I woke to a shift in the... water? I was submerged in. I felt like I was under an immense amount of some liquid-like substance. When I opened my eyes to investigate, I saw something incredible. Every color you can think of and more, all spiraling nebulas in an ocean of midnight. Was I in space? The colors felt too close for that.

Some were big, some small, but somehow, I could tell that the colors and the darkness they were floating in were linked inextricably, and they all felt powerful. Their presence alone was crushing. Suddenly, as if sensing I was awake, the surrounding darkness began to shield me, and I could breathe again. Or try to, anyway. Realizing that my lungs were filled with darkness should have scared the shit out of me, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I was just so tired. I tried to close my eyes again. Then I heard it.

“So you’re going to ignore me, huh?” it spoke directly into my mind.

Its voice was like planets crashing together. Not loud, but Powerful, even more so than the nebulas.

“Uh, what. No, I wasn’t tryin-”

“I don’t care what you were trying, you just ignored a firstborn of Void, if you were anyone else you would’ve been murdered where you stand.” it said, Its presence began to pierce the shield the Void had so politely put around me, causing me to… feel nothing.

Wait… why did I think the darkness shielded me politely? My thoughts felt scattered and sluggish, like thinking through molasses. “Why didn’t you murder me then?” I asked, surprisingly unafraid.

“Ugh, this is why I hate dealing with Void types. Just like my brothers, they're all so banal, so emotionless, and worst of all so BORING” It finished with a shout that would have probably killed me were I not being shielded, though it still partially went through, and caused some minor pain. I didn't care.

“Wait… what’s this. Hmmm, looking at you, it seems that your emotional deadening is just temporary. Whew! I thought I had wasted all of my effort on you! I left you for a blink of an eye, and boom, you’re just saturated in Void. To think, I almost lost so much work over a small two millennia distraction.” Wow, this thing sure liked to hear itself talk, huh.

Wait, did it say two millenni-

“Now, I’m sure you're curious why you’re here. Well, let me be the first to tell you the good news! I picked you to balance my world! I know what you're thinking, ‘how will I ever repay this generous, and extremely sexy, Voidborn for what they’ve done for me!' Well, don-”

“What makes you think I want to balance your world? Did I agree to this already? I don’t remember… anything. Where am I?”

“Ah, well. I thought that since your emotions were still intact, that your memory would be as well. Let me check real quick to see if it's temporary... Damn, guess they're gone forever, that sucks for you. On the bright side, though, your subconscious seems mostly intact. Anyway, as I was sayi-”

"Are you just trying to brush past me losing everything?" I said, starting to feel something.

“Everything” I repeated. The surrounding Void began to stir. Two millennia… Everyone and everything I knew is dead, huh. I couldn’t even remember who I lost. Everything I’ve lost. I couldn't even keep them alive in memory. I'd lost everything. Everything.

Everything

“Now wait a minute, you should be gratefu-”

“Did my life have that little worth before you stole it?” I interrupted once more, feeling increasingly angry.

No. Anger wasn’t the right word.

Wrath.

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“How dare you” I said softly into the Void.

The surrounding Void responded to my Fury. And it did not react gently. Spikes of Ice, balls of Fire, beams of Light, squalls of razor sharp Wind, and boulders of Earth, all crashed into the being that had taken everything from me... For about 2 seconds.

“AHHH, FUCK!” I shouted in pain.

“Oh, did the baby hurt himself in his temper tantrum? I’m sorry, did you not hear the part where I said the whole ‘Firstborn of the VOID’ thing? I literally can not be hurt by you! Besides, your body can’t handle that much power anyway, dumbass. Don’t kill yourself before I decide whether you should live or die.” It said, exasperated.

“Should I just kill him? No, that would be too annoying, plus I would have to find another agent. Hmm, maybe I should hire a torturer around here, for instances like this. Damn it, never mind, I always forget how hard it is to find someone who can survive in the Firmament. The last torturer I brought over died in three nanoseconds. Such a waste of talent. He really was an artist. What was I mad about?” It finished muttering.

"Oh yeah. You. Well, I suppose you have a higher purpose than dying unknown and forgotten here. Plus, as a new Voidborn, I guess you're like a little brother. That does sound pretty fun actually, I’ve never had a younger sibling to fuck wit- I mean… mentor. Yeah, that’s what I meant. That temper is a problem, though, and you are going to have to get strong pretty quick. Hmm… I know! I should be a good older brother and upgrade you!" It said, finally done talking.

“I would rather die than do anything for you.” I said, back in my unnaturally calm state, but with rage boiling just beneath the surface.

“Ugh, get over it already. ‘Wah! Wah! I lost everyone and everything I ever loved, and I am being a big baby about it’ That’s what you sound like. Though, I guess you are my little brother, and in the grand scheme of things, you are practically a newborn. I’ll let it slide this time, after all, babies are going to cry. I can’t fight nature. Wait, what am I saying? Of course, I can! Your first upgrade is, drumroll please-” it paused to make drumroll noises. Is this being really that powerful?

“-No grief, and no rage! Try and throw a temper tantrum now! Oh wait, what’s that? You can't, can you! No grief for you mister angry pants, or should I say former mister angry pants! Take that nature, you can’t tell me what to do! Though… it would be pretty boring to watch you coldly take on the world. What a conundrum, I don’t want nature to tell me what to do, but your anger is so entertaining. I guess you can have anger, but I'll tone it down slightly. I can’t have you trying to fight a dragon because it breathed on you wrong.” It said, taking an inordinately long time to just say that it’s getting rid of my anger problems.

“Now, for your second gift, I give you… Understand Languages! With an accent, of course. Why, you may ask? Cause I think it’s funny. For your third upgrade, and I’m really proud of this one, a system of your very own! I saw some of the anime from your planet like two thousand years ago, and it sure seems like a cheat. No longer will you have to guess at what skills got stronger based on a feeling, meditate on the highest cliffs to understand your affinities, or learn tedious martial arts to learn how much faster you can throw a punch. Don’t get me wrong, you aren’t going to be the only one with stats, but you sure will know them the best. Well, numerically at least.”

“And finally, for your last gift. It was inside you all along. Nah, just kidding, It’s the Void you’ve been soaking in for the past two thousand years. My bad. I initially grabbed you because you were Beloved by Fire and Gravity, but this might just be better.”

“What do you need me to do anyway?” I asked, slightly annoyed, but no longer full of rage. I guess grief was doing most of the heavy lifting in contributing to my anger.

“What would be the fun in telling you? I already told you to balance the world, and isn’t that enough? Do you want me to do everything for you? That’s not how you grow, little bro. Besides, I’m sure you’ll be able to find it out on your own.”

“So what now?” I asked, resigned to at least try to find out what this whole ‘balance the world’ thing meant, if only to satisfy my curiosity.

“Now? Well, there are just a few things to address first, and then it’s showtime! First, you need a name. How about… Valin! It’s Void in elvish, and isn’t that neat. Second, you're weak as shit right now, get stronger. No, I will not tell you how, figure it out yourself. And third, the most important gift I can give you, a ride out of this boring abyss. Goodbye, good luck, and remember I’ll be watching!” It said.

Before it sent me off, it gave me a wink. Its eye was the most gargantuan thing I'd ever seen. I tried to fight that? Maybe it's a good thing it got rid of my anger problems.