Machinae mundi

prologue: sicut scriptum est;

IN THAT MOMENT SHE SAW IT ALL.

The knowledge of the past and future, the winding key that unlocked the universe. The darkness of the void opened up in front of her, and suddenly, all became clear. The ceaseless arcs of the sun and the moons plain as day, guided by an invisible hand. The cosmic collisions and convergences that shaped the world. She saw the great band of time roll out before her, each plane rising and locking into place to form the great tower which spanned time itself.

And beyond that, she saw the omens written in the sky. The stars crumble to dust and ash. The earth cracked and split open, and the gears that controlled the universe ground to a halt.

A thin thread of fear chilled her veins.

So soon.

She fell to her knees, breath heavy in her ears. For all her power, all her knowledge, all her sacrifice — she knew she was helpless to stop it. No timepiece in the world could alter this path. For this was the inevitable destiny of the universe, the fate of the world set in stone from the moment the Artificer had touched the gears and set it all into motion. Despair pooled under her skin like an oil spill. Its truth, slick and iridescent, clung to her bones and seeped into her veins.

All this, inevitable.

Accept it.

Had the voice originated from the void, or within herself? She supposed it must be both. The knowledge bound her to this domain. Even now, she could feel the chill of the void creeping into her body. She inhaled and its darkness seeped further into her soul; with each exhale she lost a little more of herself.

All this, inevitable.

For was it not the nature the earth to shift, for stars to burn? For that which has been built to collapse? Was this all that awaited them, crumbling into to the endless darkness from which they were created?

Accept it...

Her eyes snapped open, burning effervescent gold through the shadow.

Unless...