Prologue

"In the beginning, there was darkness.

"Yeah. Big surprise there, right? A real mind-bender. Even you can grasp something that simple. But, humor this for a sec, 'kay?

"Good.

"Now, when someone says darkness, you probably have a tiny, hilariously simple idea in your head: an absence of light. It's textbook, but to you and the rest of your species, it's accurate. Except it isn't. That little definition of yours makes it seem like darkness is something so predictable. So...boring. But it's not.

"Not even close.

"When the universe was born, when nothing turned into something, it was the beginning for almost everything. Pay attention to that word. Almost. I'm sure you're using every bit of your two brain cells to figure out what that means. After all, you probably think it was the start of everything, right? How can anything exist when before, there was nothing? Well, stop with the dumb questions for a sec, and I'll tell you. It's that same thing we were just talking about, the thing you think you understand, but you and your kind have yet to even scratch the surface of its many, many layers.

"Because there's nothing quite as deep as pure, unrelenting darkness.

"It's been around for a while now. Before the first subatomic particle was created, before the first lifeform took its breath, even before existence was little more than a concept, darkness was there. In the foundations that would become reality itself, it seeped into every pore. Waiting. Watching.

"Plotting.

"'But wait!' you say, with your stupid face and your stupid voice. 'Darkness can't plot; it's not alive!' To which I reply with, 'You silly three-dimensional meat puppet. Of course darkness is alive!' It's everywhere. There isn't a place in existence you can escape its grasp. When you're pathetic body inevitably shuts down for good, guess who'll be there to greet you? He's a real mastermind, darkness. One of the best I've ever seen. 'Course, he wouldn't be anywhere near as good as he was without his buddies. They've gone by many names, some lost, some still in use, but there's one even someone like you should know.

"Shadows.

"The things born from the cold, miserable heart of darkness. The beings that have the power of something beyond eternity and death. The ones that have instilled a primal terror into the essence of all living life.

"Monsters, in other words.

"They're the ones that do most, if not all, of the heavy lifting. They're the ones that consume the light and extend the reach of darkness. They're the ones that make life remember why it should fear the dark. They embody all the wonderfully horrible parts of darkness, and they show reality how little its silly morals and laws and rules affect them with every atrocity they commit to existence itself.

"And boy... there was one monster that really did a good job of that.

"He was the boogeyman to all things that went bump in the night. His name was one that no mortal or monster could ever say without fear. He was the avatar of suffering and misery, where he went, hope died. Beyond all doubts, he was the cruelest being to ever exist.

"Evil incarnate in every way imaginable, basically.

"At least, he was. See, this big-bad-monster, the guy that everyone thought was unbeatable, was beaten. Not by a monster, but by a man. A fleshy, meat puppet like you yourself, only with more pointy hair, and a great sense of architectural design. This guy, a king whose own name he sacrificed to gain the strength to win, not only beat the biggest demon in all the universe, but after doing that, he did the unthinkable. The impossible.

"He banished the darkness.

"This king, a mortal, a meat puppet, a man from a species everyone in higher dimensions made fun of, annihilated a force that was older than time itself, that had sunk its claws into the very fabric of existence, and did all with a power that was greater than the very Gods he worshiped; that even worked under him. With the very last sparks of his life, he used that power to destroy every trace of the monster and its source of power, helping to usher in a new era, guided by the same light that destroyed the shadows.

"Needless to say, things got pretty boring after that.

"For millennia, there was order, and it was as horrifying as it sounds. There were no new creatures of darkness. No new threats that could end the universe. The strength of the light burned all beings that tried to rise, and commit the same atrocities as the monster that almost brought ruin to the universe. All because of one man whose name was lost to history. Well, mostly lost, anyway. But fear not! Despite how I might make it sound, not all things were hunky-dory. There might have been order, but that did not mean there was peace. That's just not how the universe rolls. There's always gonna be some conflict. Always someone trying to spread a little chaos.

"And even in the brightest light, there's always gonna be shadows.

"That light might have destroyed the darkness, but that didn't mean it was permanently gone. You know how it is: Light can't exist without darkness, there needs to be a balance, yadda yadda. Point is, the darkness came back; not as strong as before, but it did make a return, some millennia later. But even ignoring that little tidbit, just because the light got rid of all the darkness it could touch, that doesn't mean it got rid of all of it.

"There are holes in the universe that lead to places where the brightest of lights could never hope to touch. Universes and dimensions full of eldritch horrors and never-ending agony; the perfect exit for shadows, where they can slither off too and lick their incorporeal wounds.

"That is, of course, if you know you're way around the multiverse.

"Or know the right people.

"You remember that big-bad-monster? That guy who was the evilest demon the universe had ever seen? Well, he knew that right people. And he knew how to make one heck of a deal.

"Might just be one of the best I've ever gotten.

"The specifics of that deal is something I'm sure you're dying to know. Well too bad! You ain't getting anything from me. Oh come on, don't give me that face; no seriously, it hurts me to look at something that pathetic. Alright, I guess I can give you a hint: one of the key points of that deal involved someone related to the king that defeated the big-bad-demon all those years ago.

"Someone you might know."

Deep in a realm of nightmares where logic had no meaning, there were dark, all-consuming shadows that radiated from the very essence of the realm. They were blacker than the foulest of nights, their bodies devouring any form of light, making it impossible to understand the scope of the shadows' hold. Everything was bathed in darkness; there was no chance of any form of life possibly surviving within it.

And yet, from within the shadows, there was a glow. A faint, horrible, yellow glow that did nothing to illuminate the shadows, but, somehow, made them darker.

"He's kinda famous in your world, you see. He's apparently done the impossible time and time again..."

Deep in the very center of the shadows, despite the fact there was no air to breathe, despite the madness that radiated from every inch of darkness, someone, the same someone that was emitting the glow, was speaking. Something, to be accurate.

There was no other way to describe a being of pure horror like it.

"He's probably not as tall as you were expecting, but he's got skills and showmanship in spades..."

From within the very heart of darkness the glow, it floated, swinging around a cane blacker than obsidian—almost as dark as the shadows themselves—with a short, needle-thin arm that was just as black.

"Doesn't really have muscles, but his eyes, there's something about them that tells you he would fight you, and win, if you tried to hurt the people he cared for..."

It adjusted his bowtie, making sure it was properly aligned on its golden, flat body, a top hat floating just above its sharp head.

"And no matter where he goes, he's always got friends to back him up; some of them meat puppets, others little hairballs or dragons or swordsmen or even magicians..."

A single eye that saw everything, from the tapestry that made up reality and its core, to dimensions that just viewing them would make others go insane, blinked.

And then the being, it, Bill Cipher, spreads his arms wide in a "jazz-hands" like manner.

"You probably know him as the King of Games!" he said, the corners of his eye crinkling up, almost like lips moving into a smile. "Big reveal, right?"

Bill stared at nothing but the twisting shadows, waiting, as if expecting a response. When none came, his eye creased like a frown.

"What?" he asked. "You still don't know who it is?" He sighed, even though he shouldn't be able to with no mouth, resting his hands on the top of his cane. "Wow, you're even dumber than I thought. And that's saying something, trust me." His two-dimensional body shook side to side, like he was shaking a head he didn't have. "Well, I ain't gonna spell it out anymore for you."

Bill turned around, descending into the darkness and swinging his cane without a care. "If you'll excuse me, I got some plans to work out." Suddenly, he stopped. "Oh, wait. Almost forgot to ask you one last thing."

His golden body suddenly turned an angry, crimson red, his entire sclera now as black as the shadows around him, pupil a shade of white nor mortal could comprehend, and then, he spoke in a voice that sent chills through the universe itself.

"Would you like to meet my friend?"

In a world of nightmares, eyes redder than hellfire burned through every shadow, allowing just enough hideous light for any being to view something powerful, massive, and most of all, terrible.

A roar that had almost brought the universe to its extinction echoed.

And a disturbing laugh that mankind had long since learned to fear followed.

Iurp wkh vkdgrzv, kh zloo ulvh.

AN: Here is the new snippet that was decided to be added to the collection! Some of you probably already know what stories I'm crossing over in this snippet are (Hint: one of them's about a bunch of people playing games, and the other's about kids solving mysteries), but for those that don't, you'll have to wait for more chapters to find out.

Now, some of you may have noticed I said—well, okay, wrote— "decided." Decided by who? Well, to answer that question, I must first give a quick summary of my current life. TLDR:

After years of working hard in college, pushing through blood, sweat and tears, of asshole classmates telling me I wasn't a writer, I was finally about to get a degree I worked years to get, only to be screwed over by the coronavirus pandemic along with hundreds of other students at my college, and barely graduating as a result; now unable to get a decent paying job no matter where I apply too, save for part time/one-off gigs that pay nothing, college debt and bills piling up in addition to medical bills due to my father's health, as not only have his kidneys failed, he also had a seizure last Christmas and I am terrified that I might lose him due to his weakened immune system if I so as touch him after going outside to get groceries while the world just gets more awful every day, I have made what may very well be my last gambit: using my writing to support myself and my family by opening a pa tr eon account and writing whenever I get the chance as I continue to take as many gigs as I can to try and pay the bills.

I go into a more in-depth explanation regarding my absence on my f f . net profile page if you want to know more, but that's the gist of it. I've opened a pa tr eon account to try and help myself and my family out. And this is in no way shape or form a paywall; There are no "advances" or "sneak peaks" there for anyone that contributes to the campaign, but other rewards depending on how much you pledge.

And one of those rewards was access to only a private Discord server, but also the private polls on there directly tied to Threads of Converge. In essence, these polls decide which one of a series of crossover ideas posted on the Discord will be the idea I turn into a snippet for ToC. Every idea is put to a vote, and the winner, decided, again, by anyone who's a patron and, will be the idea I turn into the next series of snippets.

So, if you want to see if there's an idea on my Discord that you would love to see turn into a snippet, hop on over to my pa tr eon, select the right tier to make a pledge to, and don't hesitate to join in on the fun. But with all that said, don't hesitate to leave a review; tell me what you liked didn't like, where you think this going, etc., just don't be afraid to share your thoughts on this snippet.