The Forge no longer obeyed Matter's touch.
Her sanctuary—once a temple of precise, ordered creation—now heaved violently with uncontrollable, primal energy emanating from Chaos. Rivers of molten stardust defied gravity, spiraling upward like serpents shedding luminous skins. Islands composed of crystallized time fractured, drifting apart as their suspended moments bled into each other, forming chaotic cascades of half-born realities.
At the Forge's heart, the great lattice strained against itself, pulsing erratically like a heartbeat desperate to burst free from its cage.
At its core hovered the spark: tiny, flickering, yet so profoundly dense with raw potential that reality itself seemed to bow inward. In one heartbeat, it became a serene sphere of perfect golden light; in the next, it unraveled into an ever-shifting web of indescribable colors, singing in tones unheard by mortal ears.
Chaos laughed, her voice bright and terrible. "She's an impatient one. Do you feel it? That little spark wants freedom already."
Matter's hands glowed white-hot as she pressed them desperately against the lattice, sweat streaming down her brow. "It's too soon to come out. She'll tear herself apart! This framework can't hold her!"
"She doesn't want to be held," Chaos replied, spinning lazily through the air, her gown of nebulae trailing starlight in wild arcs. "You're trying to bind impulse itself—of course she resists."
"Then help me stabilize her!"
Chaos tilted her head, playful curiosity shimmering in her eyes. "Stabilize? Why would I want that? A sibling who never stops shifting like myself—imagine the delight she'll bring!"
Matter gritted her teeth and poured another surge of molten essence along with some of her power into the lattice. "If it breaks, she'll destroy herself and the Forge!"
The spark pulsed fiercely again, unleashing shockwaves that made entire star clusters in distant realities tremble and flicker.
The Eterna Nexus screamed.
Fate's emerald eyes widened in horror as countless threads of causality frayed and twisted violently in his grasp. Across the tapestry of existence, his carefully constructed order unraveled: kings rejected their destined crowns, mortals veered off predetermined paths, stars refused to ignite, and prophecies crumbled into nonsense.
"This disturbance," Fate hissed, desperation mounting, "it's growing out of control…"
Frantically, he plunged deeper into the Nexus, weaving emerald chains of destiny and hurling them toward the anomaly at its heart.
Inside the Forge, the air thickened, charged with ominous intent. Green threads of fate streaked like spears into the chamber, wrapping tightly around the flickering lattice.
Matter staggered as Fate's bindings tightened around the spark, briefly suppressing the chaos.
Chaos rolled her eyes. "Naturally, he's first to interfere."
"Good," Matter gasped. "Maybe he can hold her long enough—"
The spark giggled.
It wasn't precisely a sound, but rather a ripple of raw, joyous intent that resonated through every atom of the Forge. The emerald chains trembled, then frayed, splintering into motes of rainbow-colored light drifting gently away.
Fate's voice thundered into the chamber:
"No!"
He appeared in a burst of emerald fire, eyes blazing with fury. His long coat billowed like a storm-tossed banner, emerald threads of destiny twisting angrily in his hands.
"Elder Sister! Matter! What madness have you unleashed?"
Chaos floated upside-down, her grin mischievous, eyes bright with delight. "Oh, hello, little brother. You're just in time for the best part."
"This is not amusing!" Fate snarled. "You've created an anomaly—a being outside destiny itself! The only beings who can do that are members of the family. To create a being with this ability is pure blasphemy. End this now, or I will."
Matter hesitated, heart pounding anxiously. "Fate, please, we—"
Ignoring her, Fate wove fresh bindings, emerald threads racing toward the spark with fierce urgency.
The lattice convulsed violently. For a brief instant, the spark solidified into a delicate humanoid silhouette—a girl whose hair danced like fireflies, eyes a swirl of infinite colors.
"Don't… want… chains," she whispered softly.
Then she laughed.
Her laughter was not that of any single being; it was the joyous sound of life itself—a lion's roar, a child's giggle, a storm's howl combined. It reverberated through reality, shaking creation to its foundations.
Fate's bindings snapped instantly, dissolving into nothingness. He staggered back, clutching his head.
"Impossible," he gasped. "She's beyond control… are you attempting to create another member of the family?"
Chaos clapped her hands joyfully. "Isn't she perfect?"
"Perfect?"
The voice, quiet yet commanding, sliced through the chaos like a blade.
From the chamber's shadows, Void stepped forward, pale hair drifting like smoke around his shoulders as he shifted and assumed a female form. She moved slowly, deliberately, hands clasped calmly behind her back as if she had always been present.
"Honestly, Matter," Void said dryly, "you're worse than those mortals who poke holes in things with sticks. I can't believe you let yourself be dragged into this nonsense by this idiot."
"Void," Matter said, startled. "What are you—?"
"Me? Watching," Void said simply. "Don't mind me."
Chaos smirked playfully. "Oh, you're curious. Don't deny it. Also, did you just call me an idiot?"
Void's lips twitched faintly. "Perhaps."
She drifted past the cauldron, casually flicking a small mote of dark-gray nothingness into the storming lattice.
"For balance," she murmured softly.
The lattice cracked immediately, hairline fractures spreading rapidly across its surface. The Forge groaned under the increasing strain. The spark pulsed faster now, its rhythm wildly at odds with creation itself.
"Hold her steady!" Matter cried, molten threads lashing out desperately from her fingertips to seal the spreading fractures.
"I won't," Chaos said cheerfully, hovering upside-down in midair, her hair a wild cascade of light. "She just doesn't wish to be steady."
The spark twisted violently, expanding and collapsing repeatedly. It briefly became a wolf howling starlight, then a field of wildflowers blooming madly, then a child with mischievous mismatched eyes and a too-wide grin.
Fate advanced, emerald threads clutched tightly in his fists, desperation etched on his features.
"This must stop," he hissed urgently. "A created being that defies causality endangers all existence."
He raised his hands, the Forge shuddering beneath his power. Threads of destiny lashed forth like striking serpents, weaving a vast net of glowing runes.
"You must bind her to the tapestry," Fate commanded, "or risk everything."
The runic net closed tightly around the spark. For a heartbeat, silence descended upon the Forge.
Then, quietly, the spark spoke again:
"No."
It was barely louder than a whisper, yet it echoed across countless realities with overwhelming force.
Instantly, Fate's bindings ignited in emerald flames, burning fiercely along their length, racing back into the Nexus. The Eterna Tapestry shrieked as entire threads burned away to ash.
Fate staggered backward, clutching his head. "She's… unraveling the weave… impossible! She truly is a member of the family!"
The lattice shattered in a brilliant eruption of light.
At the heart of the explosion floated a figure—fluid, shifting, infinitely unknowable. A laughing child transformed instantly into a sleek fox, then a serpentine dragon with shimmering scales, and finally into a thousand glittering mirrors orbiting a singular point of dazzling light.
"Too many forms," Matter gasped. "She's… all of them at once!"
Chaos laughed, ecstatic. "That's Will. Unbound to form or path—she is the path in a sense."
Will's kaleidoscope eyes opened wide, filled with infinite wonder.
"I… am?"
Her voice held every emotion simultaneously: playful and solemn, joyous and furious.
Galaxies shivered. Across worlds, beings spontaneously acted: stars left their orbit, kings abandoned thrones, beggars burst into song, lovers leapt hand-in-hand into the unknown.
Will laughed again—not merely a sound but a cosmic event. Stars trembled, rivers briefly flowed backwards, and the Forge erupted in dazzling, impossible hues.
Chaos clapped her hands triumphantly. "Oh, she's perfect."
Fate's emerald threads writhed furiously. "You've unleashed a catastrophe. She'll destroy all I've created!"
Will tilted her head toward him, flickering rapidly through forms—a toddler, an ancient crone, a glittering silver fish—in moments.
"You're loud," she observed cheerfully.
Before Fate could speak, she vanished, reappearing cross-legged in front of Chaos.
"Mama?" she asked, gazing curiously at Chaos.
Chaos smiled gently. "No, little one. I'm your older sister."
Will's smile widened joyfully. "Hi, sister!"
Then she was gone again, scattering into thousands of stars, bursting joyously from the Forge into the cosmos beyond.