Once Upon a Paradox

Prologue

In a celestial realm, detached from the reins of time and space, a group of planets targeted a distant entity. As they approached, time seemed to bend, slowing their advance.

Amidst shaking galaxies, an ethereal feminine figure in glowing robes of black and gold sighed in frustration. She slowly hoisted her hands, distant stars vibrating under her command, and sent a barrage of suns towards her target.

Racing at breakneck speeds, these stars were abruptly seized within the grasp of temporal restraints. Temporarily suspended, they underwent an accelerated ageing process, evolving within mere seconds until the entire ensemble burst forth in a synchronised symphony of supernovas, unleashing a spectacle of simultaneous explosions.

Crafting a spatial shield with a fleeting thought, the cosmic entity observed the void of space exploding into a spectacular light show. A grand mixture of colours interseeded in waves of radiance and hues ever expanding.

Within this self-fashioned sanctuary, she was light-years away, yet her presence lingered in the very proximity of the opposing force, like a glass window separating indoors from outdoors.

She was inside a makeshift portal, an area between grand distances.

Her hair, shrouded in darkness, flared about like seaweeds in ocean waves.

With an unwavering focus, she conjured a colossal star behind her, feigning a throw while covertly launching solar storms that rivalled entire solar systems behind her target.

Swiftly accelerated and redirected, these cosmic tempests surged towards her, guided by the opposing entity with added speed.

Wearing an unimpressed expression, she extended her hand forward, swiftly reorganising the very fabric of space, creating more and more distance from the approaching solar flares, whilst it seemed as if she hadn't moved an inch.

She was the axis, an anchor and everything around her was like a toy to be broken and remodelled.

Sensing the unfolding cosmic tapestry, the opposing entity, realising his surroundings were being intricately torn apart, manoeuvred the chains of time around him. He slowed down time to nearly a standstill, a desperate attempt to reclaim control over a breaking reality.

Thinking quickly, in a blink, the female entity created a void around her target, tendrils of darkness ambushing the unsuspecting entity, shrouding him in a swirling abyss.

Darkness took over, like a spiralling ink, it was infecting. It clawed at his body like needles looking for entry, starting from below and making its way up.

It tore into his skin, eating away at his very soul. It got into his waist then to his chest, feasting hungrily it penetrated upwards. All sound suddenly immobilised as the blackness covered his ears and kept going.

Before the darkness got to his eyes, the intended goal, the male entity intensified his pupils, stopping time in its tracks. In a split second he hastened the outer edges of the dark clouds, seeking a fracture, an opening.

To his premeditated luck, he found the tiniest crack in the opaque onslaught, allowing light through. He promptly exploited the opportunity and solidified time around the breach. He morphed, nimbly slipping through.

The entire sequence transpired in a split second from an outsider's view.

Restoring the altered time scales to their norm, he stood outside the void with a smirk playing on his lips, the dark inkling swirling behind slowly as if in defeat.

In a fit of rage the female entity tore through the bonds of space hurtling for the smirking deity. In turn, breaking the very chains of time, he rushed at her.

The concepts of space and time itself will now converge. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

Their collision shattered the foundations of existence itself.