Power is a peculiar thing.
The moment it touches intelligent life, it ignites hunger. Even when trapped, sealed, or stripped of agency, those who once tasted power do not rest quietly. They plan, they wait, and most of all—they scheme.
When Omniscript descended on Thalanis—the First Node—it gave rise to the demi-gods. These beings were not ancient rulers or pre-existing entities. They were born from the system, shaped by Aether, and elevated by their mastery of its laws. The Omniscript transformed them into something beyond mortal, capable of bending reality and reaching for dominion over the stars.
But when they reached for the stars, they found their hands tied.
The seal was absolute. Omniscript's integration of Thalanis was not only an empowerment; it was a cage. Even those who ascended through its own system—its so-called demi-gods—could not escape the galaxy's boundary. Those who tried were unmade.
But what happens when a second node awakens?
No one knew whether the Second Node and Thalanis would eventually link, or if the new galaxy would simply be sealed off like the first. Yet the hope lingered: what if the integration brought a bridge? A glitch? A crack?
The demi-gods of Thalanis did not wait for certainty. They acted.
They began experimenting. Searching for loopholes. Testing the limits of their new reality. After all, if the seal was flawless, it should be unbreakable. But what if something—or someone—outside could be reached?
One demi-god succeeded first.
He was known by the title: The Riftwalker. A master of spatial authority, he devised a way to send an artifact—disguised as a necklace.
He hurled it into the void, casting it toward a massive spiral galaxy yet untouched by Omniscript: the one Earthlings know as the Milky Way, but what the Thalanians would soon call the Third Node.
The necklace found a bearer—an intelligent lifeform. The Riftwalker began to communicate. Study. Observe.
And then, he summoned the necklace back through a space anchor—with the soul of the wearer preserved within.
What he discovered changed everything.
The soul carried no mark of Omniscript.
It was pure. Unsealed.
From that moment on, the demi-gods of Thalanis turned their eyes toward the Third Node like moths to a flame. Here, in this unmarked galaxy, was a reservoir of unclaimed souls—souls that, if preserved correctly, could bypass the original seal.
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Demi-gods began dispatching their own methods of soul collection. Some through dreams. Some sent relics. Others baited with stories or visions or promises of destiny. Whatever the approach, the goal remained unified:
Gather unmarked souls.
Preserve them.
Send them to the Second Node.
It was a strategy of proxies. A cosmic loophole. And it wouldn't have worked—were it not for a singular, forbidden artifact.
The Core of Entropy.
No one remembers who forged it. Some believe it came from beyond even Omniscript's origin. What mattered was what it could do.
When fueled with Aetherion—the most concentrated and transcendent form of Aether—the Core of Entropy could do the impossible:
It could create an error in reality. A bug in the system.
By invoking the principles of cosmic entropy, the artifact created momentary tears—flaws—in the Omniscript seal. The size and duration of the error depended entirely on how much Aetherion was used. And to breach the seal even momentarily required more Aetherion than most demi-gods could fathom.
But together, they could do it.
The artifact had a cooldown—either fifty or a hundred years, depending on how deeply it was pushed. That limit was vital. Without it, the artifact would be broken. With it, it was merely absurdly dangerous.
An alliance was formed. Not of peace, but of mutual benefits. Demi-gods began pooling resources. Stories were exchanged. Soul vessels prepared. Books, relics, dreams—all mechanisms to lure unmarked souls from the Third Node.
They could not interfere directly. But their proxies could.
They would shape heroes. Cultivate vessels. Plant seeds of faith.
And when the Core of Entropy awakened, they would send these preserved souls through the cracks—into the waiting chaos of the Second Node.
What awaited them there? Power, of course.
Power through faith.
Power through struggle.
Power through stories.
And so, as strange celestial phenomena danced on the edges of galaxies, as books appeared in quiet corners of distant planets, as young souls began to dream of things beyond their skies…
The age began.
The Age of Abduction.