Tilotny and Sine remained fearfully cautious as Lluxos remained unflinching before them... The grand entity said not a word... but then... a warmth embraced them. A strange feeling they had never felt before. A Force... It surrounded them as if coming from this presence. It was then that Lluxos finally spoke. His words bared no anger or hatred. Only compassion. He knew what Wutzek, their creator, had done to them was unjust. They had the right to exist as much as any sentient life. So Lluxos extended to them the chance to return home, to their fellow Celestials, with no ire or ill-will to await them, and that even their father would be shown understanding by Lluxos. Lluxos would be more than content to serve as the guardian for these forsaken children if only they would allow it.
Tilotny remained confused, bewildered by this completely alien gesture of kindness. There's no way Lluxos nor any ally of their father would want peace with them, only their destruction, and even if it were true, would Tilotny, with her bottomless pride, truly be content with returning home simply to serve the role of a lowly galactic custodian? To live out eternity as the indirect monitor and janitor for primitive lifeforms? For all time?
"No!" As if a voice of realization from the void... She would not submit. No matter Lluxos' warmth, she would allow herself to serve no one, to forsake her one chance at godhood. She would crush all that stood before her and reign as the one true god of the cosmos!
Cold Dande Sine stood silent but he could sense his sister's ire, and he knew that if he went with Lluxos, he would be the denied the chance to satisfy his scientific curiosity, to experiment with reality and discover all its secrets, for to be denied the chance to study and do as he pleased frightened him far more than self-destruction.
Splendid Ap also remained silent, confused and aimless, but he knew what Lluxos said and he could sense his paternal warmth, a feeling they had never known, but Ap did not know what to believe or who to trust... In a rare moment of clarity, thoughts swirled within him. What if he went with Lluxos only to be deceived and destroyed as part of a plot by his father? What if he remained with Tilotny and she destroyed him when he was no longer needed? A newborn ignorance such as his would not know what fate awaited, and even his near-omnipresent vision could not pierce into what sort of future awaited them... So he chose to remain with the Devil he knew... Tilotny.
Tilotny then angrily and proudly declared her rejection of Lluxos and all Celestials. She would never allow herself to submit. She rationalized his compassion as "fear"... Fear towards her and the power she would hold. For these Celestials feared her, for she is the only true goddess in this world and all would bow before her. She told Lluxos to return to his underlings and warn them of Tilotny's wrath. That they would all perish at her hand and all their mortal creations would love her and only her.
The warmth disappeared... A dejected Lluxos could only look upon the vicious and hate-filled eyes of Tilotny as she swore death upon all. Such a gaze should be met with quick punishment. But no. Lluxos felt no anger. No fear. No hate. All he felt was sadness and pity at the loss of this child's heart to the dark corruption which plagued all life since the long forgotten days of the Old Ones... Lluxos silently left, but he knew that all was as it was meant to be, and he hoped that maybe someday, this lost child would return to the embrace of her family. And on that day, he would gladly welcome her and he hoped Wutzek would do the same.
Though Tilotny appeared prideful with her newfound victory, a pain lay within, a pain masked by her pride. A mask she would never wish to take off, for to embrace what was beneath would be weakness, and now was not the time for weakness. Now was the time for strength. For all that mattered to her now was conquest and apotheosis. Now was the time to give rise to her new order.
