Prologue: The End

I see nothing. Even if I open my eyes, what exists before me is nothing. My back is on the ground facing the sky, or what used to be one. I feel the surface I am laying on, so rough and coarse. I remember that I lay on the ashes of a dead world. Not a single sound can be heard from this planet. I survey the horizon for anything that catches my eye. Nothing. not a single thing. The mountains have been swallowed by the earth, the seas dried up, and the sky laid with a permanent bleak color. This universe is dying, eroded to its base matters, degrading into nothingness. I stare at the dark void that will consume this doomed universe, which will eventually consume me. I sit up from the ashes knowing that my demise will come too. Not because this universe will end, but the fact that I myself am dying. I brush the ashes from my war-torn coat, each rip and tear from past conflicts. I have faced numerous foes, faced calamities similar to this, yet I am powerless on my own death.

I shift my posture, sitting up and looking at my gauntlets. It has a dark greyish, metallic tone to it, with slits to allow flexible movement. On the top of my hand lays a blue energy source, a circle, that resonates with whatever energy it has left. As I power up my gauntlets, I feel its faint vibration across my skin. These gauntlets have survived the tests of time, allowing me to harness my power efficiently. Having faced numerous foes and withstood countless battles, it now stays handy and reliable by my side. I used them for so long they could be considered a part of me. Now, it holds the rest of my power that hasn't been used up. Focusing on the blue source on my hand, I ask, "Gauntlet how much longer do I have?". "Energy stored is near 5%" it replies. I sigh to myself, "Just enough for one last guest".

Just as I stand up straight, a black cloud emerges. It comes towards me as I observe more of its details. It has a coarse and rough look like the ash, and it is jet black in color. It looks similar to gnats flying together Like a hive of dark grains of sand floating around. It then approaches closer, with a visage of a face emerging from the dark cloud. In contrast to its body, his face was pale and white, made up of the same material from its body. It was grinning, looking at me as if I was some wounded animal ready for a predator to tear me apart. From there, I recognized who this being was in front of me. "Obscurion" I announced, swatting the ashes of my coat. you can slide this in subtly later on mystery!, A being that may look like he's made of smoke and dust, but those particles he's composed of are like a swarm of thermites that can destroy anything in his vicinity.

"I didn't think your grainy ass has survived this long!" His grin changes into a scowl. "Good", I think to myself, I still piss him off. "I vowed that I would be present at the demise of your miserable existence!" Obscurion growled, "And I will make sure that it is me who ends it" I laugh at him at his pride and ego. Although he displays himself as large and intimidating, I can still sense that he too is at the end of his power. you say this in the next paragraph already

"It's so cute how you would use the rest of your power just to see me, if anyone was alive, they would call it romantic." Obscurion's face continues to contort, face full of rage. "I do not have any love for the one who has reduced me to this dastardly state" he replies. "I have come not only to kill you but to steal the rest of the dimensional energy that still resides in your feeble body!" Obscurion has altered his form, displaying violent and malicious intent. I stand up straight facing him. Knowing how dangerous it would be to steal the rest of my energy, I keep myself on guard. If he gets his dusty hands, feet, or whatever he uses to grab things, on the rest of my dimensional energy, not only will he revert back to his original, powerful state, but he can also travel to other universes, doing God knows what he wants to do. Something along the line of evil and chaos.

"Well, if you really want the rest of my dimensional power, you still need to come across the most obvious obstacle to your path to ultimate power," I say to him with utmost confidence. Acting as if I can still take him one with my current level will most probably piss him off. "Countless times I have beaten you within an inch of your life over and over again" I mock him. "I remember how I turned your body into multiple, minuscule fragments that look like wet sand. Oh wait you still are!"I watch as Obscurion's face flare up, full of uncontained anger towards me. His anger continues to cloud his judgment, only focusing on what he would do to me. "Even in this pathetic body, I can still win against you, and once I take your power, no one can stop me." he cackles. " Now show me your dying spirit and face your end".

I watch him flaunt his pride and assurance, believing himself to be the conquerer of this nonexistent battle. He sees all of this as if he declared checkmate in an undecided chess game. The fool. We have yet to reach the endgame "Well, the thing is", I reply with a smirk, "I'm not fighting to keep my power, I'm fighting so that nobody deals with looking at that ugly haircut". I watch as his face changes from a confident grin to a confused look, questioning himself on what other options I have. "What other options does a cornered animal in danger have other than to fight and die?" he demands. As I watch him ponder over the situation, I smile. "If someone is cornered, all they have to do is open a portal," I say as my gauntlet surges to life, creating a dimensional rift.

The ground then starts to shake violently. The energy used to create a tear in space and time has just sped up the end of this dying universe. Yet, it has been more alive than it has ever been in a while. The sound of stars exploding again and again, the ground cracking and spouting magma residue that is still left on the planet. With the combined sound and spectacle, you could say that I'm giving this universe its very last concert. Normally, with more power, opening a portal would have been more delicate and less world-ending, but right now I am running on reserves. All of this destruction only to avoid letting Obscurion have the satisfaction of taking the rest of my power. Stars are going supernova, the planet's core starts to overheat, and in the end, only two beings exist, outwitting each other before all goes to hell.

"Fool! Obscurion roars as he tries to hold on to his weakened form, "It is not big enough for you to escape me!" I reply to him with a smile from cheek to cheek, "Well, the thing is, I'm not going through that portal, these are". I show him the gauntlets, removed from my hands, ready to be thrown into this rip in reality. My gauntlets can naturally harvest energy from the universe in harmless amounts, albeit very slowly. I did not know where these gauntlets would end up in. They could be given to like-minded individuals, to tyrants, warlords, or psychopaths but keeping the rest of my power away from Obscurion is enough for me.

As I throw my gauntlets away, I can see Obscurion change form. From his giant menacing cloud, he has turned himself into a wisp of smoke. In his desperation, he chose to become weaker just to follow my power into a new universe. As the tear in space repairs itself, the world has become as quiet as it was during its creation. Before Obscurion tried to take the rest of my powers. Before I woke up from nothingness, I spent years in this universe to keep my powers away from anyone who desires it.

In this brief moment of everlasting death, my life flashed before my eyes. cliche, isn't it, how you remember all those memories, from your past, from choices to regrets and failures. I wondered how my life came to this. I acted as a hero, saving those who couldn't and wouldn't be saved. I was alone in this crusade, fighting for good until I found love in a special person. In the end, I pushed her away, in fear of the danger that I bring to them. Near the end of this life, I can still remember her voice. I remember how soothing and bright it felt, the calm tone she had, and how it made me feel like and can fight the world, or even the universe. As I slowly slip into eternal death, I still remember her last words to me, before left. "No matter how powerful you are, you can never carry the world alone, Arthur".