"Chosen? What does that mean?"
Vairon's brows knitted, confusion etched on his face.
The old man didn't respond. Instead, he turned to Kaelira. His eyes kept their same unmoving murkiness, but it seemed like a flicker of soft light had entered them.
"Child… what do you feel as you gaze upon the egg?"
Kaelira, startled by the sudden question, hesitated to speak for a moment. Her gaze was complicated as she looked at the egg on the altar. But the tenderness in her eyes never faded for even a single moment.
"Honestly? I myself do not understand it. It feels as though it is the most important thing in my life. As if it has always had an irreplaceable place in my heart and soul. It… no, he is a part of me. A part of me I didn't even know was missing."
The old man's brow raised slightly, clearly not expecting her answer. He noticed that the egg trembled almost imperceptibly. His lips curled slightly before turning to Vairon.
"And you, ape? What do you feel?"
Vairon's brow twitched before he composed himself, gazing at the egg seriously.
"...I don't know. I don't feel as strongly toward it as Kaelira… but I do feel a strange source of… pride? Protectiveness? I don't know—my feelings are confusing even to myself. I only know that it—he—is important to Kaelira. For now, that will suffice."
Kaelira's eyes widened, a flash of something she didn't recognize gleaming within them. The old man nodded his head stiffly. As his eyes fell on the two, he seemed to have come to some sort of decision.
"Both of you, grab hold of the egg."
Vairon was about to question him again, but fell into speechless silence upon seeing Kaelira appear next to the egg without a second thought. Shaking his head, he turned and walked over to the egg himself with unhurried steps.
For the first time, the old man's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Vairon. Seeing him move with practiced ease, he even began to doubt that anything about the boy had changed at all.
'Hooo? This brat…'
A twisted smile distorted the old man's face as his aura leaked slightly.
Vairon, unaware of the sinister intent, felt a shiver travel down his spine. He stared back at the now-impassive face of the old man. Finding nothing out of place, he refocused his attention on the egg between himself and Kaelira.
Seeing the unconcealed joy in her eyes, Vairon threw all his stray thoughts away as he smiled.
"Ready?"
Kaelira looked up excitedly, nodding her head so hard he was sure it would fall off. Together they placed their hands on either side of the egg. A jolt immediately ripped through their bodies, their minds blanking as their vision turned white.
When they came to, they were standing in the center of a grand throne room—the structure and architecture unlike anything they had ever seen.
The space within the hall felt strange. Vairon instantly realized it was created to hold beings much, much larger than they were.
"It's time for some answers, it seems."
The old man's voice suddenly sounded from behind them. As they turned to face him, a brief sharp pain caught them off guard as they both snapped their attention to the egg they held.
They could feel that whatever—or whoever—was within was siphoning their blood rapidly. And not just their bloodlines, but even the origin blood resting within their hearts was flowing toward the egg.
Before they could understand what was happening, they both felt a strange connection beginning to form between themselves and the egg. Their blood cried out as though it were calling to a member of their family.
"Ahh, it seems the young master has chosen you after all. How surprising. For him to even take your origin blood as well."
"What is going on, old man!? What is this?"
"Korvraathis."
"...Huh?"
"My name, ape. It is Korvraathis."
"O—oh, well met."
Vairon's train of thought was shattered by the old man's random statement. But his next words completely shut down any coherent brain activity he or Kaelira may have had.
"First, you were chosen by the palace to become its guardians. Second, you are to address me as master from this day forth. I will be training the two of you until I deem you both worthy to carry that mantle. And third…"
The muscles in Vairon and Kaelira's faces twitched rapidly as he spoke, before going rigid the next instant.
"The young master has chosen you to be his parents. You are now a mother and a father. Congratulations."
"..."
"..."
"...Huh?"
Crack
The massacre of the Eastern Realm's mysterious secret realm was spoken about for decades. The deaths of so many inheritors had left the realms of Genara reeling. Many sect heads and clan leaders spouted fountains of blood upon seeing all the shattered life jades.
As they waited outside the entrance to the secret realm, only ten people had come back—ejected after only three days within it. Many were confused, claiming they had spent months inside.
While they all had varying degrees of injuries, two of the ten survivors appeared heavily injured and on the verge of death. One of them was the esteemed Sylas Karth, the young master of the Karth clan.
The other was Lunara Arcanis, the second young mistress of the Arcanis clan. Both were in deep comas, with Sylas even missing an arm.
But their clans breathed sighs of relief seeing their young geniuses alive at all. As those survivors left with their clans, and all the others that had come to watch the show departed, only two groups remained.
The first was the mighty Aetherion clan—both the patriarch and matriarch waiting desperately for their third son to appear. The second was Snow Heart Palace, an all-female sect from the Northern Realm. They too waited for their successor.
They waited outside for months, and as the months turned to years, their numbers began to dwindle. Their leaders also left, not wanting their homes vulnerable to hostile forces.
Only the matriarch of the Aetherion clan and the Grand Elder of Snow Heart Palace stayed behind. The Grand Elder's sworn sister, a guest elder of their palace, even traveled over to keep her company as she waited.
With their hearts weighed down by worry and heartache, the women confided in each other. Over the five years they waited, they had become as close as real sisters.
Then one day, there was a change in the portal. All three women shot to their feet. Their hearts leapt into their throats as they waited, hoping and praying to see the two figures they had so desperately wished to see.
And their wishes were answered… sort of. From the portal, Vairon and Kaelira emerged.
They looked different—felt different. As if they had experienced centuries pass.
Before the three women could take in their changes, one glaring oddity caused their eyes to widen as their jaws nearly dropped to the floor.
Nestled tightly within Kaelira's arms was a swaddle of silk cloth holding… a baby?
As they shifted their gazes between the newborn in Kaelira's arms and the two standing before them with interlocked hands, they felt their minds short-circuit.
In signature Kaelira fashion, she casually dropped a bomb that shattered their minds.
"We got MARRIED!! And this is our son!"
Vairon slapped a hand to his face, bracing himself for the expected result.
And, as he expected, the pair of master and matriarch went down without a fight—their eyes rolling into the backs of their heads.
Kaelira's martial aunt held on bravely. Her knees shook and bent slightly as she clung to consciousness. She thought of hundreds, thousands of questions to ask before settling on the most important one.
"W-What's his name?"
Vairon stared at the peerless beauty in shock before his expression shifted to suspicion. He was beginning to understand where Kaelira picked up some of her nonsensical questioning habits.
Kaelira's eyes softened, reddening slightly as she gazed at her child with a love and adoration that could drown a world.
"His name is…"