Chapter 8

Two young girls look up at their mother excitedly, expecting a gift for one of God's holidays that was created recently. The mother holds two gifts in different wrapping. The girl with blonde hair laughs at the girl with dark purple hair as she holds up her gift to her. 

"Ha!" the blonde girl taunts. "Of course, Mother would get me a better gift, it just shows that I'm better than you!"

Her laughing haunts the girl with dark purple hair. She tried to heed her father's advice but couldn't handle it anymore. Each day, the same laugh haunts her, putting her in anger. Darkness surrounds the girl, uncontrollably circling her. 

"Adreana," her mother scolds. "Stop it now, you can't be upset at your sister."

Spears of darkness shoot towards Adreana's mother, trying to silence her from speaking further. Her mother then neutralizes the area around her as she walks to Adreana. 

"You won't stop the Goddess of Fate from working, daughter," she exclaims. "I, Acacia, curse my daughter with a dreadful life!"

White beams surround and suffocate Adreana. She screams in pain as bad luck seeps into her body. Vomiting out dark purple blood, she looks up at her mother. Acacia looks down in disgust as she walks away from her daughter. The one true God shows up, helping his daughter up.

"You should teach your daughter to show some respect, Orion," Acacia sneers. 

Orion comforts his daughter, sighing at his wife's actions. Adreana breaks down in tears when she feels her father's presence. 

Adreana: "Father… Why does Mother hate me?"

Orion: "Well, she values one side of the coin over the other. No matter how often I try to let her see both sides of any equation or argument, she storms off right afterward."

Adreana: "She always values Ayla more. Like she's the greatest creation since the universe."

Orion: "And that's her problem, I'm not going to force her to understand. She'll understand that too late. I'll tell you a secret, and you will take this to the grave."

Adreana: "What is it, Father?"

Orion looks outside a window, revealing the massive solar system to Adreana. She looks in awe as he places planets in different places like a 3D presentation. She wipes her tears, walking to the screen. Adreana studies what Orion does, trying to comprehend what's going on. He looks back at his daughter and smiles. 

"There will be someone who will force my hand to reset this universe," Orion confesses. "You and your sister will fight for possession of him, but you will fail."

"And what'll happen afterward?" she asks innocently. "Will they rise to rival you?"

"No, frankly, they'll try to be their ruler," Orion responds. "They will do anything to keep their freedom. Because my power is an upgraded version of Neutrality."

"So, what do you want me to do when I meet him," Adreana sighs. 

"Simple, just let him live his life."

The answer shocks her. She thinks about it for many hours after leaving her father alone. Ayla sees her sister walking down and scoffs at her. She trips Adreana and goes back to her room. Orion's words echo in Adreana's head, making her think for many hours. She realizes what she should do, devises a plan, and sets it to action. 

Ayla, never being liked much by her father, tries to talk with him. Trying to get his attention by being a nuisance. Orion sighs and kicks her out of the room, making her angry. 

Ayla: "You're always like this, old man! Why have you never tried to help me!"

Orion: "Your mother helps you out plenty, you don't need my help. Any problem you ever had, you whined to your mother about it."

Just then, Acacia appears, visibly frustrated. She storms up to Orion to hit him, but he dodges and chains her up. Orion sighs, turning to them. 

"And what do you want," he scolds. "All you've been doing is bothering me about Ayla, not even caring about her twin."

"Adreana is nothing but an ugly stain on the family!" Acacia shouts back. "I will never acknowledge that RAT as my daughter!"

"No matter how much you want to deny it, she will always be your blood," Orion responds coldly. "They are both necessary to balance the realm of things here."

Acacia storms off, leaving Orion and Ayla once again. Ayla throws a tantrum as he returns to his work. She storms off, trying to wreck Orion's workspace as she does. 

"I hate you, Dad!" she shouts. "You never cared for me, NEVER!"

He side-eyes her with a cold expression. His left eye pierces through her heart, leaving her unable to move for many seconds. She tears up, looking down in fear, as she doesn't want to disappoint him. 

"I thought I raised you better," Orion sighs. "I'm disappointed with how spoiled you ended up becoming compared to Adreana."

"Wait, father, please!" she pleads. "It's not like that!"

Orion turns off the universe screen and slams his fist through the wall next to her. Tired of her and Acacia's lies. He has seen all the turmoil Adreana puts up with when he can't be there. 

"Bring your mother here, now."

"Yes, Father."

Acacia comes into the dining room shaking. Fear swallows her body whole as she goes closer to the dinner table. No matter how many deep breaths she took, the fear of Orion's wrath seeps through her body. She sits down quickly, twiddling her fingers. Adreana sits down, confused about why they're scared. Orion sighs as he sits down, emitting an invisible aura that shakes the Gods to their core. 

"I'm tired of your behavior, Acacia," Orion speaks. "Your favoritism is ruining this family."

"It's not my fault, it's yours!" Acacia instantly shouts back. "Why didn't you tell me that we were going to give birth to filth?!"

"There were only four options," Orion responds. "Light, Darkness, Nature, or Love."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

Orion slams the table, silently commanding her to shut her mouth. She calms down instantly, looking down in fear. 

"If we had twins first, their affinities would be Light and Dark, correct?" he asks. 

Acacia shivers, not wanting to answer the question. Adreana spectates, eating tangerines that were placed on the dining room table. 

"Yes, my dear," Acacia gloomily responds. "And we had twins first, I misjudged the pregnancy."

"Well, it's too late for any apologies," Orion scolds as he gets up. "Both of them turn two hundred and thirty tomorrow. They have to leave the house and explore their strengths."

Adreana holds in her excitement, while Ayla holds in her sadness. They both just look at their father and talk. He nods at the two of them, signaling them to prepare for a life by themselves after dinner. 

In the present, the two sisters stare at each other with disdain. They both look at Zane, who is looking straight ahead. 

"Should we just put our differences aside, Ayla?" the Goddess of darkness asks. 

"Yeah, envy isn't something we should have when we find someone special," The Goddess of Light responds. 

They both look at Zane, standing at the border of both domains, and smile. Their father's words echo in their head. 

"When he comes, let him live his life."