Somewhere within the vast expanse of space

"My god," a woman with fiery, cracked skin called out, standing in a brightly lit expanse that stretched infinitely without ceiling or width.

Scattered across the room were wide tables filled with cylindrical equipment, unknown chemicals, and ingredients both known and unknown to existence. Various scientific instruments and apparatus, each with a special purpose, crackled with life, working simultaneously towards a single goal.

In the midst of it all stood a being cloaked in a bright, shining light whose skin or attire could not be seen.

He was their god, their creator, Naka.

Anyone foolish enough to attempt to uncover his true form would be met with blindness if they were wise enough to avert their eyes in time or death as swift as the morning breeze if they were foolish enough to allow their gaze to linger.

As if hearing her voice, he paused abruptly before resuming his actions, muttering to himself. His words were like whispers that stretched across the room's endless expanse as though he were the only being present.

She had no idea why her creator, a being higher than any false god in existence, would choose to allow himself to be afflicted with something so mundanesomething prevalent only among demigods who had ascended to divinity and were either overconfidently foolish or unprepared to behold its depths.

But whatever his reasons, she believed he had a purpose. Her god was great; thus, any direction or action he took must surely be greater.

Regardless, there was no telling when he would slowly reacclimate to the natural flow of time, so she cleared her throat again. "My god, I have received news from the Vylkr Reavers to retrieve the Vylkr artefact," she uttered, hoping this time to attract his attention.

Fortunately, this time, he heard her. He whipped his head toward herat least she suspected he didand muttered, "What is the news?"

Silence descended upon the atmosphere as if the room itself awaited her response.

She bit her lip, wanting to find a way to soften the news's impact or at least make it sound less dire. After all, who could have expected that the four Vylkr Reavers sent to retrieve a Vylkr artefact from a seemingly insignificant corner of the Earth would encounter a bizarre Omnithriallain, leading to their deaths and failure to complete the mission?

However, she could not lie.

"We have received information that the four Vylkr Reavers sent to retrieve the artefact are dead. According to what we managed to receive before their demise, they encountered a strange Omnithriallain protecting a small, almost unremarkable territory, which we have confirmed to be a sanctuary," she responded, her body tensing as the silence stretched on, far longer than she was comfortable with.

"The strange Omnithriallain? Did you manage to identify him?" her god responded, his voice resounding with a fraction more intensity than before.

"He calls himself Aegis of the Arctic Deity. However, we are unaware of any known Omnithriallain, dead or alive, possessing such an identity. As such, we have concluded that he is lyingperhaps out of fear or caution, he created a false identity," she responded.

A brief silence descended upon their surroundings before his voice sounded again, "And the territorywere you able to determine who or what he was protecting?"

"Yes, within it were humans, nymphs, four-eared elves, and an unknown race we have no records of. They couldn't learn much before they passed away because the territory was encased in a primordial barrier. In fact, we have already scanned the entire landscape searching for it, but there was nothing there. It appeared as though everything had been entirely destroyed. However, the Vylkr artefact is still" she said, but he interrupted before she could complete her sentence.

"It's okay, I've heard enough. Withdraw from this task and focus on the others you have been assigned. I will look into it myself. You may leave."

She opened her lips, attempting to speak, but swiftly closed her mouth and nodded. She turned and walked out of the vast room through a thin, transparent veil, disappearing from sight.

Once she was gone, Naka shifted his eyes to the side, and his power surged to life as his gaze pierced through space and time toward a place he had never expected to return to - Paradise. Well, at least what remained of Paradise after its destruction and the spread of Vylkr energy across the world.

"Interesting!" Naka muttered. He scanned the entire region, noticing its apparent destruction. His eyes soared into the sky, effortlessly piercing through the Vylkr energy. Shifting his focus to a specific direction, he observed the immense barrier, which became more apparent the longer he stared until it revealed the floating island within.

"Fascinating" Naka uttered once more.

Almost instantly, he activated his giftomnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence naturally followed. Time seemed to scream like a vixen caught in a gust of wind, revealing everything beneath her skirt, until it abruptly came to a screeching halt.

"I don't see anything," Naka's voice echoed with bewilderment.

He activated his gift again, delving into the future of the floating island before him. It was like a librarian meticulously dusting through an ancient book, searching for crucial details he might have overlooked.

He explored its variablespotential futures and probabilistic events, contemplating the outcomes of approaching it, observing from afar, or seizing the Vylkr artefact. Yet, he found nothing.

It was as though time had slipped from his grasp, carrying the future away with it and rebuffing his every attempt to grasp it.

The future of the floating island was... impotent.

Naka tried once more, but darkness greeted him again.

This was the most improbable and astounding event he had encountered. It left him feeling unnerved!

"A variable," Naka's voice reverberated across the vast - not so vast - expanse.

As a divine being capable not only of peering into the future but also of observing the myriad branches representing potential futures, influenced by different choices and events, and even manipulating the probability of each outcome to favour himself or make subtle adjustments to significant alterations, there was only one factor that could obscure the potential future of the floating island within the safety of the primordial barrier, and that was an unpredictable variable!