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Riven stayed still for a few more seconds to make sure his own body could handle the pressure before moving farther, until...
"Hey! Riven! Come on now, we didn’t invite you to the palace to sightsee!"
"Come share a drink with us, will you? It’s only manners to do so! Don’t be insolent!"
"..."
The red-haired, handsome old man was the most energetic of the three, the purple-haired old man with the beard was very grumpy and had a bad attitude, while the youngest-looking of the three, tall, slender, with short blue hair and gleaming blue eyes, wearing ice armor and an ice crown on his head, spoke no words and was the most silent of the three.
Each of them waited in a different posture, making their personalities clear without any extra explanation.
Riven slowly walked toward them, realizing who these incredible beings were, who had, apparently, been living inside of him this entire time.
The distance between them closed step by step while he tried to match the names he already knew with the faces in front of him.
"Y-You all are... Precursors, aren’t you?" Riven asked.
"I suppose that’s what we’re called out there, huh?" Wondered the red-haired man with a sneer, drinking some sparkling gold-colored liquid. He took another sip before setting the cup down on the low table beside him. "Phew! Well this hits the spot! Even if it’s all just a Dreamscape, it feels nice to have a drink every now and then."
"Insolent brat, we aren’t just The Precursors we are their strongest representatives, so bow down and show some respect!" The old man with the purple hair and beard roared, his long, purple eyebrows resembling thunderbolts, this combined with his strong features and face made him look like the oldest and manliest of the three, usually with a big frown at all times. He pointed one finger at Riven while he waited for a proper response. "Don’t you know who we are?! I am fairly sure you already know our titles!"
The demand hung in the air while the silent blue-haired figure continued to watch without joining the conversation, but then, he finally spoke. His voice much calmer and composed than the other two.
"...He’s confused," The third spoke with a gentle and yet strong voice. "Riven. You have already heard about our names from your mother. Viviane had left a fragment of her information into your very cells, did she not?" The blue-haired figure kept his tone even while he waited for an answer.
"Y-You know about mom? Wait..." Riven muttered. "Yeah... I... I know who you are. I am just... shocked. But I should... yeah, I apologize."
He walked toward them without wasting his time, bowing to all three of them.
The gesture felt necessary once the names and titles lined up in his mind.
Of course he had to bow, these divine beings, even if they were all dead and these might be just small fragments of their consciousness inherited through their legacies and psychic powers...
He stayed in the bow a second longer than usual before straightening again.
"Please forgive my manners, Ten Thousand Poison Master, Asura Blood Sea Emperor, and Divine King of the Cold Star..." he addressed them all politely with their Titles. "I am well aware now, of your incredible feats and amazing abilities. You’re the three powerful beings who sacrificed your lives stopping and sealing Genesis, correct?"
The three titles came out clearly, matching the information his mother had left behind.
"Genesis?" wondered the purple-haired old man. "Hah! Is that the name you’ve given to her? That’s not how she’s known."
He looked more annoyed by the name than by the rest of the question.
"So you call The Dark Nebula Great Empress as Genesis?" wondered the youngest, narrowing his blue eyes.
The title he used carried a heavier weight than the one Riven had spoken.
"We weren’t the strongest," the red-haired man shook his head. "She was. Why do you think we had to go together against her?"
He set his cup down while he spoke, as if the point needed no further proof.
"Tsk! She was once weaker than you," said the old man. "But she took the number one spot after she lost her soul to the Void."
The comment made the red-haired man glance sideways but he did not argue the timeline.
"Now, now, power and strength didn’t matter as much as seeding new life and developing civilizations in our culture, so let’s stop with these comparison, shall we?" the Asura Blood Sea Emperor said. He raised one hand slightly to keep the other two from continuing the same argument.
"I quite understand that you once had a relationship with her..."
Riven said, sitting down along with them.
He chose an empty cushion near the low table and waited to see how the three would respond.
In their culture, they sat down over pillows on the floor and enjoyed food and drinks on a low table.
Servants, of the same race as the Precursors, walked in and brought along food and drinks with gentle smiles, a particularly pretty female Precursor even winked at Riven before leaving.
The servants set the dishes down quickly and then stepped back without joining the conversation.
Riven took a look, they all looked like completely alien dishes of all sorts of bright colors he’d never seen before.
"Pfff...!" The Asura Blood Sea Emperor didn’t expect to get confronted with that right off the bat, almost completely spitting the golden, sparkling wine he was drinking. He caught most of it but still had to wipe his mouth before he could speak again. "Would you at least don’t bring such sour topics to this celebratory gathering, young human?" he sighed, shaking his head. "It pains my heart every time I remember that and you bring it up when I am finally enjoying a good time with my two old friends."
The light mood at the table dropped the moment the subject stayed in the air.
"Ah! Sorry," Riven said.
He had not expected the reaction to be that strong and immediately regretted starting with the personal detail.
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