From the void: Chapter 1
Once, there was…silence.
There was no time, no space and no substance. Not even the faintest whisper to indicate any sort of life. Nothing, except a stagnant, grey void. There it lay, undisturbed for countless millennia until, from within this vast, endless nothingness, emerged a speck.
It was a strange, unfamiliar entity, this speck: a small, tenebrous blemish upon the seemingly empty space. A pitch-black shadow, forming a bottomless cloud that personified darkness itself—the sort of overwhelming darkness that made the blackest night akin to the brightest of days.
Even more intriguing than its dark, shadowy matter, was that this speck was conscious and aware. It possessed a curious sort of intelligence. It could perceive its surroundings, and it naturally started to embrace its dense, obscure nature. There it remained, in a conscious yet resting state within the stretching expanse of infinity.
But this period of dormancy could not last forever, and eventually, the speck felt a powerful urge to fill the void around and so it willed its shadowy particles to forge ahead and instantly found the outer particle impossibly far away from where it had first emerged, leaving a streak of obsidian smoke in its wake; an ink staining this realm with impenetrable shadow.
Marveling at its newfound ability, it continued to silently dissolve all the space it met. As the speck grew without facing any resistance it could now grasp the sensation of its own, materialistic form and deduced that it was made of something that overpowered this grey space. Its origin, which had developed into a pitch-black defined structure around its black smoky form, now emitted black waves of superiority over the space it engulfed. As it extended and swirled everywhere with these thoughts, an unexpected inkling developed from within the darkness’s consciousness as it began to contemplate the extent of its existence: If I am truly free to expand however and wherever I wish, then at what point is there a limit?
And so it stretched and dilated, continuously transforming the surrounding space into a dense, black hue, the deepest and darkest of black known to exist. After an uncountable era, this dark entity was no longer a speck; as it grew infinitely in every direction, the extending, suffocating darkness soon covered the entire plane with its murky particles, for its form had overtaken whatever emptiness there had once been.
It appears my expanse is infinite, the dark defined conscious thought. I have spread endlessly in all directions. This space could not resist my nature and existence! The darkness had nothing else to compare with and so it decided that it could shape this entire dimension to its own liking.
Finding energy from this new thought the conscious emitted another dark wave of determination and it began instructing the black particles to become denser, further shrouding this dark dimension in deeper shadows forming primordial shapes. As it became more familiar with these abilities, the darkness learned to summon new surges of strength fueled by the self-seeking desires its consciousness felt, and managed to combine, twist, and vaguely outline every particle to its own will. Their movements were unusual, shooting from the darkness’s core and disappearing further into the realm. The darkness basked in its own glory and took great pleasure in the idea that it had control not only of its own existence, but of its surroundings also.
After experimenting for an age, this gargantuan, intangible presence had become fully aware of each dark particle of its existence and thought of nothing but its own, dark nature. Whatever it had felt had been centered around its unimaginably expansive form. These self-centered feelings persisted, and the darkness reveled in the idea that it was the one and only thing that existed.
This eternal dark tranquil state was suddenly interrupted by a strange pull from the unknown. For the first time in its existence, the pitch-black consciousness felt a new feeling of curiosity–it had never felt anything other than its own, dark form. As the unknown force tugged again, the darkness’s curiosity was reinforced with irritation as its outermost dark particles shifted their position without instruction. The darkness was now fully determined to learn what this force was, and as it continued to follow this unknown pull, it was shocked–for the first time, it could stretch out beyond the obstruction, which it had always presumed was the bounds of its expansion. Dark swirls of annoyance and anger came out from the dark dimension’s consciousness as it crossed into the unknown following this constantly unnerving new force.
The darkness emitting waves of frustration thought again, This is my domain! I alone engulfed this entire spectrum—I overwhelmed all around me and reigned over the expanses of infinite nothingness. This all belongs to me. It is mine to control as I wish.
Along with feeling perplexed, the darkness naturally felt an unquenchable desire to overwhelm this new, unexplainable force, just like it had done to the void for what now seemed like an eternity ago.
These thoughts plagued the darkness, swirling around its core like a rushing vortex of ire and uncertainty. And finally, the darkness perceived of something far, far in the distance, glimmering faintly in this realm. With a thrilling sense of dread coursing through its form, the darkness waited for it to advance, its shadows swirling and whispering in anticipation.
However, the distant, mysterious phenomenon never approached. After a short while, the darkness could not tolerate being transfixed in such a way. And so, with an enormous surge of determination, the darkness summoned its whole existence towards the unknown phenomenon. It condensed into a deep, bottomless vortex of pitch black matter that roared and rushed around its center, ready to engulf and extinguish whatever this was and regain the illusion of dominance it had held for eternity.
As the darkness moved its existence furiously towards the unknown entity, it was overcome by the strangest sensation, it was an instruction which it perceived as:
Cease your wrath.
This feeling sent an endless, trembling shock throughout the darkness’s entire form. It wasn’t something that could be explained, but the external instruction invoked a sense of unease, but also wonder.
Burning with curiosity, the darkness involuntarily approached the source of the disembodied instruction, moving faster and faster until it was abruptly halted from going any further. It seemed as if there was another obstruction shielding the mysterious force and despite the darkness’s efforts, it could not pass through it. Struck with uncertainty, the darkness was at a loss and felt its particles vibrating faster, until the mysterious form slowly came into focus at last.
It was a figure with wisps of a curious substance rippling around it. For a moment, all the darkness could do was gaze upon this mystical, orb-like substance full of radiance. But for all its splendor, the figure was miniscule—it was smaller than when the darkness had first been a speck all those eternities ago. After such an expansive stretch of isolation, the darkness had almost forgotten what it was like to gaze upon something this small, this insignificant.
No matter how enchanting it was, however, the darkness sensed that something about this entity’s nature contradicted its own; the figure emanated an unnerving aura, as if it opposed the darknesses own fundamental nature of emptiness and isolation. After this realization, the darkness’s desire to engulf the tiny being was only strengthened, and its particles churned with a violent restlessness. As its gargantuan form lashed forward, it was impeded again by the unseen barrier.
And again, the same sensation stirred and echoed: lay still… in peace.
This instruction was barely a whisper, a euphonic, almost inaudible murmur, but somehow it was powerful enough to soothe the outer dark particles that had been relentlessly hammering against the separation. Its shadows were no longer churning so violently; rather, they were stirring only slightly at the melodious sensation. and with every word the voice uttered, the cloud of shadow seemed to thin and dissipate. The very nature of the shadows was to be aggressive and hostile, but the outer particles of the darkness’s form were no longer vibrating so forcefully; they had been calmed by this new sensation of tranquility.
As its particulate layers diminished, the darkness began to wonder if it could reply to this dazzling entity. As if it were able to sense the darkness’s thoughts, this tiny speck began to glow brightly, and the darkness sensed a layer of an obstruction beginning to fall away. Instinctively, the darkness knew it could now communicate its feelings with this entity.
What are you? it hissed experimentally, and a sinister, chilling shadow swept across the entire cosmos; the universe itself seemed to grow colder, unsettled by this unnatural, menacing aura that seemed to linger, invading every particle that made up the realm.
I am the one…that praises The One, replied the unfamiliar entity.
The darkness was amazed that it could, in fact, communicate with the being. Its astronomical structure remained still, uncomprehending this entity’s mysterious introduction.
I am the opposite of you, the speck continued. My aura contradicts yours at the most fundamental levels: while I am warmth, you are cold; As I serve to illuminate and brighten what surrounds us, you serve to plunge it into shadow; I am harmony. You are chaos.
I am the light…
