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The Ultimate Darkness is a concept expressed by many, in this case Scott Eiler.
Aliases: Great Darkness et al; The Darkness Before Creation; Powdered Darkness; The Void
Team Affiliations: Pam Brown (a.k.a. Nightlight, a.k.a. the Bride of the Ultimate Darkness)
Status: Forever sporadically active
Location: Surrounding every universe
Favorite Music: Is sometimes soothed by vibrations from some creations
Character Portrait

History

Before any universe existed, Ultimate Darkness was there. The first universe came forth like a tiny burp in its guts. Then that universe multiplied. That's about when the Darkness woke up.

Now, universes are like gut bacteria to Ultimate Darkness... though sometimes they give it indigestion. So the Darkness has had some attitude, for as long as humans have trafficked with it.


Personality

On some occasions, humans have approached Ultimate Darkness. This always surprises it. It may respond lovingly (as for Pam Brown, the Bride of the Ultimate Darkness), or with a howl (as against Ellipsis or Imperilus), or anything in between. But in general, it's kind of like a cranky old man - the oldest one ever.

Ultimate Darkness sometimes spins off into offshoots, with names like Null and Void and Hunger. These are often nihilistic and do not relate well with living beings. They usually get driven off. But at least one "Void" has developed into a salmon hatchery, for fish who cannot reach their own hatching waters. The spawn from that place now qualify as Void Living Salmon - living beings born from a Void! Such as those have apparently never been seen in the Omniverse before.


Powers and Abilities

Ultimate Darkness does not have to swallow any universe. It's already swallowed them all. However, it may digest anything within any universe within it. When that happens, a new fractal partial universe comes out.

Ultimate Darkness may of course interact with any universe anywhere. They all live within it.

When some creature from within a universe contacts the Ultimate Darkness, that creature may obtain powers of energy, navigation within the Darkness, or summoning bits of the Darkness itself. Some Earth-humans have done this, as have some from other universes.

Those who navigate within the Darkness, hardly ever go farther then their own worlds. The Darkness grants to spit them out upon those, without paying attention where. This is the origin of many teleportation powers. Some, however, go between universes. Again, this is of about as much consequence to it as single-celled organisms copulating.

However, any who consciously approach the Darkness and are confident in their own powers (of light or whatever), will often find their powers absorbed, smashed down, irrelevant, etc. Ultimate Darkness is a force of nature; one does not carelessly navigate it and survive, any more than one carelessly survives upon the ocean.


Appearance

If you should ever find yourself suspended within Ultimate Darkness, and if you are calm enough, you will find that the Darkness has eyes to gaze upon you. It may also have veins in the distance; these stretch between its many universes which may interact. It may even grant you bear your own light, so as to navigate within it.

When viewed from within one of its universes, any part of the Ultimate Darkness is just dark. Superheroes with enough inherent light-bearing power may briefly function, before the Darkness drains them.


Publications


Author's Notes

Thanks to the current comic Powernaut 2006, it becomes important to describe the behavior and power of Ultimate Darkness. This wouldn't be so important, if the Darkness weren't so moody...

In all my stories about Ultimate Darkness, I've tried to stay true to the quote of the Swamp Thing: "Where is evil, in all the wood?" Darkness may be used by evil, but Darkness does not equal evil.

(signed) Scott Eiler, 10 September 2016.


"Void Living Salmon" are a collaboration with the web cartoonists known as Candycane and Turtle. This entry and all other characters within it are copyright © 2016-2024 by Eiler Technical Enterprises.