The Dots in the Void
Aeren's empty eyes began to wander through the vast emptiness surrounding him. His gaze fell upon the infinite nothingness, and there—scattered throughout the void—he noticed tiny dots. They were so minuscule, so impossibly small, that he struggled to perceive them clearly even with his Eyes of Emptiness. Yet merged with nothingness itself, allowing him to see beyond normal perception, he could distinguish them.
The nearest dot existed within his own sphere of awareness—a single point that resembled a blank piece of paper, utterly featureless, utterly empty, yet somehow distinct from the nothingness around it. This was how it appeared to Aeren's infinite vision.
As he focused on the nearest dot, Aeren realized its true significance: it represented an entire universe. An entire cosmos. A being vast enough to contain galaxies and stars and countless worlds. And yet it appeared so small that it seemed to be dissolving, fading, erasing itself back into the void from which it emerged.
The reason the universe appeared so diminutive was obvious: his soul had expanded to such proportions that even something as immense as a cosmos became nearly invisible. He could still perceive it only because he had embraced nothingness completely, because he possessed the Eyes of Emptiness—eyes that allowed him to perceive the boundless void itself. Through them, his vision extended infinitely in all directions. Yet paradoxically, his eyesight felt trapped within the endless nothingness, unable to truly escape or transcend what it observed.
The Cosmic Being
Aeren looks within himself, focusing on a presence he already recognizes—the cosmic being he fought before, the entity that defied conventional understanding.
As he concentrates, Aeren begins to compress himself. He shrinks deliberately, pulling his vast emptiness-soul inward, reducing his scale down to match the cosmic being so he can finally observe it with clarity. The process is not descent—it is contraction. A conscious choosing to be smaller.
Now, at this size, Aeren sees the cosmic being's true form:
Its entire body shines with galaxies, stars, and drifting worlds arranged in an intricate pattern—a living tapestry of the universe itself woven into flesh and form. Nebulae flow through its veins. Celestial bodies orbit within its very being. It is beautiful in its cosmic majesty.
But its head is wrong. Deeply, fundamentally wrong.
It looks empty, yet not empty. Colorless, yet not like Nothingness. Nothingness is pure void, true emptiness—the complete absence against which all things are measured. But this face is colorless in a way that suggests all colors have been erased into one singular point, compressed into non-existence. Aeren can sense that the head is changing, constantly transforming, unlike the rest of the body which remains stable and filled with dark energy and orbiting galaxies.
Something is dissolving there. Something is being unmade.
Aeren steps closer. Even now, the being cannot see him. Cannot sense him. Aeren might as well be a ghost, a whisper, a thought that never completed itself. He observes the being sitting beside a vast mountain—a mountain composed entirely of galaxies and stars, so massive that even this cosmic entity looks small beside it. It is a universe-mountain, a towering peak of condensed creation rising alone in the emptiness, as if it was born by itself, emerging from nothingness without origin or purpose.
The being is doing something at the mountain's base. But Aeren cannot yet determine what.
The First Communication
Aeren looks at the being and shapes a thought—a deliberate creation born from his will. He focuses his intention and releases it toward the cosmic one.
In Nothingness, only creation functions. Without creation, nothing moves, nothing speaks, nothing exists. Even the simplest action—a step forward, a gesture—must be created first. Even Aeren's act of shrinking himself earlier was an act of creation, a deliberate shaping of emptiness into form.
Creation is the only force that can persist for even a moment before dissolving back into the void. It is temporary. Ephemeral. Yet it is the only thing that gives structure to the infinite emptiness. So Aeren forms a thought, compresses its meaning, and deliberately sends it toward the cosmic being.
Aeren's question manifests as pure intent:
"HEY, DID YOU FORGET ME?"
His thought reaches the being—and immediately dissolves into Nothingness upon arrival, completing its journey and ceasing to exist. The cosmic being snaps out of his stillness, his entire frame registering the impact of that thought. But his reaction is nothing more than absolute, unsettling calm.
His expressionless, colorless head does not shift. His form does not recoil. He does not stand—he cannot stand unless he creates the act of standing. In Nothingness, even movement requires deliberate creation, an act of will shaped into being.
So the cosmic being remains seated at the base of the universe-mountain, completely unmoving, untouched, as if Aeren's presence is nothing more than a passing ripple in an ocean that cannot hold waves.
The Nature of Creation and Meaning
When Aeren created his thoughts and brought them into existence, he realized something profound about his previous life—it had been an illusion.
In that illusion, when he lived as a human bound by mortal laws, everything felt meaningless and empty without true creation. The world moved around him through natural forces, through air and light and physics—but he could not create anything fundamental. He could only manipulate what already existed.
Yet here, with the act of creation—with the ability to shape thoughts, to build paths for those thoughts to travel, to manifest will into temporary existence—even the simplest actions became imbued with meaning. Taking a step. Speaking a word. Existing for a moment. Each required creation, and therefore each carried weight.
Aeren reflected on how he could have embraced his previous illusion, accepting it just as he had during his time as a human, accepting death as a natural part of life. It would have been easier. Far more beneficial. He could have lived in blissful ignorance.
But having transcended to his current state, standing in Nothingness itself, he understood the terrible truth: he had to create everything around him. The ability to communicate. The ability to exist. The ability to perceive. All of it required deliberate creation, and that creation was the only source of meaning in an infinite void.
This was the cruelty of reality.
That was why Aeren believed so completely in the truth of nothingness—it was not an absence, but the most genuine reality. During his human existence, others had been shielded from this cruelty, remaining blissfully unaware that they, too, were creating everything. They created their perceptions without realizing it. Created their experiences. Created the meaning that made their lives feel purposeful. All of it automatic, all of it invisible, all of it dependent on forces they could never control.
Fortunately, Aeren possessed the Eyes of Emptiness. They allowed him to perceive reality without the need for constant creation. Through these eyes, nothingness itself was revealed, and everything within nothingness truly belonged to him in a way it could never belong to those still trapped in the illusion.
The Response
The being does not stand or move. Instead, he creates a thought—deliberately shapes intention from the emptiness—and Aeren receives it. The thought reaches him only because the being created a path for it to travel. Because in Nothingness, nothing moves unless it is created. Nothing travels unless a way is made. Nothing communicates unless intention is shaped and directed.
Aeren sees the cruelty of this truth clearly now. In the world he once lived in, air and sound waves carried noise effortlessly. Light traveled naturally. Water flowed through natural channels. All of it moved without thought, without effort, without deliberate creation.
But here, in this place, nothing carries anything. Every action, every expression, every connection must be created from absolute zero. It is not creation in the usual sense—not the bringing of new things into being—because creation here dissolves instantly into Nothingness. The moment it completes its function, it ceases to exist. This is why this realm is not called the realm of creation. It is the realm of Not-Creationness—where creation exists only long enough to serve its purpose before dissolving completely.
The being's created thought arrives in Aeren's awareness, formed and directed and complete:
"WHO!"
A simple question. A single word of surprise and uncertainty. Yet the being cannot know who speaks to him, cannot know if anyone is truly speaking at all. In Nothingness, perception is impossible without creation. Without deliberate manifestation.
The being has no sight to see, no ears to hear, no sensory organs to perceive the world around him. He cannot stand without creating a stand. Cannot express without creating expression. Cannot realize anything without creating realization—because even realization, even understanding, must be shaped into existence.
Aeren understands this clearly. His realizations do not come from creation. They arise from Void itself. His understanding flows from nothingness directly, without the intermediary of deliberate thought. He is part of the void, and the void is part of him. His comprehension is Nothingness, and Nothingness is his understanding.
Another Understanding
Aeren sees this truth clearly, and another understanding forms within him. This one is different—not a realization born from nothingness, but a created thought. Something he deliberately shapes and molds into being.
Humans live in heaven, he thinks. They live in a universe designed to be gentle, designed to be breathable, designed to be survivable. The world provides for them. Air enters their lungs without their creating it. Light reaches their eyes without deliberate effort. Sound travels to their ears through natural forces.
And yet they complain. They demand meaning. They rage against existence. They search desperately for purpose as if it could be found rather than created. They suffer endlessly over the meaninglessness of life, never understanding that they are the ones who must create that meaning, and they do it constantly without awareness.
Here, in Nothingness, Aeren finally sees the absurdity of it all. Meaning, suffering, joy, identity—all the things humans chase with such desperation—all of them exist only because beings like this cosmic one create them. And all of it dissolves the moment creation ends. Every emotion requires creation. Every expression requires deliberate will. Every moment of connection requires shaping something from nothing.
Aeren lets this thought dissolve. He does not send it anywhere; there is no purpose in sharing it. Creation appears, then melts back into Nothingness. Form becomes void. Order becomes chaos. Meaning returns to emptiness.
The Message
Then Aeren shapes a new thought—this one deliberately crafted for the being. He creates a wave, a path, the only mechanism through which thought can travel in this place. Because in Nothingness, even direction must be created. Even the concept of "toward" requires deliberate manifestation.
His thought reaches the cosmic being, structured and complete:
"Pity. I pity you now. I admired you once—your strength, your power, your resistance to annihilation. But seeing you like this, broken and dissolving, it fills me with pity. You are becoming nothing, and unlike me, you cannot accept it. Well, I am Aeren. That is my answer to your question."
The being receives the message completely. Yet he shows no reaction. No visible change. No movement.
It is not because he feels nothing. In truth, the being wants to be shocked. Wants to widen his eyes, to recoil in surprise, to express the disbelief that surely fills his consciousness. Wants to stand and face this intruder. But he cannot.
Here, every emotion must be created before it can be expressed. Every response must be shaped into existence. Every gesture must fight against the dissolution that threatens to unmake it the moment it forms.
He wants to react. But he does not create it. So there is nothing. Silence. Stillness. The void remains undisturbed.
The Companionship of Nothingness
Aeren sits beside the being. The being cannot sense him—cannot see him, cannot locate him through any mechanism of perception—but such things barely matter here. Presence and absence are both created states. To exist next to someone, you need not be perceived.
Yet when the being receives Aeren's name—when he learns the identity of this impossible visitor—something stirs within his consciousness.
He begins creating a thought. He shapes intention from the void, then constructs a wave—a path along which that thought can travel—and finally sends it toward Aeren with deliberate precision.
The thought reaches him, fully formed:
"Aeren, huh. You still exist. How did you reach this place? How did you survive dissolution? You are not a CosmoSapiens—. What are you? How do you create thought? How do you read thought? How do you perceive anything here without the constant effort of creation?"
The being remains seated, completely unmoving. He shows no expression—because an expression must be created, and he chooses not to create one. Yet his question carries layers of genuine curiosity and something else. Recognition, perhaps. Or acknowledgment.
Reading in the Void
Aeren reads the thought—and reading is harder than sending.
If you want to send a thought, you create it and release it. Simple. But to read a thought, you must do something far more complex. You must create words inside yourself. You must take the wave sent toward you, compile it into meaning, understand its structure and intention, and then carefully erase it from your mind so that the space clears and you can shape new understanding.
In Nothingness, even comprehension must be created.
Aeren reads all of the being's thoughts, parsing each layer of meaning. What catches his attention is not the questions themselves, but what lies beneath them. The surprise. The genuine shock that someone—something—else has reached this place. The realization that Aeren was not destroyed when they fought, but transformed.
So Aeren creates a new thought, shapes it deliberately, forms the wave, and sends it toward the being:
"I came after death. That is your answer. Now give me mine. What is a 'CosmoSapiens'? Why are you dissolving—falling apart at the edges? And what is your name? Do you even have one anymore, or has that dissolved too?"
Aeren asks everything at once. He has learned much in this nothingness, but knowledge itself is limited here. Here, knowledge is a creation, and creation leads to realization—and the more realizations one creates, the faster one can shape existence itself. In this cruel reality, information is the closest thing to power.