Hildelith opened her eyes after logging into the game to find the five brats snoozing away without a care in the universe on her body. All of them turning and kicking at each other like a dream mortal combat. Unlike their elder brother they four were yet to start leveling and growing fast.
She had the feeling that their growth was normal without any external interference. Hildelith wondered how her last-minute ideas and decisions would effect them, as she considered them. Tora and Freyr in particular.
"I suppose I will find out shortly." By making four more cribs and applying subatomic manipulation to Haero's, she managed to make them just big enough to accommodate the kids.
Each one went into a crib and only Haero waking up when she'd taken Freyja from him got the biggest one. Haero was bigger than before. The height and size of a healthy five-year-old, approximately. She pondered whether age and level would cease to matter when he reached a certain maturity or size as his level also showed him at five.
"Let us see how a god develops, huh." She could not help but think of Molliwag and his unidentified race while the five were in their cribs.
"More reason to finish this right away." She reminded herself how important this task was. "Okay, kids, let us get moving." Their cribs shooting out into nothingness after their mother woke the still sleeping pack.
Creator 79 was unbothered by the veil of nothingness within which her palace existed. Her desires were the only reason it existed, particularly after she learned how to manipulate Nothingness. She could sense and feel the very nothingness around her. Command and direct it.
It was as easy as making herself breath or holding her breath.
She exited the darkness into the innermost section of her universe. It's very form. The stunning and captivating star rings.
To anyone else it would have looked like a very weird, magical or futuristic tech just floating there in the dark. The light from the Sol shining down onto the nine rings it bore and reflected from the golden rivers that roared through the bands of the rings.
The rivers itself were a curiosity. The way the seemed to cascade down through the bands, into the different realities, and out of the top of the Sol in a bewildering stream of lava waterfalls. Many would be in awe of it.
Alright, it amazed her. Was the river golden because she had made them golden or was it golden cause they Sol made it golden.
Awesome as her Universe form was Hildelith has to focus. "I came here for a different reason."
First she flew to Sol. With the way the entire rings structure existed spinning and turning like a large clock hand with the Sol as the point it made it so only those who existed beyond Reality knew that the Rings was the Time of her Universe.
Its rivers flowing and raging also served as a way to calculate and denote both a lesser and higher timeframe, with a journey from Sol down to the Abstract counting as the lesser timeframe. From the Abstract and back another lesser time. Each full journey from Sol to Abstract and back through the rings caused the Structure to tilt an inch to the right.
Hildelith took a brief pause from Sol in case it was harmful to her other babies. While she could heal herself using Divine Purity insights, she did not want to put her healing abilities to the test when she could simply keep her babies safe.
Floating forward with Haero now settled on her shoulders she descended into Sol.
Waves of divine flame, geysers of fire, maelstroms, and an oppressive heat rocked the gas giant's surface. Hildelith would not claim to be unconcerned. She was filled with awe. Many figures had gazed at suns from afar, admiring, watching, and nothing else.
"I am standing on one". Whether in-game or not, no other figure would dare to brag about it. Except for her.
"Oh, Dexter is hearing all about this." She laughed with glee. On her shoulders Haero began pulling at her hair. His hands took firm hold as he attempted a monkey climb down her body.
"Easy boy, be right there." She grabbed him with her Phys-Emssion and pulled him around her. The boy giggled with delight at being suspended in that manner. Then he was lowered to the ground.
Hildelith noticed that the Phys-emission took the form of an imagined hand. A large gray, neutral-colored hand. Something that she alone could see. She simply knew. To put it to the test, she regrabbed an already distracted Haero and hoisted him back up. He gave another laugh. This time, she tried to make another Phys-Emission hand and waved it at Haero.
The baby was completely unaware of it.
"Hmmh. So it is only visible to me. "What if I want someone to see it?" She willed and concentrated on Haero seeing it. She realized immediately that she could make it any color, shape, or feature she desired.
Just to be sure, she gave the arm a scaly, long, and large black clawed appearance. Haero's head shrunk back, indicating that he had seen the hand. His gaze took in the hand with a wide-eyed stare before turning to look at his mother. He turned back to the hand, spread his arms, and dashed for it.
Of course, being held meant he was unable to move. Releasing him, the boy dashed for and grabbed the hand. Hildelith watched curiously as he gripped the arm and bit down with a chomp.
Hildelith felt the pressure and separation of the piece as it was eaten by the boy. "Would he eat anything and everything? She made a mental note to warn him against attempting to devour the river or the realities. Something told her that he could do it.
"Okay, Haero, please listen to me." The baby boy turned towards her. "It's time for you to practice your arts. "You know, the one you use for...him." She pointed down at the Sol.
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Haero, whose face was becoming perplexed, appeared to understand as his face cleared and he nodded sharply. She smiled and guided him to sit in a lotus position.
*Listen carefully, son. I am not sure how yours works, but I believe it is no problem for my little prince." He looked up at her, smiling.
"Now take a breath. The solar arts probably already work just by being here, or you have to actively consume it." She gave him a look. However, Haero appeared to have already figured it out, as his eyes closed and then his mouth opened. She watched surprised as it expanded in a larger than normal way.
A great wind picked up around her. The fire and heat were rushing and siphoning into his mouth. He fed on the Sol with hungry precision. Hildelith became aware of the next aspect of his actions. His liquid metal skin burned brighter, and motes of liquid fire, magma, sulphur, and other substances poured out of his body. Both eyes and possibly sweat pores.
They flowed to the ground and, like pollen seeds, were carried away by the winds to various directions on the Sol. She saw them fly up in the far distance of the sun and explode.
"Nuclear Fusion or Fission. He has grown powerful enough to manipulate them." She was reasonably surprised because this meant Haero had come a long way in his Solar Arts in the short time since she last checked on him as a four-year-old babe. His age and size had already informed her, but seeing his prowess in action was something else entirely.
"I suppose this one will do well on his own." She smiled and allowed herself to float off the Sol.
Outside the roaring inferno and explosions of nuclear power that was Sol, she discovered her other four children battling with their cribs. Yes, she had babyproofed the cribs. Haero was a lucky event that she did not want to try again.
"Uhuh. I will be supervising all of your interactions with the realities, you understand? Like the babies understood, each let out a short wail with a disappointed expression.
"Oh, please be quiet. "Let us go." She darted downwards, and the cribs pursued her. The babies squealed with delight and excitement as they rode the joy ride.
It was while shooting pass the next reality that Ozai began throwing a tantrum behind her. Hildelith paused surprised. 'Ozai the Calm. Throwing a fit. That's a first'.
His arms clutched in the air almost like he wished to be carried but not by her. Instead his focus was on the glowing golden sphere of reality that signified the divine plane.
'The system did tag Tora as Queen of the Heavens yet Ozai is the Cosmic Elf. Was this done due to Tora having no Reality to rule or what. But there was the Dream Realm. Wait, did the dream realm have nothing to do with her abilities? She could always access it through her magic, and..." She just shook her head.
Whatever the case, Ozai had a stronger connection to the Divine plane than Tora ever would. Which meant it's ruler or not it was his stop point.
Fortunately, Hildelith could bring the others along this time. The Divine reality was a huge expanse of mountains, clouds, and just empty space. Whatever that meant.
Ignoring the empty realm behind her and hoping she would not be assigned a quest to free a Lost World, she quickly sat Ozai down and adjusted his posture until he was in the Lotus position. It was cute and funny because he was still just a babe. If his body was to be believed, he was barely a year old.
Hildelith was not sure if Ozai could understand her, so she placed her palm on his small chest and sent divinity into him. That appeared to work, as his eyes widened. They glowed brightly, like suns. The formless, abstract wings he wore transformed into a swirl of stars, nebulas, and auroras.
"Beautiful". Then the realm shook. She felt a massive implosion of energy approaching them. The furrows on the little boy's face, while amusing, spoke of the disaster he was pulling. If not for the tangible connection and strain she felt in the air she would have grabbed her boy and took off from this realm.
"Please be safe, all of you".
Unknown to her her little hope and wish registered as something new and unused since the game began.
In front of little Haero, Ozai and the others amidst the several notifications they were receiving popped up one that none could understand.
[Blessing of Mother - Nothingness Shield]
Any and all lethal or fatal strikes against her children activate a shield of nothingness, which dissipates or erases the attacks.
Hildelith floated till she was above the divine plane hanging mid air. All the while hoping her little risk wouldldn't bite her in the ass. She sensed the implosion arrive at her boy's location and it was all she could to hold back from stopping it herself. The spot shook and a large mushroom cloud rose.
After a few moments, the dust and energy that had saturated the area cleared, and she saw her boy floating with his wings spread out. She could see golden streams of divinity flowing through his body. Even worse, his body was actively growing as it absorbed divine energy.
"At least he is not consuming it." She smiled at him from above before turning and taking the remaining three with her. She spoke with a serious expression on her face.
"Do not be like your brothers, you hear. Do not do something so dangerous. Her gaze shifted from one to the other, and she could not help but smile as they all stared at her with confusion. Tora spat, and Freyr hit his crib with his palms in frustration. The babies clearly wanted to get on with it.
"Fine fine." "You win." She turned and descended into the realms of dreams. Nobody flinched. The color combination elicited simple coos and cries of awe from the babies. She passed through the realm and arrived at the mortal plains. Aftet it cathe spirit realm and she went in.
"It's your turn now Freyja". Hildelith lifted the baby girl out of the crib and held her to her chest. Kissing her forehead she set her down on the ground in a lotus position and took a step back.
"Don't scare me alright". Hildelith shut her eyes and tried to focus. She already knew that due to the universe being her and her the universe she had control and reign over all forces present. Which meant she could find all of them within her the same way she did her nothingness.
Her body shattered and reformed into a massive black humanoid being of darkness. From a distance, one could only see what appeared to be a cloak of darkness covering a humanoid shape.
Large hands of nothingness reached for her torso, ripping apart the nothingness that protected her inner workings. Hildelith did not feel anything. Instead, she was fixated on the lights and miniature shapes within her.
Anyone who looked closely enough could see miniature star rings and orbs of light representing reality. Hildelith knew more. These were essentially the sources. Mirror of Nothing was a hidden perk that only appeared in her Form of Nothing.
As the Universe, she controlled all forces, and the lights within her were their sources. Their cores, if you will. It did not make her an expert on it, but rather gave her the ability to learn whatever she deemed necessary to use.
And right now, she needed to help Freya get her spirit manipulation started. Basically the same as she did for Ozai.
"Gugu..baba". Hildelith froze as she looked at Freya. The tiny Djun was suspended in mid-air. A highly diluted version of the Aether flowed around her like a stream. She gripped it with her fingers, and it moved around her like puppets. Shapes and forms were created. She giggled and laughed at them. Cooed for them to come closer and they did.
More shapes and forms appeared from the Ether, congregating around her. Hildelith observed with wide eyes. At this point, she realized she needed to stop being surprised by her children. Haero had already warned her about what to expect. She already knew Freyja was camepable of doing this.
A form emerged from behind Freyja and climbed up her back. The baby turned to face it, and it smacked her with a tendril. Hildelith took a step forwards as Freyja cried out. More shocked than pained. Hildelith was already two steps away from rushing in when the babe clapped on the form.
The Ether crushed in her palms flowed into her like tiny motes.
"Did she just kill a soul?"