Millions of years passed peacefully within the Garden of Eden.
What began as a home for Gaea and me had grown into a paradise that stretched across the young Earth. Forests flourished, seas expanded, and countless forms of life prospered under our care.
And throughout the cosmos, a name began to spread.
The Five Elder Gods.
Together, we ruled the First Age.
I, Aetherion, the Primordial God of Balance and Life.
Gaea, the Mother Goddess and Guardian of Earth.
Chthon, the Keeper of Knowledge and Mysteries.
Set, Lord of the Seas and Beasts.
Oshtur, Lady of Magic and Wisdom.
Though we possessed powers beyond imagination, we ruled not through fear, but through harmony.
For ages beyond counting, peace endured.
Set often wandered the oceans, creating mighty creatures that would one day become legends.
Oshtur taught the secrets of magic to the spirits born upon Earth.
Gaea nurtured all living things like a loving mother.
And Chthon...
Chthon sought knowledge.
At first, it was harmless.
He wished to understand creation.
To discover the secrets hidden beyond reality.
I often accompanied him during our discussions.
"You think too much, little brother," Set would laugh.
"And you think too little," Chthon would reply with a smile.
Even I found amusement in their endless arguments.
But slowly...
Something changed.
Chthon became distant.
He spent more time alone.
His curiosity grew into obsession.
One day, I found him staring into a crack in reality itself.
"Brother?" I asked.
He quickly turned around.
"Aetherion."
His smile was unchanged.
Yet something felt wrong.
"What are you doing?"
"Searching for answers."
"There are things older than us."
"Older than the stars."
"Older than creation."
I frowned.
"There are some mysteries best left untouched."
Chthon merely nodded.
But his crimson eyes lingered upon the void.
Unknown to us all...
Something gazed back.
Deep within the endless darkness beyond existence...
A presence stirred.
Not Galactus.
Not Eternity.
Not Death.
But something far older.
Oblivion.
The Primordial Entity of Nothingness.
A being born alongside existence itself.
Unlike the cosmic abstracts, Oblivion existed to ensure that all things eventually returned to the void.
And as it observed Chthon's endless thirst for knowledge...
It smiled.
For millions of years, the entity whispered into his dreams.
Offering answers.
Revealing forbidden truths.
Tempting him with secrets no being was meant to know.
At first, Chthon resisted.
But little by little...
The whispers grew stronger.
One evening, as the five of us gathered beneath the World Tree in Eden, Set laughed loudly over one of Oshtur's stories.
Gaea smiled peacefully beside me.
Everything felt perfect.
Then I noticed Chthon.
He was smiling.
But his shadow...
Wasn't.
For a brief moment, the darkness behind him formed two glowing eyes.
Ancient.
Endless.
Hungry.
And a voice echoed within the void.
"Soon."
"My child."
The eyes vanished.
But unease filled my heart.
For the first time since the birth of our family...
I felt fear.
And far beyond the stars, hidden within the endless abyss...
Oblivion opened its eyes.
The corruption of Chthon had begun.
To Be Continued...