This was not to last, however. Unbeknownst to them, sweeping changes were brewing at the heart of their realm that would transform their lives forever. It started as a glimmer of dancing light which, as they approached it, exploded with the brilliance of a billion suns. The flash pierced their night eyes and sent them scampering away in terror. Alas there was no place to hide, for the spark lit up their boundless world like an all-consuming flame.

Blindly they ran, scattering throughout their domain, but they were no longer alone. As the glare of the blast dimmed, the soft twinkle of newborn stars dotted the hazy expanse as far as the eye could see. Darker spheres revolved around these shining orbs, and the Void beings huddled behind them to shield themselves from the light.

Jida was the first to step out from behind the planets, bravely daring to face the radiance of the stars despite Daji’s insistence that the light would burn them away just as it had dispelled the darkness. No annihilation followed. Jida bathed in their warm glow and its heart was filled with joy. It told the others that it was safe to come out, and reluctantly they did so. Unlike the Primal Darkness, this new world had time, limits, and form. It had given them shape, and they saw that they had sleek bodies with silky black fur, legs that stepped on padded paws, and razor-sharp claws with matching teeth. Beautiful and strong they were, with voices that boomed like thunder. Slowly but surely the dreaded possibility that the Primal Darkness was gone forever began to dawn on them.

Daji was outraged at such an intrusion into the Void, and was determined to confront whoever was responsible for it. They retraced their steps to the epicenter of the explosion, to the origin of the dancing spark, and found that a celestial city had sprung up in its place. This was Ralunya, the center of the universe. Luminous beings flitted to and fro, busily fashioning stars and planets out of pure light and flinging them into the sky. The Void beings were used to existing as raw energy, so the idea of molding this energy into tangible, restricted forms baffled them greatly – some reacted with curiosity, others with disgust.

When Daji asked them what they were doing, the beings replied that they were enacting the Great Spirit’s plan to create new worlds of light and order. They were building stars, and planets to circle these stars, so that soon the universe could be populated with beings that could learn, grow, and play in these new worlds.

Daji did not like this answer one bit. The Void beings were here first, it declared, and anyone seeking to expand into their domain would have to answer to them. It warned the light beings to leave now, lest they dare challenge the might of the firstborn. When the beings refused, Daji grew furious. It lunged at a star and tore it apart with the slightest touch, reducing it to the raw energy from which it came. It did the same to the next star, and the one after it, racing through space with destructive fervor.

But some of Void beings had become fond of the new world, and could not bear to see its fragile beauty destroyed. They turned against Daji’s followers and fought in the heavens, snarling, hissing, and clawing at each other with a fury that dwarfed supernovas. Jida was at the frontlines, going after Daji itself, mauling and biting and chasing it from one end of the cosmos to the other. Although in the Primal Darkness such clashes were harmless and even blissful, here they left a trail of devastation in their wake. When Jida thrust Daji into the bulk of a planet, chunks of its earth flew into space, coalescing into the first moon. The children of light could do nothing but stare awe-struck at the entire spectacle.

So intense was the fighting that it tore holes in the very fabric of spacetime. Much to the Void beings’ relief and amazement, these gaping windows led to the Primal Darkness, which appeared to underlie the world of light. Though they now had gateways back home, Daji and its allies would not be satisfied until all vestiges of the light were extinguished. But this was not to be, for sympathetic Void beings chased the aggressors into the gates, and stood guard to make sure none could return. Finally, Jida drove Daji itself triumphantly into a portal, and for the time being the threat was kept at bay. Thus came to pass the First Universal War.

The Great Spirit saw that the world of light was easily overwhelmed by the unbridled power of the primeval Void and it was not safe for them to coexist. The rips in spacetime were healed, the gates sealed shut. Void-based and Light-based beings were no longer able to interact, growing as repellant as oil and water. Reality became divided into the Manifest and the Void. The universe became the multiverse.