In the darkest pocket of nonexistence, where light dared not shine and memory was forbidden to tread, he stirred.
Once, he had a name—a name feared by all pantheons, whispered in dying breaths. Now, even the stars had forgotten it.
But Hope had awakened something.
And the Forgotten God had heard her.
"She carries the power raw and pure," he murmured, stepping from the shattered tomb."Just like I once did... before they betrayed me."
His voice was dust and gravity, folding space with every syllable. He didn't walk—he bent the realm around him, dragging reality into shape with each movement.
Chains crumbled. Space rippled.
And for the first time in ten billion heartbeats, Oblivion had a heartbeat again.
In the Veil
Hope sat quietly in the garden she had remade, her eyes closed, the air humming gently around her. Leaves shimmered with energy. The symbols that once danced in chaos around her now followed her breath, forming spirals, flowing like music.
She felt something.
A tremor. Cold. Hungry.
It wasn't a god.
It was something older. And it was moving toward her.
"Sarive...?"
She spoke without knowing if he could hear—but deep within the Veil, the golden energy answered her.
So did he.
Elsewhere in the Veil
Sarive's body jerked upright as the energy snapped through his spine like lightning. His eyes glowed, brighter than ever before.
"Did you feel that?" he asked Diana, who already had her sword in hand.
"Yes," she said. "Something just woke up. Something that shouldn't exist."
Sarive's voice dropped.
"It's heading for her."
Apokolips – Darkseid's Throne
Darkseid stood before a map of realities, each dimension glowing faintly like embers in the palm of his hand. Granny Goodness knelt nearby, her expression unreadable.
"The Veil pulses," he said. "The Energy of Gods sings."
Granny leaned forward. "The Pantheons gather. Zeus is wounded. Odin prepares for war."
"Let them," Darkseid whispered. "They see only the girl. I see the source."
He turned toward a hidden chamber, sealed with symbols even New Gods feared.
"He stirs in Oblivion," he said. "The first one."
Granny's eyes widened. "Then... he wasn't destroyed."
Darkseid's voice was colder than the void.
"No. They merely forgot him. But memory is a fragile thing."
He clenched his fist, and the star-map cracked.
The Veil – Stormpoint Valley
Diana and Sarive arrived in the garden in seconds. Hope stood waiting, her face calm but her eyes wide.
"He's awake," she said before they could speak. "He wants what I have. But he's not like the others."
Sarive knelt to her level. "Tell me what you saw."
Hope looked into his glowing eyes.
"He's not coming to fight."
She hesitated.
"He's coming to claim me."
Beyond the Edge of Creation
The Forgotten God rose higher now, climbing back into existence. His body, sculpted of collapsing galaxies and broken memories, shimmered with ancient runes carved by the first divine language.
He reached into the void and pulled free a blade—Nullfang, a sword forged before time, humming with the energy of gods past.
"They will remember me," he growled.
His face turned toward the Veil.Toward Hope.
And then he stepped—and entire universes cracked underfoot.
Later that Night – The Veil
Hope couldn't sleep.
She stood at the edge of her imagined lake, the stars overhead flickering between timelines. Sarive stood behind her, silent.
"I saw his face," she whispered. "Or... maybe I remembered it. I don't know. But I think he was the first."
Sarive nodded slowly. "The first what?"
"The first to hold the Energy of Gods. Like me. But it changed him. And when the others tried to take it... he vanished."
"They locked him away," Diana added, stepping beside them. "Erased his name. Banished him to a place no god could reach. But Hope isn't a god."
Hope looked up.
"So he found me."
And the stars flickered—once, twice—then vanished.