The universe starts and the universe ends and starts again only to end again. Thus the cycle continues, round and round for all of eternity. Myriad lives lived and lost, wars rage while empires rise and fall.
In one cycle, a man stepped outside and viewed the universe.
“From nothing came everything and from everything we return to nothing,” the man said. Looking up at the stars shining brightly in the night sky, the man smiled a bitter smile. “I wish to see what comes after the nothing. To step outside and watch the cycle of birth and rebirth.”
In pursuit of his dream the man did everything he could, journeying across the universe, building nations and empires, commanding worlds and bringing destruction upon all those who stood in his way.
Civilisations rose and fell. Knowledge was gained and knowledge was lost. Ages came and went and all that was left at the end was the man.
Finally, when he was old and grey with his eyesight failing him, he achieved his dream.
He stepped outside, looking up at the night sky. It was noticeably darker. The scars of his life painted far and wide for all to see. Shattered planets and collapsed stars.
He stepped...
A step forward...
A step into the sky...
A step through the stars...
To reach what lay beyond...
The beginning and the end...
Everything and nothing...
The endless cycle of creation and destruction...
And from here the man watched it all.
The joy and happiness, the pain and suffering, life and death.
Never the same people. Never the same lives. Infinite and varied in its expression.
The man smiled.
“At last!”
He had found what he had been looking for and for the first time he felt true joy. Joy of accomplishing his life’s desire, his only dream.
But in that moment he found a new desire. A desire to protect this cycle. The beauty that the universe brought with it, the life it bred within and its rebirth after its death.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Cycles passed, too many for any one person to count, and still the man watched over it.
In one cycle however, there came a woman. A woman who came from nothing and held no value to anyone. She peered into the abyss and saw the true nature of the universe; its never ending cycle. She resolved herself, declaring loudly for all to hear:
“I will bring the universe to its knees. To end it all and conclude this perpetual cycle of pain and suffering!”
The man kept watching. And while he could see all throughout the universe, he could not see everything at once.
Time passed and the woman grew older. Even though she had long past the flare of her youth and her hair was peppered with grey, her resolve had never weakened.
Looking up into the night sky, the tracks of her tears could be seen flowing all around. Those brave enough to go outside could see the history of the universe written in those tears.
Endless pain and suffering. Constant battle and collapsed civilisations.
She accomplished her goals and brought the universe to its knees. Prepared for her final act, she stepped outside and beyond the dead stars.
Finally the man saw. He saw the suffering and pain. The woman at the centre of it all, and he watched as she stepped outside.
“Do you hate it all?” asked the man.
“Yes,” replied the woman.
“What will you do now you are outside?”
“I will destroy it. It is what I promised myself to do and so I must fulfil my promise.”
“Then I must fulfil my own promise. To protect the cycle and watch over it. If you must destroy it, then I will simply have to kill you first.”
The woman was shocked. She had never expected this. Looking at this old man, this skeleton, she saw the resolve in his eyes and was reminded of herself. The willingness to do anything to accomplish your goal.
Firming her own resolve the woman replied for the final time, “If you would kill me, then I will show you no mercy.”
The first punch was thrown, signalling a battle through the heavens. A battle for the sake of all universes to come and the lives to be lived. A battle to end the suffering brought about by life.
There they fought, in a place outside but still within. There they fought for a time that can never be counted. A time so long that all the time the man had lived before was dwarfed by it.
They fought so long that they forgot why they were fighting. All they knew had become fighting. The cycles of the universes, a thing forgotten. Had they looked, they would have seen nothing. For the universe had not been reborn in so long. Their fight had destroyed it and the woman had completed all her goals.
But they did not see this. So absorbed in their fight were they, that they only saw each other and time continued to pass.
Both equally wounded and both equally exhausted, they knew the end was near. Their fires had been left sputtering. All that was left was the final blow before all the fuel ran dry.
A powerful strike came from both sides, strikes that could collapse galaxies.
Each smote the other down and as they were taking their last breath, they saw all destroyed around them.
Recalling her promise for the first time in a long time, the woman smiled a content smile. She had finished what she started and could die in peace.
Looking across at the man, she saw a single tear roll down his cheek before his eyes closed for the final time.
The cycles had ended with their battle. Neither knew what would follow as neither could be there to see it.
But something unexpected happened. Something that neither would have guessed in a million cycles.
From their dead bodies came new life.
A new universe, filled with gods and demons and ordinary people. With myriad worlds and an infinite starry sky.
In this place created from their deaths, sealed in the place outside, came new stories. The stories of the everyday and the adventures. The rise and fall of kingdoms and empires, of heroes and villains. Countless tales told and countless tales forgotten.
Life continued on with seemingly no end...