The universe trembled.
It wasn't something mortals could hear or see.
To the common folk on distant planets, the suns still burned bright, the moons still glowed, and the stars still twinkled like tiny jewels scattered across an infinite canvas.
But to those who truly understood the balance of creation—the ones who could shape galaxies and shatter worlds—the tremor was unmistakable.
Something had changed.
Something had been born.
And it was a problem.
Far beyond the fabric of space, past the burning cores of stars and the endless stretches of frozen nebulae, there existed a place untouched by time and light.
A void where existence itself paused.
It was here, in the heart of nothingness, that Eleven ancient beings gathered.
They arrived in their own unique ways, each entrance more strange than the last.
Some rode on the backs of celestial beasts, others tore open reality itself, stepping through rifts as if walking through doorways.
One simply appeared, stretching his arms as if waking from a nap, yawning loud enough to make the stars flicker.
At the center of the void, an enormous table of stone floated in midair, its edges carved with unreadable symbols.
It had been untouched for millions of years. Now, it hummed with energy as each being took their seat.
They did not look alike. Some were humanoid, others were not. One had the body of a molten giant, dripping lava with every movement.
Another was nothing more than a swirling mass of storm clouds with piercing yellow eyes at its core.
A third, a beautiful woman clad in a flowing gown woven from Primordial Dust, sat with her legs crossed, inspecting her nails as if this whole meeting was a waste of time.
The last to arrive was a man wrapped in a pitch black cloak, his face hidden beneath a hood that refused to reveal what lay underneath.
He moved with purpose, and when he spoke, his voice carried the weight of collapsing galaxies.
"It has happened," he said simply.
The words sent ripples through the void. Some of the Eleven tensed, others scoffed.
"Surely you don't mean—" the molten giant began, but the cloaked man nodded.
"The Nemesis has been born."
Silence.
A heavy silence. The kind that could crush mountains and shatter planets. The kind that meant trouble!
Then—
"Ha! Finally!" A booming laugh shattered the tension.
The source? A monstrous figure covered in jagged silver armor, his fanged grin stretching too wide.
"I was starting to get bored! We should go and fight them immediately!"
"You're an idiot," the beautiful woman scoffed, rolling her eyes. "We don't even know where they are yet."
"Does it matter?!" The silver-armored brute slammed his fist on the stone table, cracking it slightly.
"If they're as strong as the last Nemesis, then we have to end them now before they become unstoppable!"
"You mean before they embarrass you like the last one did?"
Another voice, smooth and dripping with amusement, echoed across the table.
A being draped in shimmering golden robes lounged lazily in his chair, a goblet of liquid light floating beside him. "You still haven't recovered from that loss, have you?"
The brute snarled, but before he could lunge across the table and start a very explosive fight, a cold, sharp voice cut through the noise.
"We should not be so hasty."
The speaker was a tall, skeletal figure, her body wrapped in shadows that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Her empty eye sockets burned with a deep violet glow. "The Nemesis is young. Unaware of their power. Killing them now is wasteful."
"Ahh, I was waiting for this," the golden-robed being smirked. "Here comes the 'let's manipulate them' speech."
The skeletal woman ignored him. "If they can be controlled, they would make a powerful weapon. Why destroy what we can use?"
"Use them?!" The silver-armored brute roared.
"That's exactly what the last ones thought, and look how that turned out! Entire civilizations gone! Whole empires crumbled! You want that to happen again?"
"Let's not be dramatic," the golden-robed man said, taking a sip from his goblet. "Civilizations crumble all the time. Half the fun of creating things is watching them fall apart."
Several beings groaned.
"You're disgusting," the beautiful woman muttered.
"Why, thank you."
The cloaked figure at the head of the table raised a hand, instantly silencing the room. His voice was calm, but it commanded attention.
"We do not have the luxury of arguing. The Nemesis exists. That alone is a threat. We must act."
A small, sharp chuckle echoed from the far end of the table. It came from a being shrouded in deep blue mist, her form shifting constantly, never quite solid.
Her voice was like whispers carried on the wind.
"I don't see the problem," she mused. "We don't even know what they are yet. Maybe they're just a child. Maybe they'll live a simple, quiet life and never even awaken their true power."
The molten giant let out a deep, rumbling sigh. "And maybe the universe will suddenly decide to be peaceful for the first time in history. But we don't take chances, do we?"
The cloaked leader nodded. "We must find them."
At those words, the air shook. The others knew what was coming next.
"The Extinguisher Force will be dispatched immediately."
A low murmur rippled through the group. The Extinguisher Force. A legion of hunters, each one powerful enough to obliterate entire solar systems.
They were the ones sent when diplomacy was not an option. When there was only one acceptable outcome.
The golden-robed man whistled. "Sending the Extinguishers? You really are worried about this one, huh?"
"This is not a game," the cloaked figure said. "If the Nemesis awakens their full potential, they will be beyond our control. Beyond anyone's. We must bring them in before that happens."
"And if they resist?" the skeletal woman asked.
The answer was simple.
"Then they will be eliminated."
Silence fell once more.
Then, without another word, the eleven beings vanished, each returning to their own domains, their own corners of the universe.
The void remained still once more, as if the meeting had never happened.
But the decision had been made.
The Extinguisher Force had been sent.
And somewhere, across the vast and endless cosmos, an unknowing Nemesis lived their life in peace.
For now.
_____
Power stone Goal!
20 PS - 1 Bonus chapter
50 PS - 2 Bonus chapter
100 PS (Quite an achievement as of now) - 3 Bonus chapters.