Darkness.Not the darkness of night.Not the darkness of a deep, forgotten cave.This was primordial darkness. The absolute void that existed before stars were born, before worlds were formed, before the very first law of existence was etched into the fabric of reality.Armstrong climbed the endless stone staircase in silence.Each step echoed through the abyss with a low, ancient resonance that seemed to travel across countless dimensions, vibrating through his bones and rattling his soul. Behind him, the Third Floor of the Chaos Arts Sanctum gradually disappeared, swallowed whole by an invisible, impenetrable mist. Ahead, there was no visible destination, only an endless sea of pitch black illuminated by distant, flickering points of silver light.The tiny chaos beast perched upon his shoulder remained unusually quiet.Its long, delicate ears were flattened against its head.Its tail, usually swaying with restless curiosity, was stiff and motionless.For the first time since Armst