Prologue
PROLOGUE: THE BIRTH OF THE WORLD
In the beginning, there was only the Endless Void. A formless expanse where nothing existed and everything was possible. It was a state between illusion and reality, a canvas waiting for the first stroke of creation.
Then, without cause, a coagulation of transcendent energies began to form. It swirled and churned for endless eons, giving birth to strange shapes and identities that flickered in and out of existence like dreams within a dream. But during this process, a thousandth part of this energy splintered away, fleeing into the Void like a spark escaping a fire. It vanished into the darkness, carrying with it a fragment of the cosmic blueprint.
Later, during the core formation of the world's essence, another splinter escaped. This second fragment was smaller, more subtle, but it carried something precious: the potential for accumulation, for growth, for the slow gathering of resources that would one day reshape destiny.
The main body of the energy continued its work, eventually forming the Boundless Realm. It was perfect in description, boundless in space, and filled with unlimited resources of every kind. The Will of Heaven emerged as its guiding consciousness, watching over the ninety-nine gigantic eggs that towered across nine domains. Four domains of land. Five of seas and islands.