The dream came to Alex again.
He was standing in a void of endless darkness. But this time, he wasn't alone. Seven figures surrounded him, their faces hidden in shadow. Their eyes burned with ancient fire.
"You have contained the Absolute," one of them said. "You have defeated the Chaos. You have absorbed the Source. But the war is not over."
Alex felt a chill run down his spine. "Who are you?"
"We are the Shards. Fragments of the Original Creation. We've been waiting for you."
Alex stepped forward. "What do you want?"
"We want to help you. To show you the truth. To prepare you for what's coming."
"What's coming?"
The Shards were silent for a long moment. Then one of them spoke. "The Reckoning. The end of all things. The being that created the Absolute, the One, the Original, the P
