Page 336 of The Gods Order

Her mom’s expression softens for a fleeting second before a playful twinkle appears.

“I can, and before I make that decision and while I still have control over this place, I’d like to show you all something. Aside from your Starwoven stars.” Her eyes shine as she looks around the room.

Curiosity immediately replaces the emotion on Thayla’s face, and damn if Amick’s doesn’t race across my chest so fast it makes me dizzy.

“What would that be?” he asks, and all of us chuckle.

Anylah’s smile stays plastered to her face.

“The Eye has always shown me the realm, and there’s so much you’ve all never been able to see.”

She lifts her hands, and Val takes a step away from her, grinning like a man in love.

I can’t talk shit. I look at his daughter the same way.

The entire sky shifts before us, and I realize the stars aren’t simply scattering around or zooming closer to us. They’re fading away.

The room descends into darkness for a millisecond, then…seven stars appear. One draws completely into focus, and we all step closer to the glass unconsciously.

“Is this…” Amick trails off. “Val?”

“Yep,” he says low. “This is my creation.”

The beginning. A realm untouched.

A vast stretch of green beneath an endless sky.

No regions. No barrier. No wars.

Just land waiting to become something.

I glance toward Val. He’s wearing a tender smile and his eyes shimmer like he’s lost in the memory. Or maybe, for the first time in a long time, remembering what the beginning was like.

The stars shift again. We watch as the Beginning Gods stand upon the empty realm.

Obliteration carving away what couldn’t remain.

Creation breathing life into what could.

Boundaries shaping the spaces between.

Accord bringing agreement.

Consequence giving weight to every choice.

Seduction bringing desire.

Chaos bringing change.

These weren’t the gods we fought or the ones we know now. They aren’t the beings who lost themselves.

The realm forms before us in fragments.

Rivers find paths. Mountains rise. Forests spread. Life takes root.

Oh shit…

V spreads his wings.