Chapter Text
Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink.
The figure of a young boy flickered through the endless, star-filled void. Each time he vanished and reappeared, entire galaxies stretched and folded in the space between. If the boy had so wished, he could have reached his destination in a single Blink. But he didn’t.
After all, Baek Yuseol had nothing but free time now.
So he decided to take it slow drifting across the cosmos, savoring his eyes with the endless tapestry of nebulae, constellations, and dying stars. He was sightseeing through the wider universe like a traveler on vacation.
As he jumped aimlessly from one realm to another, his thoughts naturally wandered to the star he was forever bound to — the world he had died and regressed for thousands of times, and the one that he had ascended to become the God of: Aether.
Even his decision to take on a younger form stemmed from nostalgia — an imitation of the Class 9 mages’ culture from that world, and admittedly, an action done for the convenience of mobility and mana circulation.
Though it pained him to part from the world he loved so dearly, Baek Yuseol was certain that it would forever remain important to him no matter how much time passes.
'The past is the past. I should look forward from now on.'
With that thought, he performed one final Blink, arriving at his destination: — the Forge of Creation, the place where all of existence began.
It was not a realm that could be seen or touched, but perceived, like a whisper resonating in the deepest layer of consciousness. To mortals, it would appear as an impossible expanse: a horizon folding into itself, where oceans of starlight and rivers of memory flowed through an endless night.
Within his divine sight, Baek Yuseol beheld dozens of entities exchanging information with each other. Some of them taking humanoid forms like his own, others twisting into shapes too alien for mortal comprehension.
He kept his presence subdued, careful not to draw attention. Among these beings were entities far older and mightier than himself — presences that a newly ascended god like Baek Yuseol had no business even thinking of challenging.
Eventually, his form manifested before a colossal creature, its countless eyes scattered across an incomprehensible body of writhing tendrils. This was Yog-Sothoth, a being so knowledgeable that it could be said to dwell on the very edge of true omniscience. And yet, for all that wisdom, Yog-Sothoth remained endlessly curious.
Though the being before him was absurdly terrifying to behold, Baek Yuseol felt no fear. He had learned from a passing constellation that Yog-Sothoth was actually quite the peaceful and sociable deity, especially toward newly ascended gods like himself.
With a polite smile, Baek Yuseol transmitted his thoughts toward the colossal presence before him.
[Greetings, Great Watcher. I am Baek Yuseol, a fledgling divinity from a star named Aether.]
All of Yog-Sothoth’s eyes blinked at once — a motion that somehow conveyed delight. The impossible figure seemed to ripple with curiosity.
[$%#!@$%^%$&$&!!]
Like an affectionate uncle meeting a newborn niece, Yog-Sothoth eagerly inquired about Baek Yuseol’s story — and he was more than happy to oblige.
The two conversed on and on, with Baek Yuseol retelling the tales of his numerous regressions during his time in Aether as well as the regrets he left behind when he ascended. The social skills that Baek Yuseol had honed on Earth and Aether proved to be useful even on a cosmic scale, as the Great Old One seemed enamored by his storytelling, even if most of the information should already be known by an all-seeing entity such as itself.
An unthinkable amount of time then passed by, and the youthful figure finally began transmitting his true intentions.
[Great Watcher, it has truly been a pleasure knowing you. Before I depart, I would like to humbly request an inquiry of mine to be answered. I am sure you are already well aware of the knowledge I desire.]
The Watcher tilted it's vast "head" in acknowledgment, as a torrent of information flooded Baek Yuseol's mind. They were coordinates:- of Earth. Specifically, the Earth that he had originally came from. Baek Yuseol had decided to pay a visit to the world that he was born in, meet the faces of the family that he only had a faint recollection of, and perhaps meet the so called "dragons" that the Progenitor Mage had mentioned when he first arrived at Aether.
From the information that he got from the eldritch being, all Baek Yuseol needed to do to reach his Earth is to follow along a strange structure known as the "Infinite Train", a place where an unfathomable entity known as the "Oldest Dream" eternally slumbers. At the edge of that endless subway lies his homeworld.
Without hesitation, Baek Yuseol manipulated the spatial energy within his divine body and Blinked toward the bizarre structure, using the spatial-temporal coordinates imprinted in his mind as reference.
Before him stretched a silver-colored subway: a seemingly endless line of cars extending beyond sight. Even with his divine perception, Baek Yuseol could not discern its end.
'Is my Earth really at the end of this train? Could Yog-Sothoth have been wrong?'
Doubt flickered through him, but he quickly dismissed it. The Great Old One had no reason to deceive him. There must be more to this train than meets the eye.
Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink.
He Blinked several light-years worth of distance alongside the Infinite Train before noticing something strange — countless black, floating letters spilling from one of the train’s cars, scattering across the wider cosmos.
Baek Yuseol instantly recognized them for what they were: stories, a form of divinity that made up the identity and memories of a god.
Gazing into one of the windows of the silver car, within a dark room lit only by the faint illumination of an old cellphone, was a black haired boy in clothes far too big to fit him, sleeping soundly — his frail body shrinking, his presence becoming more and more faint as stories continue to pour out of his small frame.