107 Metamorphosis (1/2)
It spoke a phrase in an ancient tongue forgotten to the world.
Originally, the ancient tongue had been one of a certain race's greatest achievements, one that united the whole cosmos together in rapturous celebration. A race that once ruled their multiverse and gone beyond their limits in pursuit of Peace, Love, Justice, and Liberty.
They had found the beating heart of their universe, the Source of all Things. In simpler terms, they had found… God — the creator of their reality.
It was to be their defining moment, the culmination of all that they had labored and struggled for in the name of peace.
Born in a universe rife with trials and tribulations, they had overcome the impossible odds pitted against them with the grace of their beloved God.
An everlasting era of peace and prosperity reigned across the stars under their careful guidance. With their transcendent knowledge and wisdom, they set out to destroy life's burdens — Sickness, Poverty, Hatred and even Death.
They had delivered Salvation to a weary multiverse with their own hands — one planet at a time until their work was done.
With their mastery concerning the matter of the soul and their profound understanding of the underlying mechanics that governed the world, they created a solution to solve all future conflict — The Elder Speech.
A language formed from the union between the Soul of Man and the World. Henceforth, people would converse with one another on a level deeper than ever before.
No longer could people be misunderstood or lie to each other — all was laid bare before those who heard and spoke the Elder Speech. It was designed at heart to facilitate understanding between individuals and the world.
The Elder Speech connected the hearts of all beings, granting them an unfiltered, undistorted view of everything. They were free.
Having done all they could for their home, they set out for greater heights. They wished to meet their creator and seek pursuits beyond the confines of their multiverse. It was known to them that other creations, other worlds existed with the Vast Outside. Worlds that they could help, and uplift with their power. A new purpose for them.
So they decided that they would meet with their creator and ask for its help, as they could not bridge the gap between multiverses in the Vast Outside. It was a lawless, chaotic plane of emptiness that threatened anything imbued with the concepts of Order and Law.
They, who had followed the path of the virtuous, gathered the brightest minds across their multiverse for this venture to meet the Creator.
Assembled, the wisest sages, scholars, and thinkers of the multiverse eventually, after an eon of research, succeeded.
They entered the Domain of God, the White Shore, at the end of eternity.
And there, at the atelier of their creator, they found...
The revelation was too much to bear for them. Even worse, the truth had spread across the multiverse in an instant because of the connection due to the Elder Speech. It could not be hidden, nor denied.
Hundreds of trillions of living beings simultaneously experienced the event at the same time across the multiverse.
Then, a single phrase was uttered by an unknown soul and it soon took hold in the hearts of the people.
That phrase was...
”Hope is the cruel harbinger of Despair.”
It was the embodiment of their collective suffering and it very quickly infected their hearts and minds. Changed them. And then, it gave them a new purpose...
The Infested Pupa, in the middle of its life cycle, had finally grasped the meaning of the phrase it had been taught by its masters. Only those who had come to understand the truth would be allowed to reach their full potential and now… the time had come for it to follow in its masters' footsteps.
A deafening howl of grief silenced all on the battlefield and froze them in place. It commanded obedience and demanded it from Infested and Men alike. The distinction no longer mattered to it anymore.
The Infested shivered in terror when they heard the howl and then, in a stunning act that shocked everyone, stopped fighting. They no longer bothered with the enemy and marched toward the edge of the abyssal chasm in silence.
Millions of Infested gathered at the edge of the deep, pitch-black chasm and then... bowed their heads.
It left everyone speechless — never had they seen the Infested demonstrate such refined behavior before. They had always been little more than mindless abominations with an ending thirst for violence.
Velvund felt his heartbeat erratically for the first time in nearly a millennium as he observed the almost lifelike display of emotion on the Infested horde's faces.