Vasreveilder casually leaned back against the gigantic pillar after he made the countdown disappear crossing one leg over the other while continuing to eat from the Bowl of Wisdom like none of what had just happened deserved particular attention.
Around them, the Central Station still looked somewhat chaotic from seven straight days of battle and despite the ridiculous destruction surrounding them, Vasreveilder somehow looked like someone relaxing during a weekend visit rather than an impossibly ancient being casually preventing their deaths.
"I probably should explain things properly before all of you start assuming this place is trying to murder visitors because that would technically be unfair to my guardians. I actually stay in the Central Station and the holograms you met are the protectors of this place. Though I admit they occasionally become a little too enthusiastic."
Shimmer slowly narrowed her eyes.
"You are saying that after they spent seven days trying to kill us without rest. At this point, I feel entitled to being dramatic."
Vasreveilder raised his finger.
"In fairness to them, they lowered themselves dramatically because their actual rank is at the Primordial Deity Rank. Normally intruders do not even make it past introductions. Thankfully, all of you managed to defeat them, which honestly impressed me because when I woke up and saw half the station situation, I thought somebody had started a war in my house."
Runner slowly lowered her spoon.
"You are telling me that the horrifying things we fought for seven days were holding back the entire time, and somehow this is supposed to comfort me?"
Vasreveilder nodded sympathetically.
"Oh absolutely not. Personally I would also feel deeply offended by that information. Still, the fact they lowered themselves to Fourth Enlightenment means they respected you enough to treat you seriously, which is honestly kind of flattering in a terrifying way."
Denisia slowly rubbed her forehead.
"I sincerely dislike how casually everyone around Veneri explains horrifying information. At this point, I am beginning to understand why he behaves the way he does."
Vasreveilder laughed warmly.
"Oh, Veneri absolutely inherited the family tendency to normalize impossible nonsense. Though in my defense, I had been asleep for a while and once I noticed all of you were about six hours away from walking directly into death, I figured I should probably intervene before my descendants accidentally erased themselves."
He casually snapped his fingers. The station was back to normal now in a blink of an eye.
"There we go. That feels less stressful already."
Runner blinked.
"You erased certain death with the same energy someone uses to close a window. That should not feel normal."
"Natas did warn me this day would eventually come. I expected it to happen much later because Fate usually likes making things dramatic."
Natalis paused immediately.
"Natas? You mean the male Omniscient?"
Vasreveilder nodded.
"He mentioned that eventually I would meet descendants worth paying attention to, but I did not expect the universe to throw my great grandkids directly into my living room this soon. Though now that all of you are here, I would much rather relax, eat, and properly catch up instead of watching anyone almost die."
Runner quietly stared at him for a moment before narrowing her eyes. Despite how relaxed he looked, something about him still felt wrong in a way she could not properly explain. Beneath the warmth, humor, and casual personality, there was an impossible pressure buried so deeply it almost felt like it was erased. Eventually, curiosity won.
"Are you a Supreme Entity? You feel weirdly terrifying in the same way Dad does but a billion times worse "
"Yes. Though I do not enjoy making a big deal out of it. Technically I am the strongest being in Spheraphase, but saying it dramatically sounds exhausting. That is also why I am suppressing my Divine Presence and power right now because otherwise, all of you would unfortunately stop existing simply from exposure."
His expression softened as he looked at Runner and Shimmer.
"I really do have amazing great grandkids. You are beautiful, good-hearted, strong and somehow survived seven straight days of suffering without becoming terrible people."
Runner had an awkward look.
"Thanks?"
Though suddenly his attention shifted toward Natalis and Denisia.
"And I also never expected the Heavenly Mother to have children."
The twins froze.
"Mother?"
Vasreveilder nodded at their question.
"Back when I raised her, she constantly insisted she would never fall for a man because according to her, rulers of heaven were too dignified for romance. Now look at her, happily living on another planet outside Spheraphase with her Demon King husband."
"You raised our mother?" Denisia asked slowly, sounding genuinely unable to process what she had just heard.
"I did. Back when the Hydroborn—the first race in Spheraphase—started believing in heaven and hell, I stabilized Naranq and Wisterix enough for angels and demons to properly exist. Wisterix came first because strangely enough, demons were significantly easier to manage than angels."
Natalis looked horrified.
"How are angels harder?"
Vasreveilder sighed dramatically.
"Angels are emotional. Demons usually understand simple rules, but angels somehow turn everything into moral discussions. When the realm eventually created the Heavenly Mother as ruler of Naranq, she was tiny. Honestly, she was the cutest little thing. But she was dramatic from the very beginning."
Natalis immediately looked scandalized.
"Our mother is not dramatic."
Vasreveilder slowly turned towards her.
"She cried for two days because one soul called her intimidating. Then she made me reassure her that she looked approachable."
The twins froze. Shimmer immediately started laughing.
"No way."
"Oh, absolutely," Vasreveilder continued proudly. "She also hated vegetables because apparently rulers of heaven should only eat desserts. Oh! And she once accidentally summoned several thousand souls at the same time because she forgot how her Psychopomp Tether worked."
Denisia slowly covered her face.
"Mother never told us any of this."
"She absolutely would not. I taught her how to guide souls to the afterlife, how to use her Psychopomp Tether properly, and even how to create angels and rule her realm."
"You can make angels?"
"Yes. Though the paperwork is exhausting."
Nobody questioned what paperwork meant.
"She visited me before exile and introduced me to her husband the Demon King. Ehoneas, first being born in Wisterix and one of the best men I have ever met. Anaela is glad to have him."
Denisia looked surprised.
"You liked him?"
"Oh, immediately. The way he looked at her made it obvious he loved her. And after raising someone from childhood, that sort of thing matters. Though she did punch him through a mountain once during an argument."
The twins froze.
"Mother did what?" Natalis asked quietly.
"Oh yes. She then cried afterwards because she thought she hurt his feelings. Anaela might not look it but she's a whiny child, even now."
The Andelaris twins sat completely speechless. Runner slowly leaned towards Shimmer.
"Their family stories are terrifying."
°°°°°°
Runner's spoon stopped halfway to her mouth after a while if eating and learning more about the Heavenly Mother. Vasreveilder's relaxed posture didn't change but something in the way his eyes drifted upward suggested he was no longer simply talking about stories or history.
"Mr Great Grandfather, if you already know the future through Natas, then explain it properly. That also means you know how the Krepsuna War is supposed to end. I am not interested in watching everyone here walk into something unavoidable."
Vasreveilder stayed silent for a long moment. The casual warmth he had carried moments earlier didn't disappear but it dulled. Then he exhaled quietly and glanced back down at them.
"What day is it since the Second Epoch Cycle began?"
Denisia answered first, though her voice carried unease.
"The ninety-ninth day. Why does that matter right now?"
He leaned back slightly against the pillar again, but this time the motion felt heavier.
"It's already that time, huh?"
The words hit harder than expected.
Runner's expression changed immediately.
"Time for what? You don't say something like that unless you're about to tell us the part where everything goes wrong."
Vasreveilder didn't answer immediately. Even Biolumine had gone still. Natalis and Denisia exchanged a brief glance, both of them clearly sensing that they were no longer discussing history but something imminent.
Finally, Vasreveilder spoke.
"On the hundredth day since the Second Epoch Cycle began, there will be something I call the Separation. And tomorrow, everything will change."
"..."
"There are three outcomes that come from it. The first is that the Overlord Ravagers will attack Cassandra and everyone there will be wiped out, including the Spheraphasians who were sent alongside the Second Epoch Cycle. The Krepsunas will also charge the island of Cassandra. They will kill anything inside it without distinction."
The silence after that statement felt heavier than anything they had experienced during the entire seven-day battle. Runner finally spoke again but in a tense tone.
"That's only one outcome. What are the other two?"
"Second, a lot of people living in Ledatic Siliportem will die."
Natalis' eyes widened while Denisia visibly tensed,. Vasreveilder's gaze remained steady, but his voice softened as he continued.
"Millions will suffer and die in the most gruesome way possible all because of one woman."
"And the third?" Runner asked, though her voice had already changed, as if she didn't want to hear the answer but refused to stop asking anyway.
Vasreveilder paused. For the first time since he arrived, his smile disappeared completely.
"The third, and the most important…"
The air seemed to stop moving. Even the distant hum of the Central Station felt like it had been cut out of reality.
"Veneri is going to die for a second time, the same way he died during the First Epoch Cycle."