Imperium Academy
"You created a secret realm, brought back a dead king and his wife, and stitched a broken family back together," Adam said, staring at Alex. "You really just did that."
Alex took another sip, calm like it was nothing. "Yeah. She begged. And I remembered us. If someone like us existed back then, we would’ve fallen to our knees too. I couldn’t pretend I didn’t understand that."
Adam’s jaw tightened.
"You know," Adam said slowly, "we did have someone back then."
Alex glanced at him but said nothing.
"They called him God," Adam continued. "Big G. Capital letters. Dad dragged us to church every Sunday. Wednesdays too. Knees on cold floors. Hands clasped. Prayers for protection. For peace. For family."
He laughed once. Dry. Sharp.
"And when we needed him? Silence. Just people patting us on the back saying that stupid line. ’God works in mysterious ways.’"
Adam shook his head. "Mysterious how? By letting a family get wiped out? By letting a father die over land and greed? That’s the mystery?"
Alex sighed. He knew this tone.
"So yeah," Adam said. "Now that I think about it, maybe it’s time I return the visit. Ask him what exactly he was busy with."
Alex put his cup down. "Don’t."
Adam looked at him. "Don’t what?"
"Don’t do that thing," Alex said. "That look. That’s the look you had back then."
Adam smiled faintly. "Back then I didn’t have the power to ask questions."
"And now you do," Alex said. "That’s exactly why you shouldn’t."
"So you expect me to just keep quiet." Adam said back.
"No," Alex said calmly. "You’re not doing that."
Adam tilted his head. "Why not?"
"Because I already did something better," Alex replied. "I brought our father back."
Adam froze.
"...Say that again."
Alex opened his eyes and met his stare. "I resurrected him. Gave him a world. Made him a god there. He’s alive. Whole. Happy."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Adam stared at him like he was trying to process a foreign language.
"You... what?" he asked quietly.
"I found him," Alex said. "Or what was left of him. Outside the stream you vanished into. I couldn’t reach you, but I reached him."
Adam laughed once. Sharp. Disbelieving.
"You made dad a god," he said. "Our dad."
"Yes."
Adam dragged a hand down his face. "You’re telling me this now?"
"I didn’t know how," Alex said. "You were... you. I didn’t know if you’d take it well."
Adam looked away. His voice dropped. "You thought I’d be angry."
"I knew you would," Alex said honestly.
Adam let out a breath that sounded almost like a growl.
"I’ll still visit the big G," Adam said. "I still want to ask him what this mysterious ways nonsense is all about and—"
He stopped.
Alex felt it at the same time.
Both of them turned their heads.
A figure was flying straight toward them.
Adam clicked his tongue. "Timing’s trash."
In the next instant, Adam and Alex were standing right in front of the intruder.
"Whoa," the woman said, halting mid-air. "Didn’t even let me finish the dramatic entrance. That’s rude."
She looked between them, eyes sharp, smile playful.
"Twins," she said. "Let me guess... time and space? No. Death and life? Close, but not quite. Order and chaos already exist, and that would be me. Which leaves only one answer."
She pointed at them. "Existence and Nonexistence. Wow. So you really did it."
Adam stared at her for half a second.
Then turned around.
"I hate girls who talk too much," he said flatly. "They’re always hiding something. Usually depression."
And with that, he flew off.
Kahdijah blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
She looked at Alex. "What’s his problem?"
Alex sighed. "That was mild, actually."
Her grin returned almost instantly. "I hate stuffy guys. They’re boring. So you’ll do. Tell me about you."
She floated closer and winked.
Alex rubbed his forehead. "He’s just in a bad mood."
"Yeah? That bad?"
"You remind him of someone," Alex said. "From before. She was cheerful. Loud. Always smiling. She hid everything. One day she couldn’t anymore."
Kahdijah’s smile softened, just a little.
"She took her own life," Alex continued. "A few months later, our father died. Adam never really recovered from that. He jokes, he laughs, but he’s always... waiting for something to break."
Kahdijah nodded slowly. "That tracks."
Alex looked at her. "I’m Alex. He’s Adam. Absolute Beings. Existence and Nonexistence."
She raised a brow. "You don’t have to flex."
"I wasn’t," Alex said. "Just being clear."
She laughed. "Still you."
Alex paused. "You know us?"
She tilted her head. "You really don’t recognize me?"
Alex stared at her face more closely.
Then his eyes widened a fraction.
"...Haddy?"
She clapped her hands. "There it is."
Alex let out a breath. "You’re alive."
"Obviously," she said. "And chaotic as ever."
"You died," Alex said. "We thought you—"
"Died?" she finished. "Nah. Just slipped through the cracks. Turns out cracks lead to interesting places."
Alex shook his head. "You were never normal."
"Rude," she said, smiling. "But fair."
She looked in the direction Adam left. "So he’s still dramatic."
"Worse now," Alex replied.
"I noticed," she said. "Calling me depressed and flying off? That’s new."
"He didn’t mean it," Alex said.
"I know," Kahdijah replied easily. "That’s why it hurt."
Alex winced.
She shrugged. "Relax. I’ve been dead before too. Multiple times, actually. Comes with the territory."
Alex stared. "You’re Chaos."
"Yep," she said proudly. "The real deal. Not an avatar. Not a fragment."
She spun once in the air. "Kahdijah. Absolute Being of Chaos."
Alex smiled faintly. "Figures."
She leaned closer. "You guys changed. Back then you were angry kids with knives and grudges. Now you’re... concepts."
"Power changes things," Alex said.
"Or reveals them," she countered. "You were always like this. The universe just caught up."
She glanced around. "So. Where’s the rest? Death’s here, right? I felt her. Order too?"
Alex hesitated. "You came for them."
"I came for Adam," she corrected. "You too, I guess. Twins stick together."
Alex studied her. "Why now."
She smiled again, but this time there was weight behind it.
"Because the board’s filling up," she said. "Absolutes waking up everywhere. Abstracts stirring. Old things getting nervous."
Alex frowned. "You know about the Abstracts."
"I know about everything that shouldn’t exist but does," she said lightly. "They hate me. I love that."
She pointed in the direction Adam went. "He’s headed toward Death and that Half-Horned strategist, right?"
"Yes."
"Good," she said. "I’ll tag along."
Alex shook his head. "You already annoyed him."
"Please," Kahdijah said. "I’ve annoyed him since we were eighteen."
Alex blinked. "...You remember that?"
She laughed. "You tried to stop him from stabbing that politician."
"He deserved it," Alex muttered.
"Exactly," she said. "See? Same people."
She floated back, hands behind her head. "Come on. Let’s go catch up with your brother before he starts deleting gods."
Alex sighed.
"...You’re not leaving, are you."
"Nope."
"Figures."