~Prologue: The End (Hope)~

No one was left after the battle ended.

My comrades - no. My loved ones, all either incinerated or immortalized in stone by a spiteful god. The silence was overwhelming. I flew as far away as I could possibly get, though it was impossible to judge distance in this now infinite blackness. I looked back at the decimated remains of my friends, the last standing universe, and then finally the multiverse. 

All of it was dead. 

Gone seemingly for good.

I kept going. I flew into space for what felt like quadrillions of lightyears. Time had lost all meaning now that there was nothing to anchor it in. I didn’t care how long it took, anyways. 

The further I flew, the less it mattered to my heart that I maintain the mortal appearance I’d chosen to be on Earth. That planet was gone now; there was no need for jogging shoes and leggings anymore. There was nowhere to run.

Only one thing mattered now.

Once I had traveled what I considered a safe distance, I finally removed my cupped hands from my chest. The glimmer from the tiny amber seed illuminated all around me. I shed several tears, them bubbling away in the lack of gravity. 

Here alone in the void stood the last hope. 

Hope for a new beginning. For there to exist life and substance beyond what had been left behind by my nemesis. For me to have any chance to bring my friends back.

I let loose the seed from my hands. It drifted elegantly down below my feet, gaining speed and rotation as it fell. The tears I shed were pulled into it, brilliant light building lighter and brighter. Suddenly the seed burst apart, exploding into thick strands of gold and amber. They crept down below into the dark and swelled upwards into great sweeping branches. The gigantic shining tree stood immensely before me, I couldn't help but smile for the first time since long before that monster appeared. Small, shining orbs of various colors sprouted from the canopy - each one, a unique universe. 

At the base of the tree’s massive trunk, a much larger gold light swelled and took form. This would be my very own universe; to start a new history and chance for humanity. As brand new as it was, there was nothing I could do for it yet. The chemical soup inside was so immensely hot, it broke physics itself.

I waited billions of years, all for this universe to become ready for my arrival.

Once my time came, I dove in without hesitation. 

The universe was chaotic; full of energy and light and expanding at speeds much greater than I could comprehend. I let go of staying in my fixed position, allowing the expansion to carry me along.  

 
I began my work. Summoning my immense power and harnessing the elements around me, I began to form a galaxy similar to how I could remember the milky way galaxy. I tugged and pulled on the energies, swirling and condensing them into stars, making sure for a G-type star to form with eight planets orbiting around it. Far enough away from the core of the galaxy to keep the solar system safe from any interstellar interference. 

Once my time came, I dove in without hesitation. The universe was chaotic; full of energy and light and expanding at speeds much greater than I could comprehend. I let go of staying in my fixed position, allowing the expansion to carry me along.

All of the ingredients for the same type of life that earth had contained were there, I made sure of it. All that was left to do was to sit back and watch it develop. I was going to be the one to guide this planet. I would be its protector, its creator, and its Goddess.

For billions of years, I waited. With gentle guidance from myself, life began to form on a small rocky world far enough away to maintain liquid water oceans. This life I would make sure went through similar phases to that of Earth. I watched as the planet walked from the Cambrian explosion, to the Triassic. But once the dinosaurs were gone, mammals began to rise once again. It was here that it became apparent how the subtle differences the planet had from earth had on the evolution of its life. 

I let life take its course, for my influence at this stage was minimal. 

Species unlike anything I had ever seen on Earth branched off from each other; Birds the size of airplanes, sea monsters akin to skyscrapers, humanoids that could fly and live underwater. It was truly astounding. 

I knew that it was only a matter of time before he found it. Before he tried to rip it all away from me again. But this time, I wouldn't be caught unprepared.

I would plant the seed of power within members of this planet's inhabitants that showed great promise. They would develop the power, make it their own, something unique from its source. Thus, becoming all the more powerful to face the darkness that lurked mere billions of light years away.

When the time came, they would be the ones to heed the call to duty, and stand by my side.

For the first time in billions of years, I truly knew what excitement felt like. And I couldn’t wait to see the endless possibilities for the new history of this planet and it’s diverse peoples.

~*~