Before Graham was born, while he was still in his mother's womb…
The moment the baby's soul began forming, a powerful fragment of a soul crossed countless light-years and softly descended upon the fetus, beginning to merge with its soul.
Just then, deep within both souls, a chime sounded:
[ Awakening the Forgotten God's System… ]
[ Fusion of the Forgotten God's soul with the mortal soul starting… ]
[ Fusion failed… ]
[ Analyzing cause of failure… ]
[ Cause found: excessive disparity in strength between both souls ]
[ Searching for solutions… ]
[ Solution found…
Gradual fusion of souls over time – Probability of success: 99% ]
[ Initiating fusion of both souls ]
[ Time until complete fusion – 25 years ]
[ Counting down…
24 years, 365 days 23:59:59
24 years, 365 days 23:59:58
24 years, 365 days 23:59:57
.
.
. ]
[ System shutting down until complete soul fusion to preserve energy ]
***
After 25 years, when Graham fell unconscious, a chime once again echoed in his mind.
[ Reawakening the Forgotten God's System… ]
[ Awakening complete ]
[ Fusion of the host's soul with the Forgotten God's soul…
Soul fusion complete ]
[ Integrating Forgotten God's System with the Universal System…
Integration failed…
Mana unavailable on Earth ]
[ Time until Mana explosion reaches Earth – 36 days, 7 hours, and 45 minutes ]
[ Activating emergency protocols… ]
[ Restarting system using the remaining energy stored in the Forgotten God's soul…
System restart complete ]
[ Synchronizing memories…
Synchronization complete ]
[ Congratulations, Graham Ravenblade, on your successful reincarnation… ]
***
The universe began with the Big Bang, which created the fabric of space-time and everything within it, from the smallest quarks to the largest black holes.
It took billions of years for the universe to evolve into what it is now, and it continues expanding into the unknown.
Millions of years ago, from the same point where the Big Bang originated, another silent explosion occurred.
But unlike before, no matter was created this time. Instead, a new, unknown energy began spreading across space.
It adapted to different environments and the living beings within them, taking on various forms,so subtle that no one noticed any change.
After silently permeating the fabric of the universe for millions of years, it finally happened.
A human was born with unparalleled talent and an obsession bordering on insanity with his weapon, the Great Swordstaff. He trained relentlessly, swinging it until his final breath.
At the moment of his last strike, just before death claimed him, he attained an incomparable enlightenment and unconsciously used the unknown energy to enhance his weapon.
As if waiting for that exact moment, everyone who had ever been exposed to this energy heard a collective chime in their minds:
[ Universal Announcement!
Ascension of one of the denizens of the universe confirmed. ]
[ Integration of the Universal System starting…
Integration complete… ]
After this notification, as though it were an instinct engraved into their very souls, everyone learned to access the system, revealing their current status and the means to grow their power beyond anything they had ever known.
And then…
Everything descended into chaos.
With such immense power now available, large-scale wars and conquests erupted, followed by the rise and fall of empires.
This time, however, wars were not confined to nations, they spanned worlds and planes, causing unimaginable destruction.
Because absolute power corrupts absolutely…
After nearly a million years of chaos, things eventually settled into a fragile peace. Though war and destruction still occurred, especially as new races and worlds were integrated into the Universal System, it remained within manageable limits.
Before the denizens of different worlds and planes began interacting with one another, this energy had many names: divine energy, demonic energy, magic, qi, spiritual energy, and more.
But eventually, after consensus among the leaders of most races, and recognition by the system itself, it was given a universal name:
'Mana' - The Power of Miracles…
***
And just like the Big Bang, the phenomenon of mana spreading across the universe and gradually engulfing everything came to be known as:
The Mana Explosion.