Chapter 313 – Children

“Alright, it’s happening! Just calm down… Everyone calm down!”

“Kiddo, the Totality would sooner collapse and explode with Time-rending oblivion before anything went wrong with your wives, so there’s no need to be so anxious.”

“Explosion!”

It was Yao who responded to Dream’s frantic words, and Asarya’s follow up was cute as always.

These three bound through the forest, entering the tree dome and drifting into the house with impossible agility. Asarya was only one step behind, moving her small legs and bouncing off the walls as fast as she could to keep up. 

Shooting to the top floor, Dream was about to enter a room when he stopped in the hallway. 

His eyes fell downward, seeing a little girl no more than a foot tall. She had healthy pink skin, a short shaggy head of golden hair, and two eyes that seemed to be stars instead of regular eyeballs. Her bright gaze stared at Dream, as if having expected to see him come through here. 

“My goodness, you’re already quite the handful, aren’t you?”

Not long after, Sophia appeared, scooping up the girl with a wide smile. 

She then turned to Dream, child in hand. 

“Say hello to your first daughter. Apparently she can jump through Time like its her own playground, though she still has yet to control it. Here.”

Sophia moved over, handing off the girl. 

Dream took her carefully, he and the girl continuing to stare into each other’s eyes. 

She tilted her head, and suddenly spoke in a light and soft voice. 

“All timelines lead back to you. You are my father, the progenitor of my species. Unfortunately, I am the beginning and the end of the ancestral line created by your union with my mother.”

She spoke with unwavering certainty, her mind processing all the countless instances of Time and their ends. 

At her prophecy though, Dream only smiled, causing her to frown in seeming confusion. 

At that moment.

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

Dream saw three more girls pop their heads out from the nearby doorway. Each of them were identical, with deep red hair, sharp canines, eye slits with crystal black irises, and a unique steel grey skin. 

Those three all looked toward Dream, before there was a shout. 

“Hey! You three are all of a minute old, so get back here!”

“Watch out!”

“Mother is ferocious!”

“Escape to Father!”

The three jumped before running through the hallway. Two bounced up the walls while the other lit on fire and melted through the floor, escaping the grasp of Iris who came shooting out the doorway. 

The two who scurried across the walls jumped onto Dream’s shoulders, hugging his head in security. The third also came back up through the floor, latching onto his leg. 

“Escape success.”

“Minimal collateral damage.”

“Collateral damage irrelevant while evading high risk mothers.”

“Suggestion: merge into one form to decrease total grabbable surface area.”

“Suggestion denied. Multiple forms allows for partial success.”

“Stupid suggestion.”

The three gave off a series of evaluations while dodging the narrowed gaze of their mother. 

That’s when Dream noticed that something was off. 

Looking down, he could see Sophia’s little girl in one arm. But now in the other was yet another little girl.

She looked ghostly, with the palest skin that contrasted with her void black hair which flowed and disappeared between the folds of space in a fog. Her eyes were also completely black, giving an eerie feeling to those who looked into them. 

She said nothing, and eventually she only nuzzled her head against his chest.

Alice appeared not long after, scratching her head with a gleeful smile.

“Hehe, I guess she takes after me.”

“Father!”

Finally, there was an immature but commanding voice that echoed through the hallway. 

Dream saw a two little boys walk out, both with ashen gray hair and sharp gazes that pointed right at him. 

The two gave their announcements with puffed out chests. 

“Father, I crave the knowledge that with relinquish me of this weak fleshly body!”

“And I crave the incredible violence made capable by the tools of the machine.”

One spoke with righteous indignation, and the other spoke with flat assertion. 

All it earned them though were two smacks on the head. 

“Now now, that’s not how your father would like to be greeted for the first time by his children.”

“I do not concur.”

“I also disagree!”

“Jeez…”

Luna let out a chuckle, ruffling their hair and picking up their small bodies. 

She looked toward Dream with a sigh. 

“Not even 5 minutes old, and yet they think they’re adults.”

“Dream? Are you okay?”

Noticing his oddly long silence, Alice placed her hand on his. 

But despite her concerned words, she had a content smile on her face. She knew that right now, there was nothing but happiness. 

The others around them also watched on with smiles. The parents who had finally become grandparents, Asarya who was dying to make friends with these new children, the reaper who stood in the corner silently…

Dream looked between all his children. They were incomparable to normal children. Attuned to the concepts with ties created by their parents, they were born with vast intelligence and awareness. They wholly lacked the naivety of normal babies. 

This was further amplified by the power bestowed to them by the Ascendency. Each child bore the mark of the family on their forehead, though not yet visible until it was given time to settle. 

The power of the lineage gave them perfect minds, one that would never forget and could operate with perfect clarity and enhanced speed. 

And then, there were their innate powers granted by their mothers. The power of fire, the trio that could merge and separate, their orderly or chaotic natures, the ability to shift through Time or blink in and out of existence…

Each was vastly different from the last, carrying the attributes of their parents yet being their own person. 

“...They’re all perfect.”

Dream murmured, the love and joy spilling from his mouth carrying enough depth to make even Sophia’s stoic child squirm in happiness and embarrassment. 

And it surprised the wives. It was rare that he showed such seriousness in his words. He was always so lighthearted and seemingly without care, but for a moment they all got to see the fullest extent of his deep love for them. 

But it was only for a moment. The next, he smiled mischeviously, shifting his head and giving his daughters some kisses. 

“Ack!”

“Disperse!”

“Ah! He got me!”

“Cut our losses and run!”

As they began to jump away, Dream grabbed them and held them back, testing the limits of their agility and wits. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t be outdone. He caught them all whether by hand or leg, even the boys who tried to make a tactical retreat. 

In the end, they were all gathered in the master bedroom, forming a pile on the huge bed. Dream even snatched his wives, pulling them into the midst. 

The others left, letting the new family have their time.

“Hah! Got you all.”

“We lost!”

“How?!”

“Numerical advantages are useless.”

“Highest risk father beat us.”

“If only I had the knowledge!”

“If only I wielded mechanized destruction…”

The children shifted around, getting comfortable in the embrace of their mothers and father. 

“So.”

Dream lifted his head and looked around. 

“Announce yourselves, my children.”

“We are Apollyon!”

Iris’ identical triplets introduced themselves first, their three heads popping up with smiles. 

Then, Sophia’s girl spoke in a flat tone.

“I am called Aya.”

“Aya…”

“I am known as Miserius.”

Luna’s boy who seemed to be infatuated with violence chimed in, his brother coming right after. 

“I am Novus, father.”

“Greetings, Novus, my curious child. And lastly…”

Dream turned his head, focusing on Alice’s baby girl.

But she didn’t seem to want to talk. In fact, the only reason she hadn’t disappeared was because Dream had anchored her in reality. As a power she couldn’t control, he didn’t intend to let it hamper her development.

Either way, she seemed to be the quiet one, causing Dream to smile and brush her hair. 

He waited, and eventually she spoke in a soft voice. 

“...My name is Nihila.”

“Nihila. You have a very beautiful name, my sweet girl.”

“Thank you…”

She smiled while hiding her face. Seeing that, Alice hugged her tightly, unable to contain her joy. 

Dream couldn’t help but let out another sigh.

“Oh my children, you are more than I could’ve wished, asked, or hoped for. You all are the first generation of our family, the Dreamer ascendency. You have countless years ahead of you, countless experiences that not even Time can prepare you for.”

Dream poked Aya’s nose, making her face scrunch up a bit.

“I love you all, my wives and my children. I have gone to the darkest depths of the Totality, have given myself to Death and come back through Time and no fault of Life. This place, this False Reality that has been created as the result of my efforts… I will make it true, cement it as our home, our eternal paradise. For all of you, for the Dreamer Ascendency, I promise this and more. And…”

He faced his wives, looking between each of them and seeing their eyes full of satisfaction and affection. 

“I’m glad I finally got to give you what you deserve. And I’m sorry it took so long. Hopefully forever will be enough to make it up to you.”

“Euugh, so cheesy.”

“Cheesy…”

“Father is cheesy.”

Luna couldn’t help herself at the buttery statement, moving closer to her husband. Even the kids had their own cute reactions.

After that, the new family spent a long time together. One by one the children fell asleep, and the wives soon followed. 

Dream was the last one to close his eyes, getting some shut eye for the first time in a long while that didn’t also involve death in some form. It was something that could only be afforded to all of them through this False Reality.