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To say Mother Seraph was pissed was an understatement.
She was LIVID!
She was told that Stelle would not learn the truth about stellarons, that they were the children of Nanook and Xipe. They followed Harmony but the destruction they caused made them more like followers to Destruction. She had not wanted Stelle to know because as long as Stelle believed they followed, it would be more of a reason to go after Nanook and stop him. Granted Xipe would need to be dealt with as well but Mother Seraph had plans for that…as long as Xipe didn’t keep the shackles on her.
Elio did say Xipe would remove them eventually.
Mother Seraph had also not wanted Stelle to know she had been touched by Terminus…by Finality.
‘If she abuses her power…I will be forced to step in.’ Mother Seraph looked at her hands, seeing the golden threads of imaginary flowing through her fingers. ‘I had to stop her as Xingguang once before when she learned she had that power. I do not wish to have a repeat.’ Nanook had begged her to not do what she did, Xipe backing him up…but Mother Seraph’s duty was the people before blood…as much as she hated it.
“I sense your…distressed…”
Mother Seraph looked over her left shoulder, her golden eye glowing. “You crossed the line Elio.” The cat frowned on her desk. “Take that up with Constance. Stelle had to know what truly happened.” She snarled, turning toward the cat fully as her wings flared behind her in a threatening display. “We agreed that Stelle would not know the truth about stellarons!” She snapped and the cat flinched a bit. “You told me that was the right path! As long as Stelle believed stellarons came from Nanook, there would be more reason to go after them with the Astral Express!”
Elio frowned a bit, hunching down in submission to the Aeon of Beginning. He had truly angered her.
Nanook had sired Stelle…but Xipe had also given birth to her.
“I…apologize.” He murmured and Mother Seraph growled, running a hand through her short hair.
Aeon's this was annoying. Elio generally always told her if he was changing something in the script but he had not consulted with her about this. The fact this woman, Constance, went behind their backs to tell Stelle that her future led to Terminus…well…Mother Seraph couldn’t allow that. Even as powerful as she was, she STILL didn’t know who Terminus truly was or where they came from.
One moment Terminus was there, the next they were gone.
It was similar to Mythos and IX…they came from nowhere! However, Terminus was more of a mystery than any of the others. As such, she could not get a grasp on WHO Terminus was. While Terminus was Finality and had been around for centuries, had been around before even Nanook, things did not add up. Everything Constance said about Stelle and Terminus being connected…it didn’t make sense.
But there were even parts of the Script that Mother Seraph was not privy to.
Her ability to see the future was completely cut off. She could not travel through time anymore either and while she could still reset the timeline and just make a new one, Elio had begged her to wait just a little while longer. She would hold that for a little while longer.
Another sigh left her and she looked at Elio, seeing he was still in his submitting position and she groaned. “Stop being pathetic.” He slowly sat up, seeing she merely looked weary. She was annoyed, he could easily tell. “I…am sorry, Mother Seraph.” He began, making her look at him once more. “I had not meant to keep such secrets from you, but due to your connection to Stelle with her as your granddaughter, you can understand why I have kept things from you.” She sighed, understanding his reasoning.
She was very likely to reveal what she knew to the Astral Express, out of concern for Stelle’s safety about all else.
“I understand, Elio.” She began, crossing her arms as she willed her wings away. “Just alert me if you are changing the script.” She turned toward him fully, expression exhausted. “We are friends just as we are allies. You are aware I would not go against the script.” Then she snarled. “But if your intention is to make my granddaughter replace Terminus, I will not hesitate to change fate myself.” He felt his fur stand on end.
“This one time I have allowed it. It has allowed that young girl Firefly to keep on living but do be aware that changing fate CONSTANTLY can come with extreme consequences.” She moved to sit at the desk, several scrolls now floating over as she shifted to focus on work. “Next time we have an agreement, Elio, stick to it or alert me if a change is occurring.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Do NOT make me regret not resetting the timeline to ensure the seams don’t tear.” The seams of the universe were fraying as it was.
Destruction, Nihility, Harmony, Remembrance…those four paths were causing the seams to fray.
You get rid of one and the other paths lose a bit of their hold on power. HooH was meant to help her keep the powers in check so that no path was stronger than the other. However, with her shackles, HooH was left to do everything, which meant that they were struggling to maintain balance. With that, four Path’s ended up becoming stronger than needed and could now practically cause the end of the universe.
She had been ready to reset everything if that happened. Not even the shackles could lock that power down and stop her.
There were only two reasons she hadn’t reset it yet.
Elio asked her not to.
And Stelle, her granddaughter.
She wanted Stelle to continue living and if she reset the timeline…it’s very likely she wouldn’t have her with the reset. So much would change but she would wait just a little longer. Elio said he had a plan and she planned to see it through unless the seams frayed more. If the seams frayed too much, she would HAVE to reset the timeline entirely. This time, Aeon’s would NOT exist with the reset.
Elio sensed she was still annoyed and sighed, moving over to her and placing his paw upon her hand, making her turn her head to him.
“I am truly sorry to have done what I have done, Mother Seraph.” He murmured and she sighed, some tension leaving her. She moved a hand, rubbing his head and scratching behind his ears, making him purr a bit. “It’s alright like I said. Enough with the apologies.” She moved her hand back, only to go rigid and hiss, her signs flaring to life and she gripped the desk, power rolling off her in waves.
Elio’s fur stood on end once more.
Right…she still hadn’t healed from everything with Irontomb.
“Mother Seraph?” He murmured in concern but she still had her teeth gritted in pain. She had to wait for the pain to pass. When it did, her posture slumped and she groaned, leaning back against the chair. “It still continues.” Elio frowned. “How long has it been since the war?” He asked and Mother Seraph sighed, looking to the ceiling. “A few weeks, at least.” She leaned forward with a groan. “And it will continue a while longer. A few more weeks at least.”
She looked at Elio once more. “The next script. What does it entail?” She asked and Elio sighed, shaking his head. “That I cannot tell you as I have not seen the possibilities just yet. The Astral Express has time to rest though, I assure you.” Mother Seraph sighed, shaking her head. “At least they can have some peace then.” She leaned back against the chair, letting her body relax. “You may go, Elio.” The cat gave a nod and jumped off the desk, before turning to look at her.
“The next script, I will alert you of what is to come when I see it.” Then a blue rift appeared and he jumped through it, the rift disappearing afterward.
Mother Seraph gave a sigh, running a hand through her hair once more. “Stelle…I’m sorry you have to continue bearing the burden of Finality’s script. Just remember to not abuse your power this time.” She closed her eyes and the lights of her palace dimmed, the galaxy behind her stopped swirling as everything powered down.
“Continue as you always have been, my dear. Continue to Trailblaze forward.”
The doors locked.
“When I have healed, I shall help once more.”