Their true names were known by few but their influence was felt by all the peoples of all the worlds in creation. At their fingertips were powers unknown, not understood by mortal men. Mortal men held in low regard, beneath them, beneath the notice of a nameless council. Powers without peer, without rival, save within their own number.
Perhaps because the ones that came before them had advanced their understanding of natural laws to the point of breaking them, designed self-replicating, self-operating technology that shaped will into reality and conquered all causes of death save violence they saw themselves as gods; perhaps greater than gods. If ever they’d worshiped anything it was faded from memory along with their own creations. Ask them and, to a one, they could not tell you one thing about their upbringing. The concept of a child was foreign…
First to speak was the one called D’racosah. True names were protected, always, for they had power, at least when they could be remembered. He raised a single scaled hand. “The boundary is breached! For so long we have seen these new realms, each infinite, arrayed, redundant, equal. Enough for us each to have not just one but many! No more will it be necessary to divide the finite between us. No … we shall spread out into the infinite! Below us they spread. Look at them!”
And so they did. From the first to the last of them the firmament they stood on was transparent, invisible, as if it did not exist. Peering into these realms they saw the myriad people, so similar, so petty, so small, waiting to be truly ruled. Some saw subjects, others playthings, raw materials and even food. Each seemed to be a copy of the one before it and the next, making finding any major difference difficult without moving quite distant in the fourth dimension, fifth dimension and, sometimes, both.
“Disgusting creatures” muttered one in the amassed gallery of powers.
A dark-skinned and fair figure called out. “Nonsense. I, for one, intend to go among them. I’ll … pretend to be a great hero, declare myself a god … to … many factions! Opposing factions. Set them at war, each believing that they represent me. Glorious…”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Curse you, Z’euth’z, you’ve made yourself look like one of them!?” called one from the crowd. “Why? You’re not among them! You’re here with us!”
“He’s already gone native!” shouted another. “We haven’t even begun the breach!”
Among the throng a cry went up, first dozens of booming voices sounded their terror and fury, then they turned upon one another. “Why are all views cast upon this one green-blue mudball!?”
Arguments turned physical, bodies going flying, great bolts of energy burning into them, old enemies found each other, sometimes in force, perhaps half a dozen trying to kill one before anyone could interfere. Finally D’racosah roared…
All fell silent. While they were truly leaderless, D’racosah held the distinction of having killed more of his peers than any other. Indeed, while it was his idea to break out of finite space and into this newly discovered infinite space, he was best equipped to rule all in terms of power. Unfortunately this lot would never be ruled, he knew this. Confronted directly they might fall one or two at a time but, were they somehow able to come together against him, D’racosah knew he might die. Even if he were wrong, eventually, any attempt to rule by anyone would eventually end in death or, if not stopped, solitude.
“You fools. Look at you. Some of you are actually upset about the focus of the view. Change it! This world here, young and verdant, covered and filled with life, is where our view fell because it was drawn there. It is life we desired and this world is so heavy with life that it takes effort to keep the view off of it.”
Gasps went up all over the finite space. These immortals, selfish children that they were, saw their new toys in a different light. Suspicions assuaged they spread out, each finding a starting point, each making orderly countless realms to toy with, control, consume and destroy, one at a time. It would be a long time before they grew bored of this, if ever they did.
D’racosah smiled. He had saved his people. True, it was by sacrificing trillions of lesser peoples to each of his peers but, from his perspective it was worth it. He chuckled as he arrayed his own pile of toys. This would truly be an infinity to remember…