The library was silent.
The curious student remained seated at the ancient wooden table, while his tired companion wandered between the endless shelves.
They had already read about the birth of the Dead Prince.
They had read about the Augustus Empire.
Now the tired student returned carrying another book.
It was considerably smaller than the previous volume.
Its cover contained only a few words:
THE IMMORTAL AGE
The curious student looked at it.
“What’s this one about?”
The tired student dropped it onto the table.
“Gods, High Rulers, and other immortals.”
The curious student immediately became interested.
“Then open it.”
The tired student sighed.
“You’re the curious one.”
“Exactly.”
The book opened.
And the story moved far beyond the mortal realm.
Far above the kingdoms of humans.
Far above the mountains of dragons.
Far above the forests of elves.
Far beyond anything mortals could see.
There existed another world.
A realm of immortals.
I — THE IMMORTAL HEAVENS
The Immortal Heavens stretched across an immeasurable domain.
Palaces floated among clouds of divine energy.
Ancient temples surrounded enormous divine cities.
Immortal armies guarded gates that mortals had never seen.
Gods walked among one another.
And above them all stood the beings known as the High Rulers.
There were few beings who could challenge them.
Their authority had existed for longer than most civilizations could remember.
Yet on this particular day…
the Immortal Heavens were not peaceful.
A message had spread throughout the immortal realms.
An emergency meeting had been called.
Every important immortal was summoned.
Gods.
High Rulers.
All were ordered to gather.
Nobody knew exactly why.
Until the doors of the great immortal chamber opened.
The twin High Rulers entered.
The entire chamber fell silent.
They took their positions above the gathered gods.
One of the twins spoke.
“Something has happened.”
No one moved.
“A being has been born.”
The second High Ruler continued.
“A being who was not recorded.”
Murmurs spread through the chamber.
The first High Ruler raised a hand.
Silence immediately returned.
“He was not present in the records.”
“He was not included in the calculations.”
“He was not written into the known future.”
The second High Ruler’s voice became colder.
“And yet he exists.”
A god finally gathered the courage to speak.
“Who?”
The first High Ruler answered.
“Nihil Mora.”
The name echoed throughout the chamber.
Several gods exchanged confused looks.
One god frowned.
“A mortal?”
“Yes.”
Another god asked:
“How can a mortal cause such concern?”
The second High Ruler looked toward the assembled immortals.
“Because we cannot see him.”
Silence.
The first High Ruler continued.
“We attempted to observe his future.”
“We failed.”
“We attempted to determine his fate.”
“Nothing.”
“We attempted to find the point at which his existence ends.”
“Nothing.”
The chamber became increasingly tense.
The second High Ruler finally asked:
“How can a being be born who was never on the list?”
No one answered.
“Who is Nihil Mora?”
No answer.
“How powerful will he become?”
Still nothing.
“And why…”
The High Ruler’s expression darkened.
“…can I not see his future?”
II — THE FUTURE
The immortals immediately began using their powers.
Divine eyes opened.
Ancient artifacts activated.
Prophecies were invoked.
Gods attempted to read the threads of fate.
Other gods searched through possible futures.
Nothing.
Every vision ended in darkness.
Every possible future containing Nihil became impossible to observe.
One immortal after another failed.
The chamber grew increasingly unsettled.
Then someone laughed.
A calm, almost amused laugh.
Everyone turned.
A man sat among the immortals.
His expression was relaxed.
He looked completely unconcerned.
The God of Time.
Aethelgard.
He smiled.
“You are all making this far more complicated than it needs to be.”
The High Rulers looked toward him.
Aethelgard stood.
“Time is my domain.”
He raised one hand.
Golden temporal energy moved around his fingers.
“If the future exists within time…”
He smiled.
“…then time itself cannot hide it from me.”
Several immortals watched carefully.
Aethelgard closed his eyes.
For a moment, the chamber became completely silent.
Then his eyes opened.
He smiled.
“I see him.”
The High Rulers immediately focused on him.
“What do you see?”
Aethelgard laughed quietly.
“Nihil.”
He paused.
“He’s certainly going to create problems for us.”
The first High Ruler’s expression hardened.
“Then what happens?”
Aethelgard shrugged.
“He dies.”
The chamber became quiet.
“What?”
“He will die soon.”
Aethelgard looked toward the High Rulers.
“So don’t worry.”
The twin High Rulers exchanged glances.
One of them spoke.
“Even if he dies, his existence is already dangerous.”
Aethelgard’s smile faded slightly.
“You intend to kill him?”
“Before his existence develops further.”
The High Ruler’s voice was cold.
“Finish him before anything happens.”
Aethelgard stared at them.
Then he laughed.
“How cowardly.”
The High Rulers glared at him.
Aethelgard continued.
“Are you really afraid of a child?”
The room became tense.
Several gods looked between the God of Time and the High Rulers.
One god lowered his voice.
“This is becoming dangerous.”
Another answered:
“It already is.”
III — THE GATE
Before anyone could say another word—
CRACK.
The sound echoed across the heavens.
Everyone looked toward the enormous entrance.
The Great Gate of Paradise trembled.
A second crack appeared.
Then another.
The divine gate began to fracture.
“What is happening?”
The immortals stood.
The gate shattered.
BOOOOOOM!
Fragments of divine stone flew across the chamber.
At the same moment, the enormous tomb belonging to one of the ancient High Rulers began to crack.
The walls shook.
The immortal floor trembled.
Something was coming.
Then—
A presence appeared.
Not a normal aura.
Not ordinary Shinkai.
Something monstrous.
Something so overwhelming that several gods immediately collapsed.
Blood appeared beneath the eyes of the High Rulers.
Their bodies reacted before their minds could.
Their Shinkai manifested automatically.
Not because they wanted to activate it.
Because their bodies had activated it as self-defense.
The pressure was too great.
The gods stepped backward.
Then a silhouette emerged from the shattered gate.
A figure.
Calm.
Unhurried.
Walking through the destruction as if nothing had happened.
The same silhouette.
The same ancient presence.
The same being who had once walked through the endless void.
He looked toward the immortals.
Then smiled.
“Blessings, immortals.”
Nobody answered.
The being looked around.
“Still hanging in there?”
He glanced at the bleeding High Rulers.
“After witnessing my Shinkai?”
His smile widened.
“Well…”
He tilted his head.
“You’re not much of a god if you die just by my Shinkai.”
The chamber became completely silent.
The High Rulers stared at him.
Then one of them finally shouted:
“ZUKIEL NOCTIS!”
The name echoed through the heavens.
“What are you doing here?”
Another High Ruler stepped forward.
“How are you alive?”
The figure smiled.
“Alive?”
He looked almost amused by the question.
Before anyone could continue, a god whispered:
“Lord High Ruler…”
He pointed toward Zukiel.
“Who is he?”
“Should I attack?”
The gods immediately responded.
“No.”
The god froze.
“Do not attack him.”
The High Ruler’s voice was serious.
“He is also a High Ruler.”
The chamber became even quieter.
One immortal looked confused.
“But wasn’t he—”
“He disappeared.”
Another High Ruler answered.
“One day, he simply vanished.”
The first High Ruler continued.
“And now…”
He stared at Zukiel.
“…he has returned.”
The High Ruler’s hands tightened.
“Stronger than before.”
The immortal army remained frozen.
“We will die if we fight him.”
Zukiel smiled.
“Wise choice.”
He walked farther into the chamber.
The immortals instinctively moved aside.
Zukiel looked toward the High Rulers.
“Now…”
His expression became colder.
“One piece of advice.”
The room became silent.
“Don’t interfere in my experiment.”
The High Rulers stared at him.
Zukiel continued.
“If you did before…”
His eyes narrowed.
“…then you already know what happens when you interfere.”
His Shinkai flickered again.
The heavens trembled.
“I swear…”
A pause.
“…I will destroy you.”
No one moved.
No one challenged him.
Zukiel turned away.
The void opened behind him.
He stepped through.
And disappeared.
The immortal chamber remained frozen.
For several moments, nobody spoke.
Finally, Aethelgard looked toward the shattered gate.
His expression had changed.
The earlier amusement was gone.
He quietly said:
“Interesting.”
One of the High Rulers looked toward him.
“What?”
Aethelgard smiled faintly.
“Perhaps the future isn’t as simple as I thought.”
IV — THE LIBRARY
The curious student slowly lowered the book.
His tired companion stared at him.
“So…”
He looked at the page.
“That was Zukiel?”
“Apparently.”
“The same kind of being from the prologue?”
The curious student nodded slowly.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“We don’t know.”
The tired student rubbed his face.
“First there’s Nihil.”
“Then the gods can’t see his future.”
“Then Aethelgard says he’ll die.”
“Then some missing High Ruler appears and terrifies everyone.”
The curious student looked back at the book.
“And he called Nihil an experiment.”
The tired student became quiet.
Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
Then the curious student turned the page.
Another chapter waited beyond it.
He stared at the title.
His expression changed.
“Looks like we’re not stopping.”
The tired student sighed.
“I knew you were going to say that.”
The ancient library became silent again.
Two students continued reading.
Neither understood what Nihil truly was.
Neither understood what Zukiel was experimenting with.
And neither knew that the meeting of the immortals had marked the beginning of something far greater than a dispute between gods.
Something had changed.
The immortals had noticed Nihil.
And for the first time…
the immortals were afraid of what they could not understand.