The concept of time was naught in the darkspace and eskion didn't really know how to feel about it. It had helped that Hereclea had gifted him a pocket watch and he spent most of his time staring at it, watching the hands travel across the clock. He had been thinking a lot on what he had to do and he was almost at falling off the edge. It really didn't help that a certain heir continued to pester him. He had tried, he had done almost everything to get off of the darkspace and still he found himself back in the unusual place.

The esk boy sat in the garden watching his minaiture sand golems bash each other to peices with a scowl on his face, they were much stronger than your average regular golem *cough* like the one that roamed the huge castle *cough* and had actually developed skills, he watched with interest as a miniature amearys launched a lightning bolt at liela.

Eskion grinned as she leapt out of the way "yes" he whispered

"And you're out here again" came the esparrated voice

"Ugh. What now?" He rolled his eyes

"Playing with your puppets again?" Erdna settled into a sitting position beside him

"Golems" He corrected

"Must be great. Having two affinities" Erdna scowled

"Three actually" He would have said were it not for the look on her face and so he sighed "How many do you have?"

"Just one" Erdna pouted

"Huh. Isn't Hereclea your old man?" He glanced at her

"Affinities aren't transferred from parent to offspring" She hissed "And beside i'm not exactly his kid" she continued

"Eh?" Eskion arched an eyebrow

"He created me. i'm...just another creation" she said staring at his golems intensely

"Oh. Well... aren't we all?" Eskion shrugged

"What?" Erdna glanced at him

"Well according to your dad, we're all expirements right? I mean atleast your old man disn't just abandon you in the middle of some vast expanse" He grinned

"Hmpfh, i wish he had" She huffed

"what?" Eskion asked disbelieving

"Atleast the only person i'd have to care about is ME and now there's this whole litter of cubs that i'm supposed to serve for the rest of my life" She hissed

"Wait. Actual cubs?" Eskion raised an eyebrow

"Yeah, a whole litter of the cute little animals"

"Really?"

"Hell no!" She hissed

"So you're not the heir to all of this?" Eskion gestured to the castle

"No. Tarui is." She said

"Tarui?" Eskion glanced at her

"Yeah. My older sibling who can do no wrong. The actual heir to all of this" She seethed

"So you have other siblings?"

"Four of them" She sighed

"Then hereclea is a god?" Eskion raised his eyes

"Why would you think that?" She arched an eyebrow

"Well he can create godlings" Eskion said

"He's not, hell i don't even know what he is" Erdna breathed

"Huh" Eskion said

Eskion sighed and looked around the garden, he plucked a rose from a bush and turned to erdna and tucked it in her hair, she stared at him for a while then broke into a smile

"Thanks"

"Makes you look a pretty. Not that you're not pretty or anything or tha-" he stumbled over his words

"I get it" She grinned then turned to his golems

"Who are they?" She asked

"Freinds" He replied and snapping his fingers the sand collapsed on itself

"What's your story?" Erdna sat on the ground cross legged

"My story?" Eskion arched an eyebrow

"Most hellspawns my dad give sanctuary to have a reason to hide, what's yours?"

"Eh? There are other hellspawns" Eskion glanced at the godling

"You had no idea?"

"i thought i was the only one!!"

"Huh"

Eskion sat beside the godling

"Aren't you afraid?" He asked uncertainly

"Of you?" Erdna asked

"Yeah" eskion turned to the godling

"All my life i've been around people who with a thought could make me disappear" Erdna paused and looked up at the sky "You're not a threat to me. Sides it's racist to assume you are simply cause you're a hellspawn" she continued

"That's…" Eskion started

"hm?" Erdna looked at him

"Thank you" Eskion Said with a shaky smile

"They will hate you" Erdna said

"Wh-"

"Your friends. They'll hate you for who you are. For what you are." She said and stood

"No they won't" Eskion scowled

"You'll see, soon enough" Erdna shrugged and turned to go

"I hurt them and i ran, before i found out i was a hellspawn" Eskion said

"What?" She turned to him

"My story, you asked for it. Funny thing was i don't even know why i ran… I just couldn't stop, i wasn't -" The ask paused looking for the right word "I wasn't me and i hurt the person closest to me and i fell, i crashed into less with no knowledge of my whereabouts and what not, and then i got captured by some old dude and given to some crazy bitch who had me tied up, that's how your old man found me and now i lean that i'm some sort of key to a war that's brewing and whichever side i'm on will win" Eskion said

"Wait- Some old dude captured you?" Erdna arched her eyebrows

"Was that all you got from that" Eskion pouted

"Sorry, it's just, pffft, some old dude captured you?" Erdna was trying hard not to laugh

"You didn't see the dude, he was smart and- and cunning and agile" Eskion protested

"Uh huh, hahahahahaha" Erdna burst out laughing

"Go ahead laugh it up" Eskion scowled again

"Sorry it's just - hahahahahahaa- I can't believe THE eskion was captured by an old man, pffft. "

"Are you done now?"

"Nope, ha. Okay now i'm done" Erdna wiped a tear from her eye

"Hmpfh" Eskion scoffed

"What do you believe in? What do you want to protect? What do YOU want?" Erdna asked hands on her hips

"I want to protect those closest to me" Eskion said without thinking

"You're going to have to get stronger, much, much stronger. We both do, or we lose everything"

"How do you-" The esk started

"I've seen it, your future… And mine. And it's not at all pretty" erdna stared at him and walked away before he could ask her any questions

'Wait. What?'