Amber Era XXXX.
When the Amber Lord Qlipoth’s final hammer strike fell, the Wall of Preservation, with light-years as its boundary, completely collapsed.
The Aeon of Preservation fell beneath the ruins.
The last wisp of Preservation’s will belonging to the Imaginary space died with it.
The world began its countdown to destruction.
The end arrived.
But Nanook the Destruction did not set foot on this Path that was about to become infinitely broad.
Their divine body burned at the end of the universe, like an ever-expanding red giant.
The universe’s flames of calamity ignited the galaxy’s spiral arms.
Without the shelter of the Wall of Preservation, countless planets and countless worlds melted down because of it!
“Look!
It is my lord’s supreme radiance!”
Charred humanoid figures twisted and cried out in the inferno.
The Emanators of Destruction also annihilated and fell apart with it.
Terminus, the Finality, stood at the end of time and looked forward.
Behind them, all was silent, everything returning to Nihility.
When all life and death lose their meaning, Nihility is the destination of all things.
In the end, only IX endures.
They lowered their head and whispered, murmuring a prophecy that would surely come true, then walked against time toward the past before the eldritch was born.
Ha…
In the silent apocalypse, a laugh suddenly rang out: “A world of Nihility is far too boring.
There must be laughter!”
Countless fireworks, masks, and dolls emerged from the darkness.
One by one, objects representing joy and entertainment formed that tall, slender figure with their back to all beings: Aha, the Aeon of Elation.
They turned slightly, their voice light and playful: “Come, everyone!
The show is about to begin!”
Ice crystals of memory condensed, and from them emerged a magnificent figure like glass.
That was Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, the Witness King who records all things.
Translucent pendants hung from their crown, and Fuli’s gaze was silent as icicles.
“All memory material is loaded and ready.
After thirty-seven system hours, I will restart the entire universe.”
The triple-faced Aeon appeared from the void, lightly landing beside Fuli.
Her eyes were half-closed as she slowly spoke: “The Amber Lord has won us enough time.
Before this world is completely polluted by the eldritch, we still have a chance to change all of this…
Begin the reconstruction, Fuli.
I will erase the dissonance for you.”
“Error…
Error…”
Space collapsed.
An enormous steel head emerged from the galaxy, glowing red all over, countless code-like streams of light swirling around it.
“According to the calculated conclusion of the [Grand Unified Equation of the Universe], probability of successful world restart: 0.98%.
Aeon contamination…
irreversible…
Detected: this machine is being invaded.
[Omniscient Domain] deploying…”
“Those who seek knowledge are always bound by laws and truths, while the Enigmata and Mythus are boundless.”
A golden palm gently pressed onto the steel planet.
Spiral stairs coiled around the mysterious figure’s side.
“Machine Head, you should rest.”
Mythus, the Aeon of Enigmata.
The Astral Computer Nous was crimson all over, high heat and steam bursting from the seams of its steel body.
“Warning!
Aeon contamination is irreversible.
Even if the world restarts, our state will not change at all…
It will only make the eldritch contamination spread faster!”
“So what?” One arm after another hung down from the starry sky.
A beauty draped in gauze, with a serene face and benevolent features, sat cross-legged in the void, the corners of her lips slightly raised: “Life will find its own way.”
The Merciful Medicine King, Aeon of the Abundance, Yaoshi.
“Equilibrium has been broken.
The Hunt and the Voracity have both been completely contaminated.
I am about to fall.”
A rust-covered steel gate appeared behind Yaoshi.
The metal giant embedded in the gate clasped its hands, its voice like a great bell: “Thirty-seven system hours is the last ‘Equilibrium’ I can win for you all.”
This was HooH, the Aeon of Equilibrium.
“Warning!
According to this machine’s 2,100,002,458 calculation results, with only the Garden of Recollection’s backup, the world cannot be restarted…” Nous’s engine roared.
On its steel head, scarlet electronic eyes locked onto the glass-like lord.
“Fuli, you are destroying this world with your own hands.”
“Oh?
Nous, do you have a better idea?” Fuli remained calm.
On their blurred crystal face, not a trace of what could be called “emotion” could be seen.
“Suggest activating the ‘Universe Archive Plan.’ Record the entire universe, along with all civilizations and life, into information and store it in this machine’s ‘hard drive.'”
“If one day this destroyed universe gives birth to a new civilization, they will have a chance to read this hard drive…”
“A letter to the future?
Interesting.” Aha crossed their arms and chuckled.
“But betting everything on an unknown future, I don’t like it.
Like that guy Akivili said…”
“The path to the future should be trailblazed by us, here and now!”
“I approve of Aha and Fuli’s plan: restart the world.” Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony, said as her three faces simultaneously looked toward the center of the galaxy.
“Besides, we now have the only variable.”
“A foreign Aeon.
The Path he governs is called: Imagination.”
“Imagination will fill in the gaps in Remembrance for us.
With his help, the probability of a successful world restart…
is one hundred percent!”
After Xipe finished, the gods followed her gaze and saw a man in white wandering through the starry sky, staring blankly at the barren planet below.
After a long while, this foreign Aeon raised his head with a stunned expression and murmured to the Aeons present: “Did you feel it?
Another Aeon has been born!”
“Hahaha, since when are Aeons so cheap?” Aha came to the man’s side with great interest and looked closely.
“Huh?
This Path…”
“What Path?” Fuli had already habitually begun to record this historic moment, but the next second, their divine body froze in place.
This newborn Aeon…
has no Path!
(T/N: When “eldritch” is used, it doesn’t necessarily refer to a specific eldritch entity.
The raw uses words like “strangeness” or “eeriness” to describe the unknown.
I chose “eldritch” because it better fits the cosmic horror tone of this story.)