Her voice faded into the slowly unfurling tide of energy. No one caught that sly reminder; only the Chief, about to fall asleep, tilted her head and caught the last trace of its sound.
Vast energy exploded at the endpoint of the collapse, grinding everything in the old universe into its most fundamental particles.
In this forgotten wasteland, a long silence shrouded everything, and time seemed to have lost its meaning.
After an unknown stretch of time-perhaps centuries, perhaps only a fleeting instant-a mysterious, ancient organization followed that faint but persistent temporal signal through countless dangers and finally reached this forgotten corner.
A woman with ink-black hair and eyes that gleamed with a strange golden light looked around and scratched her head in confusion.
"This is the place," she muttered, her voice full of bewilderment. "But... why does it look so empty? There's nothing here."
She carefully searched the area, but still found no abnormalities or clues worth noting.
Though filled with confusion and curiosity, she could only bury those questions for now, silently recording the precise coordinates and deciding to return often to investigate.
As time slowly passed, more and more people came to this place.
At first, they came only to investigate that signal, but gradually, the people gathered here turned it into a regular meeting place.
Time slipped quietly by. After another unknown stretch, another lively gathering took place.
This time, in this desolate universe that had yet to be born, two teams of spirited young people got carried away and actually came to blows, fighting in the empty, primordial interstellar space.
Their erupting energies tangled and collided violently. This protracted, fierce battle stirred the immense energy that had lain dormant deep within space, drawing countless gazes and perceptions firmly to this place.
The woman engrossed in