Here There Be Dragons
Many gaze upon the eternal darkness in wonder. It is an eternal mystery that has plagued the minds of many. Aeons of primal energy twisting inflow and flux, giving birth to the various planets, stars, solar systems, and a myriad of other celestial bodies and structures. It is a scientific wonder to those astronomers who peer up into the black heavens to gaze far beyond what the normal human eye can see. 'Where does it all come from?' they ask themselves. Most accept the theory of the Big Bang as the ultimate truth. The dawn of time as we know it, lasting a span of billions upon billions of years.
As one starts to comprehend the ancient status of the Universe, letting the awe of its age churn and nestle in their mind, a single fact becomes as clear as water. The universe is a horrifying place. A realm of infinite possibilities of laws and nature, if one could call whatever lurks amongst the stars nature. What manner of entities swim in the abyss of space? What magnificent creatures have the planets and other bodies of the heavens at the mercy of their gaping jaws and cosmic talons? Where did these monsters come from? Were they a product of the big bang? That remains a mystery for many.
Within the fabric of this terrifying black sea was a crimson core. It sailed across the vast cosmos with a speed that put even the best photon to shame. The space compressed and unraveled around it, making it seem like it was moving at incredible speeds when in reality it was perfectly still. As it traversed the boundless infinity of space, the stars flickered around it like water droplets on a vast ocean. The reason for its journey was nonetheless a mystery.
The half-conscious soul that propelled it throughout the cosmos was a mystifying thing. It was driven by a will to reconstruct its former self, something it wasn't even aware of. It was more akin to instinct than anything. Driving itself towards an objective yet not knowing why. That was its nature, to serve a desire it did not understand. So like a mindless beast, the core roamed the cosmos to satiate its instinctual hunger.
Galaxies streamed by it as it continued its journey. It spent thousands of years in this constant flux of motion. This then changed to millions of years, a blink in the eyes of the universe. Galaxy after galaxy, star after star, every celestial body one could imagine, it witnessed.
An innumerable amount of time passed before it finally stopped this unending journey of madness, temporarily at least. Before it was a gem like planet revolving around two binary stars. It was covered with a sea of blue with patches of green covering the portion of the surface. The light from the binary stars illuminated all but selects spots of the planet. If one was to look closely at the surface they would notice strange but tall structures, clearly artificial.
The core lowered itself upon the planet's atmosphere. It streaked across the thick atmosphere, the friction causing a thick ball of fire to coalesce around it. With a sea of fire and temperature that would melt steel, it fell towards one of the many continents covering the large planet. From the perspectives of the natives, the core's descent was akin to a small shooting star.
After a while it broke the sound barrier, producing a sonic boom. At this point, it was more like a falling asteroid than a mere meteorite. It resembled a pillar of fire sent by a furious god. The air sizzled around it, creating a thin line of steam.
Moments before reaching the ground, it halted its descent in mid-air, the sudden deceleration causing a shockwave that leveled everything in miles. The tree-like objects, the small mountains, and every organism were obliterated into a charred crater. It stayed stationary for a few days before creating a large ball of darkness around itself. This continued for fifty revolutions of the binary stars.
Meanwhile the natives of this world were not oblivious to the events occurring within their world. Initially they sent explorers to scout the crater of what was assumed to be a meteoroid.
Said natives had a visage that would make anyone from a humanoid world cower with disgust and terror. Unlike the humanoid figure, they possessed a form that resembled large jellyfish. They were at least ten feet long, with six tentacles that served as legs. The tentacles were connected to what seemed to be a translucent head. It was smooth in nature with no eyes in sight. Like a horseshoe they had metal tips at the points of their tentacles which caused them to make clinks when walking.
As the explorers made their way towards the crater they gazed at the sphere of darkness with curiosity but with more fear than anything. They placed cube-like contraptions around the sphere before leaving the crater in haste. And like this, two years passed, a time the natives spent observing the sphere.
During this time the darkness surrounding the core started to pulsate. It expanded and contracted continuously, much like a railgun gathering energy.
The jellyfish-like creatures set up what seemed to be tents around the crater. Many of them would arrive in hazmat-like suits and probe the sphere with strange instruments. From the instruments they use, they seem to have only entered the information age.
Another twenty years passed, a duration in which the pulsation of the dark sphere increased. The rapid pulsation of the sphere caused vibrations in the air making it sound like a rhythmic drum.
"Verkerov stop staring at the anomaly and get back to work!"someone called out to this individual. The Zur were originally aquatic animals that later evolved into land-based sentient beings. They communicate with low-frequency radio waves.
"I was just wondering why the anomaly was increasing its tempo."Kelok, Verkerov's boss fumed in anger when he heard his reply, "It's not our job to wonder about such things you incompetent oaf, get back to work!"
Verkerov and his superior belonged to the security division of the camp. They held the role of patrolling the perimeter for unwanted intruders. Since this was a discreet military operation they were ordered to execute all unauthorized personnel. The government did not want any foreign influence while they tried to make sense of what was happening.
This particular planet was split between 12 continents. It had a population of 14 billion. The reason behind the high population was due to the Zur's asexual reproduction. Since a single Zur could give birth to ten at a time their population was high. The only reason they haven't destroyed themselves due to overpopulation was the Zur's low lifespan. The average Zur lived for thirty years at a minimum. Some lived longer but no higher than forty.
While they may be asexual organisms, the social issues that plague many other worlds also affect them. During their aquatic days, their race lived within many parts of the ocean. Due to this, by the time they entered land, there were subtle differences between their race, one of which being appearance. Those that lived close to the equator have evolved to have thick grey skin while their tropical counterparts kept their translucent blue skin.
This, as one can imagine, has caused severe social issues. Those that have kept their azure translucent skin take pride in their ancestry and look at their different neighbors with disgust. On the other hand, those with grey skin look at those with translucent skin as stains of the past. Verkerov belongs to the latter, as does everyone in that camp.
While many different groups exist within this world, this planet is centered around two authorities, the Griseo Federation and the Caeruleum Empire. The Federation is populated with grey skins and operates with a meritocracy, while the Empire is composed of blue skins and revolves around a constitutional monarchy.
These two great powers have had conflict with one another since time immemorial. From the continental wars to the racial cleansings, the number of atrocities they commit in the name of providence is innumerable. Evidently the core fell within the borders of the Griseo Federation.
The upper echelons of the Federation were idealistic in the truest sense of the word, so when something like the sphere appeared within their borders they saw it as a chance to end the millennia-old conflict with the blue skins. The flaw of idealists being that their fanaticism blinds them to the dangers that lie underneath.
Within the research division of the camp were two scientists scrambling to make sense of the data. "Schotler this doesn't make sense whatsoever. The sphere is like a physical manifestation of entropy. It goes against everything we know!"Zeli was a young scientist that made her way up the ranks with more haste than those of her generation.
"Calm down, child. I understand the madness of the situation. I'm more interested in the pulsation of the sphere."Schotler was an old scientist nearing the age of thirty-two. He sighed in resignation as he stared at spreadsheets.
"But sir this is the research of a millenia. How could you possibly refer to it as madness? It's glorious!"Zeli beamed with joy as her tentacles waved like the tails of a cat. "But what do mean about the pulsations?"
'How adorable' Schotler thought. "Pay attention, child. The sphere started out with very low intervals between the pulsations but it has started to increase in consistency over the years. The spreadsheets show that the rate of entropy surrounding the sphere has also increased. It's almost as if it's charging up for something. It resembles the magnetic weapon the fools at the military are building."
As these two continued their discussion Verkerov was once again lost in a daze as he stared at the sphere. 'What is it? Perhaps a divine object sent by Larkoz? I wonder what the research division is going to say about this one.' As he contemplated, Verkerov noticed something in the corner of his vision.
Black strands.
Many thin strands of darkness seemed to be jetting out of the sphere. The strands were like rouge strings as they slowly jetted out in every direction.
Verkerov's curiosity got the better of him and he approached the strands. After getting within close proximity he watched as the strands approached. 'Fascinatin' he thought.
With the closing vicinity of the strands Verkerov felt as if the temperature dropped. Initially, it was subtle but as the vicinity of the strands grew closer the temperature of his body seemed to drop. After getting within a tentacle's length of the strands, his body felt as if it was in the center of a blizzard.
Finally overcoming his curiosity he decided to walk back and inform his superior of his findings.
As Verkerov turned his back he felt a chill overcome his very being. This was then complemented with warmth at the base of his body. Looking down he noticed that two of his tentacles were gone. Replacing then was one of the many black strands.
As terror overcame him he ran towards the camp like a cornered beast, but nonetheless it was futile.
The seemingly docile strands suddenly all directed themselves at him.
As the strands of darkness pursued Verkerov they merged into a single claw. Verkerov trembled in terror as he witnessed the turn of events. Inch after inch the claw was creeping up to him.
Soon enough the giant claw touched his back and he felt the strength lose his body and dropped to the ground.
While the claw of darkness started to smother his body, Verkerov's mind was suddenly flooded with images.
He saw a dark room with forty-one banners encompassing it. Sitting on an obsidian throne was a terrifying creature. Unlike the Zur it had no tentacles and was garbed with an ominous cloak. At its center was a crimson core radiating an aura of horror and death. The screams of strange creatures seemed to reverberate from it. Surrounding this creature of the dark was seven figures, each as equally terrifying if not more.
Suddenly the scene shifted to a ruinous landscape. Everything in sight was tainted in darkness. A massive tomb stood in the distance half destroyed by who knows what. Surrounding the tomb were countless creatures. Some resembled the creature sitting on the throne while others looked like shielded creatures with horns and some with wings. The one thing that stood out though was that all of them were dead.
The scene resembled a graveyard for the creatures of the dark.
As Verkerov watched in horror, the scene once again shifted, this time focusing on two figures on this battlefield of madness. One of them was the creature from the throne. The seven figures lay dead on the ground as it roared in rage. The other creature could only be described as a being of the light. Its form was that of pure light but in humanoid form. It had no face but was accompanied by twelve wings that seemed to envelop every crevice of its body.
The creature of light staggered as it tried to stay on its feet. At the same time, a blue light appeared around the creature of the dark. Many circular symbols filled the air as a bright light appeared.
The heavens seemed to quake at the might of this creature. A pillar of light fell towards the creature of the light. Still staggering, the creature of the light swung its light-infused sword, thus creating an explosion so large that everything but these two beings was erased.
They now stood on a sand-like landscape.
The two creatures seemed to stare at one another for what seemed like hours.
The battle once again resumed. The creature of the light had its sword while the creature of the dark had a golden scepter. The battle went on for what seemed to be an unfathomable time to Verkerov.
Eventually, they both staggered and fell to their knees, the creature of the dark still roaring in rage, having its emotions suppressed, only for them to rise up again.
As a last stand, the creature of the light stood back up. It raised its sword to the heavens. With a swift motion, it dug the sword deep within its chest.
Its body seemed to crack as the ground trembled in fear. Simultaneously, the creature of the light exploded in a brilliance of light. The shockwave created by the blast resembled a mushroom.
In the end, all that was left was the golden scepter, a robe, and a deep crimson core. Whatever remained of the creature of light engulfed these three items in a giant ball of light. It then started to collapse space upon itself, essentially creating what could only be described as a void. The void sucked everything within itself, and like this, all evidence that these two great beings existed was gone, only the ruined landscape remained.
As a witness to the sequence of events, Verkerov saw the scene shift one more time. It was the same landscape but from a bird's eye point of view.
He was once again shocked. The setting in which the battle took place was a giant stretch of land floating within the dark seas of outer space. There was no planet nor ocean, but a giant continent floating in the emptiness.
Verkerov was suddenly thrown back to reality but at this point escape was meaningless. His body was half-eaten by the black sphere. It slowly swallowed him as he stared into the distance with an empty look.
Thus Verkerov Kilos died.
Meanwhile Zeli and Scohtler witnessed the entire event on their screens. "By the grace of Larkoz, what was that Schotler?!" Zeli screamed but Scohtler was preoccupied to deal with her. "Command, Command it's a code red! I repeat a code red! We have unwarranted activity from the sphere!"He was screaming into the comms device as his tentacles wriggled.
"This is command, we are having communication problems at the moment can you repeat?''Schotler fumed in anger as he screamed. "It's code red you morons, CODE FUCKING RED. Get us out of here and blow this place up immediately!''Zeli packed their things in haste as they ran towards the transport vehicles. "I'm afraid I still can't understand you Schotler, try a different chann-" Schotler threw the comms device in anger as he ran with Zeli. "Get in lad we have to go!"
As they drove away the pulsation of the sphere suddenly stopped.
The sudden silence was not lost on the two as they gazed back at the phenomenon. The sphere started ascend. It rose for a few seconds before stopping. Suddenly one of the instruments in the car started to beep loudly.
Schotler picked it up as he gazed at the readings. The amount of energy generated from the sphere was overloading its sensors. "Oh dear gods i was rig-" The sphere suddenly exploded in a sea of darkness, instantly consuming everyone at the camp, along with Schotler and Zeli.
They died without ever knowing anything.
Within a few hours, half the continent was consumed with a tsunami of darkness. The darkness crept upon the planet like an unstoppable virus. If one looked closely they would notice billions of voices being sucked into a small core. As the souls flew into the core its color started to become a deeper shade of red, regaining its former luster.
Within a few days, the entire planet had been consumed by the darkness. The countless billions living upon this gem like planet had been absorbed by something they never knew the existence of. The most merciful thing, however, was that the core was not discriminant in its consumption of souls. It took all life regardless of its status or species. From the plant life and Zur down to the microbacteria, none escaped its call.
The once blue planet was now reduced to a dark blip among the infinite cosmos.
After completing its task, the darkness soon receded back into the core. Once the darkness fully returned the core proceeded to continue its long journey once again. It left the atmosphere of the once luscious planet with great speed as it pierced and decimated one of its moons.
And like this, the four thousand history of planet Fiore came to an end.
Another four hundred years passed as the core continued its journey.
During this time it siphoned the life of twelve planets, gaining enough energy to complete the reconstruction procedure. It now journeys across the cosmos looking for a suitable place to complete its task.
That did not take too long as it came across another planet teeming with life. What set this planet apart, though, was its massive size. The planet was the size of a small star. Entire islands, what would be considered continents in other planets, covered its surface with 4 giant continents covering a quarter of its surface. The massive size of this world could not be understated as it had subsidiary planets in place of moons.
The core gently lowered itself towards one of the countless islands. After a struggle to enter the atmosphere it finally made it down to the surface. As it touched the surface it created a small ball of darkness around itself. It then bore down the surface. It continued down for two hours until it stopped.
It then suddenly expanded the darkness around itself and created a large cave.
Like this, the resurrection of Ainz Ooal Gown began.