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moonshine-nightlight · 2 years

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Nothing’s Wrong with Dale - Part Five

It’s been a week, but you’re fairly certain your fiancé accidentally got himself replaced by an eldritch being from the Depths. Deciding that he’s certainly not worse than your original fiancé, you endeavor to keep the engagement and his new non-human state to yourself.

However, this might prove harder than you originally thought.

Fantasy, arranged marriage, malemonsterxfemalereader, M/F

Story Status: Complete

AO3: Nothing’s Wrong with Dale Chapter 5

[Part One] [Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four] Part Five [Part Six] [Part Seven] [Part Seven.5] [Part Eight] [Part Nine] [Part Ten] [Part Eleven] [Part Twelve] [Part Thirteen] [Part Fourteen] [Part Fifteen] [Part Sixteen] [Part Seventeen] [Part Eighteen] [Part Nineteen] [Part Twenty] [Part Twenty-One] [Part Twenty-Two] [Part Twenty-Three] [Part Twenty-Four] [Part Twenty-Five] [Part Twenty-Six] [Part Twenty-Seven] [Part Twenty-Eight] [Part Twenty-Nine] [Part Thirty] [Part Thirty-One] [Part Thirty-Two] [Part Thirty-Three] [Part Thirty-Four] [Part Thirty-Five]

“Are you certain you have the vigor for this, sweetheart?” Grandmother Northridge asks Dale after he joins them at the table, but declines any wine.

“Of course, Grandmother,” he replies smoothly. You’d parted company over an hour ago and he still seems to be as awake and alert as he did them—perhaps he truly has recovered physically. “I simply find that if I refrain from drinking anything besides tea,” he nods at you, “or water until the evening, it’s easier to stay awake.”

Grandfather Northridge laughs, slapping Dale’s shoulder as he walks around him to take his own seat. You tense when Dale does, his eyes flickering all white for a split second before he seems to remember himself, calming as he realizes the hit was not an act of aggression. “You’re becoming an old woman before you’ve even married.”

His wife swipes his goblet with ease, impressive given the state of her eyesight. “Watch what you say, Archie,” she teases, her unfocused eyes still managing to glint with mischief. “What sort of example are you setting for our grandson and his future wife?”

Grandfather pouts briefly as she takes a healthy sip from his goblet before he smiles, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek. “Of course I didn’t mean you, my lovely battleaxe.”

Grandmother sniffs as she considers his words before she passes the goblet back to him. “Of course.” She winks at you and you look down with a smile. “Now,” Grandmother turns and beckons imperiously. A scribe hurries over from where she’d been fussing with some papers. “We can get back to the real business. Planning your wedding.”

“While the second moon after the spring Equinox is still our rough timeframe, the astrologer I initially hired ran off while you were ill, dear,” she tells Dale. She tuts as she continues, “You know how those sorts are, always prone to flights of fancy and terror.” You swallow, casting a nervous glance at Dale who’s smirking to himself—likely the poor astrologer figured out what happened to him. Since most demons who come over uninvited tend to have rather dramatic and nefarious plans, with a lot of potential for collateral damage, you’re not surprised he left in a hurry.

For a demon summoning, provided one managed to open a portal as deep as they were aiming for with enough power to keep it open, the majority of learning and studies went to writing the correct exclusionary principles and setting the right lures. Summonings were conducted with a specific goal in mind by the summoner and most of the spellwork was to ensure the correct demon was allowed up.

While you’ve no idea what Dale had intended technically, you assume he was attempting to catch a demon who could give him considerable power to take out certain people he saw as rivals and perhaps bully others for more advantageous business dealings. However, there is no chance that he would have consented to being possessed–too full of himself to consider letting someone else in as well.

That means he either didn’t set the parameters right, and summoned a demon powerful enough to possess him anyway, or he didn’t lock in his power source correctly–and a human always has the most potential energy near a summoning. You’d bet on the latter, with Dale being consumed and the portal left open with his body for the taking long enough for a demon to follow the line up.

Regardless, an unsummoned demon rarely was the sort, having fought off others for the opportunity, who lacked ambition or strength. And if there’s one thing that’s true about all demons, is that they’re always ravenous. Freshly summoned, unfettered demons have no qualms about taking what they crave nor waste any time in the taking.

How restrained Dale has been, appetite for food aside, is unusual as far as you can tell as a layperson, but perhaps his weakened state slowed him down long enough for him gain that control? At the very least, he seems committed to staying on the Surface and those that choose to do so tend to care less for immediate gratification.

Still, you wonder what Dale truly hungers for.

There are a few tales of demons who lived, unbound and unsummoned, on the Surface for years without leaving disaster in their wake, but they are very very rare or not discussed openly—not in your own lands and certainly not here in Northridge. All of this to say that, just because you have no better options other than to stay, doesn’t mean an astrologer felt the same once he realized the potential danger.

You’re surprised Grandmother managed to get a coherent reading from any astrologer since this happened. Especially one who could give a full-write fifty day up as it appeared they had--at least, as far as you could tell from the upside down charts in Grandmother’s hands. While you’re not surprised Grandmother had gone to the trouble of getting a reading done for the wedding, it was a common enough practice among nobility if a bit old-fashioned, you are surprised she found someone new on such short notice who was at all competent.

Although, maybe they aren’t.

While caught up in your thoughts, Grandmother has pulled over a large mounted glass. It reminds you of the mirrors some lady’s use for their face paint mixed with some sort of magnifying glass an alchemist might use. Apparently it has a high enough magnification that she can read the chart under it, although with the way she’s squinting, you’re not sure how much good it's doing.

Grandfather leans over to look as well, but, given the way he shakes his head, you’re fairly certain it's too magnified for him. Perhaps it's a good thing no one can read whatever predictions the astrologer has laid out. “Ah, here we are. Young people these days—always writing so small. We have plenty of paper, there is no need to be quite so economical with it.”

A fond smile spreads across your face at her complaining. You’re surprised to catch Dale’s eye and notice a similar wry look on his face. He winks at you, cheerfully mischievous in a way that reminds you of Grandmother, but not at all of who he once was. You feel yourself settle, holding his gaze for longer than you have since he was sick. You find yourself warming up to the idea that he might have a true sense of humor.

“Well, this man certainly has a flair for the dramatic. Instead simply saying some days don’t look promising, he’s crossed them out completely. “Under No Circumstances” it says here. Really—the overreaction.” You feel some dread curdle in your gut at the idea that the astrologer could have foreseen something so dire. You know some of them do exaggerate, but given what happened… You eye Dale again, but he doesn’t seem overly concerned, the same indulgent and amused look is still on his face as he listens.

“He’s only left us with three possible dates, the audacity,” Grandmother huffs. “I’ve never seen such a thing.”

“Perhaps we should contract another astrologer,” Grandfather suggests mildly, but he too frowns as he finally locates one of the copies of the calendars to study.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Grandmother chides. “And wait even longer? No, no, we can work with this. I simply might send a strongly worded letter to the certification board president. Why, someone with less nerve than I might be actually frightened by such theatrical language. In the end, he has only truly endorsed the fourteenth, the eighteenth, and the twenty-seventy of Hectary.”

You reach out to pull one of the calendars out from the stack, turning it right way round so you and Dale can study it. You notice the standard notes regarding the handful of feast days, the lunar status, and already known events along with the astrologer’s specific commentary.

Grandmother is right: his notes are quite peculiar.

Six of the days shown are completely scribbled over in dark red ink stating “UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES”. More than ten days say nothing more than “IT’S A ‘NO’ FROM ME” or “OUTLOOK NOT GOOD” and also are crossed out with a single thick line of red ink.

Of course, there are a handful of days that say the more typical “WEATHER POOR” or “TRAVEL NOT ADVISED”.

You have no idea why one day is simply labeled “PROPHECY” or another labeled “SECRETS”.

“Um.” Your eyes fix on the one you understand the least. “Why are the days labeled “GREAT AUNT DEBORAH WILL SURELY COME” crossed out in red?”

Grandfather shuddered. “No, no—those are sensible. We asked to know that. Definitely not.” His frown depends as he reads another crossed out date that merely says: “You already have plans, don’t forget”. ”What is happening on Pentary 26th?”

“That is our anniversary,” Grandmother replies with a glint in her eye.

“Oh! Right, of course,” Grandfather quickly corrects and looks back down at the calendar. “21st is the Solstice, so we have that feast in the city with the ha Kieths.”

“Do you have any objections to simply choosing one of the acceptable days, dear?” Grandmother asks, turning her gaze to you. The three she mentioned earlier are all clearly labeled in green stating ever so encouragingly “WEDDING CAN OCCUR WITHOUT CATASTROPHE”.

“Oh, no,” you say. You don’t particularly care which day, although perhaps sooner rather than later. You’re not sure how well Dale can control himself for how long. He seems completely human this morning, beyond the brief moment with his eyes. You give a small shrug of your shoulders, for all you can hear your mother’s sniff of disdain at such a common fidget. “Any of them should be fine.”

“Lovely, which seems best?” Grandmother asks the rest of them at large, studying the strange calendar.

“The eighteenth,” Dale says immediately. “Of course.”

Grandfather blinks in the face of his certainty. “The twenty-seventh of Hectary would give us more time to plan.” He’s watching Dale in a way that makes you nervous, like he’s almost suspicious of his answer. Of course it is a suspicious answer—you can’t see original Dale having cared which date in particular, except perhaps the sooner he could inherit, the better.

“And the fourteenth of Hectary would allow you to wed sooner,” Grandmother adds, echoing your thoughts.

“The twenty-seventh is a full moon,” Dale says frowning at them as if they can’t see the obvious. “I’m not sure why the astrologer didn’t take that into account seeing as he took the time to note it, but you cannot be wed with a full moon. And the eighteenth is lucky.” He seems to see how confused the rest of them are and inexplicably looks to you, looking for…something.

“I think I’ve heard that, about a full moon,” you offer tentatively, racking your brain for something to say and bridge this gap between Dale and his grandparents before they think too hard about it. “My Helani friends refuse to travel on full moon nights—or plan anything that might call for travel around then.”

Grandfather sniffs. “A strange superstition.”

You decide not to point it out that most superstitions are, by definition, strange and arbitrary. “The eighteenth gives us a full month to allow for the travel of others, if we send the invitations within the next day or so without extending our betrothal by another month,” you continue. The best way to divert suspicion from Dale’s insistence is to make it appear logical. “Some of my family might need even those few days of extra time.”

“Additional travel time for guests is always appreciated,” Grandmother says agreeably. “Very well, the eighteenth it is.” She circles the date on her copy of the calendar. You wonder if you can keep the version you and Dale are looking at—some of the astrologer’s notes might prove useful. In particular, that day marked “A SURPRISE - YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS” seems worth preparing for.

Luckily, the next step is the guest list. Grandmother and Grandfather fuss over their own list of local important figures and family members—the majority you recognize from your morning lessons—and national figures who expect an invitation but won’t actually come.

Dale only questions the royal invitations—not understanding why they would invite someone they know won’t come. Grandfather gives him another questioning look. Luckily Dale must realize he’s missing something he should know and subsides in his objections easily. He still looks confused, but you can’t explain without drawing attention to the fact that he requires one. Dale was very apt at political maneuvering and full of himself, there’s no way he wouldn’t have invited these people on the off chance they might show up for bragging rights alone.

He argues about one distant cousin, saying she’s dead, so why would she be invited? When Grandmother protests she is not and that she has recovered from her bout of illness. You wonder if he can tell somehow, with his other powers, if she is alive or not. He’s smart enough to realize since he can’t say how he knows with any specificity when Grandfather asks and so lets the matter go.

You and your mother had drawn up a guest list before you came over with your father to stay in Northridge almost three weeks ago. Keeping the copy you made yourself, you present the list written in your mother’s secretary's hand.

“Thank you, dear,” grandmother says as she looks it over briskly with her magnifying glass before handing it to her clerk. “I appreciate your moderation. To hear some of my contemporaries, brides wish to invite every person they have ever met these days.”

You give a meek smile. You’re not going to admit that you have few peers that would deign to show up for the occasion, let alone friends that you would actually want to come. Since you were frequently sick throughout your growing years, you seldom left your family home then. Once you were fit enough to attend schooling, the majority of friendships had long since formed. This left you with few friends, the majority of them not nobility and therefore not fit to be invited. That left family members as the majority of your guest list. You're more than happy for Grandmother to see it as evidence of restraint or modesty.

As for Dale’s guests, he’d contributed a rough draft before he took ill. Current Dale gives it a cursory look over and merely strikes one name from his list and adds another man’s wife next him. He hadn’t written out addresses though, so now he begins to copy those from a ledger he’d brought with him.

“I know that you will have made a number of friends abroad, dear,” Grandmother says, “but do try to keep your list manageable.”

“Of course, Grandmother,” Dale replies smoothly, without taking his eyes from his careful handwriting. He’s taking a long time to write, but the style is identical to his handwriting before which is a relief.

“Where is the farthest coming from?” Grandfather asks, leaning over. “We will want to send those with the first messenger.”

“Priyva Shri will have returned home to Khinat by now, but I’m not sure he’ll be able to make it,” Dale says, naming a country on the southern tip of the eastern continent. “A number of the others who joined us later are only in Anjou since they were not with us there in the beginning. I’m not sure what the state of the Vaomen mountain passages are like now—you know how the thaw is unequal.”

“Vaomen? You want to invite one of those devil worshipers?” Grandmother’s voice is sharper than you’ve ever heard it and Dale freezes. You hadn’t forgotten how much Grandmother hated demons, and those associated with them, but you’d forgotten how vehement she was. According to the steward, she’d never liked the ‘whole business’ but after her son and daughter-in-laws’ deaths, well…

There was a very important reason Grandmother couldn’t figure out what had happened to Dale and it wasn’t that inheritance laws for the possessed were muddled. You are certain that, regardless of what else this demon did, Dale is the one who went looking for trouble and then likely caused his own death out of hubris and greed. Unfortunately, Grandmother’s biggest blindspot is her grandson. She will never see it that way. You like Grandmother and Grandfather, but they are the ones who raised the first Dale and, while he takes the majority of the credit for how he was, so do they for encouraging him, for turning a blind eye to his vices and enabling him.

“I told you, they are not to be trusted.” Dale opens his mouth but Grandmother points at him, cutting him off. “Even if they aren’t summoners. The whole country, the way they let those creatures walk amongst people is ludicrous. I’ll not having any Vaomens in this house. It’s a shame to your parents’ memory.”

You’d heard the story vaguely prior to your engagement—you knew that Dale’s parents were deceased and that’s why his grandparents were negotiating the betrothal. You’d understood that they had been killed, not taken ill or had an accident, and that it had happened when Dale was quite young—but that was it. Steward Bilmont had provided the full story during one of your lessons.

Over twenty years ago, the prince elected to spend the Spring Equinox at a palace which was less than a week's journey from Northridge and his parents were among the local nobility to stay with them for a time. One day, the family and a few other similarly aged nobles with young children, including two of the prince’s own children, were spending the day in a palace garden to enjoy good weather after days of rain. Not long after Dale had been sent back to their rooms for a nap along with a few of the other youngest children, there was an attack.

The area they were playing in was in the center of a large hedge maze and unfortunately they ended up trapped there. The enemy of the crown, an assassin summoner, snuck into the palace with a pack of mimic demons. Disguised as the afternoon tea service, the group of relaxing nobles were unprepared for the vicious attack. Luckily some of the parents were sparingly armed even with no trouble expected, including Lady Qiana. In the end, she was the one who took down the final demon, guarding the children. Her husband had already been killed and she herself succumbed to her injuries soon after.

The assassin was caught and tried, but it had shaken up a number of the nobility, particularly those who had lost family members. While the assassin was not from Voamen, he had briefly received schooling there before being expelled. that was enough for Grandmother Northridge to take a particularly hard stance about the country as a whole, which was the most permissive of summoning on this continent. Bilmont said she’d found the whole practice distasteful before her first born son was killed and hated anything to do with summoning ever since, enforcing a rigid set of laws in Northridge banning the practice and championing strict laws limiting materials and raising licensing and training requirements within the country in the first decade after the incident. No summoner had even been allowed to travel through Northridge since.

Bilmont swore she had somewhat loosened her convictions in the most recent few years, that she’d had too with Dale traveling or else have given herself health problems worrying, but obviously she still felt quite strongly. It was merely easy to forget because no one brought demon summoning up in her presence if they could possibly help it.

“Truly, Dale.” You look up to see Grandfather looking at Dale reproachfully. His voice is gruff as he reaches over with a pen to cross out the guest’s name and information. “You know better than this.”

Personally, you believe original Dale would merely have been more subtle about it—he is the one who made the list in the first place. He likely would have had it sent to a friend to be redirected or bribed the messenger later on. You don’t like how closely Grandfather is studying Dale and it's obvious he doesn’t either. “Of course,” he says, looking away from Grandfather. He puts a hand on Grandmother’s arm. “My apologies, Grandmother.”

The severe expression on her face melts instantly. “Of course, my boy. It is kind of you to invite all your traveling companions, but we must remember our values.”

Dale murmurs his agreement, looking rather blank, before he reaches into his jacket pocket to take a pull from his flask.

Grandfather’s eyes are still on him as he drinks. “I thought you didn’t want any wine?”

Dale swallows and smiles. “Not wine or any other spirit. An invigorating tea blend, provided by my lovely fiance.”

You blush at his compliment, still not used to how free this Dale is with praise. Grandfather looks at you now and you feel your smile shrink at his still rather hard stare. “Indeed. What manner of tea is this again?”

“Medicinal,” you reply. “I left a few blends with Dale to help him recover his strength. My own personal recipes from when I was ill as a youth.”

“They are most stimulating,” Dale says. He offers the flask to his Grandfather. “Would you like a taste?”

“I’m not sure—,” you start to say. You don’t believe it will upset Grandfather’s stomach, but that would depend on which blend Dale is currently drinking. Grandfather takes a gulp before you can warn him further. Near immediately, his face flushes as his eyes water. “They can be quite strong,” you say weakly, knowing it's too late now. You’re fairly certain that Dale had the tea for chills in his flask and that is strongly spiced with capsicum, something you were fairly certain Grandfather did not usually encounter in his meals and that Dale seemed to have an admirable tolerance to.

Grandfather swallows with reluctance and immediately opens his mouth, reaching for the water pitcher. While Dale accepts back his flask, you hurry over to where the remaining rolls from lunch are. “That was vile!” Grandfather says in between swigs of water. “What the devil is in there? Fire?”

“Here, Grandfather,” you say, pressing a roll into his hand and setting the bowl down next to him. “This will help soothe the heat far better.” He takes it from you with a bit of distrust in his eyes, likely remembering you are the one who made the tea. After a single bite though, he quickly realizes you’re right and stuffs the whole thing into his mouth.

That’s apparently too much for Grandmother, who cackles at the sight. Dale grins at her obvious entertainment and takes a sip from his flask as if to punctuate the point. “Warming, isn’t it?”

Grandfather snorts at that, eating a second roll more slowly. “That was abysmal. But I suppose I could see how that might have gotten you out of bed.”

Dale winks at you. “Quite.”

[Part Six]

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didiwaffles · 5 months

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good lore, good lore.. i absolutely adore multiverses and immortals having arguments that last millions of years! this is so awesome

now that i know who devi is, i want to circle back and ask a bit more about eva

what were her lives before rebirth? how was she even made? what powers did she have?

thanks you for answering my silly questions about your characters 🙏

- void anon

It's such a pleasure to me I can do it all day if you let me

Actually, we do not need to circle back for that, we can just move forward from where I stopped the last time. Before we move on to Eva, I need to establish a few things that led to her birth.

There's a few things that happened in about a few hundred thousands to a million of years between the moment the Monster was sealed and when Devi left Afiar.

As I mentioned, she created 5 Elemental Spirits who went on to restore the world.

Amenir - the Spirit of Air - created a flying castle made of air for Devi.

Devi resqued Emi - a girl who lost everyone she ever knew as well as everyone of her race to the Monster's awakening.

Next few hundred years Emi spent in a hybernation, after which she went on to restore her kind and with time created an army of soldiers devoted to serving Devi. (Not like Devi was a huge fan of that at first, but she let Emi and the others do whatever they wanted.)

Devi made continuous efforts to change Darinir's mind about herself, but it was in vain.

Whenever she could, she spent her time helping people in need, protecting the weak, and fighting off anyone who posed a threat.

The rest of the time she spent on her own, with time creating two other Spirits - Rudy (the Spirit of Time - or rather a tiny fluffy fox squirrel) and Nirali (the Spirit of Art and everything that falls under the category of talent and inspiration) to keep her company. They will become the closest to her, and will remain by her side even when she will have many other friends in the future.

With time, Devi became quite bored of this routine. So she thought of something fun to do. Since she didn't remember ever having a childhood, she wanted to experience that for herself. She didn't consult anyone on that - not her mother, not her enemies, not her children. She just put Emi before the fact - she was going to be reborn as a human child in some other world. She took Nirali with her, merging their souls together so she'd always be by Devi's side, while left Rudy behind. It wasn't meant to take long. After all she intended to come back once she was 20 or something.

Thousands of years passed. She never returned. Everyone looked for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

Obviously something went wrong.

In the preparation to be reborn, Devi left her body and her soul traveled around the universe, in search of a good place to reborn in. Now, remember I mentioned that a piece of Afiar that flew out when the Monster awakened would form into a separate world that would go on to create an anomaly zone? Devi accidentally flew by and got caught up in it. It did quite a few things.

First, it suppressed her power. She was no longer in control of what was happening.

Then, when she was trying to fight it, her mind fractured and split her personality into 3 parts. One was the "Devi of Light" (I'm using such a wording intentionally, she's not the "good" and the other one is not the "bad" Devi, that matters), Rodari, who inherited Devi's wings, which became white with her. The other one was the "Devi of Darkness", Diano, who took the crack from Devi's eye. The third one was Devi herself, what was left of her.

As the result, she lost her memories once again.

As she was reborn, luckily to Devi, everyone inside of her - Diano, Rodari, the Monster, and even Nirali - were put into slumber. Nirali would wake up rather quickly though, but would realize she's trapped inside of Devi's mind, who didn't remember anything and was just like an actual human child.

As Devi grew up, she would often end up creating fantasies in her head. Between toxic family relationships, having no friends, and stressful school stuff, it was her only gateway. There was only one problem. The anomaly did drain all the magic it came in contact with, but what it also did was it made the fantasy of people inside the world affect the rest of the universe. Characters from the books were coming alive in a newly born world somewhere far away, far from the reach of its creator. But that was even more true for Devi. Because even though she lost her memory, she didn't lose her power, and even though it was constantly drained, that wasn't enough to rid of it completely. And the fact that Devi didn't know it existed didn't mean she wasn't using it unconsciously. So, unbeknownst to her, her fantasies were affecting the entire universe. Everything she were thinking about was coming true outside the anomaly. And not only did she affect the future, she also affected the past. She created the fates of people... who she already met. But she didn't remember them. I'm talking about Ula and Lana. She crafted a story of their lives... that she already knew. Just didn't remember. But those two weren't the only ones. There were 7 people she affected directly, and many more - indirectly. One of those 7 was Riam.

I already went on a big enough of a tangent, so I will skip laying out Devi and Riam's relationship. What matters is Devi heavily influenced his very existence, but some stuff remain hidden even from her. Eventually, she got caught up in her own fantasies so badly, that she completely fell in love with her own mind's creation - that is to say, Riam. So one evening when she was especially lonely, she unconsciously completely overpowered the anomaly and just teleported Riam to herself.

Again I will not go into the details of their relationships now, what matters is they fell in love, and after figuring out that finding out how to get out of the world they both ended in might take a bit, they eventually married. And during their honeymoon, Devi got pregnant.

That's how Eva was born.

Now, I will shift to her story.

When Eva was born, Nirali - who was practically her older sister - planted a kiss on her forehead. Being the Spirit, what that did was it blessed Eva with extraordinary talent. Combined with her father's genes, Eva developed extremely quickly. By one year old she could already read with no problems, and by three she could solve simple math problems. When she went to school, she was far ahead of her peers, and what ended up happening is that she would be let to do whatever she wanted in class, as long as she aced all her tests. And of course she did. Devi also made sure Eva had several tutors who would teach her in accordance to her level of development. Once Eva was a bit older, she agreed that it was better than shoving her in the higher grades with more grown up kids or depriving her of socialization by tutoring her at home. As for changing schools into a more advanced one, Devi debated doing that... But there was one slight problem with that.

When Eva was 6, she got two twin little brothers.

As they were growing up, they looked and acted absolutely identical to each other. Even their own parents couldn't tell them apart when they were in matching closes. For some reason, Eva was the only one who could always tell them apart. Consequentially, she was the only one that could put a stop on their twin antics.

But fast forward to the time Eva would go on to graduate. Even though no one doubted her ability to ace the final exam, that was still pretty stressful, and the stress only multiplied with what was happening at home.

After almost 20 years of searching and trying everything she could even think of, Devi finally was able to create a portal out of the world they were in. Funnily enough, it came to her in a dream. She tried her best to replicate it, but she must've messed it up in several places because the portal barely opened. But that was enough for something to grab Riam and shove him inside, after which it closed immediately. At first Devi was incredibly happy. She tried to achieve that for so long! But slowly her happiness faded as she came to the realization, "...But what about me..?"

Devi quickly spiraled down into a deep depression, and Eva had to choose between staying by her side to help her through it and preparing for her own exams, while also taking care of her brothers. But she managed through it and successfully passed her final exam. And when she came back to share the news...

Devi's pain was so unbearable that she unconsciously tore through the fabric of reality, completely overpowering the anomaly, and creating a portal. But when the answer was right before her, she hesitated. She couldn't just go in and leave her children behind. At the same time, they had their own lives and aspirations, Eva was almost an adult, with Paul and Pete already being teens. Forcing them down the path she wanted to go didn't feel right either. But they still needed to be taken care of, she couldn't just abandon them. But she couldn't stay either, not when she had that chance, she would go on to regret it for the rest of her life.

That's where Eva found her when she returned home. And she didn't need any words to understand what was going on. Then, she encouraged Devi to leave them and go, promising that she'll take care of the boys, and when they will be ready, they will somehow find a way to find her. She didn't really think that far ahead, she just knew that if her mom stayed, she'd be deeply unhappy. Devi didn't have time to think for too long, and just before the portal closed, she went into it.

But the task that Eva assumed upon herself was not an easy one. By then, the twins who used to be indistinguishable started showing signs of separating into two completely different people, and losing both of their parents made them develop completely different personalities.

Much like Eva, Paul understood mother's decision. He trusted both Devi and Eva with their decisions. But Pete... He didn't take it well at all. He was angry. Angry that his parents abandoned him, and he vented his frustration on none other than Eva. He criticized her cooking, comparing to how Devi used to do it, he criticized her for not having a job, despite them not having problems with money, criticized her for not cleaning the house. Eva understood his frustration so she didn't stop him, but Paul wasn't taking that, and the two of them were constantly fighting over everything now. But Paul understood that Eva also wasn't all that happy that Devi left, and with the university she just got in on top of that, the last thing she needed was chores and quarrels at home. He tried to do everything he could, but Pete was just making everything more difficult than it needed to be.

That went on until both boys hit 15. By then, both of them knew what they wanted to do in life. Pete has decided to be a professional musician, and as soon as he could, he left to study in the music college, making sure he let it be known that he doesn't want anything to do with his family anymore. By that time Eva went on to study for her future master's degree in chemistry. As for Paul, he had an obsession of his own. All he wanted was to protect Eva. So he went on his own path, going to the military academy.

Now that I laid out the kinda dynamic the three have and what they've been doing with their lives, I'll quickly go through the rest that happened there.

Eva graduated with the master's degree in chemistry, and went on to own her own lab where she started working on finding something that could create a portal so they could reunite with their parents.

Paul graduated the college and went on to serve in the military.

After that he went on to the military university and studied there in the air force department.

Sometimes they would do street patrols, and in one of such days Paul happened to pass by Eva's lab. He immediately noticed something was wrong. By a pure coincidence, exactly at the time he was passing through there, something went array in the lab, and just a moment after Paul thought something was off, there was a massive explosion. Eva was inside.

By an order of their captain, cadets helped evacuate people, but Paul was concerned since he couldn't find Eva. Eventually the fire got too strong, and Paul disobeyed orders completely and went inside.

Eva made sure everyone was evacuated, but by that time she inhaled too much toxins and passed out in the fire. Paul got to her in time to grab her and jump out of the window before there was another massive explosion that would've killed them both.

They both were sent to ER. Paul suffered from mild intoxication, light burns, and he also sprained his ankle when landing. Eva suffered much more heavily. She fell into a coma.

For more than a year Eva remained unconscious, and Paul made sure to stay by her side at all cost. His studying was paused for as long as he needed. Eventually, Eva woke up. Paul held a huge grudge against Pete for not showing up even once.

Paul would go on to finish the university, and Eva continued working on her research. They barely saw each other, and as soon as Paul graduated he was mobilized as a war broke right about that time.

He went on to pilot a fighter jet on the front lines, and nearly died. His body was never found, and he was declared missing.

Eva was going crazy worrying about him, while Pete as always showed miracles of compassion and care, just shy of celebrating his brother's death.

Paul survived though and returned home on his own two. He would be later awarded a medal since his feat practically turned the tide of the war.

Once the war was over, Paul didn't retire, instead he went on to be Eva's personal bodyguard. He ensured the lab's safety and protected her when she was awarded for her achievements in the field of chemistry.

Eventually, she achieved her goal. She created an essence that could turn a mirror into a portal. She couldn't control the destination, but it could bypass the anomaly's borders, and they could figure it out from there. Pete refused to go with them, but Eva left an extra bottle of that essence for him if he ever changed his mind.

From then on, Eva and Paul quickly reunited with Devi, and found out it's been many thousand years for her. At that point in time, Devi still hadn't recovered her memory, but she was already pretty strong.

A whole new world was open before them. For Paul it was simple - she went wherever Eva went. And Eva went everywhere - she wanted to try everything. Eventually she settled on two things. First, she became a succubus. And second, she became obsessed with fighting. She used to fight as a child, and seeing her mom being strong and beautiful, she wanted to be just as strong as her.

Eva made good progress, quickly becoming third strongest person in the universe - right after her parents (though it's questionable who made that list to begin with.) And then it happened.

As I mentioned before, Devi had a lot on her shoulders. Not remembering her past, she already defeated one enemy, and another one showed up right after, and she didn't even know why they were so determined to kill her. The truth was those two were sent after her... by her own mother.

Anorava gave them a fraction of her power and wanted one thing in exchange - find Devi and do anything they had to but restore her memories. But Darkness was a wicked power, and given to those who were too weak, it corrupted their minds. And Alphonse completely forgot what was the reason he was fighting Devi - but unable to overpower her it seeded a deep hatred for her in his heart.

Alas, Devi was oblivious to this. She was just tired. She already suffered one heartbreak, and another one that shattered her soul in pieces completely, and she barely was able to recover. She thought that if Alphonse was so determined to kill her then if she died he'll rest easy. So she left the protection of the universe to Eva, and went to Heavens.

First of all, she got bored really quickly there. She did have her rest, but quickly realized that she would absolutely dread spending an eternity there.

But that was the least of her problems. Because there was someone who really didn't like her being dead, aside from her friends.

Eva thought she was ready to face any opponent, but she was absolutely unprepared for how wicked and insane Alphonse was. He didn't want Devi dead. No, he wanted to kill her. And surely Devi will come back if he hurts something really precious to her. And he knew nothing was more precious to her than her family.

All he did was he burned Eva's eyes out. Completely. Along with her eyelids. The pain was so agonizing that Eva's own scream ruptured her eardrums, and after a while she lost her voice too. She would regain her voice eventually, but never - ears and eyes. And as if that wasn't enough, he branded Eva's soul. That way, even if she somehow managed to restore her eyes, she was destined to lose them. Again, and again, and again. No matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried, she could return her speech, even her ears - with enough miracle - but never her eyes. Not for long at least.

To say that Devi was mad - to say nothing. She was furious, and also hurt. She would never stop blaming herself for what happened to Eva. And she was incredibly angry. Alphonse achieved his goal - Devi returned to the world of the living. But contrary to his expectations she didn't go on to fight him - first thing she did was making sure Eva wasn't going to do anything to herself.

When all that happened, Eva was left completely alone in the darkness. Saw nothing, heard nothing, only felt pain. Wanted to cry but tears wouldn't come out. She even forgot there was an enemy in front of her - not like he cared about her at all.

But soon enough she felt first touch. Someone grabbed her by the shoulders and slightly shook. She instinctively recoiled, and the touch stopped. Recognized it clearly wasn't an enemy, she reached forward and grabbed the shirt. Big warm hand gently laid over her hand. She skimmed through everyone she knew to figure out who that hand belong to. Figured out it can't be anyone but Paul, she relaxed.

Only when she lost her most important senses did she truly come to appreciate how much Paul cared about her. He carried her home, treated her injuries, applied bandages, and held her hand as she fell asleep. In the situation where she lost everything - he was the sunshine in the complete darkness that she needed to not give up completely. And then Devi came right into her mind, making her feel like the world around her still existed, like it was not all destroyed when she lost her senses.

Devi made sure Eva was still mentally stable, and went on helping her learn how to stop relying on her eyes and ears to live. Not like Devi knew how to. She had to bullshit her way through it, learning herself as she went. Because she knew that if she doesn't, she might lose Eva.

Thanks to her efforts, pretty quickly Eva became much more aware of her surroundings. She became more sensitive to smells, vibrations, and touch. The latter was also making her feel pain more strongly. Her voice slowly returned, a bit hoarse, but she could speak, though couldn't hear herself. Gradually she learned to identify the energy flow around her and translate it into a complete picture inside her head. And in next millions of years of practice she would even go as far as to be able to decipher the sound vibrations and understand speech without actually hearing it. Being forced in such a situation made her a true master of "seeing without eyes, hearing without ears", even Devi could not reach her level of mastery.

Devi tried everything she could to return Eva's eyes and ears. And if with ears it went well, Eva always lost her eyes, one way or another, no matter what, and then always decided to rid of ears to, just because she was used to get by without both. But no matter how much times she said that that's how she prefers it, deep inside she knew she wanted to be able to see. Even if the truth was that without eyes and ears she was stronger than with them, she was willing to trade that for the ability to see her mother, her brother... and of course, her son.

But that was not all. Because even after Alphonse was defeated and gone seemingly forever, he kept living in Devi's, and especially so in Eva's nightmares.

#i hope you know i'm not spell-checking all this oh my god #this is my 50-page essay on why my girls are best girls and need to be protected at all cost #thank you for coming to my ted talk ig #i think you can guess why it took me a while #literally didn't even include stuff that is not necessary for the context #if you gonna ask about riam next i hope you're prepared for an even bigger one #ask #void anon #scope for fantasy #devi #eva #paul #pete #oc #oc backstory

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