Two days had passed since Amaterasu's awakening, and now the rest of the Tiny Tots were finally emerging from their Chrysalis, joining Mythara, Amaterasu, and Heka in the star-swept void.

While none of their emergences carried the raw power and spectacle of Amaterasu's rebirth, each awakening brought its own subtle shift to the space around them. Yet despite their individual differences, every single one of them experienced the same inexplicable reaction upon seeing Amaterasu—an immediate, instinctual sense of safety and reverence that seemed to emanate from the very core of their being.

Amaterasu was hesitant to tell the others about her Right. The main reason was that she didn't completely understand it herself. But there was also the thought of the others shying away from her, especially The Conductor. He was their leader, and she still looked at him as her leader. She felt that this "Right" stripped him of something that was hard-earned by his talents and abilities.

However, she wouldn't have time to wrestle with these conflicted feelings. The Wanderer, Heka, announced her position as "The First" with the unbridled enthusiasm of a proud father showcasing his most promising child. His declaration rang through the nebula with unmistakable glee.

Amaterasu braced herself for awkwardness, confusion, maybe even resentment. Instead, she found herself genuinely surprised by how naturally the others received the news. There were no shocked gasps, no challenging questions—just calm acceptance, as if this revelation was merely confirmation of something they'd already sensed.

"The voice already informed us before we awakened. It makes sense," Shango said with a casual shrug, his tone suggesting this was about as surprising as learning the sky was blue.

"Yeah, you always seemed like a big sister or mom," Siren giggled as she grabbed Amaterasu's hands.

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not," Amaterasu sighed.

"You know what I mean… you're all motherly and stuff," Siren tried to explain, but it did not help the situation.

"You daft bird. You are not helping. She means you're a braw lass—upright and caring and all that shite!" Bumi tried to interpret, but just made things a little more confusing. Shango massaged the bridge of his nose. He was just happy that Manic was too distracted by the Nebula to be paying attention to anything.

"What we're trying to say is: you're always the one to look after everyone. It makes sense the Voice took a shine to you," Mirage smiled and reassured Amaterasu.

The other Tiny Tots nodded in agreement and reassured her. The process of becoming Chasers and everything that happened after was hard on all of them. However, through all that, the fiery green-eyed sword girl was surprisingly the most gentle and caring of the group. She always made sure to give the others what they needed, whether it was a shoulder to cry on or some tough love.

"Yeah, I was always the shield to your sword anyway, right? So now I'm like a Royal Guard," The Hoarder's bellowing laughter filled the space as he placed his hand on Amaterasu's shoulder.

Everyone then went quiet as The Conductor started to walk towards her. While they all felt a sense of security and reverence from Amaterasu, The Conductor exuded a type of pressure that made all of them stand at attention. Even Manic was made to focus as The Conductor strode forward. The Conductor stood before Amaterasu as the Hoarder backed away.

"Whether you are our progenitor, our queen, our matriarch—as long as you don't undermine my command, it doesn't matter," The Conductor smirked.

"Yes, sir," Amaterasu sarcastically saluted, being unaffected by the pressure that The Conductor exuded.

"So you're Heka, yeah? What do you want with us, mate?" Shango asked as he turned his attention towards The Wanderer. Everyone followed his gaze and stared at the Wanderer. If Amaterasu filled them with security and reverence, and The Conductor filled them with a sense of obedience, Shango filled them all with courage and confidence. The three of them standing before them made them all feel like they could take on the world. Mythara noticed this, and so did Heka, and it brought him immense pleasure.

"Truly fascinating," Heka ignored Shango's question for the moment and took a step forward. In that motion, he appeared in front of the three "humans" at the center of his fascination.

"It is that quality in the two of you that made me believe that one of you would be the king of this species. But life, even for me, is unpredictable," Heka turned to look at Amaterasu and chuckled. "It truly loves you. It not only made you a Queen, but granted you two generals."

"What do you mean?" Amaterasu asked as Heka chuckled.

"Your species, even with all of your individuality, is ultimately a herd animal. But because of that individuality, there is no proper hierarchy. So, how can you command loyalty as the First? It's simple…" Heka pointed at Amaterasu. "You command that loyalty through Love…" He then pointed to The Conductor. "Authority…" And then finally pointed to Shango. "And Power." Heka chuckled.

"Your species will be ruled by a Trinity, with you sitting at the head. Truly, perfection," Heka smiled with unmistakable satisfaction.

Everyone's gaze shifted to the three figures before them—the so-called "Trinity." Something was unsettling about how Heka spoke of the "First," as if he were describing an instinctual religion hardwired into the very essence of long-lived species—a divine mandate disguised as natural order. The idea should be absurd, but they all had witnessed Creation's will firsthand. If anything, the concept felt disturbingly plausible.

"As for why I called you all here, I'm going to teach you how to understand Vaylora." Heka turned his back on them.

"As for why I called you all here—I'm going to teach you how to truly understand Vaylora." Heka turned his back on them with deliberate dismissiveness, as if the matter was already settled.

"Mythara can help us with that just fine," The Conductor's frown deepened, his voice edged with defiance. He didn't know what elaborate game this ancient being was orchestrating. Every instinct screamed against getting further entangled in Heka's web of manipulation. The thought that their species' entire evolutionary path had been guided by this creature's whims already sat like poison in his gut.

"The little lizard?" Heka's laugh was cruel and cutting as he dismissed Mythara with a contemptuous wave. "He barely comprehends the basics of his own nature, let alone possesses the wisdom to guide others. Asking a fledgling dragon to teach the mysteries of Vaylora is like asking a drowning fish to explain the art of swimming."

Heka explained, and Mythara said nothing in response. He had felt self-conscious about that very fact for the past two years. And after the conversations he had with Amaterasu over the past few days, he was sure that he wouldn't be much help when it came to teaching them anything.

"Are you sure you don't want my assistance? The Twins and Sage have already received my guidance and have taken to it quite well," Heka teased.

Uneasy murmurs rippled through the Tiny Tots as the implications sank in. It was becoming painfully clear that Heka viewed them as nothing more than fascinating experiments—their survival, their struggles, even the looming war, were all secondary to his scientific curiosity. Each revelation only confirmed his detached obsession with witnessing their evolution unfold.

"About the Twins and Sage…" The Conductor's question cut through the whispered conversations, his tone sharp with suspicion.

"Ah ah…" Heka wagged a finger playfully, his amusement evident. "I'm not Creation—I don't play favorites. But I will tell you this much: they underwent the same transformation as you, yet remain utterly disconnected from your collective bond. They are… anomalies." His voice practically vibrated with delight. "Another delicious quirk of your species' beautiful, chaotic individuality."

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The sheer glee radiating from Heka made it clear that every unexpected twist, every deviation from his predictions, only fed his excitement. To him, they weren't people—they were the most entertaining puzzle he'd encountered in millennia.

"What do you want to teach us?" Amaterasu asked to shift the conversation.

"Tell me, do you all know what Vaylora is? You don't answer… in fact, shoo! Go play over there," Heka looked at Mythara and then waved him off. As he waved off Mythara, he forcefully teleported Mythara deeper into the nebula. He then turned his attention back towards the Tiny Tots, waiting for their answer.

"I was under the impression that Vaylora was the will of creation—its soul… but after speaking with it… that doesn't seem to be the case," Mirage answered.

"Yes, that is the common understanding of Vaylora—something lesser creatures say to help them comprehend. But your kind is something else… something more. You can grasp its true essence. So… what is it?" Heka asked, but his eyes were trained on Amaterasu.

"It's a currency, a resource… a direct line to Vo," Amaterasu answered.

"Exactly! And every living creature has Vaylora within them. You use that Vaylora to enforce your will on creation. You see, Vaylora isn't the will of creation. It's the will of the living," Heka explained.

"But the living are creation. So Vaylora is the will of creation. 'I'm everything, and everyone,'" Amaterasu quoted what she remembered Vo saying.

At her declaration, Heka let out a euphoric sigh. He was elated by the strides the girl had made in just two days. Her level of understanding was something even those of his kind would deem adequate. He let out another breath and said, "Exactly… Exactly."

The others didn't quite understand what was being said. It wasn't surprising, but it was a tad disappointing for Heka. The Twins and Sage took to this information quicker than the others. But that could be attributed to the fact that they already had a basic understanding of Systems before undergoing their Chrysalis.

"There's something I don't understand," The Conductor interjected.

"Speak," Heka instructed.

"I understand Vaylora is our will and line to creation. I understand Systems are used to bear the physical cost of speaking to creation, but… Our Programs…" The Conductor didn't know how to exactly word his question, but Heka nodded his head in understanding.

"It's natural that all of this is confusing to you all. You learned things out of order," Heka turned to face the rest of them, and created a system for them to observe.

"Normally, when species learn Systems, they first learn to intake Vaylora, then they learn to create Systems, then they learn to use their Bents without Systems."

"But we jumped to the third step because of Programs and Nevilara Mystara," Mirage inferred.

"Correct," Heka responded.

"But isn't that your fault? You just handed over Nevilara Mystara and didn't educate any Persequion after the fact," Shango's eyes narrowed.

"Yes… That's correct. But it needed to be done."

"Why?" Amaterasu asked.

"Because diamonds are forged under pressure," The Conductor was the one to answer, and Heka turned to smile at him.

"You left them in a perilous situation with the tools to survive and watched them struggle to expedite our evolution," The Conductor concluded.

Heka said nothing—just his teeth peering through the darkness of his hood to signify his satisfaction with The Conductor's conclusion.

"Regardless, I'm here now, am I not?" Heka reasoned.

"You mentioned Bents?" Amaterasu asked.

"Yes, I'll circle back to Bents. As I was saying, Vaylora is all around us. However, only Gteju can freely manipulate it in its rawest form. For the rest, you need to draw Vaylora into yourself, make it part of your will, and then release it."

"Draw in something we already have? It all sounds like nonsense," Siren said.

"It does at first. But think about it. When you used your Programs before, even though you can regenerate and have endless stamina, did you not still feel drained after extended use?"

At Heka's question, they all went silent. They never really paid it much mind. Heka looked at their faces and started to chuckle.

"Think of your will as a muscle, and the Vaylora you're naturally born with as stamina for that will. And each of your Vaylora has a certain property—that property is known as a Bent."

"So we draw in Vaylora and convert it into energy to fuel our will, but where do we store it?" The Hoarder asked.

"That's the easy part. Where were you dwelling for the past two years? Did you not witness the creation of your Vaylora Seed? Did you not dwell within your own will?" Heka questioned.

Listening, Amaterasu had a very sudden and clear realization. She recalled that endless void with that massive seed of flame and frost forming within it. She then looked at Heka and sighed, "Our everywhere, and nowhere."

At Amaterasu's words, everyone understood. She then continued, "Our Chrysalis was to deconstruct our Vaylora Seed and have us create a new, more robust Seed that could properly fuel our connection to creation?"

Amaterasu now fully understood everything. Heka nodded gracefully as he became more and more pleased with the progress of Amaterasu.

"And the more you nourish those seeds with Vaylora, the more it will bloom to life and the more mysteries of your Bent you will discover," Heka stretched out his arms with excitement. But when he looked at the Tiny Tots, all but Amaterasu had odd looks on their faces. It wasn't a look of confusion—it was a look of apprehension towards him. He groaned a bit, and then someone asked.

"What are Bents?" It was Manic… Manic asked. He hadn't been paying attention to much of anything that was going on. Heka closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I'll explain it so that even you can understand. Pay attention."

Heka turned around and waved his hand through the air. The nebula began to move and formed into shapes. He knew he would need to use moving images to keep Manic's attention.

"Bents are concepts or schools of thought. Each species has a predisposition to these concepts. For instance, Elves have the concepts of Nature, particularly plant and wildlife." The Nebula formed into the shape of an Elf, creating a tree.

"Titan Orcs—Minerals." The image of an orc forming a mountain appeared.

"Vampires—blood."

"Dwarves—technology… etc." The images continued to cycle through, and then they all merged to form a vision of a dragon and a human.

"What have you noticed?" Heka asked the Tiny Tots.

"Humans have no such limitations… nor do dragons," The Conductor commented.

"Exactly. What you are now and what Dragons have always been are just two sides of the same coin," Heka smiled.

"What do you mean?" Siren asked.

"You and Dragons are the most beloved by creation."

"Bugger off! I don't see any of us growing scales and being nigh indestructible and all this other shite!" Bumi raged.

"Mythara Harmonia… Creation is fair, but cruel in its application," Heka chuckled.

"Let me explain. Dragons don't have a Vaylora Seed in the traditional sense. Let me ask you: Why do you think that to kill a dragon, you must first destroy their heart?" Heka asked, and no one had an answer.

"It's because their heart is their seed. It is the most powerful and most potent Vaylora Seed in creation. With each beat, it draws in massive amounts of Vaylora. That Vaylora infuses itself into their blood, their bones, their scales, and seeps into their souls, nurturing their will," Heka explained as he showed this via the nebula stars.

"Yeah, that's my point, lad. We ain't got none of that!" Bumi boomed, his frustration echoing through the nebula.

"Heh." Heka's chuckle was dark and knowing. "A Dragon's heart can also be harvested and consumed to empower those who devour it." The casual way he spoke of such brutality sent a chill through the group, instantly dousing Bumi's rage with cold dread.

"Dragons possess a rigid hierarchy, and while they cherish their young and mates, they are fundamentally solitary creatures. Beyond their offspring and partners, they crave isolation above all else." Heka's tone grew contemplative, almost pitying. "Were it not for their overwhelming strength and ancient wisdom, their antisocial nature would have sealed their extinction long ago."

The unspoken implication hung heavy in the air—dragons were powerful enough to survive despite being easy targets for those willing to hunt them.

"You, New Humans, with all your individuality, uniqueness, and lack of proper hierarchy, crave to be with the herd," Heka smiled at them. "So dragons have everything to compensate for their solitude. You can hyper-specialize in one thing and group together to compensate for your weak bodies."

"So, Dragons are jacks-of-all-trades, but masters of none?" The Conductor reasoned.

"No, Dragons are Masters of all Trades. However, you all can become Grandmasters of one." Heka's voice took on an almost reverent quality. "Your understanding of your specific Bent will transcend even that of dragons. With my guidance, you will craft systems so perfect they eliminate all physical cost—no drain, no exhaustion, no limits. Your abilities will soar beyond the boundaries of what you think possible."

The air itself seemed to thrum with power as Heka's eyes blazed brighter through the shadows of his hood. The Nebula responded to his fervor, stars pulsing and swirling in rhythm with his excitement, casting ethereal light across their faces.

"When mastery reaches its zenith and pushes beyond all perceived limits, the singular becomes infinite. One perfect note can become a symphony. One flame can ignite a universe." His gaze swept across each of them, lingering with predatory satisfaction. "So tell me, my exquisite creations—are you prepared to transcend? Are you ready to shatter the pathetic boundaries that have confined you?"

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