The Proposal

In the endless void, silence reigned. No sound, no movement—only stillness. Yet, there was life. Or something resembling it.

Suspended amidst countless galaxies, two figures existed in equilibrium.

The first, a towering, metallic construct, its angular form glinting with the faint light of far-off universes. Gears and circuits shifted beneath its translucent shell, creating a faint hum that reverberated through the void.

The second was a golden figure—a humanoid silhouette that pulsed with shifting light. Its face was smooth and featureless. Every flicker of its form seemed to press against the metal being, pushing, testing, teasing the balance between them.

The construct's voice broke the silence first, cold and measured.

"A game?"

Its tone carried doubt and skepticism woven into the monotone sound.

The golden man tilted its head, as though considering the question. Then came its response, smooth and tinged with amusement.

"That, or something simpler."

A ripple of golden light surged outward, brushing against the robotic entity's edges. The pressure increased—imperceptibly at first, then palpably so.

"Fighting to the death."

The construct shifted. Its edges sharpened, its internal mechanisms accelerating. Its voice came again, clipped and precise.

"Query—rules."

The golden figure did not immediately answer. Instead, its head tilted further, a grotesque smile spreading where no mouth should exist. The void seemed to warp in response, bending around the curvature of that alien expression.

"Rules?" it finally said, the smile widening further until it felt like the void itself might split.

Laughter—low, resonant, and dripping with malice—escaped from where the smile should have been. The sound danced between the stars, slipping through cracks in the frozen time.

"Oh, there will be rules," it said at last. Its golden glow intensified, swallowing fragments of light from the surrounding galaxies.

"But they won't be yours."

The pressure surged once more. The robotic being braced, gears clicking in rapid succession, yet the equilibrium held—for now.

All around them, the universes continued to spin in perfect suspension, oblivious to the brewing storm.