The Void.
A boundless space of darkness, desolation, chaos, and disorder, where raging storms of dark psionic energy howled everywhere—this was its theme. At least, it was the theme of the Void after Amon betrayed his fellow Xel'Naga and took up residence here.
Now—
Vrrrrm——!!
For the first time—
The Void was ignited!
Light surged, light roared.
Though no stars should exist within the Void, the sky seemed to hang a sun above—a magnificent violet-red spiral, like a suddenly erupting super-planet. The collapsing flashes boiled the raging psionic storms of the Void, surging with violent force.
The mere aftermath of its sweep flattened everything within sight. No matter how powerful the void amalgamations, no matter how ancient the fragments of shattered worlds, under the remolding power of the cosmos they disintegrated into molecules, reduced to dust adrift in the Void.
"I am the Sun! I am the Savior!"
The 'sun'—surpassing the limits of the real universe—rapidly swelled, suspended in the sky, wrapped in iridescent thin clouds. It shone with faint but dazzling white light, illuminating the terrifying silhouette rooted within the sea of the Void, living and growing together with it.
A crimson psionic lightning sea boiled, rolling like molten iron, scarlet and radiant, bursting forth from faint mist.
"Liar! Hypocrite! Thief! Bandit! You are nothing but a murderer! By what right?! How dare you call yourself savior?!"
The maddened, fallen Xel'Naga roared. From that boiling ocean of the Void, countless crimson and pale violet tentacles and tendrils stretched outward, spiraling like sharp thorns, thrusting toward the endless dark curtain.
A vague humanoid silhouette appeared, but its head resembled a squid's, with countless writhing tentacles. Its body was covered in scale-like gelatinous flesh, and its pair of scarlet compound eyes glowed like bleeding pigeon-blood rubies.
Like a shifting mountain rising from the infinite ocean, Amon's massive, bloated body struggled forth from the gaping maw of the dark collective beneath the Void.
Crack! Crack! Crack——!
The Void shattered. Enormous thunder, destructive and tearing, surged forth, shrieking with incomparable dark psionic power! The essence belonging to the Xel'Naga creators spilled out, bursting in wild destruction!
Amon roared, revealing only the tip of his colossal form dwelling deep within the sea of the Void.
That 'Dark Resonance' rooted with swollen tendrils was an ocean of resentment formed from the corpses and essence of dead Xel'Naga. It was by dwelling within it that Amon had mended the wounds of the civil war, becoming ever more deranged.
"You envy me."
Selene stood quietly above the Void, gazing at the immense, indescribable being before her. She felt the impact and oppression of that pure, overwhelming hatred, madness, and corruption, yet remained completely unmoved. The corners of her charming lips curved in a graceful arc. She did not even bother putting on imperial airs, simply sighed softly.
Everything you say is true—but you envy me.
"Roooaaaarrrrrrr!!!"
Amon let out a frenzied howl.
Simply put, he was rattled.
Why? Why could Selene brazenly claim to be the sun, to be the savior? Why was he condemned as the ugly 'Fallen One,' the 'Dark God,' the abomination to be struck down by all?
Selene, an outer god, dared to seize the title of Xel'Naga!
As the only surviving Xel'Naga who could still walk the Void, and the strongest of them all—having devoured the essence of his kin—Amon had naturally witnessed the unfolding of events in the real universe.
The conflict in the Korhal system had reached its end.
And when Valerian Mengsk spread to his subjects the notion that Selene was a Xel'Naga—that was what ignited Amon's fury.
The apostles of the outer god had already claimed a foothold in the Koprulu sector. The change of banners among the Terrans, their cries, their worship and prayers directed toward this 'abominable thing'—all of it made Amon jealous.
I am the true Xel'Naga! She is but a fraud!
For some reason, Selene's voice, as gentle as fluttering butterfly wings, struck Amon's mind like the roar of a chainsaw, ceaselessly shaking what little sanity he had left. Feathers glowing with crimson light drifted into the sea of his consciousness.
In the boundless darkness, countless dreams clamored and roared. Memories from billions of years ago resurfaced, unforgettable, repeating before his very eyes.
They were the beautiful memories of his homeworld, before he had been chosen as a Xel'Naga—his most cherished and most regretted recollections.
He blamed himself for ignoring the death of his mother civilization. He grieved that he had failed to revive it. He ached from being forever separated from what he once knew and cherished.
Why is your civilization able to share in your glory and your shame? Why is it that you could lead your people to prosperity?!
The sculptures carved upon the bows of those warships—Amon saw clearly—they were of this outer god before him!
Amon was not without self-awareness. This spontaneous symbiosis, this fervent devotion, was not something his ragtag followers could ever compare to.
I will not accept it!
It is the fault of this universe!
His jealousy spread like wild brambles, rooting into every corner of his consciousness!
Fallen spirit and flickering sanity, faint traces of nostalgia for his identity as a Xel'Naga, hatred and resentment toward the Infinite Cycle of Xel'Naga reincarnation, malicious contempt for the real universe—all these conflicting thoughts mixed together.
They left Amon's mental state wildly unstable.
And with Selene's constant provocation and relentless stings, he grew ever more deranged.
"No! I don't believe it! I don't believe it—! Everything, everything, must be destroyed—!!"
His slimy shriek of madness continued.
Tsk, tsk…
You started the insults.
"You are nothing but a failed product of the Xel'Naga cycle. The greatest lie and evil born of a flawed cycle… oh, perhaps better called an unspeakable fallen thing. Truly, I pity that elder Xel'Naga who chose you. What a disgrace in the end."
It was only trash talk, but Selene—though not exactly skilled at provoking people into blind rage—was adept at exposing old wounds.
She wielded her authority to lure Amon into recalling the cherished memories he had willingly buried, then shattered them again and again within the sea of his mind. Again and again she compared his legion's soldiers to his lost homeworld.
She forced him to ask himself: What if my home civilization had not perished?
"Die! Die! Die—!"
In the sea of the Void, blood seeped from Amon's eyes, trickling down his grotesque form. His bloated, planetary body swelled further, black psionic energy erupting, his writhing tentacles clawing toward the brilliant radiance above, striking with a heavy, dripping impact.
It was an obvious goading tactic—but clearly, Amon could not resist. If he could have resisted, would he ever have fallen?
In a sense, Amon was also a being of deep sentiment—though only for his motherworld.
"Not bad…"
Selene inhaled deeply the essence released as Amon struggled against the collapsing brilliance of the sun. Satisfaction spread across her face.
The fragrance here, though inferior to that of a living Xel'Naga, was still intoxicating!
"Amon, you have fallen still…"
After finishing this, Selene did not linger. She spread her arms, and with each step upon the Void, ripples spread outward like stones cast into a pond. The stars themselves shifted in rhythm with her stride.
The 'sun' advanced toward the raging Amon—as though to embrace him.
Soft beyond measure! Yet carrying ultimate killing intent!
Crack, crack, crack—!
"Imaginary Domain—unfold!"
Rumble—!!
Like divine power tearing open creation itself, with a deafening blast, massive rifts ripped apart the pitch-black curtain of the Void, spreading infinitely outward—as though piercing through all the cycles of Xel'Naga universes!
It was like an overinflated star collapsing into a black hole. This domain of the Void resembled a pond into which the Tsar Bomba had been hurled, its destructive shockwaves igniting the Void itself, distorting and twisting space.
Even on the other side of the real universe's barrier, the Temple of Ulna saw the widening rift!
At the horizon spanning the heavens, an ultra-planet burned—towering even greater than the largest known star in the galaxy…
Psionics twisted, space shattered, the firmament cracked and collapsed, and endless blood and wailing poured forth.
The Temple of Unification, Ulnar.
Amid desolate planetary fragments, particles of holy psionics gathered, completely different from Amon's fallen madness.
A vast outline of pale blue-white translucence slowly took shape.
A squid-like head with countless tendrils, whisker-like feelers, and a bloated body—its form almost identical to Amon's. Hideous and indescribable in appearance.
Yet unlike Amon, it bore no malice. Instead, it radiated a special aura that calmed the heart.
"Amon's presence… has weakened?"
...
Boom-crack—!
"Come! Become my power! Do you not seek destruction? Follow my will, and spread ruin!"
At Selene's fervent cry, Amon's final psionic defenses broke apart layer by layer. The Void gave a mournful scream of no return, followed by the deafening collapse of a Xel'Naga's body and soul.
Essence dissolved, psionics extinguished.
A dreadful wail swept across the cracked, pitch-dark firmament, like some monotonous yet deranged symphony.
The fallen creator at the pinnacle of all Xel'Naga was reduced to ashes before that radiance, consumed completely by the black hole born of transcendent light.
…
No one knew how long it was before the devouring collapse subsided. The eternal storm of dark psionics had reached its end. The surging abyssal sea dried away, revealing the Void's original form.
Here once lay the sanctuary painstakingly built by the Xel'Naga from fragments of stars ferried across universes, where seeds of life had been sown with hope.
But after Amon's rebellion ended, all became nothing.
Amon's corruption, Selene's devastation, annihilation that consumed all.
The Void had truly become void. Empty, with nothing left…
"An opponent who loses reason is always easier to deal with."
Selene, relaxed and satisfied, rubbed her belly. She formed a small Subspace Lance, picking her teeth with feigned casualness, then turned toward the rift leading to the real universe, raising an eyebrow.
"You've watched long enough. Not going to show yourself?"
Since the other had already been called out for secretly observing, the indescribable visage of a Xel'Naga appeared, revealing its true form. A few seconds later, it opened its maw, a deep, chaotic voice resounding:
"Greetings… powerful unknown higher-dimensional lifeform. I am Xel'Naga, the last Xel'Naga—Ouros."
Unlike Amon's hysteria and fickleness, when Ouros spoke, Selene felt innate steadiness and ancient weight.
The Xel'Naga named Ouros gazed at the outer god who had annihilated Amon with overwhelming power.
"Thank you—for destroying the Xel'Naga betrayer who sought to annihilate the endless cycle of universes."
Ouros expressed his gratitude sincerely.
Perhaps Selene harbored ulterior motives for this universe, but whatever her intent, she had destroyed Amon, the destroyer of the Infinite Cycle. That was undeniable fact.
It was precisely Amon's death and the weakening of his dark psionics that allowed Ouros to break free of his seal and return to the light.
"Don't be so quick to thank me… Ouros, my commission doesn't come cheap."
What, just a thank you? My value is not that cheap.
Selene eyed this kind-looking Xel'Naga. Though their appearances were the same, he was far more pleasant to look at than Amon. Indeed, temperament and bearing mattered greatly.
"Powerful unknown higher-dimensional lifeform, what can I give you? What can this universe offer you?" Ouros asked.
Though Selene exuded an aura of ruin and decay no less than Amon's—perhaps even greater—her radiance of reason and civilization could not be concealed.
Contradictory.
Ouros could not understand. Could she too wish to scatter the seeds of life?
Selene: (Uh… well, pretty much. I'm here to develop civilizations. Though my methods might be a little rough.)
Unreserved, she extended her hand toward the Xel'Naga, smiling: "It's simple. I also want to become a Xel'Naga."
Ouros: …
Are you kidding me?
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