Point of View: Genesis
I gazed upon the landscape, feeling the wind brush against my skin.
Every breath was a reminder that I was alive.
The air flowed in and out of my lungs in a steady rhythm. My heartbeat pounded within my chest—something I had never experienced as a core.
"I can't believe I missed these sensations so much…" I murmured, a knot tightening in my throat.
As a core, none of this had mattered to me. But now I understood. These sensations reminded me that I was alive—that there was more to existence than energy and control.
Every breeze. Every sound of the forest. Every scent carried by the planet returned fragments of memories I had buried long ago.
I remembered my parents.
My mother's tenderness, playing chess with me during long rainy afternoons, patiently teaching me strategies with a smile that could brighten the entire room.
The days with my father, training in combat. His hands guiding mine. Correcting my mistakes firmly, yet always with warmth.
Family meals. Shared laughter. The simple joy of being together.
All of it flooded my mind. And with each memory, a sharp pain pierced my heart.
"I lost them… Dad, Mom… I truly lost them…" I whispered, tears sliding down my cheeks.
My body trembled. I distanced myself from Elena, unable to contain the surge of emotion. I did not want anyone to see my vulnerability. I had never liked showing tears—never in front of others.
But now, I couldn't stop them.
For hours, I remained in silence, letting the grief wash over me, forcing myself to remember everything I had lost.
Finally, I drew a deep breath and asked, my voice unsteady:
"What do I do now? Why should I struggle so hard if the people I love are no longer here?"
There were no easy answers. I could only see problems and challenges stretching across the horizon.
But as I stared into the distance, my consciousness connected more deeply with the core—and something within me shifted.
"It's true… I'm no longer human…" I murmured. "But that isn't a bad thing."
This form allowed me to release my soul from the core. To use a humanoid body as an avatar. To gain freedoms that were once impossible.
As I looked down at my clenched hands, I could feel power flowing through them.
"I am a planet. An Ascended. As a human, none of this would have been possible."
My voice filled with resolve.
And then my purpose emerged—clear and absolute.
"I will bring them back."
Determination overtook my voice.
My gaze lifted toward the stars, toward distant civilizations scattered across the cosmos. The universe, with all its laws and forces, had seen me as a threat. They believed themselves to be predators… and me, their prey.
My eyes turned cold, brimming with challenge and purpose.
"I wonder… am I trapped here with you?"
I clenched my fists, killing intent flickering in my gaze.
"Or are you the ones trapped here with me?"
If Death were conscious and capable of hearing me, I would politely ask it to return my parents.
But if it refused…
I would force it.
I would not stop. No one would have the power to prevent me from reclaiming them. No one.
I inhaled deeply, allowing every thought, every emotion, every memory to strengthen my resolve.
Every one of my mother's laughs. Every lesson from my father. Every lost embrace became fuel—fuel for my power, for my determination.
I needed to become stronger than the universe itself. Stronger than any civilization. So that nothing and no one could stand in my way.
I would not allow anything to stop me from reclaiming what I had lost.
With one final glance at the planet I now protected… I vanished.
Unbeknownst to me, my declaration resonated beyond the stars. It sent tremors through the threads of fate that bound every civilization together.
For a fleeting instant, the most powerful conscious beings in existence felt something shift—
A disturbance.
A silent warning.
The gem…
They all believed someone else possessed it. The strongest civilizations began preparing for war, convinced they had to secure it.
But it was not the gem that had awakened their alarm.
It was something else.
Someone else.
A being who would one day become the embodiment of their fears. The one who would force them to remain awake, vigilant, terrified.
He would be called by many names:
The Monstrosity.The Devourer of Worlds.
But one title rose above all others—
The Harbinger of Destruction.
Where he walked, life withered.Power bent before him.Even the universe itself stood powerless.
End of Volume 1