Before there was a universe...
Before there was time...
Before there was even a place in which the word existence could possess meaning...
There was a dream.
Not the dream of a mortal.
Not the dream of a god.
A dream belonging to the Divine Creator.
Everything that would one day be called reality was born within that dream.
Stars.
Worlds.
Dimensions.
Universes.
Multiverses.
Gods.
Demons.
Life.
Death.
Even the laws that governed existence itself were nothing more than fragments of a thought within the Creator's will.
To the beings living inside those creations, their worlds were absolute.
To their gods, their universes were immeasurable.
To the highest beings among them, reality itself seemed endless.
But from beyond the boundaries of all those things, there existed something that regarded them differently.
As dreams.
As shadows.
As nothing.
He was the first.
The beginning before beginnings.
The first creation of the Divine Creator.
The first Devil.
The being who would eventually be called Zadd.
But that name did not exist yet.
Neither did he possess a face.
Neither did he possess a body.
Neither did he possess a world to call home.
His first and primal existence rested beyond every conceivable distinction of space and time.
Beyond space.
Beyond time.
Beyond dimensions.
Beyond the concepts of before and after.
He existed in the place beyond space and beneath space, in a state that could not properly be called somewhere.
Nor could it be called nowhere.
His ego was formed from a fragment of the Divine Will itself, containing both good and evil.
Two primal truths.
Two opposing forces.
Two halves of a whole.
Virtue and wickedness existed within him in equal measure.
At least, they were meant to.
Because there was one problem.
The darkness was growing.
Slowly at first.
Then faster.
Then at a speed that no measurement could describe.
His evil aspect began to eclipse his virtue.
And the mere existence of that imbalance began to affect the Creator's dream.
The first leakage was insignificant.
A whisper.
A shadow.
A drop falling from an ocean that had no shore.
Yet that single leakage became something.
A place.
A realm of suffering.
A world that would eventually be called Hell.
And from that leakage came creatures.
Monsters.
Demons.
Demon Lords.
Every being that carried an aspect of evil within its existence could trace some distant echo of its origin back to him.
The First Devil did not create them deliberately.
They were simply consequences of his existence.
The universe was not built around him.
Rather, pieces of the universe were being born from the fact that he existed.
And still...
He remained unaware.
He dreamed.
His consciousness stretched beyond measurement, occupying a notional state that was neither real nor unreal.
Within that impossible consciousness existed the primal truths of creation.
Good.
Evil.
Creation.
Destruction.
Virtue.
Sin.
Everything that could ever become an absolute was already contained within him in its earliest form.
For an immeasurable span of existence, nothing changed.
Then the First Devil began to awaken.
And the Creator noticed.
The Divine Creator understood something terrifying.
If the First Devil's evil continued to grow, there would eventually come a moment when the being would no longer merely exist within creation.
He would stand beside the Creator himself.
Perhaps even beyond it.
The First Devil's potential was immeasurable.
His consciousness was immeasurable.
His existence approached omnipotence.
And yet the Creator had made him.
Therefore, the Creator could also seal him.
So the Divine Creator made a decision.
The power of the first creation would be sealed.
Not destroyed.
Not erased.
Sealed.
Because destroying the First Devil would mean destroying something fundamental to creation itself.
The moment the seal descended, something extraordinary happened.
The incomprehensible existence of the First Devil collapsed into a form that creation could understand.
A body.
A soul.
A name.
A single identity.
Silver-white hair descended like strands of moonlight.
Eyes of brilliant blue opened for the first time.
His appearance was so beautiful that even beings who had never experienced attraction could understand the meaning of the word.
Women would be captivated.
Men would be captivated.
Gods would hesitate.
Demons would stare.
Mortals would worship.
And none of them would understand why.
The Divine Creator looked upon his first creation.
Then gave him a name.
Zadd.
The First Devil had become a transcendent lifeform.
And the Divine Creator blessed him.
But the blessing came with a price.
His memories were gone.
The memories of being the First Devil.
The memories of his origin.
The memories of his absolute power.
The memories of the darkness sleeping within him.
All of it was sealed.
His evil aspect was sealed alongside his original power.
Zadd opened his eyes upon creation...
...and knew nothing.
He did not remember being first.
He did not remember being ancient.
He did not remember the darkness that had once threatened the balance of creation.
He simply existed.
Yet something about him remained different.
He was not bound by the fate of ordinary gods.
He could become a hero.
A villain.
A god.
A demon.
A king.
A destroyer.
Or something that had never been named.
Fate could not decide what Zadd would become.
Neither could destiny.
Because Zadd was not moving through time.
Time was moving around him.
There was only one Zadd.
Not one Zadd in every timeline.
Not one Zadd in every universe.
Not an infinite collection of alternate selves.
One.
Only one.
He could not be observed simultaneously across countless timelines because there were no countless versions of him.
There was simply Zadd.
One existence.
One consciousness.
One path.
One impossible anomaly.
Physical laws did not bind him.
Magical laws did not bind him.
Cause and effect did not command him.
They were simply rules that existed around him.
Rules he did not need to acknowledge.
But Zadd did not know any of this.
To him, the universe was simply...
large.
And boring.
The Divine Creator continued creating.
God after god appeared.
Then higher gods.
Then beings greater than those gods.
An immeasurable hierarchy emerged.
To a lower god, the power of a higher god appeared infinite.
But to that higher god, the same difference was merely finite.
Each level transcended the one beneath it.
And every one of those gods possessed the ability to create realities.
Not worlds.
Realities.
Each reality contained countless dimensions.
Each dimension contained universes.
Each universe contained multiverses.
Within those universes existed galaxies, stars, black holes, particles, and civilizations.
Some particles contained their own miniature universes.
Some universes possessed their own gods.
Some gods believed themselves omnipotent.
Some civilizations believed their reality was the highest existence.
And Zadd...
Looked at them.
And found them insignificant.
He wandered.
Reality after reality.
Universe after universe.
He encountered gods whose names were worshipped by civilizations spanning dimensions.
He met beings who believed themselves eternal.
He walked through realms that mortals could not comprehend.
Sometimes a god would notice him.
Sometimes they would challenge him.
Sometimes they would attempt to understand what he was.
Zadd rarely cared.
He simply continued walking.
Worlds were born.
Worlds died.
Civilizations rose.
Civilizations vanished.
Stars collapsed.
Dimensions shattered.
Entire realities disappeared into nothingness.
Zadd remained.
Time passed.
And passed.
And passed.
Until eventually...
He found something interesting.
A world at war.
Unlike the countless realities he had visited, this one possessed something he had almost forgotten existed.
Potential.
The planet itself was enormous, comparable in scale to a great star.
Its civilizations were divided across vast continents.
Human kingdoms fought demons.
Demons fought gods.
Gods fought other gods.
Monster races fought everyone.
And somewhere within that chaos, the First Devil smiled.
For the first time in a very long while...
He was interested.
The Continent of Supernaturalism belonged primarily to the gods.
There, divine beings possessed authority over concepts such as nature, time, space, and other fundamental forces.
Their followers worshipped them.
Their kingdoms were magnificent.
Their arrogance was even greater.
Then came the Monster Continent.
Dragonoids.
Ogres.
Goblins.
Giants.
Beastfolk.
And countless other humanoid races lived across its enormous territories.
Some possessed strength capable of destroying armies.
Some possessed magic.
Others possessed nothing except their will to survive.
Beyond them stood the Dragon Continent.
Ancient dragons lived there.
Beings capable of taking humanoid forms while retaining power comparable to gods.
Their elemental natures could reshape entire landscapes.
A dragon of fire could turn forests into oceans of flame.
A dragon of earth could raise mountains.
A dragon of wind could tear cities apart.
And then there was the Continent of Spirits.
A realm hidden from ordinary physical existence.
Its inhabitants did not truly possess physical bodies.
They existed as spirits.
They lived quietly, isolated from the wars that consumed the other continents.
Finally came the Continent of Magic and Art.
Dwarves.
Elves.
Mystical races.
Magicians.
Artists.
Craftsmen.
Civilizations that turned magic into both science and culture.
It was chaotic.
Primitive.
Beautiful.
Ridiculous.
Alive.
Zadd stood above it all.
His silver-white hair moved gently in the wind.
His blue eyes observed kingdoms, armies, gods, demons, monsters, dragons, and mortals.
He watched them fight.
He watched them worship.
He watched them die.
And then...
He smiled.
Not because he hated them.
Not because he loved them.
But because, for the first time in an eternity he could no longer remember...
He was no longer bored.
"So..."
His voice was quiet.
Almost gentle.
His gaze settled upon the gods who ruled the world.
Then upon the demon lords who commanded their own territories.
Then upon the countless beings who called themselves supreme.
A faint smile appeared upon his beautiful face.
"This world might actually be interesting."
He rested his chin against his hand.
For a moment, he considered simply watching.
Perhaps he could remain hidden.
Perhaps he could observe the war.
Perhaps he could watch these civilizations develop.
Perhaps he could even find something worth remembering.
Then another thought entered his mind.
It was simple.
Almost childish.
What would happen if he destroyed the gods?
Zadd's smile widened.
"What if..."
He looked toward the heavens.
"...I replaced them?"
The thought amused him.
The gods of this world called themselves divine.
The demon lords called themselves supreme.
Heroes called themselves chosen.
Mortals called their rulers kings.
Zadd found all of their titles amusing.
He had no interest in being worshipped.
No interest in ruling.
No interest in becoming a hero.
He simply wanted to see what would happen.
What would happen if someone who actually understood what a god was...
...walked into a world ruled by pretenders?
His blue eyes glimmered.
"Perhaps I'll give them a lesson."
He stood.
The wind stopped.
The clouds above him froze.
For the briefest instant, the entire world seemed to hesitate.
Zadd did not notice.
He simply began walking.
Toward the war.
Toward the gods.
Toward the demons.
Toward the world that had unknowingly become his newest source of entertainment.
He did not know that he was the First Devil.
He did not know that his memories had been sealed.
He did not know that an incomprehensible power slept somewhere inside him.
He did not know that the darkness within him was waiting.
And he certainly did not know what would happen when that darkness awakened.
But the gods would learn.
The demons would learn.
The heroes would learn.
And eventually...
The entire world would learn one simple truth.
There are gods who rule creation.
And then there is Zadd.
The First Devil.
The forgotten first creation.
The existence beyond fate.
The one who had once been powerful enough to threaten the balance of creation itself.
And now...
He was bored.
That was the real beginning of the story.