“Not much is known by mortals of the childhood of the Princes of Light and Darkness, and even less of their caretaker in this time, a being known to most only as the Timekeeper.”

-The Time Codex

Chapter 4: Of Boys and Gods

“Eeeh? Since when have we had an uncle?” Lucius is the first to break the stunned silence, raising my opinion of the kid, though his brother is still wiping the sleep from his eyes.

“Since now, brat. Geez, to your parents not tell you about me or anything? Pretty inconsiderate if you ask me, when you take into account all the work I put in for them.” Giving a theatrical sigh, I can almost see the anger visibly radiating off of Astrophel- actually never mind that’s just her mana reacting to the extreme emotions that she seems to be feeling. I of course have no idea why she would be so angry after all, given the amount of effort it took to keep the newborn Realms in flux. It’s going to take another thousand years minimum to regain all the power I spent on that stunt if I only rely on passive absorption. It’s one of the reasons, alongside my lack of training, that Phel could toss me around like a ragdoll when both my Domain and status as a Deity, and therefore my legend engraved into the very fabric of the Tale, are all much greater than her’s. At full power, even without training, I could most likely take her on with one hand - and win.

At least one good thing has come of me angering the Goddess of Light, as the bright glow seems to have finally woken up Gabriel. Though, he must have been less asleep than I thought, as he immediately asks me “So are you the ‘old bastard’ and ‘idiot time god’ that Mom and Mother always complain about?”

*Facepalm* I really wish I could be mad at the kid right now. I really, really do. The dilemma I’m facing here is that the angelic little brat looks so damned innocent asking that question, even though I’m completely sure he knows exactly how he’s insulting me. Trust me, demigods mature really fast in some aspects. The golden hair, white skin, and puppy-eyed look with those pure glowing eyes like his mother’s, they all come together to create an image of perfect innocence.

“Well brat, I’m here now, and I think it’s high time for a family reunion! See you in a year ya’ pair of idiots, I’ll take care of the boys for you. Seeya, suckers!”

With a swish of my extensive sleeves and burst of chaotic energy, the three of us disappear.

And some people say I have no sense for show business.

Little did I know, but this year-long journey of ours would eventually become a legend in it’s own right, and would soon spread throughout the Realms. Meanwhile, the Twin Goddesses had their own project to work on...

*Meanwhile, in the Chamber of Creation a.k.a. The Goddesses’ secret lab*

Immediately after Lore disappears, my sister turns to me with a wicked grin on her face, one I am sure that I’m mimicking. Both of us instantaneously flash to our hidden experimental lab, to create what I hope will be the first progress in centuries.

“Did you get it?” The question immediately bursts from my mouth, as I practically salivate over the prospect of completing our stalled project.

“Yes!” my sister squeals, hugging me tight to her breast as we jump in place, giggling like mortal schoolgirls.

The fit of glee eventually ends, as we both turn to our crowning achievement floating in the massive crystal cylinder that takes up the center of our lab. Within are the two prototypes of the lifeform we hope to use to populate the Mortal Realm. Astrophel holds up her hand, finally revealing the Essence that was stolen from Lore in the instant of disorientation and binding when she, for a few brief milliseconds, had complete, unfettered access to the God’s power. The Essence of Time drifts paradoxically above her outstretched palm, static but animated, fleeting but eternal.

I chuckle once more, “It took a long time, but now we can finish our duty, and create mortals for the Mortal Realm.” The issue that us sisters had when creating these specimens is that as a side effect of Lore holding the Realms in flux, all three, but especially the Mortal Realm, were infused with his aura and attribute. We could take control of the Higher and Lower Realms easily enough, as we are interconnected with them on a primal level, but we couldn’t tamper with the third Realm very much at all, with every life form we created have an innate need for either light or dark mana.

I glance over to one of the thirteen sides of the room, ignoring the various clutter, burn scars, and powdered godstone from failed experiments, to examine one of the few successes we had fusing Light and Dark attributes within a living organism, the Twilight Godvines. Through testing, we have determined that they have an innate talent for cultivation, becoming fully sentient at 10,000 years. This behemoth of a plant is Vinya-Muzg, the first of his kind, and our most powerful creating to date, almost to the state of attaining minor divinity. Nowadays, he has sunk into constant meditation, pursuing an understanding of his domain.

In a moment of recklessness, I snatch half of the Essence of Time, passing it on to Vinya-Muzg.

“What did you do that for!” “He deserves it sister. How many centuries has he supported us in our endeavours, cultivating only so that he may be of more use to us? This Essence will help him overcome the barrier of his comprehension.” She sighs, but nods her head in agreement, helping me to push the flame-like Essence into the vines.

[Many thanksss, Motherss. Thiss one will put it to good use, it shall not be wassted.] His voice recedes from our minds, the entire mass of vines trembling and contracting into a tight cocoon, in preparation for the oncoming hibernation.

*Clap!* “Anyway, back to business, we have mortals to create!”

The two Goddesses return to the task of creating life once more. Meanwhile…

*???*

“Screw you braaaaa-aaaaa-aaaaa-aaaaa-aaaaa-aaaaats!!!!!”

Currently I am falling into a seemingly infinite abyss, and all because of those two little nephews of mine! I really should have sealed their divinity before we left from the mountain, shouldn’t I?

*Sigh* Well, back to the grind I suppose.

*The Chamber of Creation*

Done! The Essence of Time is fully integrated into the first of what we have named the Lauruka. They are a large race, standing a full 7 feet tall, with ash-grey hair, moderately slender bodies, with two pairs of arms, the lower shoulders extending out from the middle of their backs, each limb ending in a six-fingered (or toed) hand or foot. Their as of yet unopened eyes are flamelike, slit-pupiled, their skin black as the vines used as the basis of their creation. My sister is now checking the specimens over, having transferred them to one of the few unoccupied tables in the room.

“Hmm, well though the Essence has made these two essentially immortal, others we create from their template don’t seem like they will inherit this feature, only gaining a longer natural lifespan of about 200 years from its influence. It must be the innate divinity from Lore, let's hope he never finds out about this.”

I nod silently in agreement, before placing my hand on her shoulder and saying, “I think it’s time to wake them, let us head to the throne room.” With a flash, we sitting on our intricately thrones, and the mortals are clothed.

“Now first of the Lauruka, open your eyes, and awaken!”