Far away from Earth, in the distant void, at the imagined borderline of the Known Universe, the stars didn't twinkle—they watched.
The space there was silent, so silent it almost screamed. Darkness stretched endlessly, layered with streaks of faint blue and white, like scars left on the skin of creation itself. And in that soundless abyss… two figures drifted.
They had no true faces—only smooth surfaces of absolute black, dotted with countless tiny stars, as though the universe had poured itself into their form. Humanoid in shape, divine in aura, their very existence warped the surrounding void. The air—if such a thing existed out here—was heavy, oppressive, trembling from their presence alone.
For a long while, neither spoke.
Then, a deep, static-laced voice finally broke the silence.
"This barrier… really took too much of our time and energy…"
The other turned slightly, his silhouette shimmering like liquid night. "You are right. But according to our Lord, that Guardian should have been alarmed by now, no?"
At that, their hollow gazes met—an exchange of thought more than of sight. The first one—Maxis—gave a short, humorless laugh. "Well, if that Guardian isn't coming, it means two possibilities. Either it couldn't sense us… or it doesn't exist at all."
The second being tilted his head. "Let's not waste cycles debating. Our Lord's orders are absolute. We retrieve the target, regardless of the Guardian's existence."
"Agreed," Maxis replied simply, his form flickering faintly as if the void itself nodded in compliance.
The next moment, both vanished—leaving behind ripples that folded the stars inwards like crushed paper.
Within the Milky Way Galaxy, deep in a forgotten system, there was a planet—a titan among worlds.
Ten times the size of Earth. Its rings fractured, its skies aflame. Oceans of molten metal glowed faintly beneath a cracked crust. It was dying—slowly, painfully—its own gravity devouring it from the inside out. From space, it looked like a massive heart of ember, pulsing irregularly, gasping for one last beat.
And yet… there was something beautiful about its death.
Lightning danced across its atmosphere in golden arcs. Ash clouds formed patterns that shimmered like ancient runes. The end of a world… yet it was art in motion.
A flicker disturbed the silence.
The two cosmic beings materialized above the planet, their presence pressing down on reality itself. The planet groaned under the weight of their arrival—its crust trembled, fissures widening in silent agony.
They looked down, or rather—through.
Their sight pierced the surface, through the mantle, through the veins of magma and dying minerals, all the way into the glowing red core pulsing deep within.
"So…" Maxis murmured, folding his arms. "We're to bring this planet's core to our Lord. This crumbling rock? It's at the end of its life."
The other didn't even look at him. "We don't question our Lord's will. We act. Even if it were dust, we would still retrieve it."
Maxis let out a quiet sigh—an imitation of mortal fatigue. "Yes, yes… obedience and all that."
Then, as if the universe blinked, both disappeared.
Not even a second later, they reappeared—mission complete.
In Maxis's palm now floated a sphere—a molten, radiant orb, small as a human heart, yet exuding enough energy to annihilate entire galaxies if mishandled. The Planet Core. Its red glow bathed their dark forms in eerie light, making the void shimmer with waves of raw, unstable power.
The two shared a glance.
"Let's g—"
A hand touched Maxis's shoulder.
"Hey hey hey…" a casual, distinctly human voice said, slicing through the cosmic quiet like a joke told in a graveyard. "You shouldn't steal someone else's property. Didn't your parents teach you that?"
The sound echoed—too natural, too alive for this dead space.
Maxis froze.
It wasn't the words. It was the tone—light, teasing, completely out of place in the vacuum of the void.
He vanished instantly, retreating thousands of meters away, eyes widening as he looked back. His mind scrambled.
'Wh-what was that? I didn't even sense him!'
Beside him, his partner reappeared as well, voice low but tense. "Careful, Maxis. That being… he's powerful. I can't sense his energy. I think… he might be the Guardian."
The word Guardian lingered like a curse.
Their gazes turned toward the figure floating casually where Maxis had been moments ago.
At first glance, he looked painfully ordinary.
A man—dark hair gently ruffled by an unseen breeze, black hoodie fluttering lightly despite the absence of air, hands tucked in his pockets like someone waiting at a bus stop rather than standing at the edge of existence. His black eyes shimmered faintly, not with light—but with depth, an abyss layered within another abyss.
Michael.
He stood there as if he owned the universe… and maybe he did.
"Oh," he said lightly, glancing down at his empty hand as though remembering something. "Sorry, did I interrupt your little 'planet looting' quest?"
No answer.
The two beings tensed, readying to warp again if necessary.
Michael tilted his head, his lips curling into an amused grin. "You're awfully quiet. Shy types, huh? Or is it because you don't know whether to run or bow?"
His words carried no malice—just teasing calm. But every syllable bent the surrounding fabric of space ever so slightly.
He snapped his fingers.
Snap.
Nothing happened—or so it seemed.
The two cosmic beings exchanged confused glances, the faint sound still echoing unnaturally in the vacuum. Then Maxis glanced down at his hand—where the Planet Core had been—and froze.
Gone.
His fingers twitched in disbelief.
"Searching for this?" Michael's voice drawled from a short distance away. He was lazily spinning the red core on his index finger like a basketball, its molten light reflecting in his calm, dark eyes. "You really shouldn't be playing with dangerous toys, you know. This one's a bit… explosive."
His grin widened.
Maxis felt his aura falter. His partner bristled beside him. "Give that back, Guardian," the second one hissed, voice vibrating with restrained fury.
Michael blinked once, feigning confusion. "Guardian? Oh, I like the sound of that. Has a nice ring to it. But nah… you can't have this back. It's not yours."
His tone shifted, soft amusement melting into something sharper. The faint warmth in his eyes dimmed—replaced by a black, bottomless void that reflected nothing.
"You two aren't getting outta here," he said quietly.
The surrounding space shivered, as though the void itself recognized the change in his intent.
"Let's play and have some fun… shall we?"
He vanished.
No light. No sound. Just gone—like he'd been erased from existence.
For one fleeting instant, silence reigned.
Then—
Crack.
Reality splintered behind the two beings. A fissure of pure distortion arced across the void, its edges sparking with black lightning. The sound wasn't heard—it was felt, deep inside their cores, vibrating like the death cry of a dying star.
Maxis jerked around. "Where is he?!"
His partner's voice trembled despite itself. "I— I can't sense him! His energy is— it's everywhere and nowhere!"
The light from the stolen core flickered wildly, as though reacting to fear itself. Space around them twisted, rippling like water disturbed by invisible movement. A whisper slid through the air—calm, mocking, unmistakably Michael's.
"Come on now," the voice purred, echoing from every direction. "Don't tell me the big scary void beings are already panicking?"
Maxis's grip tightened around nothing. "Show yourself!"
"Oh, but I am showing myself," came the amused reply, closer now—right behind him.
Both turned instantly.
Nothing there.
A soft laugh danced through the void. "Tsk. You guys really need to work on your perception. Anyway—thanks for the workout."
The last thing they saw was a faint shimmer in space—the shape of a human silhouette fading out like the afterimage of a dream.
And then—he was gone.
Silence fell once more.
Only the pulse of the stolen Planet Core remained, beating gently in the distance where Michael had been moments ago.
The two cosmic beings hovered there, frozen.
Then came the panic.
"What—what was that!?" Maxis's voice cracked, the confident tone shattered completely. "He erased his signature! That shouldn't be possible!"
The second being turned sharply, scanning the dark. "He's gone… completely gone! Even the spatial threads—cut off! I can't— I can't track him!"
Maxis's form flickered, energy spasming as the void itself seemed to laugh at them. "No… no, this is bad. We… we have to report this."
The other shook his head slowly, dread creeping into his voice. "Report? To who? We can't even confirm if we're still in our own dimension after that…"
The silence returned—louder than before.
And somewhere far away, unseen and unfelt, Michael's voice echoed once more, faint and playful.
"Next time, maybe try knocking before trespassing."
The void shuddered once.
Then went still.
_______________
To be continued.....