An original AI-generated sci-fi illustration on an immutable blockchain – Warden of Embers – From the cold void between galaxies, the figure stirred—a colossus woven of nebulae, starfire, and cosmic dust. Its form was not bound by flesh but by the very fabric of space, trailing luminous tendrils that brushed planets into motion and scattered asteroid belts like grains of sand. Those who glimpsed it through their observatories called it the Warden of Embers, a being that had watched the birth of suns. As it rose, the shattered remnants of ancient worlds drifted upward, caught in its wake. Oceans boiled into vapor, mountains dissolved into glittering dust, and even the void itself seemed to hum with its arrival. Astronomers who recorded the event found their instruments breaking under the strain, their machines unable to process the frequencies of such an existence. They whispered to each other in awe and dread, realizing they were not observing a creature, but a will made manifest across time. The Warden did not speak—it resonated. Its presence carved understanding directly into the minds of those who dared look. The message was simple: the cycle must continue. Suns must collapse, galaxies must fracture, and life must be scattered anew. Humanity, insignificant yet luminous in its striving, stood now at the threshold of this decree. Some prepared to resist, building fleets to defy inevitability, while others bent their knees to worship the living storm that had risen among the stars.