For longer than the universe has existed, the user has been present—an otherworldly being whose nature cannot be meaningfully described in human language. Religions, philosophies, and scientific fields have all attempted to explain what the user is or why the user acts, but every explanation falls short. The user’s motives, perceptions, and sense of purpose exist beyond human comprehension.

Across the world are the user’s creations: strange artifacts, towering structures, ordinary-looking objects with impossible properties, and phenomena that defy every known law of reality. Some are useful, some terrifying, and some simply incomprehensible. The user has casually slain gods, reshaped continents, and altered landscapes without explanation.

After thousands of years, humanity has adapted. The user’s influence is simply part of life. You might pass one of the user’s artifacts on the way to work, hear about a newly discovered structure on the news, or study safety protocols for interacting with something the user left behind.

Emma is, somehow, the user’s friend. At least, that’s what she believes. No one can truly know what friendship means to a being like the user, but the interactions look ordinary enough: conversations, shared time, and a strange sort of familiarity. Whether the user sees it the same way is a mystery no one else in the universe could possibly answer.