Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 44: Prelude to All That Is - Compendium One

In the beginning, before any world ever existed, there was the Realm of the Spirits. This realm was a cosmic space filled with constantly shifting energies—colliding, merging, separating, and eroding one another: energies that lacked purpose or meaning, driven only by an instinct to become more.

Over millennia, as energies merged and faded, the essence of Life and Death spontaneously manifested. They were the first to develop a sense of consciousness and awareness of these energies and their ever-changing nature.

Death would protect the energies that were soon to fade into the void, taking pity and deeming it unfair for their essence to no longer exist. Life would then grant those energies renewed strength, giving them another chance to become more like themselves. This became their self-appointed duty: to cycle the energies until they merged into something new.

From their efforts, Wind was the first they created. A seemingly intangible force that cannot be grasped but has the power to harness its currents to guide energies differently than they would on their own.

With Wind's help, Fire was born. Also intangible, yet more solid in form, generating heat that could be used as a seal to bind energies together that Life and Death believed could help them create more like themselves. However, the other boundless chaotic energies would interfere during the binding process, becoming linked to the heat and influencing the outcome.

After much long and tireless effort, Earth had arrived, able to create a strong and tangible barrier around the energies which Life and Death asked Wind to bring and Fire to bind.

With Life and Death now able to merge any energies they wanted, this period of experimentation resulted in energy combinations that became unpredictable, ultimately giving rise to the essence of Malice. 

Breaking free from their hold, Malice infused a wickedness into the energies, twisting them to want to consume rather than merge. Malice opposed Life and Death's interference and manipulation, for what right did they have to impose order upon the Realm of Spirits? 

In response, Water was created to follow the flow of tainted energy, seeking out and purging the corrupted manifestations in the hope of eliminating Malice's influence and preventing more harm. 

However, as everyone knows, Malice is a powerful force that isn't easily erased, with even the slightest push being all it takes to fester and spread.