StarCraft.
Char's surface groans beneath sulfur storms, veins of lava pulsing beneath cracked scorched earth.
Kerrigan stands atop a spire of bone and carapace, her gaze following the gondola that Stelle is riding. She has witnessed countless planets swallowed by the swarm, and through Stelle's perspective, she stares into the wriggling shadow deep in the cosmos.
That is the swarm born from Propagation — no, not merely bugs. They are the embodiment of a concept, a blasphemous interpretation of "Propagation" itself. Inorganic life replicates and proliferates into insects within THEIR species, spreading like cancer cells, twisting cold mechanical structures into flesh. They possess none of the Zerg's powerful genes, not even evolution — only endless self-replication, like an error in the laws of the universe.
"Disgusting." Abathur hisses, his segmented appendages clicking beneath his carapace, compound eyes flashing with cold indifference. "Inefficient proliferation, meaningless accumulation of numbers. The Swarm should pursue perfection of the individual, not… this kind of blasphemy."
"Blasphemy?" The corner of Kerrigan's mouth curves slightly. "Look at them, Abathur. They need no genetic sequence, no evolution chamber — even inorganic life can be twisted into their kin by them. If the Zerg could master this power—"
"Then we would bring about something far more terrifying than destruction."
Abathur's vocal glands vibrate, emitting a low-frequency hum. "Queen, you forget the existence of Aeons. Tayzzyronth's gaze will fall upon any fool who attempts to break order. If the Zerg become mindless breeders, we will only become another pile of ash beneath an Aeon's hammer."
Kerrigan falls silent for a moment. Her psionic senses detect Abathur's fear — not fear of death, but fear that the evolutionary path of the Swarm will be distorted by the Path of Propagation.
Abathur swings his razor-sharp forelimbs. "Observe specimens, excavate potential. Study lineage, adjust sequences, distort essence, dismantle limbs, recombine. Perfection — the future of the Zerg should be plunder, consumption, transcendence, not devolving into some mindless replicating plague."
Kerrigan silently turns away. She doesn't respond to Abathur's words, only quietly gazing up at that starry sky.
At the end of unknown starfields… is there already an Aeon casting THEIR gaze upon her Swarm?
——
[The starship, after traveling through several Amber Eras, finally reaches the end of its voyage: the Elationisna Star Sector.]
[The first batch of crew members on the gondola have already died, and their descendants have also grown old. To celebrate successfully reaching the destination, they decide to swear to do one thing to commemorate this great collective achievement of many generations!]
["Dance!"]
[Someone in the crowd suggests it first, but it quickly receives everyone's approval. On a desolate stretch of scrap metal and reddish-brown scorched earth, Stelle joins hands with them and begins clumsy dance steps around the gondola. Some of the accompanying Mourning Actors burst into happy tears.]
[While dancing among the crowd, Stelle suddenly catches sight of a figure standing silently in the shadows.]
[It is a man wearing a tattered uniform, still bearing an Elationisna military badge. His eyes are like two extinguished stars, unfathomably deep. When Stelle's gaze meets his, this "Self-Extinguisher" slowly raises an arm as thin as a dead branch and offers her a stack of yellowed cloth.]
["An old acquaintance." Herta clicks her tongue in amazement beside her. "This 'Self-Extinguisher' is still alive."]
["Self-Extinguisher?" This is the first time Stelle has heard this term.]
["Just a group of pitiful people who lost the meaning of existence under the shadow of Nihility IX." Herta explains casually. "For people like them, the attribute of existence gradually fades away — skin rots, endocrine disorders, memory and senses are lost. In dreams and hallucinations, they watch their own figure disappear into a black hole."]
[The man's gaze suddenly turns fierce. Stelle follows his line of sight and discovers a Memory Bubble hanging in front of the gondola. He swallows hard and stretches out his hand.]
[At this moment, a strange, composite sound comes from the sky — Stelle sees that everyone on the gondola cannot resist this sound. It is impossible to understand from which dimension these notes come — roaring, wailing, laughter, and horizontally arranged hymns and harmonies. The people beside her seem to receive divine inspiration and begin frantically striking the Memory Bubble together with the man — until it shatters!]
[A mass of [Shadow of Nihility] pours out from the Memory Bubble.]
["Finally… finally…" His voice is broken and hoarse, yet both arms open wide like a pilgrim receiving divine revelation.]
[Before Stelle can retreat, the Self-Extinguisher has already thrown himself forward. His movements are clumsy like a child taking its first steps, yet decisive like a moth flying into flame. The moment he touches the Memory Bubble —]
[Silent annihilation.]
["Inside the Shadow of Nihility is the entire 'backside' of a world." Herta lets out a soft sigh, like a feather that has drifted for a long time finally landing. "He finally found the self he lost."]
["By the way, what's with that sound?" Stelle looks up at the sky. The sound coming from above shows no sign of stopping.]
["Oh, you mean this?"]
[Herta smiles slightly.]
["This is the signal that the War of the Gods has begun."]
——
Marvel Universe.
Thanos sits on the cold throne, fingers rubbing the grooves on the Infinity Gauntlet. Only when the hymn of Order echoes through the cosmos does he slowly come out of his long contemplation.
"My lord… the War of the Gods is about to begin." Ebony Maw's voice trembles slightly — whether from fear or excitement is unclear. Ever since the light screen appeared in the universe, his gaze has rarely left it.
"I once planned to wipe out half the life in the universe. As long as that plan succeeded, overpopulation could be reduced, the suffering of countless worlds alleviated, and the balance of the universe maintained."
"Heh…" Thanos suddenly lets out a self-mocking laugh. He stares quietly at the swarm sweeping across the cosmos on the light screen. For a moment, he realizes that the plan he has plotted for many years is simply laughable.
The clash of Aeons has no plan at all. They merely silently carry out their own Paths — one endlessly propagates, one endlessly devours. Two such simple actions effortlessly destroy two-thirds of the cosmos. Voracity only needs to casually open THEIR mouth, and billions of star systems along with all life are instantly obliterated.
Nebula catches the implication behind her master's words and tentatively asks, "My lord, then the plan to collect the Infinity Stones…"
"I was like a child holding a toy sword…" Thanos shakes his head. He slowly removes the Infinity Gauntlet. "The plan no longer needs to continue. My plan simply cannot keep up with an Aeon's improvisation. Perhaps one day in the future, a new Aeon will emerge, a new disaster will appear, and they will launch a universe-sweeping slaughter — far simpler than anything we could do."