Just like in class, Courtney fell asleep while listening to her father talk about his history.
But this time, it had less to do with her not finding the material interesting and more to do with the fact that her father's voice was like velvet and silk had a baby made of chinchilla fur.
Who could blame her for her inability to stay up!?
The days of Courtney being small enough to sleep with her parents were long over, so Abaddon slipped out of bed to carry her to her room while Lillian went back to bed.
Stepping out into the hallway was a much more jarring experience than Abaddon was anticipating.
As the sound of his feet echoed off the cold black stone, he found himself staring at everything as if it were somehow new to him.
The tall, arching windows with soft, red and gold drapes, the high ceiling that was indicative of a castle setting, it was all really eye catching.
But there was perhaps nothing that really struck him like the view through the window.
Even though he still had yet to take Courtney to her bedroom, Abaddon could not suppress his curiosity and teleported outside.
-
Outside, Abaddon took in the sight of their home.
They stood alone here, at an isolated edge of the world where no one would come seeking to bother them.
There was still a tree around, but... it was much, much larger now.
The tree was so large that it almost put Yggdrasil to shame. Abaddon would probably have to be at least 250 meters to wrap his arms around it.
It sat on a rocky, vegetation-ladden cliff overlooking a ravine.
The waterfall roaring just underneath it spilled into a large, crystal blue lake.
Ripples from within signified the presence of marine life lurking inside- just beneath the surface.
But the water was so perfectly clear that if one wished to take a peak, all they needed to do was look down inside. They would even be able to witness the glowing crystals that covered the entirety of the lakebed.
A rich, grassy area was present within this small ravine, and it was there that the group's home sat.
Well... 'Home' was a strong word.
It was white and circular, almost like a greek colosseum, but there was a dome covering the roof.
It was undeniably bigger than a manor, but just a few hairs smaller than a castle. There was no front door to knock on, only a large open archway.
But guarding this fantastic structure were four stone statues that seemed, at least to the untrained eye, to be completely harmless.
They would only get the chance to be so wrong once.
However, what struck Abaddon the most was the sky above his head.
Though the background was still a rich mirage of red, purple and blue, there was something different.
Where planets used to hang, there were now countless white streaks like shooting stars stuck in place.
There were too many to count, and some went on for as far as Tehom travelled.
Despite the fact that time didn't really flow normally here, to the outside world everyone here was at least over 3,000 years old. But with Tehom's physics it would be next to impossible to chronicle their real ages.
They all maintained rather youthful looking appearances. Because she was the oldest, Thea looked to be around 27.
Gabbrielle was the only one who hung onto her baby-like features somewhat hard, because she knew that it kept her in the head of the pack for Abaddon's favorites.
"Is father-in-law coming to join us? We have chocolate covered strawberries." Claire offered.
Abaddon smiled politely. "I'm afraid not, since my date partners are all asleep for tonight. I was just going to put my youngest princess to bed." He nodded towards Courtney.
"Came pretty out of your way to do that, didn't you..?" Apophis chuckled.
"Yes, I..." Abaddon's words trailed off as he stared up into the sky absentmindedly.
"Dad?" Thea asked worriedly.
He realized he'd gotten lost in thought again and shook his head hard.
"Sorry, kids. I've been a bit out of it since I woke up. I think that old man might've done something." Abaddon admitted.
"Something bad..?"
"No, just something rare. Nex Sacramentum. I've got the foggiest feeling that mostly everything that I am seeing is for the first time."
Thea, Apophis, Tiamat, and Gabbrielle, were all primordial gods.
As such, they were aware that Yesh does reset timelines on many occasions, but they were not aware that he could do it to Tehom too.
This place was literal supposed to be where anything divine and holy came to die.
And yet, that was just how powerful the ritual of Nex Sacramentum was.
"You have memories from before a reset? What does it feel like?" Tiamat leaned forward curiously.
"Like I took superglue and pasted my thighs together. If I try to pull my two sets of memories apart it would cause me a level of discomfort that is neither enviable, nor amusing."
Everyone chuckled at this, but Abaddon wasn't joking in the slightest.
"So what will you do then? Grit your teeth and bear with it?" Straga mocked.
"Absolutely not. I'll just go ask that old couple if there's anything I'm missing, and if there is, I will retrieve it. If you all are missing any memories, I'll restore those too."
"How do you plan to retrieve something that has already been unmade, father-in-law..?" Daphne asked.
Abaddon smiled pridefully as if he found the question silly.
"Come now, Daphne. I'm aware that you're new to the family, but has it slipped your mind who I am already?"
Abaddon placed Courtney into Apophis' arms gently and backed away.
He whistled and a moment later heavy footsteps came from deep within the grassy gorge.
A twenty feet tall lizard came running towards him like an excited dog ready to play.
Smiling, Abaddon climbed atop his back and gave his head a couple of scratches.
"I'll be back later. Something tells me you should all prepare for a rather intense headache in the morning."