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A few months prior.
“What do you mean you don’t know their birthdays?!” the Fool asked in horror.
The Creator raised ‘His’ hands in surrender as ‘He’ attempted to explain ‘Himself’ to the god who was most likely deciding which painful concepts to Graft together to torment ‘Him’ with next. ‘He’ still recalled the distinctly creative combination of a distant star’s heat and gravitational force coupled with its loop of birth and death.
“In my defense, I was fighting the Primordial God Almighty’s will …” ‘He’ said tentatively, while slowly moving away from the other god.
Zhou Mingrui paused, quite frankly ‘He’ wasn’t as irascible and rash as the Creator’s angel court made ‘Him’ out to be. They had simply been faced with the aftermath of the Fool and the Creator’s … heated debates over the Creator’s meddling plans involving Zhou Mingrui.
It really wasn’t ‘His’ fault that the White Angel had opened a door without looking and fell into the middle of a hurricane ripping through the sea… Or that the Wind Angel ended up trapped in a neverending desert for days before being saved by the Angel of Fate…
Grisha smiled, ‘He’ had noticed Zhou Mingrui’s pause and thought ‘He’ had escaped ‘His’ fate this time.
The Fool sighed and ran ‘His’ hand down ‘His’ face, before quickly summoning a skyscraper’s Historical Projection to crash down on the beaming Creator’s head.
That idiot had still forgotten ‘His’ sons’ birthdays after all!
After the Creator had reestablished order in the room, ‘He’ glanced back at the Fool who sat in ‘His’ seat leisurely sipping tea as if ‘He’ hadn’t attempted to murder the Creator once again.
“They were born when the outside realm was blisteringly cold,” Grisha recalled, “Most towns were blanketed by snow.”
“You may choose a date for them if their lack of a birthday concerns you this much.” The Creator waved ‘His’ hand in the air dismissively.
‘His’ hand quickly intercepted the tea cup that the Fool had launched at ‘His’ head. The Fool was annoyed by ‘His’ apparent lack of concern for what ‘He’ felt was incredibly important for children, especially the two angel brothers who were still lacking in humanity and relevant human experiences.
And so a date was chosen for the two children’s birthdays.
January 3rd, a shared date, seeing as the children were already nicknamed the “Twin Terrors.”
January 3rd, outside the Creator’s Divine Kingdom.
“What’s a birthday?” Amon’s little face tilted up to look at the Fool, curious.
Zhou Mingrui had elected to pick up the two young angels at the border, for a “birthday adventure” in the realm below as ‘He’ had explained it.
“It’s the day you two were born,” came the simple reply.
“But Father said ‘He’ doesn’t remem-”
The Fool cut off the little angel’s innocent but mildly devastating reply, ‘He’ didn’t want to be reminded of the bastard Grisha’s forgetfulness or corruption today.
“‘He’ was joking,” Zhou Mingrui said briskly.
Adam peered at the god with his ever-perceptive eyes. He knew Mr. Fool was lying, but remembering their past conversations of knowing too much, he decided to leave it at that.
The Fool gently grasped the angels’ hands, one on ‘His’ left, the other on ‘His’ right. The trio entered the realm outside the Creator’s Divine Kingdom.
The children were quickly greeted by a bleak desolate landscape. Trees were few and far between, most of them simple dark silhouettes as snow swirled around, leading to low visibility.
It was a stark contrast to their Father’s Divine Kingdom that was illuminated and warmed by eternal sunlight.
Here, the sky was still blue and bright, but the ground was a stark white, blanketed by a thick layer of fluffy snow. The temperature was frost-bitingly cold. If the trio were not Mythical Creatures, they would’ve been quickly frozen upon materializing. Their breath was visible, small puffs of vapour appearing before them.
The wind occasionally stirred up the snow, blowing it into their faces, coating their eyelashes in frost. An occasional powerful gust stole the breath from their lungs.
The children’s feet sank into the fluffy snow, the thick snow reaching past their knees making it hard for them to move.
“Mr. Fool?” Adam tilted his head in question.
The god pulled three pairs of something that appeared like woolen socks with additional appendages from the Historical Void. ‘He’ had asked Grisha to commission the Wisdom Angel to create three pairs of mittens that were both warm but waterproof. The current clothing technology in the era hadn’t caught up to the tech of the past, so ‘He’ could only acquire those mittens through mystical means.
‘He’ showed the mittens to the twin angels, demonstrating how to slip them on.
The little angels, intrigued by this article of clothing they had never seen before, quickly slipped them on.
Amon struggled a bit with the second mitten as it slipped from his already gloved grasp.
The Fool caught the falling mitten before it could meet the snow-covered ground, slipping it onto his other hand for him.
The child beamed, clapping his hands together with a muffled pat. “Thank you Mr. Fool!”
In all honesty, the trio didn’t need the gloves at all, their Mythical Creature forms didn’t need warmth or protection. But for Zhou Mingrui, it was for the memories, the novelty, the sheer humanness of the act of protecting oneself from the elements.
‘He’ hadn’t given up on ‘His’ hopes of developing the children’s humanity.
The god crouched down in the snow, the white powder creaking slightly beneath ‘His’ weight. ‘He’ gathered a bunch of the snow together in ‘His’ gloved hands before slowly shaping it.
The children watched in delight as a small white ball formed under the god’s attention.
“Snow can be used to make snowballs,” the Fool showed off the ball ‘He’ had fashioned between ‘His’ gloves.
“You can roll the little snowball on the ground to make them larger,” ‘He’ continued as ‘He’ demonstrated. Before long a snowball that reached the height of the children’s chest was formed.
The little angels’ eyes glittered in amazement, they had never seen such a sight! They rarely left the Divine Kingdom, so they had never really gotten the chance to play in the snow.
Amon leapt into action, smashing a bunch of snow together to make a misshapen ball before dropping it on the ground to roll. His frenzied actions were too much for the still delicate ball, and it quickly broke apart on the ground.
The little angel frowned. Normally this hitch in his plans would result in a mighty pout, but he had recalled Mr. Fool’s lesson on patience and gentleness.
With that in mind, the child tried again. This time, he slowly gathered the snow, taking his time as he fashioned the small ball. He delicately lowered the ball into the fluffy snow before rolling it. Before long, he had made a snowball that reached his knees.
A smile broke across Amon’s face. He looked up at the god who had been standing there, silently observing his two attempts. The Fool’s eyes were soft, a small smile gracing ‘His’ features.
Adam had also succeeded in his attempt. He continued rolling his snowball until he was straining against its size, small feet digging furiously into the snowy ground, before coming to a halt. By then, the ball had surpassed the size of Mr. Fool’s.
The Fool picked up the snowball ‘He’ had made first before glancing at Adam.
“May I?”
Adam, slightly confused by the god’s question, nodded.
Zhou Mingrui with a small heave, lifted ‘His’ snowball to rest upon the Angel of Imagination’s larger one.
‘He’ looked at Amon, gesturing at his snowball.
The little angel, confused by the god’s actions, but understanding that he was silently asking for his snowball, pushed it over to where the Fool awaited.
The Fool lifted the smallest ball, placing it securely on top of the others.
The snow structure loomed over the young angels.
Zhou Mingrui pulled out a variety of objects from the Historical Void as ‘He’ began to explain.
“You can stack together snowballs to make snowmen.” ‘He’ wrapped a muted teal scarf around the snowman’s neck, before quickly arranging a few stones on the “head” of the snowman to form a smile.
An orange carrot was pushed into the space between the eyes and the crooked smile, representing the nose.
‘He’ turned back to the children who had been watching ‘His’ actions, before pulling a familiar object from the Historical Void.
“My hat!” exclaimed Amon, his eyes lighting up in recognition.
The Fool offered the hat to the Angel of Time, before gently scooping him into ‘His’ arms.
The angel, bewildered by ‘His’ actions, looked up at ‘His’ face, asking an unspoken question.
Zhou Mingrui turned the angel in ‘His’ arms to face the snowman. Now, the angel and the crude sculpture were eye to eye.
“Do you want to add your hat to the snowman?” came the soft question.
The angel wiggled in excitement, Mr. Fool was giving him a task!
He carefully placed the hat onto the snowman’s head, pink tongue stuck out slightly in concentration, before he looked back up at the god who was carrying him.
“I’m done!”
The god smiled down at the child, endeared.
Amon felt his feet return to the ground softly.
“And now we have an Amon snowman,” the Fool chuckled slightly. ‘He’ had Grafted the hat’s location so that it would remain securely placed in the blowing wind.
Amon’s nose wrinkled slightly, before he replied, “I don’t have a carrot nose Mr. Fool.”
The Fool laughed, the warm sound echoing in their surroundings.
The trio continued playing in the snow, building matching Adam and Mr. Fool snowmen to accompany Amon’s. They all possessed carrot noses.
With the first task on the god’s mental checklist completed, Zhou Mingrui pulled something else out of the Historical Void.
It was a bright yellow item, resembling a large pair of tongs. At the end where items would usually be grasped with was a shape. A duck?
Zhou Mingrui had pulled a duck shaped snowballer from the Historical Void.
This specific item had been gifted to ‘Him’ during ‘His’ distant childhood by a friend when ‘He’ had visited their family over a winter break in the before times.
A large snowstorm had swept the area, leaving the entire town completely blanketed by heavy snow. The friend’s mother, after forcing the two to painstakingly shovel a pathway to the street, had brandished the bright curious toys in front of the two exhausted boys. They had been lying in a patch of untouched snow, panting.
The two sat up quickly as the lady demonstrated how to use the snowballers. She had seen them in the store and picked them up on a whim. The store had carried different shapes from simple spheres to more complex animals such as bears. The one she ended up selecting was the aforementioned duck.
Before the boys’ eyes, perfectly formed snow ducks began to appear.
After gently laughing at the boys’ excited expressions, she ruffled their hair before returning to the house. She reminded the boys to head back inside to warm up the moment they felt too cold lest they fall ill.
The boys spent a long time fashioning duck after duck from the fresh snow, learning the best techniques from trial and error. Before long, an entire armada of snow ducks appeared, haphazardly placed everywhere.
By the time the boys had finished, their noses were running furiously, their cheeks a bright cherry red from the cold. Their mittens, originally waterproof, had also been soaked through. But the cold hadn’t swayed them from their mission. The two had simply forgotten about the cold, forming duck after duck before the mother came back out, shooing them back inside for dinner.
They fell ill.
Zhou Mingrui’s mother had simply shook her head at ‘Him’ in amusement when ‘He’ went back home, nose running like a faucet, a slight cough shaking ‘His’ body. She forced ‘Him’ to lay in bed for a week, full of warm congee and bitter herbal medicine.
The Fool turned ‘His’ attention back to the waiting angels. ‘He’ demonstrated how to pack snow into the snowballer. With a small tap on its side to distribute the snow evenly, ‘He’ gently opened the snowballer to reveal a perfectly shaped duck snowball.
Amon’s eyes lit up in delight before he reached for the yellow snowballer. A second one was pulled from the Historical Void for Adam.
The two little angels decimated the fresh snow immediately surrounding the trio. Before long the ground was absolutely covered in little ducks, no one could take a step without potentially tripping over one.
The Fool laughed fondly, this was what ‘He’ and ‘His’ childhood friend ended up doing before realizing they had no way of getting back into the house. Eventually the two children had chosen to slowly move already formed ducks to the side to form a path for them to walk through. This was one of the reasons why they had reentered the house so late.
Luckily for the trio, one was a god and the other two Mythical Creatures. The trio materialized on the outskirts of their duck army.
Adam began to seriously count the ducks as he wanted to tell their Father how many had been made later on.
Amon simply didn’t care and looked up at Mr. Fool to see what activity ‘He’ would show them next.
Zhou Mingrui smiled before plopping down in a patch of fresh snow. ‘He’ lay down completely, ‘His’ arms splayed out.
The little angel was bewildered, his eyes wide in shock.
This act was completely at odds with the Fool’s aloof persona. Or a god’s behaviour in general!
The Fool laughed once more before ‘He’ began to wave ‘His’ arms and legs in the snow, sweeping them away from ‘His’ body.
Before long a humanoid shape with curious forms sprouting from its side appeared in the snow.
The Fool sat up, snow covering the back of ‘His’ head and coat, before gesturing for Amon to lie down. The little angel who had gotten over his shock flopped down next to the god in another fresh patch of snow. He mimicked the motions he saw the god perform before sitting up, finished with his odd task.
The two stood up, brushing the snow off of their clothes before stepping back to admire their creations.
Two angels had appeared in the snow side by side, one big and one small.
“Snow angels,” explained the god.
Amon, excited, ran over to where his brother was still counting diligently, pulling him over to look at what he and Mr. Fool had made.
Adam smiled and ruffled his brother’s hair fondly, the remaining snow falling out from between his dark locks.
At Amon’s prompting, Adam also made his own little snow angel on the other side of the Fool.
By now the little angels’ cheeks had turned bright red from being exposed to the elements. Zhou Mingrui didn’t quite understand how their Mythical Creature forms could still exhibit signs of cold found in human forms, but didn’t question it. ‘He’ let the children play for a little while longer, creating more snow ducks to surround their snow angels, before ‘He’ held their hands, returning to their father’s Divine Kingdom.
The trio left the snowy landscape behind, no longer barren or desolate. A trio of snowmen standing guard over three angels surrounded by an army of adorable snow ducks now decorated the once pristine scene.
Four beings sat quietly around the end of a large table. The two children sat at the head of the table side by side - Amon and Adam.
A spread of curious looking round-shaped delicacies covered the large table in front of the children and the Fool.
Oh and the Creator, who the Fool had begrudgingly invited, seeing as Adam had insisted in that quiet yet persuasive way of his.
The table, that had been graced by the most powerful beings of the current era, that had probably been the place of numerous war councils involving those beings, had been transformed into a warm and cozy birthday cake spread.
Zhou Mingrui had insisted on introducing the children to a birthday tradition from the pre-epoch era, but had been unsure on the children’s palettes. Since ‘He’ was a self-proclaimed foodie, ‘He’ had simply decided to pull a few options for the children to taste test.
Grisha had been absolutely no help in this aspect. The god simply laughed, stating that Mythical Creatures didn’t need to eat, so why would taste matter. The Creator waved ‘His’ hand dismissively, ‘He’ was sure that the children would like anything Mingrui introduced them to, seeing as they hung on to ‘His’ every word anyways.
Amon looked at the spread before them curiously. He recognized some of the fruits adorning the surfaces, providing bright pops of colour, and one of them looked like the larger version of a pastry Mr. Fool had brought him before. But the rest seemed completely foreign and new to him.
Food and eating wasn’t something Amon paid particular attention to. His Father and the angels that followed ‘Him’ rarely ate anything, as they had no need to. In fact the only time the little angel had seen his Father eat or drink anything was in the presence of Mr. Fool. ‘He’ would sip tea during their occasional tea parties where the two would chat about things that flew over the young angel’s head and sometimes devolved into Mr. Fool throwing things at his Father in fury.
Adam had noticed Mr. Fool’s love of delicacies. The young angel often observed the god partaking in tea and other pastries while ‘He’ watched the twin angels play with the Hounds of Fulgrim in Sefirah Castle. The god would occasionally offer some of the food to the children, allowing them to taste things they had never tried. The foods ‘He’ offered varied in flavours and textures, from heavier butter filled breads, to lightweight pastries that melted in their mouths upon contact.
Mr. Fool’s love of delicacies went further than simply consuming them. Adam saw how ‘He’ chose specific foods, skillfully pairing them with certain beverages to create the best flavour combinations. Sweet pastries paired with bitter coffees. A light tea to cleanse the palette in-between stronger flavours. Foods were often not repeated unless it was one of the god’s personal favourites.
Adam and Amon couldn’t quite grasp why Mr. Fool enjoyed food so much, but as always, the two were happy to do anything with the god, especially something that clearly brought ‘Him’ joy. They were also thrilled to spend more time with the mysterious god who rivalled their Father in power, but was still patient and kind to everyone ‘He’ met.
Though some of the other angels might disagree with that sentiment. Greatly.
The children, accompanied by the Fool, had wandered back into the Creator’s Divine Kingdom, slowly warming up in the eternal sunlight, defrosting their faces and hands. During this process, they had bumped into a few of their Father’s angels.
Adam, the ever considerate child, had decided to invite them to their cake-tasting session.
Or at least attempted to.
The White Angel’s bright aura had dimmed the moment he caught sight of the Fool, before he turned and vanished at the speed of light. The Wind Angel’s brow furrowed mightily at the invitation, his entire demeanor turning stormy, before he quickly declined the invitation and stormed off. The Angel of Fate and the Red Angel had been leaving one of the rooms together, the Red Angel carrying the Angel of Fate’s painting supplies. This was probably the only reason why he did not immediately burst into flames upon spotting the trio. The Angel of Fate, one of the only angels that did not see the Fool as a horrific being - who simply respected the god like he respected his Lord, politely declined the invitation. It was most likely out of consideration for his poor companion, the Red Angel, who was still fighting his urge to flee from the combination of two child-sized menaces and one full-sized eldritch horror.
In the end, only the original trio and the Creator surrounded the cake taste-testing table.
The Fool gestured at the cakes, introducing their names and ingredients one after another to the excited children.
“Mango mousse,” ‘He’ pointed at a simple yellow cake adorned by real mangoes, “often has a simple appearance and is topped with fresh whipped cream and mangoes. The inside is a layer of airy chiffon cake and mousse. Mousse is lighter than chiffon, as it is whipped cream with a lot of air beat into it.”
“It is not too sweet,” ‘He’ added, a nostalgic smile crossing ‘His’ face as ‘He’ recalled ‘His’ parents' critiques of bakeries. Not too sweet, was the highest praise.
“Matcha red bean,” Zhou Mingrui continued, gesturing at an interesting green cake, topped with sliced strawberries and cream that had been tinted a slight green, “the slightly bitter earthy matcha pairs well with lightly sweetened red bean paste, producing a well-balanced cake.”
The next cake was covered in mysterious dark coloured shavings and adorned by vibrant red cherries and white cream. “Black forest cake,” the Fool explained, “the variant I grew up with was a layered cake with cocoa powder and cherry-flavoured jellies. The cream is light and not too sweet. The shavings used for decorations are also edible, they’re chocolate.”
The children and the Creator watched the Fool continue ‘His’ passionate explanations, more entranced by the light dancing in ‘His’ eyes than the delicious food before them.
Grisha sighed in ‘His’ head, hopelessly fond of the Fool’s expression. ‘He’ sincerely hoped ‘His’ fellow earthing would never lose that sparkle, and that ‘His’ sons would continue to learn from ‘Him’ for a long long time.
“Tiramisu, composed of coffee-soaked ladyfingers, which are a type of cookie, with cream topped by cocoa powder. The coffee might have a slight bitterness, but this cake is light and airy in texture.”
“Triple chocolate, a very fudgy and rich option. It has three layers of chocolate cake inside, hence its name, and is covered in chocolate cream.”
Upon describing the chocolate cake, Zhou Mingrui paused as a memory passed through ‘His’ mind. One time at school, a classmate had brought in a triple chocolate cake to share with her classmates during her birthday. Mingrui, the ever filial son, had carefully brought ‘His’ slice home to share with ‘His’ parents. ‘His’ parents, upon sampling a bite, had declared that the cake was too sweet, allowing their son to finish the rest.
Shaking ‘His’ head at the fond memory, the Fool continued, reaching the last two cakes on the table.
“Fluffy cheesecake. A light souffle cheesecake that is similar to a chiffon cake but with a subtle cheese flavour. It has a plain appearance that’s perfect for decorating.”
“It’s also very jiggly,” with that, the Fool lifted the plate the cake rested upon to give it a slight shake. To the delight of the children, the sides wobbled at the motion.
“Last but not least, cream cake or cream fruit cake,” the Fool had finally reached the last cake gracing the table.
“A simple chiffon cake decorated with white cream and a variety of fruits like strawberries, kiwis and melon. It is light, fluffy and moist and not too sweet.”
“It’s what I had as a birthday cake for many years,” ‘He’ added with a soft smile.
With explanations completed, the god began slicing into the cakes, offering small slices of each option to the children.
‘He’ shot a glare at Grisha who simply sat there smiling at the Fool, not lifting a finger to help with the slicing before strong-arming ‘Him’ into helping.
Turns out seeking the Creator for “help” was a terrible choice as the slices ‘He’ “helped” cut were completely lopsided.
Amon upon receiving one of the slices cut by his Father pouted slightly before looking up at the Fool expectedly.
Zhou Mingrui sighed, before banning Grisha from continuing to mutilate the poor cakes and cutting the little Angel of Time a new, more pristine, slice.
‘He’ pushed the rejected slice towards Grisha. Seriously, how could a slice of cake look so … ugly.
The room was soon filled with soft munching sounds, forks scraping across plates as the four indulged on the cakes. Sometime during the feast, small cups of water and tea appeared, something to cleanse the palette in between flavours.
Before long, all the cakes had been sampled. Small traces of cream left behind on the children’s faces are the only evidence of the many slices the four had indulged in. The Fool laughed before napkins materialized and were offered to the little angels. Adam easily wiped the cream from his face with no help, while Amon struggled a bit more, always missing a small streak on his cheek. Grisha laughed at his silly son and leaned over to dab at his cheek with another napkin.
Amon simply turned to the Fool, rejecting his Father who sputtered in fake indignation. The Fool chuckled at the two’s antics and Amon’s clear favouritism. ‘He’ gently cleaned the little angel’s face with ‘His’ napkin.
Clean up completed, the Fool turned to the most important segment of today’s tasting.
Which cake(s) did the children enjoy the most?
To Zhou Mingrui’s mild surprise, Adam was the one who enjoyed the sweeter more impactful flavours like triple chocolate and black forest. His brother, Amon, was more drawn to not as sweet options such as the fluffy cheesecake and basic cream fruit cake.
The Fool hummed in deliberation, before instructing the children to close their eyes.
“No peeking,” ‘He’ warned. “I’m talking to you Amon.”
The little mischievous angel who had definitely been peeking, quickly shut his eyes tight once more, giggling.
Sounds of rustling before a gentle snap echoed in the room.
“You may open your eyes now.”
The two children opened their eyes to find the room lit by the eternal sun, dark. But they weren’t afraid as on the table before the two were two new cakes with gentle flames flickering on small wax sticks upon them.
Before Amon was the simple cream fruit cake he had enjoyed the most. The cake that Zhou Mingrui had tasted multiple times during his childhood.
Before Adam was the triple chocolate cake that Zhou Mingrui had brought home for ‘His’ parents who had deemed it too sweet before allowing their beloved son to eat the rest of the delicious dessert.
The soft glow from the flames on the wax sticks, candles, illuminated writing on both cakes.
“Happy Birthday Amon,” read the little Angel of Time’s in dark frosting, a cheesy little drawing of a crow at the bottom.
“Happy Birthday Adam,” read the little Angel of Imagination’s in light frosting, a serpentine dragon adorning his.
There was only one candle on each cake, seeing as the angels didn’t age the same way as human children. Also because Grisha, faced with memory loss from the awakening will of the Primordial One, didn’t remember exactly how old the two boys were.
“On the count of three, you two can blow out the candles and make a wish,” instructed the Fool. ‘He’ stopped ‘Himself’ from saying the second half of the tradition - don’t say your wish out loud or it won’t come true, as ‘He,’ the God of Miracles would hear them anyways. In fact, everyone in the room had the ability to hear each other’s silent wishes, rendering the tradition null.
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
A small puff of air from both children quickly extinguished the flames, the room darkening completely before once again being illuminated with the eternal daylight of the kingdom.
Two silent wishes echoed in the Fool’s mind.
I wish to play with Mr. Fool and Adam more and stay with them forever!
I wish to stay with Amon, Mr. Fool and Father forever.
Zhou Mingrui glanced over at Grisha who had also heard the wishes. ‘He’ simply smiled, not at all bothered by one of ‘His’ brats choosing the Fool over his own father.
With a snap, the wishes were granted.