Blackhole

Blackhole is a dark god, and the most powerful entity in the entire cosmos.

As Galaxy’s first-born star it was Blackhole who was Galaxy’s only guiding light in the earliest days. She loved him like a child and he loved her like a mother – but then she abandoned him, leaving him to die, and all he could think of was vengeance. He followed her to the end of the universe and destroyed her, and for billions of years since he has sought only to destroy her every creation. Everywhere he goes, worlds fall in his wake. He is the Void itself, and he is unstoppable.

All across the universe, many have sought to appease Blackhole and spare themselves from his wrath. Others have attempted to control him, without success. In the Milky Way Galaxy, his main followers are the Order of the Event Horizon: a shady, sinister cult headquartered on the planet Avernion, with hidden shrines and sanctuaries all over the galaxy. These cultists worship Blackhole as a deity of destruction and chaos, and for thousands of years they have sought to gain his favour and earn their place in his new world order.

Physical appearance

Blackhole is the manifestation of the Void itself. Like Galaxy, he can take any form of his pleasing, although he most often appears as a dark, many-tentacled entity with the power to consume all light, leaving only darkness. He resembles an octopoid with an ever-changing number of tentacles, and he may also appear with long, powerful claws for piercing and tearing through planets. His chest cavity radiates with fiery cosmic energy and light for, at his core, he is still a star.

His most striking physical feature is his singular eye, which appears in all his forms.

Powers

As a dark god hell-bent on bringing about the end of the universe, Blackhole has the power to consume stars and devour their light. Once absorbed by him, no light can ever escape him, even as it bursts from his open chest cavity and radiates in his every appendage. The consumption of all light is his only ambition, for he is driven only by vengeance.

Blackhole cannot be stopped or harmed by any means possessed by mortalkind. Like Galaxy he is incorporeal, an entity composed not of physical matter but of pure darkness, and so weapons are useless against him. Even magic – a gift possessed by some of the universe’s more powerful species – is useless in the face of the Void himself. Only one being in the galaxy ever possessed the ability to stop him, and he, unfortunately, stopped her first.

Whilst Blackhole cannot create new life as Galaxy could, he possesses the ability to turn stellar energy into minions of darkness by creating voidwraiths. These zombie-like beings do not have minds of their own, but are created purely to serve him and wreak their havoc upon Galaxy’s worlds. They, in turn, can corrupt starsprites into becoming voidwraiths themselves.

Voidism and Event Horizon

Aliens that believe in Blackhole’s cause are called Voidists, practitioners of a dark religion formed long ago by the prophet, Necronyx.

Blackhole is unaware of the many people who worship him, and knows nothing of Necronyx or his followers, but they are a dedicated group who spread fear and destruction across the galaxy. They believed Galaxy was a flawed and corrupted god, torn apart by Blackhole to ‘save’ them. To this very day, he continues to destroy her stars and planets wherever he finds them, with his Voidist followers believing that he intends to create a new universe for his followers.

For the Order of the Event Horizon, the oldest and most fanatical Voidist sect, the primary concern is with the worship and appeasement of their unholy god, as per the teachings of the Abyssal Tome, and also with serving him, so that they might attain a place in his new world.

Role in Star Herectic

Blackhole is not a direct threat to the player, but his presence looms over the galaxy as an unstoppable force. He cannot be confronted or defeated, but the galaxy exists in its current state largely because of his presence. Unbeknownst to him, a cult has formed in his name, spreading fear, and converting alien species to submit to their dark god, or else have their planet destroyed.

Because Blackhole cannot be interacted with directly, the player’s only means of engaging with him is through the cult, who claim to speak on his behalf. He does not know Kinoko exists.