Materialists, how do you think the first matter was created?

I'm actually not trying to instigate here, I'm just gathering information to help me "figure things out". We know that the answer to this question is unknown, but surely some possibilities can be ruled out, like if they contradict scientific laws. I thought I was a materialist, but I've been thinking that if energy cannot create matter (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not sure about this), then even if energy always existed in the universe, would another universe had to have somehow overlapped with ours (like virtual particles or something? Sorry I don't really know what I'm talking about), or would have a higher being (not saying "God") had to have caused some type of metaphysical reaction that created it? This is not a troll question, I'm just confused. Thanks for any serious, respectful answers!