>>6047948“Haathe. What are you doing?” you ask her. “Why are you in here so early?”
“Hurry. A bunch of gods showed up.” she says, flying back away from you towards the door. “Caulifla's out there with them right now.”
“Shit.” you reply, getting out of bed immediately. Reaching out with your telekinesis you grab your pants, throwing them on as you fly behind Haathe. Both of you flying down your home's loading ramp, only to see Caulifla in her transformed state staring down a quartet of Kai. Shin, Kars, the red one whose name you don't remember and the elderly Kai are all facing her. Kars is in his pink-haired divine form, the two staring each other down. You notice your daughter is standing between them and your home, as if preventing their entry. The only one to immediately notice you is the red-skinned one, his eyes widening before you shout. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Dad!” Cauli shouts, sounding very relieved without turning. Kars' gaze immediately whips towards you, you seeing a look of annoyance flick across his face. But he immediately fixes his expression, the flicker so quick you almost doubt if you had even seen it.
“Karn.” Kars says, immediately powering back down to his normal form.
“Karn? Eh?” the elderly man says, turning his head back and forth before spotting you. “Ah, Karn. There you are.”
“What is the meaning of this?” you ask, not addressing anyone but all of them.
“They tried to get me to surrender my power.” Caulifla tells you. Your expression immediately hardens, turning your gaze from her back to the Kai. “They say I don't 'deserve' it, whatever the hell that means.”
“That power isn't meant to be wielded by a mortal.” Shin says, still trying to sound authoritative despite how clearly nervous he is now.
“That power has been missing since before the First Flame went out. Many believed it didn't exist at all, until you started traveling back and forth through time.” the elder Kai speaks up, hobbling over to stand before Kars, closest to your daughter. “That power belongs to the gods, and should be back in our-”
“No. It belonged to <span class="mu-i">-a-</span> god, one who gave it to my daughter.” you interrupt, stepping forward and placing your left hand on her shoulder. “She has been chosen, not you.”
“Now listen here you little nin-Mmnph!?” the elderly Kai shouts, only to have Kars throw a hand over his mouth, stifling his words.
“Forgive him, he's up rather early.” Kars faux apologizes to you, taking two steps back with the elder in his hands. “But that power is dangerous. If wielded improperly, it could disrupt time itself.”
cont
