The screen that had stretched across EVERY sky in the Universe shined once more andā
Four silhouettes stood within itāeach tooā¦ vast to comprehend, yet somehow so clear that even mortals felt they could almost reach out and touch them.
And thenā
The entire Universe fell silent.
A silent pressure was felt by all.
The pressure wasn't suffocating, neither did it press anyone down butā¦
But for some reason, instinctively, every beingāno matter if they recognized the fourā¦ silhouettes they were seeing or notāfelt one thing.
In their presenceā
They weren't supposed to even breathe too loudly.
And it wasn't just the livingā
The inanimate, the mountains, the earth, the oceansā
They allā¦ stilled.
Every single world in the Universeāwhether at the very edge, or in the middleācame to a perfect halt.
Even wars, no matter how big or small, no matter how critical of a moment it wasā
It all stopped.
The assassins didn't assassinate the targets they had appeared in front of and had perfect opportunity to.
Nation-threatening criminals who were about to be executed weren't executed.
Traitors who were about to backstab didn't backstab.
It was a complete halt.
A complete silence.
As every single being, no matter the age, the condition, the mindsetāevery one of them glanced at the sky, looking at the four Absolute beings that had made their appearance, ready to listen.
Even the largest stars dimmed their fire, not wanting their heat to interrupt the four.
And at the centre of everything stoodā¦ them.
Light.
Darkness.
Balance.
Eternity.
And when they spoke, they spoke as one.
"Children of the Universe."
Their combined voice resonated through the stars, echoing in every ocean, every breath, everyā¦ soul.
"Hear us."
The sound wasn't loudāit didn't need to be.
It was simplyā¦ everywhere, inside and outside, as if it was flowing through existence itself, similar to how Seraphielle alone had done it.
And just thenā
"Since the first dawn, through eras uncounted, we have fought."
Seraphielle's golden radiance pulsed first, and her warm yet sharp tone filled the skies.
"Light and Darkness.
Creation and Destruction.
Balance and Chaos.
We have battledāacross skies, through aeons, upon the bones of worldsā
Because such is the nature of the living and the strong.
To rise.
To clash.
Toā¦ crave more."
Her eyes gleamed brighter as she spoke; countless beings across the cosmos knelt instinctively, unable to bear the weight of her presence.
"We are not guiltless.
We, the Infinities, have stood as Absolute of this Universeāthe rulers of allātheā¦ protectors of all.
And yetā¦
We have treated one another as foes.
Our wars have turned galaxies into nothingness, stars into dust.
Our pride has burned Cities, Worlds even.
We, who call ourselves protectors, have destroyed far more than we ever protected andā¦
And for eons, the Universe endured our quarrels and stillā¦
Still it did not abandon us."
Light's wings unfurled behind her, radiant enough to paint entire galaxies in gold.
"And so, for countless ages, we continued this cycleābecause that, too, is life.
Conflict gives birth to strength.
Struggle shapes greatness.
The weak seek peace.
But the strongā¦
The strong seek purpose.
The strong seekā¦ greatness.
The strong seekā¦ absolutenessānot the one that is shared with others, the one that he holds, all alone."
She turned her head slightly, her eyes closing as she took a short breath.
"But the strongā¦ is also responsible.
The strong understands the need to change.
The strong understandsā¦ when to change.
And right now,
We stand at that very exact moment.
The moment whereāwe, who have followed the same goal for eonsāneed to change as well."
She spoke, her voice resonating with every being hearing her, filling them withā¦ a strange strength they never thought they had.
But thenā
From Seraphielle's side, the shadow stirred.
The golden veil dimmed as Ul'Thakar Darkness straightened to his full height.
Where his voice touched, warmth fledābut it didn't fill it with cruelty, it filled it withā¦ coldness.
A solemn, ancient andā¦ honest coldness.
"She is right."
He began; his heavy, deep voice rumbled like thunder smothered beneath deep water.
"For eons, we have torn at one another's throatsānot because we despised, but because we craved growth.
We wanted to get stronger, to become better than the other three.
Butā¦
We too understood the truth.
Light cannot exist without Darkness.
Balance cannot exist without Imbalance.
Eternity cannot measure time without end."
The shadows around him rippled, forming vast, smoky and crimson-veined wings of their own.
"Even you mortalsāyou Sovereigns, you Leaders of your own worlds, beings who call upon our namesā
You too have followed the same path.
You build empires and then destroy them.
You swear loyalty and then betray it.
You riseāand youā¦ fall.
Because that is what life means."
Ul'Thakar's crimson eyes narrowed as his tone hardened.
"But this timeā¦ our wars, our divisionsānone of them matter.
Because this time, the hand that seeks to destroy us does not belong to this Universe at all."
A tremor ran through all creation at his words.
Every world, every plane, every soul felt the Universe flinch in recognition, as if agreeing to his words.
And it wasn't just the Universe, the living had an idea too.
"You all must have felt it as well."
Darkness continued.
"The storms, the quakes that constantly terrorized your worlds, the sudden rise in the number of deaths, the sudden fall in the birth rate.
You thought it was our anger.
It was not.
It wasā¦ something else."
The shadow around him thickened like smoke turning solid, thenā
"It was the pain of the Universe itself."
He spoke, his voice echoing throughout the Universe, sending shivers down everyone's spine.
Even if they already knew the truth, even if a few of them had already sensed itāwhen the Infinity said those same wordsā¦
They becameā¦ unnervingly alarming.
But this wasn't over.
Just as the people were getting used to Darkness's raspy voice sending shivers under their skināthe feeling like thousands of ants crawling freely upon their bodiesā
Another voice was heard.
This one was much calmer.
Equarios Balanceāthe Infinity of Balanceāstepped forward, and for the first time since their appearance, the Veilā¦ steadiedāits brilliance, its darkness, its shifting colorsāall finding perfectā¦ stillness.
"Our Universe is crying."
He began.
His voice was soft, tranquil, carrying the weight ofā¦ strange understanding.
The beings who were hearing him feltā¦ like they were being listened to.
It was a strange paradox that confused them.
But even that confusion seemed to fade away on its own as Equarios continuedā
"Our Universe is furious.
Our Universe isā¦ desperate.
All of you have felt it too.
And let me make this clearā
Thisā¦ desperation, this entireā¦ situationā¦ was not born from our quarrels.
It was not because Light and Darkness fought again.
Noā¦"
The faint blue aura surrounding him pulsed gently, expanding outward.
And as the people saw it, they began toā¦ feel itā
The fear in their bodies fading away.
Even the Kings who were about to be assassinated, the criminals who were about to perish, or the soldiers who were about to be crushed by some Divine Beastā
They allā¦ felt their fear unnaturally leave their bodies.
As ifā¦ none of it mattered anywayā¦
Their deaths wouldā¦ only mark the beginning of another life.
As if, at the endā¦ all would be balancedā¦
All would beā¦ just as it is supposed to be.
But then once again, Balance's voice broke that calm.
Their fear returned againā
But not because of what was happening to them.
Noā
They were now insignificant in their own eyes.
The only thing that was of significance now wasā¦ what the being in front of them was talking about.
"It is something far more concerning."
Balance continued.
"An enemy that does not belong to our stars."
He spread his arms slightly, and images rippled through the Veilāillusions for all worlds to see.
Images of collapsed worlds, shattered realms, black storms devouring sunsā
Destruction.
Endless death and destruction.
And after all these cruel imagesā¦
There came the image of a man.
"The one you call the Anomaly."
Balance spoke, pointing at the image that had now appeared in every sky of the Universe.
"He devours what is oursā
Our worlds,
Our people,
Maybe even ourā¦ laws.
Andā¦
He grows stronger each time he consumes."
The blue energy dimmed for a moment, shifting toward aā¦ colder hue.
"He is not of this Universe.
He is not one of us.
He is an intruder,
A thief of existence itself."
Balance's voice deepened slightly, taking on the rhythm of a judge declaring sentence.
"The Universe cries because it cannot fight what it does not understand.
And soā
Its children must stand and protect it."
The Entity of Balance declared, his voice echoing throughout the Universe, and every being present felt a strong urge to fight for what was right.
To fight for theirā¦ Universe and protect it with everything they had.
Even if itā¦ cost them their lives.