41 Responsibilities and Duties

"That's the end," Nyx finished. "No, it will be appropriate to say, that is the beginning of the end."

"Oh…" Hypnos leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "Wow, that was a lot to take in..."

Nyx and Erebus remained silent, giving their son some space to digest the secrets of the cosmos.

To say he was surprised would be an understatement; his nightmares had come true. When his parents told him a year ago that knowing about "Them" would corrupt him, he drew some obvious conclusions because that description was too similar to eldritch beings created from an author's mind in his previous life.

The Great Old One—Elder Gods—The Outer Gods.

Ultimately, the creator of them all: the Blind Idiot God, Azathoth.

Those indescribable and transcendent beings exist in the cosmos, imprisoned within a breaking seal, waiting to unleash their craziness on the creation.

And, like other primordials, it was now his responsibility to protect the cosmos from their horrid tentacles.

Hypnos felt the weight of the cosmos on his shoulders. This truly changes everything. Almost all of his doubts were dispelled by the first story, exposing him to the terrifying truth.

"Your true enemies lie dormant and slumbering behind the stars," the Crone had said.

"They greatly affect your path," his father had said.

He understood everything; his domain of sleep and dreams strongly correlates with Azathoth. It could even be argued that his existence was blaspheming the Blind Idiot God; if this were true, "His" eldritch children would undoubtedly be affronted and may even specifically target him. As shocking as that revelation seemed, it did confirm his suspicions about obstacles in his path of dream. At the end of that path, he may even confront Azathoth, a pre-extensional deity.

Pre-extensional deities….

The earliest story cleared up a lot of his doubts and answered many of his questions, but it ultimately opened him up to a world of unknowns. He could clearly tell his parents had simplified the truths as much as possible, but there were still mysteries, like why did Khaos choose to betray "Her" side and join God in the war of creation? And what became of Ayin? Did "She" simply lay dormant throughout creation, never attempting to reclaim "Her" lost power? Or was "She" influencing Cosmos as well, albeit much more subtly than Azathoth? And so on—too many unknowns, unexplored and uncharted.

And Hypnos loathed the unknown; mystery truly disgusted him. But he controlled his insatiable curiosity; one step at a time, he was far from strong enough to investigate the answers to these secrets, which even his parents might not be aware of.

Finally, Hypnos took a deep breath, his face serene. "Tell me my duty," he asked, his voice firm.

What? Did you expect him to hesitate? Never! This was the path he chose, and he would see it through, one way or another.

Erebus squinted at his son, but he only saw conviction in his eyes, so he began. "It is your duty to protect the astral world and all realms and domains that are linked to it."

"Astral plane?"

"Can you elaborate on what it actually is, father?" Hypnos inquired. "Even though mother explained it to me the last time, I'm still a little confused about its existence."

"Astral realm," Erebus nodded. "It's a plane of existence that encompasses all concepts associated with psychological and cognitive conceptions. You can think of it as the source of all conscience. You understand, right?" He looked at his son with expectation.

Hypnos nodded thoughtfully. "The astral world is literally the source. If it collapses, then every thought, every emotion, every dream, and every mind will cease to exist, am I right?" He cast a glance between his parents.

"You are, sort of," Nyx said, pensively looking at her son. "Hypnos, why did I have the feeling that you were already familiar with this?"

"I am, somewhat," Hypnos admitted, "but first, explain what you mean by 'sort of'."

"Let's suppose," Erebus took over the conversation. "If the astral world collapses, then what you said will occur, but cosmic beings will be able to survive the aftermath if we were prepared, while lower beings can do nothing but accept their fate,"

That's depressing, Hypnos thought as he felt the weight on his shoulders increase and increase.

Erebus went on to explain further. "The astral world manifests itself in a variety of ways, but at its core, it manifests as a colourless sea of chaos. The sea is extremely dangerous for even cosmic beings like us," he warned, "since even we might not be able to bear the weight of its existence; only pre-existential deities can."

His guesses turned out to be true… Hypnos thought with surprise, and then he snapped his fingers, conjuring a projection of the end of his realm above them, which depicted a colourless ocean of chaos.

Nyx and Erebus looked at it with mild surprise, then his mother said, understandably looking at him, "So that is the source of your familiarity."

"The core of the astral world, as you can see, has moved to my realm," Hypnos said to his father.

"It's only a part, son," Erebus corrected; "if the entire core had moved into your realm, we would have known, and your realm also would not be as peaceful as it is now."

Hypnos didn't press; he already knew why.

"And this comes as a surprise," Nyx added. "We appear to have underestimated you once more, my dear son."

"What do you mean?" Hypnos arched his brow.

"Astral world is a singularity of cerebration," Nyx pointed at the projection of astral world; "it contains and reflects all dreams, ambitions, desires, and thoughts, so a part of the chaos sea emerging within your realm is all too telling for us."

Hypnos remembered his previous guess, in which he assumed that the chaos sea was simply responding to his dreams and ambitions. "This is the path I chose," he admitted. "I intend to see it through to the end, assuming there is one."

His parents merely hummed, prompting him to press. "What do you think? Can I succeed and continue to make you proud?"

"You always make us proud, son," Nyx said with a smile. "Your path, however, is a perilous one, riddled with enemies. Truthfully, as your mother, I don't want to take it, as I fear you will not know when to stop." She looked at his father for a moment and then continued, speaking for both of them, "but this is ultimately your choice. We respect that."

"Thank you," Hypnos exhaled.

"Just promise me, son, you'll learn to let go if you can't bear it any longer," Nyx continued lightly.

Hypnos was silent for a good while before nodding. "I'll try," he conceded.

Nyx didn't seem disappointed but rather relieved, as if she didn't expect him to say just that.

Erebus, on the other hand, was about to chastise Hypnos when he noticed the conflict in his eyes, a conflict between his ambitions and the expectations placed on him, and the Lord of Darkness sighed. "Remember, Hypnos, you are not alone on this path; you can always seek assistance."

Hypnos merely hummed.

Nyx seemed to want to soothe their son, but Erebus placed his hand over her, stopping her, and then he said, "Let's get back to the topic at hand, shall we?" He continued, seeing them finally nod after a period of silence.

"Now that you know what the astral world is, Hypnos, you should understand why it is so important to protect it. It is one of the two key fronts against the old ones, if not the most important, because the mind, despite its strength and marvel, is so easy to corrupt."

"Primordials and Arch-Angels take turns guarding it, led by Ananake, but ultimately it is not her domain, thus the job of leadership falls on your shoulders, as this is your birthright, Hypnos," the Primordial of Darkness said to his son.

Hypnos took a moment to digest the news. "Will they heed to me?" he asked.

"You have to earn it, son," Nyx said.

"I understand," Hypnos stated emphatically. "I will inherit the position from Lady Destiny," he went on. "But before I do that, I need all the information on it. I don't want to go in blindly."

His parents heeded, and he was given detailed information on the battlefront in the astral world. They told him everything he needed to know about the Outer Gods, who frequently attempted to corrupt the astral worlds: their names, powers, and records. They went into detail about who was mostly involved on the front, which was located at the edge of the astral world, right next to the growing abyss hidden beneath the Veil of Concealment (which explained why he hadn't sensed any disturbances in the mind realm already).

They also told about the other major front in the material world, which was led by Saint Michael, and that his parents, along with Gaea and Chronos, were part of it.

When they finished, Hypnos reclined in his seat with a heavy sigh, but he gathered himself to ask about something from their information. "Did Hemera and Thanatos also know about this?"

"Yes, we had planned to reveal the truth to each of you only when you opened your realm, as by then you would be resistant to corruption caused by the knowledge of the Old Ones." Erebus nodded. "Thanatos and Hemera are helping me and your mother in the front on the material plane, which is lead by Micheal."

"And, as we previously stated, Aether chose to join the astral world, so you'll be seeing each other even more frequently now," Nyx added.

Hypnos groaned; he didn't want to see the stupid face of his brother all year long, but then he remembered the sweet truth—he was going to be the overseer of the front in the astral world, and Aether would have to follow his words—and he smiled.

"Enough of that smile," Nyx said sternly, her eyes seeing right through him. "I know exactly what you're up to, and I'm not having any of it. I expect you and Aether to put aside your differences and get along, son."

Hypnos lowered his smile and nodded repeatedly to his mother, attempting to appear sincere.

Fortunately, Erebus saved Hypnos. "Give him the pathfinder, my love."

Nyx raised her hand, "This," and a star appeared in the cusps of her palm. "will illuminate the darkness and lead you to the end,"

"Will Ananke be there?" Hypnos accepted it solemnly.

"Yes," Erebus nodded.

Hypnos hummed, observing the star in his hand.

"Did you want us to accompany you?" Nyx offered to Hypnos after noticing his silence.

"No!" Hypnos denied immediately, "I can do this alone."

"Are you sure?" Nyx pressed with concern.

"I am no longer a child, mother," Hypnos said with exasperation.

"Whatever you say," Nyx shrugged.

"Is that all?" Hypnos sighed, placing the star in his realm.

Erebus and Nyx whispered to each other, quite secretly, and then nodded together.

"Then, I guess, celebrations are in order," Hypnos said enthusiastically.

"Celebrations?" Nyx inquired.

"If you haven't noticed, mother, you are freaking pregnant," Hypnos said.

"That indeed, I am," Nyx said, lovingly touching her bulging stomach.

"Tell me everything; am I getting a sister or a brother? What are you going to name them? When will they be born...?" In a flurry of questions, Hypnos began to bombard his mother.

"Calm down, Hypnos," Erebus said.

"I'm sorry," Hypnos said as he took a breath. "I'm just too excited, you know, to be a big brother and all."

"We can see that," Nyx smiled, not keeping him in suspense any longer. "You're getting a brother and sister for your first question."

"Twins?" Hypnos beamed.

"As for your second question, we haven't decided yet," Nyx said.

Hypnos looked disappointed. "Well, at least can you tell me what they are going to be primordials of?"

"All we now know," Erebus replied for Nyx, "is that they will embody the dark aspects of emotions."

Hypnos nodded thoughtfully, his mind already attempting to deduce who would be his little sister and brother from his mythological knowledge, but his thoughts were cut short by his mother's words, "Enough of us now; what about you, son?"

"Me?" Hypnos blinked.

"Don't pull that on me, Hypnos," Nyx chided. "You know exactly what I am implying."

"Hera and I haven't yet decided, mother," Hypnos sighed, "but we will certainly get married within the next few years."

"That's good," Nyx nodded, lightly smiling, "so can I expect to become a grandmother soon?"

"Mother!" Hypnos protested, "I don't wish to talk about this?"

"Why, son?" Nyx said, leaning forward with concern.

"My love, stop teasing our son," Erebus rescued Hypnos yet again.

Nyx merely laughed, much to the chagrin of Hypnos. Then they finally got around to opening the gifts he had given them. He had brought a crystal necklace carved from the light of the stars for his mother and a cape woven from the void of the darkness for his father. He'd created them both with his newfound power; he could now manipulate creation concepts much more easily than before.

His parents wore them right away, and at his suggestion, they posed in the eternal hall of the main of night under the ether light of galaxies.

Hypnos willed a painting of them into existence—one for himself and two for his parents—and he added his to the collection of inedible moments. He then turned to face his parents, who were staring at their painting with emotional eyes, a contented smile tugging at his lips.