A being appeared in a vast, empty area of space that had been cleared for this very purpose. Distant civilizations that were capable of peering into the far reaches of the universe might note this space as an impossibly expansive, completely lifeless domain, and it would boggle their minds. If a mote of light entered this space it would take millions of years of lonely travel before it was greeted by another of its kind on the other side. There may have been worlds, galaxies, and even entire civilizations here once, but anything that had existed in this space had been swept away as a matter of housekeeping eons ago.
In the center the being appeared, a god in every sense of the word. It stretched out hands the size of galaxies and something appeared between them. This being had spent millennia upon millennia nurturing a single-celled organism into life, then further into intelligence. The effort and will that went into preventing this species from slipping into the evolutionary cracks and disappearing would beggar the mind. An entire species had to be monitored - each and every individual. Each had to be nurtured in a pre-planned direction. They had to face enough challenges to help them grow, but not so many that it stunted their species' growth or drove them in a different direction than The Plan.
And so, for millennia, did this god watch, nurture, assist, and support. The society formed around this god, knowing its presence every day of their lives. They knew there was a god because their god walked among them, guiding them. The concept of prayer was foreign to this species because they had no need of it. Their god knew what they needed before they did and always provided it. Some might say that this would create a stagnant culture, one that had never had to work for anything, but they would be wrong.
No, this society flourished. With all their basic needs taken care of the only struggles they faced were struggles of the heart and mind. Everything they did was a labor of love, and thus everything they did had all of their hearts poured into it. Their advanced science allowed them to literally walk amongst the stars. They were unable to share their art with any species not their own because the experience of seeing such transcendent beauty literally overwhelmed other races, causing despondency and death. They knew peace like they knew art and science, and their ability to bring any faction to a peaceful resolve was known throughout their corner of the universe.
The entirety of this civilization appeared between the god's hands. Every world, every ship, every being, every art piece, every song, every word ever written. Everything that was them was now here. The god looked down at what he had wrought with pride and love, then it turned, bowed, and exited the space, leaving its gift behind.
The new beings appeared, forming a perfect triangle around the civilization. Each reached out a hand and began to consume the gift.
Omnipotence took their power and everything ethereal, ephemeral, and cerebral that they'd created. It consumed everything that made it possible to create, to make, and to inspire. Everything that took effort to create took power and, thus, was free for Omnipotence's taking.
Omnipresence took everything that had been created, everything that had been made, everything that inspired hands had formed. It took art, buildings, and even worlds. Everything that had been created, terraformed, or even inhabited by them had a presence, and it was free for Omnipresence's taking.
Omniscience took everything they'd known and been. It reached into their past and consumed all that they had been, wiping away all influence they'd ever had in the universe. Wars that had been forestalled were begun anew as if they had never stopped, the victims never even aware that they had once had peace. It moved to their futures, consuming the future of each and every creature that was before them, tasting the varied potentials of each lifeforce individually as it removed any potential of the future from them. Then it took their present, removing the last vestiges of the civilization. No past, no future, and now, no present.
The last wisps of the once great civilization entered the beings, their essences seeming fuller for a moment. Comparing their communication to speech would be like comparing the motor impulses of white blood cells to a college dissertation, but if it could be translated it would have sounded something like this:
"Not bad at all," Omnipotence said, "although I prefer when they have a bit more violence. Makes them spicier."
"That would probably be better for you, but I really liked this one," Omnipresence replied. "Their creations were excellent."
Not to be left out, because the balance of the universe required that all three contribute equally to all things, Omniscience responded. "Their potential was truly unmatched and had a distinct flavor, although it grew somewhat flat towards the end."
Omniscience: "Let's move on."
Omnipresence: "Yes, I concur."
Omnipotence: "As do I."
Omnipotence spoke first, as he powered The System and could most immediately identify if a species or planet was high or low potential based on energy use. Even bringing his consciousness to this meeting required him to remove The System's power from some sectors of the universe. Vast swaths of life died when they suddenly found themselves in deadly environments and situations without any of the power they had embodied moments before. "System power usage is within standard deviations and average. There have been minor spikes, but those individual standouts have been balanced by an overall low consumption populace."
Omnipresence spoke next, since his realm was that of the physical. "No new creations of note, although there have been minor instances of System use to create objects or skills that fall outside the norm. Nothing immediately noteworthy."
Omniscience spoke last, as he dealt with the multitude of future potential paths. "Humanity's potential is far more varied than any species we've encountered as of yet. As such, their paths are currently too numerous to provide a qualitative projection."
Pulses of what may be loosely interpreted as 'surprise' traveled through the ether. It was unprecedented that Omniscience wasn't able to see the highest probable end paths by this point.
Omniscience: "I am aware this is unprecedented. Humanity seems to have endless potential for variation."
Omnipresence: "A potential that varied may lead to unprecedented invention. I would allow further cultivation."
Omnipotence: "Which requires unprecedented levels of power once their species has reached their full potential."
Omnipotence: "I would have to cull."
Omnipresence: "The necessity makes it acceptable."
Omniscience: "Their potential makes it acceptable."
Omnipotence: "We are in agreement?"
Omnipresence: "We are. Send it."
Omniscience: "I concur. Directive sent."
The smallest fragment of the smallest piece of thought a celestial being could conceive shot through the ether, and the void of space was a void once again.
In another part of space there floated a space station the size of a galaxy, its size beyond anything a human brain could comprehend. If physics still mattered to this species the entire space station would have been ripped to shreds eons ago, but this civilization had discovered and reached the very limits of The System while humanity was still swinging from trees on Pangea. If any inhabitant of earth had been on this space station they would have, understandably, assumed they were in some sort of afterlife. Things made of matter like walls, floors, and even doors and windows existed, the beings that created them still very much a part of the physical universe, but everything was… off. People walked, flew, or glided, but they also shimmered into and out of existence. People worked at things that may have been some sort of futuristic computer but seemed to be made of as much ether and magic as they were of physical matter.
A human on this space station would have seen things they recognized and possibly, vaguely understood the concepts of most of what they were looking at, and they probably would have been correct more often than not - but there was a level of otherworldly-ness and magical advancement so far ahead of humanity that it could only be interpreted as divine. Which wouldn't have been too far off, as even the lowest here were at a level of System advancement that would have been considered god-like on Earth.
In a small room sat a bored creature, since even godly beings had drone workers whose job it was to watch a celestial printer for regular System notices and updates. This one had been here for a year and was hoping that the next four went quicker than the first.
Suddenly there was a sensation. Not a noise, but a feeling of a message. The creature sat up straight, excitement shaking it out of its boredom. It activated a skill to send messages instantly to any point in the known universe. When it felt a response it activated another, which allowed it to transport any living being from any point in the universe to any other point. It transported the Twelve Generals to the conference room, sending the shimmering message to the same room.
The Twelve each cast protection wards on the room, sealing it off from all physical, psychic, and magical attacks and intrusions. That complete, another general pulled the room from their reality and placed it within his domain, a celestial pocket that sat outside of all reality.
Once that was complete another general pulled the room backwards in time to a point before the message was sent, ensuring that temporal magics wouldn't be able to discern what was in the message.
The final general stood and stretched out her arms and a ripple of the purest death spread out from the room, utterly annihilating anything that existed in the pocket universe they existed in - or anything that may have followed them.
Preparations and protections complete, they all gave each other a knowing look, none speaking a word. No words were ever used when reading these communications, the risk was too great. Their enemy was endlessly devious, endlessly creative, and endlessly inventive. If there was a way to bypass all of their protections, they would find it. This is why humanity was so vital - they thought like The Enemy.
As one, they reached out and touched the message orb.
** System Message **
Potential: Medium to High.
Continue Unity Protocol.