A light came on on the stage.
A faceless person with only a thin slit for a mouth stood in the center of the scene.
He looked like a mannequin. His entire body was grey, without clothes or any other distinctive feature. The slit slowly grew wider, frighteningly large, as if he were smiling.
"My lovely guests—ladies and gentlemen, nobles and commoners, masters and servants. I am a Changement, and together with my crew, we will perform the Legend of Creation—Mane."
After a brief pause.
"For everyone watching it for the first time, do not worry. This play follows the lore exactly as it occurred, and as long as you only watch, your life is safe.
"And I, Caissier, will be the storyteller of this cast. Now… without further ado… Let us begin!"
The theatre hall fell silent.
Every light went out.
In the darkness, a voice reverberated from everywhere.
<<<<<<<< A long, long time ago…
After the rules were established, when Time and Space fought fiercely and Darkness had almost taken control of the entire universe, two forces arose
( Two bodies appeared on the stage—one glowing white and the other black. )
One was born from the primordial forces: Order and Creation…
( A statue depicting a tall, stern man and a woman with a deep gaze appeared behind the white body. )
The other came from Chaos and Destruction.
( Other statues appeared behind the black body—a man with an evil eye and a cunning woman. )
These two children were born to be enemies. They met countless times in battle, but as time passed, they began to question the reasons behind their parents' conflict.
They developed different opinions.
And eventually… they began to question everything they had been taught.
( The two bodies fought in various confused poses and scenes. Then, slowly, they stopped and turned toward the statues. )
After more time passed, the two children became friends and allies.
They helped each other survive in the vast universe. Together, they conquered and built different worlds, fighting against the shadows, against Time and Space…
Until eventually… they decided to defeat their own parents.
( Many statues gathered beneath the two figures. Their hands pierced the chests of the statues representing their parents. From within, they pulled out precious stones and consumed them. )
The two children took the power that had belonged to their parents… and subdued it.
The voice became quieter.
But such an act could not happen without consequences.
Creation—the goddess of matter and life—cursed her son with a terrible future.
A voice reverberated through the hall. A voice so filled with hatred that it sent chills down the spine of every listener.
( The deep-eyed woman opened her mouth. Her voice was cold and merciless. )
"The one you trust the most will always stab you in the back. No matter what you do… others will always fear you. And eventually… they will hate you."
Those were the words of Creation before her body crumbled into dust.
( The statue slowly collapsed into dust. )
Destruction also cursed his daughter.
( The statue with the evil eyes opened its mouth, and an equally cold male voice echoed through the hall. )
"Your heart will be dead to everyone. You will never be able to feel the feelings of others, and madness will always remain within your mind."
( The statue turned to dust as well. )
Before Chaos disappeared, she saw that her daughter had chosen to stand beside the son of Order. Deep rage erupted within her.
( The cunning woman moved toward the place where the male statue had disappeared. Drops of blood flowed from her eyes. Her mouth opened, and her hateful cry echoed through the theatre like breaking stone. )
"You will never have a moment of peace within your mind. Chaos will always remain there."
The Order was the only one who said nothing to his son. However, before disappearing, his gaze shifted toward Destruction's daughter. His lips moved. But no sound came.
( The statue depicting the tall, stern man had remained motionless throughout everything. He simply watched. When the body of Creation disappeared, his cold eyes fell upon the black figure. His mouth seemed to form a final sentence… but nothing could be heard. )
The audience watched as everything fell silent once more. Only the two bodies remained on the stage. One black. One white.
Then they began to change.
( The boy grew larger, his body transforming into a mixture of white and gold. Golden lines spread across his form. )
( The girl in black changed as well. Silver threads appeared throughout her body, mixed with strange colors. )
Her body seemed to contain an impossible amount of power… and madness at the same time.
Yet somehow, she controlled it.
( The silver threads held everything together. The two figures stood beside one another. Above them, glowing names appeared in the air. )
The union of Order and Creation gave birth to the god of Life. His name was Valkai.
The cooperation between Chaos and Destruction created the goddess of Death. She was known as Maranam.
The four pillars of the universe had been devoured by their own children. Now, the universe had two new pillars. Life and Death. Together, they created three galaxies where they experimented with their powers.
( Several stars and systems appeared behind them as the two figures walked across the stage. )
The new gods inherited the powers of their parents… but they also had their own vision.
So they began to build a new world. Life created all kinds of beings, while Death destroyed everything that seemed out of place. In this way, they created beings with intelligence and feelings. Life was fascinated by his creations. Death simply watched in silence.
( On the stage, small figures appeared. They hunted, built shelters, worked together and slowly formed communities. The figure representing Life watched them happily. )
With time, the god of Life wanted to create more of these creatures, but the goddess of Death stopped him. No one knew her reason. Life listened to her… and did not create more beings. As time passed, Life was pleasantly surprised.
The few beings he had created had become a huge population. And then he discovered something else he could do. He could observe his creations.
( The figures filled many places and worked together. The figure of Life stood behind them, watching with a faint smile. )
Over time, Life saw how difficult it was for them to survive. He wanted to help them, but Death stopped him again.
( The creatures struggled against various disasters. Many fell. The figure of Life reached toward one of them, trying to give it light, but the dark figure behind him caught his hand. )
Death was not impressed by these beings. In her opinion, they did not need divine interference at all. So when Life tried to intervene, she stopped him. For the first time in a long time… Life and Death fought.
( The black figure grabbed one of the small figures and turned it to dust. The white figure immediately moved toward her. )
Their dispute continued through words… and then through battle. Eventually, Death gave up. She chose not to interfere with Life and his decisions anymore. But, for reasons no one understood… another conflict began.
( The two bodies performed a strange dance across the stage. Sometimes they exchanged blows. Sometimes they simply walked past each other without acknowledging the other. )
At one point, Death suddenly went mad. No one knew why.
Life was forced to stop her before she destroyed the entire universe. Life fought her for two thousand years, and in the end… he was defeated.
It is said that the place where they fought became the most terrible place in the universe. Defeated, Life knelt before Death, but something unexpected happened.
One of the living creatures managed to reach the battlefield. When Death was not paying attention, the creature attacked.
A strange weapon struck the exhausted and wounded Life… straight through his heart.
( On stage, the woman's body seized the man's body. They fought as a clock spun rapidly above them. Then the clock suddenly stopped.
The white body was covered in cracks and knelt before the dark figure.
A humanoid figure suddenly appeared behind them and shot forward like an arrow, piercing the white body from behind with an ink-black sword. )
That day… Life died… And Death vanished right before the eyes of that living creature. From Life's body, a small tree grew in the very next moment. The living creature stared at it in wonder.
And among its branches… It saw several small fruits.
< Murmurs spread throughout the theatre. >
( The luminous body fell to the ground. He slowly transformed into light and became a tree. The woman's body disintegrated and vanished like dust in the wind. The creature approached the tree and took four apple-like fruits from its branches. )
There were four fruits in total. The creature that took them was a dragon. It left the battlefield and brought the fruits to its comrades, with whom it had conspired.
There was a phoenix. An angel. And a demon. Each took one fruit. Each ate it. And each acquired enormous power.
< The theatre erupted in murmurs. Some guests looked frightened. Others stared at the stage in disbelief. >
( Beside the creature that resembled a lizard with bat-like wings stood a gigantic red bird. Her elegant figure immediately caught the attention of the other three. Then another bird appeared—white this time, with a long neck and long legs. It quietly examined the fruits. The last creature was some kind of animal, without fur or scales, but with unusually dark skin. )
Each grabbed a fruit. They ate.
( Their bodies grew larger, their forms changing dramatically. )
Then they went after the remaining gods. The same gods who had betrayed Life. And the weapon with which the dragon had killed the god… Had been given to them.
( The four figures moved across the stage, destroying every small divine statue they encountered. )
Now… They were powerful enough to kill the gods they hated, and so, the universe lost all its known gods. This is how the Nanku Era began.
An era in which dragons, phoenixes, angels, and demons ruled over the intelligent beings of the three primary galaxies.
( The stage filled with glorious images of dragons, phoenixes, angels and demons, as though an ancient history were being played like a movie. )
The voice slowly faded. The lights remained dim. Silence fell over the hall.
The first part of the legend had ended. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The curtain closed. For a brief moment, no one in the theatre spoke. Then the sound of movement slowly returned.
On the balcony, the dragon and the elf rose from their seats. They decided to go outside for some fresh air. As their servants followed them out, one of the humans remained unusually quiet.
Anka's mind was filled with questions.
Everything that had been shown on the stage seemed to carry so much meaning, yet somehow… it did not weigh heavily on her mind. Her heart had been moved, despite her usually cold and calm mind. Her curiosity grew stronger with every scene and every detail.
At the same time, a hunger for new information settled inside her. This day was one of the best days since she had entered this world. She had entered a book, hoping to change its story for the better… And now, she was seeing that world from an entirely new perspective.
"This world is so alive. I want more. I want to dig deeper."
Her thoughts raced faster.
"Zero… I need to know."
"I want more information."
"Continue explaining the legends of this universe to me… and tell me how important they are. And… how much of this is actually true?"
Somewhere inside her mind, Csendez listened in silence.
What was she saying earlier? She entered a book…?
And this legend… no wonder it is forbidden.
This could damage the image of an entire race… No. I'm wrong. Four races in a single story. And maybe these four aren't the only ones…
Let's see what Zero knows about this.