Above the chaos, Selene's silver hair rippled in the wind as she surveyed the battlefield. The Son of Inevitability was holding his own against the monstrous horde, violet-silver energy blazing around him.
A sudden voice cut through the air, casual, teasing, like someone strolling through a garden in the middle of a war.
"Hey, sis. Ain't he my nephew? How come you never let me meet him yet? That's… wildly unfair."
Selene's eyes narrowed so sharply they might have cut glass. "Kairo! You—what the hell are you—"
"Oh, calm down," he interrupted, hands raised innocently, grin stretching from ear to ear. "I just want to meet my nephew. Is that so wrong?"
"You—don't even care about the portals, the monsters—"
"Relax, sis. Relax," Kairo said, waving her off. "I just want to see the boy. And I will. No ifs, ands, or buts."
Selene flared her aura, voice rising to a thunderous pitch. "I swear to the void, Kairo—if you touch him without my say-so—"
Kairo grinned wider, disappeared, and instantly appeared behind Arios, who was mid-swing against a three-headed void beast.
"Hey there, nephew!" Kairo said cheerfully, hands on his hips. Arios froze mid-strike, glowing blade inches from the nearest monster's maw.
"Wha—?!" Arios shouted, spinning, glaring. "Who—?!"
Kairo leaned casually, resting an arm on Arios's shoulder, completely ignoring the monsters clawing at them. "Name's Kairo. Uncle Kairo. Your father—yes, that Lucien—he's my brother. Well, same source, technically. That makes me your uncle. Isn't that neat?"
Arios's jaw dropped, eyes darting between the monsters and this calm, casually smiling man in his fight. "Un… uncle? Seriously? Right now?! I'm fighting monsters!"
Kairo waved lazily. "Yeah, yeah, chaos and destruction, blah blah. But family first, am I right?"
Seraphyx flicked her tendrils impatiently from above. "Young Lord, do not stop to chat!"
Arios groaned. "I'm not stopping, I'm already fighting! He just… just arrived out of nowhere!"
Kairo chuckled. "Ah, the chaos genes run strong. Your dad and I—oh, the stories I could tell." He leaned closer. "Like the time Lucien tried to teach me inevitability. I'm telling you, I laughed for… well, let's just say longer than a millennium. He's so serious all the time. I mean, can you imagine someone so perfect… trying to become a regular person? Hilarious!"
Arios's blade danced between monsters, slicing another open, but his focus wavered. "Uncle… can you—stop talking?! I'm fighting!"
"Talking is essential," Kairo said cheerfully, ducking a swipe from a claw. "You'll thank me later. And the time Lucien—oh no, you'd never believe it—he… wait, hmm… well, let's just say I once convinced him that a universe could be tickled into submission."
Arios froze, hands twitching. "He what?!"
Meanwhile, Seraphyx hovered above, barely concealing her irritation. "Young Lord, focus. Ignore him."
Kairo leaned on Arios again, whispering conspiratorially. "Your father's a stickler for rules, eh? All doom, gloom, inevitability. I like to shake things up. Keep things… messy. Makes life fun. You'll understand when you're older."
Arios's eyes rolled so hard he nearly lost grip on his blade, but he gritted his teeth, moving with precision. Slowly, methodically, he began to clear the portal wave, violet-silver energy lashing, slicing, binding.
Kairo clapped slowly, grinning. "See? Even distracted, he's a natural. Your mother did a good job hiding raw power, I'll give her that."
Finally, the last portal collapsed, the monsters evaporating into nothingness, and Arios exhaled heavily, chest heaving. "I… I did it. All of them."
Kairo patted his shoulder. "Of course you did. Nephew. Family talent. Runs in the blood."
Arios scowled, wiping sweat from his brow. "Next time… next time you talk during battle, I swear—"
Kairo laughed, vanishing in a flicker of shadows, only to reappear atop a nearby building. "Next time, I'll bring snacks too! Can't have you fighting on an empty stomach, right?"
Seraphyx groaned, tendrils flicking lazily. "Young Lord… I will end him one day."
Arios just stared, shaking his head. "Unbelievable… first fight, first monsters, and now I've got a comedian uncle showing up mid-battle."
Above the battlefield, Selene's lips curved in a faint, amused smile, watching her son. "So… he's finally meeting the family."