Prologue

The Radiant One, a goddess of souls and their cycle, sat in her crumbling palace, the air heavy with the scent of decay and the weight of her dwindling power. Once a resplendent domain, her pocket dimension now mirrored her frailty—walls lined with cracks, the light dim and flickering. Her throne, carved from radiant stone, groaned under her slight movement, as though protesting her own presence.

For a goddess such as herself, repairing the damage done by time, neglect and war would be as simple as waving her hands or even just thinking about it. However, her realm suffered from greater concerns than its radiant aesthetic.

We don’t have much more time, countless voices whispered in her mind, overlapping in a discordant chorus. They were the echoes of celestial beings who had lost their homes, their worlds, to The Loathing One. Their desperation pressed against her thoughts, making her temple throb.

“I know,” she murmured, brushing a strand of silver hair from her face. Ever since the climax of their battle and her failure to stop him, the Loathing One retreated to his mortal worlds, his power accumulating with each unjust death his Rift Eaters delivered, the more their corruption spread, the more he grew in power.

In contrast, she, the Radiant One, only grew weaker. The worlds left standing against the Loathing One were few and far between as the fiend ensured to devour each unfortunate planet he touched. Now her followers were concentrated on a handful of worlds she struggled to shield from the Loathing One’s minions with her dwindling power.

“There is only one way out of this now,” By her will, a saucer-shaped magical scanner hovered before her, a gift given to her by her followers. It was powered by their devotion and worship to her. She waved a hand across and it changed the scene on its screen, projecting shifting holograms of a distant world.

Planets spun before her: gas giants with storms that raged eternally, rocky orbs teeming with bizarre life, moons whose icy crusts concealed sprawling subterranean civilizations. Each one a place rife with potential and all in danger of being consumed by the Loathing One. For now though, they were out of his reach and in hers; weak as it was, her influence over the worlds the hologram presented was enough to at least find the one thing that could possibly change the pace of their eternal war. A Champion.

“None of these will do,” the voices declared, their collective impatience vibrating through her skull.

The goddess ignored their complaints, her gaze sweeping across countless worlds. Sentient life came in all forms—fluid creatures swimming through oceans of liquid methane, towering beings of living rock, insectoid colonies that spoke in vibrations. Yet, none of them stirred the spark she sought. None were capable of standing against The Loathing One.

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“Stop! That one,” the voices demanded, excitement and hope dangled in their chorus, a sound that filled the Radiant One as her breath hitched at the sight of a blue-green world. Its surface shimmered with signs of life: sprawling cities, scars of a recent conflict, and advanced technology.

“There is a Champion here,” she said to herself, pleased with something at last. She could sense him, a true Champion capable of cultivating the seeds of her power enough to challenge the Loathing One someday.

The Radiant One searched for him, the light that made him special, strong, fiercely resilient and unyielding was all she needed to pick him out from all other humans. The scanner reflected her search and displayed a hologram of her Champion.

His figure came into focus: a man in his mid-forties with rough, weathered features and light-brown hair that shimmered like polished copper. His body bore the marks of countless battles, each scar a story of survival and even now he stepped away from the hungry jowls of death and destruction.

Many humans and convars were swamped around him cheering, chanting his name and screaming at his success. The Radiant One smiled as she watched her Champion get swept off his feet and carried away from a burning wreck of vehicles, his helmet and winner’s cup were the only things in his hands. His bright smile warmed the goddess to see.

“He is the one,” the voices said with certainty.

The goddess nodded, a flicker of hope piercing her weariness. Rising from her throne, she strode to a scrying mirror mounted on the cracked wall. Its surface, dulled by years of disuse, flared to life as she pressed her palm against it. The glow illuminated her haggard face, and she closed her eyes, focusing on the connection.

Across the worlds, she felt her followers stir to answer her call, their devotion unwavering despite her weakened state. “I have an urgent mission for The Heavenly Council,” she said, her voice steady despite the strain. “A Champion has been discovered, one that may yet stand against the Loathing one.”

She spoke into their hearts and minds as one, delivering what she hoped would be a message to change things, “Devoted children of mine, you must find him, our Champion. My power is too diminished to retrieve him on my own and so I trust you all, for our sakes, for the universe. Find, protect and train this Champion for our final stand against the Loathing One.”

She transmitted the Champion’s coordinates through the flickering connection, her power nearing its limit. The mirror darkened as her strength failed, leaving her alone once more in the dim, crumbling palace.

The goddess sank back onto her throne, frustration and hope warring within her. Her thoughts lingered on the champion, the one she could not reach on her own.

“Please,” she whispered, her voice barely audible in the empty chamber. “Let this work.”

Beyond the veil of her sanctuary, The Loathing One stirred, his insatiable hunger growing. The goddess closed her eyes, clinging to the fragile belief that salvation was still within reach.