewinding, realigning, and⊠converging into a single spot.
From those folds, new reality was formed, giving shape to⊠him.