First Demonic Dragon

The family's last son was a slight reflection of his father.

From the waist down, he had a slender serpent-like body with a tail tipped in feathery plumage.

His upper body was small, devoid of any real musculature or sharp protruding spikes. Those grow in for most dragon children at around the nine-month range.

The claws on his hands and the horns on his head were almost blunt. His body was covered in scales, but they'd yet to fully harden into an armor-like state and as of now felt like cartilage.

Their son was a deep, boiling red color, almost like Bashenga.

In the center of it's small chest, it had a sharp mouth that remained closed even as it cried.

The child's muzzle was a different color from the rest of his body. Almost resembling a golden beak.

Abaddon watched the girls pass him around in the room.

The child did not seem uncomfortable or unadjusted with any of the changes. Rather, he took his time getting to know each new person that held him.

Abaddon was still silent and full of contemplation.

He wasn't sure that what he was looking at was Caelum's soul.

For the most part, every individual's soul has a unique feeling and shape.

Abaddon was intimately familiar with what Caelum's soul should look and feel like because he had technically held dominion over it before.

As of right now, he just... he wasn't sure what he was looking at.

The child turned it's head to stare at him.

It's eyes were two colors. The left one was red and the right one an orange-gold.

His son had long since stopped crying, and now he just looked around the room while getting his bearings.

Slowly, his scalier and deadlier body reverted into a more soft and cuddly variation.

A child no more than five pounds with dark brown skin and glowing eyes that were soon closed.

Tatiana wrapped him in a blanket and wiped off the flaming fluid that was inside of his egg.

At that point, she passed him to his father.

Abaddon took the child gently.

Despite everything that he'd seen, he did not treat him any differently and didn't easily give away that something might be wrong.

However, the older that Abaddon had gotten, the more he had gotten accustomed to knowing whatever he needed.

Not knowing something of such vital importance as who and what he was holding was certainly frustrating.

"Do you see your brother, Odie..? You're a big sister now."

Lisa presented their youngest daughter to their youngest son.

Odessa had been getting bigger and more curious for a long time now, but never was she more curious than she was on this day.

At some points, it seemed like she was going to attempt to jump out of her mother's arms to stare at her brother more closely. Or perhaps she might've even wanted to hold him herself.

Thunder might've struck Abaddon at this moment.

He wasn't sure to the full extent about what might've happened, but he at least knew that whoever he was holding was his son.

For now, that was the most important thing.

*Rip!*

A vibrant tear opened up in the fabric of space in the room.

Lailah and Valerie each came rushing through. Each of them was clearly in a state of panic.

For everyone here, Lailah and Valerie hadn't even been gone two hours.

But for them, it had been the equivalent of around 100 years.

The girls weren't sure who they wanted to hug first. But there was one thing that they seemed more concerned with than anything, and that was the child.

"We... We dropped everything we were doing as soon as we were able, but.."

"Did we miss it anyway..?" Lailah sounded heartbroken.

Abaddon held his arm out for both. "Come here."

The girls walked towards him without even a moment's hesitation.

Once they were situated comfortably in his embrace, he tapped them both on the forehead and transmitted the memory of their child's birth.

Water pooled in the girls' glowing eyes. Their hearts ached.

"I know you're upset. But you were making sure our little one would have a future where he could know all of his mothers..." Abaddon wiped both of their eyes. "I won't allow either of you to feel guilty for that."

The girls still didn't know if they believed it. Missing their child's birth had, in no uncertain terms, made them feel like the worst mothers in creation.

"...He has yet to be named." Erica revealed as she wrapped her arms around the girls' waists. "If both of you wouldn't mind doing the honors.."

Lailah and Valerie glanced at each other. The significance of naming their final child was not something that was lost on them in the slightest.

Deliberation took less time than one might've expected. It was all almost as if the girls had already had a name planned in the back of their minds for a long time now.

Given that they had spent 100 years away and still weren't close to completing what they needed to, that probably wasn't very far from the truth.

"... K'ael."

"K'ael Nasir Tathamet." Lailah finalized.

Small smiles appeared on the faces of everyone in the room.

"...I like it." Abaddon smiled.

He glanced over his shoulder at the only person in the room who had yet to speak or even acknowledge the new baby.

Izanami was taken aback to see so many eyes suddenly fall on her. And more than anything, she just really wished that she had a choice of dress other than a bath towel right now.

"What do you think?" Abaddon asked her with a smile.

Izanami smiled and tried not to show her embarrassment.

"I... think it is a very beautiful name. And one that will surely stand the test of time."

-

Lailah and Valerie spent another hour with their loved ones before tearing themselves away.

Construction of the largest project in Creation's history certainly wasn't an easy task. But they told themselves that the quicker they actually finished, the quicker that they could come back as well.

For now, K'ael wanted nothing to do but sleep. And his parents were going to afford him that luxury.

He and Odessa sat perfectly in the middle of their parents' bed. Each of them sleeping side-by-side while their parents formed a protective circle around them.

Izanami hadn't actually said anything for a long time now.

Mostly, she was sitting to herself and staring at the child with a slightly complex expression on her face.

Abaddon was beside her and had noticed her expressions quite some time ago.

Without saying anything, he discreetly reached for her hand.

'...I'm sorry. Is this difficult for you?'

Izanami enjoyed the familiar warmth for a moment before she shook her head.

'Not really. He doesn't particularly resemble Agheel in any way, so... In a way, I suppose that makes it less painful.'

Abaddon was intrigued by her question. 'Were you expecting him to?'

Izanami didn't know how to answer that without sounding absolutely insane. '... I had expected some sort of cruel twist of fate, yes. Nothing with us has been particularly easy after all.'

Abaddon smiled wryly. 'You're starting to think of 'us' now?'

'...Should I not be?' She asked him honestly.

'...No, you should.' He nodded.

Izaanmi tightened her grip on his hand further.

'So... I guess we're not going on that date of ours today?'

Abaddon's heart sank, and guilt flooded his chest. '...I'm sorry. But right now, I just..'

'No, don't apologize. I believe I might think less of you if you just ran off to go and handle diplomatic manners after your son was just born.'

'Oh, well, now I really can't go. I have to make sure I keep making a good impression or else you might change your mind about me.'

Izanami fought the urge to laugh. 'Slow down, I didn't say that I was going to let you blow me off for free. In exchange... let me stay the night. Then we can call it even.'

Abaddon rubbed his eyes to make sure he was still talking to the same meek, shy woman who wouldn't even reveal herself in the shower earlier.

'..Bold, aren't we?'

Izanami just shrugged and looked down at herself. 'I mean, I'm already dressed for it.. and besides...'

She lifted her head and stared at Abaddon with an unflinching, confident gaze that he had only seen in the memories of her dream. 'Being timid.. isn't exactly getting me where I'd like. A change of tactics was inevitable.'

Abaddon stared into her eyes for a couple of more minutes before turning away. 'Right now.. I'm not sure if-'

'Is it about this?'

Izanami suddenly reached inside of her cleavage and pulled out a paper note.

Written on it was some lavish handwriting Abaddon happened to be painfully familiar with.

Hope to still see you around when I get back. -V.

Abaddon was starting to think that maybe Valerie liked Izanami even more than he did. So far, she had been quite the aggressor.

Seeing his complex face, the death goddess chuckled as she playfully nudged his shoulder.

'Come on. What's a little slumber party among friends?'