As a Plane-type world, Enki XVII didn't consist of a universe filled with celestial bodies, so where its atmosphere ended, the Lesser True Void began. Still within its bounds, at its extreme edge, there were hundreds of large metal structures very reminiscent of space stations–the Guarding Eyes.
They had been arranged in an orderly manner and perpetually hovered over the lands underneath via utilizing a mixture of Energy and a kind of fuel. They surveilled the world and were meant to protect it against outside threats, or to at least detect them early.
On a morning like any other, a tired middle-aged man at the Core Formation Stage's Compression Realm reluctantly dragged himself out of bed, then downed a coffee that his co-worker had prepared for him in advance. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he switched shifts and soon trained his gaze on the monitoring equipment's screens.
'It's always the same. I've been here for a good century now, but except for detecting changes in the climate and weather, not a single unusual thing ever happens. It's such a drag! I wish today would be a little different... but who am I kidding, nothing is ever going to cha–'
"Wait, what's that?!"
Suddenly freezing up, his thoughts ground to a halt, then he mumbled in complete disbelief. The instruments in front of him had clearly registered an extremely abnormal spike in Energy activity within a region down below! Yet, in mere moments, the newly recorded data claimed that everything had returned to how it was before.
'It's not an unregistered breakthrough, as that couldn't have ended yet. Even an explosion of some sort wouldn't have calmed down this quickly. I just... have no idea at all. Oh well, I'll let my superiors worry about it.'
According to the regulations, every single inexplicable event had to be reported up the chain of command post-haste. Naturally, there was someone in charge of dealing with these matters, and every single one of the Guarding Eyes had a direct line to them. But all things considered, it was quite the idle job, as it was almost impossibly unlikely to ever get contacted.
Not daring to waste any time, as he didn't want to get punished for failing to fulfil his duty, the man picked up a safely stored communication artefact and had it connect to the other side within a few moments.
"State your report, Guarding Eye CIV."
A frigid, almost emotionless male voice resounded from the other end, causing a cold shiver to run down the caller's back. He had no idea who this person was, or how high up in their Enki Imperium's hierarchy they were, yet he could feel a deep terror from his very soul merely by vocally interacting with them. Fortunately, he didn't let this sensation hinder him, focusing on the job that he had to do.
"An irregular Energy spike was detected. The detailed data has just been sent over. How are we to proceed?"
Waiting for his instructions, the seconds passed by incredibly slowly, with every single one feeling like an eternity–he simply wanted to get this matter over and done with as soon as possible! He felt nothing but regret for that naïve wish which he had harboured earlier. Thinking about it again now, weren't boring days perfectly good enough? Excitement and change simply led to unwelcome instability.
Approximately six seconds after he had fallen silent, he finally got a response.
"Activate the Planetary Destruction Cannon and obliterate the area. Immediately."
Widening his eyes in disbelief and horror, he almost gasped, but somehow managed to keep it together and squeeze out the words that his superior wanted to hear from him.
"U-Understood!"
Not daring to hang up yet, as any other change in the situation would need to be reported in real time as well–even if it was merely its successful resolution–he rapidly typed away on an input console nearby. Internally, he couldn't help but grow mournful as he thought about all of the innocent civilians who would be obliterated as collateral damage.
A thousands of meters long and dozens of meters wide gun barrel-esque weapon began to extend from the world-facing side of the Guarding Eye, soon gathering a mind-boggling amount of Energy. With a single more press of a button, annihilation would burst forth.
'... I'm sorry! Please don't forgive me, I don't deserve it!'
Steeling his heart and clenching his teeth hard, he suppressed the tears which threatened to burst forth. Then, he did what he had to, effectively pulling the trigger and condemning many millions of lives to damnation after a short moment of hesitation. Regret, despair and pain marred his features as he chose to bear witness to the outcome of his own actions. The least he could do was to not look away.
That very instant, a beam shot downward, aimed directly at the area which had given off unusual readings before. As it travelled, it grew increasingly bigger and wider, until it alone would suffice to wipe out an entire planet with ease, leaving no single speck of dust behind. Rather than merely shooting pure Energy, it transformed it into a space-rending red light which left deep scars in the world itself.
Almost as if in slow motion, the man witnessed its entire journey, until it was about to crash into the target area. But instead of doing so without an issue, something that he never could have imagined occurred!
Rapidly to the extent that he couldn't even comprehend this sort of speed any longer, what should have been an unstoppable force was frozen completely. It hadn't simply ground to a halt, but rather had been encased in a thin layer of immaculately white ice.
Then, before he could come to terms with what he had just seen, it all melted away, as if neither the atmospheric strike nor what had contained it had ever been there. The sole proof that this exchange had even occurred was the wound in space that the Guarding Eye's attack had left behind, which was slowly but automatically being repaired.
"What the...?!"
Unable to suppress his astonishment, the man stared at the screen before him, feeling as if his entire worldview had been overturned. And there was only one reason for it: Standing in mid-air, right out there in the open at the spot where the ice had originated from, there was a white-haired, blue-eyed young man. The instruments around him were telling him that the Energy passively exuded by this person at all times far surpassed anything that had been recorded before by dozens of orders of magnitude!
'Is it really possible for a living being like this to exist? I admit, I don't have a good grasp on our own strongest, but could they truly be that impressive? I'm still dreaming, aren't I?'
As he was wondering about whether or not he had yet to wake up, trying to mentally escape the reality of the situation, the corners of the young man's mouth rose a little, then he disappeared from view completely. Stunned by this, the man was about to yelp in surprise, but then he caught something–or rather, someone–out of the corner of his eye: The observation target, the one who had just been attacked. He was standing right next to him!
"Guarding Eye CIV, give an update on the situation!"
Evidently annoyed by the silence, yet also aware that something might have gone awry–especially judging by the previous exclamation–the male voice once more resounded from the communication artefact, pressing the man for a response. However, little could his superior have foreseen that it all had derailed to this extent.
'Why isn't he doing anything? What is going on?'
Sweating bullets, the man stared unblinkingly at the intruder, trying to appear as harmless and respectful as possible. Still, as the seconds passed by and nothing had happened, he wondered if he was hallucinating and there was actually nobody here but him. Then, he saw the white-haired young man motion at the artefact, signalling to him that he should give an honest report.
'Doesn't that mean that I'll be digging my own grave?! But I don't want to die yet! I haven't even had a chance to start a family!'
Despite crying inside, he knew that everything was already out of his hands. If this person wanted to kill him, then there was no way for him to resist. The best that he could do was to follow along with his wishes. And that way, his own people also couldn't blame him for shirking his duty! Maybe, they would treat his family a little better as a result.
"After firing the Planetary Destruction Cannon, its beam got literally frozen before impact and disappeared, revealing a white-haired young man standing there. His Energy readings outclass anything we thought to be possible."
The voice on the other end fell silent for a while, then it finally spoke up once more, this time clearly filled with a hint of dread. In all probability, his superior had figured out that they were dealing with an exceptionally powerful Heaven's Chosen.
"Where is this person now?"
Closing his eyes, as if fully aware that doing this would likely seal his fate, the man muttered helplessly.
"... right next to me."
That instant, he felt a slight tremble run through the entire Guarding Eye, indicative of the immediate self-destruct mechanism having been activated. His superior had–as expected–ruthlessly decided to discard this structure as well as everyone on board, just for the remote chance of somehow harming the intruder.
Yet, the pain that he was anticipating never arrived. Instead, a slight chill spread through the air, causing him to shiver and cautiously take a glance at his surroundings again.
'... I should have expected this.'
The entire Guarding Eye and every single component within it had been covered by a thin layer of ice, halting everything completely, other than the lives of the inhabitants and the line to his superior. The entire structure somehow wasn't even falling!
"I'll take this as a declaration of war, then. Wash your neck, my friend, and don't forget to write your will."
After speaking these ruthless words, the intruder finally cut off the connection, not waiting for a response from the other side. Yet, the man couldn't help but feel far more terrified, because there had been a bright, delighted grin on his self-invited guest's lips while he had been talking. It was akin to a hunter relishing in his prey having stepped into his long-prepared trap, fully aware that he had already achieved what he wanted.
"No need to be this tense, you'll get to live. After all, you still have a heart for the people."
Walking up to him and casually patting him on the shoulder, the white-haired man shot him a carefree, cordial smile, then left him to his own devices for a while. He had no idea where he went, neither did he really care about it. As soon as he was alone in the room, the man dropped to his knees and hyperventilated, his eyes almost popping out of his skull due to panic.
All this time, he had done his absolute best to keep everything bottled up inside, but now his plethora of far too many unpleasant feelings violently overwhelmed him all at once.
Leaving the poor guy behind, Theodore casually strolled through the Guarding Eye's hallways, pleased with how this encounter had turned out. Because it had all gone according to plan, he was now left with a new pile of enemies to take care of.
It all began approximately one day before the Planetary Destruction Cannon had been fired.