Thief of Time

Greater Dark arrived at their section of the battlefield without warning, emanating an incredible power. The divinity hadn't left the battlefield ever since she left Lostfon Palace. While the little mysterious black cube that was acting as the meeplings' trampoline could tell that his sister was busy combating the influence of the Moons sometimes, he was also clueless as to what she was doing in other periods.

"Congratulations," Claud muttered. "We're about to find out what your sister is doing when she's not fighting the Moons."

The black cube grunted once, and the meeplings bumped him merrily.

"You guys are adorable, but bumping me every three seconds is not going to magically make me grow hands and pat your heads," Lesser Half complained. "Run along to Claud and Lily. Their hands are warm and soft. I'm a cold block of black condensed divinity. There's nothing to feel here."

"Meep!"

Crown, as if to defy Lesser Half's words, hopped onto the black cube, and the all-too-familiar sight of the others hopping over a moment later ensued. Lesser Half let out a sigh, and then spun once.

While the divinity's little form didn't seem to have eyes, Claud could feel a gaze on him, but the master thief wasn't going to intervene in his meeplings' little joyful periods.

"Nope."

"Nah."

Claud looked at Lily, who was also watching the whole spiel with glee, and then grinned as their eyes met. The black cube let out an exaggerated sigh, and then shook itself.

"You two should…never mind. I did ask for this, after all." The black cube. "Still, what is my esteemed sister doing? It is baffling to see her just expend divinity without doing anything of note."

"What's she doing anyway?" Lily asked.

"The same as always," Lesser Half replied. "She's sending divinity to the skies, but for what purpose? What is she planning? Still, on the bright side, if I don't know what she's doing, the three stupid balls of light must be flummoxed too."

"The what now?" Lily blinked.

"Ahem. The Moons, I mean."

"I…I see." Lily looked at Claud, made a funny expression at him, and then said, "You really adapt quickly, huh. Your speaking style…has changed so drastically that it feels like one of us now."

"You two whisper to each other in voices that I can hear," Lesser Half replied. "And I am the lesser spark, the most mutable being in all creation. Like the lake, I reflect the stars and skies, dimming with the dusk and shining with the dawn. It is natural for me to reflect the light the surroundings give off."

"I thought you radiated light, not reflected it." Claud looked at the cube. "Also, what does the notion of the lesser spark entail anyway? What are you a spark of?"

"Life."

"So…you created life?" Lily asked, blinking a few times in rapid succession. "Wait, what?"

"There's a reason why no one really asks about where life came from, in the era of the Moons," Lesser Half replied. "Not only am I the source of emotions, but I am also life itself, only countervailed by the supremacy of stoic thoughts and still minds. To worship me is to worship one's origin. The Moons do not have such an advantage, and nor do we desire to be shaped by the views of others."

"Shaped by the views of others?"

"I am especially mutable to the combined consensus of the unconscious collective," Lesser Half replied. "And I see that last phrase has confused you two. I shall simplify things, then. My form and function are susceptible to changes wrought in the perception of mortals; such is the fate of the progenitor of infinite progeny."

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"You just confused us more," Lily pointed out. "But you're basically easily affected by what others think of you, then?"

"Meep?"

"…Kinda—ahem. Indeed." The black cube bobbed up and down. "My sister believes that I should be protected for this reason."

"But is it only you?"

"The base instinct of my own existence and life in general is to adapt and overcome," Lesser Half replied. "Thus am I the only divinity whose form is so dependent on the perception of others. The weaker they are, the closer they are to their primal self, and subseuqently, the stronger their influence on me."

"So we don't have much of an effect on you, then?" Lily asked. "Good, because I was worried that we might turn you into a cuter mess than you are now."

Claud looked at the black cube. "It'll be nice if you were a bit squishier, though."

"Excuse me? What do you think of me as?" Lesser Half asked, spinning around rapidly.

"A nice playmate for our meeplings," Claud replied. "These guys love you. Probably because you're very similar in form to them, yet clearly different and capable of communicating with us very clearly. I'm actually a bit glad that we came down to help you with this little thing of looking for Tot, you know. Those guys are very happy."

"Meep!"

The little fellows hopped up and down in agreement, and the divinity let out a small sigh. "I must wonder what goes through your mind."

"Probably something similar to your sister's," Claud replied. "What is she even doing anyway? The amount of power she's firing at the sky is really scary!"

"Do I look like I know?" Lesser Half complained. "I, too, want to know what she's planning. She definitely has a plan, but it's frustrating that she doesn't even tell anyone. That idiot. We're family, so why isn't she letting me do anything?"

It was a bit surreal, seeing a black cube grumble about family and the absence of familial trust, but Claud had seen too many things for this to affect him too much. Lily, like him, was watching this with an air of entertainment, but before it could go anywhere of substance, the little meeplings made their move.

"Meep…"

Claud watched on as the little guys attempted to comfort the grousing black cube by nudging the divinity carefully and gently.

"You guys…" The black cube spun a few times. "What are you guys doing?"

"Comforting you?" Lily replied. "Don't worry. They're very affectionate."

"Meep!"

Lesser Half seemed to have a few words to say about this, but before he could vocalise them — assuming black cubes had vocal cords to begin with, naturally — the little meeplings had prevented him from speaking. The agitation that he carried dwindled away at the same time, and Claud smiled.

"Nicely done, guys."

"Ugh." The black cube tilted to the side, and the little meeplings meeped merrily as they ran rings around the tired divinity. "I give up. I can't get mad with these guys around. They're too adorable."

"Right?" Claud chuckled. "Still, you should look into talking with your sister seriously. Family, you know. Talk to her. You don't want to leave any regrets behind."

"Anyone can die in this war, right?" Lily added. "That's how it is. You don't want the last words you said to your sister to be nasty ones."

"You two seem to speak from experience," Lesser Half replied.

Claud grunted.

The divinity pondered on that for a moment, and then bobbed up and down. "Sorry if that brought back a bunch of unpleasant memories, the two of you. My apologies for this."

"It's nothing." Claud frowned. "Anyway, why did your sister chain you up and refuse to let you do stuff? Is it really that serious? Will the Moons try to kill you on sight?"

"They would, yes." Lesser Half thought for a moment. "Still, I can't give you an answer to that. My sister is…quite protective. I wish I knew more, but she has been annoyingly mysterious about everyone nowadays."

"That's what we felt when we talked to you for the first time," Claud muttered. "Or anyone related to the divinities, really."

"I see I am getting a taste of my own medicine, then," Lesser Half quipped. "Still, what is my sister doing? What in the name of Destiny is she planning? It would be a lot easier if she just talked to me. It's not like I can't help."

Claud thought for a moment. They couldn't see anything, and his mental conception of the whole situation was built purely on Lesser Half's description, but he couldn't help but think about the Black God's words.

"Maybe she's mending this world," Claud muttered.

Lily looked at him. "Those…invaders?"

Claud nodded. "I mean, she's not using it on the battlefield. I imagine that there's only one reason why the Moons aren't interfering with her output of power. While they're enemies, they're all of the same world. Looking at it this way, the Moons don't want to interfere with what she's doing purely because it's not targeted at them."

"What are you two talking about?" Lesser Half asked.

"Huh?"

"You don't know?"

Claud furrowed his brows. What was going on here?