Twelve eternal beings circle the event horizon of a black hole. The first meeting of its kind since the creation of the galaxy. The eternal blackness at their feet, a sobering reminder of what they are about to face.

Super massive stars orbit around them at unimaginable speeds, matter ripped from their surfaces as their speed increases. They dip in towards the event horizon and deflect back out, hurtling into the cosmos.

The God of Life was the first to speak, a corporal manifestation of green light. His voice carried across the expanse of space, yet there was no medium to carry his tone.

“You’ve all sensed it by now. The monstrosity has changed direction. It heads our way. In only three millennia it will be on our doorstep.” He stood motionless next to his eleven brothers and sisters.

“Then we stop it before it reaches us. We eliminate it before it becomes a threat. Said the God of War. Standing opposite. Personified by red light, she was smaller than the God of Life, yet commanded more respect. The other Gods, averting their eyes and looking into the abyss below.

“It will not work,” the God of Life said. “I have seen the end of all things. We cannot win if we attack from the outside, and I’m afraid we cannot attack from within. If we twelve and the Demi Gods join as one and attack, we would be no more. Gone in less time than it takes for one rotation of our home.”

The God of War puffed her chest out and slung her shoulders back. Her luminous face, turning hard as her eyes widened and stared across the emptiness at the God of Life.

“Nonsense, there is nothing that could hold up to the might of my strength, let alone all the Gods. I will vanquish this threat alone.”

“My sister, I do not doubt your strength, and your conviction for the course. But this is like nothing any of us have seen before. It comes from a place outside our influence and it hungers. I have witnessed mine and your demise at its hand.”

The God of War looked as if she stepped back, yet she never moved a muscle. The other Gods looked on at her now, waiting an age for a response that never came.

A seated round figure, bathing space and time in a soft orange light, raised one hand that stretched to a nearby orbiting solar system.

“There must be something we can do, we are not helpless. We are as eternal as the universe itself. How can we be no more? Asked the God of Order.

“The end for us is not death but an eternal prison of darkness. We nourish the monster till the end of time. Trapped for eternity feeding the best so it can devour more. The time stretches on so far even I cannot see what is past our future detainment.”

The corporal bodies of each God dimmed at his words, beoming more transparent. The blackness of space creeping through their cracks, making them more ghost-like than godlike.

“Do we run, do we leave this place?” asked the God of Wisdom. The tall white silhouette’s voice unsure for the first time in his existence. If he were not a God, one would think they could hear concern in his voice.

“No, we only postpone our inevitable fate. We must make our stand here. Only one chance. A chance the universe cannot even decide the outcome of.”

The light of a nearby galaxy went dark, and the universe screamed with pain, as a deep laughter echoed in each God’s mind. Violet and yellow lights forming the God of Air and the God of Stone glowed, and then they disappeared.

The God of Life gave a weary smile. “I will speak to those later, we will need their help. We will need everybody’s help. If we are to survive, or indeed the universe itself, we must all work together.”

“What is this plan, speak now? I will not allow this monstrosity to live, let alone invade my home. Barked the God of War. Her face changed in subtle ways as she spoke. Her ears moved back and her face elongated as a snarl spread across her face.

All eyes turned to the God of Life. Several stars raced past as the moment stretched for decades before he spoke his reply.

“An abomination. A monster to kill a monster. We must violate our laws and risk the end of days if we are to have change to survive.” His voice never wavered, his tone kept calm, a stunning achievement for what he had just asked.

“Have you gone insane.” the God of Chaos shouted back, at the instance the God of Life stopped talking. A remarkable event from the spectral blue figure. No God takes less than a year to reply to any question or statement. Why should an endless being take any less?

All the Gods looked at one another, transparent eyes wide with shock. The God of Life knew this was not because of the sudden outburst from the God of Chaos. It was his ask for them to violate what each of them holds true.

“The monster we face is as far beyond us, as we are beyond the Deities that govern our homes. Our chance is slim, I can not see the end, yet it is our only option.”

“What if all your plans play out and we are victorious against this monster? We have brought an abomination into existence. The end of all things. Said the God of Wisdom.

Heads around the circle nodded in agreement. A star ignited into a supernova as its core exploded. It’s matter spreading across light-years before the first of the Gods stopped moving.

The God of Life waited until the last head stopped nodding in agreement before he spoke again.

“With the correct candidate and right guidance, we may still survive this. We must do all of this before the monster arrives. As once it arrives, we cannot interact or change direction.”

“Such a short time, three millennia to prepare. You must know this is not enough time for what you ask. To create an abomination and then leave it all to chance,” said the God of Fate, “well it’s tempting me.”

“That is why I need you all. Not just to create the abomination, but to steer it towards our goal. We have heard the universe cry out in pain. Our sisters left, as the disturbance rocked us all. You felt the power, sensed the hunger, and from a galaxy beyond an expanse so vast that all of us together have not travelled as far. Now what say you? Asked the God of Life.

The God of life stood on the edge of the event horizon, unmoving for 3000 years. A few hundred centuries would pass and one of his brothers or sister would bow their head in acceptance, then disappear from the dark. This carried on until only the God of War remained in front of him.

“You have my support, but hear me. I will turn this place asunder and feed you to the monster myself if this does not work.”

The God of war turned, took one step forward and disappeared.

The God of Life frowned for the first time of his immortal life. Uncertainty on the face of an all knowing being. “It will work,” he said, but this time his words fell and the black hole at his feet swallowed them whole.