Din gave him an understanding nod. “I understand where you’re coming from, but you’re forgetting how costly it is for gods to fight each other, especially Creators. Our mortals suffer with us when we fight. They’re already suffering enough with this prophesied war, and then we’ll all have to deal with the outcome when that comes to pass.”
“But Aerigo and Roxie were the last two Aigis,” Baku said, anger building. “They were the only ones who could stop this war from being played out in full.”
“It was a long shot, Baku. We really needed more than two but, to our great misfortune, they all died off over the past few thousand years. Aigis aren’t created lightly. You know that.”
“I do, but...”
“Really think about it, Baku. If you’d jumped in before Aerigo had died, then what? What would stop other gods from jumping in to protect Nexus? Suddenly your two Aigis would’ve had more opponents than they could’ve possibly handled. That’s what stayed my hand and voice.”
Baku’s mind unfolded a scenario with dozens of gods jumping into the fray to either protect Nexus or the two Aigis. That would’ve turned into a huge fight that would’ve dwarfed the unfolding mortal conflict. He winced at the idea. “You’re right.” Still, the current scenario wasn’t much better. He was going to have to salvage what he could without the help of any Aigis. “I think I stayed back because I truly believed things were going to turn out better. But when only Roxie was left...” He thought a moment. “Dozens of scenarios played out in my head.” He shook his head. “Aerigo and Roxie had talked about what needed to be done for the greater good right before they came here.”
“The best option had been to let her die,” Din said with his gaze downcast.
“Yes,” he whispered.
“What happened to her? Where’d she disappear to?”
Memory of a winged Roxie falling out of the air and vanishing replayed in his mind. “I have no idea. She’s alive somewhere--somewhere perilous. Her life force keeps waning and waxing, but she’s alive.”
Din’s grey eyes turned a light blue and his hair a brighter orange. He straightened his posture and spoke in an energetic whisper. “Then maybe there’s still hope after all. She’s harnessed Frava. We should search for her!”
“No,” Baku said firmly. “I’m going to have a serious talk with my son and he’s going to tell me where he sent her.” He faced the plateau. A handful of gods were staring down at him, watching.
Din zipped over and stood in front of him with his arms out. “Don’t. You’ll have to beat the answer out of him. Your form says you and your creations can’t take much more of a beating. They’ll fall into an era of despair.”
Baku took in his bare arms and torso. His muscles had filled back out, but his body was still covered in bruises. His form looked like it had the vitality of a man in his forties. It was improvement from mortal weeks ago. “I won’t be fighting him. I’m done with all the fighting. We’re going to talk, him, Kara, and I. If he throws any punches, I won’t fight back. We’ll see what happens. Kara’s not her usual detached self all of the sudden. I have a feeling things will unfold differently than they have in millennia.”
Din stepped aside and placed a hand on Baku’s shoulder. “Good luck.”
Baku nodded, rose straight up into the air, and paused once he crested the plateau. Deities of all shapes, sizes, and forms followed his movements with scrutinizing gazes. Hopefully none of them would build up the gall to interfere with family matters. Sure, one or more of them might already have. His talk with Leviathan in Phailon made it sound quite likely. So which one--or ones--had corrupted his son?
Pushing the thoughts aside, he flew off to Nexus’s temple and alighted on the granite platform leading to two marble doors ten times taller than him. So egotistical of his son. The doors had stationary carvings in four sections of each door, the sculptures depicting mortal creatures from numerous worlds, all of them either reaching upwards or fighting another mortal. In the top four panels, four massive hands clawed downwards, as if crushing everything beneath them. A calligraphy script ran between the panels.
With a hand gesture he willed the doors open. They parted outwards with a weighty groan, making way for the vaulted hall within. The hall was barren, save for a muddy amber glow seeping in from the vaulted windows, and a throne on a dais. This room was just as empty as his son’s heart.
Baku pattered down the middle of the hall, his bare footsteps echoing with emptiness. The sound ate at his anger, making room for pity. His son was trying to fill a void in all the wrong ways, but right now pity was the last thing anyone in this family needed. He headed up the few stairs, past the throne, to a normal-sized marble door leading deeper into the temple. He’d never gone farther in than the hall before. He’d never been invited, nor had he ever wished to intrude on his son’s personal space. Despite all that’d happened between them, he still respected the privacy of the temple.
Yelling carried from deeper within. Kara’s yelling. And Nexus’s exasperated and fearful replies. So many emotions were emanating from their location in waves. Baku steeled himself as he reached for the brass door handle and pushed it open.
“Please, Mother! Just talk to me. I don’t know how to help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
Kara stood in a corner with her back to Nexus and the door. Her long black hair wavered like a wheat field in a heavy wind, and she held her arms were wrapped around her midsection. Nexus stood behind her billowing hair, arms halfway up to embrace her, yet not trying to get any closer.
“Just get away from me! I can’t take it anymore!”
“But I want to comfort you.”
“You’ll bring me comfort by not touching me!”
“But--”
Enraged at the sight, Baku sucked in a deep breath. “What’s going on here?” Both his wife and son spun and faced him, eyes wide. Kara’s beautiful green eyes watered with a fresh wave of tears. She actually looked... elated. Was he seeing her expression right? It’d been so long since he’d see anything but emotionless indifference.
Nexus narrowed his dark eyes. “Father, what are you doing here? Get out.”
“No.” He stepped inside and closed the thick door behind him. “We are going to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
He took a step closer. “Oh, yes you do. And I have a few words to share with you.”
“I don’t care.”
“You do, now.”
Nexus came at Baku with a snarl and raised fist. Baku steeled himself and braced for impact. He didn’t feel like dodging or blocking the attack. He was so done with all the fighting. Defending himself would only prolong it. He closed his eyes. A meaty smack filled the silence but he felt no pain.
Baku reflexively opened his eyes and wrapped his arms around the body that stumbled into him. His wife’s hair filled his vision and he almost let go in surprise. His arms hadn’t held her in millennia. Kara raised a hand to her temple and leaned against Baku, and he hugged her tighter, his chest filling with rage.
Nexus froze with his arm outstretched and eyes wide with horror, his face pale. He recoiled and straightened up, mouth agape. Instead of looking like a man in his early twenties, his demeanor came off more childlike. He swallowed. “Mother, I...” His voice sounded younger. “I’m sorry... I didn’t--”
“Then stop fighting!” Kara’s voice came out sharp enough to make Baku wince.
Nexus regained some of his maturity as he narrowed his eyes again. “For now.”
“Forever. I can’t take it anymore. I will jump between the both of you if you ever raise your fist to your father again.”
“Kara...” Baku breathed, his voice tight with emotion.
Kara twisted around and pressed her body to his, hands resting on his bruised bare chest. “Baku, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to be so distant from you all this time. I didn’t see any other way to keep you two from fighting any less. I’m--”
“
Shh. Don’t worry about it.” He pulled her teary face to his shoulder and hugged her tight. “All is forgiven.” How could he hate or resent her for any of it? He couldn’t. There’d been subtle signs everywhere over millennia. The way she talked with him, sparing as those moments were, the way she chose to be present or not present when father and son clashed, and so many more little things. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“Mother?” Nexus’s voice reverted back to childish, yet his form remained of a man in his early twenties, his bruises mostly gone. Baku took in his son’s helpless stare fixated on Kara. He looked for any signs of divine meddling or possession, or any sort of subtle corruption. Would such things leave a detectable trace?
If they did, he didn’t see or sense any.
Kara looked at their son.
Nexus made and unmade fists, but there was no threat behind the gesture. With his knees slightly bent, he looked like he wanted to dart in and force his way between them again, but something rooted him in indecision. He radiated fear and confusion. “Do you still love me?”
Kara popped a sweet, sympathetic smile that made Baku’s heart ache. She slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him along as she crossed to their son. His wife’s touch sent his heart aflutter, but at the same time his heart wanted to pound in panic as they drew closer to their son. They’d done nothing but fight and argue for too long. He and Nexus hadn’t stood this close without throwing punches in millennia. Nexus eyed him warily and locked his hands in fists as he struggled to stop himself from shying away. Baku didn’t blame him. It was taking all his control not to lock up his legs and hold his wife back.
Kara placed a hand on their son’s cheek. Nexus visibly relaxed and Baku let out the breath he was holding. Both men gazed levelly at each other a moment before turning their attention back to Kara. That was all they needed to create an unspoken truce between them. Baku relaxed the muscles in his back and shoulders. The truce would last, but for how long? He decided that for now he didn’t care. If his son attacked him, then he would accept it. If not, then all the better. Neither outcome was in his control; just within his influence.
“Of course I do,” Kara said, “flaws and all. You are my son and I’ll always love you. But your father’s right. The three of us need to talk.”
Nexus’s dark eyes darted back to Baku, then settled back onto his mother. He gave a conceding nod and pressed a hand over hers. With the other he reached for her cheek. At the same time as Kara stiffened in Baku’s arms, Nexus stopped reaching for her face. The three of them stood there as if frozen. Baku didn’t move because not only did he fear sparking a fight, he needed to let Kara set the boundaries between mother and son. On top of that, he was hoping to see if this moment would reveal any clues behind the inappropriate advances. The only thing he saw was an internal conflict going on behind Nexus’s eyes.
Nexus gently pushed away his mother’s hand and looked at his own, his face a mix of shame and confusion. “I apologize, Mother. Sometimes I feel like my actions aren’t my own. I know these things aren’t appropriate but I can’t seem to stop myself, much less not enjoy it somehow.”
Baku and Kara exchanged meaningful glances, her face full of shock. That had to be confession enough that Leviathan’s suspicions were right. But... more pressing matters first. “We will address that second. First, you will tell me what you did with Roxie.”
Nexus narrowed his eyes. “I sent her to her death. Surely you felt her soul cut off from your being.”
“No. She’s alive.”
Nexus’s face filled with confusion.
“Somehow. What did you do to make her disappear?”
Nexus searched his memories. “I willed her to die. That’s all. The hand of death seized her and everything. She should be dead.” He paused. “She lost concentration. My will won over hers. She has to be dead.”
“But she’s not,” Baku said firmly and with conviction. “Aerigo is most certainly dead but I swear to you Roxie is not.”
A ghost of a smirk played across Nexus’s face but gave way to worry. “Well, I don’t know what happened to her. And it’s not like I care. You created two Aigis to kill me. Why would I want to reunite you with either of them?”
Before Baku could retort, Kara snapped their son’s name. “How dare you accused him of such a thing!”
Nexus flinched. “How could I not? The only way to stop me and my prophecy is to kill me.”
“I don’t believe that,” Kara said. “Not yet at least. As terrible as things have become, you haven’t yet convinced me you can’t see reason. I’ve heard you practicing your prophecy, along with the discussion between you, Vancor, and the others.”
“You eavesdropped on us?” Nexus said in disbelief. “I can’t--”
“Out of fear. You can’t be oblivious to how much I disapprove of all this.” She waved a hand towards the mortal warring.
“I... suspected. But I refused to believe it.” He glanced at the closed door. “I still can’t believe it... that... all this time, you’d still refuse me the power of Creator. I don’t understand what holds you back, Mother. You just don’t trust me,” he added, pointing at Baku, then put his hand down and faced Kara again. “But you? You’ve never ever explained why. Not once.”
Baku felt Kara’s petite frame cower into his side. He gave her a reassuring hug. Nexus’s glare softened and his hands twitched to reach out and comfort her, but he held himself in check.
“So, Mother, why?”
Kara looked away and Baku stepped closer to her. He wanted to wrap his arms back around her but felt it appropriate to maintain some distance between them for her sake and not their son’s.
“Nexus, do you remember the very last time you and your father fought eighteen--almost nineteen--mortal years ago?”
“Of course. What about it?”
“Your father created an orb and didn’t throw it at you.”
“Yes. It was an Aigis, and somehow the attack I sent after it didn’t destroy it.”
Kara whispered, “That was me. I protected it from you.”
Nexus gaped.
Baku’s head swam. That’s what she’d meant by “we.” He wanted to pull his wife into a big hug. After all these millennia, he’d never been wholly cut off from his wife and her love. He felt ready to cry.
Nexus whispered, “Why?”
Kara said, “A fully-realized Aigis has the same strength of will as a god. That kind of strength can steer you away from carrying out your prophecy.”
“You would let an Aigis shatter my will?” Nexus said in disbelief.
“You can recollect yourself. It’s better than death.” Kara looked up. “But what would be better still is you letting go of your need to see your prophecy through.”
“But... all the hard work I’ve poured into it. The planning, the preparation. Hashing out every last detail. The risks I’ve taken.”
“You’re risking your life right now.” Nexus slouched as the statement deflated his anger. “Let go of it and let your father and I build you into Creator material.”
“But I already am Creator material!”
Kara frowned and couldn’t hold eye contact. “No, you’re not.” A long silence followed before she finally added, “Just look at yourself.”
Nexus gaped at his mother, then closed his mouth and his gaze turned inward. Baku stepped close to Kara and she slipped a hand into his. He snuck a kiss to her temple and he felt her jolt of happiness as the sorrow of tough love held sway over her emotions.
Nexus propped his arms up on his legs and threaded his fingers together, his brows furrowed. “Maybe you’re...” He shook his head as if trying to clear his thoughts. “No... I can’t. All that hard work.” He shook his head again. “But--” He ran his hands through his hair and looked searchingly at the both of them. “I won’t call off my prophecy if the both of you won’t give me the power of Creator. Even if you’re--” He broke eye contact and winced. “Why can’t I think straight all of
the sudden?”
Kara and Baku exchanged worried glances again. Baku said, “I’m almost positive Leviathan’s hunch is right.” That made it all the more important to figure out where Roxie disappeared to.
He gasped. Help finding Roxie. He’d just done that with Eve not long ago. He could do it again. He reached to her with his mind and sifted through her memories since the last time they spoke. For all he knew, she’d performed the searching meditation again on her own.
His eyes widened as he sped through memories of Eve talking with Luis, the cruise line owner, and her ensuing daily feeding ritual for a very stuck Roxie. “She’s in the Realm of the Dead,” he said in disbelief. “Earth’s spirit world.” He noticed that months had already passed in the mortal realm. Time was flying outside the war. Mere minutes had passed on Nexus’s realm since Roxie’s disappearance.
Kara said, “Thanatos’s realm.”
Nexus let out a laugh and plopped back onto his cushion. “Your Aigis is as good as dead. I’ve won, dear Father.”
“She’s not the first living soul to enter a spirit world,” Baku said. “The both of you know this from my worlds’ histories alone.”
Kara said, “But Thanatos is so... mercurial. Yes, some of your mortals have made it back to the living, but not all of them. Roxie being an Aigis will probably count against her. She’ll be toyed with and maybe never helped. None of us can go in there and take her out.”
“And even if Thanatos does help,” Baku added, “there’s no telling whether she’ll be released in seconds or in thousands of years.” He turned to his son. “Which leaves us with focusing on why you’re so fixated on seeing your prophecy through.”
Nexus frowned. “There’s no point in discussing my prophecy. I refuse--”
“Even though you’ve conceded that your father and I are right?” Kara said.
Nexus considered her words and once again doubt crept into his eyes. He frowned deeper. “And there goes my ability to think straight again.”
Baku took a step closer. “Leviathan must be right. You’re being manipulated by another god’s influence. There’s no other explanation for all of this.”
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