Creation Of All Things-Chapter 192: Adam Meets Kaiden

The sky cracked open like a curtain being drawn too fast. A pillar of white light burst down from the clouds, humming like some divine elevator from the heavens. Wind kicked up around the Ostarius courtyard—gravel scattering, cloaks flapping, trees groaning as branches bent toward the source.

Then—fwump.

Two figures emerged from the beam. Adam, boots first, coat trailing behind him like a cloak cut from midnight, and beside him, Joshua, with that annoying smirk still plastered on his face like it was tattooed there.

The light vanished. The world went still.

Adam blinked once.

Then again.

They weren't alone.

Every single person from the forge room was out in the courtyard. Aurora. Kaiden. Alfred. Aria. Alexandria. Jordan. Veyrion. Even Draken, who looked like he'd only just woken up from a nap he didn't consent to. They were all staring.

Not just looking. Staring.

Adam took one step forward, eyes narrowing slightly as his hand instinctively drifted toward his belt—not for a weapon, but more like a reflex. Like something big was about to happen, and his body wanted something to anchor him.

"…Okay," Adam said slowly, glancing around. "Why's everyone looking at me like I just grew a tail?"

Nobody answered. Not right away.

Then his gaze stopped.

Right on a face.

It was just off-center in the crowd—slightly taller than most, standing still with his arms behind his back, posture military-sharp, but the expression?

Neutral.

Too neutral.

Adam's eyes locked with the young man's, and he felt his breath hitch.

That face.

It was like looking in a mirror someone had left in the sun too long. Warmer. Softer. Younger, and older at the same time. That bone structure. The eyes. Hell—even the way he was standing felt familiar.

Adam turned his head slowly toward Alfred.

"What," he said, voice calm but not casual, "did you do?"

Alfred raised a brow, utterly unbothered. "Why am I always the one you people accuse first?"

Aria coughed into her hand, trying way too hard to look innocent. "As much as I'd love for Alfred to be the father in some very alternate reality… unfortunately, he's not."

Adam snapped his eyes toward her. "Then who is?"

Alfred burst out laughing. Loud and echoing. Like he'd just watched the punchline of a joke that had taken five years to set up.

Aria didn't laugh.

She punched Alfred right in the ribs. A little "tick" appeared on her temple as if her patience gauge had just dropped to zero.

"I am not the one who mothered the child," she snapped. "Are you out of your damn mind?"

She pointed. Not at herself.

But at Aurora.

Adam's head turned like a door creaking in a horror movie. Slowly. Eyes wide now.

"Aurora?" he asked.

She didn't blink. Didn't flinch. Just met his gaze the way she always did—like a mountain looking down on a storm.

He blinked again.

His mind was doing cartwheels. Somersaults. Trying to do math that had no numbers.

Aurora? The stoic tactician who treated intimacy like a distraction? The woman who once declined a marriage proposal mid-battle because it would have "compromised formation integrity?"

And yet…

That quiet pause. The way she rested a hand on Kaiden's shoulder. The way she didn't explain herself.

Then it hit him.

Joshua's words.

"Legacy energy." "Future-shaped surprise." "Just remember to breathe."

Adam's heart dropped.

He looked back at the kid.

At the man.

Kaiden stepped forward. Just one step. But it was enough to make the entire courtyard hold its breath.

Then he nodded.

And said, "Yes, Father."

Adam didn't move.

Kaiden's eyes softened.

"I'm your son. Kaiden Dhark. From the future."

The words hung in the air like frost. Nobody breathed. Not even the wind.

Adam stared.

Then took a half step back. "No," he muttered. "That's—there's no way. That's not possible. I would've known. I would've remembered something like that."

Kaiden tilted his head slightly. "You don't remember because it hasn't happened yet. Not here. Not in this branch of time."

Joshua clapped his hands. "Okay! Who wants to tell Adam about quantum inheritance, divergent anchors, and timefold echoes? Anyone? No?"

Adam slowly turned toward him with the look of a man who had absolutely no time for Joshua's bull.

Joshua raised both hands, still grinning. "Just trying to help."

Adam looked back at Kaiden.

Then at Aurora.

And for once… she didn't speak first.

Because she didn't have to.

The look in her eyes said it all.

Not regret. Not shame. Just truth. Unmoving. Undeniable.

Adam let out a slow breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"How…" he started, then stopped. "When?"

Kaiden didn't smile. Didn't grandstand. Just answered like someone who'd rehearsed it too many times.

"Seventy-eight years from now. You and Aurora. I was born into a war. Raised inside a fortress made of dying stars. And when the world burned… you sent me back."

Adam blinked. "I sent you?"

"You said it was the only way I'd survive. That I needed to learn what life was before the Spiral shattered everything. That I had to earn the strength to protect what mattered. Even if it meant being nothing again."

The silence came back. Heavy. So thick it felt like it could break something.

Aria's mouth hung open slightly. Alfred was still recovering from the gut punch, muttering "worth it" under his breath. Alexandria stood off to the side with Jordan, arms crossed, face unreadable.

And Adam?

He looked at Kaiden again.

Harder this time.

This time, not just with disbelief. But with something deeper. Something ancient. Like the part of him that had fought through gods and voids and dark crowns was stirring.

Because now, standing in front of him, was a piece of the future he didn't choose… but one he might be destined for.

He took one step forward.

"Okay," he said.

Kaiden raised a brow.

"Okay?" he asked.

Adam looked at him. "You're saying you're my kid, right? From the future. Sent back because of some apocalyptic Spiral mess."

Kaiden nodded.

Adam tilted his head.

"…Do you have my temper?"

"Absolutely."

Adam rubbed his face. "Fantastic."

Then something broke in his expression—some invisible wall—and he laughed. Just once. Quiet and weirdly genuine.

"Well," he said. "Guess I better stop sleeping with a dagger under my pillow. You're probably house-trained, right?"

Kaiden blinked.

Then, a slow, reluctant smile tugged at the edge of his mouth. "Mostly."

Aurora exhaled softly. The tiniest hint of tension faded from her stance.

Joshua leaned toward Aria and whispered, "Called it."

She elbowed him in the ribs without breaking eye contact with the father and son.

The courtyard buzzed with silent awe. Nobody cheered. Nobody clapped.

Because this wasn't that kind of moment.

This was history bending in on itself.

Adam looked around at everyone.

Then muttered, "So… who wants to explain this to the Elders?"

Kaiden raised his hand slowly. "I vote not me."

"Seconded," Joshua added quickly.

Aurora stepped forward.

"I'll handle it," she said calmly.

Of course she would.

Adam shook his head, still half in disbelief.

His eyes met Kaiden's one more time.

This time, he didn't look away.

And in the silence that followed… time held its breath.