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In another life, perhaps Anaxa would have gone all his way to free himself from the Coreflame.
Perhaps in another life, Anaxa would have strived to find the answer to the Titans question about what they truly are.
Perhaps in another life, Anaxa would have taken advantage of the Coreflame to go against Aglaea and the Flame Chase Journey and stage the most gracious performance of his life.
But this isn't that other life.
This was his current life, and he knew better than to waste it on a research as pathetic as… that .
Not that death could grasp him anyway. There was no deadline for him, no urgency.
He could find the answers to all of those in his own time.
Just not now .
“Shūshu!”*
Anaxa looked up from his conversation with Cerces, the spirit of the Titan floating beside him to see the twins running to him. He smiled, the mark of Abundance gleaming in recognition.
“Ah, it's the Trailblazer Twins,” Cerces spoke, amusement in their tone. “I do wonder what they desire,”
Anaxa's smile faltered, glaring at the Titan. “Not a word to them.”
“Don't worry, it's not like they can see me,” Cerces chuckled.
Anaxa only rolled his eye and turned to see the pair making their stop. He crossed his arms. “You bring good news, I assume?”
“Yep!” Stelle grinned. “We passed Oronyx's Trial!”
“Twin Demigods of Time!” Caelus laughed.
“Twin Demigods, hm?” Anaxa raised an eyebrow. “I'm assuming that the power was divided between you two as well,”
“Yeah, we wanna test it out!” Stelle chirped. “Oh! And did you know that me and Caelus died?”
Anaxa tensed for a moment, lips pursing. “Oh? Did you test out the Abundance in your blood so soon?”
“Abundance in their blood?” Cerces repeated, tilting their head.
“Oh! Great Cerces, we didn't notice you,” The twins bowed for a moment before Caelus smiled, straightening up. “Good to see you!”
“As it is to see you both,” Cerces gave a nod. “A surprise that you're able to see me… but your presence is welcomed nonetheless. Now, tell me about this Abundance in your blood? The topic has interested me quite much,”
“You do not need to answer them, they won't understand anything,” Anaxa quickly dismissed the Titan.
“It's fine, Shūshu,” Caelus assured. “It's not like they have anyone to share the knowledge to, anyway,”
“Unfortunately, Lygus could see them quite well, so that is no longer a fact,” Anaxa shook his head.
“Oh don't worry yourself too much, I'm not willing to chatter with him anyway,” Cerces waved his concern off.
“Well, it wouldn't really matter if they knew anyway, Shūshu, it's not like they could use it against us,” Stelle shrugged. “It's not a secret we're keeping,”
“…Fair enough,” Anaxa crossed his arms. “But I still recommend the act of an equivalent exchange.”
“Of course, of course, I would never forget my own principal,” Cerces chuckled.
Anaxa huffed and turned to the twins with a nod of confirmation. Stelle clasped her together, stepping forward. “So, Great Cerces, what did you wanna learn?”
“About this Abundance you speak of and its relation to your deaths,” Cerces replied.
“Well, usually, Abundance grants plenty to mortals, including immortality,” Stelle explained. “The very Aeon, the very God that holds the power of Abundance, is a generous God, so saving people from deaths by granting them immortality is one that THEY would have no problem doing, but it's different when it comes to us,”
Glazing Baba so much, hm? Anaxa chuckled but said nothing, leaning against the tree he stood under.
“Unlike others, we have Abundance in our blood since birth, thus instead of granting us Immortality when faced with death, we already have it,” Stelle went on. “So even if we ‘died’ in Amphoreus, our bodies quickly healed and placed themselves back together before any further damage could be done,”
“Honestly, even if there were further damage, it wouldn't matter ‘cause we'd just heal anyway,” Caelus shrugged.
“How fascinating,” Cerces oohed. “And how does one gain Abundance since birth?”
“From our Dad,” Caelus answered simply.
“Your… Dad?”
“Mmhm,” Stelle chirped. She tilted her head. “You live in Shūshu’s head, don't you? I'm surprised you didn't realize,”
“…” Cerces hummed. They turned to Anaxa. “I'm aware they refer to you as ‘Shūshu’, and now I'm curious what they're talking about,”
“Why don't you find out for yourself?” Anaxa smirked.
Cerces looked at him for a moment before disappearing in a flash. Caelus scratched his head, watching the Titan leave.
“Didn't they know?”
“Unfortunately for them, Scions of an Aeon are more powerful than Titans,” Anaxa ruffled their heads. “I've been here for years with no detection from any of the Titans, not even from Fuli,”
“That's a fail from us then,” Caelus pouted.
“Yeah, we've only been here for a few days, and Fuli already knows we're here,” Stelle whined.
“I'm not surprised. Fuli, Akivili, Aha… THEY keep a close eye on the Nameless ones,” Anaxa offered a smile. “Through Oronyx, I assume?”
“Yep!” Caelus chirped. “We saw memories of Dad, Baba, Grandpa, Grandfather… before Fuli granted us Mem!”
“Hm,” Anaxa gave a hum. “So it would be more coincidence that Oronyx picked you both to be their demigod,” He crossed his arms. “I hope you two be careful. Signing up to be connected to Amphoreus is a big job,”
“Is that why you're postponing your trial, Shūshu?” Stelle asked.
“Of course,” Anaxa sighed. “But… if it's to make sure you two stay out of trouble, let's see if I can convince my trial to be sped up,”
“How about Biǎomèi’s* trial?”
“That… would have to be when we battle against Aquila,” Anaxa picked a leaf from his nephew’s hair. How fascinating that even through the generations, the leaves and trees still manage to grow from their bodies. “She'll earn her divinity, and we'll all find our way out of Amphoreus to reunite with our family again,”
“How come none of them can sense us here?” Caelus's lips pursed. “Is that how powerful Fuli can be?”
“I'm sure you've seen Baba’s abilities,” Anaxa gently stroked his niece's locks to pluck out a branch. “That should be enough to show how powerful an Aeon can be, to even hide Scions in the planets they protect,”
It shouldn't be too surprising. After all, it didn't seem like Fuli knew that Dan Heng was here either.
“Is that why even you couldn't sense Setä* in Jarilo-VI?”
Anaxa paused and sighed. “Yes. That… among other things, but,” He patted their heads gently. “Right now, you both need some rest. Who knows what that Goldweaver wants you two to do now that you're demigods,” He scoffed.
“We'll be fine, Shūshu, don't worry,” Stelle assured. “We won't do things that we know will bring harm to any of us,”
“Good,” Anaxa nodded. “Be firm with her. She isn't one to be trusted.”
“That we know,” Caelus muttered.
“And if push comes to shove, you know how to strike,” Anaxa grinned, his eye gleaming a bright red.
“Shūshu! No mara striking!” Stelle frowned. “Zǔfù* Kaveh doesn't do that on purpose, you know,”
“Yeah, yeah,” Anaxa waved off her concern with a snort. “Only use it when necessary,”
“Fair enough,” Stelle sighed.
“I better go, Dan Heng would be worried,” Caelus hugged his uncle one more time before running off.
“And I wanna go chatter with Castorice! She wanted to talk to me about her hobbies today!” Stelle jumped to her feet.
“Take care,” Anaxa waved his niblings off. He crossed his arms, a smirk stretching across his features. “So… did you find what you desire, oh Great Cerces?”
“…”
He turned to see Cerces floating beside him, but they could barely speak, lips thinning as they tried to make sense of what they saw.
“You… You are no ordinary being.”
“Mm-hmm,” Anaxa's smirk grew.
“You… The divinity I feel and saw… it's similar to the one from THE Sky Father… the one from beyond the sky.” Cerces hissed. “Who… No. What… are you?”
Anaxa's teeth sharpened, his eye gleaming a brighter red.
“Someone you made the mistake of giving your Coreflame to.”