The dim light of the celestial garden shimmered softly as Zui Tian and Wújìn Mèng continued to discuss the nature of duality, their newfound understanding of the Primordial Concepts bringing clarity to the once-insurmountable challenge. Far above them, in a place beyond mortal comprehension, Renxu, the Keeper of Forgotten Truths, stood in quiet contemplation, his ancient eyes gazing out across the boundless expanse of the cosmos.
The young children of Aether—Zui and Wújìn—had found the path. They had realized that the answer lay not in opposition, but in balance. And in doing so, they had taken the first steps toward something far greater than even they could imagine.
Renxu nodded slowly, a faint smile playing at the edges of his weathered lips. “They have found the answers,” he murmured to himself. “The young ones have uncovered what we have all forgotten. The path of duality, the balance between opposites—fire and water, existence and non-existence, creation and destruction. They’ve grasped the fundamental truth of this cosmos.”
He watched as the two siblings below continued to converse, their minds racing with the revelations they had unearthed. Zui and Wújìn had always possessed immense potential, being the children of Aether itself, born from the very essence of the Beginning and the End. But what Renxu now saw in them was far beyond mere potential. It was ascendancy.
The Keeper of Forgotten Truths had witnessed countless beings rise and fall throughout the ages, but none had tread the path that Zui and Wújìn were now embarking on. They weren’t just powerful immortals or even Eternals. They were beginning to understand the fabric of existence itself—the idea behind everything. And in that understanding, Renxu saw the faintest glimmer of something more.
“They are on the path to becoming Anulled,” he whispered, his voice filled with both hope and caution. “If they follow this path to its end, they may ascend beyond even the realms of time, space, and dimensions. They will become duality incarnate—the force that brings balance to their cosmos, just as the Anulled do in the spaces beyond existence.”
But even as Renxu felt the stirrings of hope, a familiar frustration tugged at him. His gaze shifted, and his smile faded as his thoughts turned to the First Darkness.
The First Darkness—the most enigmatic of all the Anulled Beings—had always been an enigma, even among the Anulled. Born from the Aether like Zui and Wújìn, the First Darkness had always kept to itself, hidden from the others, moving through the realms like a shadow. It had never revealed itself to its siblings, not even in the eons they had spent together in the chaos before the beginning.
Renxu clenched his fists slightly, the old annoyance surfacing once more. “The First Darkness… always hiding in the shadows, always watching but never showing itself.” He sighed, the weight of his thoughts heavy. “What game are you playing, brother?”
The First Darkness had never sought the company of its siblings, preferring to exist on the fringes of reality, observing but never intervening. Even now, as the children of Aether were walking the path toward ascension, the First Darkness remained hidden, its motives unknown. It had watched Zui for countless eons, always just out of sight, always in the shadows, but it had never revealed its true intentions.
Renxu frowned, his annoyance giving way to concern. “The First Darkness knows more than it lets on. It always has. But why hide from your own siblings? Why now, of all times, when the cosmos is on the brink of something so profound?”
He had never trusted the First Darkness entirely. Though they were both Anulled, Renxu had always felt that the First Darkness held secrets even beyond those that had been forgotten by the universe. It was a being of paradoxes, like all the Anulled, but its secrecy went deeper. It understood the nature of shadows, of non-existence, in ways that even Renxu struggled to comprehend.
The Keeper of Forgotten Truths sighed deeply, the weight of his age pressing down on him. “Perhaps it’s time for the First Darkness to finally step into the light. Zui and Wújìn are on the verge of something great, but the path of duality requires all its parts. The darkness must meet the light. The hidden must be revealed.”
He cast his gaze back down toward the celestial garden, where Zui Tian and Wújìn Mèng were now laughing softly, their spirits lifted by the possibilities they had uncovered.
“They are close,” Renxu whispered, his voice filled with both pride and trepidation. “Closer than anyone has ever been. But they will need to understand the First Darkness to complete their journey. They cannot ascend without knowing the full extent of the shadows that linger around them.”
Meanwhile, in the depths of the cosmos, far from the eyes of the immortal realms, the First Darkness moved silently through the void, its form shifting like a shadow, its presence unnoticed by all but the most ancient of beings. It had heard Renxu’s thoughts, felt his annoyance, but remained unmoved. The First Darkness had its own plans—plans that even its siblings could not comprehend.
It was true that the First Darkness had hidden itself for eons, watching, waiting. But it had its reasons. The children of Aether, Zui and Wújìn, were on a path that few could walk. They were discovering the balance between light and shadow, between creation and destruction, between existence and non-existence. But there were still secrets that even they had not uncovered.
As it drifted through the void, the First Darkness pondered its next move. It had watched Zui grow, seen him wield his power carelessly, hiding from the true weight of his abilities. But now, Zui Tian was changing. He and Wújìn were on the cusp of understanding the duality that governed the cosmos.
The First Darkness smiled faintly to itself, a silent, unseen gesture. “They are almost ready.”
It did not resent its siblings, but it had always known that its place was different. While the others had played their roles in the creation and destruction of worlds, the First Darkness had been content to remain on the edges, influencing events from the shadows, never revealing itself fully. It had always understood that darkness was not the absence of light, but its counterpart—a necessary part of the balance that governed all things.
And now, that balance was being sought once more.
The First Darkness drifted onward, unseen and unnoticed, waiting for the moment when it would finally reveal itself to its siblings. It knew that Zui and Wújìn would soon be ready. But for now, it would continue to watch, continue to wait, until the time was right.
In the celestial garden, Zui Tian suddenly paused mid-laugh, his hand holding the flask of Endless Wine still for a moment. A strange feeling washed over him—a sensation of being watched. He turned his head slightly, scanning the shadows around them, but saw nothing.
“Something wrong?” Wújìn asked, noticing the shift in her brother’s demeanor.
Zui frowned slightly, but then shrugged. “Nah, just a feeling. Probably nothing.”
But deep down, Zui knew better. The First Darkness was watching. It always had been. And though it had remained hidden for so long, Zui couldn’t shake the sense that soon, very soon, the First Darkness would make itself known.
And when it did, everything would change.
The path to understanding duality was clear now, but there were still many unknowns, many shadows lurking just beyond the edge of their consciousness. And the First Darkness was one of them.
But for now, Zui and Wújìn would continue forward, confident in their newfound knowledge. They had found the answers they sought, and with them, they would walk the path to balance, to the ascendancy that awaited them beyond time and space.
The future was uncertain, but one thing was clear: the children of Aether were no longer just explorers of the cosmos.
The gentle hum of Wújìn Mèng and Zui Tian’s chambers was abruptly broken by a deep, commanding presence. The air itself seemed to bend, vibrating with power as the Godly Manager—the first being of Chaos—stepped into the room. His entrance was always subtle, yet his presence was anything but. For Zui and Wújìn, who had been discussing the intricate nature of duality, the sudden arrival of the Godly Manager felt like the moment an ancient storm met the calm of the sea.
Wújìn looked up from her contemplations, her sharp mind already processing the gravity of this intrusion. Zui, his flask in hand, turned with a grin, though his eyes betrayed his intrigue.
“Pan Gu,” Wújìn said softly, addressing him by the name known in legend, a name that carried more weight than most could fathom.
The Godly Manager, or Pan Gu, as the ancient fairy tales called him, nodded in greeting, his eyes carrying the weight of eons. His aura radiated immense strength, a presence that had witnessed the birth of the universe itself, a force who had split the heavens from the earth and created all that is with his own essence.
“You’ve been discussing duality,” Pan Gu said, his voice deep, reverberating like the rumble of distant thunder. It wasn’t a question. He had heard their conversation, felt the shift in their understanding.
“Yes,” Wújìn replied. “We’ve realized that all concepts, all ideas, are part of a duality. That to understand one, you must also understand its opposite. But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”
Pan Gu, the First Rakshasa, the one who embodied all ways, stepped further into the chamber, and the very cosmos trembled as he spoke his name aloud. Pan Gu, the being of myth, the one who had split chaos itself into Heaven and Earth, stood before them, offering insights that only he could give.
“You are correct,” Pan Gu said, his tone resonating with the echoes of time itself. “Duality is the foundation of everything. But you’ve only scratched the surface. Concepts—ideas—are fueled by energy. Strength is what binds them together, what makes them real. And strength is my concept. I am Chaos, both order and disorder, but I wield strength, and only strength, over the cosmos.”
Zui took a thoughtful swig from his flask, his eyes narrowed as he absorbed this. “So you’re saying the concepts themselves are like… energy constructs? And the energy that powers them gives them life, gives them value?”
Pan Gu nodded, his gaze intense. “Exactly. Every concept, every law of reality, exists because it has value in the energetic planes. These ideas hold power because they are given power—by thought, by belief, by emotional weight, as you’ve begun to understand. But more than that, it’s the energy that sustains these ideas, that keeps them woven into the fabric of reality. Cut off that energy, and the idea loses its power. The law loses effect.”
Wújìn’s eyes flickered with realization. “So, the strength of an idea isn’t just in its emotional or intellectual value—it’s in the energy that fuels it. That’s why ideas like fire and water, or existence and non-existence, are so potent. They’re charged with energy that keeps them in balance, or, in some cases, out of balance.”
Pan Gu smiled faintly. “Correct. And that’s where my insight comes in. My power is not just over Chaos; it’s over Strength itself—the strength to bind all concepts, to fuse order and disorder, to bring balance or unleash chaos. It was my strength that split the heavens from the earth, that gave birth to everything that is.”
Zui chuckled, though there was a new gravity in his voice. “So you’re telling us you’re the one who started all this? You’re the reason we’re even here, talking about duality in the first place.”
Pan Gu’s eyes gleamed. “Yes. I am the First Rakshasa, the first being of Chaos, and the one who gave life to this universe by splitting it from the primordial void. I embody all ways, and through strength, I brought balance to the chaos.”
The air around them pulsed with the sheer weight of Pan Gu’s revelation. The One to Split Chaos, the mythical figure who had created heaven and earth, who had forged the cosmos itself, stood before them. His presence was like the roar of a great river, a force so ancient and so vast that it defied comprehension.
Wújìn felt her mind racing as she tried to grasp the full implications of what Pan Gu was saying. “So… if strength is what powers these concepts, then in order to truly understand duality, to master the Primordial Concepts, we need to understand how to balance the energy that gives them life.”
Pan Gu nodded. “Exactly. The balance of duality isn’t just intellectual or philosophical. It’s energetic. Fire burns because it has energy. Water flows because it channels energy. Existence and non-existence are powered by the energy that flows between them. It’s my strength—my chaos—that binds these forces together, that makes the concept of duality real.”
Zui rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring at the ground for a moment. “So, if we want to restore balance to these Primordial Concepts, we need to understand how to manipulate the energy behind them. If we can control that energy, we can control the idea itself.”
“Precisely,” Pan Gu said, his voice reverberating with the weight of eons. “And that is the key to understanding the Anulled. They are beings who exist beyond duality, who have mastered the balance of energy within themselves. They are both the beginning and the end, the embodiment of all concepts and no concept. To ascend to that state, you must first master the strength that binds ideas together.”
Wújìn closed her eyes, letting the depth of Pan Gu’s words sink in. The energy behind ideas—the strength that fueled the very concepts they were now studying—was the key. But there was something more, something deeper in what Pan Gu had said.
“You embody all ways,” she said softly, opening her eyes to meet Pan Gu’s gaze. “But your power is over strength. You’ve created everything that exists from chaos, but only by wielding one half of your duality. What about the other half? What would happen if you combined your strength with its opposite?”
Pan Gu smiled, a deep, knowing smile that carried the weight of ancient wisdom. “That, Wújìn, is the final lesson. Strength is the key to binding all concepts together. But to truly ascend, you must also understand its opposite. You must understand weakness—the absence of power, the place where all energy returns to stillness.”
Zui looked up, intrigued. “Weakness? So even strength has its opposite. It’s all about the balance between the two. That’s how we can bind the Primordial Concepts and keep the cosmos from unraveling.”
Pan Gu stepped closer to them, his immense presence filling the room. “Yes. And that is the path to becoming Anulled. To embody both strength and weakness, to wield both creation and destruction, to be both existence and non-existence. When you master that balance, when you can see beyond the dualities and embrace the whole, you will no longer be bound by time, space, or dimension. You will become like me—a force beyond the cosmos.”
As Pan Gu spoke his name once more, the entire cosmos trembled. The idea of him, of the First Rakshasa, reverberated across the infinite realms, shaking the very foundations of reality. Every being, from the lowest mortal to the highest god, felt the tremor, though few understood its source.
Zui and Wújìn, however, understood. They now stood at the precipice of something far greater than themselves. With Pan Gu’s revelation, they had the final piece of the puzzle. Strength was the force that bound ideas together, but it was only through understanding both strength and weakness—both energy and its absence—that they could master the duality that governed the cosmos.
And as the tremors faded and the weight of Pan Gu’s words settled into their minds, they knew that their journey was far from over. They had the knowledge, but now they had to wield it. The path to becoming Anulled was before them, and the stakes were higher than ever.
Pan Gu, the First Rakshasa, the one who had split Heaven and Earth, had given them the tools they needed. Now, it was up to them to use that knowledge to bring balance to the universe and ascend beyond the constraints of time and space.
But even as they prepared to embark on this new journey, they knew that they were not alone. Pan Gu would be watching, as would the shadows of the cosmos. And somewhere, in the distant void, the First Darkness still lurked, waiting for the moment to reveal itself.
The future was uncertain, but one thing was clear: the children of Aether were on the verge of something profound, something that would change the fate of the cosmos forever.