Chapter 3 – Memoriam Loco

Among all the siblings, two of them have more than anyone else the right to be told first: Space and Time, the most powerful and influential of the company.

As their very names suggest, they played a primary role in describing the universe we know. They were the creators of the concepts of movement and the temporal succession that follows. They could have defeated the others in an instant; there was no one who could have opposed them. (Every time I consider this, however, I fail to understand myself, for, as already mentioned, I am a special being.)

Despite everything, rather than prevailing over the others, fate willed that they would instead become the initiators of others' success. They did so by creating a dimension where all were free to act without the fear of their father. Furthermore, through their actions, they found themselves fighting one another, mutually "removing themselves from the game."

The means they used were their singularities: Omnialoco for Space and Memoriam Moto for Time. In Eden language, Omnialoco meant "any movement" and Memoriam Moto meant "thinking about time."

(For those who have not consulted the appendix, suffice it to say that singularities are nothing more than dimensions controllable by the Edens.)

As is well known, according to the rules previously established, two singularities of the same strength merge to create a single one. This is the case with these two, who, more than all others, carry an incredible density of energy. The name of their shared singularity is called Memoriam Loco, the only first-degree singularity in the history of time.

Two majestic figures, Space, the Lord of Infinity, and Time, the Sovereign of Eternal Flow, face each other with the gravitas of those who hold the universe in the palm of their hand.

After millions of years of insatiable empty discourse, one began that first stepped outside the usual boundaries, after a brief silence between one concept and the next, Space addressed the company in a regal tone:

“Time, brother in power and companion through the ages, our agreement has withstood the centuries as the stone withstands the mountain. Yet, a whisper has taken residence in my thoughts, like a spark searching for wind: which of us, between the two, holds the supreme power?”

Time looked at him, surprised and almost irritated, and answered in a firm and bright voice:

“Space, yours is the void that welcomes the stars and embraces the worlds, but do not forget: it is my flow that gives meaning to everything, that shapes the course of events. Without my essence, your infinity would be a motionless silence. So why question what is obvious?”

Space shook his head with a lofty smile:

“Obvious, you say? Yet, it is my vastness that gives shape, my embrace that contains all that is. Your flow, without me, would be a stream without banks, a river that dissipates into nothing. So I ask you, Time: is motion perhaps greater than the abyss that holds it?”

Time slightly raised his chin as if beginning a challenge:

“You are presumptuous, Space. Your immensity does welcome, yes, but it is my passage that gives meaning. Who has ever venerated you for your silence without first recognizing the flowing that animates everything? Your boundaries may extend, but it is my touch that makes them alive. Is not this the supreme power?”

Space was then wounded in pride, and with a voice that grew deeper and more intense, almost a roar, he said:

“Live, you say? You speak of life, as if it were something tangible! But it is my vastness that hosts the stars, the worlds, the very universe itself. You do nothing but mark their decline. Do not confuse the container with the substance, Time!”

Time opened his eyes, which now gleamed with pure energy, and pointing at his brother, responded:

“And you do not confuse immobility with true greatness, Space! Your vastness is cold, empty, purposeless. I am movement, evolution, eternity. Without me, you would be an immobile desert, a void that knows no change.”

Space, moving closer and swelling his chest, stood in front of his brother and gazed at him firmly:

“And you would be a rhythm without context, a flow that gets lost in nothingness! You are great only as long as you flow within me. Who has ever feared time? Who has ever begged it in their hours of despair? Is it not my infinite embrace that mortals invoke, in their dreams and visions?”

Time then clenched his fists, his aura palpable throughout Pandemonium:

“Fear? Beg? These are signs of mortal weakness, not true greatness! Those who look at space do so in fear, but those who perceive time do so in reverence! I am the heartbeat of the cosmos; you are the canvas on which I dance. Is it not evident who among us is truly superior?”

Space, now inflamed, like a volcano on the brink of eruption:

“You are blind in your arrogance, Time! You will never be greater than the abyss that embraces eternity, that contains the universe and guards it through every cycle. Do you wish to test me? Do you wish for me to prove who truly dominates who?”

Time slowly raised the index finger of his right hand toward the sky, his eyes burning with rage:

“If it is the test you desire, Space, let it be so! We shall show the universe which force is destined to prevail, which power is the essence of eternity!”

At that point, with a calm but penetrating voice, I intervened in person, speaking my word for the first time:

“Enough! I have been listening to you speak for a long time, and for as long as I have listened to you, I too have asked myself the same question. Your verbal clash, though grand, boils down to an endless echo, a vortex that consumes everything except pride.

Since I’ve been doing this, I have also wondered how it would be possible to reveal the answer. And it is deep within my being that I have found a hidden truth, an awareness that transcends your very conflict.

You two, Space and Time, are pillars of existence, but your strength is not absolute. I watch you from the outside and see what you cannot: a limit. You are not equals, but you are not superior to me either. I am Balance, and unlike you, I do not set boundaries, I do not live by comparisons. In me reflects what you do not dare to admit: mutual dependence.

Your singularities, Omnialoco and Memoriam Moto, are great, but governed by the same eternal law: the principle of the strongest. Each singularity dominates the other, and in comparison finds its destiny. If you truly wish to know who among you prevails, it will not be found in words, but in the act where you will find the answer.

Extend your essences, bring your singularities to the fullest of their power, and let the truth be revealed. But know this: what you are about to do will not change the fact that, without me, your very conflict would be meaningless. I am the keeper of your balance, and it will be my judgment that determines the outcome of your clash.”

A deep silence fell, but it lasted only an instant.

It was then that the unexpected happened, the event that would forever change the very structure of existence. And curiously, it occurred following a suggestion of mine, the first time I moved and spoke.

An unprecedented detonation tore the fabric of being: a devastating explosion that would come to be called the Beginning. It materialized outside of Pandemonium, in an unexplored territory, a dimension that had never existed before. In their attempt to extend their singularities to their fullest potential, Space and Time had unknowingly pushed beyond the boundaries of known existence. Their immense energy not only propelled them into a new dimension but also dragged all their siblings with them, except one: me, Balance, who remained on the edge, a witness and keeper of what was happening.

The cataclysm did not only disrupt the known order: it created a dimension completely independent of Singularity Zero, the origin of all that had been. This new reality, now autonomous, completely escaped the control and supervision of Pandemonium. And thus, Singularity Zero, the source of all existence, closed forever, inaccessible to anyone except by the will of Chaos, the Eternal Father.

This act of involuntary creation did not go unnoticed. The Eternal Father, the primordial force that had originated everything, turned with attention to what the two brothers had done. It was an act that perfectly reflected his own ideology: the principle of absolute autonomy, evolution without constraints. For this reason, Chaos accepted their gesture not as an offense but as a fulfillment. However, with an irrevocable gesture, he decreed that Space and Time, along with their siblings, would never return to Singularity Zero. Their place was now in that new dimension, a universe they would populate and shape, free but forever separated from the origin.

And so was born what you mortals call the Cosmos, a reality shaped by the force of conflict and the power of creation. But remember: at the center of everything, silent and unchanging, I remain—Balance, the eternal keeper of what is and what will be.

But why, you may ask, was I not dragged into their singularity like all the others? This is a legitimate question, dear reader, and it deserves an answer worthy of it, though it may seem complex and perhaps premature to address now. Suffice it to know that I, at that time, was no longer like them. During the interminable period in which I remained still, observing and reflecting without interacting, I reached a higher understanding. I understood everything: the reason for our existence, the design that enveloped us, the role of each of us in the infinite fabric of existence.

Stolen story; please report.

This revelation transformed me. I was no longer one of the original entities, but something new—I became a higher entity, a term that, at this point in the story, I will not explain in detail. Just know that my transformation placed me above the dynamics that still imprisoned my siblings. A more precise explanation of what higher entities are will be provided later when the time is right.

In the meantime, let’s return to what happened after the merging of Space and Time’s singularities. The result was an extraordinary union, a fusion of their effects, giving birth to the laws of nature as we know them today: the passage of time and the existence of defined space, a domain governed by rules that seem immutable but are, in reality, the result of the balance between these two colossal forces.

Space, with its essence, generated the particles of substantia, the building blocks of matter. It could control them at will, shape them, arrange them, and with them define the "where" of everything. Its ability made it an absolute presence, capable of being everywhere simultaneously. It was, in essence, an entity endowed with omnilocationality, which allowed it to move without regard for distances or barriers. This power extended to every form of life and object within Memoriam Loco, the dimension born of their fusion.

Time, on the other hand, was the master of the flow of events themselves. Its authority extended to the past, present, and future. It could manipulate the course of events that had already occurred, those in progress, and even those yet to come, rewriting destiny at will. The waves it governed were nothing more than information propagations through the substantia particles, making it the ruler of the infinite possibilities that flow at every moment.

Visually, what they created was incredibly similar to what you now call the universe. It was an enormous domain, incomparably more vast than the Pandemonium that preceded it, but at the same time less dense. The amount of Inertia, the fundamental energy sustaining every manifestation of divine power, was greatly reduced. This meant that even the particles, and therefore matter itself, appeared more empty, more rarefied. The universe had a majestic appearance, but it was, at the same time, fragile and incomplete compared to the original perfection.

Once beyond the threshold of this new dimension, my brothers and sisters were subject to a surprising phenomenon: a natural decay of their powers. It was as though the "fuel" that powered their divine energies had been drastically reduced. This limitation was not only an obstacle but a sign that the rules of this new creation were inherently different, designed to curb omnipotence and impose a natural balance.

Despite the reduction in their abilities, the greatest surprise for Space and Time was not their literal “shrinking.” What truly left them breathless was the vision that unfolded before their eyes in the first moment of the new creation. The only point of light they had known in Pandemonium, the massive Chaos star, had been replaced by a spectacle as vast as it was incomprehensible: a myriad of planets, each unique, differing in shape, size, and color, dancing in intricate and gigantic interactions.

At first, however, nothing was harmonious. At the zero moment of creation, the entire universe was concentrated in a single point, denser than imagination could fathom. Then came the event that would change everything: a tremendous explosion, the Big Bang. The roar that erupted from that instant was so powerful that its echo still resonates in the cosmos today; it was the first blow exchanged between the two brothers.

But the system that had just been formed was far from stable. Immediately after the explosion, the planets scattered chaotically, giving birth to extraordinary and, at the same time, destructive gravitational interactions. Some of these interactions have lasted to this day, like cosmic dances seemingly orchestrated with care, while others were fleeting and self-destructive. The newly born universe resembled a gigantic ride, but without rules: chaotic, dangerous, full of collisions and disasters. More than half of the planets that originated during that initial explosion were reduced to wandering piles of stones, fragments still lost today in the void, while others were completely pulverized, dissolving into nothingness.

In the midst of this primordial chaos, Space and Time, for all the immensity of their powers, found themselves in a paradoxical position. Their gifts, devastating and absolute, could not fully express themselves because one conditioned the other, canceling each other out. Space’s infinite expansion was constrained by the limits imposed by Time’s flow, while Time’s absolute control over past, present, and future was lost in the boundless expanse of Space. Their struggle then became something more primal and raw: a physical battle, made of pure brute force.

Their clash was like a cosmic storm, capable of altering the very structure of the new reality. Strikes so powerful that they shook the foundations of every planet, shattered newborn stars, and pulverized newly formed orbits. Every time they clashed, the universe trembled under the weight of their fury.

And I? In front of such a spectacle, I found myself paralyzed, unable to act or even form a coherent thought. Awe enveloped me, and for the first time, my higher nature was of no help. I was the silent witness to a chaotic creation and a struggle that risked erasing it. I no longer knew how to behave, nor what my role in all this was. In the face of the unimaginable, I felt exposed.

Everyone vanished, as if a gust of wind had swept away every presence, leaving me alone with the Eternal Father. The vastness surrounding me seemed more immense than ever, yet in that solitude, I felt a deep intimacy, a bond I had never fully understood until that moment. Then the unimaginable happened: I heard His voice. Not an ordinary voice, but the Voice of All, the essence of existence itself speaking directly to my being. That very sound, which would later guide all my actions, was imbued with an indescribable majesty, capable of dispelling any doubt and nullifying every fear.

The Father, in His infinite patience and wisdom, addressed me with words that bore the weight of eternity and the delicacy of a breath. He was not only ready to answer my questions, but also offered me a unique opportunity: to listen and understand the deep truth of all that had come before us, before I and my siblings were born from the heart of Chaos. He confirmed, with serenity surpassing any doubt, that the insights I had gained during my stillness were correct. I had grasped the meaning of our existence, and the Father only reinforced my understanding, completing it with details I could never have imagined.

He spoke to me of the origin of everything, of a time when even Pandemonium did not exist, of a primordial void that contained within it all possibilities, and how, in that void, He had planted the seed of creation. He told me of Chaos, not only as a star but as the very principle of existence, and how we siblings were the fruits of His fractured and multiplied essence. Finally, the most solemn moment arrived, when He expressed His will: He entrusted me with a task of infinite importance. He asked me to preserve the beauty that had been created, a universe born from the collision of such titanic forces and yet fragile in its nascent harmony.

Meanwhile, Space and Time continued to battle at the center of their singularity. Their devastating blows shook the new creation, and the other siblings, dragged into that dimension, watched helplessly as the clash unfolded. Each punch, each impact was a potential cataclysm. Planets were born and destroyed in an instant, stars ignited only to be extinguished, and waves of energy spread uncontrollably. Continuing at this rate, they would consume everything that had been created, reducing it to primordial chaos.

I understood that I could not allow this to happen. It was my duty to follow the Father’s will, and to do so I had to act, no matter the sacrifice that was asked of me. I gathered every fragment of my strength and power, and with a solemn gesture, I imposed an eternal bond on Space and Time. I was forced to do what none of our siblings had ever dared: limit them.

With my power, I decreed that Space and Time would remain sealed at the center of Memoriam Loco, trapped in a place where their fury could no longer devastate creation. That seal was not just a physical prison but a spiritual bond that intertwined their destiny with mine. In exchange for my eternal stay in Pandemonium, they would lose the freedom to destroy what had been created.

The sacrifice was immense. Pandemonium would become my domain and my prison, a place from which I could never leave, and they would be relegated and sealed at the center of the universe, doomed to exist in isolation. The weight of that decision pressed down on me, but there was no other choice. It was the price of beauty and harmony, a price I was willing to pay to stay true to the Eternal Father’s will.