Mother of Midnight-Chapter 1 – The Monster Among Monsters

In the vast, swirling expanse of the aetherium, where the boundary between universes was but a thin veil, there was only one entity who existed beyond time, beyond form, and beyond comprehension. The monster of monsters, the being for whom all creation was but a passing thought, shifted its eternal gaze across the infinite layers of reality, seeing and knowing everything and nothing all at once.
Today, whatever that meant in a place with time did not exist, something caught her attention—a small soul, adrift in the current of the iridescent river that carried the spirits of the deceased toward reincarnation. This one was different. It didn’t belong here. It had slipped far beyond the reach of the natural order, drifting away from its intended path, becoming a deviant in the great, unending cycle of life and death. The monster's many eyes focused on the anomaly, narrowing in curiosity, and for the briefest moment, a rare flicker of amusement danced across its impossibly vast presence.
Nothing deviated from the plan, at least, nothing that wasn’t part of the plan itself. Everything, every creature, every soul, every universe, was just a piece in her game—a game she controlled. But this soul? This was a surprise. It was not in the parameters she had set. No, it was something...
different
. Something worth investigating. Chaos, after all, was always at its most delightful when it broke the rules, even her own.
And so, she seized it.
With a hand like the deep ocean—cerulean, vast, and unknowable—the monster plucked the rogue soul from its path. The crack that ran through the essence of the soul was no accident; it was a fracture, a breach that no other entity would notice but her. She held it up before her unsettling, ever-grinning face, a smile brimming with malice and curiosity in equal measure.
The soul, delicate and pale, could not perceive her, could not comprehend her existence, but that did not matter. She would speak to it anyway. After all, it was not
her
fault that she was the only entity in all of creation who could truly understand the vastness of the universe.
“Oh, you poor little mote,” she mused in a voice that echoed through the very fabric of reality, “you’ve been through so much, haven’t you?”
With a clawed finger, she traced the fracture along its form. The soul didn’t react—how could it?—but the crack closed with her touch, as if she were sealing a rift, closing the possibility of returning to the flow of the river of souls. She tilted her head, her grin widening. The little soul had just become a part of her game. There was no going back now.
She lingered on her thoughts for a moment, wondering aloud to the drifting essence, “Hmm, what to do with you? Where are you from? A universe, a realm, some other time?” Of course, she already knew. She could sense the origins of the soul like a tangible thread woven into the fabric of the cosmos. But
knowing
was different from
enjoying
the discovery.
"Yes," she mused again, her voice turning pensive, "this is far more interesting than I thought it would be." The void around her rippled in acknowledgement, as though reality itself were laughing along with her musings. She had all of time at her disposal, all of creation, and yet, she always yearned for something more.
Boredom was the only enemy of the eternal after all.
And then it hit her. "Ah yes, Earth. Layer one, Universe one." Her laughter echoed through the expanse, making even the cosmos tremble. "How did one from the control universe create a deviation? This should be fun!"
The monster’s form, ever-shifting, began to change. Her tentacles merged into legs, plush and smooth, more human than monstrous. The crown of eyes and shifting flesh that marked her existence as the true power of all the universes trembled and reformed. A delicate crown of silver appeared atop her head, and the void around her hummed in approval.
With a tap to her own forehead, she watched as memories of the plan fell from her, cascading into the endless void below with boundless glee. Amnesia was one of her favourite pastimes. How else would she be surprised?
The room materialised with the ease of a thought. It was ornate, filled with sculptures and paintings that stretched across time itself—artefacts from countless worlds, ages, and dimensions. There was no unifying style, no harmony to the place; just a cacophony of images, impressions, and relics from every corner of existence.
“Yes,” she murmured, taking a seat in an ornate chair of black wood, surrounded by paintings that had long since lost their meaning. “This will do nicely.” She snapped her fingers, and a chair opposite her materialised, occupied by a doll-like construct, its featureless face turned to the side.
With a simple gesture, the soul accelerated towards the doll, drawn into it as if the creature were a vacuum. It disappeared into the chest of the inert figure.
Akhenna sat back, admiring her handiwork, her eyes glinting with delight. “What shall I do with you?” she asked no one in particular, but the question was more rhetorical. She already knew the answer.
After a moment, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Ah, yes... Universe thirty million four hundred eighty thousand and two, iteration seven, layer four... it's getting rather stagnant, isn't it?"
Her voice lowered to a whisper, as if speaking to herself. “Yes, that will do. I’ve grown bored of that one. Time for a change. Let’s see what we can stir up.”
She rubbed her chin, tapping it thoughtfully as her form began to shift again, her features now becoming more human, the dark, enigmatic visage of the monster slowly blending into something more familiar—something more approachable. Her skin softened, taking on a more mortal hue. Her hair darkened until it was as black as the void itself, and her eyes softened into something almost... gentle, though the predatory gleam never quite left.
The doll-like body began to stir, its fingers twitching first, then the arms, the head turning slowly. The soul was rousing. It was no longer in its dormant state but awakening within the vessel she had prepared for it.
With a final, decisive motion, the body lurched to life, its head snapping upright, staring directly at Akhenna with vacant eyes, despite the actual lack of eyes the doll had.
“Welcome to my realm, Vivienne Castillo,” Akhenna said with a slow, cruel smile. “I am Akhenna, the Goddess of Chaos. It’s so lovely to meet you.”
And in that moment, everything shifted. The universe bent around her whim, and the game had begun.