Cycle

**The Cycle** is a term referring to the reality that makes up the overarching setting of Reflection. It refers to the cosmological process of the creation and destruction of worlds.

## Properties

Across the Cycle's history, there have been many drastic differences in the physical and metaphysical properties of the worlds created, but there are a handful of consistent or at least frequently occurring factors that have large amounts of influence on the development and progression of worlds. They are described below.

### Demons and Codas

The presence of a Coda seems to occur in every known stage in the Cycle. While the exact functions of individual Codas might be different, they all act as tunnels or bridges between an older world in the Cycle and a newer one. In addition, the presence of Demons within the Coda that are led by Demonic Courts is also a recurring theme, as is a cosmic war between the Demons and the inhabitants of the newer worlds over the future of the Cycle.

### Flame

While only the most recent incarnation of reality within the Cycle, the Burning World, is predicated on Flame, it has existed for a seemingly extensive portion of the Cycle's history. In previous worlds, Flame was used as a source of energy and creation, as well as a method by which people could commune with distant places and times by extending their perception through Flame.

### Elements

All known worlds had "Elements", which were metaphysical commands that established what facets of reality any given world was predicated on. The exact function of Elements is unclear. In the Burning World, Elements keep Flame stable within an object, but in previous worlds that were not Flame-based, their ultimate function is unclear. Treble theorizes that the amount of Elements in a world has lessened with each successive stage in the Cycle, noticing how Stein, an incredibly ancient being, has eighty-one Elements, humans in the Old World have six, and all matter in the Burning World have only three.

### Fangs

Fangs are massive supercomputers built either using or to emulate the powers of the First Tormented. Some Fangs seem to be self-aware and sapient. The main property of Fangs seems to be the ability to convey commands or impress certain shapes on reality. Fangs are known to exist in both the Old World as well as the Burning World.

### Tormented

The Tormented are godlike beings whose mere existence facilitates a certain function of the Cycle. The death and reduction of all worlds to ash and ruin seems to be a process that is facilitated by Eternity, the Fourth Tormented, as an example. The presence of the Second Tormented, Destruction, allows information to persist independent of active measurement or thought, allowing it to reappear in later worlds as well as be actively summoned in the form of entities like Demons or Reflections.

## History

### Beginnings

The Cycle traces its origins to an ancient world which might or might not be Earth. Under unclear circumstances, this world was destroyed and reality itself became unsuitable for humanity, causing the survivors to "forget" the shape of humanity.

### Early Worlds

An early world in the Cycle was inhabited by insect-like creatures. Eternity was present in this world and was worshiped by many as a god who represented absolute stillness and peace. At one point in the world's history, its inhabitants had access to recognizably modern technology like firearms. They used advanced cybernetics to extend their lives. This world was not based on Flame, but there existed what seemed to have been a single large Flame somewhere in this world that a group of scholars or researchers used to learn the secrets of reality with Eternity's assistance. This institution raised groups of acolytes to use an unknown process to "inscribe" their experiences into their flesh. When these acolytes neared the end of their lives, they were thrown into the Flame and their perception of reality was "expanded". What they saw was then relayed to Eternity.

Some time after the insectoid world was destroyed, a world was manifested that was inhabited by an unknown but distinctly inhuman species. The people there built massive "computer spires" for an unknown purpose, and piloted large mechanical vehicles built in the shape of arthropod-like organisms. A major institution in this world was a research and weapons development facility known as the Chemicary.. The scholars of the Chemicary eventually found a mote of Pureflame left behind from a previous world. Unlike in the insect-people world, the Chemicary was deeply afraid of Flame's destructive potential, and so they sealed it away and willingly allowed their world to be destroyed to act as a prison for the Flame. It seems that survivors of this world built the Coda that would connect to either Omeria or the Old World.

### Omeria

Following soon after (or possibly immediately after) the Chemicary's world was a world inhabited by large, biomechanical organisms akin to cephalopods. They were apparently constructed by an unknown force to fight in an ancient war, which they won. These creatures established a city known as Omeria, which regarded the shape of old humanity with a near-religious relevance. Various Omerian (or Omeri) philosophers and scientists theorized and experimented on how to rediscover and recreate humanity. Most Omeri who pursued this path were followers of Destruction, the Second Tormented, who used her Divine Eyes as a method to reestablish humanity. However, a group of heterodox thinkers known as the Ab Fae rejected the Divine Eyes, believing that instruments that were created by the Omeri themselves, such as Divine Eyes, couldn't possibly recreate true humanity. Two of these Ab Fae, one of whom would go on to become the Pyromancer of Logic, journeyed down through the Codas and explored the ruins of old worlds. They eventually found the mote of Flame contained within the Chemicary.

### The Old World

At some point, Omeria was destroyed and a new world was created with beings that were very similar to humans. The inhabitants of this world won a war against their Coda and Demonic Courts, breaking the Cycle. However, something about the makeup of either the world, the overall Cycle, or both, meant that this peace couldn't last. Logic eventually showed himself to the elites of this world and offered to teach them the ways of the Ab Fae. They accepted, and the world was revolutionized by Flame. Gigantic dome-shaped power plants called "Islands" were constructed to generate and channel Flame, and the substance's properties seemed to successfully push back the decay of the world. However, under the influence of a mysterious "Devil", the Islands burst, causing a wave of Flame to sweep over the entire world, killing almost everybody and reducing the grand cities of this world to ash and rubble, which coalesced into "oceans" of ash. The survivors of this world, which included Logic, his wife, Vinter, Isaac, and Stein, were eventually gathered by Eternity and the Queen of Flames and made to become the leaders of the new Demonic Courts. Meanwhile, unknown forces conspired to reach out to the Flame left over in the disaster, using it to create the newest stage in the cycle.

*Main article: Burning World*

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Through The Gate
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Under The Bus
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Dig Deeper
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lock And Key
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Uneasy Future
6. ↑ The Sword That Does Not Exist
7. ↑ Micro Journey
8. ↑ Strong Enough
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sum of Experiences
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Parasite
11. ↑ No Options
12. ↑ Don't Break My Heart
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Horizontal Waterfall
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Shape Forming
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Crossing Threads