The assembled gods, both the ascended and the Origin watched the void where Astraeus had vanished, a collective sense of satisfaction lingering in the air.
Yet, in the shadows, things were shifting. Deep within a hidden pocket of reality, Murmur stirred. He raised his head, and for a fleeting, moment, a jagged rift tore through the fabric of space. A colossal eye peered through the tear, surveying the cosmos before the rift snapped shut, sealing the intrusion as quickly as it had appeared.
In the wake of that gaze, a figure materialized. Osita stood there, his jaw tight, clicking his tongue in a display of raw, simmering annoyance. He made to lash out at the landscape, his fingers twitching with the urge to tear something apart, but he checked himself. The Origin gods were in motion, the gears of a larger game were turning, and he knew better than to reveal his hand so prematurely. With a flick of his energy, he vanished into the ether.
