¹
There was a legend that surrounded the universe. A childhood fairy tale, but one that seemed to be one of the only immutable and eternal things in the fickle universe.
The legend of the \[Faceless Monster.]
A being, neither evil nor good, that wandered the infinite universe, eliminating every being and life on a planet, tearing and devouring until only the dead shell remained. According to the stories told, the Faceless Monster usually appears as a devastating, superhuman disaster.
No one knows how it was born. It existed long ago, for generations, as a pariah hated by others. But it was not for this or that. Perhaps it was outraged by the fury of ostracism that devoured everything, becoming different from itself. Mountains are swept away by the wind, oceans evaporate and not a single blade of grass or tree remains in its wake. No matter how much you cry or apologize, the monster forgives no side, be it good or evil, and no one who encounters it ever survives.
Plants
Children
Old people
Women
Warriors
Stars.
All were claimed by the monster's heretical blade. Every time it appeared, a kingdom, a planet, a star and an entire section of the galaxy were consumed and killed.
There is the story of a kingdom that vanished in a gust of wind. A king who
was proud of being the strongest and was devoured before he could do anything. An army that possessed a unit of steel, but was swallowed in the blink of an eye. A story of heroes and villains joining forces to fight a monster. The story of a boy who wakes inside a monster's stomach and sets out on an adventure to escape... and so on.
For many it is an insensitive monster, for others the balance of life and death. But there were those who worshiped it as a hero of the final judgment. Preventing entropy through widespread and equalized destruction.
An emissary of the end of life in the universe, an immutable field of slaughter, resigned to massacre all creation by means of the \[Meifu Madou], this was the path that he who swore to kill everything trod.
◇◇◇
"Die!"
A wave of darkness in the shape of blade cuts was struck.
The shock resulting from this attack was the explosion of the "life" that inhabited that star. Cracking its crust and its radiation core, pulverizing it with a slice of his malignant blade.
Who caused this? Who committed such heresy?
These questions were euphemisms; in the face of the being who caused this, such matters were useless. For he was simply the unprecedented immutable "Void (Muki/無機)."
In space, he floated in the vacuum with no apparent direction, after causing the end of yet another star.
The new space he was in had nothing. No trace of ashes or dust, only an expanse of total darkness stretching for tens of thousands of light-years. However, it had not always been like this. Just a few days earlier, undeniably countless lives had prospered here. An ancient sacred world—the heart of a galaxy—reduced to an arid desert after being consumed by the Path of Massacre. Its name?
"Where did that trash hide?" he murmured with a raspy, twisted-lipped voice hidden—the heretical being, \[Magsarion].
Magsarion is not like all the other beings in this universe. And his appearance in a sinister armor without a single hole, covered in countless blood stains and strike marks. And the infernal glow of his eyes, visible even through the helmet that hides his face. The stench and the chill of the grave, as if they belonged to a reaper. A sense of ferocity and cruelty, as if they were of the devil.
\[If you wish to see the devil, look in hell.]
He who trod the Madou was a corrupted existence, full of murderous intentions accumulated within that empty armor… no, perhaps THERE WAS something in that hole, but it was simply too deep to discern.
He was the protagonist of this infernal fairy tale.
In his hand, a long golden and black sword, resembling a Crucifix, resonated lamentingly.
his owner was the worst
He was a child.
He was Ruining everything
My son
My husband.
The consciousness in the blade was a cacophony of deliriums, a mother and a lover, a follower and a manipulator.
A distortion of corrupt thoughts resounded through the blade's mind covered in daydreams, which were ignored by its bearer.
"COME HERE!"
With a voice that echoed in the vacuum, ignored—No…breaking the laws of the universe, he unleashed another attack.
And with this black deluge of murderous intentions, the universe collapses, crying in agony at the rebellion of the evil being. That space that once existed was devastated, reduced to a "nothing," drawing nearby parts of the universe to fill that gap in the cosmos, trying to plug the hole created. What resulted was the Meifu Madou being able to be drawn toward new lives.
For such a being, who swore to eradicate everything and everyone when the universe was born, his path was immutable, believing that his abyss of slaughter was eternal, not caring what he would find on the other side of the abyss, he walked without looking back or feeling remorse; if he ever did, his commandments would turn against him and his death would be certain.
Until then, he would continue his path of slaughter. After all, this was the Path of Meifu Madou.
The universe had already shrunken more and more; it was only a matter of time until he finally reached the one who dwells at the top of the world, the very "Avesta." However, in the midst of his walk.
When this happened, the universe contracted, and phenomena concentrated at a single point. If one were to give an example, it would be like blocking all escape routes and cornering the prey in a hunt. In terms of logic, it is a simple choice anyone could imagine, but the obstinacy to carry it through to the end was impressive.
No matter what kind of future may arise, there will probably never be anyone capable of imitating Magsarion.
It is, without doubt, an unparalleled feat of Meifu Madou. Perhaps even Shinga had wished to witness this and, for that reason, did not interfere.
『To remain alone in the desert of slaughter… is that it? After all, it is the apex of war.』
As proof, a voice arose from somewhere, laughing and lamenting, celebrating and despising at the same time: the dualistic divine presence. And then the world changed.
『I am glad that a man like you was born under my law.』
In the next moment, Magsarion was in an unlimited and grotesque space.
White and black, blue and red, light and darkness, all opposites coexisted and confronted each other in that place.
A great mandala, in constant transformation, flowed like a kaleidoscope, filled with infinite colors, but with nothing independent. Each element, under absolute laws, had its destiny determined.
There was no longer a need to confirm. This was the truth of the universe and the true identity of Shinga.
The colors, like a tapestry on a colossal scale, were breathtakingly beautiful and so grotesque they caused nausea ― eloquently describing what 『she』really was.
There was no comparison with any enemy faced before. This was to be expected, for they were all merely part of a pattern, literally fragments of cells.
『I am Shinga, that which you call law (Avesta).』
A huge golden and silver eye appeared in space, pronouncing divine charms. That prayer, that tyranny, and the look of madness and compassion that imposed endless struggles on the world were the perfect embodiment of universal dualism.
If the nature that sings love, respects courage, believes in bonds and burns for ideals is her, then the black nature that likes violence, delights in pleasure, despises the weak and crushes them is also her.
It is good and evil. It is hope and despair. Or rather, it seemed not to care whether it was positive or negative.
This existence did not possess the kind of consciousness that should make it perceive these concepts. For that very reason, it was able to exist as the ultimate contradiction on a plane of extremely high dimension.
Even so, without hesitation, the fierce warrior, carrying the sword arrogantly, returned the gaze. Shinga narrowed her demonic eyes and spoke:
『Well, you are a visitor who arrived after countless ages. Welcoming you with joy should be my duty, but…』
The tone carried a mix of boredom and excitement. Furthermore, suddenly, the deity's gaze shifted to the side.
As if there were a third person present, she brought to light the man who had been completely forgotten by everyone.
『Unfortunately, I already have another engagement. Allow me to deal with that first.』
And then—
The demonic eyes, wide open, reflected both compassion and coldness. They were filled with burning joy and freezing lament, carrying a vile justice and a sublime wickedness.
The great mandala in incessant patterns, manifestation of the dual divine power, converged there to take form.
『Now, show me how you will reveal your path. Oh, Faceless Monster!』
#
²
In a new universe, a distant and incomprehensible possibility, a certain evil warrior was reincarnated.
In this world, known as Remnant, a calm night covered the skies of the Patch region. A small village surrounded by dense forests and verdant hills seemed distant from the worries of the world, even with the shadows of the Grimm always lurking.
Taiyang Xiao-Long was sitting beside his wife's bed, Raven Branwen, in a small wooden house lit by a single lantern. Sweat covered his brow and his face wore the typical irritated expression he knew all too well. Raven rarely showed vulnerability, but giving birth to twins was a challenge even for someone like her.
"If you were more useful," she muttered, squeezing his hand harder than necessary.
Tai laughed nervously, his usual humor masking his anxiety. "Hey, I'm here, aren't I?"
Raven rolled her eyes but did not answer.
Outside, the fractured moon shone brightly, but somewhere on the horizon a star shone more intensely than normal before disappearing. It was brief, almost imperceptible, but at that moment something changed.
◇◇◇
At that instant, Magsarion opened his eyes, but did not recognize where he was. The feeling was... uncomfortable. He did not feel the weight of his armor, nor did he feel the AVESTA that would always accompany him. Instead, he felt small and fragile, without the compass he had always had. And that irritated him! His memories were nebulous, his Immutability had somehow been Broken, and there was only one being capable of that—
(Shinga…)
Magsarion already had an idea of what had happened. The damned one must have done something. He did not know how much time had passed, but he knew he had massacred the entire universe back then, so—
'(Did I... die?)
"Reincarnation" was not possible, it was the nonsense of idiots. He had killed countless numbers, and none of them had reincarnated, but somehow, he was alive and in the body of a baby, which defies all logic. And if people now were an indicator, millennia had passed, and new life had blossomed.
Before he could reflect further, he heard a female voice, strong but exhausted.
"It's a boy."
Another voice, male and full of joy, replied: "And the girl? Is she okay?"
"Yes," the woman said. "Both are healthy."
Magsarion felt himself being lifted, the itch to tear the limbs of those who touched him so lightly was deep and bitter. But with his current body, he could do nothing.
---
Taiyang looked at the two newborns, smiling, unable to hide his emotions. Raven, for her part, kept a serious expression, although something in her eyes seemed softer as she contemplated the twins.
"Two at once," Taiyang said, laughing. "Looks like we'll have double the trouble."
"Dig your grave, Taiyang," Raven hissed, although her tone was less harsh than usual.
Tai held the boy first, who had a small tuft of dark hair. "This one... looks like you!"
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Exaggeration."
Tai smiled. "So how about a name?"
"Name..." Raven murmured; she was about to pick a random name when her vision blurred for a millisecond, before returning:
"Magsarion."
"Magsarion?" Taiyang asked confused, after all, since the revolution of the colors, giving names related to colors had been the cultural norm.
However, a sharp look from his wife challenged him to try to go against it. So wisely he only nodded before turning his attention to the other twin.
He picked up the girl in his arms, watching her tiny fists clenched and hair as blonde as his. "And her?" Tai looked at her fondly, then nodded to himself. "Yang. I think Yang fits."
Raven, who was holding a restless Magsarion in her arms, frowned. "You just shortened his name, didn't you?"
"Yes," Tai said with a smile.
Raven mocked him, but did not argue. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, a certain Meifu Madou was having a nervous breakdown while in the arms of his so-called parents.
◇◇◇
Magsarion's life went on, but different from his past life, yet one thing always remained.
「Dualism.」
The world still possessed the same duality as always.
Evil vs Good
Just vs Unjust
Currently they are divided into 「Humanity」 and 「Grimm's」. In the end, nothing changed, only the labels. He would have to return to the Madou again.
But for now. It seems that Magsarion's parental karma still follows him… that would be for the best, it would make it easier for him to be free from the shackles of this world.
"Sniff…damn Raven.."
He had to listen to the pathetic man who called himself his father crying like an idiot in the room he shared with the brat who was born alongside him.
It was irritating, just a diversion from his goal. Shinga would pay dearly for that. Also… he still heard his brother's heartbeat. One more proof that somewhere, he remained.
He would turn this universe upside down again, that was a promise. He would return to tread the path of the relentless.
◇◇◇
⁴
Summer considered herself a good person. After all, she had forgiven Qrow and Raven when they revealed they were at the academy to learn to kill their classmates. She forgave Qrow for hitting on her while drunk. And she REALLY understood Raven and her cowardly tendency to run away. But she genuinely did not understand how her stepchild was so… hateful toward her.
"Don't touch me, bitch!"
"!!!"
Those were the first words of little Magsarion at age 4. The boy had never said a word, not even a murmur. They even took him to the doctor, but his vocal cords were fine, he was just quiet… Very quiet.
But one day, while she tried to pull him away from staying in the darkness outside the house on the dense night, she was met with his first words.
\[Bitch]
Saying her heart hurt was an understatement. She always tried to make up for Raven's absence; she was her damn friend! And she did everything to care for their children, even while pregnant with Taiyang, who was already getting better.
But to see… this…
"Hm!"
Puffing, the boy who hid his face (—Always hid it beneath an old mask, she had never seen him without that rag, neither publicly nor in the bathroom.)
She stood there, frozen like a statue, while the child continued to look at the skies. It was as if every day he had to make sure the stars were there.
…
…..
After a few seconds taking a deep breath, she approached little Magsarion, this time, without trying to remove him, she simply sat beside him on the grass darkened by the night.
After a few seconds taking a deep breath, she approached little Magsarion, this time, without trying to remove him, she simply sat beside him on the grass darkened by the night.
Summer stayed there, rooted as if an old memory had planted her to the ground. The night wind played with the fringes of the dress she wore, carrying with it the scent of the forest and the faint perfume of dried herbs — an aroma that, for some reason, made her eyes sting more than they should.
Magsarion did not avert his gaze. Neither to her touch, nor to the sound of her breathing, nor to the words she uttered as one who plants seeds in stony soil. The old cloth that covered his face trembled only the slightest when Summer extended her hand and placed her fingers on the edge of the mask. It was cold like metal freshly taken from cans long buried; there was no human warmth there, only the cutting sensation of a void that creaked.
"I don't like it when you call me bitch. I think you could be more creative."
There was no aggression in the phrase, only an affectionate reprimand. It was enough to provoke something like a movement in the boy's body:
He raised his head just enough to stare at her. Those eyes beneath the mask, deep shadows, eyes that shone like the steel of a blade, contemplated the woman with curiosity devoid of affection. The closest thing to a human feeling Magsarion allowed himself at that moment was "surprise." Surprise at seeing a creature that did not scream nor try to destroy him at the same time. Surprise at not immediately feeling the stabbing rancor that fed his memories.
But still... irrelevant.
She settled beside him, barefoot, her feet touching the cold wood. She remained silent for a moment, letting the world echo, and Magsarion allowed it. Not because he understood the words—many were trivialities useless to someone who knew the end of the stars and of the Universe itself— but because there was a regularity in them, a human rhythm that was strange to him and, annoyingly, curious.
For the first time since he remembered the void, Magsarion felt a visceral need to measure celestial distances, to grant them order. It was, in a way, exactly the kind of obsession he had preserved for ages:
The desire to understand patterns, to trace a path and put an end to them.
Summer noticed that her stepson was in distress. Her hand gripped the edge of the fabric delicately, not to force, but to say: not today. And she spoke, as if telling a wounded animal that it should rest:
"You don't need to understand everything now. No one learns the universe all at once. Learn to breathe, learn to listen. If you need me, I'll be here. I don't promise or guarantee that everything will turn out right, but I'll stay." She took a deep breath, and a thread of laughter escaped. "And! As I said, you called me a bitch. I thought that was unnecessary. But I like kids with attitude."
The boy tried to replicate the hostility in response. But instead, he let out a low hiss that could be interpreted as a laugh or as a warning. It was almost funny — for him, for that empty core that resided in his soul, it was a mistake. Failures irritated him, and a small familiar failure provoked in him the same urge to return to the old means.
But the universe was no longer only death. There was here, for now, warmth, breath and names. Magsarion, inwardly, recognized that the thread that pulled him back to the Madou — the promise of destruction and Shinga's silent consent — still persisted. And that enraged him. Because now there was another dynamic, and it disturbed him:
something tenuous that contested his old Law.
In the end, it didn't matter. He would not deviate from his path. To do so would be the equivalent of suicide.