"How is that possible?" Reiki shook his head in disbelief. "How can the Universe Will pick the side of the dark one? It is the purest sentient form in the universe. That is impossible." Reiki argued.
"Even the purest of objects can be corrupted." Grandpa Winks snorted in disdain. "Not everyone can be like you with a mental age of 12 forever." He continued. All beings were born innocent. If one had any doubt about this, they could just look into the eyes of a new born. Those pair of eyes are chock full of naivety and purity, yet in a few years that wouldn't be the case. First came the mischievous stage, where they are a handful. Then came rebellion and adolescence. It is during these two stages that the character of the child is forged. By the time they reach adulthood, they would be pretty much set in their ways. The important thing is, they didn't maintain the innocence they were born with. It would be shed off long before they even reached the adolescent stage.
The Universe Will was no different. It wasn't born before the cosmos came to be but after. This was the reason why some ancient races were older than the Universe Will. Once it was born, it was innocent and full of childish naivety. So it began to learn. How? By observing the beings of the Universe. Anything born of the universe after the Will had been formed was also born of the Will. Until one reached the level of an Ascender, the intangible mark of the universe would remain. This allows the Will to see all that occurs in the cosmos. And this was how it learned. This wasn't an omnipotent ability though. When one became an Ascender, they could shrug off the imprint of the Will, and rid themselves of the peeping tom. Even the Universe Will had no means to go against a truly powerful Ascender.
Like a curiously innocent neonate, the Will watched everything in secret, with most unaware that their actions were witnessed by what we can refer to as the keeper of the universe. No matter what was done, how it was done and where, as long as one was below the ascension realm, the Will saw it all. It learned to differentiate between good and evil, and saw all those who hid in the shadows, those who fought for the ancient artefact of doom, the Dark Sword. This was a sword that was before the Will was, and so it created a force to fight against that evil- the eternals. And then it provided a leader for this force- the Supreme. At least that was what they thought before.
"The Supreme, the eternals, none of us were made by the Will." Grandpa Winks stated. His words surprised Reiki who asked, "So if it didn't, who did?" Reiki was a bit baffled by what he was hearing. For an artefact so old, it was surprising that he didn't know any of these secrets. Then again, he was always tethered to his masters and so only knew what they told him.
"The maker of the universe of course. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to gather much information about this elusive figure. It's almost as if The Creator disappeared immediately after his work was done."
"We?" Reiki asked with a raised eyebrow. "Myself and the old gang." Grandpa Winks said with a smile. "The old gang's still active? Geez, you people truly never die." Reiki sighed in exasperation.
Grandpa Winks laughed at his comment. "Wait, you still haven't told me why you suspect that the Will has turned on us." Reiki finally recalled that there was something he wanted to know. He knew the Cold Emperor long enough to understand that the ancient eternal didn't believe in speculation, only results. Although he had vehemently denied that the Will wasn't what it was, that was the normal reaction anyone who knew the implications of what that meant would have. He wanted to know what fuelled his friend and former master's belief.
"The Will has one flaw." Grandpa Winks said. Reiki impatiently asked, "Which is?" Grandpa Winks sternly stated, "It is lonely."
"How is that a flaw?" Reiki asked perplexed.
"Think about it this way: you always have a master accompanying you most of the time. You've never truly been alone. You have someone to talk to, one to keep you company. The Will doesn't." Grandpa Winks kindly explained.
"I see. So how is this truly a flaw?" Reiki wondered. "The Dark Sword used this. The bane of light allowed itself to be spied upon by the Will, and the inquisitive Will entered the very obvious trap. The dark one befriended the lonely Will, and twisted its thinking, informing a change in its worldly outlook- well in this case, universal outlook." Grandpa Winks' words caused a look of enlightenment to appear on the face of the naïve eternal throne.
"I see. So what do we do now?" Reiki asked, genuinely worried about the Supreme One. "Nothing" Grandpa Winks replied. "Wait, what do you mean when you say 'nothing'. How can we do nothing when the Will seeks the head of the true heir of the universe?"
"The heir is well protected. He is in a realm that is hidden from the prying eyes of the Will. And the Will doesn't dare to. The family of the Supreme One is a dangerous enemy to make out of. It can only bid its time as it creates an army with the help of the Dark Sword."
"But why are you telling me all this? Do you not fear that I will spill the beans to your successor?" Reiki wondered out loud.
"Nope. You cannot." Grandpa Winks smiled mischievously. "You really trust me, don't you?" Reiki smirked in pride.
"No I don't. But I have told you this before. And just like I did several years into the future, I can still do now."
Reiki was surprised by his friend's words. "Do what exactly?" he asked.
"Wipe you memories." The Cold Emperor smiled mysteriously. "Now" Grandpa Winks commanded. In response to his words, one of the servants from before appeared in the room. It wasn't teleportation, no it wasn't that. He had been there all this while, a true master of elusion. He was his master's shadow, following him wherever and ensuring his safety. One who could evade the senses of an ancient artefact was mighty skilled indeed.
"Wait wait wait!" Reiki frantically exclaimed as he tried to escape the memory scape. Unfortunately, it was the servant that got to him first.
"Wipe-out" the subordinate whispered