[Book 2] Chapter 22: Beautiful Life (Part 2)

[Clock - 09:33 | 09:33 PM]

[Calendar - 21/07/2010]

[Location - Beastialis Empire, Skypelago, Menagerie Island, Central Region, Pyramid Palace of Cycles]

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3rd Person POV

"...They're so... tiny."

Looking at the still in development but healthy and growing embryos within the shelled protection of their eggs was easy when you have access to magics from various different universes by simply opening a book and reading. Specifically, looking at the way the embryos were growing was fascinating for the more scholarly of the folks present. The very first thing you'd notice was that the eggs themselves seemed to almost shine with this soft golden glow at all moments, signifying the Divinity that these little ones carried within their blood. This golden glow was also thanks to the ritual that Atlas had placed upon the eggs alongside Waylon, creating this film of golden energy that would protect them, bring them good fortune, and make them extremely healthy!

The second thing you'd notice would be the rather humanoid shape that the embryos were growing to be. Like Waylon, they were all- well, almost all -humanoid crocodiles, with the exception of one child. Neo, the one Atlas felt was the ever curious, ever seeking, and the one he felt was the child who would be the most similar to him, was a completely normal human embryo. With the exception of being inside an egg, of course! "Soul of wonder and curiosity, burdened with the beauty of ignorance and the horrors of knowledge, with a thirst for wonder and a hunger for desire, you are wild and inspired by the world... Your light will bring forth the revolution of creation itself, where even Gods will be inspired by your voice of creativity and love..." Repeating the words he had said to Neo when he was born, Atlas smiled- he was a small little boy, but even before being born, his divinity truly manifested. Curiosity and Creativity, Neo, his son, was the God of Wonder.

"Of course they're tiny, idiot." A finger flicked Wally's forehead as Artemis rolled her eyes. The six eggs were being magically held in these pedestals, with light shining from below to expose the embryos within. Of course, two such eggs- them being Neo and Devon, whose shell was invisible and whose shell was glass-like, respectively. Seeing Neo's little embryo simply float in space was weird, specially seeing as the embryo was the equivalent of a 6 months old baby, meaning he could hear them! He easily recognized his... mother's voice? Now that she thinks about it, Empress Atlas could be called the mother if the whole "birthing" thing is taken into account. "They're... kinda cute."

"Well, at least I'm an uncle now!" With a prideful grin, Adam poked the invisible shell surrounding Neo's form. He hit something that felt stronger than metal, but he did not dare to push further, seeing the Empress was right there with them! "And they all have cool names too- Exal, Devon, King, Quinn, Neo, and the twins Aliva and Avila." Although almost imperceptible, there was a soft change in the energy fog surrounding the eggs whenever one of their names was mentioned, as they were slowly gettimg acquainted with their own names. "Hey, Empress, are you going to have any more children in the future? These little guys are cool."

There was a soft silence as Atlas and Waylon made eye contact- instantly, a mental link was formed between the two:

"You seriously want more children?"

"I mean, the more the merrier, right?"

"Oh, 'the more the merrier', he says. It's not you who's gonna have to push ostrich sized eggs out of your goddamn asshole!"

"Love, I'm sorry- I mean, I do want more children, but not now!"

"Of course not now, I'm considering not even letting you touch me for... a week!"

"..."

"...five days."

"..."

"Three days! That's the lowest I'll go."

"We both know you literally can't resist me and will jump me the instant you're able to."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"...no... I don't."

"Well, Adam, when are you going to give me grandchildren, then?" This time, the one who spoke was not Atlas, but Adam's mother, Abigail. She saw the way Adam's face twisted and she grinned, having brought the to silence with a few words! Such is the power of a mother: "Exactly. And besides, Adam dear, such a decision is the Empress' hands to make." With a shrug, she resumed crocheting little clothes for the royal children like a grandmother she felt like: "Atlas, dear, what do you think? I quite like this design-" She lifted up a soft and cute bright pink sweater with a sharp red lightning across it: "-for little King!"

"I think it is beautiful. Thank you again, Abigail, for making small sweaters for the little ones." Atlas chuckled as he dragged his finger across the air in front of him, swiping away something unseen to others as he did his best not to look into the various, various, almost endless universes all around him. It was honestly overwhelming to see, and he avoided looking at the blossoming trees of threads that were pure chaos. He saw Adam being burned alive in one universe for being a "witch", he saw Wally marry Artemis in another universe, he saw the curious Jason Todd who was looking at the eggs alongside Superboy (they haven't chosen a name for the boy yet) being killed by the Batman who was laughing, by the Joker (he saw him die by the Joker's hand at lwast 39,876 times in different universes), he saw so many universes that if it wasn't for his magical soul, he'd pass out. "Oh, if you could be careful with that needle- Oh, too late." Abigail had already poked herself with it, and she hissed in momentary pain as she began bleeding. He had seen such a thing happen, because guess what?

He learned how to see the future without using [World Book: Encyclopedia] to see the future or past. It was overwhelming, but now he can safely predict about... 10 seconds into the future!

Such an ability is really powerful.

"I saw it happen in the future, Wally."

"How did he do th- Oh my Gods-" Wally's eyes widened when his question was answered before he asked it. That's kinda creepy! "Does that mean that-"

"Yes, I can. No, I won't look into your future. Don't ask me why, I won't tell you. Also, spit that out, Adam. It's not for you." At the same time he answered a question Wally was going to make, he reprimanded Adam who was thinking of taking a cookie, while also reading a book!

Waylon chuckled from the sidelines, holding the book Atlas gave him- [Fatherhood: A Complete Guide on How to Be a Goof Dad, by DaddyDearest] -directly from his endless library because he was not really that confident on his daddying skills. Being a first time dad was enough to make him nervous but being a Demigod, an Emperor of a Magical Empire, and also being a powerful magic user was not enough to calm him down. Seriously, he fought Gods before and he wasn't half as anxious as he is whenever he thinks about being a father. "You're doing great, love." And like always, Atlas quenched away the flames of doubt within his mind.

"Also, you don't need to knock on the door, Dorah." The hand that was about to knock on the dining room door stopped. The door opened by itself as Atlas simply willed it to, and on the other side was the Daughter of Tiamat, the Goddess of Chromatic Dragons. She was as red as yesterday, but there was a rare look of guilt in her eyes that were replaced by surprise and wonder when she saw the eggs. The entire family was here, with Pamela making small flower crowns to place on the eggs, Mr. Fries already thinking of birthday presents, and even Lonnie thinking of ways to make them the most loved little things on the entire internet... Why? Because they're cute and deserve it, okay!? "Come here kid, let me introduce you to them." She approached slowly, and when she was beside Atlas, he looked at her single thread above her head. She also was a Multiversal Singularity, it seems! She was the only one of herself in the entire multiverse, and such a prospect was both a scary thought and a relief.

If you die, only you ever existed.

'She's, quite literally, not like other girls.' Atlas chuckled to himself as he watched the divine blood of dragons within Kar'Dorahn's body react to the babies and their Divinities too, especially King's Divinity of Blood. "Aren't they cute? They're curious about you... They think you're their sister." It was adorable to see the fluctuations of the divine energies within the eggs, they recognized the "dragon" divinity within her, so they assumed she was like them, born from a dragon. And the only dragon with divinity they know is their dad, so they put two and two together to make five. Not quite the right answer, but with all they know, that's the answer they got! "Heh, these little rascals..."

"...I will give my life for theirs." Kar looked at the eggs with the same mad look of sheer determination that Waylon's eyes had the moment he first looked at them- and Atlas was sure she would, the same he knew that he would do the same, the same way everyone (besides The Team minus Adam, of course, because why would they?) in this room would also give their lives for these children. "I would go back to Avernus, look my mother in the eye, spit in her face, and come back singing if that is what it took to protect these little ones..."

"Well, that's not really needed-" Waylon chuckled, closing the book he had been nervously reading: "-but that's... fucking cool, I guess?" He turned to look at Atlas, who glared at him- once more he was smitten by his beauty, he looked even more handsome today than he was yesterday, and there was a new charm that Waylon could only attribute to him being the mother of his children... and that made every bone in Waylon's body shake from how hard he had to contain himself. Fuck, okay, he is literally obsessed and its not even funny anymore. It's quite literally a problem... He literally cannot fall for this man more, or he'll do something drastic, like... Kissing him to death! Yeah, that's drastic. -before he realized what he said and smiled: "Uhm, I can't curse around the kids anymore, right?"

Well, the answer was no, of course.

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[Clock - ??/??]

[Calendar - /08/2010]

[Location - ???]

3rd Person POV

Sadly for us, the wholesome and celebratory mood of a new addition to the family could not be maintained for long.

Far away from Beastialis, deep into the underground, a group of people gathered. Known as The Light, this group of self-centered people sought to complete their own goals while at the same time furthering the goals of their own organization. It was a game of juggling their own interest with the interest of their group, a careful and delicate dance. At this moment in time, they were discussing one topic: A certain empire in the clouds that seemed untouchable.

"I say we nuke them! I hate that prick, that Empress guy is irritating! How dare he-" Going on the 7th rant today, Klarion was one of the many there present. His physical body had some parts missing, and he also had these weird golden celestial chains wrapped around his body: "-I still can't get rid of these things! I hate him hate him hate him!" Normally, his powers would have gone in a haywire right about now, but they were unnaturally weaker.

Suppressed.

"Oh, do not worry, friend." In the screen, a certain bald man chuckled: "I do have... a solution for your problem... You see, we have found a certain broken helmet that you would have some use for." Nobody there knew, but the plan had already failed before it could even start.

Order and Chaos were nothing before him.