Written by Menonono
In the neverending expanse of The Apex Plane, The Wheel continues ever onward. It spins, endlessly, sucking in and spitting out soul after soul. I have observed children be born, loves blossom, the rise and fall of nations, and the destruction of belief. Within all of them, The Wheel has spun. A constant, cacophony of decisions based upon pure chance. How many shall be spun, I do not know. It could be a few, it could be quadrillions. None of us know, now.
Ever onward, The Wheel spins.
Pluck.
Spin.
Spit out.
Repeat.
Again and again.
I have recovered from the pain of holding it back. My fear and pain, replaced with worry. Though I am aware of the end result of this grand event, I still observe this sensation within me. This groaning, obsessive, pulsing command that grips into my heart. It abides and resides within me, ever demanding more and more of this spin, requesting more despite my better sense within me going against it.
They have begun to move. Those chosen by The Wheel. The Wheel spun live their own lives, blissfully unaware of their grand cosmic purpose. One of the spun, a god, trifles against other beings and grows in power, not knowing that they are fated to serve the whims of beings even beyond themselves. A God of Thunder, squabbling with such minor trifles compared to such a grand concept. It would almost be laughable, if it were not so tragic.
I observe them all. The lives that were chosen from the uncaring Wheel. Without any rhyme or reason, these beings were the ones that were decided. Some hold the strength inside of them to crush mountains with their bare hands, whilst others cannot so much as hold up their own weight. A grand imbalance imbued in their own existence due to the nature of the chances of The Wheel.
I turn my gaze to the one, Darwizzy, the echoes of the essence of my twin. I see them struggle, fated by The Wheel to be a weakling without match. A dreg of scum left within the pools of essence, pathetic and everlasting. It pains me to see this, but something within me has become uncaring. Perhaps it is the power of The Wheel, echoing throughout the cosmos and The Apex plane that makes my heart still, or perhaps it is my knowing that all of this will be over soon enough. It does not matter. Not anymore.
I look upon The Wheel. It still spins, but I have noticed something. Something new.
A new soul has not been sucked in. This spin is slower than the rest have been, as if declaring something.
I open my eyes wide in realization. I raise my hand, almost in panic. “Assemble!” I cry out. I steady my words, though the quivering fear in my own heart has taken root.
The other primordials appear once more. They do not even look at me, they instead look at The Wheel.
“So, this is it.” Said Order.
“The end.” Death uttered.
“Is it?” Asked Life, a smirk on their face. “Or, perhaps, is this the beginning?”
“Yes.” Time stepped in. “This is the beginning.”
“The beginning of the end.” Announced Void.
Eternity shook, steadying their hands with a feverish smile on their face. “Yes… Here we are… finally…”
I remained silent. There is nothing I can contribute now. This is it.
As The Wheel slowly stops spinning, one of the options is selected. The final spin has concluded, and the soul is spat out into the uncaring universe.
Then, a strange sound erupts from The Wheel. It reminds me of…
“Is that… music?” Asked Void.
Indeed. Music. Almost a celebration of the ending of the spins. The constant cacophony of spins has ended and now instead we observe music.
It’s like a joke. In a short period, all life in the universe shall be essentially annihilated and yet this is ushered in with music. The sickening dichotomy makes me shudder. Was this a part of The Architect’s plan? Is this The Architect mocking us, making a final statement against us or something?
It no longer matters. Now, we must begin the second part of the plan.
“My siblings,” I begin. “We now must begin the second task. Time is of the essence.”
The other primordials looked at me, confusion evident on their faces.
“Whatever could you mean?” Asked Time.
“We must construct the arena.” I answered. This simply caused the other primordials to become even more confused.
“An arena?” Blurted out Death. “Why? Shall they not fight within their own universe?”
I shook my head. “No. Once eight remain, they shall be transported to the Apex plane. It is there that they shall do battle and the champion of the universe shall be decided.”
Order clenched their fist. In an uncharacteristically loud voice, they approached me and spoke. “Whatever could you mean by this? The Apex plane is for us! It is not for the finite! To bring in… mortal beings to our plane of existence? To tarnish it with more combat? How could you possibly be accepting of this?”
“Implying as if we have been without violence?” Death retorted. “Need I remind you why this predicament exists in the first place, Order?”
Order grimaced at Death. They said nothing, and Death stood their ground.
“I recognize that this is not ideal.” Void stepped in. “These creatures are unaware of our very existence. To bring them in to our plane would be quite the moment for them, but I must say I agree with Death. This land is no stranger to violence, and this time it is not unfettered, but contained. This violence has reason, and we may oversee it and ascertain it.”
Having been rebutted by two separate primordials, Order stepped back. “Very well.” They uttered.
With all of us prepared, we began to construct the arena.
With our powers, we summoned the hardest materials in all of existence to design the stage of our arena, the softest beds to sleep on, the most intelligent training dummies to practice with, and above all else, an observation area for each of us primordials to watch the battles.
While we were working, the music from The Wheel stopped. All became eerily quiet for but a moment.
And then, a horn blared. The shock of the sudden noise surprised each of us, but I realized what had happened immediately.
I turned my gaze over to the universe, and saw it.
Combat.
Those chosen by The Wheel have begun to battle. Not all at once, but… that blaring of the horn, it was like a signal to all of the Wheel Spun. A declaration of violence. I look upon each of them, and I can see their paths. They shall all cross, as if a thread of existence pulls them together. The violence is unstoppable. Even Darwizzy has begun to move.
Then came the blood.
“It has begun.” Muttered Death. “I can feel it.”
We were quiet. An eerie silence encompassed all of us. A silent understanding of our own faults causing this awful reality to exist for the finite kind hung amongst all of us.
“What happens if we try to stop it?” Asked Eternity.
I took a moment to think. Truthfully, I hadn’t thought about that. Knowing, however, the insistence of The Wheel, I know what the answer is without having to ask it.
“That is simply impossible.” I replied. “To put it simply, the violence is the only way. There is no stopping this now that it has started.”
We all worked in silence. We placed stones, shaped fragments, and gazed onwards. It was when our work was done that we all observed the universe together once more.
“That one, what is their name?” Asked Life.
“I believe they are referred to as SpaceInvader.” I responded. “A God of their universe. Why do you ask?”
Life shook their head. “I’m not quite sure.” They answered. “What an interesting name.”
“Yes…” I nodded. “I’ve noticed that many have intriguing names. I wonder why that is?”
“Perhaps it is a side-effect of being one of the chosen of The Wheel?” Life proposed.
“Perhaps that is true.” I replied. “Perhaps The Wheel does more than simply choose attributes for those that are spun. After all, The Wheel touches one’s very soul. Maybe it influences more than just their abilities, and can alter the very world that they experience?
Order flicked their wrist and summoned seats for all of us to sit upon. “Let us observe.” They said. “We may as well watch the flames of their lives as they burn.”
Tentatively, I took my seat alongside my siblings. We gazed on to the universe, watching as combat began. Some died, some were simply defeated, unexpected challengers would meet, and the results were not known by any until the end had come.
I took a deep breath. The end has come.