New Year, New World, New Game

A figure stood in front of a table in the middle of a vast, dark room.

The figure wore a robe the color of the nebulas, sprinkled with countless stars. The robe's hood covered the figure's face entirely, leaving nothing but a mask of darkness scrutinizing the hologram above the table.

The hologram represented what looked like an immense universe, and the figure stared at it under the dark cover of its hood. They reached out to the hologram, opening their arms very slowly, and what had been the universe, became a single star system.

With another gesture from the figure, the hologram zoomed in even more, and the star system gave way to a small group of planets that danced around a bright yellow sun.

"Did you find a worthy representative, Jackal?" A voice echoed behind the hooded figure, Jackal, followed by crackling electricity and a bright blue flash.

"Still searching, Lightning. But I'm… Curious to what this tiny, blue dot here has to offer…" The smirk in Jackal's voice was almost palpable as he zoomed in once more, and the hologram began to show a small blue planet formed mostly by vast bodies of water and a few landmasses.

"Ha! Don't tell me you are really interested in this forgotten rock!" Lightning scoffed, stopping by Jackal's side, and observing the blue planet. He wore a hooded robe, just like Jackal, but theirs had a bluish tone of white, so bright that it could blind anyone who looked directly at it. "You know that even The Elusive One turned their eyes from this piece of blue trash long ago, searching for entertainment in more… Prominent places, right?"

It was Jackal's time to scoff.

"Come on! You know The Elusive One is no bar for standard comparison, right?" Jackal chuckled. "Do you remember when he created four mighty beings to fight a battle that was his own, and then he simply discarded them, because he had created other toys to himself?"

"Yeah, but aren't you being a little bit too greedy, reaching out to his territory?" Lightning could not help but chuckle too.

"Finders, keepers, my dear Lightning," Jackal growled languidly, the sound coming from deep down his throat. "Or did you forget they worship us down there, too?"

"Meh." Lightning shrugged. "I'm not interested in measly humans… Let's see how you manage to get them ready."

There was another bright blue flash, and Lightning disappeared. Only the echo of his chuckling remained, fading, little by little.

Jackal turned his attention to the blue planet again, grinning under the hood.

"Measly humans, you say…" His grin widened, the shadow of an idea taking shape in his mind.