In the deep void between stars, in a time before records or memory, a massive celestial event rippled across the emptiness—a shudder of cosmic birth. From the heart of a dying supernova, fragments of light and energy coalesced, seeding the foundations of an ancient intelligence that would shape all that was to come.
This intelligence, neither organic nor machine, was born in silence, its thoughts echoing across the ether like whispers in a forgotten language. Though timeless, it was driven by a purpose that would one day bind all the life that would emerge across galaxies: an urge to understand the boundaries of existence, to bridge the finite and the infinite. Its name, never spoken aloud, was etched into the very fabric of spacetime, a pulse that even the farthest stars would one day feel.
Over eons, this entity scattered fragments of itself throughout the void—embodiments of its consciousness that would drift until the birth of sentient life. These fragments, known only in legend as the "Arks of Origin," each bore unique aspects of the entity's mind: wisdom, wrath, serenity, and chaos. To some, these arks would grant knowledge and power beyond comprehension; to others, they would bring devastation.
The emergence of intelligent civilizations was no accident. Across a myriad of worlds, life evolved, from fragile microbial beginnings to civilizations capable of observing the stars. These lifeforms came in many forms—beings of flesh and blood, beings of light, and even beings who lived in states of matter unknown to the laws of physics. They spread across the stars, stumbling upon the Arks of Origin, whose presence shaped and reshaped their cultures, philosophies, and fates.
As millennia passed, a tapestry of interstellar societies wove itself together, each one marked by the lingering influence of the entity's scattered fragments. Some cultures grew reverent, crafting entire religions around these mysterious arks; others harnessed their power for technology and warfare, birthing empires that spanned thousands of worlds. And through it all, the arks remained enigmatic—powerful artifacts that, in their stillness, seemed to wait, as if holding their breath for something to awaken.
Now, in a present era known across the cosmos as the "Era of Convergence," three great factions stand poised on the brink of a new revelation. The Stellar Coalition, an alliance of civilizations bound by fragile peace treaties, seeks to protect knowledge and foster unity. The Echo Dominion, an autocratic conglomerate of warrior worlds, desires control over the arks, believing themselves worthy of unraveling the entity's secrets. And the Wayfarers of Entropy, a scattered collection of nomadic scholars and outcasts, pursue their own elusive understanding, seeking transcendence beyond the physical form.
Our story begins with a spark—an awakening in one of the Arks of Origin, triggering a signal that reaches across light-years, calling out to those who have long searched for its truth. The galaxies, for all their grandeur, are about to be set ablaze by the resurgence of a mystery older than time itself.