The cosmic elemental lords created by The first ones.
Somewhere there is a cosmic elemental plane created by the Progenitors and the cosmic elemental gods reign in it. All the elemental lords and lesser elementals of the physical universe are like agents dispatched by this cosmic elemental plane and elemental gods.
I know it sounds terrible, but there are all six pantheons of cosmic forces, don't you think the elementals also have a cosmic pantheon?