The Archivist's story unfolded in their minds.
Aetheria had not fallen to a cataclysm; it had achieved its ultimate goal.
In its pursuit of perfect order and an end to all conflict, it had developed a magic to silence chaos—which, to them, was all life, all emotion, all free will.
They had successfully stilled their own empire, creating a utopia of perfect, eternal peace in stasis.
But the Archivist, the spell's creator, had realized a flaw.
His perfect silence was not contagious.
The noisy, chaotic, living world outside remained.
So he slept, conserving his power, waiting for the rest of the world to magically evolve to a level where his "Great Silence" could be cast on a global scale.
The awakening of the Abyssal Core and its subsequent silencing had been that catalyst—a massive surge of chaotic energy followed by a profound quiet that had stirred him from his slumber.
"Your world is a cacophony," his thought-voice echoed.
"A disease of wanting, of feeling, of changing. I will cure it. I will give it the peace we gifted ourselves.
Your struggle against the abyss proved your potential. Now, you will be the first citizens of the new, silent Esteria."