Astros

Astros (sometimes referred to as Astros, The Destroyer) is an ancient being made of pure, sentient dark energy. It existed in the early phase of the universe, when the laws of physics were markedly different to modern times.

Creation
Nobody knows of the origin of Astros or its sentience, but it existed long before the Known Worlds were anywhere near their current form, during a time when the universe was far more rudimentary and consisted of very basic elements. It co-existed with Purhtos, The Shining One, a being of ancient light energy that served as a natural enemy to Astros.

From the day it gained sentience, Astros has sought only one thing: to bathe the universe in darkness. It travelled from the dark corners of the Universe towards what would become the Known Worlds, devouring any forms of life and light in its path. However, it encountered Purhtos and a clan of his light-worshipping followers, and was defeated.

Astros, severely weakened by the light, was exiled back to the dark outer rim of the universe, where some speculate it dissolved back into nothing. Others, based on how Purhtos naturally declined in power as time passed, theorise that Astros may have split into several, lesser creatures of darkness which may be lurking in the edges of reality.

Appearance
Astros was approximately the size of the sun, although its size was variable as its form was not rigid. It appeared as a pitch black mist, which got darker and denser toward the centre, with huge, erratic tendrils of purple-black lightning lashing out of it towards sources of light at blinding speeds.

Abilities
Astros attacked lifeforms by projecting pure darkness from itself, via its bolts of dark energy. When it reached a victim, it latched onto them, sapping away the life and light from their body, literally only leaving pure darkness in its wake. It attacked large amounts of light energy however by swamping it in its cloud and fog, digesting it and reducing it to nothing, but at a physical cost to itself.

It could also moved across the universe at cosmic speeds, able to travel millions of light years in a matter of days or weeks.

Intelligence
Astros' level of intelligence is unknown, but nobody was ever able to communicate with it. It seemed to have a basic, driving motive: to eradicate the light and life at the centre of the universe, and it seemed to relentlessly pursue that goal. It did show a basic level of awareness though, recognising that it had been severely harmed by Purhtos and its followers, and retreating back into the infinite abyss of the outer universe before it could be fully destroyed.