章 173: No Magic

Long before time could be measured or stars dared to shine, there was nothing. An infinite void stretched endlessly, silent and still. It was not lifeless, for life implies the potential for something—this was absence, a hollow canvas untouched by the hand of creation.

Then came the spark.

It began as a whisper, faint and trembling, a flicker of light in the nothingness. Slowly, it grew, fed by a force that defied understanding, a will that demanded existence. The spark flared, consuming the void in waves of radiance and heat, and from its heart, a force of infinite energy was born. The Aetherium—the First Flame, the Mother of All—awoke, and with it, the universe began to take form.