Elyonari didn't breathe. She just moved. Her silver hair fluttered slightly as she took one careful step after another, her hand raising toward him with trembling fingers.
Vastarael didn't stop her. He stayed still, his lips parted as if his breath had been caught since she walked in.
She touched him. First his cheek, then his shoulder. Her touch lingered like she was afraid he would vanish.
"Are you really alive? Is this… is this real?"
He gave her a small, boyish smile, the kind only he could pull off in a moment like this.
"Remember when we were in Minafallen and you fell down an entire fleet of stairs? And you made me swear to the sky never to tell anyone because it was so—"
But he never got to finish. Elyonari launched forward and hugged him so fast and hard that a soft breath escaped his lips as he caught her.
She cried like a child. Chest-shaking sobs cracked through the tension in the room. Vastarael wrapped his arms around her tightly. His hands pressed to her back, one cradling the back of her head as if anchoring her to reality.
"I'm okay. I'm okay now, Elyonari…"
She clung tighter. Her fists were balled into the back of his turtleneck. Her tears soaked his shoulder.
The others were frozen.
Peroncerea's eyes were wide. Natalis was covering her mouth. Xander blinked as if his brain had short-circuited. Farrynelle was just shaking her head, muttering something about needing alcohol.
Vastarael glanced up at them, still holding Elyonari like she'd break if he let go. Natalis was the first to speak.
"We buried you. I initiated your funeral. We said goodbye."
He nodded slowly. "That… wasn't a lie."
Narisva's voice was sharp now, her expression sharpening like a blade. She crossed her arms.
"What? You told me you didn't die. You said that."
"I said I was back. I didn't explain how."
"Don't play with semantics now—"
"I did die," he admitted, holding Elyonari just a little tighter. "But I came back. Not by my own strength. A... miracle happened."
Elyonari finally relaxed just enough to pull back, her eyes red and puffy but glowing.
"I knew that even if you died, you'd come back. You were always like that. But five years? Five?!"
"I missed you too," he said softly. "I've been alive the whole time. I just… couldn't come to you. I wasn't ready."
"Finally," came a lazy, bored voice.
Adelasta Viaca Vazakiel descended the stairs in her oversized T-shirt, her long crimson hair tousled, her arms crossed casually.
"I see everyone's finally here," she said, glancing around the dining hall. "Great. Now he can tell you the story."
Peroncerea blinked. "Wait you knew?"
Adelasta didn't even flinch. "Of course I did. I'm his wife."
Denisia blinked. "You… you gatekept him from us for five years?"
Adelasta raised an eyebrow, completely confused. "Absolutely. It was therapeutic."
Even Elyonari stared. "You're insane."
"I'm a Richinaria," Adelasta replied flatly. "Sanity is optional."
Narisva groaned, clapping her hands twice.
"Alright, everyone sit down and eat before I pour this soup on someone's head."
The tension loosened.
Everyone moved to the table. Elyonari sat beside Vastarael, never letting her arm leave his. Narisva sat across, eyeing them with a mix of pride and envy. The questions didn't stop.
"So…" Xander leaned on his hand. "You're a Divine now?"
Vastarael nodded as he served a plate.
"Yeah. First Enlightenment Divine like all of you."
"You're the Monarch of Dynasty Richinaria?"
"Been for five years."
"But I thought Anamorsia—"
"She's my advisor."
Everyone paused again.
And then Farrynelle blurted, "Okay, no offense, but what the fuck?"
-------
The clinking of cutlery and murmurs of familiar voices slowly faded into silence the moment Vastarael leaned forward in his seat. Elyonari had stopped chewing. Narisva's spoon hovered just above her bowl. Adelasta tilted her head, casually sipping from her wine glass.
And across the massive table, all eyes were now on one person.
His fingers were steepled in front of his face, the steam of the food rising gently as if time itself had slowed just for this conversation.
"Do any of you know about the Primordials?"
Natalis and Denisia spoke together.
"We do."
Natalis continued, "They're Supreme Entities beyond even ordinary Supreme Entities. They don't interfere with mortal or immortal life unless absolutely necessary. There are eight of them… right?"
Denisia nodded, her brow creasing as she recited them. "Destiny, Fate, Time, Life, Death, Space, Creation, Destruction and... Time?"
"Time twice?" Xander muttered. "That's just bad management."
Farrynelle elbowed him.
Vastarael gave a faint smile. "No. Time isn't duplicated. It simply exists everywhere. Before, during, and after all other concepts."
He lowered his hands.
"The Primordials don't just rule over the raw concepts of the universe. Sometimes, they… choose people once every few million years. These chosen beings are called Splits."
Elyonari blinked. "Splits?"
"Think of them as successors. Not children, not champions. Successors. A Split is a being who holds the potential to inherit the Primordial's Divinity."
Gasps flickered around the table. He exhaled through his nose.
"I am one of them."
Narisva leaned forward, resting her arms on the table, her expression sharp but supportive.
"He is the Split of Time, chosen by the Primordial of Time."
Vastarael nodded. "Exactly."
Denisia's lips parted slightly. "You're not joking, are you?"
"No," Narisva added before he could respond. "And I'm not either. I'm a Split too."
All heads turned. Narisva tapped her chest.
"I am chosen by the Primordial of Space."
"What the—" Xander sat back. "Are we just collecting god-level titles like medals now?"
"You're married to a lightning commander," Farrynelle deadpanned. "Sit down."
Vastarael's voice drew them back in.
"Splits are meant to become their Primordial in time. At the end of the universe's cycle, the current Primordials step down or fade. The Splits inherit. At least, that's the main purpose."
He looked down at his plate, his fingers tapping slowly against the ceramic.
"When I died, everything changed."
He looked at each one of them in turn, his golden-sapphire eyes quiet but piercing.
"There's a reason I've been gone. A reason I couldn't come back until now."
His voice lowered to nearly a whisper.
"And I need to tell you what happened after I died."
The table fell completely silent.
No one dared to interrupt him because for the first time since dinner began everyone realized the Vastarael they buried wasn't the same one who sat before them now.