Ash hovered calmly in the endless black, completely unfazed by the crushing pressure of the Primordial Expanse.
His reddish-purple eyes carried a lazy, almost playful glint as he looked at the towering silhouette before him.
"Well," he said, his tone light and teasing, "you havenât changed a bit."
The Father had been intent on molding the vast Primordial Ocean below when he suddenly froze.
His hands stopped mid-motion, and for a moment, he didnât turn. Instead, his head tilted ever so slightly, as though catching a sound that had no place in this realm.
A low, cold voice echoed across the void.
"...Who dares step into my home?"
The pressure in the space thickened in an instant, as if the very essence of Nonexistence itself bristled at the intrusion.
The Fatherâs silhouette turned deeper into the shadows, stretching outward as he slowly began to turn.
Since the beginning of time no beingâexcept for Minxâhad ever managed to appear this far into his domain within the Primordial Expanse.
Even the Mother herself could not achieve such a feat, which was why their rare meetings always took place at the boundary between their domains.
The casual appearance of someone in this place was enough to capture his full attention.
But when he turned completely, and his eyes finally settled on Ash, the entire atmosphere seemed to change in an instant.
The Fatherâs form, which had always been a perfect silhouette of absolute absence, seemed to flicker for a split second.
In that moment, even heâone of the three most powerful and ancient beings in all of existence and beyondâfound his perception faltering.
Ashâs figure didnât quite come together â some parts stood out crisp and clear, while others stayed hazy and unfinished, like reality itself was struggling to fully bring him into focus.
It was like looking at something that hadnât completely loaded yet.
Certain details were sharp, but the rest felt trapped behind an unseen wall, flickering in and out of recognition.
Ash tilted his head slightly, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips.
He could already tell â the Father was struggling to properly perceive him.
As mentioned before, Divine Absolute Imperfection wasnât something that could be easily grasped or pictured by anyone except those who were essentially interchangeable with Ash himself.
In other words, unless someone was his personal spirit, they could never truly comprehend the profound depths of this state.
And beyond that, without a bond with him, no one would ever know his true appearance unless he chose to reveal it.
The Fatherâs silhouette grew darker, the pressure in the void increasing as he stared at the being before him with clear caution.
"...Who are you?" he asked, his voice low and heavy.
There was no immediate hostility, only a guarded wariness.
"No being should be able to stand here so casually. Especially not one I cannot fully see."
Ash let out a short laugh, the sound carrying a hint of genuine amusement.
He didnât answer right away.
âTo my divine readers... wait.â He paused in the midst of thinking.
âDivine Readers... I just came up with that on a whim. Anyway, my Divine Readers, itâs been quite a while since I stretched my legs, huh? Well, Iâll make this one memorable for you all.... make sure to rate my performance.... 1-10.â
Finishing his brief internal ramble, he clasped his hands behind his back and spoke in a relaxed, almost playful tone â referring to himself in the third person in a way he knew the Father would instantly understand.
"Well," Ash started, "I guess you could say Iâm the counterpart to your late sonâthe one you and the Mother were planning to put a bounty on. And the same one whose Mother tried to use as a pawn in her own little schemes... only to fail pretty spectacularly."
The Father froze, his form going utterly still.
For a long moment, he remained silent, the darkness around him seeming to grow heavier as Ashâs words sank in.
Then, slowly, the truth began to dawn on him.
His voice came out quieter than before, laced with genuine shock.
"...Ash."
The name left his lips like a curse.
"This is impossible."
The Fatherâs presence expanded violently as he tried to study Ash more deeply, pushing his perception to its absolute limit in an attempt to understand the being standing before him.
HUMMMMM!!!!
The void around them trembled under the force of his scrutiny.
Ash clicked his tongue, the sound sharp and clear in the heavy silence.
"You know... I wouldnât do that if I were you," he said, his voice calm but carrying a clear warning.
"You might not like what happens if you keep trying to look too closely."
The Fatherâs attempt to analyze Ash came to an abrupt halt.
For several long seconds, he simply stared at the being standing before him. Even for a primordial entity like himself, something about Ashâs current state felt fundamentally wrong. It wasnât just power â it was as if reality itself was struggling to properly register his existence.
The Fatherâs voice came out low and heavy.
"How are youâ" he started, but before the words were out, another question cut in.
"No, what do you want?"
Ashâs smile widenedâthis was exactly what he wanted.
He had no intention of wasting time on the pointless question of how he ended up here.
After all, in the end, that didnât matter. He was already here... so wouldnât it make more sense to figure out his motive first?
He tapped his chin thoughtfully with one finger, as if seriously mulling it over.
"Well," he said, his tone light and teasing, "I was just curious if you could actually hold your own in a fight. After all, you and the Mother were planning to get rid of me, werenât you?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"So why not handle it yourselves?"
The Fatherâs eyes narrowed dangerously.
"...What?"
He didnât get the chance to say anything else.
In the very next instant, Ash vanished from where he stood.
Before the Father could react, Ash appeared right in front of himâso close their faces were just inches apart.
Without any warning, Ash lifted a finger and flicked it forward.
Just a simple, ordinary pluck... totally normal, right?
His fingertip gently tapped the center of the Fatherâs forehead.
HUMMMM!!!!
The moment contact was made, a devastating surge of pure Existence and divinity erupted from Ashâs finger.
It wasnât an explosion of force â it was something far more fundamental.
The rawest form of existence and creation from Pantheos slammed directly into the Fatherâs being, acting as a direct and violent counter to everything Nonexistence stood for.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!