Optimally you breach the Veil and unlock your potential. You have a roughly one in three chance of succeeding. If you manage that then you won't need to fear the monsters for a good long while, if you don't then you will need to find people who have and stick with them until you manage it yourself. As cliche and strange as it sounds meditation will be your best bet at reaching it, afterward the only thing that will strengthen your connection will be extreme danger. There are other methods, but they require tools and abilities you will not have access to for years, more likely decades.

---

The colors of the Lady of Light swirled and danced, then vanished, leaving only a tiny golden moat of light floating in the infinite black.

"Who, well, what is that?" my thoughts became noise, I made no effort to speak, merely a random floating thought, and yet it manifested itself in an array of light, sound, and motion that astounded me. Every thought no matter how fleeting was doing this, a beautiful and chaotic explosion of art in an otherwise almost empty void. I don't know how long this continued, probably only one or two minutes, but it felt far longer.

"Cease," a single tiny voice spoke with power that shook me to the core. It did not ask, it commanded, and like a willing puppy my mind ceased to do anything but listen.

"It is good that your primitive mind can communicate in a more effective manner than crude audio," Haughty, imperious, and faintly feminine, this was not a voice but a direct transference of knowledge. The thoughts of one vastly superior mind overwhelming a consciousness so tiny in comparison that to say I was an ant to an ocean would be a grave overestimation of myself. (You must understand, even the tiniest fraction of the Lady of Light could eliminate humanity in its entirety with less effort than we expend to blow out a candle. That does not mean She is without weakness, merely that she can and will crush untold millions who attempt violence against her in the early days.)

"Your race has been chosen by a sponsor. Be honored that your lives will gain some small measure of meaning for perhaps the first time in your pitiful history." Again, not a single word that was not an order, unchallengeable and inviolate. When the Mote told me to 'be honored' I did, Imagine for a moment you are in my shoes, your life turned upside down, chances of survival dwindling by the moment, and then a being with enough strength to make your wildest imaginings look like gingerbread men gives you an order, (you get the picture).

"I am a mote of the Lady of Light, and I grant ownership of this species to '----------'" the name she used could not be translated in any meaningful way, not into a name at least. It was a history, a full and true explanation of the soul of the being that now owned humanity compressed into an instant. I saw fire, ships crashing through a foaming surf, an explosion of stars across the sky linked by the faintest of threads, a million images, thoughts, memories, filling my mind. And then I was swallowed by the blackness once more.

---

"Who are you?" This was not the Mote, this voice was far more powerful as if the universe itself was bending to its will, when he asked, I had to answer.

"I am-"

"NO, who are you?" the voice was clear in their intent, they did not care about my former name, my self-applied titles and societal achievements, they wanted to know me as I knew them after hearing the Mote speak their name.

"How do I show you?" my voice was firm, for once in my life.

"Ask yourself for the truth, and I shall see it."

Have you ever seen a piece of abstract art the just resonates with you? You may not understand what it was meant to convey, it may be a series of geometrical shapes or splashes of seemingly random color across a canvas, something you saw and just understood as real artistry. This is a terrible analogy, but that's kind of what looking into your soul feels like. It's a little different for everybody, but it can almost always be described as the most complicated, absurdly beautiful work of art you have ever, or will ever see. Don't get me wrong, there were things I saw in my soul that were horrible, ugly gashes as if a second artist had ripped through with their own idea of how the finished piece should look, yet despite that the whole arrangement was instantly recognizable as me, in my entirety.

This will be a revelationary moment for many of you, that image, that idea, is you, all of your choices, interactions, and experiences wrapped up into a single moment.

"You are so very Human." The voice sounded almost amused as it learned my name, 23 years of experiences distilled into a single thought.

"I was here once before. I was called may things then, but one I think will stand above the rest to you. I am known as Prometheus, I offered knowledge to the first Humans to walk this plane, lost and afraid as they were. Here, at the end of all things I offer it once more." Prometheus paused, his voice weighed down under the burden of infinity, a feeling of age so vast it transcended time itself.

"Will you take my blessing, and be a fiery beacon for humanity? My interactions are limited, so I shall give humanity all the gifts I can to help you weather the coming storm."

I'll admit, I laughed at the absurdity. Imagine someone claiming to be one of the oldest mythological figures in history, the being that, according to some traditions not only created humanity, but stole fire from the gods to give to us as a defense against monsters. My laughter was like a golden spray of fractal light spreading out in the void. Pretty epic.

"I accept, I guess." I didn't really have a choice, if a being with this unimaginable age to them thought everything was going to shit, I'd need a little help.

"What do I need to do?"

"Listen." Prometheus echoed through infinity, and his voice left a vast, nearly silent void. At the edge of my mind though, I could hear the sound of silk in the wind. Faint, almost imperceptable, soft and harsh and textured and... Gone?

"Seek The Veil, learn it's power, and fight against the coming darkness."

And with that, everything was gone.