Universe's End

Chapter 244: Prelude of the First

The first strode about its core space, gnashing its teeth and crossing its arms.

Soon.

“Soon,” The First said as it formed into an avatar, a vaguely humanoid male. “Soon.”

Only a few short years from now, and it would begin, the event to take what was rightfully theirs.

Rightfully his.

Personal pronouns. Good.

The First was the youngest of its siblings and, as such, had been designated the First stop that the chosen of its eldest sibling would face.

“Soon,” The First said, wiping a hand at its avatar's mouth. In a physical avatar, it had inadvertently incorporated physical reactions, such as salivating.

But how could it not salivate? The bounty that was his eldest sibling would be his.

You stand on high for only a short while longer, Aelia.

The oldest of the planets in their planetary system and the first ever to achieve ascension, she was abundant in resources and significance.

So much significance.

But she had cheated, taking advantage of the early universe, when plucking the enlightened from the energetic soup of existence was possible even for an unintelligent rock.

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She had lorded over them, flaunted her superiority, and her intention to devour them as soon as she could reach out far enough to take hold of their hearts.

But the Eternal had come to them and given them a chance. It had allowed them to tap into a vast potential beyond their scope, seeding their surface world and internal systems with life and creations to bolster themselves beyond what they could have done in such a short period.

The First peered over its world, pleased with the progress. Having known the timeframe until the event began, it had perfectly planned out the direction and evolution of life upon it. The only stipulation was no enlightened.

The First didn’t mind that stipulation, while they were the most effective sources of significance, it was a long-term investment that wasn’t necessary if they bested Aelia’s chosen. Feasting upon her corpse would do more than enough in that regard, and then they could take her enlightened for themselves.

Soon.

As long as they beat her chosen, they would all reap the benefits of feasting upon her significance laid bare.

But they also all knew the real truth. There would only be one in the end. World Spirits were cannibalistic by nature, and whoever was responsible for slaying the most Founders would be afforded the largest portion of Aelia’s significance. From there, they would mature faster than the others, before stretching out to take hold of their hearts just as Aelia had been planning to do to them.

It was that fact that prevented a deliberate cooperation between the First and his siblings. Each wanted to maximize their own chances because a collaborative victory in which one wasn’t the main contributor was the same as defeat.

Soon.

Ten creatures were still pupating and growing, suffused with energy and strength that couldn’t be compared to. Existences beyond territory alphas, they needed strength unmatched if they were meant to slay the champions of Aelia.

Soon.

Soon, The First would bring about Aelia’s Fall.