The morning in the Atlas of Celestials began with a golden fog that smelled of ancient cedar and the first breath of a new universe. Aegis, whom the neighbors still called by his mortal name despite his legendary past, walked toward the edge of the valley where the golden mountain met the Great Void. He was accompanied by Thorne, who had promised to show him the "Compost Piles" of the Celestials.
"You have to understand, Aegis," Thorne said, wiping his brow with a stained linen sleeve. "In the Atlas, what you consider a treasure is often just a byproduct of existence. When a Being who can breathe galaxies into life decides to prune their garden, they don't just throw away leaves. They throw away the fundamental seeds of reality."
