It is time

Things have changed so much in just a couple of years. We've gone from surviving to thriving. Our mother had completely altered the way we lived. She had made advancements in so many different areas and put forth the foundations for our continued survival. It bewilders me whenever reminisce and realize just how far we have progressed.

We used to live in the temple, all of us together with separate rooms but still in the same area. We didn't do that because we wanted to necessarily but because we didn't really have any other option. Nature was harsh and we were not up to the challenge until we're blessed by the Northwind. May she guide us through eternity.

Now we had spread out more and had expanded what territory we had. It's a wondrous feeling to see such change with my own eyes. The addition of more privacy was also a nice boon.

Outside I could hear the chirping of birds and could the warmth of the sun on my face. I open only to quickly close them as a beam of light hits my eyes. The leaf curtains were wide open.

I could hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet against the ground. I could hear the sound of giggling and the soothing voice of my wife. Playfully cooing at the children.

Life was good, we weren't exactly the most powerful beings on the food chain but now could fight for a better spot on it. I wished to continue lazing around in bed but I, unfortunately, could not.

Today was the day that mother had spoken of.

I needed to get ready and head as soon as I possibly could. Punctuality was something she had grown to expect of her children.

Once I arose from the bed, I quickly got ready before changing into my work gear. Some clothing and light armor made of leather and fur from the beasts we had hunted.

I walked out of my room to the sight of breakfast and the excited squeals of the youngsters. I played and humored a little as I ate breakfast. The sight of their sadness as I left for the day tugged at my heartstrings. They were just too adorable when they made those faces.

Over the years the original 18 children had expanded. Mother had given birth to another three before she decided that was enough for humanity's continued survival.

Many of my siblings, I included, ended up marrying each other. Which isn't surprising as there really weren't any other options.

We had been informed of our parent's purpose in this world. They had spoken about how they died in their previous world and how they ended up in this one. She spoke about the earth and what it was like back there.

It seemed even more fantastical than the things we experienced here. Towers of steel, machines flying in the air made out of metal, explosive bombs capable of wiping out cities. Those were extraordinary things.

They also spoke of their time in those misty lands and their meeting with the dark god. It hadn't been easy for them to speak about. Even as they explained it, they still didn't reveal the full details about what happened. But from all accounts, it wasn't pleasant.

Their disgust and anger made much more sense once they revealed that, but it didn't fully make it better. A little part of me was glad that these things had happened otherwise my siblings and I would never have existed. I wasn't proud of that thought but I agreed with it.

So, of course, we had to take on their mission and continue humanity. It was the only option we had. It's not like we wanted to end our own lives.

Within that explanation, she also explained why she wasn't exactly pleased that we were sleeping with each other.

It shed some light as to why mother had looked at us with pity in the past. After all, back on earth being with one's own sister was not something that was looked upon with favor. I didn't fully understand why but I took her word for it.

It did very little to lessen the love I felt for my wife.

As I walked down the path, the grass blew gently with the wind and I closed my eyes and let myself fall into a trance. The increased sensitivity of my sense granted to me by my cultivation level guiding me.

I was currently at the fifth level of the mortal realm.

Mother's advancements in cultivation had taken us from simply one stage to 10 achievable stages and 5 more theoretical stages.

Father unsurprisingly was the quickest when it came to cultivation. Despite being the one who discovered these realms mother's cultivation was the slowest.

Her increased power with her titles made advancement extremely slow and arduous though every advancement was a massive increase in her power.

I arrived before a wooden gate with similar wooden fences extended out from it, inside the gate was a herd of water deer.

We had just started to tame them over three years ago and though we had our little incidents good progress had been made. No longer did we need to hunt every time we wished to eat now, we simply isolated them from the herd and culled them. They had all been raised from a young age, so they were used to our presence. It was still very dangerous given their ability but nowhere where it used to be.

I walked in and check up on them, made sure things were all right before cleaning out their barn. When I was done with that I finally head towards the temple.

It was an hour's trek from my new house to the temple. I had moved out closer to the river, right at the edge of the old borders, where the Sky piercing tree is located.

The only people that are aware of what would happen today were my mother and me. She believed then it wasn't necessary to let the others know.

I don't know exactly how this day will pan out and what the results will be. Neither could my mother, apparently, she could tell the final outcome would be she only knew what was going to happen.

It was a side effect of her role as Oracle as she had grown more powerful, she seemed to lose a little bit of the finesse that she used to have. She was still capable of causing mild discomfort with her knowing things that others did not, but now she knew less about the little things and more about the big, fixed events.

It was similar with her new control over the winds, they obeyed her will entirely but no longer was it a passive effect on her. They no longer passively aided her they had to be commanded. Not that it mattered much, but these were just some of the observations I had made over the years.

As I arrived at the temple, I greeted the youngest siblings. He and the other two were the only ones who were still allowed to stay at the temple. Currently, he was the only one at the temple, probably because the other two were off with the older siblings.

Mother had kicked us out of the temple as soon as she possibly could, none of us knew why but I was guessing it because she wanted her privacy. She might have changed but I don't doubt that her not wanting to see us was partially a reason.

"Fulter where is mother?" I asked as my eyes scanned the temple ground to see if I had missed her.

"Where she always is of course, inside the library." His head was deeply engrossed in a little book of his own. I didn't fully understand what was written as my spelling and reading abilities were lacking.

"Makes sense, thanks."

"No problem." His head remained buried in his book. I wondered what it was about. I'd wanted to head over immediately but decided to delay slightly.

"What have you been up to little man?"

He sighed lightly before responding "Same old stuff, just cultivating and growing more powerful. I think I'll be past the 1st stage in a year."

"That's pretty impressive. Congrats beforehand."

He gave me an unimpressed look "No it's not, all of you got it faster."

"You know you could have just taken the compliment. I don't wanna make you feel bad for being untalented." My voice was light and teasing.

He rolled his eyes at my jab "Oh really."

"I'm just kidding, you're pretty talented but I'm just better."

"Still full of yourself, I see." He was grinning slightly.

I didn't actually believe myself to be better, but this was just how I spoke to all my siblings.

"Mother's waiting for you. Shouldn't make her wait too long. Thanks for dropping by.

"No problem little man."

As I walked to the temple I turned around and shouted out "Don't be mad brother, I'm just blessed."

"Blessed with an ego that's what you are." He shouted back and I chuckled lightly.

He was a good kid.

I hadn't been back at the temple for over two years or according to my mother six years in earth time. It still looked the same, the cracks hadn't changed, the plants hadn't grown, and the decorations were still the same.

Which just meant that its exterior was as bland and lifeless as always. Off into the distance, I could hear the sound of stone cracking, I knew that was my father busy on his path of growth.

Even as we advanced and grew stronger our father continued to grow stronger as well. The disparity in our strength that had existed continued only to grow larger. He advanced at a rather astonishing rate, as quickly as mother discovered new realms he advanced to those realms.

Even today none of his children could match him in power, he easily bested all of us.

I would stop to greet him, but I knew it would be an awkward affair, so I continued my journey.

Walking through the temple, I couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. I've been away for two years, after all, a man is allowed to miss the place he used to grow up in.

As I reached the massive double door that marked the entrance of the library before I could even knock mother's voice called from the other side.

"Come in dear." Her voice was that of silk and gentle like a breeze.

Opening the door my eyes landed on the far side of the room. My mother sat hunched at a wooden desk attempting to decipher a book.

It was an activity that she had started recently.

Being an Oracle means that most things are boring to you. So, even though she warned us against trying to decipher these she still kept at it herself.

"Have you made any progress in your deciphering Mother?" My voice rang through the library as I approached her.

"A little bit of progress but not that much. These words and letters are beyond me, they are incredibly complex and confusing. Their very existence alters spacetime." She paused for a moment as she completed her next lines.

"I wouldn't be able to even investigate these without my growth over the years. There are so many different characters and they are constantly shifting. Each shift changes the meaning in so many different ways.

Given that my powers don't work on it I'm assuming it's not a mortal language." She sighed lightly before closing the book and turning her attention to me.

"But you know that already."

"I will never grow tired of hearing you ramble mother."

She raised a singular eyebrow at me before shaking her head.

"You already know why I'm here then," I said as I grabbed the second wooden chair at the desk she was studying at.

"Of course I do, and the answer is no. We will take any actions. Your father will not be warned."

"Is that not dangerous?" It felt strange to know about something so important to father future and not tell him about it.

"There will not be any deaths and who will emerge victorious still remains unknown to me, but they will not die, so do not worry boy." She reassured me.

"It just seems rather unsavory to not tell him," I said my voice lightly tinted with concern.

"If he ever asks about his future, I will tell him, but he will not ask nor will he care that we hadn't informed him. Marco, I would never put your father's life at risk, you know that."

" Then why are we doing this then?"

My trust in my mothers' powers was high, but I did often find myself second-guessing some of her decisions.

They didn't change much and though she said they would pay off in the long run it's hard to see what she's aiming for.

"My powers drain me, you know this. I am mortal the burden of this power ages me faster."

It was true she looked aged, much moreso than father.

"When I leave, I want humanity to survive. Whatever happens today will determine and help the growth of humanity." She faced me and looked right into my eyes.

"I will die soon, and your father may choose to join me. For you and the others to survive, you need him to be here. For that to happen this event must come to fruition, he must be humbled."

"I understand that part but is he up to the task," I asked.

"I don't know. This event contains too much significance and I can't see it properly. Not that it matters anyway." She rose from her seat and began to walk out.

"He is here".