The NU Timeline

## The Nightmare Universe Timeline (Backstory)

The following details the events that transpired prior to the in-game events…

## The Prologue

In the beginning, when the universe was still in its infancy, four cosmic beings known as the Primal Forces came into existence. These "Primals" would later acquire the names, Order, Chaos, Life, and Death. As they established their domains, the Primals began competing with each other for supremacy over the universe. Through their competition, the four Primals created various races to populate the universe and propagate their power. From Order came the Highest, mighty creators that warped reality for their amusement. From Chaos came the Demons, powerful destroyers that sought to rip and tear everything. From Life came Mortals, adaptable creatures with the power to forge their own destinies. From Death came the Void, an infinite darkness where souls go to be reborn. The Primals also created additional forces in the form of sentient jewels. These were the Master Emerald, the Chaos Emeralds, the Time Stones, and the Phantom Ruby respectively. One day, however, a dispute began between the Highest and the Demons over control of a planet seeded by Life. This dispute prompted the attention of Order and Chaos as a war between their most powerful creations could threaten the stability of the infant universe. The two Primals forced the two into a treaty to which both sides reluctantly agreed. This treaty was fragile at best since the Highest had to let Demons destroy their creations and Demons had to withhold their wrath until commanded. Although both sides respected the treaty, a stigma began to boil beneath the surface. The Highest saw Demons as nothing more than mindless beasts and the Demons saw the Highest as selfish children. On the day Exetior came into existence, the Highest celebrated the creation of their newest brethren with many strange and eldritch rituals. Suddenly, Chaos emerged and struck at Exetior, bestowing the Demon gift of destruction upon him before vanishing into the cosmos. This unprovoked attack panicked the Highest because although Chaos was always an unpredictable force, its actions always had an understandable pattern. This did not and the idea that a Highest now had the power to destroy like any Demon stoked fear among them. In an effort to suppress Chaos' gift, the All-Father, leader of the Highest, trained Exetior with the most elite upbringing available. As Exetior's talents grew, so too did the fears of the Highest for his power over creation and destruction was unnatural to them. The Highest could only erase what they create, resetting things to their original form, as it was the Demons' duty to destroy. However, Exetior's powers allowed him to create worlds by destroying existing worlds, something the Highest saw as impossible. The fear of the Highest soon turned into spite and the newborn soul they once celebrated with joy was now an icon of their bitter scorn. As fate would have it, this hatred would reach a terrible climax.

## The High-Demon War (Part 01)

Over the eons, Exetior participated in the creation of several planets, some beautiful and some terrifying, but all entertained the Highest. Exetior decided that he wanted his own world, a world that he could fashion into his greatest accomplishment, a world called "Mobius". With the help of Stitch-Light and Brave-Star, Exetior forged a world that could accommodate all of the Primals' creations. When Exetior completed Mobius, all stood in awe at its complexity, a planet with the ability to support Order, Chaos, Life, and Death. The Primals wasted no time and sent the sentient gems to the planet's surface knowing many Mortals will covet their power. However, his passion for this world and its inhabitants grew too strongly to the point where he developed a personal attachment to it. At some point, while Exetior was continuing to expand Mobius and its various pocket dimensions, the All-Father arrived. The All-Father congratulated Exetior on his accomplishment but then, with a steeled gaze, he ordered Exetior to erase the planet. Shocked by the command, Exetior asked the All-Father as to why Mobius had to vanish. The All-Father remarked that the planet’s existence would ultimately allow Mortals to learn of the existence of the Highest and Demons. One of the treaty's rules was prohibiting Mortals from gaining the power to ally with the Highest or Demons, as Life was both orderly and chaotic. Exetior pleaded that he would never let that happen, but Stitch-Light and Brave-Star, having grown bored with Mobius, sided with the All-Father. Exetior refused to let the Highest destroy his greatest creation because of arbitrary rules. Offended by Exetior's opposition, Brave-Star attempted to erase Mobius himself and in his anger, Exetior intercepted Brave-Star and wounded him. The All-Father ordered the Highest to detain Exetior, strip him of his duties as a creator, and throw him into Null Space, a dimensional prison. Stitch-Light proceeded to erase Mobius, resetting it back to its primal form and stripping it of everything Exetior created. Fortunately, because the gemstones were on Mobius when the erasure happened, they recorded the planet’s existence up until that moment. Thus, every time the Highest erase Mobius, the gemstones restore it to Exetior's design. Within his confinement, Exetior grew to hate his own kind for they now openly slandered his name with some mockingly calling him an "Arch-Demon". Upon his release, Exetior set forth with a plan to exact his revenge and to ensure Mobius would forever remain under his protection. Using the Phantom Ruby, Exetior secretly visited many worlds and dimensions, including the Demon homeworld of Exodius, to recruit his forces. Many Mortals and Demons fell to his sway with the promise of riches and power. The ruby also allowed Exetior to discover dimensions that existed unseen by the Highest and he used one for his operations and called it, "The Blood Temple". In time, Exetior was the leader of an entire army, but he knew his forces alone were not enough so he set out in search of stronger allies.

## The High-Demon War (Part 02)

During his travels with the ruby, Exetior would meet some unusual entities by exploring dimensions where he was not Mobius' creator. To avoid alerting the Highest, Exetior created a copy of himself using the Phantom Ruby as a means to distract them. Among these entities were the ambitious Pervision, the bloodthirsty Sark, and the reclusive Negagen. These creatures looked and felt like the Demons he knew, but something felt off, which made Exetior question why so many worlds were identical to his own. As thanks for helping him conquer his version of Mobius and creating a dedicated laboratory, Pervision revealed his studies to Exetior. Pervision learned of a mysterious being dubbed the External Entity, or EXE, which silently observed every world that supported Demons. Pervision described it as a featureless being within a black square that overlooked the entire dimension no matter how far you traveled. It was invisible to everyone except those with incredible power, which prompted Exetior to look around and there he saw the EXE staring at him. Exetior questioned whether it was possible to access this supposed "X-Dimension", but Pervision sadly said he did not know how. Upon entering Sark's dimension, Sark and his harem of assassins attacked Exetior to which Exetior easily defeated the latter. Sark and Exetior battled but despite Sark's self-proclaimed godhood, Exetior proved too powerful and Sark had to accept defeat or die. This enraged Sark and despite his attempts to kill Exetior, he continued to let Sark serve. When he returned with his new allies, Exetior noticed a Pulse Demon named Negagen trying to harness more souls than his body could handle. This provoked other Demons to attack him so they could steal his souls for themselves. Exetior intervened, prompting the Demons to flee in fear and Exetior mentored Negagen on how to better use his skills. Through Exetior's teachings, Negagen gained the power to command hundreds of souls at once, pledging his eternal loyalty to Exetior as thanks. With his forces in hand and his army now triple in size thanks to recruiting various dimensional creatures, it was time to begin the High-Demon War. Using the power of the Phantom Ruby in addition to the Chaos Emeralds, Exetior launched a surprise attack on Seira, the homeworld of the Highest. Although Exetior's assault caught the Highest by surprise, their ability to manifest entire armies provided substantial resistance. The battle lasted for centuries but the Highest achieved victory using the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald sent out a pulse that nullified the Phantom Ruby and Chaos Emeralds, erasing the illusions and paralyzing the Demons. With the Highest purging his army, Exetior tried to flee but the Highest captured him. The Highest imprisoned Exetior and his most powerful allies in Null Space for life and the Demons that survived now served the Highest. Exetior had lost everything and all he could do was serve his eternity alone.

## The Rise of the Arch-Demon

Many eons would pass since Exetior’s imprisonment. The Highest would try repeatedly to erase Mobius, only for the gemstones to restore it back to Exetior's form through its evolution. Exetior had plenty of time to think and understood why Pervision and Sark were able to conquer their dimensions when he could not. They lacked morality and shunned the idea of peace because they did what they had to do because they wanted to do it. This angered Exetior for he believed he was weak because of his compassion and desire to protect his creations. He tried to struggle free but he was unable to move within his binds for the power of Null Space was infinite and he was forever alone. His rage began to grow as he spouted vengeful words about himself, the Highest, and the Demons that failed him. It grew so powerful that the gift of Chaos began to transform his body, his angelic form burning away into something monstrous. Exetior bellowed in pain as the transformation overtook him, his mind drowning within a furious and boiling bloodlust. Once the transformation finished, there stood Exetior, but he was no longer a Highest. Gone was the shining beacon of creation that the Highest once treasured. In its place stood a being that once existed as nothing more than a mocking name. Exetior would embrace their slander for now he was their greatest fear, the Arch-Demon. As his fury subsided, Exetior saw something in the distance that made his soul freeze, two unblinking eyes staring at him from a square box. Suddenly, the surroundings of Null Space began to quake as distorted cries and screams echoed through the infinite emptiness. Exetior looked around but upon looking back at the eyes, he noticed they were gone. The binds holding Exetior cracked and shattered until finally, Exetior fell out of Null Space onto the surface of Seira. Exetior could hear the cries from the Highest but he wasted no time locating his allies but he soon witnessed what was making them so frantic. The actions of the Highest provoked Chaos to unleash its ultimate destroyer, a black hole. Guided by Chaos' will, the black hole consumed countless worlds, releasing massive amounts of Chaos Energy in the process. With the Highest distracted by the black hole's rampage, Exetior told his allies to flee to the Blood Temple and await his return. Negagen objected and pleaded for Exetior to come with them, but Exetior stated that he had to lure them away from Mobius. Begrudgingly, Negagen complied and Pervision created a red Warp Ring that allowed them to enter the Blood Temple. Exetior began to besiege Seira in an effort to attract the Highest's attention before fleeing into the depths of space. Exetior was free once more and this time, he would not fail again for the reign of the Arch-Demon was about to begin.

## The Nightmare Awakens

Exetior traveled to many worlds, assuming many disguises, in an effort to recover any surviving assets from the war. However, to ensure that a second war could never occur, the Highest instilled so much fear into the Demons that upon seeing Exetior, they would betray him. His Mortal allies were long-since dead, time was merciless to them, and so with each world he visited, the Demons would alert the Highest to his location. With each betrayal, he saw the Highest destroy the Demons for their "loyalty" by erasing the worlds they lived on. Any attempts to sway new Mortals only resulted in rebellion as even his disguises exuded an aura of terror and evil. Exetior crossed thousands of light-years in his run from the Highest, watching as they burned every world he visited, until he eventually reached the black hole. Exetior lamented at the sight of it, comparing it to his prison in Null Space, an empty void from which there was no escape. He decided to visit a planet that was in the midst of its demise by the singularity. Upon arriving, he saw that the radiation had already sterilized most of the planet's life. To his surprise, however, a man approached him, his body burned by the radiation. The man knew who Exetior was for he was one of the last Mortal survivors, his longevity bestowed through Demonization. The man struggled to speak but with all of his strength, he pleaded to Exetior to save the people of this planet. Sadly, Exetior’s hatred knew no bounds as he stared at the dying Mortal and said, "No!" before blasting his body into pieces and departing. As Exetior watched the last fragments vanish into the black hole, he proclaimed that he would no longer ask for help, he would fight this war alone. The black hole pulsed and sent out a blast of Chaos Energy in all directions. Exetior could feel its power coursing harmlessly through him, an experience that would otherwise kill him if he were still a Highest. It was as if a gentle hand was soothing Exetior's torment and through this calming pleasure, Exetior came to a realization. Demons could only demonize Mortals into a reflection of themselves but Exetior, being a Highest, had the powers of creation and destruction at his command. He could recreate life via Demonization, just like how it transformed him, and the Highest were far enough away from Mobius that he could return unseen. He could remake it in his own demonic image, transforming the planet itself into a weapon against the Highest. The people would still be themselves, embraced within Chaos and free of Life's shackles. Exetior bowed to the black hole, knowing that Chaos unleashed it to give him the chance to reclaim his purpose as a creator, and flew back to Mobius. Upon his return to Mobius, Exetior knew the Highest would see any disguise he made. Thus, he opted for a Mortal host, one that people would not suspect or dare to challenge. Then, while hiding within the Green Hills, he saw the perfect vessel, a being that could harness limitless amounts of Chaos Energy, Sonic the Hedgehog.