The red-haired man pulled Kai toward them with a simple motion of his hand. “We meet again, though under different circumstances,” he spoke.
“Lord Progenius, what are you doing here?” Kai gasped.
“Lucky for you that you had the Flame within you. It managed to save a part of you, the part that you merged with, or you would have been fully erased, replaced by Hydragon and bound to destroy until nothing remained.” The sliver of Progenius that remained within the Flame spoke.
Kai remained floating there, lost in thought.
“Don’t worry, we can help you reforge your body. Into something stronger,” Tenebria spoke up.
“And what are you doing here?” Kai asked coldly.
“Rude child. I used up all my mana to save you from crumbling. The Grimoire should be able to recreate another spirit with most of my memories, but this version of me is now within you,” she explained.
“I see… I’m sorry that you had to sacrifice yourself. Thank you. Though I have many questions.”
Kai turned to the last figure, a black-haired, tall, muscular young man with two yellow draconic eyes.
“Hi. You have been using my skills well, I see.” He smiled brightly.
“Kaleth?” Kai gasped. “But how?”
“Well, it is a long story. Where should I start?” He smiled.
“How about at the beginning?” Kai squinted, not amused at all.
Kaleth chuckled. “I see what you meant, Mother.”
He spoke as Tenebria hugged him gently from the side, Progenius nodding in amusement.
“Happy little family having a reunion in my soul. Glad that my death was useful in the end,” Kai scoffed, then paused for a moment.
That was weird. Do I usually speak like that?
“A tongue on this one. Was I like this?” Kaleth asked teasingly.
“In your rebellious phase,” Progenius chuckled.
“Alright, this is all pissing me off. Speak now while I am still in the mood,” Kai suddenly barked, his voice morphing into a draconic growl.
The family trio paused and cleared their throats.
“You know, nobody has ever treated us this way,” Progenius spoke, shocked.
“Yeah, well, nobody asked you all to leave your souls in every fucking thing I find. Like holy shit, people, can you just stay in one piece?” Kai barked.
His voice was now fully draconic, and even his floating head had transformed into a dark-blue draconic one similar to Hydragon’s main head.
“You are certainly right to be upset. Let me explain,” Kaleth spoke solemnly.
“You see, I was once the beginning of all souls. When Father awoke and gave birth to Light, space began. From his loneliness, Mother was created, and she created time. From their union I was born, and souls and spirits originated from me.
The Primordial Gods of Creation used these shapeless forms and molded life from them. They established the laws of life, death, and reincarnation, giving meaning to all creation.
The Elemental Gods, on the other hand, created environments, giving these lives places to live, grow, and spread.”
He paused for a moment, his expression darkening as he continued.
“But nobody could have predicted that the Eternal Night was actually alive and, in fact, despised the noise life created and decided to wipe all creation out, returning everything to how it once was. Dark, eternal, and silent.
At first, we were stronger and pushed him back to the very edges of reality, but Luminarius showed his greed and sought to absorb the Enemy and become the strongest God.
That decision gave the Enemy the chance to counterattack while we were in the middle of our disputes.
He corrupted weaker gods, dragons, and spirits and launched his counterattack.
One thing nobody could have expected was that these corrupted beings possessed multiple lives and were completely mad, taking down multiple gods while blowing themselves up and reviving from the darkness.”
Kaleth's eyes dimmed.
“Then, as you already know, they attacked the realm of my friends, the first Gods I helped create with my own hands.
They died, and I, to be quite honest, lost my mind and absorbed their sparks, which caused Hydragon to emerge.
A being of soul and elements. A being of pure Chaos that desired only destruction.”
“I know, I’ve seen it through their memories and through Tenebria’s. But this still explains nothing. Are you wasting my time?” Draconic Kai roared.
“No, no. Be patient.” Kaleth sighed. “As Hydragon, I turned the tables once more and pressed them harder than ever, forcing the Enemy to strike me himself, but even he couldn’t push me back. Instead, he slowly corrupted my mind and soul, making me detonate myself before I could be turned against my family. The rest you already know.”
Kaleth exhaled, Progenius and Tenebria looking broken. “But what kind of a god would I be if I didn’t have a plan?” He suddenly smiled.
“You see, I left parts of my soul with my mother in the shape of four pages to be given to someone who could wield them and maybe find a way to use them differently than I did. I couldn’t just let all that power disappear forever. But little did I know that Mother dearest tossed whatever remained of my soul into the new universe’s reincarnation cycle and split her own soul into the spirit of the Grimoire to search for anything similar enough to my soul’s wavelength.”
“WHAT?!” Kai roared. “That’s why so many Chosen died? Why, you took me!? In search of a possibility?”
“That was Tenebria’s wish and command. I only followed it and made sure to give you all a chance to survive while looking for any sign of Kaleth,” Tenebria sighed, tears flowing.
“At first, I didn’t remember him at all. I only did my task as perfectly as I could, but through the years, slivers of memories started returning, and it all came together when you appeared, when you started walking down his path, even foolishly awakening that abomination of a soul. But in the end, there is nothing of Kaleth within you, nothing that I can at least sense.”
She cried. “He is lost forever.”
“Well, I am here, Mother.” Kaleth smiled.
“It matters not that I am gone. I have lived for eons. It is time for someone else to take over the mantle. Well, that was the plan at least, but as I have learned, you like to ruin those.” He smiled softly.
“What do you mean?” Kai growled.
“Well, my Soul Pages and my Ouroboros and Spirit Root techniques were supposed to create the next God of Souls, but you instead absorbed my father’s Flame, my mother’s Laws, and even learned the Laws of Space and Time. And to add to all of that, you created Chaos Aura and a Hydragon.” He spoke solemnly.
“To be honest with you, you should not exist. The reality my father created should limit mastery over one aspect of creation to one divinity, not give everything to a single person.”
“You could be the universe’s response to the Enemy since he as well wields the power of creation, or rather the power of elimination and silence.” Kaleth sighed.
“Your task won’t be simple, but you have already stepped onto this path yourself. Take control over our reality and disperse the Eternal Night once and for all,” Progenius spoke after a long silence.
“So, you are telling a kid from a small, insignificant universe to become ruler of all creation?” Kai gasped before laughing loudly.
“Don’t be ridiculous. What would that even make of me? What of my friends and family?”
“If you continue down this path, you will become too powerful to exist on a mortal plane. I am sorry,” Progenius said.
“My son, it might be too late already,” Tenebria cried.
“What do you mean?” Kai hissed.
“Can’t you sense your soul? You are currently fighting a battle with all your souls and abilities. If your soul loses, you will be forever changed. A true Hydra,” Kaleth spoke.
“What should I do then?” Kai paled.
“Take control of your destiny, reforge your body and soul, become not an Archon or a Seraph or even a Low Divinity. Become something new, something only you can be. Something nobody will see coming. Take everything and merge it into yourself, not as a Hydragon, a Chosen One, a Harbinger, or even a Dragon.”
Kaleth smiled hopefully. “Become Kai.”
“You carry within you the powers of the Trinity, Space, Time, and Soul. You can become anything or nothing if you let it all devour you. It is up to you,” Progenius added.
“What do you want me to do?” Kai shouted.
“We cannot help you there. We can only keep a part of you alive with the powers of the Flame, Time, and the Soul Page. This will prevent you from dispersing fully, but even we cannot predict how long your soul can hold on with all of this mixed together, and us being only remnants of our true selves.” Progenius paused. “Think, and be, Kai Argent Silvers.”
“This is driving me insane. Argh, I will find a way to live. I must! Who knows what Liliya will do if I don’t return, or Scry? Will Umbra go mad and lunge into death? Will Lisa cry? I cannot allow it. I will find a way!” Kai roared.
Then a thought hit him, a sliver of suspicion. “Tenebria, you said you didn’t know about Kaleth before all this. Why try to reincarnate the four gods then and rebuild Hydragon?” Kai asked coldly.
Tenebria paled. “What are you talking about? I did no such thing. I only worked on the Chosen Project,” she said, shocked.
“Maybe it was the Witch?” she suggested.
“I saw a woman, the same as you, feeding the four beasts relics. Then the same woman, but wearing a mask, came countless years later and destroyed them,” Kai explained.
“The first one could be her, or is there another me out there?” Tenebria thought out loud.
“The masked one is the Witch, but the first one I do not know. You will have to uncover that yourself.” Tenebria shook her head, uncertain what had happened with those beasts.
“Fine. I see that you know nothing. So, what should I do now?” Kai asked.
“Leave this subspace and merge your consciousness into what remains of your soul. Take back control over your existence and your life. Turn the world upside down, my son!” Progenius thundered.
“My successor, be wiser than I was. Be fiercer than I was. And above all, do not lose yourself as I did.” Kaleth smiled and poured enormous amounts of pure soulforce into Kai.
Kai crashed into the center of the egg, into a multicolored world where nine massive serpents were currently fighting one another.