Chapter 2045: Fight, To Return Home Victorious Genesis rolled his eyes, "Every time I leave the Origin Realm to battle, I am in danger. Although the enemies I face out there are generally weaker than I am, some of them have powers that can hurt even me, and that is not even mentioning that there is a chance I can be ambushed by the Ancient Primordials, and I will not know how I even died... Old man, danger is all around me. Why would you single out this expedition to complain about?" His father shook his head in distress, "EVeryday I pray for the Grand Creator to keep you safe when you leave our home to battle, and I know he hears my prayers, and he would never allow you to fall before your time, but this place you are planning to head towards, is somewhere even he has not tread... don’t you see the danger?" Victorious Genesis had been smiling, but then his eyes went cold, "Do you think of me so little, father? Am I a dog who only barks when its owner presents food to it? How do you expect me to raise my head up high when I shirk away from the real work? Any Primordial can fight in the hells above, but only Victorious Genesis can create a path for victory where there is none! I am needed for my powers, father, and you know it." His father became silent; there were a thousand words of complaint, of plea that he could use here to plead his case, but he knew that it was useless. As much as he hated it, his son was right, and if he had chosen any other path due to his insistence, this choice would haunt him forever. Still, he knew that he would hate himself more if he did not tell his son how he felt about this journey he was about to embark upon. So he walked over to his son, even after all these years, he had not grown, had not changed, even for him, it was hard not to think of Victorious Genesis as the youngest of their children when he was actually the oldest, He knelt down so his face was near that of his son, and he placed his hands on his shoulder. In this house, he was his father, and Victorious Genesis was not a Primordial. ’Grand Creator, give me wisdom,’ he whispered in his heart, then he cleared his throat, "Victorious Genesis, I see the fire in your eyes. I know it well. It’s the same fire in the eyes of our people. We were created to lead the charge into the darkness for our Grand Creator, and you are braver than I ever was, which is why my fear is so much greater. I fear you will not know when to return when the going gets too tough." The eyes of Victorious Genesis became softer, and he wanted to speak, but he stayed silent because his father had not finished speaking. "This journey you speak of... its generosity is its danger. To give yourself so fully means there is less to bring back home. Who will tend your own spirit while you’re tending to all of Existence? A lantern can’t guide others if it burns its oil all at once." He paused as if contemplating deeply about what he was going to say next, "Stay, my son. Not out of cowardice, but out of strategy. Grow your roots deep here, in your Realm, where the soil knows your name. Let your strength become a fortress others can retreat to, not a flame that races ahead and risks being blown out. There is a courage in building, in protecting, in staying. It is a quieter song, but the land remembers its melody long after the battle-cry has faded. Squeezing his shoulders tight, the voice of his father broke down, "And if... if you must go..." His voice thickens, and he looked at him, really looked at his beautiful, perfect boy as he memorized the lines of his jaw and the set of his shoulders. "Then do not just go to give. Go to learn. Go to return. Let this journey be a season, not the whole story. Your bravery is not measured by how far you go from home, but by what you choose to bring back to it. A scattered light helps no one. A focused flame can start a hearth that warms generations." Victorious Genesis could only nod. In all his life, he had never seen his father talk in this manner, and he knew that although his father knew that fighting the enemies that came against them was dangerous, their entire culture was one where they fought beside each other. Death was a thing of joy when it happened beside your brothers in arms, and they benefited from your sacrifice. But if he were to die in a faraway location, where his father would not even be able to bury his body, this was what broke the man, and Victorious Genesis finally understood his father’s true fear. He nodded deeply, and his father smiled, golden tears pouring from the side of his eyes, "Promise me this, son, that you will be as brave in your coming back as you are in your leaving. Do not go gently into the dark; fight with everything you have to return home to us. No matter where this journey takes you. This door will remain unbarred. This fire will be kept banked, waiting to be rekindled by your story." "Now, let us speak not just of the leaving, but of the return." Ⓥ The talk with his father went on for a while, and then his family returned, and a feast was made, and for months, they laughed, and they danced, and they talked about life. Several women, okay, billions of beautiful women from all over the Origin Realm came to seek out Victorious Genesis and he was a bit annoyed after a while, the fact that he chosed to keep the body of a boy should have been enough of a hint that he did not see himself getting into any relationship any time soon... but this did not seem to stop them. Tie flowed like a raging sea, and finally, the day that he would leave for the expedition arrived, but before then, the Grand Creator called a surprising meeting for all Primordials.