Delegation: An Equilibriai Short

Synodic
Creation Era
xxxx, X.X.

How strange.

A man opened his eyes to see a woman staring down at him. When she had noticed that he was awake, said woman clasped her hands together and made a pleased noise. “Excellent – you worked,” the woman chirped. “Are you feeling alright? A little dizzy, a little weird?”

“I…” he paused and let his hand touch his throat. Was that his voice? It sounded deep, yet horribly raspy. The male found himself clearing his throat. “I am fine.” He sat up and looked at the woman, spotting a spark of amusement in her eyes. “Who are you?”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is who you are,” the woman replied. She extended her hand and he found himself getting up, finding himself to be taller. He marveled at what surrounded him; billions of small lights and circular objects in the distance. He reached out – one of the tiny lights made its way into his hand. Holding it, he felt the warmth.

The Creator watched, amused. “I fashioned you out of the dark. Can you see it?” she asked. He nodded. “I formed you out of the darkness. You are the night.”

“The night,” he repeated. The word felt right on his lips. Crea watched as he took it in, from the top of his head and his black hair to the tips of his toes. “I see.”

Crea hummed. “Noctis.”

“Noctis.” And she saw a light flash in his eyes. “Yes.”

* * * * *

Crea watched as Noctis marvelled at the sight around him, the smile on her face growing. She almost forgot that Lumen was there as well, and was surprised to feel a warm tug at her wrist. “Is that him, then?”

“That it is,” Crea confirmed. Lumen hid behind the First and Crea rolled her eyes, watching as Noctis looked her way –

– and the male’s dark eyes widened.

Crea casually stepped to the side and smirked, seeing the two new creations look at each other. Lumen’s face held an expression of surprise and Noctis’ was of wonder; they both took steps toward each other and said one thing at the same time: “Hello.”

Crea decided to stay back and merely observe the two; Lumen twisted a lock of hair around her finger and Noctis’ mouth fell open, then closed. It was a matter of time until the two had fallen into each other, Lumen melding perfectly with Noctis and Noctis relishing the feeling that came when Lumen was in his arms.

Crea nearly called it ‘love at first sight’, but then disposed of the idea.

Clearly, the two were made for each other. Crea made sure of that – that both the day and night would belong with each other. As much as possible, she wanted both of her creations to get along just right.

And this – this was better.

The day and the night, she thought.

Time had passed and the three of them created more. Lumen brought light and warmth while Noctis was the calm dark. The two balanced each other out, eventually becoming much more of a stand out pair to the rest of the other creations. Eventually, Crea found herself merely hanging back and watching them do their own thing. Three became two and Crea thought that they were finally ready to ascend.

When that time came, she took fragments of the universe and weaved as best as she could while hiding it from the two. Finally, when she was ready, she called for the two of them and brought them back to the exact spot where they were created.

“Crea? What’s the matter?” Lumen asked, worried. Noctis stayed silent, watching as the First fished something out of her dress pockets. Quiet, she approached Lumen and secured something around her neck then slipped an object onto her ring finger. She did the same to Noctis, who watched her with a curious eye as she adorned him with two pieces of jewelry. “Crea…”

“This place used to be enough for one ruler,” Crea admitted. She looked at both of them, her friends, her creations – and rested her hands on their chests. “But everything is expanding. This place is growing bigger and better. There is so much potential for the rest of this place.” A hint of a smile graced her lips. “And it is time that both of you take my place.”

As expected, Lumen was the first to react. Noctis, however, took her hand. “Wait. Let Crea explain.”

Crea took a deep breath.

“I feel that…both of you would do a much better job than I.” she smiled weakly and gently ruffled Lumen’s hair, the latter unable to say anything. “I’m not leaving or anything.”

Not yet.

“But I feel that my time as observer has come. There’s only so much I can do,” she explained. Both Lumen and Noctis looked at her hands, which emitted the faintest of a golden glow. “But both of you – both of you will do better. With each other.”

Crea took a step back.

“Lumen and Noctis. Promise me that you’ll take care of what I made. Promise me that you’ll create much, much more – things even better than what I’ve made.”

Noctis allowed himself to crack a small smile. “So you ask us to create better versions of ourselves, Crea?” the First laughed.

“Both of you are already the best,” she assured. And the two believed her. Those pendants and those rings bind both of you to one another. I knew I made the right choice in creating both of you – to not just be creations, but…” Crea bit her lip. “Companions. Friends. Family.”

Lumen said nothing as she took a step forward, embracing Crea tightly. Noctis followed but merely kept a hand on the First’s shoulder, the other rubbing her back assuringly. No words were said among them.

Crea said nothing and merely closed her eyes, the prickles of anxiety and looming regret fading away.

I made the right choice. I made the right choice.

“Do me proud. Both of you.”