The Two Celestials

In the beginning, there were two Celestials, who found themselves trapped in an unending war. These Celestials were beings of unimaginable scale who roamed the dark, empty void, battling each other. As the aeons passed, the Celestials discovered new ways to turn the tide of battle. They discovered that they could shape the void they lived in into matter. They began to build, shaping the void into an arsenal of weaponry meant only for destruction. The battle raged on for an era. On the final day, these two titans fought. Infused with immeasurable power, they collided with unstoppable force, and were flung to opposite sides of the universe, finding themselves alone for the first time in eternity.

The two Celestials found themselves lost. In a universe of infinite scale, it would be an immeasurable feat for the Celestials to find each other once again, but not impossible. They both knew that they would have a long time until they next saw each other, so they elected to spend some time discovering new ways to manipulate the fabric of space in the pursuit of destruction. Soon, both celestials discovered that they could manifest much smaller versions of themselves who would obey commands, forming an army to fight alongside them. Upon forming these creatures, the Celestial Ruuta developed a fascination with them. She quickly decided that she would build a city for her creatures, an incredible empire where they could develop as they wished, and so she created.

Society began peacefully, with every citizen receiving adequate nourishment from Ruuta herself, and blossoming. With the building blocks they had received, the citizens erected statues to Ruuta, as a thank you for bringing them into existence. Ruuta noticed, and she began to feel compassion towards her, now, prized creation. As society grew, it became self-sufficient, leaving Ruuta free to create further. Ruuta was sad that her society had outgrown her, but the thought of her society working itself left her heart singing.

One day, a member of this society found something strange. An orb of sorts, one that the society had no way to catalogue, and no way to understand. The orb quickly worked its way up the society’s chain of command, until it reached someone who was able to summon Ruuta. Ruuta arrived, upset. She had attempted to create other versions of the society, but none had risen as fruitfully as the first. The orb was sent to Ruuta, who quickly identified the object as one of the other Celestial’s weapons of war. Ruuta elected to not alert the society of this discovery, instead deceiving them into thinking it was nothing more than debris.

Tannkor, the other Celestial, spent his time finding creative ways to discover the location of Ruuta. He created creatures too, but Tannkor’s were built with a fire in their hearts. They were born with the sole purpose of ending Ruuta’s existence. Tannkor continued building for an epoch, sending waves upon waves of scouts to find Ruuta, while building a supply of hardened warriors. Eventually, one of his scouts was reported missing. Tannkor wasted no time in mobilizing his army, commanding his endless legion in glorious battle.

Ruuta had continued trying to recreate her first society, with varying levels of failure. As Tannkor marched through the void, Ruuta could feel his presence approaching, but was unaware of Tannkor’s legion. As he came into view, Tannkor stood proud, as he had achieved victory in his quest to reignite the battle. But Ruuta did not wish to continue. Ruuta had found her peace in creation, despite her best efforts failing. Ruuta showed Tannkor her society, hoping that he, too, would find that compassion. He was disgusted. Tannkor commanded his army to invade Ruuta’s civilization. The next moments were brief, but swift, as the army moved in to eliminate the enemy, and end their peace.

Ruuta tried to defend her people, but was unsuccessful. Tannkor’s resolve proved stronger, and Ruuta had never considered a need for defence before now. Now driven by revenge, Ruuta sprung into battle, fighting Tannkor with the most primal of forces, destroying the remains of her city in the process. As Tannkor laughed, his army began to strike, dealing heavy damage to Ruuta. Outnumbered, and with no desire for battle remaining, Ruuta decided her only recourse was to defend herself, shrouding herself in an impenetrable bulwark, to mourn.

Several eras passed, and Ruuta had almost fully healed from her loss, when she heard commotion outside her bulwark, unlike that of the sound of Tannkor. Ruuta couldn’t understand what she was hearing, and the desire to discover once again burned inside of her. She lowered her bulwark, and saw a sprawling city surrounding her. The city was unlike anything she had seen before, and had progressed far beyond the bounds of Ruuta’s original civilization. Confused, but optimistic, Ruuta approached one of the citizens of this society, and asked about their history. The citizens claim there was another being, like Ruuta, who guided their civilization through early history, and left once they were self-sufficient. For the first time in an aeon, Ruuta found herself smiling. Only one other being in the entire universe matched that description.

Ruuta found herself learning about this new civilization, where they had come from, how they had developed, and how they had been so successful. When Ruuta was satisfied she had enough knowledge, she decided she would leave this civilization and attempt another of her own creations. Except, when Ruuta left the society, she was immediately greeted by another. Once again she took the time to learn, and leave, but she encountered yet another. Ruuta continued gleefully, learning as much as she could from each society she visited.

Eventually, Ruuta encountered a society far less developed than the rest. She asked about their civilization, but the citizens refused to talk to Ruuta, as she was unknown and untrustworthy. Quickly, word about Ruuta’s arrival began to spread among this undeveloped civilization, and up the chain of command until it reached the society’s leader. Still confused as to the nature of the universe now, Ruuta’s attention was stolen by Tannkor, as he made his presence known. Scared, Ruuta elected to shroud herself from Tannkor’s gaze, but Tannkor quickly saw through the ruse. He approached Ruuta, far more calmly than on their last meeting. Tannkor gently reached out to Ruuta, encouraging Ruuta to reach out back. Ruuta had finally understood. This was the universe Tannkor had built, and Ruuta smiled.