Dusk had slowly descended upon the cloudless, foreign sky, hanging above a modest hut that stood in the middle of a vast and peaceful field. A gentle mist blanketed the grass, leaving behind a silence that felt almost sacred. Inside the hut, two female figures—Lilith and a goddess named Lyoid—sat frozen in the living room. They stared at the man across from them, an ordinary-looking man on the outside, but whose presence compressed space and time itself. He was Exafanos.
They didn't understand what had just happened. In front of them, their powers—as a divine entity and an archangel—had been stripped away effortlessly, without resistance, without warning. And now they could only sit with hearts full of questions, paralyzed by a blend of fear and awe.
Lilith, the angel, felt her chest tighten. She had known from the beginning that Exafanos was not an ordinary being, but she had never imagined his power was so far beyond comprehension—as if the laws of the universe bent to his will.
Meanwhile, Goddess Lyoid—known as the Goddess of Hope among the gods—could only sit in place. Her heart trembled, her thoughts stalled, and her body refused to move. She felt as if she stood before something older than time, more absolute than existence.
Exafanos brewed tea with slow, deliberate movements, almost like a ritual. Warm steam rose from the cups he held. He placed them in front of the women without saying a word. His eyes remained indifferent as always—calm, deep, and devoid of emotion.
Lilith and Lyoid looked at each other, searching for answers. But no words came. They simply accepted the tea, lifted it slowly, and drank in silence.
Suddenly, without explanation, they felt their powers return. Exafanos had lifted the "vanishing" force that had bound them. Yet neither of them attempted to move. They knew it would be pointless to resist someone who existed beyond all concepts—beyond power, beyond existence itself.
After a while, Exafanos stood and walked out to the balcony of his hut. The evening breeze touched his still face. He leaned against the wooden railing, sipping his tea, staring at the sky with an empty expression, as if nothing he saw held meaning.
Lilith and Lyoid followed him slowly. Hesitation marked their steps, but curiosity proved stronger. Lilith, in a soft voice, asked, "Who… who are you, really, Exafanos?"
The man didn't respond. His eyes fixed on a single star in the sky. And in the hanging silence, that star—after shining for millions of years—disappeared. It didn't explode, didn't fall—it simply vanished, as if it had never been.
Goddess Lyoid fell silent, her face pale. Unconsciously, she knelt. Her hands trembled, and she bowed deeply. "Forgive me…" she whispered. "I didn't know… I didn't know you…"
Then, hesitantly, she spoke her name. "I am Lyoid… Goddess of Hope… one of the Six Pillars of Heaven…"
Exafanos didn't respond immediately. He closed his eyes for a moment, then turned to look at them. And when he spoke, his words were like poetry written from untouched fragments of fate.
> "Some are born to bind the world.
Others are born to free it from those binds.
But I…
Am neither.
I am the void among all that exists,
And the presence among all that does not.
So do not try to understand me, for I was not made to be understood…"
The words echoed within Lilith and Lyoid like an ancient song from the void. There was nothing they could say in return. They simply bowed their heads, accepting the truth that before them stood something even the gods could not comprehend.
---
Night passed.
When dawn arrived, only Lilith remained in the hut. Goddess Lyoid had left quietly during the night. But before she left, she had knelt before Exafanos, begging him not to erase her memories of him. "Please… let me remember. I promise never to speak of you to anyone."
Exafanos stared at her for a moment, then nodded flatly. He knew that promise meant little. If the goddess broke it… she would vanish. Not die. But cease to ever exist.
---
Days went by.
Lilith helped tend the garden. She no longer spoke of that night. As if it had been a dream, and now she was back to being the cheerful, curious Lilith who loved to talk. Exafanos remained a good listener—occasionally nodding, or replying with simple words like "Oh."
Time flowed slowly yet steadily. And eventually, Lilith made a decision.
"I want to go, Exafanos…" she said one morning. "I want to grow stronger. I want to return to the Eternal Heaven… and see my family again."
Exafanos showed no real reaction. He simply nodded.
But before she left, he gave her something—some provisions from the garden, fruits, and rare plants that only grew around the hut. Lilith accepted them with a warm smile.
"Thank you… for everything."
Before she took flight, she approached him. Gently, she kissed Exafanos on the cheek, then in an instant, vanished into the sky, breaking through it at a speed beyond light.
Exafanos stared at the empty sky. He returned to the balcony, sat, and sipped his tea.
---
A few more days passed.
He resumed his routine—farming, enjoying the silence, and occasionally gazing at the stars he no longer chose to erase. But one afternoon, while enjoying a watermelon from the latest harvest, something unusual occurred.
The sky changed color.
Reality on planet Wallbert began to fade. Not just the sky, not just the land, but the entire galaxy began to lose its intensity. Colors turned gray. Forms became transparent. Even humans, animals, and plants all appeared like semi-transparent shadows. They continued their activities as usual, unaware that they had become faded—half real, half not.
A calamity—a cosmic disaster—had struck from another dimension. Not a creature, not energy. But a concept trying to erase the galaxy's existence entirely.
Exafanos merely observed it from a distance.
Then… with a single will, he spoke one word.
> "Vanish."
The calamity disappeared. It didn't explode. It didn't die. It simply vanished… as if it had never existed.
However, what the calamity had erased could not be restored. The once-radiant galaxy had now become a "faded galaxy"—its reality weakened, like a painting washed by rain. The humans living there remained unaware of their fate. They lived in the illusion of existence.
Only Exafanos remained untouched. Because he was not part of existence. He was the foundation of "vanish" itself. Not a being. Not a god. Not an entity.
---
To be continued…