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Her remaining time in the egg passed quickly. Or at least it felt that way. There were two main reasons for that. The first one was that she had a lot to think about. What did the blue box mean? The blue box had mentioned something called the System, with a capitalized S. That suggested the name was important. She'd been to technologically advanced universes before, and the word implied something artificial. Something like artificial intelligence for example. Though she did suppose it could be magical as well, or even both. And implied intelligence didn’t mean actual self-awareness. Either way, she had run into the concept of worlds governed by a system of some sort, and even the concept of blue boxes, even if she’d never been in a universe like that before. She’d read some stories though. And in most of those stories, the presence of a System, with a capital S, implied something game-like.
If true, she wasn’t sure how to feel about it aside from one thing. At least it would be new. She had no idea how a game-like System would react to her inherent abilities, if it did at all. It would be interesting to find out though. The fact that she didn’t have access to them at the moment either meant she didn't have those abilities here, or that they were somehow integrated into the System and momentarily unavailable.
Another thing to consider was that the blue box had claimed she had been summoned as a Champion. She’d been sent to several universes, and she’d been a champion of some sort many times, but she’d never been summoned directly before. Father had always sent her. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about being the Champion, with a capital C again, of some force that she knew nothing about. If even Father couldn’t command her obedience, then she certainly wouldn’t acquiesce to some random summoner’s whims either. And why in an egg if she was supposed to be a Champion? Wouldn’t her real adult body be a much better fit for the job? That said, if the cause was worthy, she might work with this summoner as long as they didn’t expect her to follow their commands. The words Great Game also didn’t inspire confidence, as they suggested politics and hijinks. She hated politics. She much preferred pummeling her way through problems. Hijinks were something she had more preference for. Those could be fun.
The second reason time seemed to pass quickly, and another reason why she was somewhat certain something odd was going on, was because every time she went to sleep, there was more information in her head. Most of that information was something she already knew, but she was still aware that she’d been given information that a small child would normally learn as a baby. The basics of how to walk, how to talk, how to not defecate on the floor, and the basics of socialization. The sort of thing a parent would teach their child as a baby. Some of the information was more advanced though.
Apparently, her new species, which to her relief was still an Angel of some sort, was hatched from eggs, and this sort of knowledge transfer was common. The babies would hatch basically with the knowledge and skills of a two-year-old. Well, two-year-old Angel that is, as it seemed they were rather intense in what a child that young should know, as she also got basic information on things like survival. Shelter, source of fresh water, what to eat and what not to eat in the wilderness. It would appear that it wasn’t uncommon for these eggs to be lost in the wilderness, and part of the knowledge transfer was to prepare the baby to survive in said wilds. Oh, and she of course got a basic language package, though that didn’t matter as Father had given her and her siblings several Gifts, one of which was the Gift of Tongues, allowing her to speak, understand, read, and write all languages perfectly.
Interestingly, the lessons she got had nothing about the System or anything to do with it really.
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She wasn’t sure how, but one moment she simply knew that her time in the egg was over. A strong instinct bordering on a compulsion forced her to spread her limbs and struggle free of her containment. It took a bit of effort, but not enough to be a true struggle. A single push audibly caused the egg to crack. Another one cause the crack to widen enough for the viscous liquid to start flowing out. A third push widened the crack enough to allow some light to peek through the cracks.
Apparently, her struggle didn’t go unnoticed, as she heard an immature voice shouting. “Mom! Hatching time!” The voice was fairly androgynous but did slightly tend towards male. A young sibling perhaps?
She didn’t wait though and pushed more, causing the crack to widen further, allowing her limbs more room to maneuver, and giving her more leverage. Her wings especially helped her in pushing the walls further away from her. The rest of the liquid drained away, and she could draw her first breath and finally open her eyes. The lights in the room were relatively dim, so it wasn’t painful on her new eyes, though the goop on her face made seeing things somewhat challenging. Hopefully, a bath was in her near future.
She did notice a blurry but quite obviously female figure rushing into the room. She could see the woman’s dove-like white wings and her long and flowing blond hair. Making out details beyond that was a bit of a struggle. The woman rushed towards her and started to help with what remained of the egg, easily removing the rest of it, and catching her before she fell to the floor. No wait. The egg had been placed on some kind of a pedestal as she was almost looking at the woman in her blurry face. Wouldn’t a drop from this height be dangerous?
“There we go little one. Let mommy help you!” The woman gushed with the cooing high-pitched voice that you used to talk to babies and small animals. She produced some kind of soft fabric from next to the pedestal, which she used to wipe some of the goop off her face. It felt nice to touch and helped clear her vision. She still smelled quite bad though. The goop wasn’t exactly perfume when it came to her sense of smell, and her olfactory senses finally seemed to be working. She kinda wished they didn’t at that moment.
She could now see the woman’s, apparently her mother’s, face more clearly and the woman was quite beautiful in the typical angelic fashion. Angels rarely were unattractive unless they chose to be. She also looked rather stern but also fairly young. That said, if the Angels of this universe were anything like proper Angels, then appearances could be very deceiving in that regard. Amenadiel and Uriel both looked older than her real body, even if they were much younger. Agelessness was funny that way.
She could also now see her sibling(provisional). The sibling looked almost as androgynous as they sounded, but you could see some boyish features. He too had wavy blond hair, though much shorter than mother(provisional), cut to around shoulder length. He looked to be around perhaps four or five years old, though how the egg factored into that number was a mystery. And how did Angels in this place age anyway? Her old body hadn’t aged a day since it had been created, and her siblings had stopped aging after a point.
“There you go little one. Is everything alright?” The mother spoke softly, apparently fully aware that the baby had been taught how to speak during her time in the egg.
“Goopy. A bath would be nice.” She complained eloquently, causing her new family(provisional) to giggle.
“Figures her first word would be goopy.” Her brother(provisional) commented with a happy smile.
“We already have a nice bath ready for you little one. Your wings could certainly use it. I know how nasty goopy wings can feel.” She probably didn’t intend for that to sound lewd, but that’s how it came off anyway. “Before that though, introductions are in order. I'm your mother, Ophiel, and this is your big brother Raziel. And you, my little baby girl, will be named Seraphiel!" The woman, now officially her mother, declared. Also, no other family members?
‘Father, you hypocrite! For all your refusal to meddle in the affairs of mortals, you sure like to meddle in mine!’ She silently cursed the Creator. At least she got to keep her name. Too much of a coincidence without Father having a hand in it. As far as meddling went, this one was more benign. Still hypocritical.
Speaking of fathers, this new family seemed to be lacking in the dad department. She’d have to figure that part out eventually. Maybe he was just at work or something? Her thoughts were interrupted before she could get any further. The goop was still giving her a constant itch which in turn caused her to sneeze in a way that even she herself would’ve described as cute. It was also a little cold with the warmth of the egg now gone, and the goop now drying and cooling on her skin. “Mother. Brother. Greetings. Now for that bath, please. Warm, if at all possible.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“She’s ar-articulate mom!” Her brother declared in a somewhat childish voice. He seemed relatively mature for his apparent age, though his face and voice clearly had that child-like innocence. Something she would never be able to replicate.
That brought up one of the decisions she’d made while in the egg. Once she would get her mother alone, she would need to inform her that she was mentally much older than she seemed. It would be impossible for her to hide that fact anyway, and she didn’t even want to waste time trying. Gift of Tongues was very helpful, but it did make baby-talk impossible. She could speak with an accent and even slang, but something like baby-talk was beyond her abilities. She’d also lost any child-like innocence she might have once had tens of thousands of years ago. What she’d been forced to live through had made her too jaded to pretend to be an innocent child and faking it would be too bothersome.
"Alright, alright. My baby needs a bath, and as a mother, I shall oblige." The woman laughed and scooped her up, staining her white and simple dress in the process, but she didn't seem to care.
Seraphiel was carried through the surprisingly modern-looking apartment and into a huge, white-tiled bathroom with several showers and a large bath built into the floor. The walls were covered with painted images of Angels doing battle against various foes, wielding weapons like swords and spears and what looked like magic at a glance. As for technology in the room, running water was obvious, though it seemed most of the systems worked with a combination of magic and technology. There were golden-colored faucets, but Ophiel controlled them with a swipe of a finger over magical-looking dials, and the effects seemed instant.
Her mother carried her directly into the large in-built bath, getting in and settling into the shallow end while keeping Seraphiel in her lap to prevent her from accidentally drowning. She started to vigorously scrub her with a nearby sponge and sweet-smelling soap, taking special care to clean out each of her feathers without mussing them. It felt quite pleasant. It had been some time since someone had fussed like that over her. The bath included a lot of laughter and a bit of playing around, as water was accidentally thrown around by their movements. Soon enough though, Ophiel declared her clean enough for purpose and lifted her out of the bath and set her down on her own feet before getting out herself.
Seraphiel had expected her mother to change clothing and clean herself again at this point, but instead the woman just said a few words laden with magic and it seems like a wave of energy washed over her form, leaving her and her clothes perfectly clean and dry. Seraphiel lifted an eyebrow at that. “You could’ve done that from the start?” She asked a bit pointedly.
“And miss the fun of your first bath? I don’t think so. Besides, it’s important to get your wings clean properly, and magic goes only so far.” Her mother smiled angelically. Then she made her wings disappear, as if they’d never been there.
She gave a small sigh. She supposed that a small moment of normalcy would be fine as she was about to turn this woman’s world around. “Right. I need to tell you something.” Incidentally, a quick look at her own wings told her that they remained just as golden as her real body’s wings tended to be. At least most of the time. That one tended to change quite a lot interestingly enough.
Ophiel hid her smile, clearly not believing a toddler would have something actually important to talk about. “Judging by your looks it’s serious.” She joked.
“I’m much older than I seem.” She stated directly. “I’m not a normal newborn, or newly-hatched, whichever is more accurate in this universe.”
Her mother blinked owlishly for a few moments before the gears in her head obviously started turning. “You mean you’ve lived a life somewhere else before being born here? Like a reincarnation or something?”
“Yes, though not exactly reincarnation. And just to make sure you don’t misunderstand; I don’t just mean the information I was given while in the egg.” She admitted, waiting for the inevitable questions.
Ophiel looked a little conflicted for a moment. “I have to ask this first. Does that mean you took over what was supposed to become my baby? What happened to them?”
“Just to avoid any misunderstandings, this is only my second time being born, although I’ve lived through multiple lifetimes and many universes. You do not need to fear that your child was harmed in any way. As far as I understand such things, my soul gets placed inside a vessel only when there isn’t one already inhabiting it. Meaning, either there wouldn’t have been a child without me in the first place, or, and I’m sorry to say this is even possible, the child had perished, and the soul had passed on before I was placed here. I have experienced both though with adult bodies. My soul has been inserted into a dead body which was then healed, and I’ve also been given a body from thin air, so to speak.” Her words caused Ophiel to look sad for a moment.
“You speak as if something like this has happened to you several times. Too many times judging by how tired your voice is. Why? What could cause something like that to happen?” It seemed that her mother was taking it well, despite also looking a little sad. It seemed her sympathy was overriding any worry about her new child’s identity. And it was obvious that the woman still considered her their child.
“It has been…way too long. As for why, well usually I’m sent because a universe needs help. They need a savior of some kind, and Father sends me to fix things. Whether I’m to be that savior directly, or I’m to help that savior depends on the situation.” She couldn’t help some of the bitterness leaking into her voice.
Ophiel knelt in front of her, still being much taller, and pulled her into a gentle hug. “My little savior. You’re exhausted, aren’t you? I can hear it in your voice. You’re still going to be my daughter, even if you’re special. No matter what, we’ll still be your family while you’re here. My daughter is just a bit more than normal.” She seemed to be almost convincing herself. Perhaps she was.
Seraphiel could use the hug, even if it wasn’t quite necessary. She allowed herself to sink into it. It was nice. Warm hugs were always welcome. They stayed like that for several minutes, before Ophiel seemed to realize something. “Wait. I think that might mean you’re a Champion!”
“That’s something a blue box mentioned while I was still in the egg, yes.” She admitted while pulling away a bit to look at her mother for clarification.
“Ooh, you got your first System announcement! Did it tell you whose Champion you are?” Her mother suddenly seemed very excited. Seraphiel gathered that being a Champion was likely an honor.
"It did not, and I didn’t get any further announcements. It was just a welcoming message. You seem to be familiar with the concept though.”
“Ah, well, everyone in this universe is, though you did mention that you came from the outside. Hmm, how should I explain this. Ooh, I’m excited that there’s something to teach you. You’re not familiar with the System either?” Her mother seemed inordinately happy at the idea for some reason.
“I’m not, no.” She admitted again.
“Right. Ok. According to what we’ve been taught, our universe is special, and we’ve known about the existence of others for as long as we’ve existed. Our universe is something like a wandering one that sometimes comes into contact with those other universes. The most exciting pieces of those universes get added to ours, expanding it and making it more interesting. More interesting for the gods that is, as the results aren’t always so positive for us. The gods are playing this huge, complicated game, where their chosen Champions compete against each other. The gods bring these Champions from other universes, and the better their Champion does, the more authority and power the god they represent gets. The worlds and races those gods rule over also gain from the Champion's success. Although…usually the Champions are brought here as adults." Her mother looked thoughtful.
“Ok, what about this System then?” Seraphiel asked.
“That’s a much more difficult topic, and you’ll be having lessons on that subject until you become old enough. Simply, it’s something that manages the universe and everything inside of it, while giving us power. You don’t need to worry about the details for a while though, as you’ll only get access to the System when you become older. It still exists even for you, but its effects are diminished, and you won’t be able to access the features until your System Day.”
“And when will that be?” She asked, obviously getting curious. This was a new thing for her after all. She rarely experienced truly new things anymore.
“That depends on your race. For us Angels, it’s on your twentieth birthday. We are more powerful than most races, but we grow up a little slower. I’m not sure if it’s meant to compensate or if it’s just the natural order of things.” Ophiel explained with a thoughtful look. Clearly, she’d given the idea some consideration before now.
“Is that counting the time spent in the egg?” Among the information she’d gained was the fact that Angels spent two years as eggs.
“That is counted, yes. For instance, your brother is six, which includes the two years as an egg. That also makes you two years old.” Ophiel smiled at the question. It was rather obvious her new daughter was more intelligent than normal, even if she lacked some of the knowledge common to everyone. It would make her easier to raise, which would always be good. Perhaps having a more mature daughter wasn’t such a bad thing?
“So, on your eighteenth birthday in practical terms. I don’t suppose that marks your adulthood or something?” She asked, finding the number a bit coincidental.
"Oh no! That marks the start of puberty. As I said, Angels mature more slowly. Draenei get their System Day around the same time, but races like Humans and Elves get theirs much earlier. Magical beast races like dragons get theirs almost straight after being born since they have to live in the wilds. I think we and the Draenei get ours the latest, although we get new races every now and then, so I don't know if that's still true. As I said, our universe gets added to. That brings in new races, new Champions, new gods, and even new types of powers, which all then get integrated into the System.”
A rough estimate using her brother as a measuring stick meant that the Angels matured at about half the speed of humans, though they effectively started at two. So physical maturity maybe somewhere around forty. That was going to take a while.
“I’m going to have to ask you to do something for me.” Her mother suddenly whispered. “I’d like you to hide your previous lives from your brother. He’s been so excited about being a big brother ever since I laid your egg, that I don’t want to take that away from him. He’s also a bit too young for such concepts. He can adapt to a smart little sister, and will likely even prefer that, but his heart would be broken if he found out you’re older than him.”
“I suppose, though I won’t be able to hide it for too long. He’ll figure out something’s going on sooner or later. There’s a reason I told you straight away, and that wasn’t just because I wanted to be honest.” Seraphiel shrugged. She didn’t feel bad about the small lie, though she would prefer if there was no need for it.
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll start putting the pieces together when older, but by that time he’ll be mature enough to deal with it as well. For now, he’s simply too young. Let him have his moment.” Ophiel urged her, and since it seemed like something important to her new family, she agreed.