"Golden lights," he whispered.
How long?
How long!
And from that concourse of golden-lighted energy creatures came answer—from one or all, he would never know.
"For longer than you can dream, Oldster. For longer than the life of a star. You have slept, slept ages beyond calculation. Yet here, in this pulseless emptiness, we have found you. And the time of glory has come."
There was a rustling of thoughts, unfettered with fear, not chained to hope. And the golden central cores shone in beauty.
"The time of glory comes to you, Oldster."
Now that unlocated voice swelled, filling the darkness with its lordly sweetness.
"For see, Oldster! We are all you dreamed of—and more. We stem from Vanguard! And Vanguard gave life more than he dreamed. Clearly and purely we see the answers to those ultimate questions of life and death Darkness himself asked. Sun Destroyer, in her ancient past, never dreamed that her vain quest would be reached in us—through her!"