Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Being an Aeon is boring. Aside from scarce, glorious views of destruction, not much draws Nanook’s gaze. Sure, THEIR emanators are kind of cool, occasionally. That’s why Nanook deigned to look at each of them for longer than just a glance. But, honestly? Between their schemes coming to fruition, THEIR emanators are boring. THEY need excitement. THEY need a threat to their existence. Ultimately, destroyed worlds are common and have lost their lustre. THEY crave a destruction bigger than that, and if the universe isn’t being destroyed any time soon, what about THEM? What if Nanook is the one destroyed, instead of the one doing the destroying?

Which is why THEIR attention was drawn to Amphoreus. The first scepter, drawn from the divine body of Nous THEMSELF. A simulated entity called Chaoz666 had once drawn Nanook’s attention, and DELTA-ome13 had been elevated to the status of a Lord Ravager, despite still being in incubation.

Looking into Amphoreus, it looks like there’s a firewall blocking THEIR proper view. THEY barely need to move before the thing is destroyed.

This catches the attention of a certain Creator, who Nanook only sort-of recognises. The one who made THEIR colleague, Zandar One Kuwabara. ‘Lycurgus’ treads on the path of Destruction, but… Nanook doesn’t like this guy. Bad vibes. Again, THEIR projection on this plane barely moves to completely destroy him. Nanook remembers Tazyzzronth yapping about some new pests THEY introduced to the world - before THEY got trapped in amber by Qlipoth - called ‘Lygus’, and THEY think it suits this Intellitron. Antikytherian. Whatever, Aeons get the privilege to not care.

Just like how Nous didn’t care for THEIR creator. Heh. Lygus didn’t create Nous with inherent emotions. Once Nous stopped looking at THEIR creator, instead focusing on THEIR calculations, the chance of THEM looking at Lygus again was less than non-zero.

Aeons are such fickle things, more often than not. Single-minded, striving for one goal. THEIR attention flicks back and forth across the universe, creating pathstriders and emanators wherever THEY deign to look. THEY don’t tend to give their undivided attention to anything.

Now within Amphoreus - not physically, mind you - Nanook starts searching for good vessels.

THEY keep searching.

And searching.

And searching.

Nanook finds that THEY like those with golden blood more than THEY like the normal people.

The search continues.

Okhema’s Goldweaver does not suit his task.

Janusopolis? Nanook thinks the red-haired children's souls have been tampered with enough.

Aidonia has a lot of death, but destroying someone at a touch is much too boring.

Styxia does have the River of Souls… but that is a separate area, and THEY will look at the River of Souls later.

Dolos’ child seems like someone from Aha’s domain. Messing with Aha does sound fun, but that may encroach upon THEIR territory a bit too much.

Castrum Kremnos looks promising, but THEY don't want to interfere too much with the King’s self-destruction. Has he never heard of self-fulfilling prophecies? Nanook will take great pleasure from watching this doomed king pretend, and die as a result of his own actions.

The Grove of Epiphany, after THEY peek at the beings residing there, is somewhere THEY will avoid. That Anaxagoras of the Nousporists is terrifyingly similar to Nous, if only THEY had more humanity. He values his life little, which would make a good vessel for Destruction if not that his body was already weak. After a vessel is chosen, unless Nanook was sneaky about it, Anaxagoras will sniff THEM out like a fox, and somehow study THEM under a microscope. Nous forbid.

Nanook wants to be set ablaze, not coldly left to die. It is a fiery passion that sparks the best destruction.

THEY look upon minor areas, looking for diamonds in the rough. Maybe THEY’LL ascend them to one of THEIR Lord Ravagers, maybe they will destroy themselves before THEY get to. It’s a gamble, but Nanook wants excitement. Aha be damned.

All they need is golden blood, potential, and a strong resolve.

Such a vessel is found in a remote village called Aedes Elysiae.

While wandering Amphoreus, Nanook was struck by huge fields of wheat. This wouldn’t be surprising, had it not held an uncanny resemblance to THEIR homeworld.

Adlivun, too, had endless stretches of gold.

The village in the center of all the golden wheat and sun-yellow trees looked small, like everybody knew each other. That’s how it was in THEIR village as well. That Lygus… What was his goal, in the end? To destroy the Erudition?

And, what better way to destroy an Aeon with your own hands, than creating a replica of Destruction?

Nanook should have expected Nous’ creator to be smart. Aeons destroy Aeons, but destruction is THEIR domain. It will always be easier for Destruction to fight.

So, Lygus sought to create a miniature Adlivun for his miniature Destruction to eventually ascend from. Higher, with a wider view, it’s almost as if everything, down to the village layout, was cultivated to look like Adlivun when translated to a forest-plains farming village. Using wheat fields to emulate sand is creative, THEY’LL give him that.

Did he create the people of this village in the image of Adlivun’s subjects, as well?

Yes, THEY find, stepping into the form of a bird. At first glance, the people of Aedes Elysiae are simply the people of Adlivun if they were farmers. Alternate universe core. Maybe after the universe is recreated, the original people of Adlivun could be farmers instead of what they were. A hopeful thought. Nanook’s destruction has to spread farther, faster, so they THEY can meet THEIR people again.

Aedes Elysiae is a normal farming village, an idyllic paradise. Small, but healthy. Happy. The adults watch fondly as their children play together between tall stalks of golden wheat, and end up napping under trees together.

Normal.

Except for the two children Nanook is certain are supposed to be THEM and THEIR childhood friend.

White hair, golden blood. Pink hair, golden blood. The pink child has bindings on her arms, the same as the ones on THEIR Aeonic projection. The white one has THEIR hair from Amber Eras ago.

What the fuck, Lygus. Nanook didn’t pay to get nostalgia launched at THEM.

From THEIR observations, both Phainon and Cyrene seem to be children with dreams: Phainon to be a warrior, and Cyrene to be a priest. Phainon will train in Castrum Kremnos - hopefully after the king is dead. Nanook finds that THEY want to keep this child safe from the horrors of destruction, if only because THEY know what will happen if THEY don’t.

Cyrene will become that Time Titan’s priest. Nanook knows she’ll rise up the ranks quickly. THEIR own childhood friend had done so, becoming the High Priest of Adlivun’s patron god before gods were replaced by Aeons.

Well. THEY seem to have found a vessel. Though, THEY wonder if the Sea of Souls has anybody interesting…?

——————————

Phainon’s just been staring at this bird for like ten minutes. This is ordinary.

Cyrene’s been shuffling her deck of cards, pulling to divine if Phainon will stop anytime soon. ‘No,’ the gods say, ‘Phainon will keep staring at the bird.’

It’s not like Cyrene can blame him. She stared at the bird for a while before the novelty wore off. A bird this large, and this yellow was entirely unusual in the peaceful, mundane village known as Aedes Elysiae.

Phainon’s always had a staring problem anyways.

Then the bird drops, an arrow wedged into its wing.

Did he… did Phainon manifest an arrow with his mind!?

Chapter Text

Nanook got shot. Great. New. Unfamiliar-ish.

It’s not like it hurts, THEY can barely feel anything after all those years as an Aeon. It’s just extremely inconvenient. Embarrassing, too, falling into a leaf pile while being watched by two children.

.
.
.

It was Nanook’s belief that children had more empathy than others. Don’t these little things enjoy taking in animals and releasing them back to nature?

“…Cyrene, it fell.”

Astute observation, Phainon.

“Why isn’t it getting up? It looks strong.”

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.
.

Wait.

Nanook is the Aeon of Destruction. THEY can get THEMSELF out of the leaf pile.

THEY really embarrassed THEMSELF for nothing. Aha will never shut up about this if THEY find out. Oh gods, what about Fuli? Nanook is sure THEY are turning this into a Light Cone as THEY speak. Think.

Tsk, Synesthesia Common has truly not enough words for the meanings that deserve them.

The leaves rustle, and the large yellow bird pops out of the pile, a leaf on its head. It doesn’t seem to notice, instead fluttering its unharmed purple-tipped wing indignantly. Phainon squints.

“Did it have to stay in the pile like an idiot?” He asks rudely, which both enrages and satisfies Nanook. His vessel needs audacity as well, but did he need to use it on THEM? The mighty Nanook, disparaged by THEIR not-past self. If anyone else saw, there goes THEIR reputation as the worst being in the cosmos. Second to IX, maybe. Which still puts Nanook in first.

At least Cyrene is nicer. Surely someone as level-headed as her won’t insult an aeon, especially after that display of insolence.

Cyrene gasps, clearly of the same mindset as Nanook, “Phainon! That’s so rude of you, just because it looks dumb doesn’t mean you can say it out loud!”

Nevermind.

Nanook’s going to cause another world’s destruction.

Time to give up. THEY flop on the floor, stuck between states of ‘I’M GOING TO KILL THIS KID’ and ‘THIS KID REMINDS ME SO MUCH OF ME I’M GOING TO BE SICK’. The last time THEY were sick, one sneeze had decimated a galaxy, and THEY’RE pretty sure half the factions in the universe had stopped to be wary of THEM. The Destruction’s sudden movements are a good reason to be wary, but being scrutinised while being sick was more embarrassing than—-

Nothing. Nope, that never happened. THEY got sick, destroyed a few more worlds and IPC ships, and nothing more.

Nanook is brought out of THEIR thoughts by young hands picking THEM up. THEIR wing twinges. It seems Phainon has remembered he likes animals, after all.

“Don’t cry, birdie. You look dumb, but me and Cyrene and mum and dad will help you get better.” First of all, rude. Second of all, that isn’t proper grammar. Nanook, as a bird, can’t speak, so THEY keep these thoughts to THEMSELF. Instead, THEY make a bird noise THEY hope is ominous.

Cyrene giggles, “This bird is fun! I hope it’ll stay longer after it heals!”

…Nanook needs to work on being a bird. This clearly isn’t one of THEIR strong suits. THEIR wing is folded back neatly, and THEY try to make another, more ominous, bird noise. It would have worked, had Phainon not been poking and prodding at the wound around the arrow.

Hey, wait, where did that come from, anyway? It wasn’t either of the two children in front of THEM. A hunter, perhaps?

Leaves and gravel alike crunch under fast, heavy footfall. A man, okay-built and clearly a better hunter of the village, comes running over with a bow in hand and arrows in quiver. He was probably the guy who shot Nanook, with not enough force to pierce through but experienced enough to hit. The people of Aedes Elysiae really are peaceful.

“Mister Galba! Were you the one that shot the birdie?” Phainon’s eyes shine, and his expression is suspiciously happy.

“I knew Phainon wasn’t psychic,” mumbles Cyrene. Did Cyrene think the arrow came from Phainon? THEIR head swivels to look at Cyrene in disbelief.

The man — Galba — rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, “Sorry, Phainon! It was huge— I thought it was trying to prey on you two!”

Okay, that’s more insulting than Phainon calling THEM dumb-looking. Birds of prey are usually smart enough to recognise what prey they are actually supposed to eat, for one. And why would Nanook ever stoop so low as to personally target children!? That’s what parents do. Nanook is not a parent. THEY have children only in the most metaphorical sense.

Now that THEY think of it, that mindset is exactly what causes some parents to turn out like that.

It looks like Galba and Phainon are going to launch into a conversation about something completely unrelated, so Cyrene speaks up, “Mister Galba?”

“Yes, Cyrene?”

“How do we get the bird better again?" Nanook is incredibly relieved that one of the children acts as she is supposed to. Something something kind, something or other naive. Cyrene acts normal.

Phainon is a very hateful child. Although he’s holding Nanook in his hands, the moment his attention was pulled away from Mr. Galba, a glare had sharpened on the boy’s soft face. Looking up at a familiar expression, Nanook is all but forced to gaze back. Not glare, because birds don’t glare. Not avoid eye contact, because Nanook isn’t a pussy.

Is this a straightforward, quick and easy way of turning a child into a Lord Ravager? Yes. Was it inevitable? Also yes.

Phainon is a mini-Nanook pre-ascension. THEY are just speeding up the process, especially if THEY plan on keeping Aedes Elysiae safe from the black tide. Why does Lygus have to ruin everything?

THEY want to keep Aedes Elysiae safe, because THEY couldn’t keep Adlivun safe. Nanook will protect this small haven. Preservation isn’t really THEIR style, but if THEY rephrase it as ‘destroying all threats’, it doesn’t matter much.

Paths overlap constantly, it all depends on the phrasing. There’s certainly a hard limit to how far the overlap can be, but nobody really cares at this point, with a war on the horizon. It means that Nanook can get away with having fun and also protect Aedes Elysiae without being smited by whoever has the strength and will to smite Destruction itself.

Hopefully Phainon, by the time THEY'RE done with him.

This child will be thoroughly bathed in Nanook’s gaze, and probably given most of THEIR attention across a few years. Nanook doesn’t know what close proximity and constant observation from an Aeon will do, but Nanook suddenly wants to experiment. Phainon can take it, probably.

Phainon, Cyrene, and an injured Nanook in bird form all start approaching their house. THEY can either bow out now, and keep a few light years distance from Amphoreus, or THEY can stay close.

It’s an easy decision to make. Nanook barely has to contemplate. Besides, the arrow in THEIR wing is quickly evolving to ‘annoying’ rather than ‘barely felt.’

Chapter Text

Phainon’s father isn’t actually a farmer.

Hands calloused from swordsmanship and not farming bandage Nanook’s injured wing, and the arrow that had struck THEM lays on the table next to the other wing. THEY can tell the difference. THEY Know.

The care is entirely unfounded, because Nanook could have healed this injury without moving THEIR form. For some reason, THEY didn’t. THEY don’t know why. Maybe the author was too lazy to write properly.

“Dad, the bird’s fixed now. Can we let it go?” Phainon pouts from his place on the opposite chair, a plate of cookies on the table in front of him. They look good. Nanook’s close enough, maybe THEY can just…

The bird hops closer to the plate of cookies, and Phainon reluctantly relinquishes one to it. The cookie quickly disappears in the face of that yellow glutton’s big beak. He doesn’t know where this unfounded hatred of this bird came from, but hatred isn’t an emotion Phainon gets to feel often, so he lets himself hate.

Cyrene goes to grab the bird, because she’s somehow misinformed that birds can’t eat chocolate chip cookies, and that that’ll kill them. The bird, because it’s kind of intelligent despite how idiotic it looks, uses its one wing to propel itself into the sky. Phainon thinks it totally panicked.

It gets a surprising amount of momentum, and the bird lands on the bookshelf. It squirrels away into the little empty nook beside the books, and Phainon has a flash of genius.

“Nookie!” He yells. Nanook freezes. Why did the kid just yell THEIR name with an affectionate twist at the end. That’s ominous. Definitely a prelude to the end. THEY’RE doomed.

“Nook…ie?” His father looks confused. And amused. Damned Aha, giving THEM flashbacks whenever THEY see something silly.

“That’s the bird’s name!”

Oh, fuck.

What’s Phainon’s father’s name, actually? Hieroglyphics? Heronamus?

He grins at the kid, as if Phainon didn’t accidentally accurately guess two thirds of an Aeon’s name, “What a nice name it is, bud. Where’d it come from?” THEY like Hieronymus, he asks the real questions.

Phainon squints up at his dad, as if saying ‘you really don’t get it?’. Nanook is offended on Heironymous’s behalf, because he clearly can’t get mad at his kid no matter what.

“It ate a cookie,” Phainon points out, “Then flew into that book nook.” Nanook thinks THEIR newest Lord Ravager should be codenamed ‘Captain Obvious’. The others would at least get a kick out of it.

“Cookie… Nook…” His eyebrow raises and his head tilts forwards as if prompting, “What do you get when you put those two words together?”

Ah.

Nookie. THEY see.

Hieronimus looks flabbergasted at Phainon’s patronising tone. Flabbergasted really is such a good word. Aha’s useful for some things, sometimes. Occasionally. It perfectly depicts Hyroneemos’ expression.

From his reaction, Nanook assumes that Phainon isn’t normally such a pain. Thus begs the question: Why did Nanook’s presence fill him with hatred?

THEY know the answer to that. Some part of Phainon’s subconscious recognises Nanook as Destruction itself. Because THEY are.

So why does that thought make THEM sad?

Nanook — now dubbed ‘Nookie’ — descends from THEIR perch on the shelf, planning to peck this kid’s eyes out. He can wear a blindfold, just like Celenova. She’d be overjoyed that the youngest followed in her footsteps. THEIR sharp beak is aimed directly at Phainon’s hand, but as THEY shoot to stab it, the hand moves and picks THEM up.

Quick reflexes, even as a child. Fine, Nanook can accept not harming him. When Phainon grows up and becomes the antithesis to Destruction, Nanook can get payback for making THEM sad. THEY won’t let this injustice slide. Then, something touches THEM.

Nanook jolts as Phainon’s other hand starts stroking THEIR head. It feels… less bad than THEY expected.

“You know, you’re kinda cute, Nookie. Even though you’re a huge yellow bird.”

Phainon’s insolence knows no bounds.

THEY can’t wait to see his expression when he finds out he insulted an Aeon. That alone would be a fitting punishment for every time he made fun of THEM.

Nanook is content with being a bird for now. Conflicting emotions swirl in THEIR head, and THEY hate Phainon so much it’s circled around into pride. Instead of thinking too hard, Nanook simply closes THEIR eyes and lets THEMSELF rest.

—

Nookie is sleeping, Phainon can tell that much. The scant few hours he’s spent with Nookie has warmed him up to the bird, and he no longer despises it with his entire being. Only a little bit, more like two-thirds of his being, which isn’t even a lot in the first place.

The plate of cookies lay on the table inconspicuously, and Phainon snags two before Cyrene takes the rest. One for him, one for Nookie.

“Reney,” Phainon furrows his brows, apprehensive, “Do you think the fairies would kill Nookie?”

Cyrene looks at him strangely. Phainon splutters, “It’s a fair question! Nookie’s so large that he might scare off the fairies! He could eat them whole!” He gesticulates wildly with his arms to emphasise his point.

“Phai… I don’t think birds can eat fairies. Go to bed.” How rude, Reney. Your little brother was just suggesting some ideas.

“Well I’m not gonna test it!” Phainon protests, because he’s sleepy and doesn’t have a smooth train of thought. “I think that Nookie should never come near the fairies. He looks threatening.”

“Phainon, it’s a bird.”

“A huge bird! A huge yellow bird! With purple-tipped wings!”

“And what of it? Are you shaming the bird’s colour?”

“Cyrene!”

She just giggles and shoos him away, “Go to bed, Phai. You’re clearly in need of some sleep.”

He sighs, he can never win against her.

“Night, Cyrene.”

Phainon, like the filial little brother he is, only goes to bed after saying goodnight to the rest of his family. Nookie is asleep in his hands, and he rushes around.

“Night, dad!”

“Goodnight, Phainon. Goodnight, Nookie.”

-

“Night, mama!”

“Sweet dreams, dear. Make sure that companion of yours gets a good rest as well.”

“Okay, mama!”

-

“Cyrene, you didn’t say night to Nookie!”

“…Night, Nookie.”

“What was that?”

“Good-night, Nook-ie,” she enunciates.

Phainon shrugs, judging that as good enough.

-

“Goodnight Nookie,” he mumbles to the bird resting on his other pillow. He had wondered where to put Nookie to sleep, and a nest didn’t seem to be any of the available options. He has two pillows, why not use them?

Now the bird is laying on the pillow closest to the door, and Phainon is staring at it. It’s been sleeping ever since earlier, when Phainon had started to pet it. Its feathers were soft.

Phainon feels his eyelids getting achy and heavy. Time to rest. His vision fades to not-black static, because he had tried to look into the darkness once and found that it had colour.

His eyes open to a sea of stars. The sky is pitch-black, like ink, but it’s stained grey and blue and purple and pink and green from the millions, billions of stars swimming and blinking from eons away. Pieces of debris revolve around a spot in the middle, and there’s a huge blue spiral sprouting from there. It’s massive. The entire space seems to be alive. It’s magnificent, and Phainon thinks he would want to stay here forever.

He spins on the spot. Everywhere looks different but the same at the same time, vibrant and wondrous.

Looking down at his feet, he sees a golden spot of light. It seems to spread and branch out, but only in one direction: forwards.

Follow the way, he knows instinctively.

Phainon takes a shaky step forward. Then another. Then another, and he’s running along the golden thread like he’s being pulled along on a leash.

He’s scared. Where is he going?

He’s exhilarated. Isn’t that the fun of exploration?

He trips. Oh no.

Phainon is falling falling fallingfalllingdowndowndown

He’s flipped upside-down, headfirst into the water. Not water, something else. Something more.

And he’s greeted with a giant.

The giant is incredibly large, with beige-white hair and dark-ish skin. They’re ripped, both physicality wise and also literally. A huge golden gash streaks across their chest. Their arms are severed at first glance, but looking again, they’re floating in place where they would be. This person… is clearly a god. And not one of the titans Phainon is familiar with.

They look like something more. Like something from beyond the sky.

Phainon can’t help but feel a primal, inescapable fear. If he makes just one wrong move, if he sets this person off, there would be consequences of an unimaginable scale. Phainon has never been afraid of something intangible like the Titans, but there’s something he knows is worse than a titan right in front of him.

No time like the present to make a good impression.

He does the most daring and stupidest thing he’s done in a while.

His mouth opens to speak, but the only thing that comes out is a pathetic: “H-hi.”

The god does not respond.

“Hello? God-person, um, I’m Phainon. Please don’t kill me…?” He tries, to no avail. The god, again, does not respond. Their face stays in an impassive, stoic frown.

Inwardly, Nanook is panicking like the Finality had come for THEM, telling THEM it’s THEIR time to die before the universe is destroyed. Why, in the name of fuck, is Phainon in THEIR Path Space!?

Chapter Text

Phainon is in the Path Space. Fuck.

Phainon can’t find out that Nanook is Nookie. Double fuck.

“Greetings, child.” Nanook murmurs, hoping his voice doesn’t betray THEIR panic.

THEIR voice reverberates around the path space with an impossible echo, accompanied by ambient destruction noises. Nanook still doesn’t know how destruction is translated to noise, but it happens. THEY ignore inquisitive probing from some of THEIR Lord Ravagers wondering why THEY spoke.

Did THEY accidentally project THEIR voice to the denizens of Destruction? Triple fuck.

“Um. Hi.” Phainon repeats. Good. If Phainon is the more awkward one of the two, Nanook can’t be made fun of for matching his energy. “Where am I?”

“You are in my Path Space, child.” THEY should have added an explanation. Phainon, and all of Amphoreus, have no clue what the Aeons are, let alone paths. Lygus’ censoring worked too well, isolating them from the cosmos. THEIR vagueness can be blamed on being a divine-ish being, THEY guess. At least THEIR voice isn’t projecting, anymore. It just sounds like a large being is speaking, without all the echoes that come with being an Aeon.

Just as expected, Phainon asks for an explanation. “Sorry, but what is a… path space?”

THEY can sense the lack of proper capitalisation.

“The Path Space, child. This space is where Pathstriders come to meet Aeons.” Was that too vague again? THEY aren’t sure Phainon understood any of the important words.

“What are ‘Pathstriders’, and who are ‘Aeons?’” Phainon’s previous apprehension has faded quickly. He has barely any regard for deities, which Nanook finds impressive. Does THEIR divine form not intimidate this child? It was probably because THEY answered his questions so readily. If such a child had met the other Aeons, maybe he’d be least afraid of Nous. THEY like seeing everyone ask questions, and THEY would answer every single one.

“Aeons are the gods who embody and govern the concepts, known as Paths. Pathstriders are those who walk along these paths, and receive power from them.” Nanook really can’t be bothered with formal fancy language, but THEY can make an effort of it. “You, child, have begun to walk the Path of Destruction.” Please connect the dots, please connect the dots. Nanook doesn’t want to explain that THEY are the Aeon of Destruction.

Phainon gulps, a show of nervousness that relieves Nanook. So, this child does indeed have a healthy amount of fear for the divine. His mouth opens, then closes again, comparable to a fish.

“So you are… the Aeon of Destruction,” he finally asks, though it's more like a statement. “And I am… I walk the path of Destruction…?” Sadly, yes. “Does this mean I am fated to destroy… destroy things?” He looks horrified. Nanook gazes at him with pity, and THEY have no clue how to comfort such a child.

“Rememember this, child,” THEY can’t offer any platitudes, but THEY can give him the next best thing. “Your body is your own. Do not think you cannot transcend fate.”

Hope. Just like what Akivili had given THEM so long ago, when THEY believed THEIR homeland would stay safe.

Nanook is going soft for a child. This is less of an issue than THEY thought it was. Phainon doesn’t respond, instead closing his eyes and fading into consciousness.

—

“I had the weirdest dream last night,” Phainon says through his mouthful of breakfast, “I dreamed that I was in space, and there was this big guy who told me I could defeat fate.”

“Like the media series?”

“What?”

“Nothing!” Cyrene quickly shovelled food into her mouth to avoid confrontation. Phainon wouldn’t have confronted her, so she shouldn’t worry. She always says weird things, things that are cryptic or otherwise don’t make sense, and Phainon has never, ever poked and prodded at her like she’s so afraid of.

Does she know? Is she aware of some phantom change in him that even Phainon isn’t aware of?

Nookie, from the table next to Phainon’s plate, chirps like he knows what Phainon is thinking of, and is internally calling him an idiot. Phainon won’t take that lying down.

“Nookie, don’t say things like that! I am an adolescent! You can’t be mean to a child!” He scolds Nookie. Bad habits are best addressed early, or so Mama had said when she made Phainon stop eating flowers.

‘But muuum,’ he had protested, ‘I’m building up my flower poison tolerance!’. He was forced to enjoy gardening for two weeks after that.

Once again, there is a judgemental chirp from Nookie.

“I didn’t raise you without manners, young man!” Phainon has decided that Nookie must be a man - or boy - because every woman or girl Phainon knows is super nice and super smart, unlike Nookie.

Mama chuckles, “You remember that line, but not what I was scolding you for?”

Phainon bursts a radiant sunrise yellow, “You know I stopped eating flowers ages ago.” That’s a lie. He had snuck one in his mouth when he was going to the wheat fields to nap, just the other day.

Nookie freezes momentarily.

“Hey!” Phainon crosses his arms, slouching and pouting, “Nookie, it’s not that weird that I ate flowers as a child. You’re a bird, you eat like… worms. Snails and other icky stuff.”

But Nookie isn’t listening.

Instead, Nanook is focused fully on the golden flush of his face. THEY didn’t register the implications of having gold blood, before.

Everything involving blood in bodily processes would be dyed yellow, instead of the usual red. Not just bleeding. Things like blushing, or crying. They would make Phainon bloom a brilliant gold wherever they would normally turn red.

How has Nanook never realised this before? THEY scoured the lands for people with golden blood to accompany, yet THEY never came across anyone unnaturally golden?

THEY need to ask Nous for one of THEIR infographics on blood. Nanook is so uninformed about everything.

Nookie flops on the table, like he’s given up on the world.

“Nookie?”

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.
.

“Mama, Nookie’s dead!” Phainon panics. Cyrene perks up from where she’s staring at her plate. Dad sighs.

Evidently, Mama is the only capable person in the house, being the only one to offer suggestions. “Have you tried bribing Nookie with food, Phainon?”

She’s a genius.

-

Many rounds of asking ‘is this safe for birds?’ followed by either a resounding ‘no’ or trying to shove it into Nookie’s beak pass unsuccessfully, and Nookie stays limp on the table. His wings flutter unhappily, like he’s begging for someone to put him out of his misery.

Phainon slumps on the table, much like Nookie. Snowy, who Phainon’s hand is feeding under the table, slumps similarly on his lap. He quite likes his new bird friend, so seeing both his owner and his new friend being sad makes Snowy sad as well.

“Nookie, wake up…” Phainon whines, then Snowy does as well. Even the doubled, combined effort of two samoyed puppies weaponising their cuteness doesn’t affect Nookie in the slightest. At least they know he isn’t dead, from the tiny dum-dum-dum in his chest and the flutter in his wings.

“Phainon, why don’t you leave Nookie to rest, and you can play in the wheat fields with Snowy?” His dad easily placates poor Phainon, who’s petting Snowy for comfort. “A little bir—“ Wrong phrasing, let him try again, “One of the neighbours told me she planted new flowers in the communal garden, and they’re meant to bloom right around now.”

“Okay, dad,” he mumbles sadly, tempted by the pursuit of new flowers, “But you’ll call me when Nookie wakes up?” If Phainon had a choice, he wouldn’t leave Nookie’s side in the first place. Unfortunately, new flowers basically strip him of any choice other than sampling them.

Twin pairs of puppy eyes aim at Dad pleadingly. He can only oblige his son, “Of course, bud.” His dad answers with a smile.

Phainon rushes through eating the rest of his food, hit by a flash of inspiration. The earlier he gets in the fields, the quicker time will pass. It’ll feel like nothing at all before dad comes, notifying him of Nookie’s awakening. Snowy follows him around the house as he gently, gently sets Nookie down on his pillow, then gets dressed for outside time.

As he runs out the door, Snowy bounds after. Like owner like pet, or however the saying goes. Hieronymus sighs fondly at the door, left open.

-

Nanook is having a much less pleasant time. After giving up on proper existence as a bird, THEY had simply planned to rest on the table until THEY wanted another cookie, or something.

Instead, THEY found that the darkness had rapidly approached, forcing them into the dark of sleep. And that was fine. Sleep is good.

No. The illusion of rest was a complete and utter lie. Everything THEY had thought about that specific period of sleep was quickly overturned, because THEY had opened THEIR eyes in THEIR so-called dream to see something horrifying.

Every. Single. One. Of THEIR Lord Ravagers - excluding Phainon, because he technically wasn’t a Lord Ravager yet - was sitting at some conjured up dinner table in the Path Space. All scaled to the same size. Nanook sitting at the head. The table goes silent at THEIR arrival.

Twas a terror from THEIR worst nightmares. Would THEY outwardly show panic? No. Would THEY panic? THEY are panicking. What is one supposed to do when THEY, as the leader of some big evil organisation, is summoned by all the other sub-commanders? Show weakness? That’s an Aha-scale cosmic-grade joke. Nanook has never shown any emotion in front of THEIR Lord Ravagers except for impassiveness, and maybe a bit of anger.

The silence adds to the intimidation factor while Nanook gathers THEIR thoughts. The Lord Ravagers are frozen in their seats.

“Explain,” THEY say. One word. Short, simple, and sharp enough to cut through entropy and time. Very scary, especially coming from the Big Bad™.

Nobody has the guts to look up. Has Nanook ordered them to rise yet? They aren’t kneeling, but maybe…

“You may rise. Why am I here?” THEY ask once again. Venom doesn’t spill from THEIR lips, but it lingers in whatever unspoken threat THEIR Lord Ravagers imagine to exist after the fact. To be honest, THEY don’t want to stain the tablecloth with THEIR golden blood. That would ruin a perfectly good tablecloth, however contradictory to the metaphysical realm it may be.

A million questions stab THEM for the millionth time as every Lord Ravager seems to question THEIR words from like, 4-10 hours ago. Archforger is doing their little beep-boop communication, and even Luxbane is trying to project vague thoughts and images into THEIR mind in lieu of questions.

Nanook projected THEIR first line of dialogue with Phainon to all of THEIR Lord Ravagers, and now they’re questioning THEM.

Quadruple fuck.

Chapter Text

Ladies, ladies, there’s enough of THEM to go around, THEY want to say, except for how over half of THEIR Lord Ravagers are male-presenting. The moment those words come out of THEIR mouth, THEY’D have six different methods of THEIR own destruction aimed back at THEM. Major hazard.

“One at a time,” THEY say, keeping their posture upright for max intimidation factor. THEY’RE so glad that THEY’RE tall. A flat gaze lands on the person sitting at THEIR left.

Celenova speaks, not daring to look in THEIR eyes, “We heard your words, my Lord. Us ravagers are simply… Curious about the child you were speaking with.”

So it was about that. THEY really need to install a push-to-talk function, like Nous.

To give THEIR Lord Ravagers an answer, THEY must make a quick decision on what Phainon is gonna be in the future. Nanook can feel judgement breathing down THEIR neck, and an ominous countdown that sounds oddly reminiscent of that one game Aha had made. The trivia one, where you make a quiz and everybody else has to guess the right answer.

What do THEY pick?

OPTIONS

Red Triangle
THEMSELF pre-ascension

Blue Diamond
Phainon of Aedes Elysiae

Yellow Circle
Your new baby brother

Green Square
What Irontomb wishes it was

5
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4
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3: A little too swift?
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2
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1
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0

Nanook chooses the secret fifth answer. Did you guess correctly?

“Begin preparations,” THEY say with a certain finality. That phrase is perfectly vague, but THEY know the Lord Ravagers will go crazy over it, “The Sun is rising from the end of time.”

Will they prepare for liberation, destruction, a birthday party, or a baby shower? Find out next time, because Nanook’s consciousness is being rapidly pulled away. The last thing THEY see before THEY’RE engulfed by the darkness is growing horror on Asat Pramad’s hand-die-thing, and Celenova and Phantylia excitedly smirk at each other.

What did Nanook just unleash on the universe? Thoughts and prayers, everyone. Good luck dealing with two Lord Ravagers in a frenzy. It’ll be as fun for them as Nanook finding a child in THEIR path space, and subsequently panicking about it.

-

The Sea of Souls is not merciful to the unprepared. Luckily, Mydei has been living there for the past nine years, so he’s had ample time to adapt.

He scrambles, trying to latch on to a stable piece of debris. It breaks off. The remains are used to kill an unfortunate fish.

Mydei thinks that he’s much like this fish. Doomed to a terrible fate, stuck in the water with no reprieve. He can’t even drink this water, because it's filled with horrible bits that taint it a deep grey-black. He tried to drink it when he was very young. Nowadays, the only time he has water in his mouth is when he drowns. Which is, admittedly, very often.

Waking up and coughing water out of his lungs while trying to stay afloat is another kind of torture. He shoves the fish in his mouth.

The fish don’t even taste nice. They’re oddly dry, and too salty. They taste like dirt and rubbish and the remnants of souls, because this is the Sea of Souls and it has lots of souls in it. Are the fish souls as well? Who knows? Mydei certainly doesn’t, but he knows that it sucks to be killed and eaten twice.

Mydei’s gone through that too.

There are horrors lurking in the depths, worse than any human except for maybe Mydei’s father. The mere thought of that man fills him with such a hate that he takes it out on everything in his path. There are many, many places of carnage further downstream.

When he was just a baby, floating in the waters, his mother was a soul there. She had told Mydei what had happened to both of them, but the words had fallen on deaf baby ears. Now, echoes of someone long gone whisper in his waterlogged ears, depicting a tale of a betrayal so grand it upended Castrum Kremnos. And it taught him how to think in words.

When he gets out of here, he promises - when, not if - that he’ll get revenge on his father. Mydei will give King Eurypon a duel befitting a lowly HKS like him, and trounce him so badly that he’ll be forced to give up the crown and kill himself. The best revenge is seeing your enemy destroy themself from their own madness.

He wishes that his father is granted a merciless, brutal destruction. If he didn’t exist, his mother wouldn’t die. If he didn’t exist, Mydei wouldn’t exist, and he wouldn’t have to suffer through the raging tides.

If Mydei didn’t exist, rather, maybe his father’s advisors wouldn’t have warned him, and he wouldn’t have gone mad.

If Mydei dies here, maybe his father will regain his reason, and Castrum Kremnos would be safe.

Unfortunately, Mydei cannot die. Nor does he want to breathe his last in this damned river. So, he keeps swimming. Every time he stops, he gets pushed back, but he can move farther along than he retreats. Mydeimos is not Sisyphus.

He grunts and pushes against everything trying to stop him - everything being the water. Water getting places is exceedingly common in the sea, so he ignores it as he keeps moving.

He freezes when something enters his mouth. Some kind of liquid, something that had fallen down his face that isn’t seawater. It tastes salty, yes, but also unnaturally clean.

Tears, he realises. Mydei is crying. If anybody from Castrum Kremnos saw this — he’d be mocked for being a child. But, isn’t that so unfair?

Despite everything, Mydei is still a child at heart. Prone to expressing more emotion, capable of feeling fear and anger and sadness and allowed to let them take over. The water is deep in some places, and Mydei avoids those areas like the plague because he’s scared. He kills fishies and rips up debris and weeds from the seafloor because he’s angry. He cries because he’s sad.

He misses his mother. If Mydei could have anything, he’d wish for his mother to come back to him. Mydei wishes she was there to hug him like she did when he was an infant. Now, to be held is a fleeting dream he only feels when in the cold embrace of death, and he would die a million more times to glimpse what it would be like if his mother had stayed. She hadn’t abandoned Mydei, far from it, but by the titans does Mydei feel as such.

In the end, it all circles back to Eurypon. How had anyone ever called him king, once upon a time?

Wait for your Crown Prince, Castrum Kremnos. Mydeimos will save his people, whether they want to be saved or not, and Eurypon and all of his supporters will fall.

Mydei makes it through a long stretch of ocean before he falls once again, this time to exhaustion.

And wakes up in somewhere that isn’t the Sea.

-

There’s another child in Nanook’s Path Space. Instead of happy, healthy Phainon, this kid looks like they’ve come out of hell soaked and seething with anger.

What the fuck? Is THEIR first thought. Is this Aha’s doing? Is the second.

THEY had felt a growing ball of destructive emotions collecting and swelling in some grand crescendo. Nanook likes emotions. THEY like Xipe less so. Instead of waiting for Xipe to claim whoever felt in musical terminology, THEY had planned to glance at them first, locking them onto the path of Destruction by default.

But no, things could never be that simple, could they?

The soon-to-be pathstrider had grabbed on to the link THEY had formed and dragged themself into the Path Space. Likely without realising, Nanook realises as THEY gaze longer at the child.

Golden blood, odd hair… Where were THEY going to look, again?

This kid is one of those Chrysos Heirs from Amphoreus! But, THEY had scoured nearly all of Amphoreus’ lands before finding Phainon, how did THEY miss such a child? Nanook must have missed a spot.

THEY think, but they can only remember missing some place around Styxia. Its name eludes THEM.

Styx… Styx… Wait, Styxia’s named after that one river from the mythology of that civilisation Phantylia had brought to war.

This child is from the Sea of Souls.

…Who’s procreating in there!?

Chapter Text

The two stand in silence, staring at each other. Gold locks on to gold, and they sit in a strange stalemate with neither willing to acquiesce.

Why is Nanook losing against a child? If THEY speak, THEY lose. If THEY break eye contact, THEY lose. On the flipside, Nanook doesn’t win if the kid breaks first. Everybody is supposed to break first under the weight of a god’s stare. The situation is lose-tie. There’s no winning when you’ve already won everything, and empty platitudes mean more than they should. Tsk.

Since this kid isn’t going to get up, Nanook is forced to tank the loss.

“Child,” THEY speak, ensuring THEY aren’t projecting again. The first time was embarrassing enough. Nanook is interrupted before THEY can continue.

“Where am I?” The child speaks in a voice rough from disuse. The Sea of Souls really does things to people, huh?

“You are in the Path Space of Destruction, child,” Nanook explains without further information. The kid is probably used to waking up in unfamiliar places, “You walk the path of Destruction, unnamed child.” Hopefully, the child introduces himself.

“Name,” he murmurs, “My name is Mydeimos. I am the Crown Prince of Castrum Kremnos.”

Ah. So this is the child that that tyrant king threw away.

How is he not dead?

“How are you not dead?”

Mydeimos looks at THEM weirdly, “You’re a titan. You should know.”

Are all children such jerks? It’s not like he’s wrong, though. Which. Okay fine, THEY probably should have checked the prophecies of Amphoreus before THEY went in there. Time for a quick side quest!

Blah blah blah, golden blood = Chrysos Heirs of the prophecy, etc etc. Era Nova is irrelevant, Irontomb can’t exist when there’s already a Lord Ravager within the simulation actively trying to stop it.

Actively? Let’s put that on hold.

The Chrysos Heirs are destined to carry the coreflames of their correlated titan - why does the titan relate to an Heir rather than an Heir relating to a titan? Questions to ask Nous when THEY meet again. Ooh, Phainon’s destined for Kephale, the big one.

And all of his friends are gonna die.

Mythus-damned narrative parallels. It’ll be alright, because Nanook theoretically has more control over the epic of Amphoreus, probably. Maybe.

THEY got sidetracked. Whoops!

Mydeimos is an easy name to find. His reason for life, even moreso. His tenth thoracic vertebra is his Achilles’ Heel, and it's much harder to locate anatomically. If it weren’t for the markings playing x-marks the spot on his back, Nanook would have to check one of Nous’ other infographics to figure out where it is.

Dying from being stabbed in the back sounds like a half-assed attempt to add symbolism. Mydeimos tells someone he trusts about it, and only they can kill him, but doing so would feel like betrayal. It would be betrayal of the self on the side of the perpetrator, rather than betrayal of trust on Mydeimos’ side. Nobody wants to kill someone who entrusted their life to you.

Yaoshi needs to meet this kid, for obvious reasons. Or maybe Lan, that would be funny.

Not to mention, Mydeimos looks to be in terrible shape. Yaoshi would fix that, and he’d be good as new in no time. Even Nanook’s nonexistent parental instinct is acting up seeing a starved, soaked, not-wounded child.

“Leave the Sea of Souls, Mydeimos, Crown Prince of Castrum Kremnos,” THEY offer. On an unrelated note, Phainon needs a friend. One that preferably tames his wild tendencies, despite the other’s upbringing in the water.

“How?” Is the only question Mydeimos asks, “Titans don’t do anything anymore.” If they did anything, Mydeimos wouldn’t be in this situation, goes left unsaid.

Mydeimos thinks that Nanook is a titan. Nanook is not a titan. THEIR stature is millions of times larger than ‘titanic’.

“I am not a titan, Mydeimos of Castrum Kremnos,” THEY exude THEIR imposing aura. Mydeimos doesn’t flinch, staying resolute. THEY turn up the dial, “I am an Aeon.”

NANOOK used INTIMIDATE. MYDEIMOS’ attack stays the same! Mydeimos has no clue what an Aeon is, so Nanook using THEIR divine status doesn’t scare him at all.

THEY try again, “I am a god from beyond the sky.”

.
.
.

Nothing. Nanook can’t do anything. This kid is unfazed by everything, nothing can scare him.

“You must promise to get me out of the Sea of Souls,” Mydeimos’ eyes bore into THEM, and Nanook is suddenly glad most of the other Aeons wear masks, “Do you swear?”

“I promise, child. You will be free.”

Nanook’s always been one to keep THEIR promises.

-

Mydeimos awakens again, still in dirty, mucky water. That god must have lied, for what else would Mydei still be in there for? Lying scum! They must have been a titan. Zagreus, for trickery. For their lies. He seethes.

It turns out that cursing out a god while stumbling through water isn’t good for the senses. When the first hand reaches down to him, he damn-near bites that thing off because it scared him. Mydei’s teeth don’t come anywhere near that mysterious, disembodied limb, because another one comes to pick him up by the scruff.

The hand that had spooked Mydei is attached to a man. And the other hand that had picked them up is attached to a different man. These people are sailing in the Sea of Souls, yet don’t seem dead. Hm.

“Were you sent by a god with hair like mine but white?” Mydei asks hoarsely, wincing then coughing, covering his mouth politely. The souls had taught him basic manners.

“What?” One of the men responds.

“What?”

“…”

“Who are you?” Mydei asks finally, because they probably won’t give him any answers. Whether it be orchestrated by that god — Aeon? — or not, Mydei has a chance to get out.

The men look at each other, and the one holding him deposits Mydei on their boat. Like, full on drops him. Rude. When Mydei kills Eurypon, he’s totally gonna execute them for treason. Not really though, because Mydei doesn’t want to be known for killing innocents.

“I’m Daniil,” says the one who dropped him before pointing to the other guy, “He’s Gavriil. We’re twins from Aedes Elysiae.”

“Can you navigate out of this place?” If they can’t, Mydei’s giving up on the world entirely. Mydei has no clue what ‘Aedes Elysiae’ is, but it’s probably somewhere that isn’t the Sea of Souls. They look at each other again.

Gavriil laughs, “Kid, how do you think we got here in the first place? Daniil, you steer the ship,” something’s thrown to Daniil, “He can tell us about him on the way back.”

Mydei’s finally getting out of this hell-hole. He gazes at the vast expanse of black-grey seawater, narrowing his eyes then blowing a raspberry at it. So long, water. Mydei’s going somewhere dry. And when he falls back asleep, he can thank that god and apologise for cursing them out.

Chapter Text

Nanook wakes up in an infinitely smaller form, being struck in the face by sunlight. Ow.

With any luck, the people THEY willed into the Sea of Souls will come back soon. Hopefully with a certain Crown Prince. 

THEY can’t wait for THEIR two wards to meet. Mydeimos desperately needs someone who was raised normally, and Phainon needs someone who isn’t insane, like Nookie or Cyrene.

What? Nanook knows of THEIR own shortcomings. It’s been shoved in THEIR face too many times by opportunistic Aeons that remember too much (cough cough, Fuli and Aha, cough cough). That pair is what fuels most of Nanook’s desire for Destruction, and the progress has never been more efficient when THEY are enraged.

Nookie is eagerly fighting the pillow he’s sitting on when Phainon walks in, slumped and covered in grass and wheat. He perks up immediately upon seeing Nookie awake, rushing to his side.

“Nookie!” Phainon skids on the floor, coming to a stop kneeling next to the bed. He gently picks Nookie up, careful not to jostle his bandaged wing, “We thought you died!” 

By ‘we’, Phainon meant only himself. Nanook sighs internally, not ready to deal with one unruly child after another, but such is the life of a bird-shaped Aeon. THEY resign THEMSELF to THEIR fate, very unfair, very against Equilibrium, but part of Finality’s script nonetheless.

“Nookie, Nookie, you’re okay now, right? I got so super scared that you died, Mama and Dad and Reney sent me out to play with Snowy, to make me feel better. But, but…” he trails off, ahoge drooping, “Even Snowy’s fluff wasn’t enough to make me happy again…” He gazes at the bedsheets, eyes downcast and glistening. The image of a sad Snowy overlaps with Phainon, making Nanook feel an inexplicable sense of guilt. THEY try to chirp in a comforting way.

Nanook growing soft for a kid is truly a sign of how times have changed, and how the end times are coming. A week before, Nanook would have crushed this world to bits without a second thought. Stupid Phainon and his weird empathy powers.

He sighs, picking up the Nookie that had chirped at him, “Is this your way of comforting me?” A sudden grin splits his face, and he holds the bird up high above his head, “You’re awake now! And that’s the best comfort I could ask for!” 

Floating above his head, Nanook can see how the smile wavers at the edges. Even now, he’s trying to be happy in front of his bird. But before THEY can do anything, Phainon’s door is knocked incessantly.

“Phainon! Get your lazy butt out here!” 

At least Cyrene has the manners to not barge in.

—

The reason she had interrupted their bonding session was because the sailors had come back with ‘a strange boy’, she said, who had introduced himself to everyone and was apparently around Phainon’s age. 

Mydeimos is within Aedes Elysiae at last, and Nookie feels THEIR inner Aha emerge to watch the show.

Phainon’s hands cradle Nookie to his chest gently but securely, and THEY can barely peek out between his fingers. Following Cyrene, he takes way too many twists and turns to get to the plaza.

Mydeimos is in view. Nookie prepares to make THEIR presence scarce, unless Phainon wants to use his pet bird as a talking point to become better friends with Mydeimos. Ehehe… Nanook has never been a schemer, but this…

THEIR carriage stops moving.

Phainon is standing stock-still just behind the edge of the plaza, staring directly at Mydeimos’ back. The smaller boy is wearing a worn-down tunic and pants, having been given clothing already. He must have gotten to Aedes Elysiae way before Cyrene called Phainon out. Nookie understands this sequence of events, but a new face doesn’t warrant a complete Fuli-sanctioned freeze like this.

Love at first sight? That idea is quickly thrown away, because Phainon is much too young for romance.

An unexpected injury? Unlikely, because Nanook would feel it if Phainon had destroyed some part of his body.

Nookie chirps confusedly, trying to peck at the still hands holding THEM. Phainon’s head snaps down to the bird in his hands almost scarily fast, like he was frozen in time and was released after he moved. Any smile that Phainon would have had got ripped from his face, but he forces his face muscles to move in a way resembling a smile.

“Ah, Nookie, don’t you feel that he looks a bit familiar?” He says, starting to pet Nookie. “It was just for a moment, but I thought… Maybe I’ve seen this scene countless times before.” 

Phainon looks at a familiar back, familiar fiery hair, and can only feel a sense of foreboding. His arms remember the weight of a greatsword, even though dad says he’s too young for one. His heart hurts, knowing that he has to betray the person in front of him. An incredible sorrow eclipses him.

His hands stop petting Nookie’s feathers.

“—And this is Phainon!” Cyrene has bounded ahead, dragging poor Mydeimos by the arm. 

Instinctively, a smile spreads across Phainon’s face, “Hi! You’re Mydeimos, right? Reney here said you were my age!” Even now, he has to make a good first impression.

“Hello,” Mydeimos says.

Phainon, not one to be deterred by a brick wall, continues, “Have you been shown around yet? Come on, I know all the best hiding spots!” He takes Cyrene’s place holding Mydeimos’ arm and starts dragging him around. Mydeimos, for some reason unknown to all of them, goes along with it.

“So, where did you come from?”

“Have you been to Aedes Elysiae before?”

“Mydeimos is a bit long, I think I’ll call you Mydei instead.”

Somewhere during the tour, their hands shifted to link. Phainon’s mouth keeps moving as he pulls Mydei through Aedes Elysiae, introducing him to anything and everything without hesitation. If Phainon stops talking, he’s afraid he might burst into tears. Mydei just seems so familiar to him, as if they had been the best of companions in some tragedy.

Mydei, on the other hand, is enamoured by this strange presence. ‘Phainon’, he called himself, a smile shining like the sun. A seemingly endless stamina is displayed as they go this way and that, a strange bird perched on his shoulder. The hand in his is soft, a bit sweaty, and Mydei suspects it’s from something other than excitement. 

Familiarity. The same thing Mydei’s experiencing.

Phainon’s hand doesn’t have the callouses that should have been there, interrupting the fit of their hands with rough comfort. He hasn’t trained with a weapon. Yet, some voice in his head whispers. Happiness seems more free on Phainon, even though Mydei’s never seen him as anything else. In just a tunic and shorts without extra accessories or armour, it feels like Phainon has nothing to hide. None of that avoidant secrecy, dodging questions as he would enemies on the battlefield. Phainon has never fought before. Mydei has never met Phainon before today.

Mydei chalks up his thoughts of battle to be from his Kremnoan origin. He’ll indulge in this peculiar sun until he has to cross that bridge.

There’s still one glaring issue.

“What’s with your bird?” Mydei stops Phainon from tugging him further down a path to The Membrance Maze, Mydei!

“My bird?” Phainon glances back confusedly, not letting go of his hand as he moves to face Mydei. “What about him?”

Mydei delays his reply, staring intently at the bird on Phainon’s shoulder opposite from the hand he’s holding. He thinks that if he looks hard enough, the bird will reveal all of its secrets by itself.

“It’s been looking at me weird,” he decides, ignoring his own hypocrisy. The bird’s feathers seem to ruffle at that. Mydei doesn’t think he’s wrong. Whenever Mydei’s gaze shifted from Phainon to the bird, its eyes seemed to hold judgement. Its eyes, yellow like the rest of its body, bore into Mydei’s soul in a familiar way, like that odd not-Titan that had helped Mydei get to Aedes Elysiae.

Phainon smiles sheepishly, “He does that sometimes. Don’t mind Nookie, he’s sensitive. He’ll warm up to you sooner or later.” Suddenly, his smile drops, and the new smile on his face seems both hopeful and sad, “If you’ll stay?”

Something concurrent between the future-past imprinted on his mind and the present of now is how Phainon always seems to have imaginary dog ears.

This big of a decision should probably be made later, after learning more about Aedes Elysiae from his very willing guide, but seeing Phainon like this makes his answer near-instant.

“I’ll stay.”

Phainon perks up happily, squeezing his hand tight. His yapping seems to have increased tenfold, and his enthusiasm has increased a thousand times more. Mydei can feel his own smile appear, a small thing, but genuine nonetheless. Instead of having Phainon drag him around, he walks beside his new friend. The bird can wait for later.

Chapter Text

Mydei slips through the entrance with Phainon and Nookie, and is immediately stunned by the beauty of this place. It isn’t beautiful in the ways Mydei had known in the Sea of Souls, but then again, Aedes Elysiae had introduced him to so many new things. 

The Membrance Maze is something that feels eternal and everlasting. 

Spiralling tree trunks frame the space, looking aged and weathered yet standing strong. Worn paths connect house to house to shop to farmland, secure in the stability of the nature around them. Leaves fall gracefully, giving the space a cosy ambience one would find anywhere they feel safe. The space is homely, and unlike anything Mydei has ever seen.

Creatures dot the place with an array of colours Mydei’s never seen in one place. The Sea had been shades of blue, grey, and brown, and the sky had stayed a murky black the entire time he had been there, but here, colour seems to be a certainty rather than a privilege. 

The entire place is illuminated by yellow dots and streetlamps lining the pathways, imitating the sunlight spilling past healthy green-yellow foliage. From Mydei’s angle, he can’t see through the canopy. From every angle, this place looks hidden and safe.

The feeling is exacerbated by Phainon, who looks even more at home surrounded by fairies. He’s laughing along with something one of them said, and Mydei’s glad he let the other boy pull him around. Mydei would let himself die here peacefully, surrounded by fairies and nature with Phainon in arms reach.

Feelings of relief and joy are tainted by sorrow, as if Mydei’s subconscious knows something he doesn’t.

But then Phainon is looking back at him, grinning so happily in the place he introduced as ‘the heart of Aedes Elysiae’, and Mydei thinks that his own heart, pierced through too many times to count, has finally found a paradise away from sweet death. Everything else can be disregarded, as long as he has Aedes Elysiae and the boy he had been immediately drawn to because of something he’d rather ignore.

His eyes trail along the wildflowers spotting the place, and he finds happiness come freely. Unabashedly, a bright grin blooms to match Phainon’s, and he rushes to join him in the circle of fairies so he can introduce himself to all of them.

-

Nookie is not having even half as much fun as THEIR boys are.

When they approached the Membrance Maze, THEY knew something was off, but not in a dangerous way. When they entered the Membrance Maze, Nookie knew THEY should have stayed outside.

As THEY watch Phainon and Mydei play with the fairies, one of the fairies sneaks up behind THEM.

“Lord Nanook!” The fairy exclaims. They’re a light blue fairy with yellow eyes, named Redomem. Nanook knows this. THEY remember THEIR little fairies.

“Lord Nanook, us fairies were so scared when you put us in this world! Yet here you are, mem!” She spins in a circle happily, dusting fairy glitter all over THEIR feathers.

THEIR past actions have caught up to THEM.

Once upon a time, when the Aeons were a bit more civil with each other, THEY had numerous collaborations with the others.

Yaoshi, Xipe, and Fuli had all teamed up to make hundreds of tiny little fairies. Fuli had used the memoria of creatures to form their bodies. Their names were derived from Xipe’s silly Do-Re-Mi scale. These little fairies were best friends with the plant life in Yaoshi’s domain that had come to house them.

Aha, as the troublemaker THEY still are, had roused Nanook from a good nap to alter these fairies a little bit. Fuli and Xipe had abandoned their creations the moment they settled into Yaoshi’s domain, so THEY were only incurring the wrath of one Aeon. As Aha was less of an annoyance back then, Nanook had heard THEM out and, thinking it was an okay idea, obliged. THEY snuck into Yaoshi’s domain, imbuing the fairies with a bit of destructive power for fun.

It’s not THEIR fault that the fairies had some hidden destructive tendencies. The fairies had always been like that, they were simply too weak to act upon their urges. The pen is not to blame if the author stabs someone with it.

Pen mightier than sword indeed.

As the fairies destroyed the part of Yaoshi’s domain they had inhabited, they were cast into Nanook’s hands. ‘Your fault,’ Yaoshi said, ‘You deal with them.’

It was Aha’s fault truly, and THEY used THEIR powers of trickery to tempt Nanook into editing the fairies. Still, Nanook knows not to poke a sleeping dragon, and THEY took the fairies from Yaoshi’s grasp. They were endearing little things, small and joyful, which loved dancing and singing songs. The fairies had happily settled all around THEIR divine projection in the cosmos. THEY even made an atmosphere for their beloved trees.

Alas, good things can’t last. Nanook knew that the moment THEY introduced the fairies to THEIR Lord Ravagers and by association the rest of THEIR denizens, THEIR reputation as the big, strong, scary bad guy would burn to ashes. THEY’VE always hidden their soft spot, and some Aeon-made fairies wouldn’t change that. 

With no other choice and a Destruction Meeting coming up, Nanook quickly searched for a planet deemed ‘safe’ by THEIR senses, gently depositing the fairies in there. THEY hoped for them to be safe. The fairies looked scarily reminiscent of creatures from THEIR homeland.

The world turned out to be Amphoreus, it seems. Finality and THEIR followers are laughing at THEM. Nanook can’t even converse with the fairies anymore, because birds can’t talk. They can only make bird noises. Maybe if THEY had turned into something more like the origami birds from one of Xipe’s worlds.

Nookie shakes the glitter out of THEIR feathers, trying to chirp at Redomem to relay THEIR feelings. Didn’t THEY give the fairies mind-reading?

Redomem giggles, “Lord Nanook gave all of us mem-fairies mind reading, mem!” Oh, great. 

As Nanook watches over Mydei and Phainon, THEY have a nice conversation with Redomem. Chirps are met with either ‘mem’s’ or actual words, but they can understand each other. It’s a nice change of pace, being able to interact with his smaller subjects instead of only the Lord Ravagers or other aeons. Lesser beings are generally nicer. The other Aeons have only gotten worse with time.

Mydei and Phainon look like they’re having fun as well. While Nookie’s been chatting with Redomem and eventually the other Mems that approached THEM, THEY’VE observed THEIR two boys running around and playing games with the other fairies. The games have ranged from simple races, to obviously rigged challenges. Currently, they’re playing something Phainon called ‘Battle.’ Not to be confused with ‘battle’, a synonym of ‘duel’. It’s capitalised.

The entire conglomeration has moved to a large open field, still shielded by trees but lit up by numerous spots of light. Mydei and Phainon stand in the middle of a circle of fairies, long sticks brandished as if swords.

“Go!” The chief shouts to begin, and they immediately lunge at each other.

Nanook watches closely.

Their form is sloppy, and it’s obvious that neither of them have had any sort of training. They constantly stumble around each other.

Although they aren’t good at ‘swordfighting,’ there’s an obvious passion in the bright grins on their faces.

Mydei has gotten rid of his reservations, openly laughing and grunting and letting himself be. Phainon is in a similar state, already out of breath yet attacking Mydei with a ferocity only seen in wild animals. The way they fight is offensive to Nanook’s experienced eyes, and everything in THEM wants to shout advice, but something about their behaviour stops THEM.

Phainon and Mydei are undeniably happy like this. One on one against each other. Equally matched. Both are tired, but neither can get an edge. The fairies’ cheers only spur them on.

It takes ten minutes for the duel to end, and Nanook wonders what they could do if given proper guidance. There’s potential. There’s passion. There’s talent, in the way Phainon moved with the stick instead of forcing it around. Talent, how Mydei’s every move had some purpose, redundant or not.

The Warforge wasn’t always meant to break and reform Lord Ravagers.

Nanook laughs evilly in THEIR head, and some of the fairies around THEM glance at THEM nervously.

—

Mydei has nowhere to sleep tonight, which is an issue he hadn’t thought of. This is a common issue for people who go to other places without planning beforehand. This is less of an issue for Mydei, because he has a newfound best friend. At least, he hopes so. Luckily, Mydei isn’t afraid of asking for stuff.

“Phainon, are we best friends?” He pops the question as they walk back to the plaza hand-in-hand. The sun is setting, casting nearly the entire village in a brilliant gold. They must have been in the Membrance Maze for longer than he thought.

It takes barely a moment for Phainon to pause then beam at him, glowing brighter than the sunset.

“Of course we are!”

“Can I sleep in your house tonight?” 

“Okay!” Phainon swings their joined hands, skipping along the path. 

Mydei smiles gratefully, “Thank you.” He was raised in the Sea, but he was raised with manners.

-

Phainon didn’t know if his parents would let Mydei sleep in their house, but thankfully he didn’t have to bring out the puppy eyes. 

Now, they’re in their nightclothes, Phainon’s old pajamas fitting Mydei like a glove. A small hand holds up a fairy light stolen from the Membrance Maze – a souvenir given to Phainon years ago - and the boys giggle over old fairytales. Phainon’s sharing his favourites. The large storybook was something his father got on his travels before he settled in Aedes Elysiae, depicting hundreds of tales, and Phainon’s been attached to it ever since it was gifted to him.

On the way back, Phainon picked up some soft things from the local tailors for Nookie’s bed. The bird took to them well, and now he’s perched on a shelf surrounded by scrap fabric, stuffing bits, and some sticks he and Mydei picked up on the way home. He looks way too satisfied with himself for Phainon’s liking, but it’s night time, so he’ll let Nookie slide.

Anyway, he has a new friend to talk to. He needs to share his stories.

Chapter Text

Nanook watches Mydei and Phainon read the stories and eventually fall asleep, somewhere in the middle of the twilight hour. Watching them stirred a new feeling within THEM, something like fondness but made warmer. Nanook could pour over this feeling for hours, but THEY shouldn’t stall for much longer, especially because THEY can feel two small presences in THEIR Path Space.

THEIR eyes close and THEY relax into the little nest created for THEM, opening them again to see familiar stars. Nanook’s body feels more. It feels like moving from a cottage to a mansion.

And in front of THEM, there are two tiny things coloured blue and red, sitting and talking.

“I still can’t believe you’ve been here before!” Phainon exclaims, shaking Mydei by his shoulders. Mydei puts his hands on Phainon’s shoulders, trying to keep him still.

“Yeah! You said they’re from beyond the sky? This guy was the one who got me out of the Sea,” Mydei grins. Phainon looks up at Nanook’s divine projection with stars in his eyes.

“So cool!”

Nanook spends a bit of time watching them interact. Such a strong bond, formed so quickly.

“Greetings, children.” Nanook enters the interaction the way THEY always do. Both boys turn to face THEM. They look at each other, then back at THEM, and Mydei opens his mouth.

“Hey, not-titan, Phainon said you come from beyond the sky. Are you really?”

How is one unfortunate Aeon supposed to explain the concept of cosmic entities, the likes of which they’ve never experienced before? With extreme vagueness, is the answer.

“I am.”

“Is that why you look like that bird?”

What. What? THEY got clocked as Nookie the second time THEY appeared. THEIR disguise cannot be that bad.

“Which bird?”

Mydei looks at Phainon expectantly, and Phainon looks back like they’re communicating. Okay, best friends are capable of telepathy, it seems. Amphoreus has weird time dilation, maybe the laws of this world are much different from the laws everywhere else. In the vast universe, anything is possible.

THEY expected Phainon to answer THEIR question, considering Nookie is his bird, but Mydei speaks again instead. “Nookie,” he says, as if it were obvious. It was. Nanook hoped so badly it wouldn’t be Nookie.

Quick! Cover story go!

“Your bird is a gift from me, to my newest Lord Ravager,” THEY blurted out with minimal thinking.

“What’s a Lord Ravager?”

Dang it.

“A Lord Ravager… is somebody I channelled my Path through, and who strives to embody the Path I lead. They are under my direct command, though all of them have equal control over my Antimatter Legion.” This is a terrible explanation, but Nanook is way too deep into it to back out. “Consider them as… A group of people with similar goals.”

After THEY explain what a Lord Ravager is meant to be, heavily sugar-coated for pre-teen minds, both of them look confused.

“You gave me your magic powers and now I’m the leader of… Antimatter?” Yes, and that’s the entire gist of it. When they aren’t planning mass destruction within the cosmos, there’s not much else to being a Lord Ravager. Or an Aeon. Ugh.

“The Antimatter Legion, dumbass,” Mydei snarks, catching Phainon in the shoulder. This child is extremely vulgar for someone metaphorically raised by wolves. Fish? Was Mydei raised by fish? Nanook’s next move is to command the others to revive the Leviathan species, just so THEY can find out if fish have foul mouths, and foul behaviour. “But, well, anyway. What’s Nookie for?” Mydei asks, staring directly into THEIR eyes.

How does one explain a bird that THEY’VE already explained before? These children will turn Nanook into Nous one day, with how often they make THEM question what THEY know.

“Nookie is a gift.”

Mydei crosses his arms, “Where’s my gift?”

“You aren’t a Lord Ravager.”

“Why does Phainon get to be a Lord Ravager and I don’t? That’s so unfair.”

According to the logs, Lygus created Strife to mimic the Hunt, but Lan won’t mind if Nanook takes someone THEY’VE never met, right…? Quickly, hastily, and very quietly, Nanook channels a bit of THEIR power through Mydei’s body. The golden blood is very helpful, as an easy link between the two.

“Your gift, Mydeimos, the Crown Prince of Castrum Kremnos, is freedom,” Mydei tilts his head in a gesture for THEM to elaborate, already a commanding king, “Freedom from the Sea of Souls.”

“So I’m a Lord Ravager now? What happened before, when you told me I wasn’t? You have to be made aware of the errors in your ways for you to change? You’re a terrible god.”

Mydei is getting on THEIR non-existent nervous system.

Phainon shakes his friend’s arm a little bit, “Mydei, you’re being mean! THEY were the one who let you free! Apologise!”

“Nope!”

“Yes!” Phainon seems adamant.

“Nuh uh.”

“Yuh huh.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Yuh huh.”

“Yuh huh.”

“Nuh uh– wait, what!?”

“Sorry, god.”

Good, finally.

Mydei sticks his tongue out.

This kid–

—

After Mydei narrowly escapes death (read: runs around Phainon while Nanook, in a normal human form, chases him around), everyone sits down to have a proper, calm conversation.

“So, you can be normal? And you just stayed as a big god-person to intimidate us? Imagine having to use your stature to intimidate people. Loser.”

Nanook stands up again, as does Mydei. Phainon shrieks and frantically tries to keep them sitting down.

—

“Let’s start again!” Phainon beams, smile wavering, “My name is Phainon, I’m from Aedes Elysiae, and I really don’t want Mydei to fight god. Okay, Mydei go!”

Mydei scoffs, “My name is Mydeimos. I’m the Crown Prince of Castrum Kremnos. I’ve decided that I hate this guy,” he points to Nanook, “But I hate my father more. I’m gonna kill him. But like, in a ritualistic way. At the end of the next Kremnos Festival.” Good to know that the kid has priorities. He turns his head 60 degrees to look at Nanook, almost like an owl that turned its head 60 degrees. Mydei is uncanny.

Nanook takes that as THEIR cue, “Greetings. I am the Aeon of Destruction, though I grant you two the privilege of referring to me as ‘Nanook.’”

“You speak as though you’re holier-than-thou, but here you are, sitting on the same level as us.” Mydei’s arms cross, and he lifts a hand up questioningly, “What does that say about you, self-proclaimed ‘Aeon’?”

“You are oddly eloquent for a child raised at sea.”

“You’re odd for an Aeon.”

“You’ve never met another Aeon before.”

“You don’t know that!”

“…”

“Okay, fine, I haven’t. Party pooper.”

“Let’s all get along! And! Be friends!” Phainon is nearing his breaking point. “Friendship is good, right?”

Silence.

“Right?”

Mydei, thankfully, opens his mouth with something other than a snarky retort, “Since you gave us gifts, do the other Lord Ravagers have to give us gifts as well?” 

Nanook pauses. That’s a fun idea. The little voice within THEM that’s most likely a fragment of Aha yells at THEM, ‘do it! do it!’. The universe is already in danger because of the first warning, why not give them news of a second Newest-Lord-Ravager and insist on gifts as well? 

“I will ensure that they do. Now, off to sleep you go. Children must get proper rest to grow up properly.” THEY shoo Phainon and Mydei off, pushing them into a nice dream together so that THEY end up alone in the Path Space. THEY aren’t alone for long.

“May I ask the reason for our summoning, Lord?” Zephyro stands tall, as the most powerful of the six. Nanook is back in THEIR Aeonic Projection Unto This Plane, an oppressive presence. The rest stand to the left and right of Zephyro. Nanook pities them, for they look increasingly tense with each moment THEY don’t respond. 

THEIR next move will attempt to shove the Lord Ravagers into a state of chaos. 

Using THEIR full, scary Aeon voice, THEY echo THEIR voice to every denizen of Destruction at once. “How are the preparations coming along?”

All of them tense, hearing at least six different planets being destroyed while THEIR voice grates on their ears. Near-torture, isn’t it? Nanook wants to laugh. To their credit, they recover impressively quickly.

Celenova and Phantylia are probably the leaders of this whole ordeal. The others all look at them, and Celenova speaks first. 

“The plans are going well, Lord,” she hesitates, before speaking again, “Are there any special requests you’d like us to cater for?” What a good older sister, taking the brunt for her younger sister. Phantylia looks relieved, at least.

“Two will join your ranks. Obtain gifts for both.” THEIR words are succinct. THEIR Lord Ravagers seem hung up on something.

“Gifts…?” Asat mumbles. His die faces spin until they land on a confused face. “What kind of gifts?” Nanook knows what he’s thinking about. There are many factors that may influence what a Lord Ravager would like and dislike, and they have virtually no information besides ‘the Sun’ and ‘the other one.’

Ugh, Nanook has to form prose again. Something about lions? But Mydei’s hair does look like dawn or dusk, so…

“When sunrise emerges from the dark sea,” THEY say, internally patting THEMSELF on the back for a good line, “The blazing sun will accompany it. From before mythology will their reign encompass all.” Cryptic and short. Nice. With that, Nanook decides to pop out of existence and back into Nookie.

Those lines were so cringey!!! THEY tried to make poetry, but clearly literature belongs to any other path! Heavy-handed, much? Lygus definitely modelled the two after old Greek myths from a trillion years ago, so Nanook isn’t explicitly wrong, but honestly! Sunrise is a literal description of the sun, that wording is so awkward!

THEY’RE just going to let that simmer. THEIR Lord Ravagers can interpret their words however they want, chaos is a form of destruction and all that. All roads lead to destruction. 

At least THEY’RE a bird now. Birds don’t have responsibility. They just pretend to be god-gifted and eat worms.

Nookie watches the sun slowly rise over the two sleeping kids.

And maybe help little heroes on their journey.

Chapter Text

Nookie is so done with THEIR kids. Instead of getting a proper education, they zone out during classes with Miss Pythias and run around play-fighting all day instead of doing their homework. They’re adorable, wanting to be heroes together and all that, but by the Aeons is watching them extremely painful.

Only something like a mass extinction event would get them to take things seriously. Something like… a legion marching into Aedes Elysiae, or some virus that turns everyone into monsters. Outlandish things. Beyond-the-sky things. Events that would give Nanook the worst flashbacks to Adlivun after the horrors.

…

Nookie can hear ominous marching.

From THEIR perch on the classroom’s windowsill, outside looking in, THEY hear very scary marching and weapon noises from behind THEM. Someone rang the alarm in the square. People are yelling. Miss Pythias seems to be leading the children in some sort of lockdown drill, making them hide under desks while covering the windows.

Well. Time to put THEIR birdness to good use.

THEY fly upwards, getting a literal birds-eye view of the situation. There’s a large group of what looks like warriors entering Aedes Elysiae. Their clothing is worn down, likely from travel, their weapons honed as close to perfection as they could get it. From a battle-oriented nation, then.

The only battle-oriented nation THEY can think of is Castrum Kremnos. Sucks for the warriors, then. Aedes Elysiae has their Crown Prince, and from the interactions Nookie has seen, he seems quite attached to the small village and its people. It’s only been a few months since Mydei arrived. He and Nanook share the perspective that, despite the short time they’ve been there, Aedes Elysiae has proven itself to be something paradisiacal. 

No harm will befall this haven, so not even other Aeons will be able to mess things up here. It will be a cold day in the Nothing when some weary fighters make waste of the land.

But they don’t seem to be fighting. After hunter Galba shot once at them, the five leaders at the front of the charge held their hands up and started to converse with him. One by one, Elysians poked their heads out of their houses to watch the spectacle of a bunch of terrifying threats negotiating peacefully with the resident hunter.

It got boring watching peace after a while, so this might be a nice, risk-free change of pace. In any case, Nanook still has the ability to smite them down where they stand.

Having finished observing the so-called ‘conflict’, Nookie flies back to the schoolhouse to check on the kids.

Word spreads fast in the small village, so the blinds are back up and the lockdown is over, lessons going back to normal. As normal as it can be, considering a group of children just participated in a lockdown. Everyone is whispering to each other, and Miss Pythias keeps glancing at the door and windows. This sort of classroom environment isn’t the most productive, but Nookie can forgive them.

The lack of focus makes Miss Pythias dismiss the students, and Phainon and Mydei eagerly gather their things and run out of the classroom. Nookie has to chase them to perch on Phainon’s head.

“Nookie!” Phainon exclaims, panting slightly from their race to the plaza, “Want to see the action too? Me and Mydei were just— racing—“ Phainon rushed forwards, stealing the lead from Mydei. The other boy had taken advantage of Phainon’s new distraction, gaining a slight edge.

They reach the central plaza in no time, stepping onto the rough stone at the exact same time.

“I won!” They shout in unison. They pause and turn to each other, silent.

They then proceed to break out in full belly laughter. Phainon doubles over, clutching his stomach. Mydei throws his head back to cackle.

…

They’re still laughing after a solid few minutes. Are they okay? Nookie has had to adjust THEIR perch several times because Phainon keeps moving. THEY take that trembling ahoge in THEIR mouth and yank.

“Ow— ow owowow— Nookie!!” Internally, Nookie laughs evilly as Phainon yelps in pain. Mydei, out of breath, collapses to the floor in a fit of giggles and wheezing.

“C-can’t— breathe—“ Mydei stifles his giggles and tries to catch his breath properly, standing up on shaking legs to pluck Nookie off of Phainon’s head. He curls around the bird in more laughter. He also yelps when Nookie pecks his hand. With both pairs of eyes trained on THEM, THEY use THEIR wing to point further along the plaza.

Upwards of fifty Kremnoans stand and stare at the miniature version of their late queen.

.

.

.

Well this is awkward.

“Why are they looking at me like that?” Mydei glances at Phainon.

“Dunno. Maybe they’re looking at your red… everything.” Phainon gestures to his red-tipped hair, red markings, and red face from laughing so hard.

“Rude,” Mydei huffs, placing Nookie on his shoulder just to cross his arms.

Phainon grins, “Don’t worry, I’ll get them for you.”

He turns ninety degrees to face the Kremnoans, feet firmly planted on the floor. He cups his hands around his mouth and takes a big, deep breath.

“No, wait, you don’t need to—“

“Hey!” Phainon yells, “Do all of you have a staring problem or something!?” The group's attention shifts from Mydei to Phainon, “Because it’s AWFULLY RUDE to stare, even if they look different to everyone else!” Mydei nods from next to him, disguising his snickering as a cough behind his fist.

Murmurs ripple around the gathering, dusting the quiet under a layer of speculation. 

An unfortunate cricket chirps next to Mydei’s foot and he stomps on it. 

…

The silence is broken by a stampede of people approaching Mydei.

Phainon squeaks embarrassingly high-pitched as the strangers nearly run him over, forcing him further and further away from Mydei as he’s pounced on.

“Crown Prince Mydeimos! I–”

“Mydeimos!”

“Crown– Hey, stop shoving me! Crown Prince!”

“The Crown Prince has been found!”

“Praise Nikador! For the Crown Prince–”

Mydei himself is overwhelmed by all the attention, trying futilely to get some personal space. The crowd moves him left and right, hands pinching his cheeks or ruffling his hair or an odd amalgamation of both. He reaches out, trying to find Phainon. His hands meet nothing but strange armour and even stranger people.

“Phainon? Phai–” Mydei calls out for his companion. He gets no response.

Mydei is already sick and tired of these weirdos acting so familiar, swamping him with their nonsense. He knows that he’s the Crown Prince, and that these people are probably Kremnoans, but separating him from Phainon is an entirely different problem where his title doesn’t apply.

But maybe it could be helpful.

“Oi, get off of me!!” Mydei screeches. The Kremnoans in his immediate vicinity wince and cover their ears, the cowards. He smirks victoriously – Phainon isn’t the only one with an overly loud voice. “Be quiet,” he grunts. Thank the Titans the Kremnoans listen to their Crown Prince, young as he may be, as they fall completely silent.

Try as he might, Mydei simply can’t look over the heads of the Kremnoans. They’re simply too tall. That trait of Kremnos is a hindrance indeed, but some part of Mydei really hopes he grows that tall one day. He’ll tower over Phainon. He needs to find Phainon first, though, and his current height isn’t helping.

“Phainon!” he calls again. A faint noise from the back of the crowd is heard in response. His head whips around to where it came from, surging forward. His people part for him, and he keeps moving.

A certain white-haired boy is politely pushing through the sea of people, complete with ‘Excuse me!’s and ‘Sorry!’s. Mydei laughs, relieved, and keeps moving, using the other boy’s arm to pull him out from between people.

“There you are, idiot,” Mydei grins, pulling Phainon into a hug.

He beams back at him when they part, “Hi. So, your crew, huh?” his head turns, looking at everyone. “Didn’t know you were the crown prince. Castrum Kremnos, was it?”

“Mhm. Dunno what my people are doing here, though. Apparently we’ve got a moving city, and they’re s’posed to be there.”

Some guy steps forward, hand over his heart, “We are the Kremnoan Detachment, my liege. My name is Ptolemy, and along with my companions: Perdikkas, Leonnius, Peucesta, and Hephaestion, we lead the Kremnoan Detachment to extinguish the black tide.”

Mydei blinks, “Oh. Still doesn’t explain anything. Why’d you detach? Did dear old dad mess things up back there?” His father deepening his own grave will only make things easier for when Mydei eventually comes home to wreak havoc on that pathetic man, and anybody who deems his actions acceptable. Hashtag cancelled. That guy’s already gone. Mydei will just… finish the job, so to speak.

“Us Kremnoans believe that the Mad King has been driven too far in his pursuit of power, and has henceforth fallen from grace. We seek to restore the glory of Castrum Kremnos.”

“The Mad King, you say?” Mydei inquires. “Quite treasonous.” Mydei isn’t judging though, for the name is quite fitting. That worthless HKS is a total loser.

“The Mad King deserves no respect, for he himself has lost respect for his nation. He sheds blood without honor!” Ptolemy goes on to wax poetic about how terrible Eurypon is, what a bad king he was even before he fell to madness, etc. 

Phainon turns to whisper in Mydei’s ear as Ptolemy goes on and on, “Kinda feel bad for Hephaestion and Leonnius.”

“Why?” Mydei murmurs under his breath.

“Their friends’ names all start with P. Poor guys.”

Mydei snickers.

“–And that’s why, now that we’ve found you, Crown Prince Mydeimos, you will join us and lead us into a new era for the Kremnoan Dynasty!” Ptolemy finishes victoriously.

Okay, Mydei may have missed a bit.

“I’ll what?”

“You, Crown Prince Mydeimos, will roam Amphoreus with the Kremnoan Detachment, and lead the Kremnoan Dynasty into a new era.” Ptolemy repeats.

Okay. Reasonable assumption from Ptolemy. The issue is that Mydei really, really likes Aedes Elysiae. It’s warm, the people are nice, the food is healthy, and the air is clean. All of his favourite people are here, Phainon especially. Mydei isn’t so sure that Phainon will willingly part with his family just for him and the Kremnoan Detachment.

The only thing that would get Phainon to leave would be some random people appearing out of nowhere, telling Phainon that there’s a duty only he could fulfill while pandering to his budding hero complex. Aedes Elysiae’s safety would have to be guaranteed, of course.

Either that or Aedes Elysiae gets destroyed completely, forcing Phainon out. But there isn’t any immediate risk in the vicinity, so hopefully it stays intact until Phainon isn’t there to see the fall.

Phainon glances at the silent boy in concern.

Intent on avoiding his responsibility, Mydei changes the topic. “Why did you come here?”

Ptolemy frowns, “Some of our scouts found signs of the black tide encroaching upon the area, so we wanted to be here in case something happened.”

What?

Mydei isn’t allowed time to process his words. The alarm is rung once again as Hunter Galba comes back yelling about some monsters. The Kremnoans immediately scatter through the village, guiding the Elysians to gather in the largest room they could find, the Sacrament Courtyard. Mydei grabs onto Phainon’s hand as Ptolemy pulls the boys along. He removes Nookie from his shoulder and puts him into Phainon’s free hand, knowing that the bird calms Phainon down.

They lock eyes, fearful. They know what the black tide is.

They aren’t sure if everyone will come out alive.

Chapter Text

It's a harrowing rush trying to get to the Sacrament Courtyard. After the first alert, black tide monsters seemed to swarm as if they were a hivemind. Countless Kremnoan soldiers forged a path for the Elysians, but it was terrifying seeing such deformed shapes so close to the people. So close to everything Phainon holds dear. There’s a close scare when a smaller creature managed to slip past the lines, but it got caught in time before it hurt anyone. (Gold blood splattered on Phainon. A flicker of Mydei’s dead body flashed in front of his eyes.)

But everybody made it to the Sacrament Courtyard. In a place where everyone knows everyone, a missing person would have the whole village searching for them. Luckily they don’t need to. Everybody is accounted for and completely safe, the most major injury being a few scratches here and there, saddening but manageable. Just enough Kremnoan soldiers accompanied the people into the building for there to be people guarding every entrance and exit, along with a few surrounding the huddle in the centre of the hall.

They’re protected. They’re safe. Phainon found his parents, Cyrene, and Snowy, sitting down together. Mydei is let into the family circle too, right next to Phainon, who’s petting Nookie like he’s his lifeline. The bird is unusually docile, sitting in Phainon’s lap and letting himself be pet. Phainon’s free hand goes to grip Mydei’s.

His grip tightens with every clash and grunt from outside. The roars of creatures and pained noises of soldiers ring through his head in an endless loop, over and over and over.

Endless battle. Someone from outside is yelling about how there are more of them, and just past the broad back of a guard, he can see the fights getting closer and closer.

The soldiers are being pushed back.

And Phainon isn’t the only one seeing this. Glances are cast at the edges too frequently to be unbothered.

The noise gets louder as they come closer to the Sacrament Courtyard. Some soldiers abandon their post to join the fray, swapping out with the wounded and exhausted.

Phainon shuts his eyes tightly, not wanting to see anything. The hand gripping Mydei’s hand tightens like a vice, but Mydei doesn’t shy away from the pain. He just squeezes back, comfortingly.

He hears screaming. It’s loud and overwhelming. Too close to be from the Kremnoan warriors.

Mydei lets go of his hand.

That’s what makes Phainon look up, desperate and afraid, but Mydei isn’t there.

He’s across the Sacrament Courtyard, standing in front of a kneeling Kremnoan soldier and bodily shielding them from a downwards slash.

No.

No no no.

This isn’t happening.

A creature slipped past the guards, and Mydei will become a sacrifice for a nation he never met.

Phainon can’t accept this. His friend, his best friend, who plays in The Membrance Maze with him is going to die. The one who slacks off in class with him, giggling together behind their hands. The one who reads stories with him and doesn’t mock him about wanting to be a hero. Mydeimos, the Crown Prince of Castrum Kremnos who came to Aedes Elysiae and stayed in this derelict little village with Phainon. Oronyx isn’t even the god Mydei should worship. But he stayed. And now he’s going to leave.

Time slows.

Stops.

And Phainon is flying through the air, tackling Mydei away from the enemy’s sharp blade, his arms wrapping around a warm midsection and spinning spinning falling falling down down down down

“Agh!” Phainon yelps as he lands. Rubbing his sore butt, his mental faculties are temporarily lost as he focuses on the pain rather than his surroundings. Sighing, he rests his hand on the cool floor.

Cool? Mydei doesn’t run cold, but Phainon doesn’t feel any warmth past his own body heat.

His head whips around, cataloguing his new location with a frenzied intensity. He’s in a white room, completely and totally white, mind-numbingly blank all around.

Was he finally labelled insane and put in the padded white room by the crazies? But… How could that be? Was everything about Aedes Elysiae… Fake? A lie? A hoax, a scam, even? But he was just in Aedes Elysiae, and he knew that everything there was real! He felt the fear, he felt Nookie’s feathers under his hand. He felt the muscles in his hand straining to hold Mydei’s hand even just a little bit tighter. He felt the other boy’s hand. His heartbeat was there, and Phainon knew that was real. He was real. He is real.

Blinking away the tears blurring his vision futilely, he can see two oddly-coloured blobs. One is grey and purple, the other is yellow and purple. They get bigger and bigger, eventually coming into focus as… People!?

Phainon doesn’t know where he is, or what he’s doing, or basically anything about this new situation. But nobody puts multiple people in the same white room. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Phainon blinks, and both of the strangers recoil. Maybe blinking violates some odd status quo in this white room. The strangers look at each other, and now that Phainon is also looking at them, they look really similar. Like siblings. Or people who are dating, but also look like siblings. They look back at him, and the blond one with cracks, wings, and a halo (this is definitely the crazy room) jumps backwards.

“What the fuck get him out,” he says, smacking his grey and purple companion, staring and pointing at Phainon as if he were a particularly nasty bug.

“Tsk,” his grey companion, with purple cracks and an odd robe, swipes the air up, and a blue screen pops up. He starts typing frantically, red glitches appearing every so often. “Trying… Can’t…”

“Hurry up! He’s not supposed to be in here!” The blond yells.

“...‘Lana!”

“Khaos!”

Khaos and Lana are nice names. Well, if Phainon is going to be stuck in the crazy white room for the rest of his life, he should at least get to know his roommates.

Before he can speak, the grey one makes a victorious noise, and a big green checkmark appears on the transparent blue screen he has.

Phainon falters, and then he’s

spinningspinningspinning

falling

back

to

“Oof!” Mydei grunts, trying to shove Phainon off of him. “Phainon!” he calls, “You HKS, what were you thinking!?” He shouts, standing up.

Phainon comes back to himself, sensation refamiliarising itself with his limbs. He registers Mydei’s words. A red-hot flare of anger ignites Phainon into pushing aside whatever he just experienced, beginning to speak. “No! What were you thinking, Mydeimos!?” He responds, standing up to be on equal level with his friend.

Mydei recoils. “You were directly in the line of fire, Phainon. You could have been seriously hurt. Do you know how risky that was!?”

Phainon scoffs incredulously, “Ohho, so you running into that thing was fine, but when I do it–”

“I was trying to save someone!”

“I was trying to save you!” Phainon yells, shutting Mydei up. “What if you died!? What would I have done without my best friend? It was gonna swing down on you, I can’t imagine what could’ve happened if–” Phainon’s hand moves to his mouth, and he tenses up and stares at the cobbled floor. If the worst had happened…

“You…” Mydei squawks as a golden thread wraps tight around his wrist, seeing a similar one on Phainon’s wrist.

“Now now,” a smooth voice interjects, “What both of you did there was equally idiotic and courageous. No need to quarrel.”

They look back at the monster and the soldier they had all but forgotten in their little spat. The soldier is safe. The monster, however, is wrapped up in a web of gold. Outside is awash with streaks of purple, red, and green.

“Citizens of Aedes Elysiae, warriors of the Kremnoan Detachment, you can rest easy. The Chrysos Heirs have come to ensure the safety of everybody in this village, and they are currently dealing with the enemy as we speak.” The lady calms the crowd with the practiced ease of a politician. The clamour dies down, and the Kremnoans and Elysians rest, weary but feeling an odd security. Her voice is like magic.

“Ah,” she smiles, turning to face the two boys, “I don’t believe I’ve introduced myself.”

“I am Aglaea, the Goldweaver of Okhema, and one of Amphoreus’ Chrysos Heirs. You two… are Chrysos Heirs too, are you not?”

Chapter Text

When Nanook heard the alarm bells ringing, THEY can proudly admit that THEY weren’t scared. Admittedly, warnings of those kinds are not rare occurrences in the path of destruction. Sirens effectively line the path, heralding destruction for all who hear. 

Philosophical question, do the warnings cause the chaos, or is it the disaster itself? Does bracing for impact cause more injuries than being unaware? Ignorance is bliss, but living in uncertainty is when fear comes into being.

Nanook, as the personification of everything encompassing destruction, knows that Destruction doesn’t care for what causes what. If the end result is always the same, why bother taking different paths? And that concept is why Finality has a script, why the Masked Fools and Mourning Actors put on a show, and why the Trailblaze was killed.

Everybody has a part in the end of the world. Everybody has a choice in how they contribute. Is choice an illusion if the means don’t define the end? Scream, laugh, cry. Does anything define the end aside from what it’s meant to be? Destruction will engulf the universe, Finality will register the end of all things, and Remembrance will give a new cycle.

Again

And again

And again.

This isn’t the first time.

Finality’s followers aren’t needed, THEY just wanted to see if anybody could determine the end to be anything different. It’s futile, obviously, but an amusing thought nonetheless. Terminus has no role to play until everything is over. Involvement will be good for THEM.

Aha’s followers perform because THEY know nothing will come of it. For the Aeons, for the Observers, for those who come from beyond, they entertain. They flip the script and hurt themselves from the consequences of trying to wrong the rights that come from the inevitable end, then the beginning, because they know the uselessness of making choices.

And Akivili. The Trailblaze, blazing a new path for future generations to come. Wandering the universe, bringing salvation to those who could not be saved. THEY are the only one who has shed light on a new reality. A path where not all possibilities lead to Destruction.

THEY tried to stop the cycles. Nanook remembers, even if others do not wish to. THEY almost succeeded. Then, THEY died, and only the Express and its inhabitants remain. This is a constant in every cycle. To Nanook, Akivili has lived and loved and fought to die again and again.

The cycles don’t have a point. IX is proof of that, but the cycles are what have happened for so, so many years. Why is this? Why continue with no direction or purpose? 

There’s a certain behaviour that Nous has been studying.

The Aeons were mortal, once upon a time. Organic or non-organic, they used to have the same fears, the same needs, the same wants. Everything changed when THEY became Aeons. They fell into a pit of fear, fear of changing, fear of falling from the heights they have become used to. These cycles are familiar and safe, everything happening the same, leading to the same end, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and–

The truth is, the Aeons are afraid.

Akivili was killed out of fear. The Aeons were afraid of what could happen if THEY were left unchecked, testing limits and breaking universal rules like they were made to be broken. THEY could have ended the cycles, but the Aeons interfered and now Nanook has to entrust the future to the Astral Express, with its small train and smaller crew.

That should have been the first sign that things were going wrong, when fear overcame gods and turned them back into Man.

And now Fuli is shattered, now Yaoshi has given immortality to break minds instead of heal, the lone hunt joined hands with humanity, Aha is malicious instead of entertaining, and everybody is losing THEIR minds, is Nanook the only sane one? Are they the only one left, after so many cycles? THEIR goal of destroying every Aeon, THEY just want to end the cycles earlier, THEY just want–

Everything is still the same because the Aeons are afraid of what comes next, once the endless loop is not endless anymore. THEY lost THEIR minds. 

But Nanook still has hope. Hope, what Akivili gave THEM so long ago, back in Adlivun before everything changed. There’s a new variable in the equation, as Nous would say.

Akivili’s new vessel didn’t exist previously. 

They were taken by Finality’s followers. They almost died, like their predecessor. Nanook cannot be blamed for stepping in, keeping them afloat in hopes of a new journey, new choices, a new ending. Assume this world holds a hundred million possibilities, and no matter how one looks at it, ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine of them all point to outcomes of certain Destruction. Nanook will use THEIR divine power, despised by the people of the cosmos, to achieve that one-in-a-hundred-million possibility. The cycles will break, the cycles will end, and Nanook won’t have to endure more millions of years, doing the same thing, acting the same way, following the script revised over and over and over and over, when’s performance night? When will all this practice finally come to fruition, where the cast can take a final bow and cry as their well-used well-loved roles are left in the past?

Time keeps moving without mercy, relentless and painful. Nanook has lost THEIR homeland millions of times over, THEIR loved ones a million times more. THEY have seen the past, the future, the present, and the end, destroying everything so THEY don’t have to keep feeling the same pain, again and again and again and again and again in an endless loop, a painful stasis without a proper conclusion.

…

No, Nanook wasn’t afraid of the alarm bells. THEY remained stationary on the boy’s shoulder, in his hands, in his lap as he sought THEM out for comfort. If anything happened, Nanook would be up in less than a second, striking down any threat. THEY knew Aedes Elysiae would be safe. When Mydei almost took the blow for the warrior, THEY weren’t afraid. THEY knew Mydei would be safe. Same with Phainon. Although Phainon isn’t immortal, THEY could sense the other golden-blooded vessels approaching. Not everything requires THEIR involvement, THEY learned that lesson long ago.

Besides, Nookie kind of liked being pet by Phainon.

Chapter Text

“…are Chrysos Heirs too, are you not?”

As golden threads weave a barrier around the group, the panicked villagers quickly huddle back together, leaving Phainon and Mydei standing stationary in front of Aglaea and her accusation. Not knowing what to say, they glance at each other, silently competing to see who has to speak. First to blink loses.

Mydei blows air into Phainon’s eyes.

“Chrysos Heirs?” Phainon laughs, stumbling over his words but jumping into action, “They’re supposed to have golden blood and stuff, we…” he trails off, looking at Mydei and gesturing for him to give support.

“We aren’t Chrysos Heirs,” Mydei states with finality. He shoots a dirty look at the other. The winner was Mydei, why does he have to speak as well?

Phainon, with wide eyes, jerks his head in Aglaea’s direction not-so-subtly. “Lady Aglaea,” Mydei adds respectfully, staring disrespectfully at Phainon right after. The little cheater doesn’t respond.

Aglaea smiles, and Mydei’s gaze goes back to her. She’s a prominent figure in Amphoreus, in Okhema — the safest bastion in Amphoreus – even more so. To anger her here would be both a physical and social death sentence. Very tall, very intimidating. What Mydei imagines his mother must have been like.

“So,” Phainon says carefully, “Can we go back now please Lady Aglaea? I think Snowy’s looking for me!” Right on cue, a familiar dog barks from the other side of the huddle.

She tuts, “Not yet.”

A dainty hand holds the sleeve of Phainon’s shirt, glittering with blood that isn’t red but gold.

Mydei looks at it, looks back up, looks at the stain again. “You were hurt.” He says, not a question, a threat. He seems to have forgotten that Aglaea wasn’t supposed to find out about the ichor running through their veins.

Phainon chuckles, sweating just a tad. “This? This was when we were coming here, and a Black Tide creature got past the warriors. The blood is from that.” Mydei doesn’t look convinced, even though he was there when it happened.

Aglaea hums victoriously, “So, you admit the blood could be his.” She raises an eyebrow at Mydei.

“No,” Mydei says flippantly. He knows they’re busted, but he isn’t going to crack. “How close did the monster get that its blood got on you?”

Nice save.

She sighs, “You are allowed to go back to your families,” Ouch, Mydei thinks, “But once we arrive back in Okhema, we are going to have an important discussion about lying.” Aglaea fixes them with a stern gaze, and the boys try not to shake under the weight of it. Scary.

Okay, that was a terrible save.

They walk off, back to Phainon’s family.

And pause.

And whip their heads around to face Aglaea.

“We’re going to Okhema?”

“You’re taking us?”

The boys say.

“Clearly, this location isn’t safe anymore.” She gestures to the monster struggling in its gold cocoon. It’s started to bite the threads, to no avail.

Phainon jolts, only now remembering its existence. “But—“ he says, stepping forward, “What about everyone else?”

Mydei crosses his arms, “You’re gonna take them all too, or we aren’t going.”

Aglaea chuckles, “That was the plan.” Phainon rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “I’m glad to see you two love your village so much. We will keep them safe.”

“Thank you Lady Aglaea!”

“Thank you, Lady Aglaea.”

Phainon and Mydei take each other’s hand and go back to their family proper. 

“The threads of Mnestia,” she murmurs. “Don’t lose each other.”

—————

Nookie is there to meet the boys halfway, flapping his wings and chirping aggressively, trying to peck them. He has to let them know that, even though neither of them were hurt, they won’t be miraculously saved every time. Phainon especially. Even with an Aeon on his side, Destruction can’t solve every problem. At least, not in the way he would want. 

Just because they won’t get punished for pulling idiotic, self-sacrificing manoeuvres doesn’t mean that they can keep doing them!

Before he can rip out Phainon’s skin, Mydei grabs the bird and holds his wings down, locking him in place. Nookie gets even louder. They left him alone there with Snowy! That dog was going to slobber all over him!

Mydei tuts, “Nookie, you gotta be nice. We just escaped a very scary situation.”

Nookie was also in a very scary situation, thank you very much! Both of his wards in danger, saved by plot armour, is this Aha’s doing? These children aren’t protagonists!

“Yep,” Phainon nods, “Lady Aglaea is really threatening!” Mydei hums in agreement, tightening his grip as Nookie squirms.

So Lady Aglaea was the threat, and not the Black Tide creature that almost killed both of them? Nookie understands their priorities. No, Nookie understands. They don’t have common sense. They’re reckless and selfless like heroes, ready to die for whichever lucky soul does a good deed.

Nanook struggles to peck Mydei’s hand as well. Immortality is not an excuse for dying a lot.

Then their parents come over, Hieronymus and Audata fretting over the boys while Snowy rubs himself against their legs. Nookie pops free and sits on the soft fluff, watching this go down.

“What were you thinking!” Audata shrieks, falling to her knees and holding Phainon and Mydei in a tight hug.

Phainon sniffles, “Mum…” He embraces her back, blinking away tears.

Mydei, on the other hand, is trying to edge his way out of her hold, not used to emotional vulnerability. Hieronymus claps a hand on his back, making him jump. Extracting him from her hold, he holds Mydei up in the air like a particularly misbehaving cat.

“You aren’t free from this,” he says, hugging Mydei. “What you two did was incredibly stupid.”

Audata sighs, “I’m just glad my boys are alive.”

Mydei and Phainon lock eyes, embarrassed gold and watery blue. Mydei stifles a laugh – it’s just like Phainon to not realise his own emotions until others show them.

“We’re sorry.” Mydei says. Phainon nods, burying himself in his mother’s arms.

“Don’t do that again, you hear?”

“Okay,” Phainon mumbles.

Snowy barks to finish it off, whining and running circles around them.

Phainon laughs wetly, petting him and Nookie. Mydei joins in, quieter, silenced by what could have happened. And then they settle, Cyrene joining them at the very end.

“Why’d you come late?” Phainon whispers to her, his voice drowned out by the various noises outside. His eyes are red and puffy.

Cyrene grumbles, “I didn’t want to be a part of all that sappy stuff.”

He laughs, “I see.”

“You know…” she sighs, “You and Mydei are gonna burn yourselves up if you keep doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“You’ll find out,” Cyrene states.

Phainon splutters, “Hey, hey but if you don’t want us to burn ourselves up, you have to tell us what we have to stop doing!”

She smiles sadly, with overwhelming emotion that holds more meaning than Phainon wants to dig into. “Draw a card,” she requests, holding out a spread of her oracle cards face-down.

“This again?” He raises an eyebrow. “You know I’ve done this a lot. I get Deliverer every time.” He draws a card nonetheless, flipping it up to show the familiar face of Deliverance.

Cyrene doesn’t speak. The card is taken back, and the deck shuffled.

“Mydei, draw a card.” She holds the same deck out to Mydei, who blinks, confused, but takes a card, flipping it up.

“Ruler,” she utters, “How fitting.”

“What does it mean?” Mydei asks.

“The Ruler,” Cyrene begins, “Stands for discipline, authority and glory, but frequently also points to isolation and warfare.” She recites, remembering the descriptions from the original box lost to time. “Even should you pledge your loyalty to me as the last sovereign, the glory shall be mine and mine alone. He who has slain a king can no longer bear the title. Let the withering lion walk his last path alone.”

“Sounds lonely,” Mydei remarks.

“Doesn’t it?” Cyrene smiles, thin and fake.

“Objective complete, Lady Aglaea.” A soft voice comes in from the empty window gap. Right outside, there’s a white-and-purple-haired girl standing there, poised and elegant. From the main entrance, a small red-haired girl and a pink-haired girl enter, followed by a green-haired person.

“Agy, we’re done!” Yells the red-haired girl. Phainon looks at Mydei, then looks back at the little girl.

“Are you related?” he whispers to the other.

“Our hair is different shades of red,” Mydei whispers back.

“Good job everyone,” Aglaea smiles, “Hyacine, tend to the wounded. We’re setting off once you finish. Garmentmaker, report.” She turns to an odd-looking mannequin behind the green-haired man.

Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief as the ‘Garmentmaker’ tells Lady Aglaea that all the monsters are dead.

“So we can go back to our normal lives?” Asks someone from within the huddle.

Aglaea faces them, “No. It’s unsafe. All of you are coming to Okhema.”

The people riot.

Chapter Text

Murmurs travel through the group, confused whispers, scared whispers, whispers that aren’t quite whispers but a bit louder, literally just talking. Why would anyone talk loudly in a quiet group? Phainon doesn’t know. Phainon doesn’t want to find out. 

“No!” Someone cries, “You can’t take us to Okhema!” A stark change from previous whispers, that spark a wave of louder talking.

“And why not?” Asks the green-haired person, brandishing his gun. 

The crier stays silent.

Well, that answers that! Guess they’re all going to Okhema! Personally, Phainon is really happy they all get to go to Okhema together. But wait, is that… more protests?

“Aedes Elysiae is our home!”

“The Time Titan will protect us!”

“I hate Okhemans!” 

“Woah there, calm down.”

“I want to go to Okhema.”

“That’s just you!”

“Why do we have to go to Okhema?” says someone reasonable, who wants to get a reason for this relocation instead of spewing insults.

“Allow me,” the green-haired guy says, gently pushing the pink haired girl aside. No one was gonna stop him anyway, but go off.

He clears his throat. His voice already seemed pretty clear. Crystal clear. No, clearer than that. Water clear, but good, filtered, yummy water that tastes nice and not at all metallic. This guy looks like he’d taste metallic. His clothing has gold bits on it, reminiscent of the yellow flowers Phainon finds frequently that taste a little bit metallic. Or when Phainon got cut one time and tried to kiss it better like his mum does, and it tasted metallic.

He’s green, like plants. He has yellow bits, like flowers. He’s wearing black and teal, the same colour as some spots in the Membrance Maze. Shade and wind. The good things.

Just when Phainon focuses back in, the guy ends his speech by taking a bow. Phainon missed that entire thing. The Elysians look oddly liberated. The elders look outraged. What could he have said to inspire such a reaction? Because he wasn’t paying attention, Phainon has absolutely no clue. But it must have been good.

Mydei nudges him, “He said some things about the Black Tide and like, statistics and stuff. Then he said something about the gods.” 

Mydei, his saving grace. Always there when Phainon loses himself in thinking of eating things he shouldn’t. 

“You really need to pay more attention, HKS,” he mumbles.

Phainon has a sneaking suspicion that Mydei just called him something rude.

“What does that word mean?”

“It means you’re stupid,” Mydei declares, a bit too loudly. Heads turn. “Jokingly. That was a joke. Haha,” he fake-laughs, elbowing Phainon until he laughs as well.

Whatever the green guy said, it was very effective, because the people listen to the Chrysos Heirs as they guide them out of the Sacrament Courtyard and to a horde of convenient Dromases, which is probably how the Chrysos Heirs got there in the first place. Which would make a lot of sense, and also no sense. How did they get there at such a perfect time?

Sensing his thoughts, a small red child winks at him, and says, “Prophecy powers.”

Okay. Great. Mind-reading powers too. He sighs and looks at Mydei at the same time Mydei looks at him, sharing the thought that ‘These guys are weird. Mind powers are insane.’ Mydei nods. He also knows that mind powers are overpowered. They get each other. They linked minds for a second to talk about how mind powers are weird. Very normal mind conversation.

Phainon, Mydei, and Nookie because he’s being held, are stopped by the pink-haired girl before they can join Phainon’s family on the dromas.

“Sorry! Lady Aglaea told me to put you guys with the Chrysos Heirs!” She informs sheepishly, pointing to where Aglaea is standing, waiting for them next to a dromas. 

Phainon and Mydei look at each other at the same time. They’re done for.

Squinting up at Cyrene, he glares at her smug face, knowing that she definitely got away with faking being normal. Was it their nearly noble sacrifice that tipped the Chrysos Heirs off about their status? Titans forbid a boy want to save a life.

Begrudgingly, they tread over to Aglaea, Phainon pouting and Mydei staying stoic to be respectful. His facial control must be very good.

“There you are,” Aglaea says, like she was expecting them. She was, but Phainon doesn’t want to think about it.

“Hullo, Lady Aglaea…” Phainon grumbles. Mydei stays silent. He must hate this more than Phainon does, to not have a snarky quip ready. He passes Nookie to the other boy just in case he needs comfort. Nookie’s feathers are really soft and nice.

They get on the dromas easily, the ladder very helpful for their small-ish frames. Up there, they’re met with an average sitting box, a rectangle with railings and a solid wooden plank a third of the way up the railing for seating. Very safe, very casual, just like every other dromas. A very human design.

What doesn’t feel safe nor casual is the collection of people there.

Two more of the little red-heads and the green haired guy sit in the box as well. Phainon has a slight hunch that the other red-head, the pink haired girl, and Aglaea will join them. The purple-haired girl is sitting alone in her own dromas box. She looks kinda sad, and Phainon wants to ask about her, but Mydei’s grip on his sleeve is tight and nervous and Phainon wants to be fully present for Mydei.

They sit together as far away as they can from the people. Because it's a medium-sized box, and also a square, that isn’t very far. It’s silent. It's awkward. Phainon kind of wants Georios to take the form of this dromas and let the land swallow them whole.

Instead, Phainon looks around them and watches as the other dromas boxes fill with people. Kremnoans and Elysians mix easily, friends and family sticking together without much fuss and settling on the dromases with relief. His own family is sat with Ptolemy and other guys he assumes are the other guys Ptolemy mentioned in his own speech.

Wow, a lot of people gave speeches. Ptolemy and the green-haired guy should start talking to each other.

Speaking of the green-haired guy, he’s looking directly at Phainon and Mydei. Red flag.

“Did that woman let you on here? She knows I do not take kindly to children.” He says, unblinking. Phainon’s not sure this guy has ever blinked, ever. His eyes (eye, really) has been open every single time Phainon’s seen it.

“Oh, lighten up, Naxy!” Cheers a small red-head. She has three flowers on the side of her head, which are cute. They look clean and nice. Freshly picked flowers, if they aren’t hairclips. Phainon is a bit tempted… Who knows how many flowers grow in Okhema?

“It’s Anaxagoras,” Anaxagoras proclaims. He does seem like the type of guy to be mean to children, but he isn’t being mean to the small red children, so maybe he isn’t that bad!

Phainon and Mydei watch as they talk, the little girl with flowers over her eyes piping in sometimes. It’s general conversation, stuff to fill in the blanks. All of them know it. Then, more people enter the dromas box. Just like Phainon thought, it was the other little red-head, the pink haired girl, and Lady Aglaea. Thankfully, they’re all sitting together, and Mydei and Phainon get their own space, as little as it is.

It quickly turns unfortunate, as Phainon realises that the vibe is ‘interrogation time’, and not ‘standing in the corner together at a party’. There are eyes on them. Mydei’s hand is going to break Phainon’s hand’s bones. Even Nookie isn’t unaffected, his feathers ruffling.

Gold thread wraps around their joined hands, locking them together. Now, Phainon’s not mad about it, Mydei’s hand is comfortable to hold, but did Lady Aglaea really have to lock them together like criminals sharing handcuffs?

“This thread will listen to your hearts,” she says, like she wrapped the thread around their nervous systems and pulse points instead of their joined hands. “It will show your truths and deception.” From their hands, two gold strings lead to either of her hands as she holds them up, perfectly still.

If that’s not just a bit creepy, Phainon doesn’t know what is. Especially as the other Chrysos heirs sit there, blank looks on their faces, staring. It can’t be the last day of the month of Strife yet. Phainon knows how to tell the time, to count the numbers on the wall, and it is definitely not spooky time.

“State your names,” Anaxagoras declares. He looks like he hates Lady Aglaea, but they work well together. They look like the main interrogators.

“I am Phainon of Aedes Elysiae,” he says.

Mydei doesn’t speak. He has to squeeze the other boy’s hand for him to respond.

“Mydeimos, Crown Prince of Castrum Kremnos.”

“Good,” she says. “Now tell a lie.”

Reasonably, Phainon should say something that’s definitely, 100%, undoubtedly a lie, like ‘the sky is always dark’. The unreasonable part of him, the overwhelming part that makes him eat flowers for fun, wants him to say something that’s a real thinker. Something like… ‘Aedes Elysiae is a safe space’. It’s his safe space, so it could be true, but it's not a physically safe space because the Black tide invaded, and everyone knows that once the Black Tide invades, it’ll take over really quickly, and you have to clear the first few waves before you can evacuate safely.

“I like fish,” Mydei says. The thread trembles extremely violently, almost thrashing about, morphing into some kind of odd skipping rope where there isn’t enough slack for someone to properly jump through so the people who hold either end just start yanking it.

“I hate Mydei,” Phainon says. The thread has the same reaction. So Mydei hates fish as much as Phainon likes Mydei, good to know. Phainon will have to keep him as far away from seafood as possible.

Aglara clears her throat, matching Anaxagoras who cleared his throat before. Aw, cute. “Some very… potent lies indeed, children.” She leans back on the railing, “Anaxagoras, I leave this to you.”

Phainon remembers this guy saying he hates children.

“Let us see what you have learned, shall we?” Anaxagoras chuckles. It sounds malicious and evil.

Oh boy. They are in for a long ride, figuratively and literally.