[Book 2] Chapter 21: Beautiful Life (Part 1)

[Clock - 07:22 | 07:22 AM]

[Calendar - 21/07/2010]

[Location - Beastialis Empire, Skypelago, Menagerie Island, Central Region, Pyramid Palace of Cycles, Empress'/Emperor's Main Room]

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3rd Person POV

Morning came, and alongside it, so did the good news.

The entirety of Beastialis was a festive mood! The Empress has given birth, and that is enough to make the entire nation ecstatic. They came to learn that the Empress had laid 6 eggs- which made a few of the egg laying part of the population (the Werecrocodiles, the Atlantians, and the Avian Homo Beastialis, and other different egg laying species) both proud of the Empress and a bit disappointed that he hadn't laid more. They were proud because laying eggs is not easy for nobody involved, neither the mother nor the egg, because the rituals of birth need to be done "naturally". For those who have the knowledge of how to do it- Read: All the midwives from the Healing House of Khepri -the process of blessing a child with the blood of the mother and father is easy! You see, as expressed in the past chapter, natural birth gives a greater potency to this type of magic- C sections and other surgeries to extract the child also work, but for some reason the magic will be slightly weaker.

Not by a huge amount, mind you, but by a noticable amount.

The process of birth in itself is a ritual if you think about it... The mother gives pain and blood as sacrifice for their child, and the child breathes and cries to show the mother that her waiting, her pain and her suffering wasn't for nothing. Sadly, that isn't a 100% certain process, as many women and children have died in the past due to blood loss and other complications in the natural birth, which is why if there is any risk for the mother, natural birth is ruled out as a law by Beastialis and surgery is recommended. If surgery is also a risky subject, then the Healers of Khepri begin the MAB protocol- Also known as Magically Assisted Birth.

But seriously, 6 eggs and 7 children? They were the talk of the empire! Seven beautiful children born from a first time mother was always hard, but knowing of what the Empress was capable of made many citizens of Beastialis sure that he's got this! Seriously, the Empress already keeps the entire Beastialis Empire afloat, what else could be harder than that?

All Mothers: *chuckles darkly*

The moment Atlas woke up and decided to have breakfast as normally, Atlas knew that the entire Empire already knew of the fact that he had given birth. News like that would spread faster than one can blink, after all, and such trivial concerns as what others think of him aren't important when he is so fucking happy! He never thought he'd miss how light his body feels without having to carry six fucking eggs the sixe of ostrich's eggs inside his body! Sure they were secured inside him and he used magic most of the time to keep them lighter so they wouldn't limit his movement, but constantly having to go to the bathroom was annoying some times... He almost pissed himself a few times because the eggs constantly pressed against his bladder. "Good morning little ones..." Looking at the beautiful eggs he had, Atlas willed them to float towards him. He analyzed each and every single one of them, barely paying attention to Waylon who slowly woke up beside him: "And good morning to my big one too."

"Urrhmm..." Grumbling like a grumpy bear, the massive black dragon humanoid opened one of his eyes- the red eye and black slit pupil stared right into his own eyes before he looked softly at the eggs floating his arms; "Morning..." Slowly, Waylon shifted from sleeping face first against the cloud bed to lying on his sides, looking directly towards his beloved husband and his children, his eyes almost tearing up. He is going to give these children the life he never had, or he will die trying. "To my love, and to my little ones~" There was a pulse of energy from all the eggs, a divine energy that he recognized, deeply within himself. It was an almost instinctual response; They were greeting him back.

"Oh, clearly the babies have a favorite." With a grumpy pout, Atlas turned and allowed Waylon look closer to his children- Exal, Devon, King, Quinn, Neo, and the twins Aliva and Avila. Their shells of different colors and patterns, the same spell woven across them all that marked them with blood and love, family: "See, papa's here now... He can also start learning how to switch diapers- Wait, would you seven even wear diapers or need to switch them? I can literally just make diapers that automatically clean themselves- Okay, I'm rambling now." He safely and carefully deposited the eggs into Waylon's arms, he started to make crocodile noises, and Atlas floated away for a moment before the prosthetic legs he had created a long time ago simply floated and reattached themselves to his body.

He doesn't sleep with them because they're uncomfortable to sleep with.

He touched the ground and slowly walked towards his desk- Job is never done, after all! He opened his book and started taking some notes about Project Skyfall as the expansion into the Elemental Plane of Air, the Boundless Blue, continued. He made some predictions with [What Is Going On Right Now], [Stories of A Future Long Past]... They were bonuses of his [World Book - Encyclopedia] ability that allowed him to check the position and location of Objects and People in the past and future, as well as knowing future events and knowing past events as if he was reading them from a book- which he is! But recently, after he reached 10,000 books read (thanks to his many different Wills all spread around Beastialis like a hive mind), he was able to unlock a new ability.

And by recently, he means yesterday when he was giving birth. He wasn't in the best mental space to deal with it, okay? But he ended up learning a bit about False Hydras, including their song, which is useful-

The ability he received was this one:

[Reader's Eye]

(10,000 Book Perk)

[You can read the stories of everyone and everything, seeing their life and everything they've been through and everything they will go through as if you weren't part of their lives. This ability is called [Reader's Eye: Original Story]

With this ability, you can also read everything about them: Their thoughts, emotions, actions, desires, dreams, future, past, and anything you want to know. This ability is called [Reader's Eye: Open Book]

With this ability all that is, isn't, might, might not, could, could not, can, can't and won't exist is visible and laid bare before you, and nothing can be hidden from your eyes.]

It was a rush of sheer information- He can already see the future, but to see everything about someone he lays his eyes upon? That is incredibly useful and incredibly powerful when used right. He can also probably see multiversal versions of those he focuses his eyes upon, knowing what they are going through throughout the multiverse could be a blessing and a curse at the same time... most likely a curse. "Huh..." He turned to look at his beloved and his babies, and he was surprised- First, because he could indeed see various threads of endless possibilities weaving their way out of his Waylon's body, but there was a bright golden one that was weaved across seven other golden threads that connected directly towards his very soul. And, weirdly enough, his children only had one single thread- They only existed in this universe, like him.

They were Multiversal Singularities.

And if you don't know what a "Multiversal Singularity" is, the answer is simple: There is only one of him in all existence, because he is a member of the Endless Library in this universe... His children? They came to be because of his interference with the world, as thus, they are also singularities amongst the endless Multiverse. And this golden thread that connects Waylon to him and their children? Well, that's easy to answer: This is the brightest, best, most "good" and "awesome" timeline, dimension, universe where Waylon exists. Of thousands and billions of thousands of realities, this is the one where he is most happy, most loved, and most respected by everyone.

"Love, you alright?" Waylon's worried voice snapped him out of his wondering mind only for Atlas to notice... He was crying. The sheer power in the fact that him existing and him loving Waylon has made him the happiest version, the best version of himself that he could possibly be, made something inside Atlas fizzle out and fade away- Something that whispered doubts inside his mind, something that managed to survive years with the love Waylon showed him every single day, a parasitic emotion known as 'Imposto Syndrome' that plagued his thoughts in the middle of the night asking him if he deserved to be loved by Waylon. "Is everything okay? You feeling pain anywhere? Did something happen-"

"Yeah, something happened." Atlas chuckled at Waylon's face as he turned serious, expecting horrible news- He realized then and there that, yes, he did deserve to be loved by Waylon Jones. "I think I just fell in love with you all over again."

"...who's being sappy now?" Waylon looked away, but even if his thick black scales could hide the blushing of embarrassment, his tail couldn't hide his true emotions as it curled around the bed like it always did whenever he was happy: "But seriously, did something happen and you're trying to hide it from me to stop something worse from happening or...?" He has come to learn that, sometimes, you cannot ask direct questions when it comes to the future and knowing what will happen, because sometimes just knowing the future will happen can make it happen. Self-fulfilling prophecy and all that jazz, you know? "This isn't like one of those 'Future Things', is it?"

"No, no- No, it isn't." Atlas shook his head fervently. Normally he knew that Waylon wouldn't ask such questions, but its also not everyday that he just stares into the abyss and starts crying! "I just... I just learned, with the utmost certainty, that you are the happiest, most loved, and best Waylon Jones that exists."

Huffing, Waylon held his children as he got up from the bed- his long tail swaying from side to side as he approached, towering above Atlas easily: "You little idiot... I could've told you that." He squashed next to him, pressed his forehead against Atlas' forehead and kept eye contact with him as he said the following words with the heaviest intensity ever: "Listen, Atlas Jones: I. Love. You. I am the happiest man in this entire world- No, this entire universe, because you have given me the best life I could ever have. You are my lucky star, you are my light, you are my love..." He paused for a few moments before he whispered: "...and you are also my little bitch."

He couldn't deny that, even if he wanted to. And now he believed the first half with all- every single part -of his mind, knowledge, understanding, and soul.

"Now... let's show the world our children, shall we? Starting with our family, of course." Waylon got up and offered him his larger, calloused hand- The rough texture of his leathery skin was enough to ground Atlas down.

"Yeah, let's show everyone our children."

Together, the two left their room and went down to greet the other members of their big, bright, and beautiful family. Atlas saw, the moment he met them at the dining room, all their golden threads amidst endless dull and colorless threads.

Yeah, he deserves this beautiful life.