A Nascent Kaleidoscope. Chapter 512:

Hades POV

Devils, always causing so many problems.

Even when I called one an ally, it's nothing but additional work dropped in my lap. Did they think that running the most utilized/populated Afterlife in the world is easy? No, they only thought of themselves regardless!

Izanami needed to smack so sense into her new lover, let him understand how demanding my job was!

Of course it was Mother who asked this of , but it was the Devil brat who initiated it all.

I'm the one who had to explain to the others of my family what happened over on the Norse side of the world. I'm also the one who needed to placate them, to warn them off from doing sothing inevitably stupid on their parts. I'm the one who has to soothe both my siblings who will want to go and kill off Father properly and take back his remains.

Hmph, at least he was a reliable ally.

That was more than I can say for the All-Father.

And it was better than dealing with my Siblings, admittedly. He offered the proper respect, and he was easy to get along with.

Izanami clearly loved him to put up with him, Cerberus liked him, and even Persephone liked him. There really is not much more I could ask there.

I stepped through a Teleportation Circle, and only destruction t my eyes. "All-Father." I greeted the person there to et .

"Skull and Bones." He grinned at my arrival.

I ignored the nickna he gave to . "This place is utterly wrecked."

"Yup, it was quite the raging party!" He laughed happily, but there was a look of lancholy to him. "It could have been worse though."

I have been to Asgard a handful of tis in my existence, and it was a magnificent City befitting of Gods. I could not claim that Olympus was superior in any aningful way and seeing it in this state, it made ponder how I would feel to see Olympus brought to a similar state as well.

"I find myself disgusted by this welco." I scoffed in annoyance. "You should have at least had the decency to clean up."

"Well excuseeeee , your majesty." He did an exaggerated bow. "Do you want to roll out a red carpet, maybe have Freyja fondle your balls while I'm at it?"

"Hmph."

"Hmph!"

I looked at him then back at the surroundings. In the distance, I could see the residents of Asgard cleaning up and beginning to rebuild. "I will send so materials after I return ho."

"Thank you." The All-Father politely returned.

I waved it off. "You have my gratitude for allowing my sudden intrusion. I can understand that my presence would be off putting considering who was partly responsible for the state of your ho."

"We're smart enough to know who to bla, brat." Odin grunted. "But I'm still keeping this on the down low. Go take care of your matters and leave on your own."

"Even so, I apologize, All-Father. They were under my watch and escaped."

"And from what the brat told , even the Primordial Night was caught off guard. What could you have done that she couldn't?"

"There's no need to make an excuse for ." I shook my head. "Regardless of the circumstances, I failed in my duty."

"Fine, fine. Even though you originally offered to help, and I declined you." All-Father let out a sigh. "Just send so stuff to help us rebuild and we'll call it even."

He says that knowing that the Underworld's riches are beyond asure and I already offered such unconditionally.

It's tis like this that made it difficult to dislike him.

It would be insulting to him if I pushed further.

"How is he doing?"

Odin silently looked off onto the horizon, I had no doubt his gaze reached where I asked about. "He is behaving."

"Well, there are miracles left in this world then." I snorted.

"It might not be what you expect." He stated.

"My expectations are low." I said with a dry tone.

Odin shook his head. "It's not for to say, but if you want to hear the words of an old man like . Perhaps, you should keep an open mind. Whatever you decide, what your opinions are, they are yours to hold regardless."

I found myself frowning. "An open mind? Did you forget, All-Father, I am Greek. We are indignant, small-minded, and vindictive."

"Do what you want, Skeletor." Odin simply waved it off and began to walk away. Though, not before leaving a Teleportation Circle on the ground.

I had a great many things to speak to the All-Father about, but I was grateful he was allowing my personal business unabated.

Stepping onto the Teleportation Circle, I found myself whisked away across the Norse Realms.

I did not quite know where I was, but I had no fear of a betrayal from the All-Father.

All around was wheat.

The golden tide of grain spread out as far as I could see. With all but a simple path leading through the fields.

I ran my hand through the many strands that stood tall and pointed towards the sky.

It waspeaceful.

I couldn't help but look upwards at the sun and feel the faint familiar feeling as I did throughout this sa field.

My feet carried across the fields up to a small cabin that looked newly built and still sowhat under construction. It was large, befitting soone of bigger stature, especially for the person sitting on the front steps, whittling away on a wooden branch with a knife.

He paused when he saw .

He was lessened to a degree that I couldn't have imagined even from what I was told. Just his outward aura was but a fraction of his true terror.

We stared at one another for a long period, neither of us initiating words.

That was until another familiar figure joined us. The Titan of light, beret of his nasake approached with several large species of fish hanging off a stick over his shoulder.

"..Hades." The Titan of Light acknowledged my presence.

"Uncle." I acknowledged him back. "You abandoned your power to manifest down here?" I glanced upwards again, realizing what he had done.

Not to say it's anything drastic. He could retrieve his power at any mont, but as he stood here in front of , he was significantly weaker than he was normally.

The Titan of light walked over to a wooden table, setting down his freshly caught fish. "I was told to power the sun, that is what I am doing." He said simply.

I couldn't argue with his logic. And I'm sure the All-Father didn't care if he does this as long as he didn't go around causing problems.

With the current situation, I felt myself at ease.

I was not in danger as they were now.

"Hades."

"Father."

We finally spoke to one another after thousands of years.

"I didn't expect to see you here." He stated.

"I didn't expect to find myself here." I admitted.

"I see, you're acquainted with the mortal who defeated , aren't you?"

I found myself frowning. "You were able to deduce this?"

"It's not hard to put together." He shrugged. "Neither you nor your brothers, if you decided to co, would have approached so quickly. You all are far too cautious for sothing like that. Perhaps that's sothing you inherited from ."

"I believe you an paranoid." I corrected.

"The distinction is often proven immaterial." Father appearedpeaceful, and it was strange to witness. "I am surprised you trust the mortal so much to approach like you are."

"I'm surprised with how highly you speak of him. Just from your tone, I can glean the respect in your voice."

"Hahaha, well, I can't not respect a Mortal that defeated . My ego is only so fragile, if I don't put him up on a pedestal, what else am I supposed to do?" He laughed so naturally before settling back down. "The world is so much different now. Mortals rule it for good reason it seems."

"He's not exactly the norm."

"Where there is one, there will be two, and four, and eight. They produce in such vast numbers and already populate all corners of Mother's blessing. Maybe it's ti for us to step to the side."

"Careful, you're almost sounding wise." I rolled my eyes.

"A long life of regrets can open the most hard headed person's eyes with enough ti." He smiled wistfully.

"And do you an it?"

"an what?"

"That you feel it's ti for you to step aside?" I narrowed my eyes.

He reached up and scratched his head. "You're probing my intentions, huh? I guess I can't bla you." He let out a sigh. "How many from my ti are still active across the world? Why did they all retreat and let the mortals take center stage? Maybe they saw sothing I've yet to see fully and I want to know. Even the cruel War God of these lands stepped off his throne and willingly handed it to his son. Am I worse than him?" He looked up to the skies.

"Yes."

Father didn't argue nor get angry. The Kronos I knew, he would have gotten angry at the slightest insult levied against him.

"You're right. Odin changed much from the past, and it makes feel like a relic out of ti. I feel irrelevant, outdated and unneeded."

"You should know better than anyone, Father. Ti waits for no one, not even us." I felt a strange twinge within my old heart.

"A truth that I should have pondered a long ti ago."

I let out a sigh as this talk did not go the way I had envisioned. "Who aided you in your escape?"

"I can't say."

"Soone still loyal to you then?" I narrowed my eyes, clenching my fists. "Perhaps a traitor, maybe "

"Don't overthink it." Father interrupted . "The only one loyal to is at my side." He glanced at the Titan of Light who was quietly descaling the fish at the table. "You need not be worried about any traps or traitors I hid within your court. Not even my old Generals and comrades answered my call to arms."

"We had no reports of you approaching the other Titans we had under surveillance."

Kronos chuckled heartily. "I approached Atlas openly, arrogantly even. You know, one of yours stood there at the side, just watching as I did."

"Ares." I seethed in mild annoyance. "He was employed to watch over Atlas. That brat" I hissed under my breath.

"Zeus' son certainly inherited his inflated ego. Don't mistake it for joining my cause, my Grandson was most certainly not on my side. He expressed openly that he only wanted a conflict to erupt and not to expect his aid."

"Of course he would. He's been getting annoying over the years with the lack of large wars for him to play around in." Stupid War Gods who can't live without bloodshed and Death.

"Don't take him lightly, he was hiding a secret that I didn't delve into at the ti."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow.

For him to give that kind of warning.what are you hiding, Ares?

Father rely waved his hand through the air. "Atlas denied as well. He said he wanted to finish his punishnt and walk free without needing to look over his shoulder for his life."

I could feel the slight tinge of pain in his voice.

I closed my eyes and let out another sigh. "I'll talk to Zeus about ending his punishnt soon."

"Thank you."

"I'm not doing it for you." I snorted, looking away. "His punishnt has lasted long enough."

And certain behaviors should be rewarded.

"The one who freed us was not part of your world." Father said simply.

"Not our Faction?"

"Yes."

"Then who?"

"I cannot say." He shook his head. "I was unable to pay back the favor in doing so, I cannot reveal their identity at the very least."

How frustratingly honorable.

Trying to pry it out of him was pointless, Father was nothing if not a stubborn fool.

"I'll tell you sothing good though." He grinned. "A secret I found out by chance when I was snooping around their little group."

"And why would you do that?"

Father just smiled. "It's a gift for my defeat to the Mortal."

"And what secret do you have, Father?"

"Have you heard of sothing called the Sephiroth Grail?" He asked and I clenched my hands. "I admit I had to look into what it was myself. But it's an interesting little trinket that could cause a lot of problems, and it's in their hands."

"That is.valuable information."

"I'm glad it's helpful to you." His expression softened and it made feel strange.

"What do you intend to do from this point forward, father?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He stood up, stretching his back. "I got a harvest to look after."

"You intend to accept the 'punishnt'?"

"A loser has no right to argue." He said simply.

"..you really changed a lot."

His expression shifted and he smiled wryly. "Maybe, I don't know. I think that I can just think more clearly than before." He turned to look at . "Would it change things if I said I was sorry?"

"No."

"I didn't think so either, but I felt like it should be done anyways."

"I'm only here as a favor to Mother."

He paused and shifted emotions again. "The Mortal delivered on his promise. That's good."

"He did." I called forth the Scythe in question and let it hit the ground. "Mother told to tell you that you are a coward for not doing it yourself."

He looked at the Scythe then up to . "What "

"5,000 years, not a second sooner or later." I made sure to repeat what she said exactly. "She will be waiting."

"I don't know what to say" For the first ti, I saw Father speechless.

"Then don't, I don't care about whatever it is you want to say at this point." I grumbled.

"How about 'would you like to stay for dinner'?" He smiled towards .

".are you serious?"

He shrugged. "It couldn't hurt to ask. I wouldn't mind hearing stories about my children and grandchildren."

"We are far from accepting of you as our proper Father and Grandfather." I frowned.

"That's true." He didn't argue with and seed to accept my stance.

".however, I am already here, I may as well stay for a short ti longer."

[***]

Wilhelm POV

The crashing of the waves on the beach was one of the most soothing things to listen to.

Especially with no other people around, particularly because I was within my soul and this was rely a 'mory' of mine.

Well, other people don't include both Ddraig and Mus Tengai who were enjoying it too.

Ddraig in particular, he was diving in and out of the ocean further along the horizon and looked like he was having a blast.

It didn't take long for Ddraig to co flying over, and he shrunk down to a much more manageable size, even if he intentionally hit the sand hard and kicked it up all over the place.

"This is fun, I can see why humans like playing at the beach. I'm sad I never did this when I was still around and kicking."

I brushed the sand off . "I should get everyone to do a beach day." Ddraig's words suddenly gave inspiration. Kunou would love it for sure, but everyone else, well, a nice little vacation would do wonders.

"That would be fun." Ddraig added.

"It would be a good avenue to keep a peaceful recuperation." Mus Tengai seed to agree. "Constant battles and a strained perception in the midst of danger will have negative effects if it's not nurtured with a healthy rest."

"Just relax, brat. You earned a good break."

I turned to look at Ddraig. "You're in a good mood."

"Why not? Albion now knows that my wielder killed a 'God' in 'view' of everyone! He has to live with that now that I'm the only rightly nad Longinus right now." His smug was off the charts. "It was a good fight."

"It was a good fight." I agreed. "I'm glad to have the Spear back in working condition again. Might have been a bit easier if I had it against the Titan."

"Regardless, your victory was well earned." Mus Tengai stated. "Well done, you have co a long way from that boy who first stepped into the Land of Shadows."

It felt nice to be told that.

I fell backwards into the sand, looking upwards towards Mus Tengai. "Sowhat's the deal with the Acorn that decided to take up refuge in my soul?"

"Why don't I show you?" He offered, though he wasn't actually asking considering the scenery around us completely changed.

We were then in a large and endless field, a circle of dirt in the middle with the particular golden Acorn right in the middle, with a tiny hint of green budding from it.

I forced myself up to look at it. I didn't really have much ti or energy to consider it until this point, and it obviously wasn't dangerous at the very least.

"What's the big deal?" Ddraig asked.

"It's an acorn, inside my soul, I think it's noteworthy enough to understand better."

"Waterlons have seeds, I don't see the big deal."

I slowly turned to look at Ddraig with the driest expression I could muster, and he had the biggest shit-eating-grin I've ever seen.

Mus Tengai seed to ignore us entirely as he stepped towards it. "If you want a thorough explanation, I'm afraid you will be left wanting."

"Even you don't know?"

"I'm not all knowing, as flattering as it is to be thought of so highly, I'm mostly in the dark here as well." He humd.

"At the very least, it's not dangerous." I spoke mostly rhetorically.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have left it alone. Your soul is under my protection, I will never knowingly allow sothing to intrude that will cause you harm." My Zanpakut spirit reassured .

"Except for Ddraig."

"Hey!"

"Alas, he predates my arrival." Mus Tengai sighed.

"Fuck you both, Imma eat the acorn."

"Don't eat the magical acorn!"

"Imma eat it."

"Hush." Mus Tengai quickly shushed us.

The Acorn vibrated slightly, and the little bud grew a fraction of an inch, barely perceivable even if I was watching closely.

"Curious." He rubbed his chin. "I see now, it's reacting to you for its growth."

"Reacting to ?" I raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why would my thoughts and feelings have a bearing on its growth? It sprouted before the reminder that I'm human. Yeah, I can admit that it was sothing I was slowly losing track of with everything going on, but it wasn't so heavenly enlightennt for to realize and regain that bearing."

Mus Tengai held up a finger, cutting off. "Enlightennt doesn't need to be a large phenonon or sothing ethereal and philosophical that one grasps. Only the further understanding of oneself to reach greater heights. It's sothing important to your intrinsic being that you realized and corrected for yourself. The seed of the World Tree reacted to it because it was sothing that had substance to yourself."

"So what, it's going to grow every ti I realize sothing important about myself?" That sounded odd.

"No, it was simply a coincidence that this occurred right after you obtained it. If I had to guess, you are the vector for it to grow, everything you do will influence it. The original Yggdrasil grew in response to everything around it, the Nine Realms ford, and it continued to grow to what it is today. This seed does not have anything else but you to focus on. As you grow, it will also grow in response to what it needs to be."

"And what is that exactly?" What was it 'supposed to beco'?

"That is an interesting question, and I look forward to seeing the answer." Mus Tengai smiled.

"So I now have a Tree growing inside of along with everything else."

"Well, you certainly have a lot of room here." Mus Tengai chuckled and his eyes flickered strangely, like he was looking off into the distance and seeing things I couldn't. "But I have a feeling that whatever it will beco, it will be invaluable to your goals."

I took another look at the Acorn and had a strange sense of attachnt to it alright. I couldn't help but smile and reached down to lightly rub it with my finger.

Keep growing, little guy, we'll see what you turn into.

"Imma eat it."

"Dammit Ddraig, don't eat my baby tree!"

"Alright, that's enough." Mus Tengai clapped his hands. "You spent enough ti in here, go back outside and rest properly. Everything else can wait until you had so ti to relax."

He didn't even give ti to argue before he pushed my focus outwards and I returned to the forefront of my mind.

I shuddered slightly from the position I was sitting on the ground with Mus Tengai sitting across my legs and simply put it away, and pushed up to my feet.

I looked around, noticing the lack of noise and presence around . Not that I expected anyone to keep watch over . I spent hours catching up with everyone, but I didn't want to put off checking on myself as well, and they understood.

There was only one person nearby, and I walked down the stairs to find them in the kitchen.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" I leaned up against the threshold of the kitchen

Izzy glanced back at as she was apparently cooking. "Yes, and I'm fairly sure it's because you have a certain fetish and get off on mothering."

"....how did you find out?"

She stopped what she was doing and stared at . "Stop fooling around." She huffed, throwing the nearby dish towel at .

I walked up behind her, arms easily wrapping her up tightly. "I'm not ashad."

"Of course you aren't." She snorted. "A person with sha wouldn't be rubbing up on my rear with a very obvious bulge."

"Mmm."

"Don't just ignore it!" She huffed, but didn't stop . "Are you finished with what you were doing? I wanted to have sothing ready for you to eat when you got up, I expected you to take longer."

"I'm all good, checked up on my soul and despite the weirdness, I got a clean bill of health by Mus Tengai and told to rest for awhile before he kicked out."

"I find it strange how your inner spirit is sohow more mature and responsible than you are."

"It just ans I can focus on more important things."

"Like molesting while I cook?"

"Yes."

"Don't say it so bluntly." She turned around and lightly pulled on my cheek.

"Bla yourself for making like this. Honestly, what am I supposed to do when the Goddess of Hips swings them around right in front of my eyes? I can't keep my hands off you." I gave her a cheeky smile.

She covered her slightly flushed face. "Did you seriously call the Goddess of Hips. That damn Odin, I know he's been a bad influence on you."

"Oh no, I wasn't joking when I said you're entirely to bla." I looked at her with a widening smile. "Soone made a certain promise to ." I whispered into her ear. "And I think It's ti I collect."

She quivered slightly, and her flush deepened a tad, eyes darting away. "You are far too perverted."

"It's a good thing I have a beautiful woman to satiate myself on, isn't it?"

"Idiot" She huffed and started to undo the buttons on her pants. "I will not be called a liar."

Well, it's about ti I corrected a cosmic mistake.

The fact that Izzy's legs have remained unloved this long is an absolute cri, one I intend to very thoroughly correct.

[***]

A/N

Part 6 of the Looking Glass omake is up on p.a..t.r.e.o.n.

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