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A tentative lick on the back of ‘His’ hand snapped Zhou Mingrui from ‘His’ thoughts as ‘He’ perused a thick book in one of the many rooms of Sefirah Castle.
‘He’ glanced down. The grey fog parted to reveal a Hound of Fulgrim laying there, its incorporeal form shifting and changing with every second. Its red eyes gave off a feeling of hesitancy and urgency, an odd behaviour from the normally lively hound.
The hound sat up from where it lay patiently, it had most likely been trying to get ‘His’ attention for quite some time before resorting to the lick. Zhou Mingrui’s spiritual senses had been dulled recently, mostly due to attempting to balance the Celestial Worthy’s will.
Then again, the hounds had a tendency to appear and disappear at will, manifesting at odd moments to trip Zhou Mingrui as ‘He’ went about ‘His’ day before quickly disappearing back into the Historical Void. Despite their mildly terrifying looks, mouths full of teeth that stretched from ear to ear, they were surprisingly playful, much like ‘His’ friends’ dogs Zhou Mingrui had played with in the before times.
The hound cocked its head to the side before lumbering to its feet and turning away. It glanced back briefly as if to check whether the god had stood up to follow.
Once confirming Zhou Mingrui’s presence, the hound continued walking, speeding up its pace once master and dog had left the room.
Not long after the two had left the confines of Sefirah Castle, they arrived at the border of the god’s Divine Kingdom. There the grey fog thinned out into almost darkness.
As Zhou Mingrui drew closer to the border, following the Hound of Fulgrim closely, ‘He’ noticed the rest of the pack lingering there, seemingly agitated as they flashed in and out of existence.
The hounds surrounded two children, one standing still with golden hair and innocent eyes observing the frenzy. The second, with dark curly hair and a curious pointed hat, seemed to be the source of the chaos.
The dark-haired child dashed around the place, chasing the hounds. He occasionally blipped out of existence to appear right behind one, before he attempted to halt their frenzied movements to pet them.
Zhou Mingrui quickly recognized the ability the child had employed, Theft. This was an ability from a Pathway that the god was intimately familiar with as ‘He’ also possessed the same abilities being the Half-Lord of the Mysteries. Based on the physical appearances and Pathways of both children - Marauder Pathway for the chaotic, mischievous one, and most likely Spectator for the calm, observant one, the god had deduced the identities of the two troublemakers.
“Amon,” Zhou Mingrui said from where ‘He’ stood shrouded in the grey fog at the border of Sefirah Castle.
At ‘His’ voice, the little angel ceased his antics, turning to flash a cheeky smile at the god who had appeared.
The pack of hounds, relieved that their master had finally arrived to free them from their predicament, quickly huddled behind Zhou Mingrui. They all panted slightly, pink tongues lolling out, evidence of the chaotic game of chase they had all participated in.
The god sighed. The children had most likely employed a crude mix of their Beyonder abilities to keep the hounds from escaping into the Historical Void, but because of lack of experience, had allowed for one of them to enter Sefirah Castle’s borders to fetch their master. Or the children had always intended for the god to arrive at the border. Zhou Mingrui was unsure over which scenario ‘He’ preferred, feeling a headache beginning to build.
Amon, the dark-haired mischievous one, was named the Angel of Time by his father the Creator. He had been born as a Sequence 1 angel on the Marauder Pathway with the Error Uniqueness after Zhou Mingrui had declined Grisha’s offers of gifting the Uniqueness to the current Half-Lord of the Mysteries. Zhou Mingrui was fully aware that accommodating a second Uniqueness in ‘His’ state would lead to ‘His’ earlier demise. This angel was well-known for his pranks and tricks terrorizing the angels that followed his father.
Adam, the silent one, was named the Angel of Imagination, and was born with the Visionary Uniqueness. Little was known about him because of his quiet nature and tendency to slip in and out of places without detection thanks to his Pathway. He was most often found near his brother, silently helping him carry out his pranks in their father’s Divine Kingdom.
The two brothers were nicknamed the “Twin Terrors” by whoever had the misfortune of meeting them. While they appeared as almost physical opposites - one the appearance of darkness from hair to clothes and the other light - they had been born around the same time, and seemed to almost be joined at the hip.
The two children both appeared to be physically around five to six years of age, though their mental capacities clearly far surpassed that. They were often handed off to Medici, the Red Angel, who, to the dismay of Zhou Mingrui, was notably absent.
The god sighed, ‘He’ had been apparently blessed by whichever higher power still operated that wasn’t actively trying to corrupt ‘Him,’ to not have the … pleasure … of meeting Grisha’s hellspawn.
Until today.
“What are you two doing?” ‘He’ questioned wearily, gently petting the agitated hounds butting their heads against ‘His’ hands. Realizing there were too many hounds for hands, and feeling sorry for the ones left uncomforted, the god extended a few translucent tentacles from beneath ‘His’ cloak, allowing them to pet a few of the hounds.
Amon, transfixed by the sight of the tentacles that appeared partially illusory but still very much real, was silent as if he had never witnessed such a sight before.
The little angel most likely hadn’t seen a god’s Mythical Creature form before, unless they had visited Amanises at some point. Grisha had strict rules for ‘His’ Divine Kingdom, disallowing the usage of Mythical Creature forms within its barriers since the last … incident, had almost destroyed the whole place.
Adam, silent till now, spoke up for his brother. “Amon wanted to play with the hounds, so we followed them here. We couldn’t go further though, so I helped keep them here for him.”
Zhou Mingrui sighed, ‘He’ had been right about the kids using their abilities to torment ‘His’ poor hounds.
Amon, brought back from his reverie upon hearing his brother’s words, finally explained himself. “They’re so weird! They look like smoke but then when you touch them they’re fluffy. I wanted to pet them more, but they kept running away! I wanted to tug on their tails to see what would happen.”
The god resisted the urge to facepalm, attempting to maintain ‘His’ aloof aura. The answer was childish in nature, vaguely innocent. But it also carried the undercurrent of cold, clinical inhumanity. The little angel clearly saw the hounds’ predicament as something amusing. Grisha really had just unleashed these two overpowered Mythical Creature kids on the rest of the world, uncaring of whether they knew how to live or interact with other living creatures. ‘He’ was going to stomp over to ‘His’ Divine Kingdom and berate ‘Him’ for one, no two, full hours!
Zhou Mingrui sensed Amon approaching ‘Him,’ no, the hounds, with his hands outstretched. The hounds backed away, fully hiding their incorporeal forms behind their master, whining softly.
The border rejected the angel’s advance, preventing him from continuing to move forward.
Normally the border of Sefirah Castle would react more violently when faced with intruders, throwing them far into the void, but the god had temporarily tampered with the effects out of consideration for the twin terrors. Regardless of their status as angels, Kings of Angels in fact, the god still viewed them as young children.
Amon pressed against the invisible border, his face plastered against nothing as he pouted slightly. He hated being denied what he wanted, and right now he wanted to play with the funny looking dogs once more.
Zhou Mingrui looked behind ‘Him,’ locking eyes with the leader of the pack. ‘He’ gave a silent command, and the pack quickly disappeared into the Historical Void. Two Hounds of Fulgrim remained at ‘His’ feet, the two that often guarded over Zhou Mingrui during ‘His’ prolonged naps.
Amon’s pout deepened on his face, annoyed that the dogs had escaped him.
The god knelt down, at the eye-level of the two children standing at the border, and softly patted the head of one of the remaining hounds. The hound perked up at the attention, its tail beginning to wag slightly in delight.
The other hound, not to be left out, butted its head against Zhou Mingrui’s other unoccupied hand. ‘He’ stretched it out, and began to gently scratch between its ears, before reaching under its chin. Upon finding the hound’s favourite location to be scratched, the hound wiggled and closed its fiery red eyes in delight. Both of the hounds’ tails wagged fervently, becoming dark blurs in the dense grey fog.
The god slowed ‘His’ actions, glancing up at the two children who observed ‘Him’ silently - one in introspective contemplation and one in clear impatience.
“You may pet the hounds if you are gentle,” ‘He’ sighed as ‘He’ explained. “They don’t enjoy getting their tails pulled. They are much weaker than the two of you, so you need to show restraint.”
The god didn’t really expect the Mythical Creature children to fully understand being gentle towards weaker creatures, but ‘He’ could very well try! Since clearly Grisha was neglecting ‘His’ fatherly duties completely.
“If you promise to be gentle, I will allow you into Sefirah Castle to play with them for a short while,” Zhou Mingrui continued, straightening up out of ‘His’ kneel.
‘He’ locked eyes with the children, in subtle warning.
“I promise! I promise!” exclaimed Amon, his eyes glinting with faux sincerity.
“I promise,” said Adam, his eyes shining brightly. It seemed like the Angel of Imagination had really wanted to play with the hounds earlier but had held back for the sake of his brother.
The god sighed at Amon’s antics, vowing to just keep a closer eye on the Angel of Time. After all, ‘He’ could very easily kick the two out of ‘His’ Divine Kingdom at any point.
Zhou Mingrui carefully opened a doorway in the barrier, allowing the two children to pass through unhindered, before securely sealing the hole.
The two children approached the hounds, who were now slightly nervous. A reassuring hand on their heads kept them from instinctually fleeing from the two beings who had trapped them earlier.
Adam reached out a tentative hand to the closer one, emulating what he had observed the god do prior. The hound, upon feeling the delicate pat, quickly decided that past grievances can be forgiven in the face of more pats, and butted its head against the angel’s hand. The angel gasped slightly in surprise, before renewing his patting motion, this time with more intent. The hound, delighted, wagged its tail excitedly.
Amon rapidly approached the other unoccupied hound, Zhou Mingrui keeping a wary eye on him. As he swiftly reached out his hand, the hound quickly dipped its head, causing it to miss its approach. A few more attempts net the same results. The angel, now frustrated, looked up at the god observing him with a pout once more adorning his small pale face.
Zhou Mingrui almost laughed at the angel’s expression, barely keeping ‘His’ divine persona in place. The little angel almost looked like he was about to stamp his foot down in the grey fog and throw a little temper tantrum.
“The hounds, though friendly, are still wild spirit animals,” ‘He’ explained gently, “some of them require some patience before they allow you to pet them.”
‘He’ knelt down once more, placing a firm but gentle hand on the restless hound’s back. A few strokes and whispered reassurances, and the hound settled back down.
The god glanced back at the little aggrieved angel, “You may try again. Go slowly.”
This time the angel, mimicking his brother’s successful attempt, approached slowly. The angel’s hand landed on its target. It began to gently stroke the hound’s fur, feeling the soft, black fur under its inquisitive motions. Amon opened his mouth in delight at the sensation, speeding up his motions.
The hound’s tail began to wag, tentatively.
A few more pats, and the hound’s tail was a blur once more.
Zhou Mingrui sighed, a dog’s forgiveness really can be earned that easily.
The hound being pet by Amon, the more youthful and excitable of the hound duo, leapt up from where it sat next to the crouched god, toppling the angel underneath it.
A few licks from the excited hound wet the angel’s face, triggering a few giggles as Amon continued to pet and scratch the hound gently.
Adam looked over from where he now lay against his hound, hugging it around its neck, still gently petting its head.
“Mr. Fool?” asked Adam, though his tone suggested it was less of a question and more of an observation.
“Hm?” returned the aforementioned god, “What is it Adam?” ‘He’ continued watching the hound and angel duo playing on the ground, though now less warily, as the two grew more accustomed to each other.
A pause, as the Angel of Imagination carefully considered his next question.
“Why have we never met before?”
Because some other force watching over me clearly pitied me enough to keep me from meeting Grisha’s hellspawn and being confronted with ‘His’ ineptitude as a parent, Zhou Mingrui lampooned.
“I’ve been busy,” came the simple answer, wanting to spare the children’s - because they were still children in Zhou Mingrui’s mind, feelings.
Adam nodded in acceptance, probably already privy to some of the god’s tumultuous thoughts if he was daring enough to use his Spectator abilities on him.
A few more minutes of pets from the two brothers, Amon now rolling around on the ground in delight with his hound, hat abandoned, and Zhou Mingrui pulled out a few objects from the Historical Void.
The children, intrigued, paused their motions.
A short rope, a small ball and a few things that resembled the branches of the trees found in their Father’s gardens appeared in the Fool’s hands.
The children tilted their heads in confusion.
The god stood up, explaining as ‘He’ threw the small ball a short distance into the grey fog, “You can play games with the hounds as well.”
Amon’s hound took off in quick pursuit of the ball, before swiftly reappearing with it between its mouth at the Fool’s feet, tail wagging in expectancy.
The Fool gave a quick pat as a reward, before throwing the stick in ‘His’ hand for the other eager hound who had been released from Adam’s embrace.
As the hound bounded after the stick, the god turned to Amon and showed him the short rope. “They also enjoy something called “tug-o-war,”” ‘He’ said, before demonstrating with the eager hound waiting in front of ‘Him.’
The two brothers observed as the Fool firmly clutched one end of the rope before brandishing the other end at the hound. The hound swiftly bit down on the rope before the two engaged in a playful back and forth tugging motion. Small, playful growls echoed from the hound into the grey fog of Sefirah Castle.
Adam’s hound had also returned with its prize firmly between its mouth, offering it to Adam.
He looked at the Fool inquisitively.
“That’s called “fetch,”” ‘He’ explained, “You just throw something like a ball or simple stick as hard as you can, and the hounds will bring it back.”
As Adam did as ‘He’ had described, the hound took off but immediately materialized back in front of the angel, tail wagging with the stick in its mouth.
“Though they will occasionally cheat and use the Historical Void,” the Fool laughed softly, used to the hound’s antics.
The children took turns playing fetch and tug-o-war with the hounds. As if lured by the sound of childish laughter, and the two hounds’ occasional use of the Historical Void, a few more of the pack materialized.
Soon the grey fog, often desolate and eerily silent, was filled with excited pants, the pitter patter of feet running and breathless innocent laughter.
The Fool stood there watching the proceedings, occasionally giving a pat to a hound that had tired from playing, silent, thinking.
“Maybe it is still possible to teach born Mythical Creature children how to be human,” the god mused, completely endeared by the sight of the two young children playing.
Before long, both hounds and little angels flopped on the expanse of the grey fog, exhausted from their playing.
One by one, the hounds disappeared back into the Historical Void, leaving the original two behind.
These two lay panting, underneath the twin angels, acting as their living pillows as they all caught their breath.
Zhou Mingrui smiled at the adorable sight, before asking what ‘He’ had been meaning to earlier before being distracted by Amon’s furious pout.
“Where is Medici?”
At the sound of the Red Angel’s name, Amon’s face twisted slightly, as if he had smelt something disgusting.
“I don’t like him!!” came the childish reply, the mighty pout once again making an appearance.
At the angel’s agitation, the hound he lay upon twisted its head, giving a gentle lick on his face. Amon’s face quickly returned to a neutral expression.
“He burned my hair!” Amon swept up his bangs, revealing the singed layer beneath.
At the Fool’s flummoxed expression, Adam explained, “Medici didn’t take too well to one of the pranks and accidentally burned Amon’s hair when he reacted.”
Zhou Mingrui sighed once again, at this rate all of ‘His’ happiness was going to dissipate into the grey fog because of these two!
The two brothers had begun to bicker slightly, sitting up from their earlier sprawl.
“He didn’t have to burn my hair!”
“It was a reasonable response Amon.”
“B-but! I’m still not going back until he grovels and says sorry.”
Adam sighed, used to his brother’s personality, but also well aware of the Red Angel’s proud nature. He turned his gaze towards the god silently watching the two.
“If you would be so kind as to bring us back to Father’s place, we would be very grateful,” he asked, his eloquence far surpassing his childish appearance.
“We?!” sputtered Amon, shooting to his feet.
He ran and clutched onto the back of the Fool’s cloak.
“I’m staying here with Mr. Fool!” he retorted, before wrapping his arms securely around one of Zhou Mingrui’s legs and plopping down.
Adam had stood up as well, brushing off the non-existent dust from his pure white robes. He grabbed Amon’s hat from where it had fallen, dusting it off as well.
“Amon, we shouldn’t trouble Mr. Fool any further,” Adam said gently, “‘He’s’ already been so kind as to let us into Sefirah Castle to teach us how to play with the hounds.”
“Then ‘He’ won’t mind me staying,” came the muffled reply. Amon had apparently decided the best way to get his way was to pretend he was simply a part of the god, as he smothered his face into the god’s leg.
Zhou Mingrui looked up at the expanse of grey fog above ‘His’ head, almost as if ‘He’ was shouting “Why me???” at the high heavens.
A tentacle slipped out from under ‘His’ cloak and removed the clinging angel to Amon’s dismay. It set him back on his feet next to Adam, who gently placed his hat back where it belonged.
Fixing his hat, Amon looked up at the god who had clearly betrayed him. His eyes filled with tears, giving off an expression of a kicked puppy dog as he whined slightly, “But Mr. Fool, if we go back I can’t play with you anymore.”
At the sight of wobbly eyes, Zhou Mingrui’s heart softened slightly, even though the tears were clearly fake. In a few year’s time, this angel really will be the God of Deceit with his acting, the god thought in despair.
‘He’ shook ‘His’ head despairingly before responding, “If I promise to visit, will you go back quietly?”
The god had already planned on taking a quick trip to the Creator’s residence to give ‘Him’ a piece of ‘His’ mind over ‘His’ parenting skills, so making this promise with the little angel wasn’t a big deal to ‘Him.’
The angel’s eyes lit up, the tears evaporating in a flash.
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
With that, the Fool gently but securely grasped both the brothers’ hands in ‘His,’ one on ‘His’ left and one on ‘His’ right before ‘He’ quickly stole the distance between Sefirah Castle and the Creator’s Divine Kingdom.
Amon gasped quietly at the mastery the Fool had demonstrated over the ability of Theft. He quietly vowed to ask the god how best to use his abilities in the future, so that he could better prank the other angels. Though he’d probably leave out the latter half of his intentions, seeing as the god, though gentle, didn’t seem very tolerant of his mischief.
Before long, the trio arrived at the border of the Creator’s Divine Kingdom. The Fool dropped the angels’ hands before crossing ‘His’ arms across ‘His’ chest, tentacles slipping free from under ‘His’ cloak. They began to wriggle menacingly at the sky, as if daring the sun itself to come down to personally greet them. Illusory symbols flashed on their translucent surface, grey fog slowly leaking from where the Fool stood, enshrouding ‘His’ figure.
“Grisha,” a deceptively gentle voice echoed at the border. Though the god had used ‘His’ regular speaking volume, the entirety of the Creator’s residence had heard the call. The angels within the kingdom collectively shuddered, recognizing the god behind it before scurrying away, knowing what was to come.
The two brothers wide-eyed at the call, glanced at each other in bewilderment. They had never heard someone call their Father like that before, with such … blatant disrespect.
A bright light began to emit before the three. A feeling of warmth, much like napping under a sunbeam accompanied it. A figure clothed in pure white appeared from within.
The Creator, or Grisha, the father of the two angels had arrived.
‘He’ smiled gently, revealing pearly white teeth as ‘He’ glanced at the Fool accompanied by ‘His’ two sons.
“Mingrui, thank you for finding my wayward sons,” ‘He’ laughed, “Medici has been losing his mind trying to find them.”
With a silent command, the Red Angel materialized behind the god in a burst of red flames. His angry eyes swept over the children, before he rudely gestured towards them to go to his side.
Amon quickly grabbed onto the Fool’s cloak once more attempting to melt into the fabric, as Adam, ever the obedient one, quietly listened.
The Creator laughed at the display, charmed by ‘His’ son’s apparent fixation with the other god.
Zhou Mingrui, disgruntled at being treated like a climbing post once more, turned to look down at the angel.
“Our promise still stands.”
At that, the angel’s face lit up, before he begrudgingly dropped the Fool’s cloak to slowly trudge closer towards the Red Angel who had been waiting for him impatiently, only held in check by the presence of the other god.
With a growl, Medici grabbed the angel’s sleeve, yanking him forward before red flames enveloped the trio. As quickly as the Red Angel had arrived, he disappeared, though not before sounds of his agitated lecturing sounded from where he had stood.
The two gods now stood in silence, gazing upon each other. One cloaked in darkness and fog, sinister tentacles twisting in the air, the other bathed in resplendent sunlight.
“So … you’ve made a promise with that brat?” the Creator asked, eyes twinkling in amusement, breaking the silence.
Zhou Mingrui, grumbled, “Some idiot decided to have children. I wonder who that might be.” ‘He’ shot a sharp glare at the man in question.
Grisha raised ‘His’ hands in mock surrender, “Ah Mingrui, sharp as always! I believe I offered the Error’s Uniqueness to you though.”
The Fool glared once more, “And I thought I explained it wasn’t time yet. I didn’t tell you to … birth two children. Or to leave them to their own devices after doing so.”
The Creator laughed lightly, not at all intimidated by the god berating ‘Him.’
“Mingrui, put away your tentacles and we can discuss more over tea,” ‘He’ offered, beaming.
Zhou Mingrui, blinded by the force of ‘His’ smile and cursing the Sun’s abilities, reluctantly agreed, though not before glaring at the man standing before ‘Him’ again.
All that can be said about the … conversation between the two gods that day was that it went on for two, no three hours. Witnesses claim that intermittent shouts came from the room where the two were sequestered, along with the occasional crash of cutlery.
“What kind of bastard father-!” *sounds of shattering porcelain*
“But Medici-!”
“Clearly … angel … fire … the little brats-!”
Witnesses also claimed to see grey fog seeping from the door of the room, before being quickly washed away by sunlight. Angels who tentatively approached the room seeking their leader quickly turned away at a loss, IQ lowered, wondering why they had approached at all.
Witnesses were simply glad that Mythical Creature forms were now banned in the Creator’s Divine Kingdom, as they all remembered That Day with horror.
The only solid conclusion that had come from the “meeting” between the two gods was a promise from the Creator to watch over ‘His’ two sons better, and a tentative agreement from the Fool to slowly teach the two how to be better humans.
Grisha shook ‘His’ head fondly in the destroyed meeting room.
“Those two brats will be good for silly Mingrui’s humanity,” ‘He’ said to the air, before quickly restoring the room to its original state.