Cosmic War

As sudden as it began, the scenes stopped appearing in Endyr's left eye and everything returned to normal. Well, almost. 

Endyr fell to her knees, her head on the verge of exploding as the world spun around her. Since being reincarnated in Orvonia, she had encountered several mental backlashes: communicating with Eros in that pocket of Infinity, using the Split Double Skill, consuming the mutated remains of Marianne K'sthalt...Endyr was naturally attracted to anything related to Infinity, but each encounter also brought great pain and the danger of annihilation. Not too surprising, considering she was part "living" now. Since she was unable to separate what was Infinity and what wasn't, she was forced to bear the price of coming into contact with material hostile to anything other than itself. Infinity and the Grey Mass were the same, in that regard.

Remembering that...thing...caused a whole new wave of agony to swamp Endyr's soul. The one saving grace was that while it was just as painful as ever, this encounter wasn't as lethal as the previous ones. Her soul wasn't in too much danger this time around, though she was still unwilling to leave things to chance. Stirring up her personal connection to Infinity, she slowly calmed down the raging waves of energy and created some semblance of balance. And with the fragile peace, came thoughts.

What Endyr had just experienced was a lot to take in all at once, and she had to avoid focusing on certain things as she went. But thankfully her vessel had quite the computing capabilities, and she was rapidly able to organise her speculations into something legible. 'What I just saw...was almost definitely the life of that eye's owner. The birth and death of a special Abomination, one created to be above its kind and lead a new chapter in a never ending war. Unfortunately for it, fate seemed to have other plans. Who was that figure of light? The Almighty Primordial? No, they were similar in nature but ultimately different forms of power. I-or rather the Abomination-couldn't get a proper read on their Mana signature but there were distinct differences between the two.'

Endyr ran through all the figures she knew with the attributes that person held, and narrowed it down to only two possibilities. 'The figure used pure light, as in photons, rather than flames so its not Sol or a Fire Ascender...In all of history the only Light users that have been credited with such a level apart from the Almighty are Seraphic...and Allmer the Almighty.'

This ancient Deity was the most obscure and reverential amongst all the Orthodox Gods in Orvonia's history. Credited as the first God to have ever existed (excluding the Creator) "He" waged an everlasting war against "His" antithesis Abaddon, with the forces of Light and Dark colliding for centuries before the two Gods killed each other, creating a power vacuum and ushering in the Second Era. Since "He" ruled in the First Era, which took place tens of thousands of years ago, little to no actual texts remained of "Him". Only myths and legends created and passed down later were left to inform the modern people of "His" existence. Described as an Angel comprised of different coloured lights, "He" was the embodiment of all the good and graceful in the world. "His" description was very similar to the Almighty Primordial (who claimed to be Allmer's successor) but difference between "Him" and the Almighty Primordial was that the latter also possessed the Authority of Order, and apparently, Death.

Endyr automatically ruled out Seraphic as a candidate then because "He" was nowhere close in power to that figure of light. "His" power was only slightly inferior to the will of Orvonia itself, after all. 

'If that was truly Allmer, then the Abominations have plagued this world since the dawn of creation. Well, if Orvonia was built using a piece of my corpse as the foundation, then that would only be natural. Speaking of the Abominations...'

While it caused her migraines to spike upon thinking of it, Endyr forced herself to pay attention to the Grey Mass and what it represented. 'So that's where all Abominations come from, or the ones in Orvonia anyways. Some kind of hivemind, or collective lifeform formed from my dead cells? Heh, how does that make it any different from a cancer tumour? It doesn't seem to possess any mental capabilities beyond simply reproduction and directing the offspring...the individual Abominations seem slightly smarter in comparison. But still, its power was no joke. Even the Almighty and that person suspected to be Allmer were inferior to it. Wait a minute!'

Endyr narrowed her eyes as she remembered an incongruity. Looking over her shoulder at the slightly ajar door, she frowned. The pictures there depicted the Almighty fighting the Grey Mass, but from what she saw, it had already been barred from Orvonia in the First Era! 

'Either the Almighty stole Allmer's credit, or the Grey Mass breached the barrier between realities some time between the First and Second Era. Hmm, it could also have done so in the Third Era couldn't it? Why didn't I factor that in before?'

It seemed Endyr had unknowingly been influenced by the stories of how the Third Era was "blessed by eternal peace and tranquillity". She had subconsciously rejected the notion that such a calamitous being was active in the Golden Age of Humanity, despite experiencing first-hand that not everything in this time period was as great as the history books portrayed. 'So even in this form, I am being interfered with by my mortal processes?' she scowled at the realisation. Endyr was no longer as strictly opposed to the fact she was part Human, but the incongruity between her past and present selves was still an uncomfortable topic to face. 

At any rate, both Allmer and the Almighty Primordial fought against the Grey Mass and the Abominations, and Endyr suspected the Ancient Gods of the Second Era had done so too even if there was no records of it. In the face of the Abomination's burning hatred for everything to do with Mana, no differences or grudges were irreconcilable. She was sure even the Angels and Devils were forced to join hands at times to combat the Abominations' invasions. And speaking of invasions...

Endyr's thoughts went to the last scene that she had been shown: of the Infinite Universe tearing apart at the seams as something other forced its way in. And Endyr had a pretty solid guess as to what that other was: a Denizen of Infinity. 

Multiple, maybe. She hadn't recognised anyone in particular, but only a Denizen could command the fabric of Infinity so well. And only a Denizen would be brave enough to assault an entire Universe head on like that. She wasn't too surprised by their presence either: Eros and the System had both vaguely hinted that the other Denizens were seeking her out. Adding to the fact that the Infinity energy was making a beeline for Orvonia implied they were here for her. While the prospect of rescue would have normally made her very happy, she was unable to stifle the deep sense of unease within her. Maybe it was the audible scream of agony the Infinite Universe let out when the Denizen tore it apart, maybe it was the indiscriminate death and destruction that spread following the breach...or maybe it was the attitude of the Denizen invading.

As a Denizen herself, Endyr prided herself on being able to gauge the expressions and moods of other Denizens, even outside of Avatars. Granted, a Denizen's mood barely if ever fluctuated due to embodying a Concept so it wasn't hard to guess they were thinking, but the point stood. And what Endyr felt from that Denizen was not hope, happiness or relief...

But furious rage.

'I've been dead for System knows how long, so why the fuck would they be angry with me?!' Endyr's indignance rose at the injustice she was subjected to. She didn't know the reason (and doubted it was a good one anyways) but the other Denizens seemed a little displeased with her right now, so Endyr wasn't exactly in a hurry to greet them. 'Well as the saying goes, when someone is mad at you, just avoid them long enough for them to cool down.'

Quoting highly dubious advice, Endyr focused on the other aspects of the invasion. Such as the fact that the Infinite Universe seemed to be losing, and badly at that. In that brief first clash, countless galaxies had been shook and breached. Before the brutal force that was Infinity, the Infinite Universe was nothing more than a scantily clad lady walking down an alley at night.

She was slightly annoyed (and even miffed) that the Infinite Universe fell back so quickly since it was comprised from her body, but at the same time it was only natural. Endyr, no matter how much offensive power she possessed as the Denizen of Destruction, was only a single "individual". Against multiple Denizens, her defeat was guaranteed. For the Infinite Universe, which was only partially contracted from her body, defeat was the only realistic outcome. But that meant the future of all life within the Infinite Universe was similarly negative. 

If Orvonia truly was the goal of the Denizens, then everything between it and them was forfeit. Infinity would carve a bloody path straight to her, stopping for nothing in its path. And that's not even factoring in the actual Denizens and anyone else who snuck through the cracks. If the Main Universe had not changed on a fundamental level, then countless Gods and Celestials would be pillaging the Infinite Universe for all its worth. 

'Wait a minute...If the barrier between the Main and Infinite Universes was broken in the First Era, which was over ten thousand years ago, then Infinity should have reached Orvonia already. So why aren't they here yet?'

From the scenes she saw, the Infinite Universe was completely overpowered in the initial clash. If nothing changed, then Infinity and the Main Universe should have claimed victory by now, or at least reached this planet. Either Infinity lost its momentum somewhere along the line, the Infinite Universe managed to get its shit together...or Orvonia itself was more special than she thought. 

"System, what are the World Coordinates of Orvonia" Endyr asked seriously, her tone cold. 

[...Reliable Coordinates cannot be provided at the moment, Host. Nor can they ever be given, if the situation does not change.]

"You mean...?"

[Orvonia is not stationary. It is being shuttled around the Infinite Universe, from one uninhabited star system to another. Every time the forces of Infinity or the Main Universe gets close, Orvonia is moved further away. If not for that, we would have already reached this world in the early Third Era, if not earlier. This is also why natives cannot leave the planet: there is a special membrane in place to protect the planet from cosmic radiation and storms during transit. In such an environment, even Gods cannot survive.]

'Well, that explains the strange attitude of the Gods here' Endyr thought to herself. The political climate here was indeed quite strange. There was irreconcilable hatred between the camps of Gods, yet "They" never made too many moves against each other. Apart from the occasional catastrophe, there was almost no direct conflict. Now Endyr knew the reason why, or rather, reasons. 

The first was likely to keep the Abominations, and that Grey Mass, under control. With no sole authority figure like the Almighty around anymore, Orvonia was forced to rely on quantity over quality. The second was also simple: since "They" were all trapped on this world anyways, there was no point in constantly fighting each other. 

Before Endyr could ponder on any more topics, her instincts screamed danger. Whirling around, she was met with the sight of the door swinging closed. Standing before it was a man in a simple black robe with silver linings, his face covered by shadows as dark as his long hair. And beside him was an androgynous figure comprised of pure light.

The Almighty and God of Death had arrived.