Interlude: The Game's Loom
Long before mortal tongues shaped the first words, before stars bled their light into empty skies, before the rules of lesser existence were etched in cosmic stone — there was The Game.
Not a pastime.
Not a war.
Not a battle of wills.
But the unceasing, eternal struggle between ancient forces who laid claim to the concept of reality itself.
These beings were nameless to mortals, their titles lost in aeons older than time.
Some called them Gods. Others, Architects, Eternals, or Void Sovereigns.
But all served one.
The Game Master.
A being of impossible origin. It did not reign as a god, nor destroy as a devil. It played.
And its board was all of creation.
Worlds were its dice.
Civilizations its pieces.
And the souls of titanic beings — its wagers.
Across the planes, champions and monsters alike are summoned, reborn, twisted, and unleashed upon worlds forged solely to serve the Game's endless contests.
Malvark was one such piece.
But unlike the others, his past identity — a Higher-Dimensional Sovereign — meant the rules could only cage him for so long.
And though the Dragon God believed him to be a pawn, neither it nor the other Eternals realized the depth of what had been awakened.
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The Hierarchy of Power
In the world Malvark now inhabits — a planet unimaginably vast, where a single mountain range could drown a thousand Earths, power is the law, and law is meaningless.
There are no nations. Only dominions.
No emperors. Only Primordial Kings.
No armies. Only colossal beasts, war gods, and devil-kin titans.
The system of power is as follows:
1. Fledgling Beasts
Creatures born of natural energy, weak and nameless. They prey upon one another in endless cycles of carnage. A single sneeze from Malvark could erase ten thousand.
2. Dread Beasts
Those who consume enough life to forge primitive territories. Elemental horrors, plague-born aberrations, and titanic predators. Capable of minor destruction over regions the size of solar systems.
3. Primordial Lords
The ancient devils, gods, and beasts who have consumed enough worlds to command lands the size of galaxies. Their will can sunder moons, and their rage snuff stars.
4. Void Terrors
Entities who have transcended the material, existing partially in higher realms. Capable of reshaping reality in localized areas, but tethered by the laws of this world.
5. Dimensional Tyrants
Beings like Malvark's former self. Once rulers of higher-dimensional domains, existing beyond time and matter. Thought extinct or banished by the Game Master. Their names, if spoken, would unravel the tongues that dared.
6. Pieces of the Board
The reborn, the chosen, the summoned. Brought to life by the ancient powers for the Game. Their potential is limitless, but they live under the invisible hand of fate. Or so it seems.
7. The Game Master
Omnipresent. Unknowable. Its moves are the seasons, its whims the tides of destiny.
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The Evolution System
Born of a one-second awakening of Malvark's true nature as a Dimensional Tyrant, the Evolution System is an ancient, self-altering program.
Not granted by gods. Not bestowed by fate. But self-manifested from higher laws now buried within him.
Core Functions:
Absorption:
Anything consumed, from stone to stars, strengthens Malvark's body, spirit, and domain.
Mutation:
Each battle, each kill, each war, unlocks strange mutations — extra limbs, new elements, primal powers — based on the slain foes' traits.
Territory Domination:
As Malvark grows, territories fall beneath his rule. Mountains, seas, and skies warp under his aura, obeying his will.
Higher Awakening:
Fragments of his former identity linger. As power accumulates, so too will echoes of forbidden abilities: time fracture, dimensional bleed, reality devouring.
Dominion of the Mindless:
The beasts of this world, driven by instinct alone, may fall under his will, but never as equals. Tools, slaves, sacrifices.
Eternal Hunger:
An insatiable drive. Evolution never halts. No perfection exists. The cycle of devouring and rising must continue, else oblivion claims him once more.
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The World's True Nature
What none of the beings — not the Dragon God, nor the Game Master's lesser servants — realize, is that the world itself is a prison sphere.
A cage for ancient, forgotten entities too dangerous even for the Game. And Malvark's awakening threatens the integrity of that cage.
Every step he takes, every mountain he topples, brings him closer to truths buried beneath layers of existence.
Will he become ruler of this savage realm?
Or will he shatter the Game's chains and remind all of reality who he once was?
The choice may not be his.