Epilogue

Although eons had passed, multiple worlds were created and destroyed, and the universe had gone through many transitions of endings and beginnings, one world remained constant throughout it all.

Endora was a world shrouded in mystery, and none of the beings born in any cycle have been able to uncover its secrets. In each cycle, creatures of varying power and technology levels attempted to explore the mysterious planet, but few who dared venture into its orbit were ever heard from again.

Unbeknownst to the inhabitants of the vast universe, the planet was home to the most powerful beings in the universe. Not restricted to the inside of the planet, these entities would often explore the outer universe, and when they did, they would always leave their mark on the world.

Some would seek newly born civilizations and take it upon themselves to become their guides, resembling goddesses in showing them how to harness the world's energy.

Some would walk among them as any other mortal but occasionally call upon their divine powers to aid those who needed it.

And some would wipe out entire worlds or stars on a whim.

Although they had varying ways of engaging with the world, these entities all shared many similarities. They were all women, all-powerful, and all disappeared shortly after their appearance. Still, what allowed the people of each cycle to link these women to one another was a constant name, or title, that would leave their lips.

The God Emperor.

The combination of the title of The God Emperor and the beautiful visage of those women made them revered as goddesses in most cultures, resulting in a constant religion surfacing in each cycle.

The influence and impression the goddesses had on the world were so profound that even after many cycles of renewal and rebirth, their presence could not be fully erased from the collective memory and consciousness, with newborn beings in every cycle dreaming of their beautiful faces and expression, carving them into wood or sand and worshipping them from the moment of their birth.

The cycling universe was forever changed with the introduction of a new constant alongside Endora - a religion.

At the center of the World of Gods, as Endora was eventually called, Seth was completely unconcerned about the outside world’s opinions, habits, or occurrences.

Seth's days were filled with an abundance of love, peace, and warmth, and he found himself in the presence of his wives, parents, and daughter.

Seth was certain that the Sovereign had comprehended that his story had come to an end, and there would be no effort to seek him out or disrupt his life, even after thousands of years had passed. Yet, all of that changed on that fateful day when the destruction he had spread around the edge of Endora was suddenly and unexpectedly split apart.

Seth slowly raised his head from the comforting warmth of Maya's lap and gazed into the face of someone he hadn't seen in ages.

“What brings you here, Sovereign?”

The Sovereign remained quiet for an extended period of time, and Seth could see his face was filled with a range of conflicting emotions until the Sovereign lowered his head and said softly, “You are determined not to change your mind….”

“You’re right,” replied Seth indifferently, grabbing Maya’s hand. “I’ve found my peace here, Sovereign.”

The Sovereign bowed his head slightly and pressed his lips together, his voice carrying a hint of sadness as he said, “I am here to plead you grand me peace as well.”

Seth raised an eyebrow and, being able to read between the lines, asked, “You want me to kill you?”

“I do… millions of cycles have passed, and I’m no closer to finding a way home than I was at the start. As you have told me all those years back… I’m tired, Seth. My people have most likely already died as well. Let me join them at last…”

As Seth felt Maya’s gentle grip on his hand, he turned to face her, offered a warm, reassuring smile, and said, “Don’t worry.”

After reassuring Maya, he rose to his feet and took a few steps closer to the Sovereign, maintaining eye contact as he enquired, “Are you sure about this?”

Not offering a response right away, the Sovereign merely closed his eyes, allowing for a cluster of data to exit his chest and drift in front of Seth.

“You should understand by now what this means…”

Upon seeing the vast amount of broken data chains, Seth could comprehend why the Sovereign had made such an odd request of him.

“You’re dying,” said Seth, not yet moving to destroy the Sovereign’s core.

“Worse… I’m losing who I am. The data forming my consciousness had already been corrupted, eating away at me… well, this is to be expected… humans were never created to live even a fraction of my age….”

Seth let out a long, heavy sigh as he nodded his head, slowly raising his hand and conjuring up a small yet powerful orb of destruction.

“Goodbye, Sovereign,” said Seth, moving his destruction to consume the data chains. The Sovereign’s projection vanished instantly, the data strings quickly dissipating with no trace left behind.

Seth, seemingly unaffected by the situation, turned around and nestled back into Maya’s lap, but as someone who had been by his side for so many years, Maya could sense that something was wrong and inquired, “Is everything okay?”

Seth opened his eyes again, turning to the anxious Maya and giving her a reassuring smile. “I just found myself wondering for a moment if I made the right decision in not helping him… them. I’ll be alright, don’t worry.”

The expression on Maya’s face softened, and she leaned in to kiss Seth’s forehead with affection.

“I have confidence in your judgment, and you should too. I also know the others are all content with that decision. We’re all happy you chose us over everything else.”

Seth nodded and shut his eyes, letting Maya mess with his hair, but a twinge of pain was still in his chest. Not because of his choice but because he had recognized something in the Sovereign’s data core and had to lie to Maya about it. Corrupted data.

‘System, show me a virtual representation of my data core.’

Even though his eyes were shut, a data core similar to the Sovereign’s appeared in his vision, one of its links having changed from blue to black.

‘How many did I sever until now, system?’

<This would be the 2631st data chain that had been corrupted. The speed between each corruption also appears to be increasing. >

‘How long until… until I lose myself?’

<Inconclusive, but it should not happen in the following few eons. >

‘Any solution yet?’

<Negative, but I’ve scanned the Sovereign’s core under your destruction of his links, and I’m sure now. If there’s any place holding the solution to this issue, it should be The Outside. >

‘The Outside…’

\\The End\\