[ATTENTION!

THIS IS A SECTION OF THE PROLOGUE. EVENTS THAT OCCUR IN THIS CHAPTER GIVE CONTEXT TO SOME FUTURE EVENTS IN THE STORY, BUT IT IS NOT IMPORTANT TO START READING WITH THIS CHAPTER. ALL THE EVENTS THAT UNFOLD IN THIS CHAPTER ARE LEGENDS IN THE MAIN STORY.]

"Excuse me, but did you just say that child is facing two tribulations right now?" El interjected as politely as possible, though his eyes betrayed his disbelief. He looked at his brother with a strange gaze.

"Of course. Do you think I'd mistake the influence of Life and Time on this child? It's so obvious that even you should have noticed it, or perhaps you're too far away to have felt it. Come here, see for yourself," Ninmah replied calmly.

El stood up and hurried to Ninmah's side, sensing the chaotic blend of dharmic energies enveloping the child and the unmistakable aura surrounding her. His expression twisted with anger as he turned to his brother.

"How long?" he demanded, his voice seething.

Ea feigned innocence. "Whatever do you mean, little brother?"

"How long were you going to try to keep this hidden?" El's voice rose, his frustration evident.

"I wasn't hiding anything," Ea insisted, though his gaze faltered under El's intense scrutiny.

"Then tell them! Tell them right now!" El pressed, ignoring the warning in his brother's gaze.

"That child is indeed experiencing the divine tribulations, as Ninmah correctly pointed out, and such a feat is extraordinary. But what the Mountain Queen has failed to identify is the primordial's unmistakable aura on the child. Did you really think you could keep this hidden, Brother? She reeks of Abzu! Any deva in Tendo would be able to tell she is his remnant! Why in the world are you raising such a thing?" El's accusation hung in the air, casting a heavy pall over the atmosphere.

Ninmah remained composed, continuing to play with the child as if unaware of the brewing conflict around her.

Ao Jun bristled in anger, his voice thundering. "She's part of that thing?" he gestured to the crimson sea beneath them. "All of this is because of her, and yet you've decided to raise her like a youngling? Are you out of your mind, Ea? Look at what that thing did to this world! Was once not enough? Even a thousand deaths couldn't pay for all her crimes. If you won't dispose of her, then I will."

Ea breathed a sigh of relief. "You're both mistaken. I understand how it may seem, but please, hear me out. She is not the primordial's remnant. This sea around us, it is his remnant," he explained with unwavering conviction. "I can assure you of this; As I shepherd the ichor, I am more connected with that man than anyone else in this realm. I am certain she is not the primordial's remnant."

"Then why does she have traces of his aura?" El demanded.

Ea sighed deeply, weariness weighing heavily upon him. He was tired—tired of concealing truths, tired of speaking with veiled language, and tired of rectifying problems he hadn't caused. With a somber yet resolute expression, he turned to his brother.

"You also carry traces of his aura, albeit fainter. Probably due to the strength of your mother's lineage," Ea revealed, his voice steady and resolute. As he approached the child, a pure nimbus of flowing citrine liquid enveloped him, swirling around like tumultuous waves crashing upon a shore. Its presence emitted an overwhelming and suffocating pressure, evoking the same sensation as the depths of the ocean.

"I too carry his aura, dense and unmistakable," he continued, his words resonating with solemn certainty. "As do all of my children, just as yours will one day bear traces of his unmistakable aura. The bloodline of a primordial does not easily fade across generations, Brother."

El stared at his brother in shock as the luminous aura surrounding him dissipated. "Why was I kept in the dark about this? How did I not know?" He demanded, his voice tinged with frustration and confusion.

"Do you truly expect the council to openly acknowledge sending a son to slay his own father?" Ninmah replied with a casual yet pointed retort, her calm demeanor belying the underlying indignation in her tone.

"Why would they..." El trailed off, his doubt morphing into painful acceptance. "Of course, they wouldn't," he added with disillusionment, his voice tinged with resignation. He chuckled with the bitterness of a man whose worldview had been shaken. "Brother, if you'll indulge me, why did you say 'your mother's lineage' when speaking of me?" El's expression was stormy, but beneath the turbulent surface, there was evident comprehension in his gaze.

"I believe you can discern the implications of that statement well enough, El. And what does it matter? Father has passed on; let his past die with him," Ea replied, his tone solemn.

El shook his head, his expression firm. "Brother, I insist on hearing the whole truth," he said resolutely.

Ea tenderly stroked the baby's cheek, his gaze flickering to his wife's hand, contemplating the risk of reaching out to her. With a heavy sigh, he decided against it, fearing the potential consequences.

"Your mother ascended to the higher realms with Father a few months after you were born," he began softly, his voice tinged with melancholy. "My mother raised both of us as if we were her own, the only remnants of his legacy left behind. I watched her endure the agony of abandonment. But alas, the heavens are fair, but not kind. Fate denied her the destiny of witnessing the next stage of power and staying with the man she loved, all with one magnificent stroke." Ea's fist tightened in anger, his knuckles whitening as his emotions surged within him.

"Your mother possessed both the beauty and aptitude to travel alongside Father to the end of his path. Mother would say that the woman was so extraordinary that it was inevitable for her to capture Father's heart, but I prefer to think she seduced a man weak to physical pleasures. However, I'm far less forgiving than Mother; I believe that's rather obvious," Ea sneered, bitterness evident in his tone.

"I don't believe Mother held any animosity toward the woman. If anything, she always seemed quite grateful that Father wouldn't be alone as he continued on his cultivation journey. I hope at least that much is evident to you. Our mother has done nothing in her life if she hasn't showered us both with more love than we deserve. She would never divulge these truths to you, and if she knew I was sharing them now, she'd be furious with me."

Ea looked at his brother earnestly and asked, "What does it matter anyway? It's not uncommon for a man of his station to have more than one wife. Father was Tendo's Throne before me, imagine the power he wielded. None of this changes anything. You're as much my mother's son as you are my brother, now and forever," Ea said with finality. "Now, I urge you not to treat Mother any differently. She'll be lonely in my absence. Please don't abandon her over something so inconsequential. I don't know if her heart could take losing two sons at once."