The heavens were quiet.
Not the false silence of mortals sleeping beneath starlit skies.
Not the stillness between wars.
This was the silence that existed before creation chose its first breath.
Kokono stood upon the balcony of eternity, golden hair swaying gently as countless worlds reflected within her eyes. Entire omniverses bloomed and faded beneath her gaze. Civilizations rose. Heroes fell. Gods laughed and wept.
Beside her stood Lyius.
The Goddess of Destruction.
The Mother of Dragons.
Dark violet scales shimmered along her arms, and her regal horns framed eyes that had witnessed the end of realities and the birth of new ones.
Yet unlike the legends whispered by lesser beings...
She looked tired.
"...You spoil him too much."
Kokono smiled.
"And you don't spoil yours enough."
Lyius snorted.
"Mine keeps trying to kill himself."
"He gets that from his mother."
"He absolutely does not."
Kokono laughed.
The sound carried across creation.
For a while, neither goddess spoke.
Instead, they looked beyond the countless omniverses.
Beyond the layered dimensions.
Beyond the Void where beings transcended.
Beyond even the places gods feared to name.
Toward it.
The place neither of them ruled.
The place neither of them fully understood.
The place waiting at the end of all things.
The 0 Dimension.
Floating within endless white existence...
stood the Throne.
It was beautiful.
Terrifying.
A massive golden throne that radiated impossible authority.
The seat of what existed beyond necessity.
Even from this distance, it made omniverses appear insignificant.
Kokono's expression softened.
"...Do you think they'll make it?"
Lyius crossed her arms.
"Which one?"
"You know exactly which ones."
Silence settled between them.
Far below...
they watched two souls moving along vastly different paths.
One burned like a rising sun.
The other like an endless storm.
"...Hiroy will reach heights no hero ever has," Kokono said quietly.
Images flickered before them.
Hiroy.
Standing before kneeling civilizations.
Golden armor stained with blood.
The Creation Goddess's power flooding through him.
A sword raised high as countless beings called his name.
Hero.
Savior.
King.
His victories came surrounded by applause.
His failures met with support.
His path illuminated by heaven itself.
Kokono smiled sadly.
"He genuinely wants to save everyone."
"He does," Lyius agreed.
"And that's why he'll keep charging into situations without thinking."
Kokono sighed.
"...He's an idiot."
"He absolutely is."
Then...
their attention shifted.
The visions changed.
Shiro.
Broken.
Bleeding.
Alone.
A child crying in darkness.
A boy smiling despite empty stomachs.
A young man laughing while hiding grief behind sarcasm.
Shiro dragging himself through endless suffering.
Standing back up.
Again.
And again.
And again.
A dragon refusing to die.
A throne waiting for its king.
Lyius's fingers tightened.
"...I hate this."
Kokono glanced sideways.
"You could stop it."
"No."
The answer came instantly.
"I could."
Lyius closed her eyes.
"But then he wouldn't become himself."
More visions emerged.
Shiro sleeping beneath trees with stray cats resting on his chest.
Dogs following him through ruined cities.
Him grinning before impossible battles.
Turning fights into competitions.
Threatening someone's spine before immediately asking what was for dinner.
Protecting others even while pretending to be annoyed by them.
Then...
the visions darkened.
Raiku.
Chains.
Identity fracturing.
The girls crying.
Hiroy's horrified expression.
Gods whispering fearfully.
"...The future demands it," Lyius whispered.
"And I hate that."
Kokono stepped closer.
"You love him."
Lyius looked offended.
"Of course I do."
"You never say it."
"I sealed my own bloodline across infinite timelines to protect him."
"...You could still say it."
Lyius stared forward.
"...He knows."
"He doesn't."
"He does."
"He absolutely doesn't."
"..."
"..."
"...Fine."
The dragon goddess sighed heavily.
"I love my son."
The words sounded awkward.
Foreign.
But true.
Kokono smiled.
"There she is."
They returned their attention toward the 0 Dimension.
Toward the Golden Throne.
Even now...
it remained still.
Unmoving.
Perfect.
Then—
Kokono froze.
"...Lyius."
The destruction goddess's eyes narrowed.
"...I see it."
Tiny.
Almost imperceptible.
A single line appeared across the Golden Throne.
A crack.
Purple.
Silence swallowed eternity.
Neither goddess moved.
The impossible fracture spread slightly further.
Not enough to damage.
Not enough to threaten.
Just enough...
to announce itself.
Something had touched the untouchable.
Something beyond fate had begun to stir.
The Golden Throne remained visible.
Its authority unchanged.
Yet beneath the gold...
violet light pulsed quietly.
Like a heartbeat.
Neither Kokono nor Lyius could see what caused it.
No figure sat there.
No presence revealed itself.
Only the crack.
Only purple.
Only possibility.
Kokono's voice was barely above a whisper.
"...It's beginning."
Lyius stared into the distant white expanse.
Fear.
Pride.
Hope.
All mixing together.
"...No."
A small smile appeared on the Mother of Dragons' face.
"It began the day my son decided he wanted to become stronger."
Far below.
Hiroy continued walking toward the heavens.
Shiro continued crawling through hell.
Neither knew what waited for them.
Neither understood the full shape of their destinies.
One chosen by the world.
One feared by it.
Hero.
Dragon.
Sun.
Storm.
And beyond even gods...
the Golden Throne watched in silence.
Its purple crack widening ever so slightly.
Waiting.
For the day the boy who smiled through suffering...
finally came home.