"Alright, what's my Split Path?"
Thyrexxa did not answer immediately. She blew gently over the surface of her tea, though it was neither hot nor cold in any conventional sense.
"The Second Epoch Cycle is your path. It's yours, Narisva's, Adelasta's, Elyonari's and Greshina's as well."
"How was she transmigrated?"
A faint smile tugged at the Primordial's lips.
"You ask as though you expect me to unfold her origin like a scroll for you."
"I expect you to answer."
She set her teacup down with a soft chime.
"I cannot."
"Cannot? Or will not?"
"Both. That is not my story to tell. If she wishes you to know, she'll you. If she doesn't, then you won't know. I won't steal that choice from her."
"Fine. Then answer this. The future I saw in the Submerged Islands. Will it happen?"
Thyrexxa tilted her head. "Do you wish it to?"
"You're asking if I want her and me to end up together like before."
"Yes. So?"
"No."
It came out without hesitation.
"I don't. I've changed and she has too. This isn't Earth. I already have women I love. I cherish them. I don't even want to be in a relationship with her."
"You truly have changed," she said.
"Yeah, yeah. Growth arc, character development protagonist stuff, yeah. I get it."
She ignored the sarcasm with an eye roll.
"If you don't wish for that future, then avoid it."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"You're telling me that the vision I saw about my future with Greshina is just something I can change?"
"You are a Split of Time. Your existence fractures inevitability. You're not bound to a singular convergence. If you don't not walk toward it, it won't walk toward you."
He scoffed softly.
"Right. Easy."
"Would you prefer inevitability?"
"No."
"Then don't mock what you have been given."
He leaned back again, crossing his arms.
"You Primordials really love giving cryptic pep talks instead of concrete instructions."
"We prefer growth over dependency. I'm all powerful."
"So you're telling me to figure it out yourself."
"Precisely."
He huffed, but there was no real irritation in it. After a brief pause, he relaxed.
"Alright. Next concern. Natas. Do you want me to trust him?"
"Yes."
"He's manipulative."
"Yes."
"He withholds information not even I about."
"Yes."
"He enjoys being ten steps ahead and letting me find out step five on my own."
"Yes."
"And you're telling me that's beneficial?"
Thyrexxa folded her hands atop the table.
"Everything he told you is true. It will benefit you in the long run. His loyalty is not in question. Despite his aims, he's my subordinate. I blessed him. He won't harm you or who you care about. I can guarantee that."
Veneri studied her face carefully. He knew she had no reason to lie. Even if she did tell him to trust him even though he was a threat, he wouldn't have a choice.
"Fine. I'll trust him."
"You already do."
"I trust that he's plotting something helpful. Oh, and Vasreveilder. He saw something. That hologram message wasn't random. He knew I'd face the choice."
"Yes. Natas showed him a vision of what would become of his grandson within this path. He made the recording so that you would not hesitate when the moment arrived."
"So he nudged me."
"He ensured you would not falter."
"Guess I owe the old man. Another thing. All the Splits are from Spheraphase. Why?"
"Because," she replied evenly, "at present, Spheraphase produces the only beings capable of withstanding the direct power of the Primordials without immediate collapse. Your world's structure, its energy density, its evolutionary history, these factors matter."
"So we're basically the only ones tough enough to handle this position."
"In crude terms, yes. The representatives," she continued before he could ask, "were chosen by us. There is no hidden conspiracy. They serve as witnesses and stabilizers. Nothing more."
"And the thrones during the Inheritance?"
"Beings from other worlds."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning," she said smoothly, lifting her teacup again, "that you are not the only realm entangled in this tapestry. But that discussion belongs to a later chapter of your journey."
He narrowed his eyes. "You're doing that on purpose."
"Yes."
He let out a breathy laugh despite the fact that she was hiding a lot. It was already a miracle he was learning all of this.
"And the First Epoch Cycle? What about the mysteries. Greshina being in Spheraphase. Or… Edarea Anivaris. Why are there so many holes?"
"Because revelation too early distorts growth. What you don't yet know shapes how you move. It will be revealed in time."
"Everything is revealed in time with you."
"I'm the Primordial of Time. It would be concerning if I operated otherwise."
He actually laughed at that. When they first met, he had been angry, lost and reckless. Now he sat across from her not as a pawn dragged across a board but as a player aware of the board. Thyrexxa quietly glanced at him for a long moment.
"For now, you should enjoy your one-month honeymoon with your wife and your daughter. You've earned that peace. Don't squander it worrying about futures you can't influence yet."
"A Primordial telling me to relax. That's new."
"Even eternity requires intermissions."
He rose from his chair.
"Good luck, Veneri."
He gave her a look.
"That's ominous."
"Believe me, I'm just wishing you good luck. Now if Sunshine said this, you would have to be cautious. But not me."
He studied her face one last time. She was a powerful Being who had ripped his soul from one galaxy and thrown him into another. He actually found out that he's from the Andromeda Galaxy.
"Thanks."
He vanished. The water-floor shimmered faintly where he had stood, Thyrexxa remained seated. After several seconds, she glanced down at the tray between them.
Her eyes narrowed at the cookies. She counted them once before doing it a second a third time.
"Impossible."
More than half of them were gone. She had not seen him take them. She was a Primordial so her perception extended across strands of causality that lesser beings could not even conceptualize. And yet, he had stolen half the cookies without her noticing.
Thyrexxa stared at the tray in silence.
"How does he keep doing that?"
The infinite horizon offered no answer.