Alexia

Silence fills the little clearing we’re in as the magma egg sitting in the pool of magma next to us continues bubbling.

Then Gramps lets out a sigh and answers, “Yes, the reason you two can change species so easily is because of your mother.”

I grow slightly confused at the way he said that.

“Wait, me as well?” I ask, feeling more than a little surprised.

He nods his head, “Yeah, it’s likely why it was possible for you to become a Quantum Reaper in the first place.” And when he sees my confusion growing, he adds, “You didn’t think the Quantum Architect chose you at random, did you?”

I feel a light blush heat up my cheeks as I glance away from Gramps.

“You did,” he mutters before chuckling. “A little advice when dealing with the System’s Creator, don’t believe everything he says.” A frown of his own appears on his face. “The man is very manipulative. Probably didn’t want you getting a big head, or finding out until now who your mother was.”

I feel my eye twitching in irritation.

So the bastard really did lie… I feel like punching him in the face.

Which, in all honesty, isn’t new.

Gramps opens his mouth to speak again, only for time to suddenly freeze around us.

I look around in confusion, briefly wondering what could possibly freeze time after a System Reset. Only for my gaze to lock onto a certain asshole as he appears in front of me.

The two of us stare at each other for several seconds without either of us saying a word.

Eventually I reach forward and punch him in the face, to which he simply ignores and takes the hit without a word.

Unlike the first times I met him, the Quantum Architect is wearing purple and black armor, with a strange purple hammer hooked to his waist. He still has his long hair, but the purple tint in it seems more vibrant and practically glowing now than it was before. Meanwhile his eyes are glowing with a fiercer light.

“Are you done?” he asks without showing any hint of emotion on his face.

His indifference makes me want to punch him again, but I refrain because I’m the mature one here.

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“Daughter, you are far from being the mature one here,” the Quantum Architect states, once more reading my mind. But his use of the word ‘daughter’ has me almost punching him again.

“Since when did I become your daughter?” I ask with a scowl on my face.

This time he frowns slightly before his face returns to that same indifferent look as he says, “Since you took in my essence and became a quantum being.”

It just sounds wrong when he says it like that.

“I’m not your daughter,” I bluntly tell him while crossing my arms and glancing at everything around us, which is tinted in a purple hue while time is frozen.

“Whether you acknowledge it or not, it’s true,” he states plainly as if talking to a child. “Now that you’ve learned enough not to trust me, the seal has been broken and I can move more freely again. So thank you for that.”

Before I can get angry at his first statement, I just feel confusion at his second.

“Seal?” I ask with a frown. “And this doesn’t feel like a clone to me.”

“That’s because this isn’t a clone, per se,” he answers, borderline shocking me. “But it also is.”

Now I’m just confused.

“What do you mean?” I ask, making him stare at me for a few seconds. And while he’s staring, I honestly can see a resemblance between us in terms of appearance. As if we really were father and daughter.

Which only pisses me off.

“Get used to it,” he says, pissing me off even more. Then he answers my question, “You did kill my old body, but did you really think that would be the end of me?” My mouth parts open slightly before I close it again, unable to bring myself to say anything. “I’ve been preparing for this for centuries now. Ever since I heard that the Devourer fell in love with a human.” He raises his hands and looks at them as he continues, “Preparing a new body to house my soul once my original body died.” He raises his head to look at me again. “And a successor to finally appease that damned father of mine.”

I frown at that last part.

The Quantum Architect’s… father? And successor to what?

But I guess the Quantum Architect really isn’t dead as everyone believes him to be.

“I’m still limited in what I can do, and I can’t maintain this form for long,” he explains while lowering his hands to his sides. “So I’m going to need to copy something of yours.”

I feel a chill run down my spine at that, especially when his gaze turns towards Luna who is on my shoulder.

“A soul bound companion should work,” he says before a wave of purple and blue energy rushes over him and he eventually reappears out of it in the form of a small bat that looks identical to Luna. Then he flaps his wings and lands on my shoulder. “This should work for now.”

I stare at him for several seconds, unsure of how to take what just happened.

But he just closes his eyes as if going to sleep.

“I needed a vessel and connection to recover, so while this wasn’t the reason I made you my daughter, it is a necessary thing,” he answers my confusion without even opening his eyes.

I just continue staring at the bat on my shoulder before trying to swat him off, only for my hand to quite literally pass through him. As if he were a ghost.

And the man-now-bat in question doesn’t even bother saying anything in response to my swatting. Just sits there on my shoulder while the purple tint in the air vanishes with a shattering sound. Marking the end of the time freeze.

Then I look at Gramps to find him staring at the new bat on my shoulder.

Neither of us say anything for a while before he looks at my face and asks, “Are you collecting bats or something?”

I refrain from punching him as well.