The vast beauty of it and the welcoming roars of the creatures in his domain did little to improve his mood. Normally, their calls would have stirred something in him pride, satisfaction, even amusement. Today, they were distant sounds against the weight in his mind.

His realm had grown during his absence.

Forests stretched farther than before. The rivers had widened, their currents stronger. Even the sky seem to shave streched longer no long as close as he remembered.

High above, the sunflower he had once placed in the heavens had changed.

It no longer resembled a plant. Its petals had fused into a radiant sphere of light, its roots merging seamlessly with the very space of the realm. It looked like a sun now, self-contained, steady, and immense. It did not carry the unbearable heat of a true star, but that was never its purpose. It was meant to provide warmth and life, nothing more.

And it did so perfectly.

Ikenga raised his hand and reached for his new ring, the one that contained the celestial body he had taken during his adventure.

The ring slipped from his finger into his palm.

He ascended into the sky of his realm, stopping at a distance from the sunflower-sun. Holding the ring outward, he let it hover in the open space opposite the radiant sphere.

He released it.

The ring began to tremble. Its shape distorted, the circular band unraveling as light spilled from within. It expanded, shedding its confined form. Space adjusted around it as the object returned to what it truly was.

A habitable moon.

Its surface formed fully as it stabilized in the sky. Landmasses became defined. Large body of water spread across its surface. The work he had done with his nature divinity remained intact, the atmosphere stable, the land fertile, the waters alive with potential.

Ikenga stepped back, watching as the moon settled into its position across from the sunflower.

One to bring light and warmth, one to reflect and cool.

They aligned naturally within his realm.

Only then did he lower his hand.

The creatures below quieted, sensing the shift above them. His realm now had a cycle, not just endless daylight, but balance.

The moon could not reach its full size.

Ikenga felt the limitation clearly. His realm, though vast and still expanding, could not yet sustain a celestial body of that magnitude. So the moon stopped growing once it reached a size the realm could endure. Large enough to dominate the night sky. Small enough not to fracture the space that held it.

It was sufficient.

As the moon stabilized, something stirred upon its surface. The plant which one beheld his eye unfolded. Its slender stem straightened. Leaves trembled. Then, slowly, its roots stretched downward, burrowing deeper into the moon's soil as if testing it.

Taking in the different atmosphere of his divine realm. Learning it.

Ikenga watched it in silence, observing the way it matched well with the moon.

A thought occurred to him "Mahu would love this plant." The idea settled instantly into certainty the moment it came up.

He reached out. The plant tore free from the moon's surface without resistance and flew toward him, its roots trailing behind like loose threads. When it reached his hand, it coiled around his wrist and palm like a serpent.

Ikenga studied it for a moment before patting it lightly.

"I have a new home for you," he said. The plant tightened slightly at his voice.

"A place I may one day no longer be able to gaze upon… but I hope you will in my absence. Watch over her and"

He stopped.

His gaze shifted into the distance, unfocused for a brief moment.

"…you will know the rest for yourself when the time comes."

A portal opened before him, leading to Mahu's realm. Ikenga threw the plant through, the portal sealed behind it.

Silence followed as Ikenga remained where he was, waiting.

If it was rejected, it would return. Divine realms did not easily accept foreign life without permission.

He waited as moments passed, nothing came back. The corner of his lips lifted slightly.

Accepted, his mood shifted subtle, but enough and his realm felt it.

Below, creatures that had been cautiously observing the new celestial body grew restless with curiosity. Winged beings burst from the forest canopy. Massive avian forms and smaller luminous creatures alike took to the sky, their destination clear.

The moon.

They rose in waves, circling upward toward the newest addition to their world.

Ikenga watched them ascend, the faint smile still present.

For the first time since his return, the weight in his chest felt lighter.

At the same time, Ikenga perceived a shift within his realm.

It was faint. The air felt denser with meaning. The flow of power through the land no longer moved in a single direction, it circulated. The sunflower above, the moon opposite it… something between them had settled into order. As though a missing principle had been introduced. A quiet law now anchored the realm more firmly than before.

It felt…

complete not finished. But closer to something whole.

Ikenga remained suspended in the sky, sensing the change with narrowed eyes.

Was this the nature of Origin gods?

To begin with territory… then structure… then law?

Was his realm slowly approaching the state of a true world?

A world capable not only of sustaining life, but would one day create it's own life with souls.

Nana had once spoken of souls as something elusive. Even Keles, who governed death and guided souls beyond their end, could not fully explain what a soul was or how it first came to be.

Souls were not assigned, they were not designed. They simply… existed.

Ikenga had created many beings which carried intention, strength, instinct, role. He could design their bodies, define their abilities, anchor them to purpose.

But he could not grant a soul, that was the boundary. Yet now, as he felt the new stability in his realm, the subtle strengthening of its laws, a thought emerged.

Perhaps the limitation was not permanent, perhaps it was premature.

If a realm could mature, If laws could deepen, If cycles could be established… Then perhaps one day, he would not need to wait for souls to form on their own.

Perhaps one day, he could shape one, not assign instinct or craft obedience. But create true life.

A being that could choose beyond design, a being that possessed self.

"A Creator," Ikenga murmured, the idea did not feel arrogant. It felt inevitable.

Ikenga let himself fall from the sky, the wind parting around him as the moon and sunflower remained suspended above. The creatures continued their ascent behind him, their excitement no longer his focus.

The familiar outline of his shed came into view, modest, weathered, unchanged despite the realm's growth. Beside it stood the great tree where he often slept, its trunk thick and ancient, roots spreading deep into the soils of his domain.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he saw it.

Wrapped around the trunk of the tree was a massive serpent with folded wings, scales dark and iridescent beneath the filtered light.

"Boros."

Her golden eyes opened at the sound of his voice.

Beneath the tree stood another figure, tall, quiet, bark-toned skin with faint veins of green light beneath it.

Ikenga's gaze softened.

"Osisi." The two demigod lifeforms of his realm.

They had felt his return long before he arrived. Of all the resisdent of his realm, they were the closest to something beyond mere purpose.

Ikenga opened his arms with a wide, genuine laugh the first few unguarded sound he had made since returning.

Boros did not hesitate.

Her enormous serpentine form shimmered, shrinking and reshaping mid-motion. Wings folded inward, scales receding into smooth skin as she took on a humanoid shape. She launched herself forward and collided into his open embrace.

Ikenga caught her easily. She buried her face against him and inhaled deeply.

"You are not happy," she said quietly.

The words made him pause.

"Do you know?" he asked.

Boros shook her head against him.

"I know nothing," she admitted. "But as residents of your realm… we felt it. Your saddened mood."

Ikenga was silent for a moment.

So even that had spread. His emotions were not entirely his own, they resonated through the realm. Through them.

He lifted a hand and gently patted her head.

"No need to worry," he said. "Things happen. Besides… my mood is certainly better seeing you two."

Boros lingered a moment longer before pulling back. Without another word, her humanoid form dissolved. Scales returned. Wings extended and folded again as she resumed her serpentine body.

She slithered upward and settled across his shoulders, coiling into her familiar position, comfortable, her head resting near his.

Ikenga adjusted slightly to accommodate her weight, though it was nothing to him.

He turned to Osisi who had changed.

He no longer stood rooted in place as a towering tree bound to one patch of earth. He seem to have shed a piece of himself, the rigid trunk and unmoving branches were gone. In their place stood an old treant bark layered like aged skin, limbs sturdy but flexible. Moss traced his shoulders like a mantle, and from his chin flowed a thick green beard of vines and leaves.

Age suited him.