It's the ENDGAME, our apocalypse.

I should note that when I say reality is a Game, I don’t mean it’s a video game or a literal board game. It can’t be hacked (but an extremely strong outlier or entity could tip it), it’s not code, it’s not fake, it’s reality as we know it, but it’s being treated as a Game by those “higher powers” in order to “make the world work.”

Trying to read Lady’s “code” or trying to “hack” reality in ENDGAME will just get you with a big fat load of nothing because it’s not an actual game, it’s real, and the Players are just toying with real people living real lives because that’s how the ENDGAME universe works.

Likewise, any “Players” from other universes or the Outside (aka our reality, like me, sitting here writing this) would not be considered Players, but Outliers (at best) or Ascended Humans or Deities (at worst), making the power ranking system a bit skewed and off-kilter. Unless, of course, a character or person is an actual overpowered or powerful entity, to which the scale would be adjusted accordingly.

The Board (also called the Multiverse) is the game board in which the Game is played. It is a unique plane of existence that spans between the entirety of all four Cosmoses and allows the Players to move their Pieces and play the Game the Architect has created/written for them.

The Board changes with each Cosmic Cycle, allowing a fresh new pace for Players to follow. It may change shape and size, may have more or less layers than the previous Game, may change color and texture, and even the Cosmoses themselves may shift around and change place. It is up to the Nothingness as to what happens, since, upon renewal of the Cosmic Cycle, it spits out new concepts for the Cosmoses to mold into Pieces and so on, so forth.

The only exception is if a Game is not won, but has been played to its fullest (all conditions to win are not met, all Players have died, or all Pieces have ceased to exist (not died, but simply been replaced by their Apprentices), etc). In this case, the Game will be reset - everything will be wiped, reversed, and the Game will once more begin from the very beginning of the current Cosmic Cycle. This hellish cycle repeats until the Game is won with all of it’s qualifying conditions met to the T. One can imagine how many stale mates, draws, and other things have led to many resets and thus many frustrated Players. It’s no fun to start over from the top - for anyone.

Resets are the only condition in which Pieces may not be completely erased by the Nothingness and may “respawn” or reappear as they were in previous iterations of the Game - especially vital Pieces that Players specifically request. This is because the Nothingness is not responsible for the reset and cannot therefore strip everything of its existence in time to create new concepts. It is not uncommon for a reset or two to happen in one Cosmic Cycle, nor is it uncommon for the Pieces to live the exact same lives in each Game until something finally proves itself different and changes the Game. It is all a game of chance and randomization, after all.

Kanoa is the name of the current main board, and is currently the place that the four Witches who protect the main board are trapped in. Kanoa is protected by Hell Bubbles that ensnare those that dare venture close to it and test them to see if they are truly worthy of witnessing the true appearance of the Multiverse (aka seeing the physical makeup of the Board).

Kanoa is set up similarly to multi-tiered chess, with four “practice” boards on the outside of the Cosmoses and a singular main board between them. Kanoa has five layers, each layer representing the five layers of Reality and possesses the entire real multiverse within it, unlike the “practice” boards, which are alternate realities/universes and are specifically made to practice/find Apprentices with. Layers are miniature boards stacked on top of each other. Each “layer” is a “board” that Players can use - however, unlike tiered chess, each board is it’s own game and must be won in a particular sequence while being played simultaneously. This makes the main board incredibly difficult to win, and is the reason for so many resets having happened already.

Outliers (or outcasts, otherlings, pests, as Players like to call them) are individuals who have ripped themselves from the control of the Game and work as their own unique being outside of its control. The cosmoses cannot touch them, nor can universes contain them. They are truly their own individual with no gods nor universes nor cosmos to control them, and they are often powerful, determined, and may have created their own Purpose and Potential, making them extremely dangerous for the Game and its Players.

Outliers are considered a threat to the Game by the Cosmoses and are often hunted and terminated if discovered, although many seem to slip through the cracks or are spared for reasons varying (especially if a Player finds them useful). Despite the denial the Players will put forth, Outliers are ultimately necessary to the Game’s function as they act as a counter-balance to the otherwise rigid rules the Game must follow as well as the blind bias Players tend to get in their Alignments. Architects favor Outliers for their impulsiveness and ability to make the Game interesting, though some may lament at their very lovingly crafted work being blasted apart without even a sliver of grace (such is the Outlier life).

The Pieces of the Game are those that exist within its Cosmoses(/cosmic barriers). Living or dead, sentient or non, planet or being, all things are counted as a Piece that could be potentially used to give a Player an advantage in the Game. Most of the time the term refers to Nimah (Humans), however Forces, Guardians, Beings, and even things like the planets, stars, and plants/animals can be Pieces if used right.

Most Games require humans to be most of the main board pieces as humans are the perfect combination of the four Forces of the universe: creativity, destruction, life, and death. Main board pieces are chosen by the Players based on their Potential and how interesting they’re perceived to be - however, even the most dull, average person is a piece in their own game.

No Piece is given a set script; this is a physical game, not a video game, although varying Pieces may have a default “setting” given to them naturally by the multiverse and the Nothingness. For instance, a planet may not be scripted to grow fauna and flora, but it still will on account of that’s just what some planets in the universe do. Others may be entirely barren, or simply made of gas and dust. Some creatures were meant to explore the vastness of the universe, others are homebodies that stay on their home planets, in their native lands, in their grandparent’s dens. It is all randomized and a part of who and what the Multiverse is deep down in its core - barring the fact that sentient Pieces can sometimes change or alter their fates, of course.

The term Players refers to the specialized individuals who exist as entities outside the Game and its rules in order to put the Game and the multiverse into motion. There are almost always four to five players in the Game, with an occasional fifth or sixth player who acts as an Observer to how the Game functions in order to record its progress, referee among Players (should squabbles and disagreements arise), and take note on how the Game reflects realities outside the multiverse and vise versa. Currently, the Game has four main Players and one Observer who have been playing the Game for as long as they could remember: My’rath (Player Chaos), Melancholy (also called Melani; Player Balance), Linduru (Player Decay), Abrayarmaa (Player Morality), and the two observers who act as one: the Oracle and the Overseer.

Players participate in the Game in order to win the right to pick the next Game’s Architect in hopes that they may favor the winning Player’s Alignment and make the new Game tipped in their favor. Other benefits of winning the Game include supreme bragging rights and the possible forced adoration of the Pieces, although most of the time Players care little for Pieces and vise versa. If that doesn’t seem convincing enough, remember that The Game is about making the multiverse functional, not about making it enjoyable. Without The Game, there would be no multiverse and everything would fall into disarray and collapse to the Nothingness. The Players are doing a “job” as is required of them. It’s already enough that they turned the way they do their job into a so-called Game. It is a thankless and dirty job, but someone has got to do it, so the saying goes.

No one knows the origins of these Players as individuals, where they as a collective came from, why the multiverse decided it needed four or five individuals to run it, or how the long legacy of Players and the Game started, and it’s likely no one ever will except the Players themselves. Seeking those answers would be like seeking how the Multiverse first came into being; it is simply unknowable, especially by those caught within the Veil. Players themselves are very secretive about their origins and their lives and often don’t share their full story, even with their Apprentices, making it almost taboo for a Player to be open about themselves. (Apprentices eventually learn to be the same way, perpetuating the cycle of silence unendingly.)

Players themselves are considered supreme cosmic entities and come from any origin, any reality, however most of them, at some point in their lives, were once Human Pieces and bore Humanity. Due to the nature of the Game, however, their Humanity is quickly sacrificed and often discarded for a better advantage at playing the Game. It is hard to win the Game if one is too close to Humans, as Humans makeup the main Pieces of the Game, and there is no way to win the Game without someone suffering due to needing to maintain fineite balance in the multiverse. It is also just a natural toll on one’s Humanity to toy with the lives of others as if they are meaningless, and it is a mental and emotional strain on one to play the Game without treating someone like they are meaningless. Thus Humanity is not very compatible for Players despite the common desire to hold onto it as long as possible (with occasional exception). There’s an argument among Players that Humanity is vital to Players, however that is often attributed to the fact they have a close and personal look at how the Game really treats those who must deal with the Player’s consequences (as that’s their literal reality) and is dismissed by Players entirely.

Players must play the Game according to the Architect’s vision in order to make it fair for all four playing, although Players are allowed - within reason - to bend the rules and find loopholes to their advantage. The Architect of the Game often oversees the Players’ first round (the first “Layer”) to ensure fair play is made, then may choose to reincarnate and become a Game Piece or simply exist as an Outlier with the fifth Observer Player.

Rumor has it that the first group of Players in the first ever Game established an unspoken rule among themselves (with the Multiverse’s permission) that, should a Player wish to retire or die, they must take upon themselves an Apprentice to teach their ways in order to preserve their legacy, the Game, and their Alignment (aka their role in the Cosmic Game). Preserving one’s Alignment assures predictable outcomes for future Games and possible wins (or repeated wins) for certain Players. Despite this, it has been noted within history that Players can and will change their Alignment as they see fit, their mentor be damned. Because of this, no two Games have been the same, which only gives evidence that these rumors may not be so untrue after all.

Player Alignment (also known as Personas, Player Roles or just Roles) are concepts that a particular Player embodies. Alignments typically have nothing to do with morality (good/bad/chaotic/neutral/lawful, etc), but with a particular thing that the Player wants (or is forced) to embody in order to help balance the Game. There are several “sets” of Alignments that have been established by previous Players and adopted by the Multiverse as functional and recyclable for future use. Alignments are never used twice in a row, but may skip a “generation” of Players and resurface sooner rather than later depending on how the future Games play out. New Players may completely invent Roles for themselves through accident or purpose depending on their backstory, or they may fall into Roles previously established by the multiverse as they learn how to play the Game as Apprentices.

In example, the current Players embody Morality, Decay, Balance, and Chaos, which are concepts or Alignments that the multiverse may save for future use with other Players so long as they are not the Players next in line (aka the Apprentices of the current Players).

Apprentices are individuals hand picked by the Players to give them an Advantage, or “leg up”/edge/insight into how to play the Game from a Piece’s perspective. They aren’t Pieces themselves, per se, but they become assistant-like individuals who help advise the Players and give them understanding on how to best plan and use their chosen Pieces. Apprentices may, on occasion, become the heir to a Player’s legacy, but that in itself is rare and takes a Player who is truly ready to step down and stop playing the Game. It is rare that Apprentices ever consent to or are given the chance to choose being Apprentices, the more common outcome being that they drew the Player’s attention for one reason or another within the layer/board that Player precedes over.

In the current Game, each Apprentice is found through the external boards each Player rules over through practice rounds the Players have against the Architect. When they’re found, they’re then often given a brief time of study to understand the basic rules of the Game then are forced to play a round against their own Players once to gain real experience in how the Game works.

Each external layer may have multiple options for Apprentices, but only one is ultimately chosen by a Player. These Apprentices also often possess alternates of themselves in each coinciding layer (aka they may appear as a Piece in every single layer of the board) and may become guides to the alternate who becomes the actual Apprentice. Alternates are eventually absorbed by the Apprentice (similarly to Ascension) and in turn give their knowledge of each board and Player’s play style to the Apprentice, which gives them Advantages over the Players and thus allows them to help guide their Player (if they so choose) or study them instead.

They will spend their new lives under the thumb of a Humanity-less (or nearly so) Player who now will attempt to shape them in their image and teach them their own play style of the Game while also taking advice from their experiences as a Piece. Good Players will teach their Apprentices to thrive and think for themselves, to take chances and risks, to be bold in their approach to the Game and correcting the Player’s mistakes. Unfortunately, most Players are so set in their own play styles that it is not always the case, often leading to repetitive issues with loss of Humanity and brutal inhumane tactics regarding play styles. Like Player, Like Apprentice, they say.

Apprentices, however, are not required to follow their Player’s play style at all. In fact, it is often the case that they make up their own play style and take on the Game, bringing a new and fresh perspective that gives their Players an extra up to their Advantage. It’s an exciting way to revitalize a Game at any particular point and is thus encouraged, especially for Players who have grown tired and weary of playing the Game for so long and may desire a permanent break from their duties.

Apprentices are not a permanent part of the Game, however, and - unless they are chosen as heirs and their Player steps down permanently at the end - will end up returning to the Nothingness with each reset and Game win. This means that the Apprentices are no more capable of being a permanent part of the Players’ lives as Pieces are and, in fact, are another form of Piece throughout the Game and are given no real autonomy as a Player.

Human (also referred to as Mortal or Nimah) is the term used for any living thing that is both 1) tied, even partially, to the Veil/Fabric of Reality (and thus most likely mortal, but not always), and 2) those who are not a celestial body (even the “sentient” ones), a Force (of nature, of the universe, ect), a Cosmic/Universal/Planetary Guardian, a Being (God/Deity/Entity), or a non-sentient animal/plant/ect. Therefore, human, in this case, involves both those who look human (like us outside the confines of this story) and those who are “alien” or “monstrous” to us (including robots, artificial intelligence, Dar-Mar’s seintient animals, ect). So long as they are not one of those five things and are tied to the Veil, they are often referred to as human/mortal/Nimah by those who belong to the Universe. 

Humans in their own societies tend to define each other and judge what is “human” based on behavior, species, appearance, ect; such thinking is trite and pointless in the end according to the Universe. They are all human, and that’s that. It is non-arguable within this vocabulary. Ascended Humans are also considered human, but are on a sort of secondary level of human: they are not “better” or “worse” than your average Veiled human, but have simply come to realize the Multiverse as a whole and now possess powers beyond what their Reality Curse would allow. Many Players treat Ascended Humans as “better,” however, because they are Pieces that can play by their own rules and therefore make better Apprentices and Outliers.

The only exception to the human definition are hybrids, which are often bastardizations of humans, Forces, Guardians, and Beings made either as a byproduct of an unnatural happinstance (such as the creation of the Rohians by The Entity), a purposed/botched transmogrification of different Force and human parts, or anything created by The Oracle that does not fit this category.

Guardians are the limited species of sentient non-human being that the Cosmos created in express interest of keeping all Forces and Beings (gods/deities/entities) under control (a check for the balance, if you will). Their general tasks are pretty self explanatory; keep the Forces and other things of the Multiverse from causing absolute havoc and keep the Game functional and flowing. There are Cosmic Guardians, Universal Guardians, and Planetary Guardians, as well as a good spread of miscellaneous guardians that have no specific names. A good example of these Guardians are the Sphinxes who are tasked with keeping a close watchful eye on Chimera and Gorgons so that the balance of Life and Death does not get out of hand

 A Guardian will only interfere in a Force’s/deity’s meddling if the individual (or those individuals) break[s] one of the Universal or Cosmic rules, forcibly Ascends a human for whatever purpose, creates a hybrid (directly or non), or causes an imbalance in the Game great enough to shift things around unnaturally.

There are also general guardians within the cosmos who are summoned to protect various Charges, usually universe-based, sometimes even for heroes themselves. These guardians include the Nine, who are summoned to protect Marinia, a planet that resides in Universe 606.

Forces are the enforcers of the Game’s laws/rules on both the Pieces, the Elements, and the Cosmoses/Universes themselves. They are often divided into three degrees of power: Cosmic Forces, Universal Forces, and Planetary Forces, in order from most powerful/influential to least, and are often referred to, power-wise, with the same terms Magic is (vague, specific, limited). Most deities, entities, and gods are considered Guardians for Universal and Planetary Forces (if they are not Forces themselves), however the Cosmic Forces often earn ire from other Pieces and Elements (and even some Players) and have been assigned Cosmic Guardians - species developed specifically to watch over their Force charges - by the Cosmoses to keep them safe.

The current five Cosmic Forces consist of: Kelpies (Creation), Hydrans (Destruction), Gorgons (Life), Chimeras (Death), and Nimah (Humans), who are the Perfect Combination of all four qualities and all nine elements. Due to the fact that humans have such Potential for extreme power, the Cosmos has forced them to blend and mesh into time and space, leading to the creation of the Veil and physical timelines (past, present, future) that bind them physically, mentally, emotionally, supernaturally, and spiritually (thus creating the rule of Five Deaths). Some humans are capable of breaking their mesh to this universal fabric and become what is called Ascended.

Forces are often not bound by the physical/spiritual laws of the universes they live in or planet/place they govern, but by rules and laws given to them specifically by the Cosmos. For instance: Kelpies/Hydrans/Gorgons/Chimeras are not bound by space and time, meaning they can travel to any reality at any point in time. However, this also means these four species do not have “alternates,” or versions of themselves that exist in other realities, meaning that only one of each individual exists, and once that individual is gone, they are gone permanently.

The Nothingness is the end of all things, the End All, Be All of the multiverse. It is literal nothingness, an endless void, but it is not frightening or bad. It’s often described as a “warm place, filled with peace, feelings of pure safety, contentment, sometimes joy and happiness as well. Those who seek peace find their place in the bosom of the Nothingness, while those who have wrought terror among the world simply feel nothing, or perhaps emptiness.” It is often described as a womb or bosom, and is considered a nonbinary (re: genderless) entity that encompasses all and casts out the things it does not want to take into itself. These castaways, also called shellings, are often things that make up the mood, atmosphere, and environment of the Game. Currently, the Nothingness casts away four of the five cosmic elements: Hope, Will, Faith, and Despair. Love, the fifth element, is kept within its barriers in order to maintain the peace and contentment that those who have ended feel for the rest of eternity.

It is from the Nothingness that all things are drawn from and created as well, at least when a new Cosmic Cycle is born. In the end of the current cosmic cycle, or rather, when the Game has been won, all things will return to the Nothingness and are kept there for a time. The winners and main Players of the Game - for now that is Chaos, Balance, Decay, and Morality - live outside the Nothingness for a time and discuss a new game. The winning Player will then announce the Champions and Guardian they have chosen as well as the new Architect. Once the new Architect is agreed upon, the other three Players are given the chance to name their own Champions and Guardian, and the new Game can be written, the board created, and the Pieces once more given life.

The Nothingness is the main “programmer” and guide for all the multiverse and its infinite working parts; the Architect may have some influence in it, but for the most part, without the Nothingness, there would be no life or death, no beginning or end, within the multiverse. On top of that, the Cosmoses are the ones who pick up the random bits of information the Nothingness spits out and moulds them into Pieces. While the Nothingness has the creativity and the desire, it lacks the ability to actually manifest it in physical form. It is purely spiritual, emotional, mental, it cannot cross through into the Veil and create what it seeks to physically. That is why the Cosmoses do the job for it. Consider it like a ghost writer, or a voice-to-text program that hears what the Nothingness is calling and physically manifests those words, sounds, colors, essences into a real life tangible thing. Together, they create the Pieces needed for the Architect’s Game - or rather, they create the Pieces, the Architect then decides what the Pieces must do, and then instructs the Players how to do that so the multiverse can then function and thrive as a living, breathing organism instead of just exist as an empty Nothingness full of energy, but no life.

The Endless Game of Reality, also referred to simply as The Game, is the thing that dictates and predicts the ultimate outcomes of all forms of life - beginnings and endings, creation and destruction, winners and losers - within the entire multiverse’s current cosmic life cycle, down to the smallest form of life. To put it shortly: the Game is existence as it plays out indefinitely, especially for the Nimah, as the Nimah are the most prominent and important Pieces in the Game.  The Game takes place on a cosmic playing board that sits in between the four cosmoses of the multiverse. It is played by four to five Players, who use the Architect’s rules, board, and Pieces to constantly play back and forth between each other until an ultimate goal is achieved. The rules and the ultimate goal of the Game changes each cosmic cycle, however Players can agree to keep similarities to past Games so long as they can convince the Architect to follow their wishes.

The current Game’s rules are as follows: the current game must be won by majority or by complete domination. One team must win all 5-6 boards, or one person must win four out of the six to win. Due to the nature (that is, the way the architect set it up) of the board, stalemates on the final board are very common. Two, maybe three stalemates have happened and caused soft resets (not Game wipe but a restart) already.

Comments denouncing or bemoaning “the Game” are often made by Pieces in references to the constant toying and playing of all sentient life within the multiverse, as if all suffering and joy is seemingly for some higher entity’s entertainment. It is the thing pointed at and accused when people refer to universal unfairness and cruelty (as opposed to a God, although deities and gods are definitely still blamed for their own fair share of misbehavior, too). The game as a term can refer to any game played within the series and its rules as they apply, although most games are named beyond just “the game” and can be easily distinguished from the Game itself due to the G in Game being capitalized.

The Multiverse Law dictates that each uniquely created multiverse must abide by each other’s rules and regulations and actively creates a physical barrier between multiverses so that things cannot pass between them so easily. When you arrive at a multiverse you were not born or created in, you are a guest there and proper guest etiquette is expected. Most multiverses automatically put a cap or a damper on magic and any unique powers/perks/aspects of their characters as they leave their multiverse and crossover into another one. For instance, should a Player enter another multiverse that is not ENDGAME, that Player would have a metaphorical cap over their power and capacity for knowledge - they may even be so severely limited as to be treated as “mortal,” depending on the multiverse they enter into. All characters, whether they consciously know the multiverse law exists or not, must abide by the law in order to successfully cross over between multiverses.

There is an unspoken/unknowable guardian (the Observers) (whether it is the individual writing the universe, the universe itself, or an appointed character) from each multiverse who discusses with other guardians prior to crossovers happening, dictating what sorts of laws must be abided by and what may be broken - for any reason - in order to keep the crossover from causing issue in the multiverse. Some rules bend easier than others  and some can be bent without the necessity of guardians discussing what will happen - but all laws must be respected and abided by for crossovers to work fluidly. Otherwise, multiverses can reject characters and/or retaliate in any way they deem fit, which includes killing and maiming, or simple banning of a multiverse’s characters. Guardians can be testy and overprotective of their multiverses; don’t cross them and they won’t have to retaliate.

Ultimately, it is the guardians/multiverse itself who decide/s what does/n’t go on in their multiverse, and it is common knowledge that they possess the power to bar people from crossing into their universe should they decide to. Rumor has it guardians can also intervene directly (though they prefer not to) should a problem arise, which will often break the flow of the universe and may cause temporary waves of magical interference throughout it as well as cause a sense of awkwardness between guardians (no one likes awkwardness, let’s be honest). Law breakers are frowned upon within the massive community of multiverses and are often shunned from crossovers. Characters who break laws may be completely disregarded by guardians and may lose all their abilities to do anything, making them a ghost who can no longer roam out of their multiverse safely, or may cause their guardian to lose credibility among their peers and be actively avoided by other guardians for crossovers.

Humanity depends on the individual personally. whatever you define humanity as is what you must do to keep your humanity? But your definition CAN (and often does over time) change. So, when Lady started out… doing the “human things” like sleeping/eating/getting phantom pains from old organs/etc helped her keep grounded and human.

But in the end, most Ascended realize humanity isn’t that… but it’s something else. Something abstract. Something they can’t define but know intimately. and that’s what keeps them human. Humanity isn’t having to sleep or eat or fuck or any of that (because not all humans do!), but it’s something deeper. Emotional. It’s a tie to the Veil that allows one to traverse between the mortal and immortal realms, to defy life and death by being both alive and dead, immortal yet so very mortal, to travel spacetime but be completely bound to a single or a couple realities.

It’s indescribable, but it’s a mutual feeling that only those who have Humanity can feel and understand within you. It can be lost of course, sometimes beyond salvage, but it doesn’t have to be in order to be immortal.

Humanity also deals with self-choice/free will, and with hope. Humanity is the ultimate (im)balance of all the Shellings in one go. It is the entirety of the universe condensed and held tightly within a singular functional being that defies the very universe they exist in.

Humans are unpredictable because they have free will. They don’t know when to quit. They never give up, and even if some of them lose hope, others will be there to pull them up and help them go on or take their place with their own hope.

Humanity is willfully determined. It’s loving, yet full of despair. It’s prosperous. It can be wise, it can be magical, there is an inert sense of justice in humanity. Most importantly, humanity has hope. Hope and faith that the future will be good enough to be worth saving.

A small note that if you see anything [in brackets] in the lore posts, it means whatever is in the brackets was added to make the wording of the post make sense and is not in the original post’s writing.

Some things are censored due to being spoilers and others are just to keep the mystery of it all. Some censored concepts may be revealed at a later date. It all depends!