Every eye in that room widened, their collective gaze locked on the newborn. The air shifted and what had been despair turned into a kind of unexplainable joy that swirled through the room like a cleansing gale.
A rare smile crept across Zephyrion's face, a faint crack in his stoic demeanor, while his wife pressed trembling hands to her chest, her breath hitching as she fought to steady herself. The nannies, their earlier terror evaporating, exchanged tentative smiles and soft laughter, marveling at the miraculous infant. The old man lifted his son high into the air, his laughter ringing with the strength of renewed hope.
Zion, already awakened to his mortal memories, tried to speak, but to them, he was just a wailing newborn with his limbs waving in the air as arcs of lightning danced across his body. His glowing eyes shone brighter with every wail, magnifying the electric spectacle that crowned his form.
The elder, reverent and overwhelmed, trying to bless the child. Leaning in, he pressed a gentle kiss upon the baby's forehead, but before his lips could linger, the child's massive frame abruptly shrank, collapsing into the delicate proportions of a day-old human baby.
The room was in a stupor of surprise; their faces showed disbelief, with wide eyes and dropped jaws showing the shared moment of horror. The elder instinctively stretched his hand out as his empty perception scanned the child's flickering aura. But just as he reached for the baby, the subtle gust from his movement created a burst of force that sent the infant spiraling, like a leaf caught in a tempest.
The spinning child abruptly reverted to his original size in mid-air, his body twisting with unnatural grace. Zephyrion could sense the danger from this and, with a single step, bent the laws of spatial reality to his whim as he invoked the Lexis of Singular Step. Space folded like a seamless fabric around him, and he instantly appeared at the child's trajectory.
He caught the infant with the precision of a masterful goalkeeper saving a critical shot, his arms encircling the child as though cradling the very essence of life. For a moment, the room was suspended in awe, the chaotic blend of divine power and paternal instinct leaving all present breathless.
Zephyrion pulled the child up toward his shoulder, his voice full of pride that could never be shaken. "From now on, you shall be known as Nyxander," he proclaimed, his voice booming like the heavens above. The hall filled with applause and cheering from all the beings present, congratulating the first parents to conceive life out of their own divine being.
Their merriment was short-lived as the hall doors opened to reveal a tall, muscularly framed male Primordial. He strode into the chamber with the gravity of a celestial storm, all eyes on him at once. "Behold, the Void Archon," a voice droned, and the room went silent.
The figure inclined his head first to the old man. "Greetings to the great elder," he rumbled before turning to the woman reclining on the bed. "Congratulations on this monumental achievement," he said, inclining himself at the waist, his hands in a V-shaped manner across his chest.
All eyes turned to the imposing figure of Umbrazel, their faces carrying expressions both reverential and inquisitive. Zephyrion stepped forward, curiosity lacing his voice. "Umbrazel, you honour us with your presence. What brings you here?"
The deep, resonant voice of the Void Archon filled the room. "My lord, all proceeds smoothly, but the Void Pool has begun to stir. It feels as though a new Primordial is on the cusp of emergence."
A ripple ran around the room, the impossible news striking like a thunderclap. There would not be any Primordials for many, many years, yet the restlessness of the Void Pool indicated otherwise.
Zephyrion's eyes narrowed, his voice as even as the tension in him. "Understood. I will attend to this." He turned to his wife, carefully passing Nyxander into her arms. His voice dropped to a private murmur. "We will be back shortly."
Smiling softly, Nihara's own voice was low yet warm with understanding. "Take your time. Do not hurry on my account."
Zephyrion turned to the elder, his tone regaining its regal strength. "Please join me in welcoming our new clan member."
The elder, folding his arms behind his back with the poise of a scholar, nodded solemnly. Together, they departed the chamber, their steps purposeful as they moved toward the enigmatic Void Pool.
Within the vast expanse of the Nihilith clan's sacred territory lay a cavern of colossal proportions. Its interior was dimly lit by the pulsating glow of the Void Pool at its heart, a sprawling, amorphous body of shimmering purple fluid. The gathered Primordials stood in solemn rows along the pathway leading up to the pool, their forms like statues hewn from cosmic stone, their gazes fixed upon the undulating liquid.
As one, the Primordials bowed their heads to the entering Zephyrion, who was accompanied by the old man Obsidar and the hulking right hand man, Umbrazel. Their arms crossed in a reverent V-shape across their chests as their voices rose perfectly in sync in a chanting harmony which shook the very walls of the cavern. "Greetings to the Void Archon."
Zephyrion raised a hand, his gesture commanding, yet graceful. "You may rise," he intoned, his voice carrying the authority of a god. Striding forward, he and Obsidar approached the edge of the Void Pool, its surface glistening like a liquid mirror reflecting the infinite cosmos.
The sudden stillness of the pool was broken as it suddenly started to swirl, forming a vortex that shrieked with a high-pitched shriek-like wail of creation itself. The air was heavy with the anticipation of Zephyrion's voice raised above the cacophony, "Let us guide and support this new life, so they may walk the path of unity among us."
The gathered Primordials raised a hand toward the vortex as one, and beams of radiant essentia energy poured forth in luminous streams. Their combined energies flowed into the churning pool in a dazzling display of color, a ritual as old as the stars themselves. For three hours, the energy transfer continued, a display of unparalleled patience and devotion.
At last, the churning settled, the whirlpool collapsing into stillness as if it had never stirred. The pool started to erupt in furious bubbling, the surface foaming much like boiling water. All eyes converged on the middle as a figure began to rise, emerging slowly out of the depths. The tension was palpable, the air charged with the weight of a moment poised on the edge of history.
When he finally emerged, a twelve-foot Primordial of a male, the onlookers' collective gasp was heard. His very form wittingly showed power, perfection, and his person exuded an aura that spoke volumes of him alone.
"It is a Greater Primordial!" several voices exclaimed, their shouts superimposing each other in joyful unbelief. The rarity of such a birth, occurring only once in a thousand years, stirred a riot of joy and acclaim among the assembled creations. Zephyrion merely held his right hand out to the new Primordial. The giant strode forward and took Zephyrion's hand in his, clasping hands with him in brotherhood.
"You shall be known as Vacuros," Zephyrion announced, his voice ringing with finality. From the crowd, a cheer boomed, their voices an orchestra of acceptance. The nannies, charged with the task of tending newborn Primordials, stepped forth from the crowd, their faces calm yet in awe. Zephyrion handed Vacuros to them with the tenderness one would expect for the solemnity of the occasion.
The celebration that followed was unlike anything the Nihilith clan had ever seen, their joy resonating through the cavern as if the song of the cosmos itself.