Alright, listen up, because you're about to hear the real story of The Inheritance. And this is not the heroic, "Veneri walks in and the universe bows before him" version but the actual, messy, kind-of-hilarious version.
First of all, when the universe decides something, it just decides. One moment you're living your life, thinking you're the one in control and the next. you're somewhere else entirely. That's how it called Veneri.
The Inheritance isn't a palace, or a throne room or some celestial temple with gold pillars and angels singing in perfect harmonies. Forget all that. The Inheritance is where Splits get chosen by the universe itself.
He was standing on clouds that were like solid, glowing sheets of light. Veneri didn't even question it. He's kind of done with questioning things that didn't make much sense, especially if it involved universal stuff.
"You really have grown."
Veneri turned and saw his father. Dilasyus Richinaria. He looked just like him but older and muscular.
His long white hair was tied into a single braid. He had dark bronze skin and golden eyes. Veneri scoffed. The last time he saw him was when he was seventeen. It felt like ages since he last saw him and he didn't look different at all. Well, except for his even longer hair.
"I didn't expect to see you here."
"Oh? You're not going to hug your father?"
Honestly, the audacity. In a place like this, he had the nerve to ask that. Anyway, Veneri grinned reluctantly and went for it. Pulling back, Veneri immediately asked the most important question:
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm your representative. You got the message from my old man Vasreveilder?"
Veneri's eyebrow twitched.
"You knew about it?"
"I did."
There was no further explanation but that was enough. Some things are better left unspoken until absolutely necessary.
"It's a long story, boy. We should get moving. We're VIPs here after all, being Aeterium and all."
The clouds shimmered slightly as they stepped, rearranging themselves as if the universe itself was making a path. And in the distance, a portal was forming. It was woven from stars and spiraling galaxies circling one another.
Dilasyus looked at him. "Confused?"
"Kind of. But I understand why I'm here."
And he did. This was the moment he was pulled toward his entire life without realizing it. The universe was going to choose him as the official Split of Time. And yes, he had questions but those could wait. This came first.
"You really turned out well, son."
Father and son stepped toward the portal.
°°°°°°
The clouds under their feet gave way to an area so vast it made the void they had walked through on the way here seem like a cozy bedroom in comparison. It stretched beyond sight. It was a boundless plane of soft luminous fog that reflected the distant stars and nebulas in a thousand impossible colors. There was no floor or ceiling. There was only this endless foggy cloud.
In the middle of this infinite plane, appeared the thrones.
There were thousands of them arranged in three perfectly concentric circles that radiated outward like ripples. He froze, which, for him, is almost impressive because he rarely freezes.
The first circle was closest to him. It consisted of smaller thrones, many more of them than one would expect. They were delicate in comparison yet perfectly formidable, carved or perhaps born from the energy of the realm itself. Each radiated subtle gravitas and though he did not know the beings seated on them, he could feel their Divinities pulsing faintly in recognition. The sheer number of them made it clear.
The middle circle has fewer thrones but larger. The beings occupying them were bigger and more imposing. Energy radiated off them in waves. Veneri could feel the difference in the pull of their presence almost immediately. These were the beings whose decisions could shape worlds with a single thought.
Then came the outermost circle. that contained nine massive thrones.
They were colossal. They looked almost lost in the clouds that lazily circled them. He could barely make out the shapes. The sheer aura of power emanating from them pressed against him.
That's when he saw the others right beside him in the open area in the middle of the thrones.
Veneri's heart thumped audibly when he saw Narisva Starisnova, Elyonari Mintheris, Adelasta Viaca, Greshina Emberforge and Eldrigan Hanabas. They had their own representatives but he didn't know them all.
He squinted, searching for recognition in the remaining three beings alongside them. Their forms were strange yet undeniably Spheraphasian. Veneri was about to call out to his beloveds but before he could, Dilasyus laid a hand lightly on his shoulder.
"Do not speak unless when spoken to. We are in the presence of the Primordials."
He nodded once. From the center of the vast expanse, a being appeared.
It was a being made up of advanced technology yet undeniably human in form. Every feature was defined and precise. Veneri could sense it immediately: this was an Omniscient. Energy flowed from it in the same unmistakable pattern he had felt in Phaenora,
The Omniscient's voice resonated through the realm.
"Welcome, nine unofficial Splits of the Primordials, and your representatives. I will formally introduce you all to the members of this meeting."
"The Split of Creation, Armelin, with his representative, Nexus Faline."
Veneri's eyes widened faintly. He remembered tales of Armelin but seeing the person here...
"The Split of Destruction, Eldrigan, with his representative, Nexus Oogratchnick."
"The Split of Life, Elyonari, with her representative, World Tree Mintherenia."
"The Split of Death, Greshina Emberforge, with her representative, the Death Primordial."
Even Dilasyus shifted slightly at the name. Those represent led by the Primordials themselves were guaranteed to be Splits.
"The Split of Destiny, Indressa, with her representative, the Destiny Primordial."
"The Split of Fate, Aeonia, with his representative, the Fate Primordial."
"The Split of Time, Vastarael, with two representatives; Nexus Dilasyus and the Time Primordial."
His father's hand tightened briefly on his shoulder not out of warning, but… pride? Veneri didn't have time to analyze.
"The Split of Space, Narisva, with two representatives; the Forgotten Nexus Celestial and the Space Primordial."
"The Split of Existence, Adelasta, with her representative, the Existence Primordial."
The clouds around the nine massive thrones began to part like curtains being drawn for a stage performance. For the first time, he saw the faces of the Primordials.
He had only ever seen the face of the Time Primordial before. This was an audience of the highest, purest power in the known universe and every single one of them emanated authority that made even the most confident Supreme Entity feel small, even if just for a moment.