Year 3100.
Civilization had spread faster than wisdom.
Humanity and its allied species no longer lived on planets—they governed solar systems. Borders were drawn by gravity wells, economies powered by stars, and peace enforced through technology so advanced that war had become a historical concept.
The universe was stable.
Then it broke its silence.
The event came without warning.
Across every inhabited system, space itself ignited with unbearable brightness. Not heat. Not radiation. Light, pure and absolute, flooding reality as if the universe remembered its beginning.
For seven seconds, time hesitated.
Then—
a Second Big Bang unfolded.
It was silent. Controlled. No galaxies collapsed, no stars were erased. But something deeper changed. The laws that defined matter, energy, and force were rewritten beneath familiar reality.
When the light faded, existence looked normal.
It wasn't.
Within weeks, reports emerged from across the cosmos. Individuals manipulating fire, water, stone, wind—elements answering not to machines, but to will. Gravity distortions. Matter reshaping.
Power had entered the biological world.
And then came the anomaly that froze the universe in fear.
Dark matter—long untouchable, unobservable—had been controlled.
By one being.
---
Twelve Years After the Light
The Universal Summit convened in emergency session.
The Axis Chamber existed beyond conventional space, suspended in a null dimension where physics obeyed consensus rather than law. Representatives from dominant solar systems materialized one by one, taking their positions around a circular assembly of hovering light.
No ceremonial openings.
No formal greetings.
Only a rotating galactic map filled the chamber.
Large regions were dark—entire star systems extinguished of communication, movement, or life signatures.
Brad Walter, representative of the Solar System, was the first to speak.
"These sectors fell without resistance."
Beside him stood Mr. Shubash Chottopadhyai, his gaze sharp and unmoving.
"No explosions. No debris. This is not destruction. This is occupation."
From Alpha Centauri, Kev X Bow stepped forward, cybernetic eyes scanning the projection.
"Our fleets never engaged. Gravity collapsed before contact."
Hila-Sen added quietly, "Dark matter waves. Confirmed."
A heavy silence settled.
From Luhman 16, Horsan K91 folded his armored arms.
"This enemy does not fight battles."
Doka 871, the artificial intelligence entity beside him, continued seamlessly.
"It ends civilizations mathematically."
More voices joined the chamber:
Zarek Omn — Sirius System
Iyra Lune — Vega Prime
Commander Tael Rho — Proxima Belt
Mira Solace — Andromeda Reach
Vorn-7 — Kepler Union
Ashkaar Rel — Tau Ceti
Dr. Niven Holt — Arcturus Authority
Sera Quon — Helios Fringe
Kael Morrix — Voidborne Colonies
The map shifted again.
A single origin point pulsed red.
ROXs 42.
The exoplanet Hola-Kash.
Mira Solace spoke the truth none wanted to accept.
"The prince of Hola-Kash."
Silence confirmed recognition.
"He can control dark matter," Mr. Shubash said. "Directly. Absolutely."
Kev X Bow clenched his fist.
"No weapon has reached him."
"No element responds," added Hila-Sen.
"And antimatter destabilizes before contact."
The red vectors expanded outward from ROXs 42—planned routes, systematic, precise.
"This is not chaos," Brad Walter said.
"This is conquest."
Voices rose. Strategies were proposed—elemental corps, antimatter cannons, gravitational collapse traps.
Every plan failed.
One by one.
Doka 871 delivered the final verdict.
"Projected success rate against the Prince of Hola-Kash: zero point three percent."
The chamber fell silent.
Fear—not panic—settled in. The cold, rational fear of extinction.
Dr. Niven Holt spoke carefully.
"If the expansion continues unchecked—"
"—the universe will fall," Ashkaar Rel finished.
No one disagreed.
For the first time since civilization ascended the stars, the representatives of the universe had no solution.
Only one certainty remained.
The Light that changed everything had also unleashed something unstoppable.
And the cosmos now stood at the edge of a war it could not win.