After Nyx finally let the girls down, the first thing they did was run straight into their husband''s arms.


    Sif started to move aside and make way for them, but in a surprising turn of fate, Abaddon held onto them both.


    "Nyx told us you''re having some difficulties, but she never mentioned things were this bad." The girls said quietly.


    Abaddon hung his head low. "There might have been certain... developments after she left to retrieve you."


    The girls'' eyes suddenly became solid orange.


    "... I really don''t want to ruin the mood here but watching you talk with no mouth is so fascinating." Bekka said.


    The rest of the girls quickly regained control and snapped at her. "Bekka!"


    "Shit, sorry!"


    Despite hisck of lips, it was easy to tell that Abaddon was amused.


    So much so that he was already beginning to feel better, if even just a little bit.


    "Are you calmer now?" Sif asked.


    "Yes..? How can you tell?"


    "You don''t look like a space devil anymore."


    Abaddon looked down at himself.


    True to Sif''s im, he now looked much more ''tame''pared to a few seconds ago.


    His red flesh was now fully ck and resembled a mass of stars and nebs swirling around inside his skin, and the ck hole within the center of his chest had been filled with arge red eye.


    The bnce of his hair had also been restored a bit,ing to around 30% white and 70% ck.


    "Still feeling murdery?"


    "Slightly less so." he admitted.


    "Well let''s try to get that to zero, alright darling?" Ayaana kissed his cheek.


    The three of them turned to stare at Nyx like they were waiting for her to unveil this helpful idea she had nned.


    "...Well do I get to kiss you first too, or-"


    """Nyx."""


    "Just a joke, just a joke... let''s begin."


    -


    Within the boundlessness of Abaddon''s sea of consciousness, twelve additional presences could be felt.


    Eleven of them were watching the things he was doing with great interest, while Nyx yed the role of the voice of reason.


    For this exercise, Abaddon''s had made the radius of his focus much smaller than before.


    More specifically, he focused on one particr world, one continent, one location.


    Inside of a fairly new and upbeat bar, a man was nervously drinking at the counter as his eyes darted around the crowded space.


    He was dragged outst minute by the few friends he had in celebration of his 21st birthday.


    But the friends who had forced him toe on this unwarranted little outing were already on the dance floor with their own flings for the night.


    He was probably the absolute furthest thing from their minds right now.


    ''I want to fucking go home...''


    The man finally stopped baby sitting the brown liquor of in the bottom of his ss and threw it all back boldly.


    "There you go, big guy. I was wondering how long it was going to take you to finish that."


    The young man suddenly looked up and found the pretty bartender from before staring at him with a small smile on her face.


    "You were so busy looking around like a tweaker that I thought you''d forgotten you ordereddrink. Are you on the run from somebody or just the nervous type?"


    "Hahaha..." The manughed nervously into his ss that was already empty.


    "Oof, maybe I''m just bad at making drinks then. I normally pride myself on being able to get betterughs out of newbies like you. Don''t tell me my jokes are going stale."


    "N-Nah, nothing like that..."


    "Good, cause all of the burger buns in the back are so I wouldn''t really rmend anything else if I''m honest."


    The man started tough again, but this time it was just a little bit more genuine.


    He wasn''t sure if it was the liquor, but he felt a new warmth spreading through his belly.


    In that moment, he felt looser, more confident, and above all else, he had begun to notice just how attractive the young bartender really was.


    Suddenly he was no longer self-conscious about the space he was upying or worried that he was out of ce here.


    He wasn''t sure where this sort of burst offort came from, but it felt so natural that he almost felt like he was right at home.


    His newfound confidence was telling him to go just one step further, but he just needed that onest push to get him going.


    *Bartender by T-Pain starts ying.*


    Now, he literally felt as if he was literally being shoved by an invisible force.


    "Hey... I know you''re working and all, but can I steal you for a quick dance?"


    The bartender looked at the man in front of her like he''d just grown a second head.


    She was having a hard time believing that the man who had barely uttered a full sentence since walking in here had suddenly asked her to dance.


    "Is this a liquid courage type of thing?"


    The man smiled bashfully. "Might be. You know what they say; Henny-thing is possible."


    "God that was terrible." The bartenderughed and gave him a thumbs down.


    "I know." heughed. "I''m hoping you''ll spend a little more time with me and teach me some better jokes."


    The bartender smiled with a look of mild intrigue.


    "...You know what? Sure. Let''s dance."


    In another scene on another faraway world, an alien female sighed in disappointment as she entered her dwelling.


    Another mating season was almost over, and she still had found no one suitable for her.


    She was so frustrated with the males of her species around her that she wished to just have a child without them.


    She wanted her own little miracle offspring that could fill the void in her life and bring about a great change around her.


    But wishful thinking had so rarely gotten her anywhere.


    As shey down to rest for the night, the miracle she never believed in urred within her body.


    She was impregnated with a child without the aid of a father.


    But her child would not be like any other member of their species.


    When her birthing period was over, she would have given birth to her world''s first supernatural creature.


    But for now, she was just having dreams about food..


    On another, more primitivend, a boy and dozens of other men were stuffed tightly into an underground chamber like animals.


    They had nothing, no clothes, beds, or even adequate bathrooms. When they had to defecate or urinate, they had to do it right their on the floor in kissing distance of each other.


    Food was dropped from a hole in the ceiling where they could vividly see the faces of their ownersughing with glee while wearing fine robes and precious metals.


    When the nobles dumped in the scraps off their own tes the men would begin fighting over the meager amount of food with the little energy they had.


    There was one young boy in the back who just watched the hole from where the food was dropped without even bothering to fight for food himself.


    A me sparked within his heart.


    If he could have, he would have torn this whole system to pieces and begot something new in it''s ce.


    But hecked the power, resources, or manpower to do something like that.


    His dream of conquering the ruling monarchy was just that- a dream.


    But there wasn''t a single thing that would stop him from fighting with what little opportunities he did possess.


    *In a foreignnguage* "W-What..?"


    "H-How did he do that!?"


    "He''s not screaming..?"


    At some point, the boy had realized that everyone he was imprisoned with was now staring at him.


    And it was suddenly much brighter in here than before.


    Looking down at his hands, the boy suddenly gasped when he realized his naked body was engulfed in fire.


    -


    '' I can only imagine how disorienting it was. Seeing and experiencing the dark horrors of mortality for the first time.


    How do you think the rest of us felt when we first learned of it?


    Most of us immediately turned our gazes after a few centuries and now we only checked back after a few millennia to see if they''ve destroyed themselves yet.


    I''m not surprised to see you barelysted a minute beforeing to despise them, since you personify some of their most unbing aspects.


    But you are also the one who should have the most faith in them, since you are the wellspring from which the river of their greatest change will flow forth.


    The mutual attraction you bring about will prompt the blending of ideas, deepen their understandings of their existing differences, and establish foundations for their future generations to build off of.


    Supernaturals may fall into the mortal curse of folly since they exist in the greatest proximity to them, but they have that much more time to learn, grow, and teach. They may face scrutiny for their differences, but eventually those differences will free them and illuminate them.


    You will find that conquest, while often violent, inspires the greatest hope in those who need it.


    The forceful opening of new pathways to reach newnds, meeting new beings and broadening their views of their worlds.


    And the one at the head of these great changes will be revered as the closest thing to a god among men.


    There is a point that I find myself unable to adequately express with words alone, but you need to understand that it is important that you more than anyone else hold on to hope.


    Because if even you do not believe in them... Then their journey may be significantly less difficult than it already is.


    So will you spare them your wrath just for today, just so that they can maybe show you a brighter future?''


    Abaddon opened his eyes after what felt like a long nap.


    He found Nyx sitting across for him while Ayaana and Sif imed their ce in hisp.


    All three of the girls looked up at the hair on his head and saw that it was now a ratio of 60% ck and 40% white.


    They all smiled and took it as a positive sign.


    Though his next words did not confirm where exactly he felt on the issues he had been presented.


    "...Thank you for helping me, Nyx. I am in your debt yet again." He avoided the question on purpose because he was still uncertain of his own feelings.


    A glimmer of recognition shone in Nyx''s eyes.


    She felt as if she could have pressed the conversation much further, but it would have been a bit hypocritical of her to do so when she was still learning not to hate humans herself.


    The only primordial god she knew who loved them unconditionally was her daughter… and Nyx hated her daughter.


    Pushing the thought to the side, she smiled and waived her hand dismissively at the notion of debts.


    "Forget it, friends shouldn''t count favors for each other. Just invite me over next time your family is having a dinner party and we''ll be even."


    Sif ran her fingers through Abaddon''s hair the same way she did when they were married. "Do you have the knowledge you were seeking now?"


    Abaddon reformed his lips just so that the girls could see him smile.


    "What do you think?"