The Known History of Arneth    

There exists a multiverse, or simply universe, not part of the known multiverse. It is further removed than even Amber, which is also not part of the known multiverse. For want of a better term, it can be referred to as Arneth’s universe.

Arneth is a powerful god in this universe, albeit not the only god. His power is to some extent “entropy.” He speeds up the demise of the universe through entropy whenever he exercises his own powers. Part of his power is manifested through the consumption of Chi. All living things in his universe have Chi and indeed magic itself can be thought of as Chi.
Arneth is not evil, per se, but he is Machiavellian. He feels the ends justifies the means and the ends are his survival.

It is not known how old his universe is, but it is dying. Arneth has tried (and in one version of history succeeded) to “jump” from his universe to the known multiverse, where he hopes to plant “seeds” or “shards” the propagate the laws of his universe to the known multiverse. The reason this has a chance of working is that the laws are “just compatible enough” for Arneth to get a foothold.

Arneth is powerful, but while he compares himself to the Unknown God, he is quite different and unlike the Unknown God, who is a “source” of power, Arneth is a consumer of power. Even in the version of history where Arneth succeeds, he never directly faced the Unknown God. In that timeline the gods retreated now so much because they were losing, but more because the major gods felt the war itself would destroy too much.