It was a gorgeous morning. A beautiful morning. A perfect morning.

The Sun rose over the Lyriumian grassland as Amneris, Leo and Jay emerged from the forest on their usual morning run. Birds and dragons flew overhead. Fish jumped from the river leading to the Great Lake and sparkled in the sunlight. Wai'u and unicorns grazed happily on the morning dew-stained grass. They lifted their heads to watch the three figures dash across the path along the cliff edge, leading down to Lapide. Seeing no threat, they quickly returned to eating.

Amneris laughed when she noticed this, slowing her pace to wave at the animals. Jay tugged her long braid as he passed to catch up with Leo who was ahead of them both. Amneris growled at her friend, giving chase down the hill, quickly passing both males with a triumphant laugh.

The three entered Lapide, following their usual path through the city, down to the beach, over the sand and River, and back up the other side of the city. They jogged uphill, waving and saying hello to the few other people awake so early as they made their way up to the Palace.

They slowed to a walk as they reached the large Palace doors. The guards outside let the panting three—well, two. Amneris wasn't tired at all—inside. They knew them all well and had for centuries now. After all, Amneris was Queen, Leo was her main General and Jay was one of her two main Advisors. It was far from uncommon for the three to arrive together early in the morning. They did it at least once a week.

Amneris collapsed into her usual chair once they reached the main dining room on the lowest floor. Leo and Jay looked like gasping fish as they sat, almost keeling over. Amneris couldn't help but laugh at their struggle. They promptly flipped her off.

The usual morning buffet was yet to be made available as almost everyone was still asleep. Even so, the Palace Cooks knew well enough the three often showed up at this time on this day and made sure to have their breakfasts ready to go. It didn't matter how many times the three insisted they could cook it themselves; it was always prepared for them.

Amneris sighed as a mug of sahlab appeared on the table in front of her, sent straight from the kitchen with a few pieces of toast and butter. All was hot and steaming, just the way she liked it on a crisp morning.

Things were good. The world was good. Oh, sure, there was the occasional attack from the few remaining—and frustratingly stubborn—Rebels who had to be dealt with, but there hadn't been one for months. Unfortunately, "months" wasn't a long time for immortals.

The powers of the Photon and Silent Cores were back where they belonged and the Walls of the Worlds were, thankfully, still in one piece. Quite honestly, the stunt Kek and Jennix pulled could've caused a disaster, but nothing seemed to be happening. Thank the Gods for that.

All things considered, things on the God Worlds were good. Peaceful even.

Gods, she was bored.

"Oh no. I know that look."

Amneris' gaze snapped toward Jay. "What look?"

"Your bored face," he said around a mouthful of cereal. "You always do it before something bad happens."

She let out a disbelieving laugh. "When has that ever happened?"

"The attack on the Academy," Jay answered.

"The time you and Nikki stole that diamond which turned out to be an exploding star in a carbon shell," Leo added, pointing a piece of cut fruit at her. "Almost started a war."

"The day Thor challenged you to a fight."

"The time Jennix stole your powers."

"The time you almost destroyed the Duat."

"Hetsipara."

"Hel."

"Olympus."

"Asgard."

"Tatyus."

"Okay! Okay! I get it!" Amneris held her hands up in defense. "Just because I'm maybe a little bored doesn't mean there's gonna be a megaversal catastrophe."

Leo and Jay frowned, unconvinced.

"Seriously?" Amneris asked. "Do you have so little faith in me?"

Their frowns deepened.

"I hate both of you."

* * * * * * * *

The thought didn't cross her mind until she was well into the day's work.

Amneris' P.A. Ryan brought in another batch of paperwork—the will of Naka, she always complained. He always brought a mug of tea and some chocolate, the sweet boy.

Ryan had been given the job a while back, after Amneris unofficially adopted him. It wasn't uncommon. Amneris considered all the kids living in the Palace, most having come from some rather nasty situations, under her protection and care. She knew her father felt the same way. Quite a few of them had jobs in the Palace, others either in school or working around the city.

At the top of the new pile of paperwork—still the work of Naka—was a document sent from Terpola. It was signed off by their Queen, her sister, Xix. It looked to be their weekly report from the Monitor Stations around Creation. The Lyriumians and Terpolites took those in weekly cycles. It was probably another report of how absolutely nothing had changed.

The sight of her sister's name gave Amneris an idea. She pushed the paperwork aside and begun typing on the table. White flashes of keys lit up under her fingers on the wood, a screen appearing moments later.

"Good morning, Sister," Xix said cheerfully, sipping from a mug. "How are you this fine morning?"

"I'd guess as good as you!" Amneris laughed. "Seriously, you're strangely happy. Did you finally ask that girl out?"

"No, I'm just having a good morning." Steam curled from her mouth as she spoke. Right, it was winter in Crita. "You called early this week. Is something wrong?"

Might as well get to the point. "Do you think something bad happens every time I get bored?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it's true." Xix pulled a fuzzy purple blanket around her shoulders. "Every time you get bored, you start wishing something exciting would happen, and every single time, some world-ending, extremely violent, Yenari*-threatening thing happens. I swear you are cursed."

"Gee. Thanks . . ."

"Working already?"

Amneris glanced at the pile of paperwork. "Unfortunately."

"Hmm. Try not to burn the pile when you see something you don't like this time."

"No promises."

A small tremor made her cup of tea rattle. Amneris placed a hand over it, looking around cautiously. That was weird.

"Everything okay?" Xix asked, having noticed her expression.

"A tremor."

"Lapide doesn't get quakes."

"I know. It's—aah!"

Amneris was shaken from her seat as a quake hit. The entire Palace shook, the walls and floor fracturing. She scurried under the desk. From here, she could still see out the window. All of Lapide was shaking! The ocean stirred up a storm, tossing anchored boats this way and that. Windows shattered, buildings cracked, some even caving in under the strain. People took cover wherever they could.

It wasn't just Lapide. Amneris grasped her head as images from all over Lyriumia flooded into her mind. The shaking triggered avalanches around Kiloqua and Erostah's glaciers fractured. Fissures opened up around Voliabyi, the Lava Lake spilling over. Mud slides were triggered all around the Desert region, taking out the far side of Subreai. Cave ins happened all around Haelia. Ariuma begun to show signs of sinking into Lyriumia's crust as new canyons opened up nearby. The Academy's shields were raised just as it was hit by a tidal wave. Even Iraliya was affected by the shaking, its engines struggling to compensate for the planet-wide shockwaves.

It was over almost as fast as it begun.

Amneris clambered out from under the desk, pulling herself back up to see the line from Terpola still open. There was sign of damage there as well.

"What in the Worlds was that?" Xix exclaimed, her face coming back into frame.

"Whatever it was, it wasn't caused by me or my boredom." She turned back to the window. "We'll talk later. I think we're both gonna be swamped for the next few days."

Xix nodded. "Catch up at the usual meeting and exchange notes there?"

"Done. Good luck."

"You too."

* * * * * * * *

Significant damage had been done in certain areas around the world, Subreai and Voliabyi having taken the brunt of the shockwaves. Even with their powers, it took hours to dig out everyone trapped underground and to redirect the lava flow enough for help to get in. There were many reports of miracle rescues and survivals, especially after the mudslide. Subreai would need some serious rebuilding.

Amneris kept track of everything from the Palace's Viewing Platform, a secret room at the very top of the Palace only Core Guardians could enter. Images of her world spun around her, allowing Amneris to see what was happening at all times and direct her people as necessary.

She'd received several calls from friends and allies off world, asking what the hell was happening and if they'd help. Too busy dealing with her own world's issues, Amneris promised to send help once everything on her planet was relatively back to normal.

Of course everyone assumed the God Worlds would have the answer to this Creation wide disaster. Most of the damage was done on the Higher Planes, with the Lower Planes being more confused than damaged. But it was enough for even the lowest of Lower Beings to know something wasn't right, even if they refused to acknowledge it. Not pointing any fingers.

The problem was Amneris was just as clueless as everyone else. She couldn't think of anything with the power to affect all of Creation with a shockwave that massive. Unless there was something obvious she was missing. Had this happened before? And if so, did they know what caused it? Well, there was one way to find out.

"Database search: Yenari Catastrophe."

A holographic screen of results appeared in front of her displaying a very helpful "No Results Found". Amneris frowned, trying to think of another way to word her search. It wouldn't be the first time that was the issue.

"Database search: Yenari shockwave?"

Still no results. Maybe this hadn't happened before. That was a disturbing thought.

"Database search: What can affect all of Yenari at once?"

No results. This definitely hadn't happened before. Amneris shivered. It wasn't often they dealt with something new. Creation—Yenari—had a cycle. Everything had happened somewhere at least once in the billions of years the God Worlds had been around. As the Earth species liked to say, history is always doomed to repeat itself.

Only this time, it was something entirely new. And powerful. New and powerful. Never a good mix. Was it possible they were facing something from Beyond? If so, that would be even worse. No one knew what Beyond was like and it couldn't be reached by any conventional methods. Hell, its existence was only confirmed a year ago when those Humans and that Cyborg showed up from two different megaverses.

Amneris hummed in thought. Maybe this had happened before, but not in this version of Creation. She quickly dismissed the thought. Even if it had, there was no way to gather information from Beyond.

She was pulled from her thoughts by an incoming call from Xix. "'Sup, little sis?"

"Something very bad," she answered, typing. "I'm sending through readings I received a few minutes ago from one of our Monitor Stations. They match the time and date of that shockwave to the second. You won't believe what it was."

The readings appeared on another screen. Amneris scanned them, her eyes widening. "Please tell me the people working there got bored and this is a prank."

"Afraid not." Xix sat forward. "We haven't been able to communicate with them since."

"Okay. Alright. Not a problem. I'm sure we can figure this out without panicking—"

"Are you kidding?" Xix exclaimed, panicking. "This is worse than anything I could've imagined!"

"Take a few deep breaths before you start hyperventilating, please." Amneris pulled up another screen in front of her. "I'm setting up an emergency Council meeting. We're gonna have to do this virtually at the state everything seems to be in. Pass on the message to your allies."

"Okay. See you soon."

"Oh, and Xix?"

"Yes?"

"Remember to breathe."

* * * * * * * *

The meeting was most definitely a rushed job with a few of the regulars missing. Things all over Creation had been thrown out of whack, even more so than when Balance had been lost. Most people were focusing on fixing the damage done to their people and words, so the important information discussed, assuming there was any, would be passed onto them later.

With Amneris were half of the usual suspects: Leo (General), Nikki (Second), Carmin (Advisor), Jay (Advisor) and Colt (technically King now but also an Advisor).

Zoe was off fixing the planetary shields which had been damaged in the blast. Dan was looking after his and Carmin's kid while helping around Voliabyi. Kayla was off-world, attending a Healer's Convention on Keprailia. She'd called in earlier to say some damage had been done to Atlantria and she was busy helping out. Hathor was off-world as well, doing some group mission thing with her friends. They'd also called in earlier to say they were okay.

With Xix were her regulars: Ema (Advisor and Emissary) and Axel (Advisor). They all appeared as holograms sitting around the table.

Other people present as holograms included: Zane, Ray, Tayla, Ethan, Alina, Homa, Kai, Diana and Eirene. A lot of people were missing, but it was hardly surprising. Things were, after all, pretty crazy. The numbers didn't matter in the end. All that matter was what they'd come to discuss.

Nikki started them off. "So, long story short, the Walls are crumbling."

"Yes," Xix confirmed.

"And that's bad."

"Quite bad."

Nikki glared at Amneris. "Did you get bored?"

Amneris rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone always assume shit is my fault?"

Colt placed a hand over hers. "It usually is, Tali."

"It wasn't this time!"

"Shockingly, she's right." Jay put a file on screen for everyone to see. It was the recordings sent by Xix from the Terpolite Monitor Station. "I talked this over with Zoe before she left. Notice how the energy spikes are regular? It looks like something from the other side was trying to break through."

"But all that's on the other side is the Void," Eirene said. "Nothing could break through."

"Except for the Void Beasts."

Kai asked, "What are Void Beasts?"

"A little term we use to describe the local inhabitants of the Void," Amneris answered. "From what we can tell, Void Beasts are pure anti-matter formed together to create this being."

She sent an image from her tablet to the large screen. It was an almost see-through being looking like something out of a horror movie. Its body was a dim orange-gold colour with smooth skin and a whole bunch of tentacles on its lower body. Its head was large, the top covered with dozens of eyes and the bottom being an unnaturally large mouth.

"How the fuck did we never spot that?" Homa asked incredulously.

"Because only people with exposure to the Void or with a heritage going back to the God Worlds have the ability to see them when they enter Creation, which happens very rarely," Leo said. "There's the occasional attack and sometimes people go missing, but they mostly keep to themselves in the Void."

"It's very hard to go between the two places," Nikki continued. "It only happens when a tear in the fabric of Creation is created, and even then it's often accidental."

"We repair the tears pretty fast," Amneris added, "but I haven't sensed one yet. Our equipment hasn't detected anything either."

Alina leaned forward, placing her hands on the table. "Has anything like this ever happened before?"

"No. Never."

"That's reassuring," Tayla muttered.

"Would it be safe to assume the shockwave and sudden disappearance of worlds are connected?"

Everyone faced Diana.

"What do you mean 'sudden disappearance of worlds'?" Colt asked.

Diana blinked. "I, uh, well I assumed you knew. Some of our nearby stars and planets have begun vanishing. Our nearest planetary system has gone totally dark! But it's like a systematic removal, if that makes sense. From one side of the sky to the other."

"Sounds like Void Beasts to me," Amneris sighed. "They destroy everything in their path."

"The thing is, it just stopped not long after that shockwave," she continued. "Nothing has vanished from our sky since."

Colt frowned. "Strange. Horus is stationed on the U.F.W. He would have mentioned if something this major happened."

"I haven't been able to reach him," Amneris said. "Hathy is dropping by on her way back here. He's probably just lost his communicator again, or it was damaged in the shockwave."

"You said Void Beasts are anti-matter beings," Kai said. "Elaborate?"

Ray explained. "Anti-matter is the opposite to matter. If they come together, they cancel each other out. However, the anti-matter of the Void is unique. It exists everywhere that isn't Creation, so it's pretty strong. We think at some point it became sentient in a way. The particles come together to form what we call Void Beasts so they can survive, if only for a short amount of time, in Creation.

"Here they destroy everything in their path, essentially eating it up. We don't know what happens to the stuff that gets destroyed because there's almost no record of anything coming back from the Void."

Xix nodded and continued. "The only record of someone returning from the Void is in what we call the Chronicles. It's basically our mythological stories. There is a lot of debate over whether or not anything in them is true and since the Gods refuse to say one way or the other, there probably always will be. Anyway, there is one story about a woman called Amneris—"

"Not me," Amneris interrupted. "Just sos we're clear. Different lady. Well before my time."

"As I was saying," Xix said, "according to the story, Amneris went to the Void through a tear in Creation. She said how she came across other beings and worlds there, and how the laws of Creation were broken in pretty much every way you can and can't think of. The place goes against everything we know and is very difficult to survive.

"The stories claim Amneris was the first one to discover the Void Beasts' origin as anti-matter beings. It also says how they take on a proper physical form in the Void, something which can't be done in Creation due to exotic particles. Though the thing that I personally found most interesting is how several worlds which were recorded as 'missing' or 'lost' after Void Beast attacks were found in the Void itself. Unfortunately, there's no way to determine whether or not any of this is true."

"I understood maybe half of what you said," Homa muttered.

Jay rolled his eyes. "The VBs can only take on physical form in the Void. You can't see them in Creation unless you're from either Lyriumia or Terpola. While in Creation, they om nom everything they get their slimy tentacles on and possibly shit it out in one piece in the Void. We don't know for sure because it's in a book of basically bedtime stories for kids."

"Very violent and sometimes dark bedtime stories for kids," Amneris corrected.

"Don't all kiddie bedtime stories and songs have some sort of dark history and message in them?"

"Yeah, but we don't talk about that because some people, and by people I mean mostly Humans, are very sensitive about content they show their children, to the point they edit out shit that isn't even disturbing."

Ema kicked her feet onto the table. "Has anything actually happened aside from a big shockwave and a few uninhabited worlds vanishing?"

"Not that we are aware of," Xix said.

"Well, then I say we're being paranoid."

Jay narrowed his eyes at her. "Remember the last time you said that? Our worlds were at War and we had that cliché final battle to defeat Enliatu?" He gestured at Amneris. "She blew herself up."

Ema blinked, taking her feet back off the table. "Yeah, good point."

"Let's think about this logically," Zane said. "What is our best-case scenario?"

"A few rogue Beasties thought it would be funny to terrorize Creation for a day," Nikki answered.

"And our worst-case scenario?"

"All of Creation plummets into the Void, presumably destroying everyone and everything but the people who can survive the constant bombardment of anti-matter," Amneris said with a shrug.

Everyone went silent.

"It's gonna be the worst-case scenario, isn't it?" Nikki asked.

"Very probably," Carmin said.

"Oh boy."

Eriene sat back, crossing her arms. "Is there anything we can do about this?"

"Well, unless anyone conveniently has any suggestions?" No one replied. Amneris sighed. "No, there's nothing we can do but keep an eye on the situation as best as possible." She turned to Xix. "And by 'we' I mean 'us'."

"I got that."

* * * * * * * *
* Creation