Ultimate God Nebula... Aside from the outlier that was Shallow Vernal, she was the one entity who could truly be called the Absolute One—the one who once ruled over countless multiple worlds and commanded the creators of those realms.
She reigned as the absolute superior to all existences, encompassing everything within her own being. Should anyone have dared to oppose her, they would have been erased in a mere instant, even if they possessed the power of the omniscient and omnipotent.
As she called herself, Nebula was an overwhelming presence truly worthy of being called the Absolute One.
However, did Nebula subordinate the creators of those many worlds simply because she possessed power that isolated her from all others? No, that was not the case.
Compared to the typical world creators, who often possessed difficult personalities precisely because of their immense power, Nebula was an existence of profound benevolence—a rarity among her kind.
Though she reigned at the very top of many worlds, she never demanded anything from those who followed her. Her logic was simple: as the Absolute One, she was the one who bestowed blessings upon lower beings; there was no reason for those below her to offer anything in return.
While her manner of speaking was as arrogant as any Absolute One, she protected and guided those under her aegis, and her character earned her the adoration of many.
The creators of those many worlds did not serve Nebula because she demanded it; they served her simply because they loved and respected her of their own volition.
Nebula never turned away those who came to her. She considered all who followed her to be under her protection and granted them her grace equally.
Furthermore, Nebula was a God Who Does Not Have Their Own World. She had no interest in the act of creation itself, and despite her vast power, she never sought to build a realm of her own.
Because of this, she really should not have been an existence destined to meet her end at that time.
Shallow Vernal... that phenomenon known as the End... did not first appear before Nebula. It appeared within a world created by one of the world creators who served her.
Upon learning that the inevitable end—a force already becoming widely feared—had manifested before one of her subordinates, Nebula acted instantly.
Using her vast power, she transferred the creator of that world into her own being and allowed the original creator to escape to a different realm. That was not all; though she did not know if it would truly matter, she also evacuated as many of the world's inhabitants as possible to the realms of her other subordinates.
Naturally, many of her followers protested. In particular, the creator of the world where Shallow Vernal had appeared pleaded with her desperately, insisting that Nebula had no reason to risk herself for their sake.
Nebula brushed those pleas aside. Once she finished sending the creator and the world's lifeforms to safety, she severed every connection she held with the existences she encompassed.
She did this to ensure that her own impending end would not affect those she had held within her.
Then, alone in an empty world, she challenged the End.
She did so even as the Absolute One, fully aware that she could not resist the Epilogue.
This is precisely why Nebula is still worshipped and adored by the creators of many worlds to this day, long after she met her end.
Her battle had another consequence: it influenced the phenomenon of the End itself. Shallow Vernal did not understand it at the time, but looking back now that she has acquired emotions, the first entity that ever piqued Shallow Vernal's interest was Nebula.
Seeing someone fight for the sake of others rather than themselves—knowing full well they could never win—was the very first spark that eventually led to the birth of Shallow Vernal's heart.
Of course, she realized none of this back then. In fact, after ending Nebula, a span of time passed that was too vast to be expressed in numbers before she finally encountered Machina.
Yet, the influence was undeniably there. It was for this reason that the Shallow Vernal of that era did not bring an end to those Nebula had allowed to escape, moving on to the next world instead.
The Shallow Vernal before then—and indeed, even the Shallow Vernal after then—would usually have hunted down those who fled to other worlds to bring them to their end as well. But that one time, and only that once, she overlooked them.
Perhaps it was her slightly budding heart that moved her. She would eventually bring an end to them if she reached their refuge in the natural course of things, but out of respect for Nebula, she would let them go just once.
Even the goddess herself cannot truly fathom her own state of mind from back then, but it may have been a faint expression of respect toward Nebula, who had stood alone against the inevitable.
"Tell me one thing, Shallow Vernal. Those whom I let escape—how are they faring now?"
"The god you saved seems to have rebuilt a new world after some time. Afterwards, they reportedly left that world to another's care and are now traveling through various realms... though I only heard this from a god I'm acquainted with."
"I see... So you did not bring an end to them."
When Shallow Vernal resurrected Nebula, that was the very first thing the former goddess asked.
"If you wish, I could arrange for you to contact them."
"There is no need. I met my end once; in that moment, my connection to my former subordinates was severed. I have no intention of clinging to my former status this late in the game. As long as they are well, that is enough."
Nebula asked nothing more of the past and instead focused on the proposal Shallow Vernal had laid out.
"I have a mountain of complaints... but very well. It seems I unknowingly incurred a debt to you. For a time, I shall resign myself to being treated like a dog."
"Is that so? I am glad you have consented. In that case, I shall transform you into a spirit."
"And now my complaints have increased by one. Truly, remember this well..."
??? : As a side note, it seems Nebula is still deeply worshipped by the creators of many worlds even now. If she were to give the word, a force of nearly the same scale as before would likely rally to her side. However, the person herself seems to view her resurrection as a rebirth and has no intention of returning to her old position.
Serious-senpai: Come to think of it, she keeps talking in her inner monologue about having a position befitting an Absolute One, but she hasn't said a word about reclaiming her former glory. It feels like she's made a clean break with her past.