Prologue: Echoes at the Edge of Creation
Chapter 1 — The Fragments of Brilliant Light
Before the first star was kindled, before a single world was born, there was a place that existed outside all things.
A realm of nothingness.
Neither light nor shadow, neither silence nor sound. It was the edge of existence—a thin veil between the universe itself and the abyss beyond. In that void, chaos reigned. Storms of destruction tore endlessly, devouring themselves, birthing themselves, and devouring again.
Yet even within that formless eternity, something stirred.
From the chaos, five beings awoke.
They were not born. They simply were. Fragments of a brilliance no language could describe. They existed like shards of light scattered across eternity—each a will, each a presence, each a truth.
They were called, in time, the Fragments of Brilliant Light.
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Among them was one who would later be known as Kun. Unlike the others, who reveled in the sheer act of being, Kun observed. He watched the chaos and saw more than formless destruction. He saw a hunger—an endless void that, if left unchecked, would swallow even them.
And Kun thought.
"We must bring order, else this edge of existence will consume itself forever."
The other Fragments listened but did not act. It was their nature to exist, not to bind. But Kun's voice carried weight. Even then, it carried the gravity of a king.
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They were not alone.
In that place of uncreation, there dwelled six others—beings of flesh and will who had broken their limits, transcended mortality, and stepped into eternity. These were the Deviants, each one marked by impossible feats that tore them free from the cycle of life and death.
They were flawed. They were bound to emotions, to memory, to sin. But they were strong, and their strength rivaled even the Fragments.
Together, the five Fragments and six Deviants existed in uneasy harmony at the edge of all things.
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It was Kun who first proposed the great order.
He gathered the others and spoke:
> "If chaos is to be tamed, then it must be divided. Let two among us govern its flow. Let one embody Life, the other Death. Only then will balance endure."
And so it was.
One Fragment took the mantle of Life. She appeared as a radiant woman, her hair white as moonlight, her touch overflowing with warmth. She smiled, and rivers might have run where none existed.
Another took the mantle of Death. He was as beautiful as he was terrible, a figure of shadow, his black hair flowing like night, his eyes endless and cold. Where he walked, silence followed.
Life and Death. Creation and ending. Beginning and return.
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Under their guidance, order came.
Where there had been only chaos, there was now rhythm. Storms broke and reformed in patterns. The abyss churned, but not without reason.
And then, for the first time, there was a world.
It began small. A sphere of light, trembling between creation and destruction. Life breathed upon it, and rivers, mountains, and skies were born. Death followed after, and shadows touched it, giving everything its end.
The Deviants marveled. Some stepped down onto this newborn sphere, guiding its rivers, shaping its lands, teaching the new forms that crawled from its soil.
And thus the first world was born at the edge of existence.
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Yet Kun watched. Always, he watched.
He saw Life rejoicing in her endless creations. He saw Death ensuring every creature met its end. He saw the Deviants staking claim to the world, shaping it as though it belonged to them.
And he saw the flaw.
Too much life, and the world would drown in chaos. Too much death, and it would collapse into silence. Too much amboice