Zac looked at his mother and explained everything that happened with Devin before they arrived here. Nina nodded her head in approval,

  “I always said that boy was no good. He always looked at you like eyeing a possession.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Would you have listened?” Nina raised an eyebrow with a smirk on her face.

  Zac sighed and turned his head away,

  “In my defense, I would never have met Shaila if I hadn’t stuck around Devin.” He mumbled, disheartened.

  Nina wrapped her arms around him again. While rubbing his back, she whispered,

  “I'm sure that is the only reason you didn’t kill him outright.”

  Trigger was fiddling with a plant leaf in this crowded backroom. He felt out of place, not knowing why he was called back here. He finally cleared his throat to let Nina and Zac know he was still there.

  “Don’t worry, littlest one. I haven’t forgotten you’re here.” Nina released Zac and then turned her attention towards Trigger.

  “I called both of you back here because there are some basic things you need to know about yourselves going forward.”

  Trigger wanted to resist Nina’s teachings, still preferring to deny what he had become. However, as soon as Nina opened her mouth to speak, he felt a compulsion to remain quiet and listen to her words.

  “I’ve told you and your friends the strength of the Gteju, but I must share with you our weaknesses.” Nina gently pushed Zac to stand next to Trigger.

  “From how you spoke before, it sounded like we don’t have any.” Trigger said, a bit shocked by his own proud words. Nina started to chuckle at the expression on Trigger’s face and then continued,

  “Is it we now? Anyway, we don’t have weaknesses in the traditional sense. However, we can be killed, and there is something ingrained in us that is hard to shake that can be used against us.” Nina sighed.

  “Nature, creation, life, whatever you want to call it, is balanced. We stand at the pinnacle when we enter adulthood. Creation whispers its secrets to us, simply for existing. But we start life as the weakest creatures in all creation. We can’t even move for the first 5 years of our life.”

  “What?” Zac asked with a confused expression on his face.

  “We spend an enormous amount of energy to break from our eggs. So much so that we enter a state of suspended animation for 5 years, where we reabsorb the eggshell, forming our casting. We are completely exposed and vulnerable to even the most harmless animals during this time.”

  “Wait, you don’t pick your humanoid forms?” Trigger asked.

  “Casings, or shells… not humanoid forms.” Nina looked at Trigger, annoyed. Trigger swallowed nervously. As she said before, humans evolved to copy the likeness of Gteju casings, not vice versa. He didn’t know how to feel about that.

  “And no, during the time of its forming, our shells take on a form that resembles the person or persons that watched over us.”

  Trigger looked at Zac and then over at Nina. It is evident that she was the one who watched over him, but,

  “That’s right, I sat beside you for 5 years, without sleep, without blinking. Just making sure you stayed safe.” Nina smiled at Zac.

  Zac had an embarrassed look on his face, but then something struck him. He was in suspended animation for the first 5 years, but he saw pictures of himself as a baby. So waited without rest for 5 years and then raised a child for 26 years. Zac chuckled gently to himself.

  “Because of this little quirk of our birth, our species is rather attached to family, especially our children; it’s an instinct that’s hard to resist,” Nina explained.

  Trigger understood that if they could not go after a full-grown Gteju, it was best to go for the child to take advantage of the parent. However, that was only part of the picture, and Trigger didn’t know if he could call that a real weakness. It did explain this feeling he had been having towards Zac for some time.

  Trigger was sure he couldn't stand Zac before he had undergone his Awakening. After his Awakening, he didn’t know why or when, but he started to warm up to Zac. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he started to seek validation from him. He wrote it off as finally having a father figure in his life, but looking back, it all happened too fast, like it was always meant to be that way.

  Zac looked over in Trigger’s direction as the same inkling came over him. The two locked eyes for a moment before turning away, too embarrassed to admit any kind of connection between the two, let alone one so deep.

  “Be careful of each other. Nothing can harm you more than family.” Nina observed the two with a melancholy smile.

  “Continuing on, while not as vulnerable as our first 5 years of life, we remain somewhat vulnerable until our first shedding. Afterward, children are allowed to explore the greater world.”

  “Zac hasn’t had his first shedding, though, but you let him run pretty wild,” Trigger added.

  “You think so? Well, that would be the case from your limited point of view. But from where I’m standing, it was like watching a child in a sandbox.” Nina giggled.

  Trigger sighed, as he couldn’t understand just how insignificant Nina viewed Earth. Triggered rubbed his forehead and looked up at Nina.

  “This world is significantly smaller than you think. But life is infinitely larger than you can imagine. I hope one day you’ll get to see it.” Nina walked up to Trigger and rubbed the top of his head.

  Trigger touched the top of his head where Nina had touched him. There was an odd feeling of familiarity and elation that he couldn’t explain; thinking about it more made him feel a bit uncomfortable. Knowing these newly engraved instincts made him feel he was losing control.

  “After our first shedding, do we become invincible then?” Trigger asked quickly, trying to take his mind off the subject.

  “Nearly, but no, we can still be killed. But subsequent sheddings make us even sturdier and harder to take down.” Nina answered.

  “How can we be killed?” Zac spoke.

  “Our heart. It must be eradicated. If even a piece remains, it can regenerate. And after our heart is destroyed, we must be brought to exhaustion.” Nina answered as she gently held our hand over where her heart should be.

  “Destroy our heart AND bring us to exhaustion?” Trigger said with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yes, Gteju can live indefinitely without a heart as long as we properly manage our energy. The most effective way to kill us would be to destroy our hearts and then go for our brains. The energy used to regenerate such a wound would exhaust us plenty.”

  “How is it possible…” Trigger was in shock.

  “Our hearts are a marvel of life. Each beat draws in the energies of creations, granting us power and knowledge beyond comprehension. Just by existing, the mysteries of life reveal themselves to us. If we weren’t so formidable, we would have been hunted to extinction by other species.”

  Zac looked down at his palm and then looked at Nina while clenching his fist,

  “How can anything kill something like us?” Zac smirked.

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  “While we’re young. You are still very vulnerable and haven’t even had your first shedding. Even when recognized as an adult, there are still creatures that can still threaten you. Having pride is fine; being lost in it, is arrogance. Arrogance can get you killed.” Nina frowned at Zac, who meekly nodded his head in response.

  Nina pulled out a chair, letting Zac and Trigger gather their thoughts. She leaned on the table to her side as she looked at her son and stared at Trigger.

  “Life is fair but cruel in its design.” Nina closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “Mom…” Zac spoke, bringing Nina out of her train of thought. She looked up at him to see the determined look on his face.

  “You don’t have to worry… go to them and tell them who you are, and they’ll have no choice but to kneel,” Nina said with sad confidence.

  Nina knew the real reason he wanted to know about himself was to know if he could leverage his existence to create an army to carry out his judgment.

  “Who am I?” Zac asked with a confused look on his face.

  After listening to everything his mother said, he was confident his name wasn’t Zachery Zym. He was sure his mother’s name wasn’t Nina. His mother smiled at him and corrected her posture. She crosses her legs and places her hands in her lap,

  “You are Cefketa Sorvynth Zymuji Somnion, a descendant of the Brood of Tiamat, Keeper of Dreams. That’s all you’ll need to get the ball rolling.”

  “Cefketa…hehe Keta… right.” Zac was ready to be upset with his mother for hiding his real name from him all his life. But she hadn’t. As far as he could remember, she rarely, if ever, referred to him directly as Zac, almost as if she was disgusted by the name. He began to laugh; he knew that wouldn’t be all; he would need to display his superiority, even if these creatures understood what he was.

  “I haven’t interacted much with the creatures of this world, but if there are humans who know what I am, then sure there are some among these ‘cryptids’ that do as well.”

  “What do you mean?” Zac asked.

  “About 20 years ago, some humans came to tell me they knew of my presence and that I should watch myself.” Nina started to laugh.

  “What did you do?” Trigger asked,

  “I devoured them and let it be clear that this world didn’t belong to them; they were just living on it. A few of them knew me to be a Gteju and called themselves Theronites.” Nina explained.

  “Wait, so did Devin know what you were or not?” Trigger asked.

  “I don’t believe that he did. Those Theronites seemed rather old. Regardless of how much value they place on that boy, the best way to manipulate someone is to control the flow of information.” Nina corrected.

  Trigger nor Zac responded. They knew that Nina didn’t care much for Devin, so she would have no reason to defend him in this case. Zac just let out a sigh and nodded his head. Trigger then jumped in again,

  “Do you know where we should look for them?”

  “No need for that. I know how to find who we’re looking for.” Zac interjected.

  “Well, that’s all I had to tell you two. Is there anything you wish to know before you head out? If I think it appropriate to answer, I will.” Nina sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

  “You talked about Gteju being very family-oriented, but you don’t like talking about yours too much; why?” Zac asked.

  “You know I don’t like mentioning them, yet you still asked?” Nina sighed.

  “Sorry…”

  “Don’t be. It’s an ancient and unoriginal story. I loved someone my family thought I shouldn’t, and I left my family to make one of my own. I’m sure some of them are still out there looking for me. But I made my decision.” Nina spoke as if it meant nothing to her.

  However, Trigger could see sadness in her eyes and hear it in her voice. If the person she talked about was Zac’s father, then the person she ran away with died not long after. Leaving her alone with a child. Her story wasn’t too different from his own mother’s.

  Trigger groaned to himself, as something else was weighing on his mind as well, but he didn’t know if he should even ask.

  “What’s on your mind, Kenji.”

  “That’s not my name!” Trigger snapped and then quickly corrected himself when he saw Nina’s eyebrows raise at him.

  “Sorry, sorry… Kenji isn’t my name, not really.”

  “Then what is your name?” Nina asked.

  “I…I don’t know.” Trigger mumbled and laughed in frustration.

  He proceeded to explain his situation to Nina. He didn’t understand why, but he felt he could tell her all his secrets and problems, and she could solve them all. He stared down into his palms after he explained his situation.

  “I see, Kenji and Isuel were never your names. You refuse the name Aiono Murmus because you do not wish to acknowledge your Persequion heritage. I certainly will not be calling you Trigger…” Nina said as she looked over at Zac, who just chuckled.

  “Well, there is a tradition among Gteju. The Grandparents give newborns their names. Your grandmother named you when she discovered I was pregnant with you.” Nina smiled at Zac, answering his question before it left his lips.

  “Biologically, you are my Grandchild now… and since I had the chance stolen once before, would you give me the chance now?” Nina asked Trigger.

  Trigger was stunned momentarily; he didn’t know what to say. Finally, he blurted out,

  “Y-yeah… yeah, go ahead.” Trigger nearly whimpered in response.

  Nina closed her eyes and spoke,

  “Mythera Harmonia, it means life is fair but cruel in its application.” She spoke an old Mytherian idiom. She then opened her eyes and stared at Trigger,

  “Mythera Harmonia Zymuji Somnion, descendant of Tiamat, the Keeper of Dreams. Our littlest Myth.” Nina’s smile stretched from ear to ear. Trigger himself began to grin.

  “Myth, huh? Well, better than Keta…” He began to chuckle until he looked over at Zac and saw the annoyed look on his face.

  “I’m glad you like it. So, no matter what anyone calls you, you don’t have to feel anything. For you now have your true name. Now, little Mythy… what was it that you wanted to ask?” Nina brought Trigger back to his original train of thought.

  “The way you’ve been talking this whole time like the world is yours and naturally so. The way you claim that human evolution was based on your casings. The way you speak Mytherian so freely when my mother said it was the language of the Gods. Are you…are we gods?”

  Nina started to laugh hysterically,

  “Gods? No, no, no… but if you believe our legends, a few of our kind have devoured a couple.” Nina started to laugh once again at the thought. She wiped a tear from her eye and continued,

  “As I’ve said before, your view of life is much too narrow, thanks to this world you live in. Once you expand your knowledge range, you’ll understand you don’t need to be a god to own a world.”

  “So, how is this world yours?”

  “Because I say it is, hehehehe.” Nina started to giggle.

  “Look, I can give a long and detailed recounting of creation and explain why, by rights, this world and countless others belong to my family, but I’ll keep it simple.” Nina looked at Zac and Trigger. She uncrossed her legs and recrossed while making a simple hand motion.

  Zac and Trigger felt a pull on their limbs that brought the two of them to their knees; the more they struggled, the more useless their struggle seemed to be. At first, they both thought it was an intense gravity that far outstriped anything Leonie could perform.

  However, nothing was out of place when they looked at their surroundings. The ground beneath their knees had not cracked under the force, none of the plants in the area were affected. Only the two of them prostrated in front of Nina, like two children paying respects to their matriarch.

  “Regardless of how advanced or how enlightened we become as a whole. No matter what selfless or noble goals we have. There is and always will be one immutable truth. Those with power make the rules. I believe humans have coined the term "Might makes right.” Nina looked down at her son and “grandson” on their knees before her and continued.

  “This world is mine because I say it is, and no one is strong enough to say otherwise. Heka’s lack of movement against Keta, proves they agree with my claim. However, they seemed to have misjudged the situation with recent events.” Nina said as she looked down at Zac and then released her hold on the two of them.

  Zac and Trigger looked at each other with trepidation as they slowly got to their feet. The look on Nina’s face was one of boundless seething rage. She took a breath and then said,

  “But something like me making a move, even if I were to control myself, would be equivalent to a global catacylsm. So I’ll have to leave you hatchlings to take care of things. Please remind them of whose backyard they’re playing in.” Nina smiled at the two of them and motioned for Zac to come to her.

  She squatted down to let his mother kiss him on the forehead.

  “I love you, my little Keta… be safe. Don’t get in over your head.”

  “Do I ever?” Zac joked.

  Nina giggled and gave him a second kiss before motioning him out. Trigger turned to follow after him,

  “Littlest one… stay for a moment. Don’t worry, I’ll be quick.” Trigger stopped as Zac left the room, closing the door behind him.

  Nina remained seated as Trigger stood at attention in front of the door.

  “As you probably have deduced by now. Me and my little Keta are not of this world.”

  Trigger nodded his head.

  “More importantly, you are. You are of my blood, but were born of this world. That means this world should naturally be yours when the time comes.” Nina said with a smile.

  Trigger tensed up at her words; she said something casually like she was giving away a family heirloom, not ownership of an entire planet teeming with billions of lifeforms.

  “With that power…”

  “What? Comes great responsibility?” Trigger half-joked.

  “Responsibility? No… you are responsible for no one but yourself and your offspring. You can burn this little speck to ash for all I care.” Trigger's eyes widened, and he felt his throat go dry as he forced himself to swallow.

  “No, with that power comes a choice. Will you share this world with the humans and let them continue as they have, or… will you take what is yours and rule it as you see fit?”

  Trigger…Mythera stood there in silent contemplation.