Countdown to The Zenith Games: 1 Month and 11 Days
Zalthorion's Point of View
I sat at my desk, buried in paperwork. The stack in front of me felt like it had no end. I'd grown used to this life routine, controlled but that didn't mean I liked it. There was a time I led armies, brokered peace, helped raise Evolto City from ash and void.
Now?
Now I sign forms and file reports.
How the fuck did it come to this? I'd created the Council to avoid this exact nightmare. And somehow… I ended up doing more paperwork than all of them combined.
A familiar thought tugged at the back of my mind I needed an assistant. Badly. But before I could spiral down that rabbit hole again, my tablet pinged.
The ones Virdarath brought in have woken up.
Finally.
I contacted him immediately and made arrangements to meet them.
The elevator ride down was quiet. Cold lights hummed above me. When the doors opened, Virdarath was already waiting. We exchanged a small nod no words needed and walked together through the steel-lined corridors toward the Medical Department.
Dr. Wagner stood outside the room, arms crossed. He didn't speak, just turned and led us in.
Chloe Morgan and Adonis were restrained on medical beds. Adonis struggled against his bindings tense, alert but the moment his eyes locked onto Virdarath, something shifted. His body eased, just a little. But the fire in his gaze stayed sharp.
I undid their restraints with a thought.
They sat up slowly. Confused. Guarded. I could feel it in the air the fear, the uncertainty. They didn't know if we were their rescuers or jailers.
I signaled for a nurse. Food. It was a small gesture, but it mattered.
Pulling up a chair, I sat across from them.
"My name is Zalthorion," I said, keeping my voice steady. Calm. "That's Virdarath the one who brought you here. And this is Dr. Wagner."
They exchanged a glance. Chloe spoke first.
"Chloe Morgan," she said softly. "And this is Adonis. He's my apprentice."
I nodded. "Good to meet you."
Of course, I already knew who they were. I knew everything. But telling them that now wouldn't help. It'd just make them suspicious.
The nurse arrived, placing two trays on the table. Chloe ate slowly, politely. Adonis devoured his like a starving wolf. I didn't blame him.
When they were finished, I leaned forward.
"Your universe... it was destroyed by a rogue Consumer," I said gently. "We tried to stop them. We failed. They were… unstoppable. In the end, there was nothing left."
Chloe's eyes darkened. Adonis dropped his gaze.
"I know we can't bring your home back," I continued. "But we can give you a new one."
With a flick of my wrist, a shimmering contract appeared on the table.
"This agreement gives you housing, financial support, access to everything Evolto City offers. Adonis will be enrolled in one of our best schools free of charge. And Chloe, you'll have a position as a magical researcher. Virdarath said you were a witch. We'd like you to continue your work."
I slid the contract toward them.
"Take your time. If you have questions, Virdarath will be here."
I stood, motioned to Wagner, and left them alone.
As we walked, the city hummed beneath us machines, lights, power pulsing through every wire and wall.
"You really trust Virdarath with something this delicate?" Wagner asked.
I smirked. "Have a little faith in your friends, Doc."
He raised an eyebrow. "One personality might get through to them. The other'll just make dumb jokes."
"And that's exactly what I'm counting on."
He gave me a look. "You serious?"
"Think about it," I said. "They just lost everything. They're in a strange world, terrified. And the guy who saved them walks in makes a bad pun, grins like an idiot. It breaks the ice. Makes him human. That builds trust faster than any lecture ever could."
Wagner didn't reply right away. Then, quietly, he said, "Virdarath's seen things."
I nodded. "Adonis remembers watching someone he loved get humiliated. Shot. Riddled with bullets until there was nothing left. Then watched them come back. While Chloe Morgan? Remembers what it feels like to die."
Wagner sighed. "I get it."
He cleared his throat, shifting gears. "You usually don't come to me unless it's serious. So what is it?"
I glanced over. He handed me a tablet.
The screen flickered to life readings, graphs, swirling anomalies. At the center: a shadowy vortex twisting through reality itself.
"What am I looking at?"
"This came from the Nexus Directorate," he said. "They found it near the origin point where the first universe was born. Empty space. Nothing should be there."
He hesitated. "I believe it's related to Nyxia. More specifically, his Shadow Monarch ability."
My jaw tightened.
"Unlike the others in the city," I muttered, "his shadows don't live in the soul."
"Right," Wagner nodded. "Nyxia's shadows exist in the multiverse. Not inside him."
He tapped the screen. "And here's the part that scares me. He doesn't need to say anything. No ritual. No command. If he kills someone… they join him. No resistance. No delay."
"And they obey?"
"Completely," Wagner said. "Like he's a god."
I stared at the screen. That swirling black hole of intent and power.
"Keep me informed," I said.
I turned and walked toward the main courtyard.
Outside, the sun bathed the city in warm light. I saw Aventis and Aveonis darting around, laughing as they played with Marisov. His giggles rang out across the garden.
I smiled. Just seeing him smile was enough to melt the weight of a hundred lifetimes.
I walked toward the front door but just as I reached for it, I heard a shout:
"PAPA! Come play with us!" Marisov's voice, full of joy.
I almost said no. But then I remembered what Wagner told me.
You need to spend more time with him.
I turned around and grinned. "Alright."
With a shimmer of energy, my clothes shifted into something lighter better for movement. I ran forward and scooped Marisov into my arms, spinning him through the air as he laughed.
And for a moment, just a moment, the weight of the multiverse didn't seem quite so heavy.
The thing about playing with Marisov, Aventis, and Aveonis was that it never stayed simple for long.
One moment we were tossing a ball around the courtyard well, trying to. Marisov insisted on using a ball made of condensed plasma because "it looks cooler, Papa!" Aventis barreled after it like an overgrown, flaming puppy, leaving steaming footprints on the stone, while Aveonis swooped from above with the grace of a thunder goddess, her feathers trailing streaks of electric blue.
The next moment, Marisov shouted, "Let's make a battlefield!" and the world shifted to his whim.
Crystalline trees erupted from the grass. The sky deepened into a twilight shade, glittering with stars that hadn't existed seconds ago. Aventis doubled in size, scales glowing like molten metal. Aveonis flared her wings and released a playful thunderclap that shook the tiles loose on the courtyard roof.
I laughed freely, fully. It had been too long since I'd felt this kind of joy.
My clothes morphed into a sleek combat outfit fluid armor plating across my chest and legs, shadowwoven threads reinforcing my coat. Marisov stood triumphantly on Aventis' back like a general on his war beast. "CHARGE!" he cried, pointing dramatically at me.
Aventis roared not a threatening roar, more like the kind you'd expect from a dog who'd just been told walk and bounded forward.
I barely dodged a plasma-fireball before redirecting it with a flick of my fingers. Aveonis circled above, wings crackling with playful electricity. She dived low and snatched Marisov off Aventis' back mid-gallop.
"Hey!" the boy giggled, clinging to her talons. "No fair, Avi!"
Her voice rang out in his mind, musical and teasing. "Then fly faster, little knight."
She arced into the sky with him, lightning streaking behind her, while I shot upward in a blur of golden light, joining them in the air.
"You're getting fast," I called, keeping pace beside her.
Aveonis flapped her wings once and spun effortlessly through a cloud. "I've always been faster than you."
"Oh really?" I grinned. "Prove it."
We raced.
Not just across the courtyard, but high above Evolto City's golden towers, over skyrails and between floating gardens. The wind howled with our momentum. Marisov's delighted laughter echoed behind us as Aveonis twirled and dove like a dancer made of stormlight.
And for once… I wasn't Zalthorion the Councilor. Or the Harbinger. Or the omniscient overseer of the multiverse.
I was just Papa.
And that was enough.
After hours of chasing each other through storm clouds, dueling with conjured swords, and inventing entire universes mid-play, we finally collapsed in the courtyard, breathless.
The sky above had faded into a rich indigo, scattered with galaxies and constellations some real, some Marisov had created just for fun. The Sun had long dimmed, replaced by the glittering dance of starlight across Evolto City's protective dome.
I lay on my back in the soft grass, armor faded back into casual robes. Marisov sprawled across my chest, his small body rising and falling with every slow breath I took. His fingers lazily pointed upward.
"That one looks like Aventis," he murmured, tracing a bright constellation that vaguely resembled a coiled beast.
"And that one…" he said, stretching to point at a swirling galaxy. "That's Aveonis see? The wings? It's her dancing."
I smiled, my hand resting on his back to steady him.
Aveonis landed nearby, wings folding with a crackle of residual lightning. She flopped onto the grass beside us with the grace of a seasoned huntress turned nap enthusiast. "That," she said, her voice like rolling thunder softened by sleep, "was fun."
Aventis, who had curled up beside us like a giant ember-scaled dog, let out a short, gravelly rooorf in agreement his version of "ditto." A faint glow pulsed from his chest as he settled deeper into the earth, warmth radiating from his massive body like a living furnace.
The wind was soft. The stars spun lazily above us. For a moment, there was no multiverse to guard. No sectors to manage. No meetings. No threats. Just the quiet company of a child, a flame lizard, and a thunderbird.
And the universe felt... peaceful.
Marisov yawned, his voice muffled as he rested his cheek against my chest.
"Papa?"
"Mm?"
"Do you think... the stars remember where we came from?"
I didn't answer right away. I let the silence stretch just long enough to feel like it meant something.
"I think they do," I said softly. "But more importantly... they remember where we're going."
He gave a tiny nod and closed his eyes.
And under a sky full of endless worlds, we slept together, as a family stitched not by blood, but by something far deeper.
The moment hung still.
Until
Soft footsteps approached from the path that led through the courtyard gardens. Light, deliberate, almost melodic. Aveonis perked up, tilting her head, her feathers twitching with curiosity. Aventis cracked open one eye, but stayed where he was, content and half-asleep.
Azura stepped into view, her presence calm and serene, dressed in her usual flowing indigo robes that shimmered faintly under the starlight. Her eyes found Marisov immediately, and her expression melted into that patient, knowing smile she always had when dealing with him.
She didn't speak right away just stood there, waiting.
Marisov groaned softly and buried his face in my chest like a pillow. "Nooooo…"
Azura finally spoke, her voice gentle but firm. "Marisov. It's time for your bath."
He let out a dramatic sigh, then rolled off me and onto the grass, laying there like the weight of the universe had suddenly landed on his back.
But then, slowly like the stars themselves were pulling him he got to his feet and trudged toward her, dragging his feet in exaggerated protest. "Do I have to?"
Azura chuckled, reaching out and taking his small hand in hers. "Yes, little one. You smell like Aventis."
"Hey," Aventis grumbled half-heartedly.
I stood and brushed the grass off my robes, watching them walk a few steps ahead. The way Marisov leaned into her, even in his sleepy defiance it said more than words could.
I followed quietly, and just before they turned the corner toward the inner halls, I said, "Thank you."
Azura looked back at me, surprised by the tone. It wasn't the usual guarded thanks, the one that came with layers of responsibility and burden. This one was warm. Unarmored. Honest.
"Without you," I said softly, "I don't know what he might've become."
Her expression shifted something subtle and deeply human behind those wise, ageless eyes.
"You're welcome," she replied. "But don't forget… you gave him something too. You gave him a reason to be more than what he was created for."
She turned away with Marisov in tow, and their footsteps faded into the corridors of the tower.
I stood there for a while longer, staring up at the stars again. Aventis let out a sleepy grumble beside me. Aveonis was already dozing with one wing curled over herself.
The world was quiet again.
And I allowed myself to feel… hopeful.
The moment of serenity quickly faded as I stepped into the office, the soft glow of the lights barely illuminating the mountain of paperwork that awaited me. I let out a long, exhausted sigh, feeling the weight of responsibility settle in once more.
My desk was a battlefield of neatly stacked papers, reports, and files each one a reminder of the many duties I carried, each one a task that pulled me farther from moments like the one I had just shared with Marisov. A gentle smile flickered on my face at the thought of him. Even when I was exhausted and the weight of everything seemed unbearable, his laughter had a way of lightening the load, if only for a little while.
I sank into the chair behind my desk and glanced at the topmost sheet. It was a report on the city's defense grid, one of the many systems I had a hand in designing and maintaining. Below it, another paper outlining the latest developments with the Exo-Guardians, followed by something about an energy fluctuation in one of the outer sectors of course, it couldn't just be simple. It never was.
I rubbed my eyes, resisting the urge to sink deeper into my thoughts. I had a city to manage, a multiverse to safeguard, and responsibilities that stretched beyond the horizon. But in this moment, in the silence that surrounded me, I couldn't help but wish for more of the simple things. More laughter. More moments where the weight of the world didn't press down so heavily.
I picked up the first piece of paperwork and began reading, one task at a time, with the faint sound of the distant city humming in the background.
Somehow, the stillness was comforting in its own way. Even as I buried myself in work, the thought of Marisov, Aveonis, and Aventis lingered in the back of my mind, a reminder that amidst all the chaos, there were thing simple, beautiful things that made it all worth it.
And with that thought, I began to tackle the mountain of tasks before me. One page at a time.
Marisov's Point of View
The water was warm perfect, really not like the time Aventis sneezed into the bath and it turned into lava. That was... an experience. But this time? It was like being wrapped in a soft cloud.
Azura sat beside the tub, sleeves rolled up just enough to show the delicate curve of her arms. She hummed the same lullaby she always did when she helped me get clean or when she gently wiped chocolate off my cheeks. Her hands were soft. They always were. She moved with such care, like I might shatter if she wasn't careful. I liked that about her.
I kicked my feet under the bubbles, giggling as the water splashed a little. "Azura?"
"Yes, little star?" Her voice was gentle, dreamy, like she was lost in some faraway thought as she wiped a bead of water from my cheek.
"Why do you always look at Papa like you're gonna eat him?" I asked, my head tilted in innocent curiosity.
Azura froze for a split second. Her humming stopped entirely, and I noticed the soft tension in her shoulders. She blinked once, then turned to me slowly, her gaze unreadable for a heartbeat.
"…Eat him?" Her voice was still soft, but it had a strange edge to it now. Her hands didn't move.
I nodded, giggling a little as I splashed my feet again. "Mhm! You look at him like how Aventis looks at my cookies."
For a moment, there was only silence. Then, Azura let out a soft laugh. Not a loud one, but a quiet, almost melodic sound, like wind chimes tinkling in the distance. She leaned a little closer, her cheek brushing against mine as she whispered, her voice warmer than the bath water.
"Oh, sweet Marisov…" She chuckled again, her fingers gently cupping my face, like she was memorizing the feel of my skin. "That's because your father is the most beautiful, radiant, perfect being ever carved from stardust."
I blinked, looking at her. "You sound like Pascal when he talks about his broom."
Her laugh came again, longer this time, but her hands didn't start wiping again. Instead, she leaned in a little closer, her eyes softer now, something almost vulnerable in them.
"Do you know what it feels like to need someone so badly that it hurts to breathe when they're not near?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
I tilted my head, considering. "Like when I thought Aveonis flew away forever, and I cried for eight hours?"
Azura's expression softened, her eyes glistening. "Yes," she whispered, her voice thick with something I didn't understand. "Like that. But... much worse. Like if your entire universe was him. If every star you saw was his eyes, and every silence made you ache for his voice."
I didn't quite understand, but I nodded anyway, my small hands splashing the water again. "Do you think he knows?"
Her lips quirked into a small, almost secret smile. "He's terrified of how much I love him."
I frowned, my brow furrowing. "But why? You're really nice."
Azura's gaze softened, but there was a dark edge to it now. She watched me for a long moment, her lips parting, as if choosing her next words carefully. Then, she whispered so quietly I almost didn't hear it.
"Because sometimes... love burns too hot. And he's scared it will scorch him."
I furrowed my brow, my innocent gaze lifting to meet hers. "But you'd never hurt him, right?"
Azura's smile didn't falter. She leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead as if to reassure me.
"No," she said sweetly, her voice like velvet. "Never."
And then, barely audible under her breath, a whisper so soft I wasn't sure it was meant for me: "Unless someone else tries to love him first."
I blinked, confused. "What was that?"
"Nothing, little star," she said, her voice light again, the familiar, comforting warmth back in her tone. She leaned in and kissed my forehead again, more tenderly this time. "Now, close your eyes. It's time to rinse."
As the warm water poured over my head, I smiled, feeling her gentle hands guide me through the process. Even though I didn't understand everything, I knew that Azura was always so kind, so careful with me.
But there was something in her eyes, something too bright when she whispered my father's name. And even though I didn't fully grasp it, I could feel the change in the air around her.
I was safe. But the silence in her whispered words lingered.