It was a simple thing, to talk to The Rival. He was a simple enough person to figure out and handle, but the rapt attention he paid to everything I said was a noticeable change. The aloof, carefree attitude he usually displayed was still present, just noticeably in the background as I walked him through what I remembered of becoming an Origin Deity, what it was like, and what I had learned of the process.

Rarely did he interrupt, only occasionally asking a pointed question before once more falling into silence as I continued my story.

It took a long time to tell, actually. An entire week, and that was the abbreviated version. The Rival was an excellent listener and, as I should have expected, knew exactly what questions to ask to get me rambling on one topic or another; not that he minded listening to me. We chatted over tea. We talked over food Randus so graciously provided. We even drank a little, though not much. His mortal body was too weak to handle any of the alcohol I typically drank.

And at the end of it all, after telling him of the Shadow and what that meant, and describing the meeting, he sat silently across from me, staring into his teacup.

I casually sipped at my own, waiting for his next response.

"So you're telling me that all Origin Deities were once denizens of another universe?" he asked slowly.

"As far as I am aware." It would be a boldfaced lie to tell him that was the absolute case. I was certain that Mr. Boxes had, at one point, created beings for the sole purpose of expanding the multiverse. The Origin of the twelfth universe in this [Trial] iteration was a likely example of this; its entire existence had been to create a stable universe with the entirety of its being, and then die, leaving the universe to grow on its own.

"It makes sense. Take people from successful universes and give them power to create their own universe; thereby updating the models for when something needs replacing." He mused, scratching his chin. "I wonder what the criteria are? You'd think I or the First would be good candidates for that. But also, on second thought…that'd be a terrible idea."

I sat back in my chair a little to observe him. Memories filtered down from above, examined and tossed away just as quickly as the Rival began to truly assimilate my story. He'd been sort of doing this the entire time I'd been talking, but now it was going full-swing – I could barely keep track of his swinging emotions as he relived his old memories, and I certainly couldn't see what said memories were. Not that I wanted to…well, that was a lie. I wanted to see what he'd been through, but I respected his privacy too much to do that.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, deciding that being direct with him was a far better approach than trying to puzzle it all together myself.

"Well, one, if I'd met any other potential Origin Deities. Unfortunately I don't have enough information to know whether I did or didn't, and there are a lot of memories to go through. Mostly I'm wondering why Origin Deities are similar to Monkey Wrenches in that they originate from different universes. I'm also considering my own situation." He leaned back in his chair as he spoke, tilting his head up and kicking his feet up on the table.

"That's a lot to be considering."

"It is. And that's only half of it. Damnation, Syl – I mean, Statera. An origin deity? I know I wanted to experience new things by coming to a baby universe, but this is beyond my wildest expectations." He shook his head at me, and I leaned forward, clasping my hands on the little wooden table between us. He watched me through half-lidded eyes, and for a brief moment I set aside my Vision – literally cutting it off at the source – to look at the man.

He looked young. But at the same time, he looked very, very old.

This was someone who had outlived universes. His act was not one of aloofness, it was the act of a person who had seen it all and done it all, from the highest highs to the lowest lows, and still kept going. What drove him? I wanted to know, and he did owe me some answers after our long talk…

"Why did you come here?" I asked, genuinely curious about this. Why had someone as old as him, as powerful as him, come to my Four Realms? The more I learned about him, the more curious, and the more worried I became. What else was out there in the greater multiverse?

"I imagine it's because we met before. Most of the time, new universes that I can travel to are either adjacent to the one I was just in, a Monkey Wrench was requested by the origin deity or the deity in charge, or I have some inherent connection to it. Perhaps a fellow Monkey Wrench I met before had been there; perhaps a god had travelled between dimensions, or perhaps it was similar enough to a universe I'd been in previously that I was given the option. For the record, I typically go with first option. The First is a pain to babysit sometimes." He shrugged, taking a quick shot of tea, downing it in one gulp. His expression was carefully neutral, but I didn't need truesight to see the black emotions swirling about his heart right now.

Why was the First a sore topic?

"Thinking about it like that, it makes sense I wouldn't have been able to come to a new universe before, especially considering they're so isolated from the rest of the multiverse." He continued, not missing a beat.

"It's not because Mr. Boxes – er, the Overgod – sent you here?" I asked. That had been one of my initial guesses. He'd sent the Mad Scientist here, so why wouldn't he have sent the Rival, too? And what benefit was that supposed to bring?

"What? No. I highly doubt that. Let me be clear; other monkey wrenches have been offered the chance to visit baby universes before, it is simply because the First and I are as powerful as we are that we have not been allowed to do so. We're what you might call first generation Monkey Wrenches. Now we're on, what, model four? Five? Something like that." He waved his hand dismissively. Ok, now that was a lot to digest. I narrowed my eyes at him, reactivating my vision, which hurt too long to keep shut down anyways, and tapping into my domain of Fate. Clear as day, three steel threads of fate bound me and him together, two new, one old but still present, strengthened by our new proximity.

Damn. It's entirely possible he followed that fate thread.

"I'm guessing each new generation is a refined design of the process." I prompted, urging him to continue. To me, at least, this was fascinating stuff.

"Each new generation of MW's, our purposes change a little more. The current batch are essentially porters; they traded an increase of personal power for a greater ability to carry energy between universes. The First and I are the last of the first gen; we were, by trade and contract, warriors." He picked at a fingernail, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Warriors? How so?" I asked, leaning forward. I had been a warrior, once. Still was in some cases, but only one life had been dedicated to the pursuit of the warrior.

"Eh. It was a long time ago, but we were specifically designed to combat…well, viruses, as I like to call them, that functioned the same as us. Y'know, reincarnating all the time, but they were detrimental. Pretty sure we were modelled after those things. Killing them once wouldn't do anything, they'd just travel to a new universe, but kill them a dozen times? That will wipe them out. For some reason they had trouble replenishing their energy, so you had to kill 'em quick and fast. We were the opposite. We grew stronger the more lives we lived. Once they were taken out, well, most of us found a universe to settle down in. Not the First and I, though." He said, gaze growing distant. The corners of his mouth tightened a little and, with a quick shake of his head, he flashed me another smile.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

I didn't like that look.

"All that said, we definitely weren't sent here by anyone. That would mean an official deployment of military assets, and something terribly wrong happening. Believe me, your collision of universes is interesting, but not by any means unique; the multiverse if full of universes butting up against each other. Sometimes they even declare all-out war on each other, just to see who has the biggest dick." The Rival shook his head helplessly. I frowned a little, not liking the sound of that, but also feeling he was perhaps a bit cynical.

I was certain there were some who had good reasons to go to war. The evil realm the Mad Scientist talked about, for example, I could not imagine letting spread beyond its own borders. On the flip side, what if the Emperor declared war, or Sehuyun? I can't imagine them doing so…no, wait, Sehuyun absolutely would just for shits and giggles. Such was the prerogative of a Dragon.

"What will you do now?" I asked, surprised to find myself hoping he would stay up here, with me, a bit longer. He was an interesting conversationalist to say the least, and I genuinely did enjoy his company, even if I didn't return his romantic affections. He reminded me a lot of the other origin deities; a friend, and someone who could, potentially, stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me.

My first creation as an origin deity was companionship, after all. My kids were great, but I was a functioning single parent and I did crave social interaction with…well, peers.

"Now? I still have half of your challenge to figure out, right? I've got a few of your past lives down, but not all of them. Sylvia I know, and of course the spaceship captain, and I did figure out the Yellow Emperor before we parted…and I have some guesses on a few of the others. Were you, by chance, Moses?" He asked, leaning forward a little. I scoffed.

"Moses? Don't be ridiculous. I was his mother." I told him with an exasperated sigh. He'd been close enough that I gave him the benefit of the doubt here.

"Aaah! So close!" he cried, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically, nearly tipping himself over in his seat. I laughed at him as he flailed, righting himself and flashing me a winning smile. A winning smile that quickly sobered up as blood dripped from his nose. "That said, I think it's about time for me to call it quits here. I don't think my body can take much more than this."

I leapt to my feet, noticing, for the first time, how his mortal shell was beginning to unravel. He'd hidden it so well, and I'd been so preoccupied, that I hadn't even noticed. Stupid, stupid Statera! "You stupid idiot! You should've told me – I should've noticed! Christ, what were you thinking?!" I yelped, reeling in my aura as much as godly possible, even siphoning off this incarnation's power to all the others, what little I could spare without unravelling.

"Got too wrapped up in our conversation. Can't say I expected this either; Origin Deities, even young ones, are on a whole different level, huh? Your aura is just that much more potent than others…and to think, you'll only get stronger. I'll have to put some serious effort into catching up if I want to win your heart!" he joked, even as he wiped away a bit of blood from the corner of his eyes. I scowled at him, wasting no time in teleporting him back to the Celestial Palace, even as I continued to yell at him.

"Moron! I keep telling you to take better care of yourself; I don't care if you'll just get a new body if you die, that's no way to treat yourself! We'll continue this conversation later!" I snapped, sending tiny slivers of my power to him in the form of mental communication.

I could still hear his laughter echoing, even in the dead of the night in an empty room of the Celestial Palace.

That fool. I looked down at my hand grimly.

I'd grown lax with him, and let my control slip because of it. I couldn't let myself get distracted like that. It had been a long time since I'd done so.

***

The Rival chuckled to himself as he read Statera's incoming messages, appearing to him in a format so similar to that of the Overgod's, yet distinctly different.

"Chill, chill, I got it. I'll be more careful. I'm a big boy, I know what my limits are. That's why I brought it up." he complained, sitting down in the cupboard he'd been teleported into and cycling his cultivation to begin the healing process. It wasn't entirely her fault he became like this, blood seeping from his tear ducts. Curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he'd let the technique that guarded his mortal shell from the brunt of divine influence – which could be so strong it could unravel physical substances if left unchecked – down to see what being near an Origin Deity was like.

It had taken not long at all for his body to begin crumbling. In hindsight, it was a stupid idea. Even if she was restraining herself, to do that in the middle of her domain of power? Her Palace? The height of stupidity; the place was saturated with divine energy to the point it was no surprise he'd started to unravel.

Ding!

{[I am revoking your visitation privileges until you at least become an Immortal. I'll send Randus with something you can use to travel between my palace and whatever Realm you're in once you reach that height.]}

"Such a worrywart," he told her, tasting blood. Still…he'd half expected her to ask him for help with overcoming the tribulation she was facing. And I feel relieved about that fact. He mused. Why do I feel relieved?

***

Alala and I stared at each other blankly.

"So…how do we go about grabbing these fate threads?" She asked, scratching the back of her head. Our true bodies currently hovered over a planet in the Physical Realm, so far untouched by the terrorist war being waged. Even the Arachaeons, Morgan's children, hadn't found this place yet.

"The more you understand what they are comprised of, the easier it is to manipulate." I told her, pointing to a pair of mortals below us. The two were close to forming a red string of fate, but had yet to truly do so. Vowing to share each other's karma was a serious commitment, and neither soul was quite ready to make that vow yet – I honestly figured they'd back out, even if they did remain close throughout the following few lifetimes, but that was beside the point.

The two Karae had thick strands of fate binding them together, and that was enough for our purposes here.

"The more you understand where the fate originated from and where it leads, the easier it will be to grasp." I told her.

"So we're starting from the basics, got it." She said, cracking her knuckles. Then, again, she paused and shot me a blank look. "So…how do I grab it?"

"Beats me. I can toy with it, but it's beyond touching." I deadpanned. She huffed and looked down at the mortals again.

"Then let's start with something other than fate-love. I'm much better with things that coincide with competition and such." She whined. I narrowed my eyes at her, crossing my arms defiantly and planting my feet.

"I'm sorry, which of us here has the amazing eyesight and a fate sub-domain? I do believe this is a good place to start." I told her, mostly joking. She stuck her tongue out at me and I rolled my eyes, cracking a small smile. It was all in good fun. Still…she probably had a point, and I slid up to stand so our shoulders were almost touching. "What do you think of the Realms so far?"

"I can understand why Yueya is jealous of your family." I was taken aback by the swift response. That was the first thing that came to mind? "Your Realms are very stable, and you've got all hands on deck at all times. Your kids love you and your people worship you; despite the little spat going on down there right now. I can't spread out my aura too much without clashing with your Will, but from what I can see? It's beautiful and healthy. And your kids are a riot. Reika's hilarious, Alexander is a solid dude, and Elvira is just the kind of competitive I want." She nodded her head, brushing one strand of black hair behind an ear.

"Thank you," I said, because what else could you say to genuine praise like that? I bit my lip, not quite certain how to respond…so I changed the subject. "That said, you mentioned the Will and clashing against it. I noticed something similar in the Primeval Dragon's universe, when I fought her."

"Mm. It's oppressive. Constantly reminding me I'm not in my domain; takes a lot of effort to not fight against it." She grumbled. I stroked my chin thoughtfully. The Fate thing needed some more time to sit, clearly. But perhaps we could test something else out in the meantime; I'd been trying to separate myself from the Will of the Four Realms more, after all.

"Then what say you we try something else. If the Will is oppressing you, we should probably start with managing that." I told her seriously. She nodded her head. "And there, at least, I generally know where to begin."

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