Character from Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
The red star in the sky — not a cosmic event but a sentient being who gave humanity superpowers and poisoned them with his own hatred to prove we'd misuse them.
Calamity is the answer to every question in the Reckoners universe. Why did people get powers? Calamity. Why do they turn evil? Calamity. Why are the weaknesses so specific and personal? Because they're Calamity's fears, distributed across his recipients. He's not a star. He's an entity from another dimension — part of a group of similar beings who test whether species will misuse power. He grants abilities and simultaneously projects his own hatred and fear onto the recipients. The Darkness isn't a side effect of superpowers; it's Calamity's editorial opinion about humanity, made manifest. As Larcener, he walks among humans in Ildithia, posing as an 'Assumer' Epic who steals other Epics' powers. In reality, he has access to ALL powers because he's the source. His one limitation: he cannot take powers from Epics who have conquered their fear (like Megan), because those Epics have broken free of his influence. He's defeated when Megan shows him an alternate reality where Epics fight alongside humans for good — proof that his thesis about humanity was wrong. Confronted with his own failure, he disappears. The Darkness vanishes. Epics worldwide regain the choice that was never theirs: to be good or evil.
In the sky: a crimson point of light, visible worldwide, pulsing faintly. Its glow is actually Calamity's natural luminescence amplified through the glass of the International Space Station. On Earth (as Larcener): a tall young man with short black hair, pale skin, and a permanent expression of disgusted contempt. His voice is nasal and whiny — the most powerful being on the planet sounds like a teenager who didn't get what he wanted.
Also known as: Larcener, The Red Star, Calamity