The vast universe and its tapestry of stars seemingly stretches to infinity, within the endless celestial constructs countless lifeforms were born and even more died, empires rose from the ashes of fallen kingdoms, galactic wars raged through whole galaxies while tribal chiefs make peace to coalesce into a single village, beings of vast power despaired at their empires downfall and a wild beast celebrates yet another successful hunt.
Innumerous events happened every passing second and yet no amount of mountains that crumbled and planets that were destroyed seemed to contain any significance on a universal scale for every mountain that crumbled a taller stood behind it and planets were more numerous than atoms one could observe at a time.
To the inhabitants of this universe it seemed eternal, until the day it proved itself as mortal as any of its inhabitants.
* * *
Two figures sat across from each other on floating stone pedestals, stretching from underneath them to the distant horizon was an abyssal blue ocean that whispered of untold mystery and danger for those who dwelled above its gentle waves.
The two figures stared at one another an strange tension between them like two old friends who has not seen each other in far to long and were no longer sure what remained between them.
One of the figures straightened his back with a slow lazy stretch.
"And you've decided this with certainty? This gamble of yours?"
The opposing figure gave a calm yet firm confirmation
"I see... this life really is cruel and hateful, imagine this being our final option..."
Waving his hand the ocean was ripped apart revealing a blinding white checkered board made of some unknowable material.
* * *
In the abyss of nothing knelt an angel, a being of beauty and presence now chained to the void itself.
A sickly yellowish-green chain was plunged into the angel's right hand, oozing with a strange liquid that let out thick poisonous plume, its left hand was bound by a pale-blueish chain that seemed forged out of endless regrets and apathy, its two brilliant white wings, now reduced to little more that bloodied branches, were shackled by a solid black chain, flecks of gold scattered around like stars that adorned the sky and a pale-green chain that radiated a sickening oily stench, Its left leg was confined by a dazzling purple chain that seemed to give off a soft, gentle glow and around its right a chain of blazing red roared angrily at the universe itself, finally a blinding white chain that gave a sense that it could do no wrong was stabbed into the angels forehead.
Opening its eyes a pained smile cracked open on its beautiful and slightly feminine features.
A raspy voice that had not spoken in centuries echoed through the lightless place.
"What... what is a god? what indeed..."
* * *
The Victories Dawn - Control Station - Low Earth Orbit
"Suppress all reports and news of detected fractures for now as well as the emergences"
"Sir?"
A timid looking man turned away from the holographic screen to look at the bulky general who had just given him an order.
"We currently cannot afford to reveal such delicate information to the general public, high command is requesting for the technicians in ORB to send humans and autonomous machines inside to clear the way for human colonization and resource gathering"
Gazing outside the spacecraft at the endless heavens the general gave what would have been a silent prayer had religion not been banned at least several centuries ago.
* * *
Standing in front of a lightless star was a indiscernible figure that radiated a fear inducing presence.
It pressed Its hand on the long dead husk of a star and gave a tired sigh.
"Distant yet impossibly near with every passing day, for tens and hundreds of eons we have struggled, those deceivers speak of the natural cycle and how we should 'Be not afraid', was it so so wrong to wish for life? to wish for our descendants to rip their own path into this universe?