Infinite Dark: Awakening
Chapter 1

How did I come into existence? This I know; before I became sentient I was a Star. For billions of years I burned, oblivious to what I was, unable to think or react, I simply was. The question of my coming into being is far more complex.

When I collapsed within myself and exploded into a black hole I was still unaware of anything or even that I had changed. There was no “me” as a being; that came later.

The only thing I can remember from those times was hunger… deep unrelenting hunger. I fed on everything; other stars; comets, planets, light and even time. Nothing could escape me… and in this way I was changed.

There came an event where I caught something in my grasp, pulling it closer to me. It struggled; they all struggle, but I had to eat. But, this particular creature was different; it could also bend Time around itself.

I kept pulling it closer, to consume and devour it but it kept shifting away from me. Time is meaningless to me but something began to change; when did time start becoming meaningless to me!? When had I been able to form a thought or observe something around me?

I learned later that this Being was only delaying the inevitable; every instant it shifted Time around itself to delay being consumed; it lost a part of itself to me.

I could begin sensing things around me; after so long I could actually see the Being which tried to elude me. It was feeble by now; wretched and worn. It had eyes; melancholy and tired eyes, which peered into me as it realized what it had done.

It was a powerful being from another world; evolving through the eons to become what it was now; or at least what it HAD been. I was absorbing its’ soul and instead of crushing it like I had everything else; it stayed within me, becoming a part of me and bringing me to life, to consciousness.

Maybe the Being in turn was becoming what I once was or somehow we became intertwined to a point where we could not tell where it began and I ended. It was not yet fully consumed but already we were becoming one, but I was still the dominant mind.

The one thing we realized was that this Being was now sharing in my hunger; losing itself slowly as it too felt the need to eat and consume all things, and knowing it would never change.

As powerful as we became and as our awareness and intelligence grew along with it, the Being lost itself more and more to me despite its awakening. No matter what the Being had previously been, how “good” it had thought itself or dedicated to preserving life, it was always overshadowed by the hunger.

In a final act of defiance the Being erased it’s past and origins from me. It warped time around itself in a rapid pace, completely hiding forever where it had come from. It fought hard for this and valiantly as well.

Finally; weak and powerless, the Being submitted and the final consumption began. It was crushed down upon itself; over and over again. Not even its’ atoms could escape my vacuum.

Once the final piece of the Being was consumed a change came over us and me. I do not know how massive I was; but I remember the feeling of becoming smaller. I withdrew into myself; shrinking in stature but retaining my power… and hunger.

Soon I was the size of a meteor, which I often snacked upon. I could change my shape and size if I so chose but this form suited me; or perhaps it was more comfortable for the Being which I had absorbed.

Regardless, I could now move freely through space; nothing seemed out of reach. The light from distant stars and systems which I ate now gave me a taste of what else was out there. There were never-ending sources of food in the vast cosmos waiting for me.

Food is what everything was for us; light, rock, gas, radiation and life, all food… Life was especially tasty; the Being inside me resisted this idea, he wanted to preserve life and protect it… until he tasted it with me for the first time.

It is something I shall never forget; bacteria upon a frozen asteroid. Just a small morsel of it was beyond ecstasy to describe!

I needed more… sought after more of this phenomenon known as life. It was so complex to break down inside of me; light and rock were fulfilling for a time, but once we tasted Life I knew we needed more. Breaking it down to its’ lowest atom and experiencing everything it had to offer was what I now dedicated myself towards.

It was not long before we found what the Being knew as a “ship.”

It was traveling as fast as light could travel, but even at that speed it could not escape me. I followed behind easily, matching its speed. It could not detect me and I was upon it before they could react.

There were three of them inside this small craft; a vehicle larger then I in size. We broke it down within a second; consuming not only the beings inside but the ships material and bacteria, its air and elements.

As soon as it was gone I craved more! I absorbed the three beings and learned where they had come from; their memories were as sweet to consume as their molecules.

Soon they were nothing more than radiation I expelled from me. Our consciousness grew greater after this feast; along with our hunger. I targeted the alien’s planet; eyeing it greedily as I sped towards it; devouring anything in our path…

In the back of my conscious, guilt twinges at my actions and for a moment we question my desires. But then we remember the sweet; filling, feeling of Life and any doubts are crushed. My resolve is complete; I shall feed upon all Life as long as there is Life to feed upon…