The Overgod of the Multiverse drummed its metaphorical fingers on its metaphorical desk as it watched the nascent Origin Deities wander about through each other's realms. Data and charts were presented before it, constantly fluctuating as the deities learned and observed new information, but its attention was fixed solely on the gods themselves. None of the presented data was outside projections, of course, save for one glaring detail.

The probability of there being a void-related disaster in the near future was rising. The probability of it being caused by one of the Origin Deities was high as well.

It had hoped the revelation of Statera's injury would help curb the disaster. It had even broadcasted the moment Statera revealed the loss of their arm to those who hadn't been present just for the occasion. When that hadn't worked nearly as well as hoped, it had manipulated events so the Progenitor's realm would be shown to as many possible.

It had worked, but not nearly well enough. The possibility was still increasing.

The Overgod sighed and pulsed its power once, requesting additional aid from a few of its larger shards. Limited as this incarnation was in both power and sight, for more drastic preventative measures it did have to seek approval with itself.

Even though in the next [Stage] allowed for more influence from the Void, going so far as to let the origin deities communicate a bit, it was still in charge of curbing the worst of the Void's influence. Letting a baby hurt itself from ignorance, even if they were gods, would be negligent. A mere three seconds later it got a ping back, along with additional information. Specific powers were allocated to this incarnation, a touch of true power returning to it that told the Overgod nearly everything it needed to know about how to handle the situation.

If they couldn't stop the disaster, it would be best to teach the young gods how to fight a Paradox to prepare them for it. Statera already knew, but could they work in concert with everyone else, to fight a Paradox far more powerful than any of them? The answer was clearly yes, but first Statera and the Dragon needed to work out the little instinctual aggression they were feeling towards each other. And MR-10 and Sylphina had to have a little heart-to-heart to clear the air.

Thankfully, both of those seemed like they might work themselves out in the next little bit.

Contingencies need to be put in place in case the root cause of the disaster spreads to other universes. It mused. A flash of annoyance spiked through it that it quickly curbed as it began to pull up a few old plans and barrier types from [Trials] past. No. Do not get agitated. This is the task I put upon myself. See it through diligently. But even still, it could not help its minor emotions.

Why did they have to make things more difficult for it? They were doing so well.

Watching the Void constantly destroy bits and pieces of the Progenitor's universe was a humbling experience. I knew basically how the Void destroyed things. The Abyss, where the shell of primordial chaos around the Four Realms met the Void, was a prime example of endless creation and destruction. This wasn't like that. Watching the Abyss was like watching dust drift through a sunbeam – it was pretty and entertaining, but ultimately felt…natural. Here, entire worlds crumbled from existence. Even concepts like distance, space, and time vanished like a snowflake in the palm of the hand. What little dust remained after the Void ate it up flew back to the Progenitor alongside whatever truesouls were unfortunate enough to get caught up in the process, and what little else was protected by the origin deity's power.

The Emperor's takeaway from it had been to nod and declare he needed to create truesouls for the Earth realm, as opposed to just having them in Heaven.

Nyxteria observed for a bit, then flew off in search of more interesting things.

Even MR-10 drifted off after declaring it had collected as much data as needed from the sight, sending out drones to examine other parts of the Progenitor's Garden.

Only myself, Rising Wind, Crashing Waves, Yueya, and Shin stayed to watch the Void slowly devour a universe. It was humbling, a reminder of how much danger the Void presented to our realms…but it felt so distant, so far away. It would be billions of years before we genuinely had to deal with Paradoxes and the like. At least this reminded me that the Void was not safe, and I would eventually have to overcome it.

Eventually we wandered our way back to the Progenitor's laboratory, as they called our main bodies back to finish a few more explanations. Unlike the other universes that felt like tours, the Progenitor largely gave us free reign to do as we pleased so long as we adhered to the 'no touching' rule.

Yueya linked her arm in mine as we returned to the laboratory, where the Progenitor was explaining a few of the finer details of the processes of maintaining the Garden to a few of our incarnations, which faded upon our return. How it could survive without a protective shell or barrier, without being immediately consumed by the Void, was fascinating; I actually had no idea that the devouring process wasn't instantaneous. However, one of the biggest things I noticed was how expressive the Progenitor was while talking.

It was never happier then when it was describing its creations, or simply strolling through the Garden itself. Never was it content to micromanage things, and it seemed to have accepted the process of gradual destruction as inevitable, and even ideal. But that was likely to be expected from a God of Creation; even if its exterior garden was destroyed by the Void, it could simply create a new one.

I dared to say that its power of limitless creation, creating something from nothing, was stronger than mine had been even when I created the Four Realms. Meaning it had surpassed the sliver of power originally afforded to us from Mr. Boxes, even if only in matters of creation.

That was how such a small amount of primordial chaos could once again become a massive universe, every time the original was destroyed. Even now, watching the Progenitor as it talked, I could see bits and pieces of things flying off of it to join the universe at large. Primordial chaos, truesouls, pure energy…it was usually small things, but the constant creation was simply astonishing.

"These are a few of my gardeners," The Progenitor said, bobbing happily next to three feathered beasts. They were different than its plus-one, but only slightly. They had four legs and two arm-like appendages tipped with ten fingers stretching from their shoulders, wings sprouting from their backs and muzzles filled with sharp teeth. Their three eyes blinked at us, a rumbling sound echoing from their chests as Yueya let go of me and approached to inspect them. "They are a few of the only truly immortal beings in my Garden, and my closest attendants. They tend to the Garden where I don't, or while I am busy with creating new things. Now, over here…" The Progenitor rambled on, drifting over to the next part of its laboratory.

The laboratory was a simple thing, really. There were not glass beakers or complex machinery like what I would envision from my previous lives – or anything like my own workshop, filled with jars of elemental essences, blueprints, and failed or successful experiments. The Progenitor's laboratory was largely blank. White walls surrounded us, windows showing the greater parts of the Garden, while bits and pieces of half-made creations floated about aimlessly.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Just because I can, create anything I want doesn't, mean I know everything I can make. Your universes have, given me plenty of ideas, and for that I thank you." It had said when I'd pointed that out.

"I sense that we will reach that level of skill in creation eventually," Shin said, appearing beside me. The Progenitor pulsed once, creating a scale-model of its universe that mimicked the birth and death of its repeated universe, each iteration expanding larger, as it continued its explanation. "But as a god of creation the Progenitor will always have a leg up on us."

"I am honestly jealous," I admitted. "It took me eons to build up enough energy just to create a star – and admittedly big, immortal, and important star, but a star just the same – and the Progenitor would be able to do it in a fraction of that time."

"It will take me eons to make new grey areas as well, whereas it would be trivial for them." Shin agreed, smoke pouring from his mouth as he spoke.

"But, just the same, I am sure he is lacking in other areas as compared to us. If anything this outing is highlighting the pros and cons of each of our domains, and what we sacrificed to become origin deities." I mused, shaking my head as the Emperor began to talk up the Progenitor's achievements.

"Nyxteria agrees. If Nyxteria had such abilities, Nyxteria's nest would not be such a mess. But if Nyxteria wasn't a time god, there would be no collection!" Nyxteria agreed, poking its head over my shoulder to peer at the Progenitor, blinking its eyes and cocking its head to the side. Surprisingly, it had not asked for anything to keep yet…at least that I'd noticed. Randus had nothing to offer the bird besides dreams, which Nyxteria seemed uninterested in. For a moment longer we stood there, listening to the Progenitor wax poetic about its creations.

My thoughts refused to remain on topic for too long, however. They kept drifting back to the Progenitor's words to me, about not turning away from myself. And how sight was often most limited when directed at the self.

I found that to be…untrue. I knew myself, didn't I? My first act in the Void had been to examine the depths of my soul for an unknown period of time. Or perhaps it was simpler than that. Perhaps I was turning a blind eye to a part of myself because I either was not ready to accept it, or not willing to see it.

"Don't try so hard," Shin advised. "You're struggling too hard to figure it out, whatever it is. Let it come to you of its own accord." I nodded absently, knowing his words to be wise. Knowing was different than understanding, though, and I could be incredibly stubborn.

"That would be, the end, of our tour." The Progenitor announced, startling me. "Let us return to the meeting room, and decide the next, universe to visit."

I blinked at the ball of light, not quite comprehending what it had said, then rubbed my face, groaning into my hands. Getting distracted like that was no good, I really needed to pay closer attention to things.

I spent the walk back to the meeting room in silence, hands folded in the sleeves of my robes and staring at the floor. Randus, of course, seemed to notice my mood right away as he appeared beside me, handing me a cup of tea to try and help smooth things over – but I didn't need things to be smoothed over. I worried my bottom lip as I walked, burdened by thoughts.

"Are you alright?" Yueya asked suddenly, sidling up beside me. "You've been awfully quiet."

"Just thinking about some things." I said.

"Is it about what the Progenitor said?" she asked.

"Yes." That was a bit of an understatement, however. It wasn't just that, that had rattled me. There was something else stirring that I wasn't quite sure how to handle…I think it was high time I visited the Dragon's Realm. There was no point in beating around the bush anymore.

Yueya linked her arm in mine and my thoughts mercifully ground to a halt. She winked at me as we stepped through the portal to the meeting room and I shook my head in amusement, glancing about as everyone once again meandered through the white room. I, for one, fixated my gaze on the Dragon.

I met her glowing orange eyes, filled with all the intense emotions that came with her existence. She was power and pain, death and life, destruction and creation. Her emotions flowed freely through her – I could see them, and she did nothing to hide it. Her teeth bared themselves in a snarl, wings stretching out as she lifted her head. No anger flooded through me this time. Though seeing her still rankled me, I was coming to understand the problem. It lay in me, and my emotions.

"Statera," Shin said suddenly, breaking my concentration. I looked over at him, to see all the others had gathered in front of Sylphina's universe, apparently having decided to visit there while I was…preoccupied. Yueya still stood beside me, looking torn, and MR-10 floated above its stand. "You are not coming?"

"No." I said, shaking my head and shooting Sylphina an apologetic smile. The butterfly flapped its wings once, seeming unaffected.

"That is wise." Rising Wind, Crashing Waves agreed, the great stag nodding its head. "Your 'Balance' would be more sinister to Sylphina's Chaos than even pure order would be. Subtle subversion is what it would cause which, at this stage, I cannot advise." We were on the same page, then.

"How much you wanna bet the place is trashed by the time we come back?" Reilly asked, gaze flicking between me and the Dragon, stroking his chin as he moved over to the Emperor. Said man just snorted and shook his head, returning to discussing something in low tones with his plus one. Reilly clicked his tongue and met my eyes, shrugging helplessly before pulling out yet another gourd of alcohol from thin air.

"Let us go." Sylphina said, leading the way into her portal. Yueya hesitated for just a moment, glancing at me, then at the Dragon, then back at me. I made a shooing motion and she huffed, rolling her eyes as she marched over to the portal, hesitating for only a moment before vanishing into it.

"Randus, thank you for your assistance." I said, turning to my faithful butler. He stood behind me, eyes closed and head bowed ever so slightly, though I could feel his hesitation. He looked…good, though. Calmer. He tapped into my dreams too much; he needed to go out and think of his own sometimes. This trip may have helped him do that; certainly, he had something new to think about even if he didn't really know what that was.

"Is there anything else, Mistress?" he asked. I shook my head, walking him over to the portal to the Four Realms. "Then who should I prepare to bring for the next one?"

"I will call him. It won't take as much time as you think," I told him. Randus toyed with one of the buttons on his coat hesitantly, looking like he had something he wanted to ask or say but didn't have the courage to say it. "Then I will retire. Thank you for the opportunity," he said instead, bowing slightly before slipping into the portal. I remained still for a moment longer, watching my portal and feeling my karma begin to unwind a bit further. The countless different threads that connected me to the Four Realms and my children were slowly solidifying, simplifying into thick ropes rather than a dense web, while other strands were completely resolved.

My extended absence from the Realms was also helping, in a way, threads naturally dying out without me there to maintain them. The weight lifting itself from my shoulders would have been relaxing, were I not in the presence of the Dragon.

"Did you mean what you said, earlier?" I asked, turning back to the Dragon but never stepping away from my portal. It sneered at me, having risen up to a sitting position while I sent Randus away. "That I am the only one you would allow into your realm."

"That is an exaggeration. I believe few of us would gain from seeing the Primeval Dragon's universe." MR-10 interjected, lights flashing as it spoke. "Her process is painfully apparent, even from this distance."

"Silence, machine. I will let no one but those I approve of into my Realm." She growled, snapping her teeth at MR-10 before turning back to me. "Why?"

"You piss me off. I need to see why."

"I know why you anger me; it the same reason you alone, of all our so-called fellows, are allowed to come. That thing I sense from you is the same you sense in me, you are just stupid enough to deny it." She said, rising to her feet and stretching out her wings. Smoke drifted down from the membranous limbs, an orange glow radiating from her chest, her tail thrashing. Mr. Boxes' incarnation pulsed once, hanging in the air above the table still as it was. "Not going to bring a shard of yourself this time?" The Dragon sneered, turning her back to me to head to her portal.

My eyes widened, then narrowed, lips pulling into a thin line. A shard of myself? True, my children had been born of shards of my own soul…which meant that I was part of them, just as they had been part of me.

However, no. I would not go alone. I needed someone to come with me. He – he might even need this even more than I did. My son was suffering in silence from the weight of his fate, bearing it with all the stoic faith he could muster. And I could see it even now that this meeting here would give him an answer. An answer to the same level of Reika's change, whatever she had gained from Shin's Wheel Realm.

"No." I said, shaking my head and laying a hand on my own portal, reaching within to call my child to me. "There was a saying among spirits, back before I became an Origin Deity, that nothing can win against a dragon."

"I like this saying," the Dragon growled out. I chuckled a little, narrowing my eyes at her. I hadn't been finished.

"Nothing can fight against a dragon. Nothing, save for another dragon."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.