Xin woke to silence. No gold light. No colored light. No Ember. No Ren.
He was alone in a white room.
"You are dreaming."
Xin turned. A man stood behind him. Young. Brown hair. Brown eyes. No light at all.
"Who are you?"
"I am the one who was sleeping. While the watcher played. While Kai built. While you fought."
"The watcher mentioned something older."
"The watcher was a child compared to me. I have been here since before light. Before dark. Before anything."
"What do you want?"
"To wake up."
---
The white room faded. Xin stood in a cave. Massive. Dark. At the center, a figure lay on stone. Old. Wrinkled. Eyes closed.
"This is my body. I have been sleeping for one hundred million years."
"Why?"
"Because I was tired. The universe is exhausting."
"You created the universe?"
