"Is there anything that can be done, Doctor?" Ms. Liah asked, her voice fragile, barely above a whisper. There was a flicker of hope in her eyes—one that had endured radiation, chemo, experimental trials, and the cruel silence of nights spent alone in sterile hospital beds.
The doctor hesitated, his expression softening.
"I'm deeply sorry, Ms. Liah," he said gently. "I truly wish there was something more I could do… but the cancer has reached its final stage."
He looked down at the chart in his hands, not because he needed to—but because it was easier than meeting her eyes.
"If I may," he continued, choosing his words carefully, "I recommend surrounding yourself with loved ones during this time. Family. Friends. Those who bring you comfort."
Liah exhaled slowly, the breath catching like a stone in her chest. It wasn't shock—she'd known. Deep down, she'd known. But hearing it aloud carved the truth into stone.
"How long do I have?" she asked, eyes fixed on the pale ceiling tiles as if they might change the answer.
The doctor's silence said more than words.
"…Not long enough," he finally replied.
---
Liah Natas died on a Tuesday.
Alone in a hospital room, her mind sharp to the very end. Her body failed her. But her knowledge didn't.
**PhD in Quantum Physics.** **Postdoctoral in Theoretical Matter Mechanics.** **Cancer Stage 4.**
They called her "too smart to waste on death."
The universe agreed.
[CONSCIOUSNESS PRESERVED] [TRANSFER COMPLETE] [NEW FORM: MATTER (NON-PHYSICAL)] [SYSTEM INSTALLED: OMNI-MATTER PROTOCOL] [PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: STABILIZE REALITY / PROTECT BALANCE]
She opened her eyes.
But had no eyes to open.
She was air.
She was pressure.
She was **everything** and **nothing**—spread across particles, folded through frequencies.
"I'm… matter," she realized. "Actual matter."
And her system whispered back:
[CORRECT. YOU ARE NOT IN A BODY. YOU ARE THE BUILDING BLOCK.]
At first, it was overwhelming.
She could feel planets spin. Sense leaves grow. Hear water boil across a mountain. She wept without tears—because her understanding had no limits.
But it wasn't knowledge she wanted.
It was **connection**.
A voice reached her. Small. Soft. Human.
A girl. Crying in a ruined village. Surrounded by monsters.
"Someone… anyone… help me…"
Liah listened.
And for the first time since death, she **focused**.
One voice. One life. One connection.
[HOST SYNC: INITIATED]
The girl blinked.
And suddenly, she wasn't afraid.
"Who are you?" the girl whispered.
"I'm your friend," Liah said. "Call me… Liah."
The monsters came again. Fanged wolves. Horned shadows. A-rank beasts.
The girl stood before them—trembling, but held.
Liah wrapped herself through her breath, her bones, her blood.
[MASS TRANSFERRED: +300% STRENGTH] [BLOOD STRUCTURE REINFORCED] [NEURAL FOCUS: MAXIMIZED]
With a scream, the girl threw her arm forward—and a wave of silver energy erupted, flattening the monster.
The village didn't believe her.
"She talks to herself."
"She's cursed."
"She's mad."
The girl insisted: "I have an invisible friend."
They laughed.
Until another monster came.
Then another.
Then another.
And every time, the girl protected them.
With a whisper. A movement. A thought.
And every time, **Liah** was the force behind her.
Then came the S-Rank beast.
It leveled trees by walking. Melted stone with its breath.
The girl collapsed before she could lift her hand.
[ALERT: HOST AT LIMIT] [WARNING: FORMLESS STATE REQUIRED FOR POWER OUTPUT]
Liah didn't hesitate.
She *rose* from the girl's body like a breath of starlight.
No one saw her—only the monster turning its head—
Then vanishing in a flash.
Gone.
No sound. No trace.
She hovered above its remains, unseen. Uncelebrated.
[TRANSFORMATION PROTOCOL: SALT → LIGHT → FLESH]
The monster's dead shell shimmered.
Collapsed.
Then reformed—into **her**.
A woman now visible.
Glowing eyes. Hair made of sun-particles. Voice made of thunder and water.
And she spoke.
"She was telling the truth."
The people fell silent.
Some knelt.
Some cried.
The girl simply smiled.
"Told you she was real."
From that day, **Liah Natas** became known as:
**The Absolute.**
The one who came from nowhere.
The one who needed no form but took one anyway.
The one who defeated gods, demons, kings, dragons, and reality-benders.
Not because she hated them.
But because they tried to overwrite **what already was.**
And she was the **was.**
No one could understand her.
Not fully.
Some worshipped her.
Some feared her.
Some declared her "unfair," "broken," "cheating."
But Liah knew better.
"You don't cheat when you become the equation."
A god of chaos tried to erase her with anti-matter.
She turned the beam into cherry blossoms.
A sorcerer of ten million dimensions tried to bend space to trap her.
She made space forget him first.
Even beings who manipulated **reality itself** fell.
Because Liah was not *within* reality.
She **was** reality.
And she allowed what could be.
If she did not?
It simply wasn't.
But through it all… she never left the girl.
They traveled together. Fought together. Built cities together.
And at night, when the stars danced:
Liah let her laugh.
Let her feel safe.
Let her be a child.
Because while Liah was the universe's last defense…
She was also its first act of love.
**And so the legend lived on:**
"The most powerful being in all realms is not a god, a warrior, or a mage… She's the woman who became everything… And still chose to save one child first."