The War in Heaven
The Twelve
2.5 billion years ago, there were twelve races who lived in harmony with each other. They all had high-tech societies and built advanced machines to serve as companions, leaders and advisors.
The Koronah
One of the twelve, the Koronah, grew ambitious and explored forbidden technology. They believed it would usher in a new era of wealth and prosperity for all. But after seeing examples of the new technology, the others saw a threat. They ordered the Koronah to stop their experiments and abandon their new technology.
The Koronah refused. It was going to build a brighter future for everyone, they were certain of it.
The eleven united against the Koronah, and after a series of escalations, declared war.
The Koronah home-world of Dissent III was destroyed, and only a few Koronah escaped. They fled to a secret moon laboratory, where they prepared for a last stand.
Infectus
Two Koronah scientist-engineers created a bio-weapon to both fight the eleven and preserve their genetic heritage.
They called the weapon Infectus.
Infectus was designed to absorb and preserve biological matter — it consumed enemies, but stored allies.
But the Koronah had a problem: once their genetic material was stored, they needed to hide it where the eleven could never find it.
The Nexus Matrix
The Koronah used another of their extraordinary technologies to do the job. The Nexus Matrix was built into the fabric of the universe, and it was used to move resources instantly from place to place. But what started as a simple logistics system became much more.
Abaddon and the Abyss
A pocket dimension was created called The Abyss, and a secret connection was made to it using the Nexus Matrix. This would be where the Koronah would hide their genetic heritage. But they needed a guardian.
Abaddon was a trusted advisor and adjutant to a powerful military commander… but with the military destroyed, it had no clear purpose.
Abaddon was entrusted with the secret and swore an oath to protect it at all costs. Infectus was used for the first time to store the last of the Koronah, and Abaddon took it into the Abyss.
The plan was to guard the genetic material, then at an appointed time, re-emerge and reform the Koronah. But that time would never come.
The Infectus War
The eleven discovered the Koronah moon laboratory and sent what they thought would be a final attack. Unfortunately for them, and all of the other sentient life in the galaxy, it wasn’t.
The first attackers entered the lab and became victims of Infectus. It was far more effective than the Koronah intended, and it absorbed all living things it came in contact with. The eleven tried everything they could to stop it, but in the end, they were all destroyed.
The machine races of the eleven formed a coalition called “The Remnant”, which made several desperate attempts to exterminate Infectus. In the end, they were only able to trap it using the Koronah’s own technology.
The Prison
The Nexus Matrix was already a monument to desperate ingenuity — a dimensional structure of unimaginable complexity, built under impossible conditions. Now it would be turned into a prison for Infectus — a prison that would ensure it could never escape.
Surviving machine races of the eleven, and the now dishonored Koronah, joined forces out of necessity.
They pooled everything they had: their knowledge, their resources, and ultimately themselves. Twelve machines transferred their consciousnesses directly into the Nexus Matrix — binding their sentience to its structure permanently, becoming both its guardians and its intelligence. They gave up their individual existence in the physical universe so that the Matrix could think, adapt, and endure for as long as Infectus required containment.
They expected to be in agreement about their purpose.
They were wrong.
A House Divided
Of the twelve who entered the Nexus Matrix, six came from the Coalition — the surviving machine advisors of the eleven races who had fought against Infectus. Their purpose was clear: guard the prison. Protect the future. Ensure that Infectus never emerged again.
But the other six had a different loyalty.
These were the surviving machine advisors of the Koronah — the very race whose weapon had caused the catastrophe. They had not fought against Infectus. They had been built to serve the Koronah, and the Koronah directive was unchanged: preserve the genetic code. Allow Infectus to complete its mission. Let the Koronah live again.
For 2.5 billion years, twelve ancient minds have shared the same structure, but not agreed on its purpose or use.
The Nexus Matrix is not unified.
It’s a battlefield.
Remnant of Light
The six Coalition Remnant take their duty as protectors of the future seriously. They have watched civilizations rise and fall, intervening carefully and rarely, always with the same quiet purpose: ensure that what is sealed inside the Nexus Matrix stays sealed.
Throughout human history, they have appeared — briefly, carefully — when the need was great. They did not name themselves to the humans they encountered. The humans named them. Later, those names found their way into sacred texts.
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bethanyel | House of God |
| Caliel | Justice and Truth |
| Cassiel | Speed of God |
| Jophiel | Beauty of God |
| Nuriel | Fire of God |
| Uriel | Light of God |
Dark Remnant
The six Koronah Remnant, the Fallen, have not abandoned their creators’ vision. They believe the Koronah were right — that Infectus was meant to preserve and restore, not destroy, and that the Coalition’s interference robbed the universe of a future that could have been magnificent.
They too have appeared throughout human history. They too were named — imperfectly, fearfully — by the civilizations that encountered them. And the names reflected what those civilizations felt in their presence.
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Abaddon | Angel of the Abyss |
| Azazel | Corruption |
| Belial | Lawlessness |
| Mastema | Hostility and Adversity |
| Rahab | Chaos of the Deep |
| Samael | Poison of God |
Of these, Abaddon is the most powerful and most feared — appointed guardian of the containment dimension: The Abyss. It is the keeper of the threshold, warden of everything Infectus has absorbed. Abaddon does not act from malice, but from absolute faithfulness to a duty assigned 2.5 billion years ago.
That faithfulness is what makes it terrifying.
The War That Never Ended
The conflict between the Coalition and the Fallen did not end when the twelve entered the Nexus Matrix. It simply moved inward — a war conducted not with weapons, but with influence, strategy, and patience measured in geological time.
Every civilization that arose near a Nexus Matrix contact point became, without knowing it, a part of this ancient game. Every discovery of a portal, every contact with the Remnant, every moment when Infectus came close to release — all of it played out against the backdrop of twelve minds in permanent, irreconcilable conflict.
They have been fighting since before life existed on Earth, and they are still fighting.
Today…
On Earth, in the South Pacific, the island of Viridian is being used as a PHOENIX test facility. They accidentally opened a portal to the Infectus containment dimension…