Self-Annihilators
"I aim to refine my significance by employing all as a whetstone, oblivious to how all beings are but water. I fade into them, like water dissolving into water."
— Lyrics of a song written by the Mourning Actor, Lotusprayer, after gazing into the void.
Someone who accidentally stepped into IX the Nihility's shadow and from that moment forth lost their reason for existence. Despairing Self-Annihilators roam the universe in solitude. Most meet meaningless ends.
Everything in the universe is meaningless, and human beings are worthless in the eyes of Aeons. If Aeons are truly above all beings, why would THEY even care about the emotions of mortals? The Self-Annihilators are individuals who have inadvertently stepped into the shadow of IX the Nihility and from that moment have lost the meaning of their own existence.
The shadow of Nihility covers the stars equally, and Self-Annihilators may form in any world. If we call them phenomena, these poor souls do share one thing in common: Their various existential properties — such as corporeal body, mental cognition, and personal memories... will gradually fade away in their journey of self-annihilation.
These phenomena can hardly be explained by the laws of nature. As described in the handwritten notes of the Doctors of Chaos — Some Self-Annihilators have their skin turn into something like rotten wood, full of holes and scars. Some have their endocrine system disrupted, becoming unable to distinguish between pleasure and pain and turning numb to everything. Some lose their memories, others lose their senses... It is as if they have been deprived of the meaning of their lives by some entity, and can only keep watching in dreams and illusions as their own forms disappear into a black hole at the end of the horizon.
However, some Self-Annihilators would conceive the idea of fighting back. They the Doctors of Chaos, vowing to do their best to cure others of Nihility in what little time they have left in exchange for their own redemption. Moreover, some of them rely on their strong convictions to try to break the curse of Nihility at its root — by slaying the Aeon that slumbers in the abyss.
Dr. Primitive, No. 64 of the Genius Society, once asked before his disappearance: If IX is truly unresponsive to the universe, how could the Path of Nihility exist to this day? Perhaps, as the Self-Annihilators aimlessly traverse the cosmos, they are also casting the shadow of the Aeon around the universe. As for the few who can single-handedly withstand the encroachment of Nihility on their existences, their journey of self-annihilation is drawn out to infinity, and the road they walk is like a shadow of IX cast in the world.
The Unshackled
The Unshackled follow Yaoshi by rescuing lifeforms from dangerous situations and releasing them into the wild. Unlike other factions associated with the Abundance, the Unshackled are largely nonviolent and law-abiding, so they are allowed on the Xianzhou, but their tendency to release dangerous animals has caused some trouble for the Luofu's Realm Keeping Commission.
Device IX
"Device IX is real. Go find it! There lies all of Dr. Primitive's secrets!"
— Some Drunken Galaxy Ranger
Everything in the universe is bound by the prison of Existence, constrained by their body and mind and blinded by the world's superficial appearance. Even the most intelligent beings cannot comprehend this. Matter, order, logic, and life... Everything that makes up "reality" is but one side of the coin. On the opposite side, of equal entropy, there exists "nihility." The two balance each other to create the complete universe.
Legend has it that a mysterious faction known as Device IX lurks in the empty reflections of void, difficult to be perceived by the material world. Those who gaze into the void for a long time will gradually be drawn to the dark energy overflowing in the abyss, eventually ing through the Dark Web that separates reality from nothingness — This legend has yet to be proven, though.
The most prestigious geniuses in the universe attempted to solve this mystery, challenging Device IX with no results. Why was this organization created? What are its goals? How many does it have and what do they do? Does... Device IX truly exist? The answer is as empty as the question itself.
The Architects
"The foolish have their wall of flesh, and the greedy have their wall of riches. When the end comes, they will all turn to ash."
— Life Is Too Short by Anonymous
The worshipers of the Aeon of Preservation, Qlipoth. They follow in its footsteps to construct walls to protect their home planets. They believe the actions of their Aeon foretell an calamity that will bring an end to the cosmos.
Legend has it, the Aeon of Preservation, Qlipoth, is the oldest Aeon. Silent and mighty, Qlipoth built a light-years long barrier around the cosmos, never engaging in any trivial conflicts or badgering with the other Aeons.
Civilizations across the cosmos speculate on the motive of Qlipoth. One said the ancient Aeon foresaw a disaster that could obliterate the cosmos, so Qlipoth built a barrier to protect the worlds; one said Qlipoth was willing to slave for other Aeons and was ordered to build walls for THEM. There is no way to the truth, but Qlipoth's tireless actions moved the mortals. They spontaneously gathered in groups to build a barrier to protect their planet. Some Architects have claimed to feel the protective gaze of the Aeon upon them. They liken it to a gaze of approval, tinged with the warmth of the forge and the smell of lime.
The annihilation of a single star can devastate planets thousands of light-years away, pushing them to the precipice of extinction. On the rare occasions of such calamities, worlds are saved only by the walls their denizens have built. People who survived their demise no longer mocked the stubbornness of the Architects. Instead, they ed them, never to question their motives or the meaning of Preservation ever again.
Garden of Recollection
"For people who spend their lives in the desert, even the fleeting memory of aquatic life is priceless."
— Fables About the Stars by Adrian Spencer Smith
Collectors of precious memories from across the universe. They freely travel between worlds and try to find memories that can please their Aeon.
To think is to exist, and memories are proofs of that. All things that make up the material world will eventually perish, but they can live on in another way — through Remembrance.
Contrary to popular belief that memory is mixed with the imaginary, Memokeepers from the Garden of Recollection believe reality and imagination to be a myth. What is absolutely real and immortal in the universe that is constantly reincarnating? Even stars die and black holes evaporate. On a cosmic scale, they vanish in a breath. In this flood of time and life, the only treasure is the memory that proves the existence of people.
Memokeepers from the Garden of Recollection are dedicated to preserving and sharing memories. Enlightened by their master Fuli, Memokeepers shed their mortal flesh and live on as memetic entities. With this unique gift, they can freely traverse between worlds, unconstrained by physical limits. Memokeepers often disguise themselves as natives of the worlds they visit. They trade, copy, steal, deceive... using every means necessary to collect precious memories.
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